Toughen up, girlie!
She stretched and gazed up into his piercing, sexy brown eyes. They were so clear and determined, so sure. She figured the way she had bawled like a baby last night her own eyes must have been bloodshot and puffy.
“Good morning,” he said in that strong sexy voice she had come to love.
“Morning…listen…I apologize for totally spazzing out on you last night. I don’t know what came over me crying like that. Guess I must have sprung a leak.” She tried for a joke to cover her embarrassment.
Yeah and a leak isn’t the only thing sprung up in here. You’re sprung! Sprung out over this sexy detective. In love? You better hope he doesn’t figure it out.
“That’s okay. Every woman is entitled to a good cry when she feels like it, even little tough girls like you, Minerva. I’m sorry I acted like such a jerk and—”
“It’s okay. You were right to fly off. I shouldn’t have left like that. I shouldn’t have taken your car. I’m sorry—”
He brushed his lips across hers. The soft gentleness of his lips, coupled with the warm caring gaze of his eyes, was her undoing.
Why’d he have to do that? Why’d he have to kiss her and let her know how amazing he was? How perfect he would be for her if they had met under different circumstances. It wasn’t going to work between them, not that she should have allowed herself to hope things could work anyway. It wasn’t going to work and that broke her heart.
“Everything is going to be fine, baby. I promise you that. I care about you, too. And I’m not about to let anything or anyone hurt you. Not even me…” He brushed his lips across hers again and the kiss intensified within seconds.
He cared about her.
She tried to push back the ever-growing hope in her heart but she couldn’t do it. She opened herself to her feelings as surely as she opened her mouth to his. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him closer and poured her heart and soul into her kiss.
The desire between them refused to be contained. It was unwieldy and followed a law of its own.
He kissed her deeply before answering. “I care about you. A lot. So much it scares me.” He covered her lips again and their tongues danced.
She let her hand roam his muscular frame and imagined she’d be able to hold on to every ripple, every bulge for the rest of her life. She let herself believe he was her man. That he would always be her man.
And when he touched her, she couldn’t help but melt. She was so caught up that she barely noticed her nightgown coming off. But she couldn’t help but notice when he slipped on the protection and entered her. The stroke was so sure, so strong that she had to pay attention.
“Ahhhh…” Her body shook and her legs trembled. This was what perfection felt like.
“Yes, baby…You’re mine and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Ever.” He moved his hips with a slow determination that set off triggers inside her.
Triggers of desire. Triggers of passion. Triggers of emotion.
It felt like someone had placed a packet of Pop Rocks in some seltzer water and placed it in her heart. She couldn’t keep up with everything he was making her feel. The only thing she could do was hold on.
As she moved her hips to meet his thrusts, which seemed to increase in pace with each minute, she wished she could tell him how much she loved him.
“Minerva…”
The way he said her name made her heart do flipflops. He made her name sound so sexy, so desirable. He made her love her name. She’d never go by M. Athena again as long as he was around to say her name.
“Say that again…Say my name again…” She swiveled her hips and pressed her pelvis against his, trying to meld herself to him.
He smiled and lifted her leg so that it rested on his shoulder. He began a slow torturous thrusting, reaching deeper than he ever had. “Minerva…Minerva…Minerva…”
Everything inside of her exploded and she screamed. He smiled again and lifted her other leg to his shoulder. “Minerva…”
She couldn’t stop shaking. It was a good thing he was holding on to her. She didn’t think she could take much more.
“Minerva…”
“Okay…okay…Please…”
He moved quickly in and out, over and over again. “Please what, baby? What do you want me to do? Whatever you want baby, just ask me…”
Her head was spinning and her heart threatened to burst right out of her chest. Her sex tightened around him and she screamed again as he said her name and they both found release.
In the aftermath, as he held her, she made her wish. She wanted to stay there with him, just like this.
“We need to shower and hit the road, baby. We have to catch the person who’s after you.”
By the time they actually got going, it was early in the evening. They didn’t have any daylight hours, but it didn’t matter. Because the time they had spent making love and straightening up the vacation home was time she knew she would remember forever. In fact, if her time with Lawrence was about to end, she wanted to eke out as many memories as she possibly could.
The ride back felt so much calmer than the ride there had been. They talked, cracked jokes and laughed. Her guard was completely down. But in the back of her mind she knew she would regret being so lax. Her heart had never been so compromised.
“…And that’s what happens when keeping it real goes horribly wrong…” Lawrence burst out laughing at his own joke.
Pushing back the creeping fear that threatened to overtake her, she let out an exaggerated sigh at his corniness.
“Aww…you know that was funny. You know you want to laugh.”
“Whatever. Don’t quit your day job, dude. You certainly won’t be giving Dave Chappelle a run for his money anytime soon,” she teased.
“See how much you know! I actually got the joke from a DVD of Chappelle’s Show.”
“Well, then it must really all be in the delivery, because, you, sir, are so-oo not funny.” Pushing her worries to the back of her mind, she plastered a grin on her face. “Okay, check this one out. There was a family driving along the highway and they picked up this guy who was hitchhiking. He had a big black bag with him and it made the wife nervous. She asked him what was in the bag. And he said, ‘None of your damn business.’ They drove for a while and it started to really make her nervous.
“So she asked again, and again he replied, ‘None of your damn business.’ Finally the husband said, ‘Listen, buddy, if you don’t let us know what’s in the bag I’m gonna have to put you out.’ And the hitchhiker was like ‘Whatever, fine, put me out.’ So they stop at a gas station and put him out and wouldn’t you know it he left the big black bag in the car. Of course the couple couldn’t help it. They had to look.” She stopped and glanced out the window waiting for Lawrence to give her the opening for her punch line.
“What was in the bag?”
“None of your damn business!” She slapped her knee and howled out her laughter. As she turned to him, she noticed his lips twist in mock disdain as he shook his head.
“That was so corny. You have the nerve to talk about me when you are telling jokes like that? Girl, please.”
“Aww…you’re just mad because you wanted to know what was in the bag.” She chuckled at her own joke.
“Okay, let’s just agree that we both suck at telling jokes and resist the urge to try to get a laugh.”
“Maybe you, but I’m funny. I got jokes for days.”
He laughed. “That was the funniest thing you’ve said yet.”
She slapped her knee again in mock laughter. “Ah, ha, ha, ha…not funny.”
“So, are you ready to do what we need to do to catch Sims?”
“Do you really think that he killed my brother? I mean that’s a lot for me to believe. He helped me when he didn’t have to, Lawrence.”
“He helped you what? Leave town when you should have gone to the police? Why would he want to keep you from talking to the police? Th
ink about it.”
“Because he knew I didn’t see anything and it didn’t make sense to put my life in danger when I had no information to share. He was trying to help me because he was my brother’s best friend.”
“And he called you recently trying to find out where you were, right?”
“Because he’s worried about me.” She didn’t want to believe that David was a murderer, a criminal. What would that say about her judgment? It would confirm her brother’s constant statements about how she wasn’t made for the ’hood and would never survive on her own without him. She’d always thought Calvin had used that just to control her and keep her close, but if what Lawrence was saying was true…
“Has he called back again?”
“I turned my cell phone off.”
“Turn it back on.”
She pulled the phone out of her purse and turned it on. She’d missed twenty calls since she had turned it off, and there were six messages. She dialed her voice mail and her heart stilled.
If David sounded angry when she spoke to him, his messages ran the gamut. He’d gone from calm and apologetic to angry and violent. The last couple of messages had gotten progressively louder and more threatening.
Lawrence pulled off the highway and into a rest stop. He took the phone from her. As he listened to the messages, his face grew increasingly angry. He gave the phone back to her and dialed his own cell phone.
“Kendall, any more information on Sims? And is the safe house ready?” He paused and rolled his eyes. “Hello, Chief. We’re on our way back to Paterson. We’re about a half hour away. I’m ready to catch this fool.”
He tapped the wheel as he listened to the chief of police.
She wished could hear both sides of the conversation. Could it really be possible? Was David a killer? And if he was, why didn’t he just kill her when he killed her brother? Why send her to Jersey? It made no sense.
“Well, I hope we can set up something, by tomorrow the latest. I’ll just keep her at my place until you can set it up.” He paused, shaking his head emphatically. “Nah. That’s not gonna happen. I’ll watch out for her. And I want to be close by at the safe house, too.”
He let out a hiss of air. “I’m not trying to call the shots or tell you how to do your job, Chief. I’m just hoping that you’ll let me look out for her since we’ve already built a rapport.”
Mmmm, she thought, is that what they’re calling it these days…
“All right, thanks.” He was about to hang up and he stopped. “Huh? That’s tonight? Oh, damn, that is tonight. Thanks for reminding me. My brother and my mother would have a fit if I missed that. I guess I’ll see you tonight. It should be safe to bring her. There’ll be so many cops and firemen in the place that no criminal in his right mind would try and roll up in there. See you later.”
Lawrence turned to her. “So it looks like you might have to spend yet another night in my glowing company, and we’re going to a surprise birthday party for my sister-in-law, Penny. It’s tonight.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean I could just go to a hotel or something. I don’t want to infringe on your family time or your personal space.”
“You won’t be. I want you to come. And I have no problem sharing my personal space with you. I’m looking forward to it actually.” A sly grin graced his face, and she had to shake her head.
“Yeah, I bet you wouldn’t have a problem with that. But what if I did?”
“What? Are you sick of me already? And here I thought you couldn’t get enough of Big Papa.”
She guffawed.
“Harsh on the ego, aren’t you?” He chuckled. “Good thing I know how you really feel.”
“So tell me, Big Papa,” she said jokingly with a sexy lilt in her voice. “How do I really feel?”
“You think I’m the most handsome man on the planet and the best lover in the universe. And you like me…you like me a lot.”
She grinned and then twisted up her lips in mock defiance before giving him a serious side-eye look. “You a’right.”
“That’s not what you were screaming a few hours ago, baby.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know what I was screaming…Couldn’t hear for all your moaning, groaning and yelling…”
He laughed. “Okay, you got that one right. But, anyway, back to what I was saying. I’d love for you to accompany me to the surprise party, and spending another night with you is not a hardship, baby.”
She glanced down at her outfit. She was wearing a pair of brown slacks and a sort of hip and funky brown, taupe and cream blouse with the stiletto-heeled boots she’d been wearing during her undercover stint. It turned out that they looked a lot cuter with her business casual-style clothing than she would have thought. “Am I dressed okay?”
“You look beautiful.”
“Okay, then. I’d love to go to the party.”
Chapter 14
Lawrence couldn’t keep his eyes off Minerva. No one could have told him, when he first saw her on his beat three months ago, that he would fall for her the way he had.
The party was actually just what they both needed. After several days with only each other to talk to and be with, being around a crowd was probably a good thing. Too bad the only thing he really wanted to do was be with her. Alone.
“So who’s the girl?” Jason nodded across the room to where Minerva was chatting with the women in their family.
The women, led by his mother, Celia Hightower, had pretty much converged on Minerva the moment they walked in. It was the first time Lawrence had brought a woman to a family gathering, and he guessed that his mother was trying to figure out everything she could about Minerva.
“Yeah, since when did you start bringing a date to family functions? This is new. She must be special.” Joel leaned against the wall and offered his two cents.
“So who is she? You’d better get her from over there by Mom. She’ll have you walking down the aisle in no time. Look at what happened with these two clowns.” Patrick rolled his eyes in mock disgust at Joel and Jason.
Lawrence frowned. His brothers had seen Minerva before. “Don’t you guys remember her from a few months back, at the happy hour. She was hanging with the McKnights?”
“The criminal chick?” Joel scrunched up his eyebrows as he stared across the floor at Minerva.
“She’s not a criminal.” Lawrence shook his head.
“That’s her? Dang, she looks different. Didn’t she have wilder hair? And wasn’t she pissed off at you for arresting her? Why would she even come to the party with you?” Jason also stared as he took in all the changes.
“He arrested her? So what are you doing? You’re bringing criminals to the party? What the hell is wrong with you?” Patrick snapped.
“You dating criminals now?” Joel offered with a smirk. “Dang, bro, are times that hard? I would have thought with Jason and me off the market, old guys like you and Patrick would have more opportunities—not less.”
He groaned. At this rate, he wouldn’t make it through the night. “She’s not a criminal. And we’re not dating.” Not exactly dating… They were so much more and yet…“And for the record, you two being out of the game could never have an impact on a player like me. We weren’t even in the same league. I was light-years ahead of y’all.”
Did he just talk about his player skills in the past tense? He wasn’t even going to touch it.
“Okay, if you’re not dating her, then why is she here with you?” Patrick twisted up his lips in disbelief. “Am I going to be the only one who will be able to resist and remain single? You clowns are dropping like flies, one by one. I refuse to go out like that.”
Lawrence explained as much of the situation to his brothers as he could without kissing and telling. He decided it was best to leave those parts out. But he did fill them in on the threats to Minerva and how he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
When he was done, his brothers were each nodding their heads.
“If you need anything, any help at all, bro, you got it.” Jason offered with a genuine expression on his face.
“Yeah, man, if I can do anything let me know. That poor girl has been through a lot. And if she’s cool with you, she’s cool with me.” Joel patted him on the back.
“I’m here if you need me, too. But be careful. Be sure you know exactly who she is this time. She came into town pretending to be someone she clearly wasn’t and who’s to say that this incarnation is the real her.” Patrick’s face had softened a little but he still had his underlying guard up.
Watching her talk and laugh with his mother and the other women, Lawrence knew in his heart he was looking at the real her. And he also knew he wanted her in his life. Forever.
“This is my girl! My girl…umm…umm…” Carla snapped her fingers trying to remember Minerva’s name.
“Minerva.” Minerva nervously glanced across the beautifully decorated hall in the Elks Lodge to where Lawrence was standing chatting with his brothers as she helped Carla remember her name.
She’d never been to a surprise birthday party like this before. The small hall was decked out with lots of flowers, balloons and streamers. Everyone was dressed to impress and having a great time.
“Minerva…Minnie! That’s right. My girl! What you doing coming up in here with Lawrence? The last time I saw y’all together you looked like you wanted to cut him. Oooo, y’all shoulda seen it. He came up in the Laundromat beasting after her like Jason used to be beasting after your Penny when you first came home, remember?” Carla’s neck moved as she spoke with barely contained excitement.
“Really, that’s interesting.” Celia Hightower smiled, as she looked Minerva over. “How long have you been seeing my son?”
“Oh, we’re not seeing each other, really, we…well…he’s just watching out for me until they catch the murderers.” She explained as much of her situation with Lawrence as she could to them without letting them know how much he had rocked her world.
The Law of Desire Page 14