As much as she wanted to tell him that she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts, she recognized the hard glint in his eyes. He was going to stay and help because that’s what he wanted to do.
At least he had the decency not to talk. Or maybe he had an attitude and was just withholding speech. Whatever the reason for the silence, she welcomed it.
When they were done, he ran his hand across his head. “It’s early still, Minerva. Do you want to watch a movie or something? We have a pretty decent collection of DVDs here.”
She shook her head, even though it would have made her so happy to spend the evening wrapped in his arms, laughing and enjoying a film, maybe even having some popcorn. It sounded positively divine. She wished she could have said yes.
But now that she realized how much she felt for him—how deeply his distrust had the potential to hurt her—she had to protect herself. She had to protect her heart.
“No, I’m thinking I’ll just turn in early and read that Toni Morrison novel until I doze off. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Minerva…” His voice trailed off and she knew it was because he couldn’t say what she wanted to hear.
He really couldn’t trust her and if he couldn’t trust her she knew she couldn’t continue to make love to him.
Since his conversation with Minerva didn’t go anywhere near where he wanted it to, Lawrence decided to just watch a film by himself and figure out another way to get at what she was keeping from him.
His feelings for her wouldn’t allow him to just pretend he didn’t want the truth. And they damn sure wouldn’t let him stop pressing her for honesty. He had to admit he hadn’t expected her to just cut him off and halt their exploration. That threw him for a loop. It had him almost questioning if he could just let it slide.
Almost.
The buzz of his cell phone pulled him from his thoughts and he saw that it was Kendall calling.
“What’s up, Chief?”
“We picked up the folks in the white van. They had the same guns they’d used to shoot at you and Ms. Jones on them. The forensics just came back. None of their guns were the guns that killed the McKnights, however. We’re trying to get them to talk. But so far all they’re saying is they were working for someone who wanted them to get the girl.”
His blood chilled. “A hit?”
“No, they claim they were just supposed to grab her.”
“Yeah, so why were they shooting at her?” He let out a hiss of air. The thought of Minerva in danger had an unnerving effect on him. He didn’t like it one bit.
“They won’t say. It’s gonna be tough to get them to talk. Whoever they’re working for must be a really scary character. These guys look pretty hard-core and they’re facing hard time. But so far they won’t talk.”
He gritted his teeth, imagining all the ways he could make them talk. “Oh, I’ll bet I could make them talk. I’m coming back up there.”
“Hold off on that for a minute, Lawrence. Let’s see what else we can turn up here. Until we know who hired these guys, she’s still in danger. How is she, by the way?”
He paused, taking his mind off the criminals for a moment. There was something about the sound of Kendall’s voice that made him uneasy. “What do you mean by that?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean? How is she? Is she talking yet? You two called a truce? I’m assuming since I’m talking to you and you sound fine, you two haven’t done each other bodily harm.”
“Yeah. We’re good. She’s fine.”
“Mmm-hmm…Interesting.” There it was again, that weird, all-knowing, putting-two-and-two-together-and-getting-a-million tone in Kendall’s voice that made him stop and wonder what his cousin thought he knew.
“What?” He had a feeling he would regret asking Kendall that question.
“You forget, I’ve known you since you were a snot-nosed kid, you and your brothers running around the house with Michael. I can tell when something’s up with you. You like her, don’t you?”
Hearing Kendall mention Michael’s name when he had just opened up to Minerva about his guilt about his cousin’s death brought everything full circle. He couldn’t give up on getting her to tell him everything. He couldn’t risk it.
“It doesn’t matter, Kendall. It’s not going to stop me from doing my job if she turns out to be dirty.” He leaned his head back on the chair and willed the conversation over.
“I don’t think she’s dirty, Lawrence. I’m just worried that whoever her brother crossed in Los Angeles will end up getting to her before we can get them, or the LAPD can get them. I’m waiting to hear back from the detective in the LAPD who’s been looking into the murder. Victor Morales. We’ve been playing phone tag.” Kendall paused. “My gut tells me she’s scared. She’s holding something back. But she’s not a criminal.”
“Well, she still won’t talk. She still won’t say who killed her brother or who’s after her.” Uneasy about the neediness he heard in his own voice he tried to push it from his thoughts. There was really no way around it. He realized that he needed her to open up to him.
“Maybe she really doesn’t know.”
“You said it yourself, she’s holding something back…Did you say Victor Morales? I think that’s Maritza’s brother…Penny’s friend.”
“Really? I didn’t know that. If I ever get him on the phone, I’ll ask him. As for Ms. Jones, maybe we’re asking the wrong questions. Let us put the squeeze on these two white van idiots and then maybe we’ll have more to go on with her.”
Lawrence gritted his teeth. Waiting around for someone else to do the investigating and find the information went against his nature. He ran his hand across his head in frustration and let out a hiss of breath.
“We’re on it, here. I’ll call you in a couple of days—”
“A couple of days!”
“You’re the one who wanted to take some personal time. You all but volunteered to watch out for Ms. Jones. What, are you getting cabin fever now? Can’t hang?” Kendall had the nerve to chuckle.
“Just call me as soon as you find something. And we might want to look into another safe house for Minerva. Because if you guys don’t find out who’s after her soon, I’m coming back.”
“So, it’s Minerva now…hmm.”
“That is her name.”
“Mmm-hmm…All right, Lawrence. I’ll be in touch as soon as we know more.”
Lawrence hung up his cell phone and shook his head. He must really have it bad if his cousin could tell there was something going on between him and Minerva over the phone. He hoped he could contain whatever he was starting to feel for her until he was sure she wasn’t a crook. And he most definitely hoped it wasn’t too late to put a halt to his emotions.
Even as he thought that he had to laugh. He was about half-past too late.
The soft knock on the door caused her to look up from her book. She really hoped Lawrence wasn’t going to try to tempt her with his delicious and oh-so-fine body, because she wouldn’t be able to resist.
Be strong! Resist temptation. “Come in.”
He opened the door and walked into her room. “Are you sure you don’t want to watch a movie, play some cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, anything? I’m bored.” He gave her the perfect set of pleading puppy-dog eyes.
She smiled. The man probably never had any problems getting exactly what he wanted from women. Who could say no to that face, that strong, determined, handsome face? He had that good man/bad boy thing going on full blast, like her favorite actor, Idris Elba. Hell, he even looked like the actor.
She put the book down and stood. “I should warn you…If we play any of those games…I’m going to wipe the floor with you. I’m going to pretty much annihilate you in any game you pick. So if you’re one of those men whose ego is bruised easily when beaten by a woman, you should run along.” She made sweeping movements with her hands.
He grinned his sexy grin and his eyes gleamed. He was daring her. “Oh, you�
�re just going to start talking smack early, huh? It’s going to be fun to beat you at something. Hell, I’ll even be a gentleman and let you choose the game.”
“Okay, but you’re going to regret that, Detective.”
“Do not pass, go. Go directly to jail.”
He regretted it all right.
Lawrence stewed with a partial grin on his face. She had beaten him at just about every game in the house. And she was now proving to be a real estate mogul to boot by wiping the floor with him in Monopoly.
“And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you still owe me money for squatting on my property. I’m gonna need you to pay up, brother man.” She offered with a grin as she put up more hotels, apartments and businesses on the board.
“You must be cheating at these games somehow,” he grumbled.
“See there. I warned you ahead of time, but you didn’t listen. Don’t hate the player, hate the game or, in your case, games…” She burst out laughing before breaking out into a yawn. “I’m getting kinda tired. Why don’t we just call this one and say I beat you yet again.”
“No one likes a sore winner…And we haven’t played every game in the house yet. I have to beat you at something.” He got up and looked through the closet where they kept all the games and decks of cards.
The only thing left was the Karaoke machine. He grinned as he thanked God for the time he’d spent in the youth choir at Mt. Zion and the fact that he could actually carry a tune. He’d bet little miss game maverick couldn’t sing.
He pulled out the machine and brought it into the den. She was putting away the Monopoly pieces and stopped to stare at him.
“Trust me, you don’t want to get into it with me, Detective.” She laughed. “Look, I’m sleepy. I couldn’t possibly beat you at anything else. Plus, Karaoke is no fun with two people and it’s really only fun when people can’t sing.” She put her hands on her hips for effect, and he wondered how he was going to get through the rest of the night not being able to touch those delectable hips of hers.
“And how would we make it a competition, anyway?” She asked.
“Good question. I got it. We each pick the songs for the other and the first person to cave and not sing the song is the loser.”
She nodded. “I’m telling you now…”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be sorry…You’re gonna beat me…blah, blah, blah.” He got started looking for a song that she would refuse so he could go to bed having beaten her at least once. It would be a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
“Hmm, someone sounds like a sore loser. Well, since you want to be so snippy, losers go first. I’ll have a song for you in a moment.” She busied herself looking through the special Karaoke CDs and he did the same.
“Found yours.” The smile on her face gave him pause as he looked at the song she was pointing at on the CD.
“‘Achy Breaky Heart’? You’ve got to be kidding. Why do we even have anything by Billy Ray Cyrus in here? This must have come with the machine.” He frowned. He didn’t want to sing the song.
“You could always forfeit. You made the rules. If you don’t want to sing it, we can just keep my little winning streak going.” She grinned and leaned back on the sofa.
No way! He riffled through the CDs and grinned. “Found yours, too. You can mull it over while I perform my show-stopping rendition of ‘Achy Breaky Heart.’”
She looked at the song he’d picked for her. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.
There was no way his little hip-hop feminist would perform that song. He had this one in the bag.
He sang the country music song. He even did a quick and dirty version of what he thought a country line dance might be, well, a country version of the cha-cha slide anyway.
When he finished she clapped. “Look at you, carrying a tune and getting your little two-step on. I ain’t mad at ya. But you’re about to go down. I know you thought I would rather forfeit than sing this little song you picked for me. But I don’t cave. I take no prisoners and I play to win. Since you did a little dance with yours, I think I’ll even treat you to a dance. Good thing this is a cordless mic.”
He swallowed. Something told him he was in trouble.
Her seductive dance moves didn’t have anything on her voice. She sang like an angel.
Mesmerized, he stared at her with his mouth open and his eyes hooded. By the time she straddled him at the end of the song and finished it off in a soft, sexy pant, he was done.
She gazed into his eyes for a few minutes before standing up. “I was going to warn you before I was rudely interrupted. My mother was an awesome singer and my dad was a very talented musician before he got hooked on heroin. Music is in my blood, even though I would never make a career out of it. Still wanna play Karaoke?”
He shook his head and tried to compose himself after that sensuous song that ended in a seductive lap dance. “No. You win. You’re the best.”
He got up and hugged her before planting his lips on hers. She kissed him back with pent-up passion for a full minute before pulling away.
“I was serious, Lawrence. We can’t do this. I can’t. I’m sorry.” She backed away before turning and leaving.
He sat back down on the sofa. Contemplating the many ways Minerva Athena Jones was proving him wrong about everything he thought about her. She certainly lived up to her names, though. The virgin goddess of the more disciplined side of war, cunning intelligence and the inventor of music, indeed. She had certainly used the gift of song to wipe him out in battle! He smiled. It was going to be fun figuring her out.
Chapter 11
After a full day of being politely cordial with one another and trying to act as if they hadn’t shared the most body-rocking, mind-altering chemistry either of them had ever experienced, Lawrence was pretty sure he was going to lose it. He hadn’t gotten any sleep after their night of games because he kept thinking about what it had felt like to have her in his arms as they’d both drifted off to sleep. That was how they should have ended last night, not in separate beds.
He wanted her back in his arms again.
“I want to trust you, Minerva.” He realized that he really did, more than he could convey. He suddenly felt as if his future happiness was riding on his being able to trust her. And he wanted to be happy.
He remembered the silly toast that he and his brothers had made the same night he had approached Minerva in the bar. He and his brothers had toasted to happiness. If he were prone to have even the slightest sense of humor, he would have found the entire situation funny.
She took a sip of her coffee and stared at him. “I’m sure you do want to trust me. But you can’t and it’s cool. We can’t always have what we want.”
That’s where she was so wrong. He wanted her and he fully intended to have her. She was just going to have to learn to open up and trust him.
“Look, Minerva, I might not be the most patient guy in the world. But I know that some things are worth waiting for. As long as we can wait it out together, I’m willing to work on building the trust between us. I know you don’t fully trust me either, do you?”
She blinked. “Does it matter?”
“Hell, yes, it matters. Are you going to sit there and pretend that it doesn’t? Are you going to tell me that I’m the only one feeling what’s going on between us?”
She stared at him for a moment, her gaze hesitant and somber. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I need you, Minerva. I need you to trust me. I need to trust you. I just need you.”
“You just want to have sex. I know I said we could have an affair while we’re here, but it’s getting too complicated. I—”
“You need me, too. And you’re scared by how much you do.” So this is what it’s like…begging?
How did it come to this? How did Minerva Jones manage to slip into his heart and get him to the point where he was pleading for a chance?
She stood up to leave.
Oh, no, baby. No ru
nning. We are facing this today. Here and now, because I’m not going through another night without you in my arms. Hell, no.
He stood and walked over to her.
She tilted her head defiantly. She looked so cute, so sexy, so kissable. Those soft, pouty lips were just asking for him to plant one on her.
He took her face in his hands and let his fingers caress each of her lovely cheeks in his hold. He ran his thumb across her bottom lip first and then the top one. The touch was divine. Bending his head, he captured her mouth like the prize it was. She didn’t resist. She opened her mouth and her tongue dashed in, licking his mouth with tantalizing strokes that would have driven him mad if he wasn’t so determined to make her realize how deep he was falling, how important it was that she give them a chance.
Since he didn’t need to hold her face in place, he let his hand slide down her back. Cupping her backside, he pulled her to him. She groaned and deepened her kiss.
He wanted to lift her and take her on the kitchen counter. It was all he could do to end the kiss and back away.
“No more running away from this, for either of us. I want to work on the trust. I want to be with you. I’m not letting you push me away.”
She had her hand on her chest as if she were trying to catch her breath, but she looked up at his words. She slanted her left eye and twisted her lip. “Letting me?”
“That’s right. When it comes to what is going on between us, I see that I’m going to have to be the one to call the shots, because I’m the only one willing to face what’s happening. When you get a little less scared and stop trying to run, maybe we can share that responsibility.”
She shook her head. “You’re crazy, Lawrence.”
He wanted to tell her that he was crazy about her, because he was. But he didn’t. Instead, he decided it was time to lay down the law, the law of desire.
“No more running from our feelings. No more not facing what’s happening between us, and for damn sure, no more nights without you in my arms. We’re going to work through this and face this together. We clear?”
The Law of Desire Page 11