Black Obsession

by C. J. Thomas

  “Excellent choice.” She grinned .

  Casting my gaze down to my hands, I smiled when sliding the sheer lace bra with a bow between my fingers. I liked the way it felt, knew how hot I would look when tucked inside, and how hungry Kelly would be to get me out of it. And when paired with the strappy garter panty and sexy stockings, I knew the look was nearly complete. “Have any suggestions for what pumps might go with it ?”

  Red flipped her hair over her shoulder and waved for me to follow .

  Jutting my hips out to the side, I busied myself by raking the tips of my fingers over the racks of clothes we passed. With each stride, I couldn’t stop thinking how this was the distraction I needed from having to think about Lucky and how I didn’t have the heart to tell him that his new girlfriend might not be the woman he thought she was. My goal was to avoid drama. Not invite it. I’d had enough emotional swings this week to last a year. And knowing this city as well as I did, I knew that more drama of its kind was only a breath away from finding its way back into my life .

  “Ahh … here they are.” Red reached out, plucking one heel off the display rack .

  I blinked and could feel the infatuation glimmering in my eye. Taking the shoe into my hands, I affectionately touched the gorgeous pointed toe stiletto. They were strappy, sexy, and would make my legs appear much longer than they actually were .

  “Go on.” Red’s face beamed. “Try them on .”

  My hand rested over my heart. It beat like a woman in love. “They’re perfect .”

  Red guided me to the nearest cushioned bench. Sitting down, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, fusing with the elastic before kicking off my sandals. One-by-one, I slipped my toes into their new homes. These babies were perfect .

  Red offered me her hand and assisted me to my feet .

  Towering so high I felt like my head was in the clouds, the pumps gave me at least four inches on her, and I liked the view from up here. Strutting up and down the corridor like a model showcasing the latest fashion in Paris, I cocked a hip and glanced over my shoulder getting Red to giggle .

  “Maybe the crotch-less panties would be the better choice?” I said, bending over and latching on to my ankles .

  Red covered her mouth and blushed. “No one has ever asked for a refund.” She laughed .

  Before I stood back up, I was forced to flip over the price tag tied to the strap of my left heel. Of course the cost was astronomical, but Kelly asked, so shall he receive . “I’ll take them.” I flipped my hair back when I stood .

  The front door jingled with a new customer and Red excused herself. I was fine handling myself. I had been here browsing, trying on clothes and thinking about what to get fucked in for over an hour. Red was having a great time, I could tell. But deep inside, I wished I was here with Alex. Life was always better when shared with my BFF .

  Walking along the back wall, I soon found myself standing in front of a large rectangular mirror. Because I had nothing better to do and was in no real hurry, I held up my sexy set of lingerie one last time .

  Kelly was going to flip his shit when he saw me. No way that man was going to last more than thirty seconds before blowing his load. Hell, even though I knew his stamina to be better than that, I would consider it a compliment to myself if he did .

  Running my hands over my body, I couldn’t help but feel sexy—feminine, a woman on fire .

  And with my imagination quickly running away from me, I was lost inside my head creating my own fantasy .

  Kelly has me strapped to the wall. My arms above my head and my legs spread .

  He has his slap stick out and is threatening to throat fuck me .

  My pussy throbs, begging for it to be assaulted .

  Kelly whispers in my ear that he’s going to ruin any chances I have with any other men that come my way after him .

  Moaning, my nipples were hard and by the time I came out of my little daydream, my cheeks hot enough to start a forest fire .

  Shaking off the heat, I was nearly knocked down by the face I found staring at me when I glanced over my shoulder. “What do you want?” I barked .

  His large frame was neatly packed into jeans and an untucked collared shirt that fell to his thighs. His mouth threatened to smile but he never did. No, there was a serious tone about him that I couldn’t place. Though I knew that I would soon learn what it was .

  Holding up my hand, I took a step back. “Wait. How did you know I was here ?”

  “You haven’t called them, have you?” He inched his way closer .

  I refused to be scared, but the primal scream I already heard inside my head slowly moved up my chest as I eyed the exit. “If they’re really in trouble like you say they are, why aren’t they reaching out to me ?”

  When he ignored my warning for him to stop moving, I backpedaled, mistakenly backing myself into the corner. Glancing over his shoulder, I looked for Red but she was nowhere to be found .

  Suddenly, he stopped .

  And I froze .

  With a stuttering heart, my eyes were glued to his hand reaching behind him. Cautiously, I watched as he brought a neatly folded piece of paper out from his back pocket, holding it out for me to take .

  “What’s that?” I debated whether or not to take it .

  “Call your parents, Kendra.” My uncle held out his hand, urging me to take the paper from it. “I wrote their phone number down inside. In case you didn’t have it .”

  Like a viper, I snatched the paper between my fingers, quickly withdrawing back to a safe distance—a distance from which he couldn’t touch me, hurt me. Eager to open it up, my hands shook. Scanning the document, it didn’t make any sense. “What is this ?”

  “You have something that we all want.” He paused. “Call your parents. They’ll explain everything .”

  47

  Kelly

  R unning into the office, I screeched to a halt once I got to Giselle’s desk. “I got here as fast as I could .”

  Giselle reached for the clicker and pointed it at the flat-screen on the wall. The volume muted as she handed me a cold water .

  Wrapping my fingers around the top, I twisted the cap off and emptied the bottle in three swigs. “Well, are you going to tell me or not ?”

  Giselle eyed me from under her brow. “You better have a seat for this .”

  Panic settled in my chest as my eyes bulged .

  “Judge Smith wanted to be the one to tell you in person .”

  “Tell me what?” I rooted my hands into my hips .

  “It’s about Mario.” Giselle also refused to sit. “The judge has no choice but to accept his plea deal .”

  My heart stopped and my knees buckled. Collapsing like an accordion I fell into the nearest seat, letting my throbbing head fall into my hand. Pinching my eyes with my fingers, I thought I had more time .

  “Kelly, we can fight this .”

  Opening my eyes, I stared at the water bottle still in my hand. My blood pumped through my veins like a runaway freight train. Slowly, I curled my fingers, crumpling the plastic in my tight grip. A feeling of hopelessness settled over me and I felt like I had let Mario down .

  “We have to fight this.” Giselle’s eyes were wild with determination .

  Staring at her with a heavy brow, I knew Nash wasn’t the one to murder Maria, but I knew who did .

  “We have the information connecting Nash.” Giselle started pulling files out from her organizer .

  Shaking my head, I was at a loss of where it went wrong. The judge gave me his word he would hit pause before moving forward .

  “You said the judge needed a name that would stick?” Giselle flickered her gaze at me. “The name we give him is Nash Brooks. He’s our best alternative. I know you think I’m stuck on this, Kelly, but hear me out.” Giselle shuffled more papers as if putting them in order of the timeline she had going in her head. “We have photos of Maria and Sylvia. The injuries are nearly identical. We don’t know who did this to Maria
, but we know who did it to Sylvia.” She paused to fix her eyes on me. “We’ll get Sylvia to testify .”

  “Stop, Giselle.” I let out a long, low sigh. “It’s over .”

  “Nash,” she said, dropping her eyes back to the paperwork. “It’s him. He did this. The Judge will see it. He has to .”

  “It’s not him.” My brows raised and I motioned for her to sit .

  She hesitated, but eventually she found her way into her desk chair .

  Giselle listened intently as I explained what happened at Mint. How I found Nash there with Alex just the way Sylvia said it would be. And as I continued on with my story, sharing how Wes hired Julia to uncover the truth of Sylvia’s whereabouts the night of the murder, Giselle asked, “And what did she find ?”

  She couldn’t look me in the eye when I told her. Then I finished by saying, “If Angel is also involved, then we need to know how she and Sylvia are connected and if she also has motive to kill Maria .”

  “Shit.” Giselle openly stared at her desk. “This is heavy .”

  Nodding, I mumbled, “You got that right .”

  Giselle’s forehead twisted as she lifted her gaze up to meet mine. “How does that explain the photos of Sylvia ?”

  “She did some of that herself .”

  “God, I hope you’re right, Kelly .”

  Quickly, I scanned my cell phone in search of newly released articles by Sylvia. I needed to know if she’d moved forward with the story she threatened to publish. Not that it mattered after my conversation with Parker, but a small part of me wished she had. Because with him retracting his charges against me, her credibility would be shot .

  After a long moment of silence, Giselle said convincingly, “None of this seems right .”

  “Never does .”

  Faintly shaking her head, she added, “All I can think about is how you saw Oscar bring Mario to visit with Madam .”

  “Parker is dropping the charges against me.” A small smile sprouted on my face .

  “That’s great,” her eyes briefly lit up. “But how is that related ?”

  “Oscar pressured him to do it .”

  “Which means,” Giselle leaned forward, “Madam convinced Oscar to find a way to go after you .”

  Nodding, I knew she was seeing the larger picture of what we were up against .

  “So, what do we do now ?”

  “Get Sylvia to confess .”

  “That won’t solve Mario’s problem .”

  “No,” I sighed as my ribs squeezed my lungs. “But it will relax my guilty conscience.” I turned my head to the television on the wall. Standing, I moved closer. “Turn up the volume .”

  Giselle hit the mute button on the clicker, bringing back the volume .

  “The death of a twenty-three-year-old woman is leading police on an investigation of what happened only a short while ago outside the nightclub, Echo.” We both listened intently to the newscaster relaying the information as it came in .

  “She was at Ty Lemon’s party.” Giselle’s voice was light as she folded her arms across her chest. “But I didn’t catch her name .”

  “Tonya Craig,” I grumbled just as her name populated the screen .

  Turning around, I pulled out the original images Madam had given me to blackmail Timothy Parker. There Tonya was again, except now I couldn’t stop from wondering if I might have been the reason she was dead .

  Continue the series by reading Black Regrets. Click here and start reading today !

  Afterword

  Never miss a release. Sign up to my newsletter and stay in the know. Visit me at www.CJThomasBooks.com

  Also by CJ Thomas

  C ity by the Bay series

  Ruin Me

  Promise Me

  Save Me

  Take Me

  Control Me

  Tempt Me

  H ollywood Dreams series

  Big Willy Box Set

  Beyond Tonight Box Set

  On My Knees Box Set

  Capture Me

  Heat

  Hard

  A Kelly Black Affair

  Black Desire

  Black Demands

  Acknowledgment

  I want to thank all of my readers for being supportive with each new story I write. It’s because of you and your willingness to WANT to read my stories that make this all possible. Mwah !

  I also want to thank my editor, LNS, for bringing my stories to life and constantly providing constructive advice on how to improve my craft. The same goes to my street team and beta readers, for without you, I’m not sure I would have the confidence to continue living inside my characters’ heads day after day .

  And last but not least, my family for giving me the love and inspiration to keep writing .

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