by Tonya Brooks
“Then let’s hope the inside isn't a major disappointment,” Timmy said as he unlocked the door.
The three of them walked inside and the men stared at the mess in dismay. It was a warehouse alright and it obviously hadn't been used in decades. There were rodent droppings all over the floor along with years of dust, dirt and debris that had blown in under the massive doors. The place was as nasty as hell but looked structurally sound. Other than that, the interior was pretty much a cavernous room with load bearing support beams spaced evenly throughout the structure.
“Oh, Mark, it's perfect,” Desi enthused, green eyes sparkling like emeralds, her smile brilliant.
That smile told him all he needed to know. For the first time in his life, Mark Baker made a business decision based on something other than facts and figures. “Timmy, set up an inspection and find out how much Charlie wants. I'd prefer to get this done today before anyone finds out that I'm interested in it,” he told the other man.
“Are you sure, Mark?” Timmy asked doubtfully. “I mean, it’s gonna need a hell of a lot of work.”
“We could even put in a second floor,” Desi enthused as she stared up at the rafters, completely oblivious to their conversation. “Ooh, maybe even a balcony area in the club with reserved seating. Sort of a VIP lounge.”
“It'll be worth it,” he said seriously. To see that smile on her face was worth any price. And what the hell was the use in having money if he couldn't use it to make the people he cared about happy?
Timmy left them to set the wheels in motion and the couple walked through the empty space while Desi drew out a rough floor plan that Harley would make into a workable design. She was thrilled that the place was more than large enough to accommodate the club and restaurant and still provide ample space for the kitchen of her dreams
Mark called the town historian and discovered that the warehouse was originally used to store cotton since that had been one of Lakeside’s major crops, and a huge chunk of its revenue had come from the farmers. But the thing that really interested him was that it had been used to store illegal liquor during prohibition.
“Talk about a colorful past,” Mark laughed as he filled Desi in on the conversation. “Tilman even said he'd make us some copies of the old pictures on file so we can see what it looked like back in the day.” Her face lit up as she had an idea and he asked a bit warily, “What?”
“How would you feel about promoting that colorful past?” Desi asked hopefully.
Mark was beyond being surprised by anything she said or did at this point and he asked in amusement, “What did you have in mind?”
“Remember how those old speakeasy bars had a secret door with the peephole and the patrons had to give a password before they could enter?” she queried.
Mark had seen it quite often in movies so he knew what she was talking about. “You want a secret door?” he laughed.
“And a password,” she grinned like a kid at Christmas. “The hostess could whisper it to the guests when they entered the restaurant and they'd have to give it before being admitted to the club.”
Mark didn't even have to think about it. “I think it’s a great idea,” he agreed. “We'll have our own speakeasy.”
“You know, that’s not a bad name for the place,” she said thoughtfully. “Especially since it fits the smoky jazz theme that you were hoping for. A club well hidden from the general public, very intimate and private, with an exclusive feel guaranteed to appeal to the clientele we're after.”
He'd been wrong because she had managed to surprise him yet again. “Baby, you're an absolute genius,” he proclaimed and kissed her soundly. The name said it all. “Speakeasy. It's exactly what I wanted.”
“Maybe you should take me home and thank me properly,” she suggested with that wicked smile as her hands slid down to his firm muscular bottom and pulled his pelvis into closer contact with her own. Mark all but drug her out of the building in his haste to do just that.
~~~~
Later that afternoon, Timmy called to inform Mark that Charlie had offered to sell well below market value just to get rid of the place, and an inspector had checked the building over and it was a sound investment even if it did need to be completely rewired to meet code regulations. The minute he signed the papers, word flew around town about his latest acquisition and no one could imagine what the entrepreneur wanted with the old warehouse. Charlie laughed himself silly when he found out since his old enemy was now saddled with a building he that couldn't demolish or make changes to.
Mark called the head of the historical society and informed him of his plans as well as the fact that he was collecting on a favor that he owed him. Evan hadn't even bothered to argue since Mark had saved his marriage a few years ago. His wife had caught him at My Brother’s Place with another woman and had a fit until his old friend had intervened.
Mark had informed Deloris that Evan was doing him a favor by entertaining his date while he was busy at the bar and apologized for the misunderstanding. Deloris had profusely apologized to them all and taken her husband home where they had rekindled the spark that he had believed was gone forever. Yeah, he owed Mark big time and he'd make damn sure the changes to his building were approved, no matter how many rules they had to break.
Chapter Eleven
Saturday, August, 17
When Matt and Harley returned with the children, Desi was thrilled to have her daughter back and excited to show her their new home. She had purchased a couple of lamps and a few odds and ends to make the place feel cozier and Harley was amazed at the transformation when she brought the child home.
“It doesn't even look like the same place,” she said approvingly.
“It doesn't have your touch, but it'll do until we find a house,” Desi admitted.
“Where's my room, Mom? Why is there a bed in the living room?” Kylie asked curiously.
“This is it,” Desi informed her. “You and I get to share a bed until we find a bigger place.”
The child was not impressed. “I wanna stay with Trey.”
“Sorry, Kylie. This is home now and we have to make the best of it while we're here.”
“Why is there a dresser behind the sofa?” the girl demanded.
“Because that was the only place to put it,” her mother pointed out. “From the bedroom it's a dresser, but from the living room it looks like a sofa table.” She had backed the dresser up against the sofa and it had worked out nicely.
“Very ingenious,” Harley nodded in approval. “I wouldn't change a thing.”
“That's high praise indeed,” her friend laughed.
“It would seem you've learned a thing or two from me,” she smiled a bit sheepishly. “Unfortunately, it didn't work both ways. I still can't cook worth a damn.”
“Aunt Harley set the stove on fire,” Kylie informed her mother as she explored the tiny apartment.
They had rented a cabin in the mountains for the week and decided to cook dinner at home one night. “Matthew was grilling and I thought I'd put some canned biscuits in the oven. How hard could it be, right?” she shook her head in disgust. “I forgot about them until the smoke alarm went off and by that point they were on fire.”
“The fire truck came because one of the neighbors called 911 when they saw the smoke. It was so cool,” the child said in remembered excitement as she looked inside the closet.
“I felt like an idiot,” she admitted in resignation.
“Uncle Matt tried not to laugh ‘cause he didn't wanna make Aunt Harley mad, but it was so funny he did anyway. Aunt Harley threw a dish towel at him and then he kissed her for a long time.”
“That he did,” Harley smiled like the happily married woman she was.
“Can I go outside and look around, Mom? I won't wander off or go near the lake.”
“Go ahead,” she agreed and led Harley out on the patio to sit in the lawn chairs she had bought.
“So, how's it going with Mark?” Harley asked as soon as they were
alone.
“Fabulous. Wonderful. More incredible than you can imagine,” she sighed happily and then amended, “Well, since you're married to Matt, maybe you can.”
“I have a pretty good idea,” she agreed seriously.
“It's been perfect,” Desi said just as seriously. “But now that Kylie's home, play time is over and I have to start acting like a responsible mother again.”
That meant Mark would have to sleep in his own bed for a change, she realized. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“If it is, we'll know it was all for nothing,” her friend assured her. “Mark knows that Kylie is the most important thing in my life. If he can't accept that, then we don't have any chance at all.”
“I don't think you have to worry about that,” Harley denied. “From what Kylie has told me, Uncle Mark spoils her rotten, so I don't see why having her home will change things. At least not the important things.”
“We've just been living in the moment and I have to confess, it’s been wonderful. We've gotten so close, but I still feel like there’s a part of him that he won't open up and let me in,” she confessed.
“Don't give up on him,” Harley urged. “Mark is worth the effort.”
“Yeah, he is,” she agreed with a smile that revealed the depth of her feelings for him. “Oh, we found the most marvelous old art deco warehouse. Mark already bought it and I can't wait for you to see it, Harley. It's perfect for the new place.”
“You mean the old warehouse down by the river?” she asked in disbelief. “My God, it’s been vacant since before I was born.”
“It's exactly what we need,” Desi assured her and pulled out the drawings that she had made. She explained her ideas for the interior as well as the secret club gimmick.
“Speakeasy. I love it,” her friend laughed, just as enthusiastic now that she understood the concept. “It's definitely going to be one of a kind.”
“You're gonna have your work cut out for you,” the other woman warned. “It's pretty much an empty shell right now so you can do anything with the inside. The outside is a different story though.”
Desi explained what Timmy had told them about the historical society and Harley shook her head knowingly. “Don't worry about it. If I know Mark, he'll get what he wants, regardless of their rules.”
~~~~
The ladies made plans for an evening out and Kylie was thrilled to be able to spend the night at Jed's again. Matt and Harley came over for dinner and Mark brought a couple of extra chairs from the bar so they'd have a place to sit at the small table. Matt was so enamored of Desi's cooking that he said, “Desi, this is the best thing I've ever tasted. If I were single, I'd marry you just for your cooking.”
“Thank you, Matt, but I've turned down that offer before,” she said with a laugh.
“You have?” Mark asked with a frown.
“Oh, that's right,” Harley laughingly recalled. “It was some oil man from out west. He was filthy rich and did everything he could to lure Desi back to Oklahoma to cook for him. He even proposed.”
“Got down on one knee right in the middle of the kitchen and offered me a diamond that would have choked a horse,” Desi added in amusement.
“What did you do?” Matt asked curiously.
“I told him to get the hell out of my kitchen and go enjoy his meal before I threw it out and served him canned food,” she admitted.
“What did he do?” he queried.
“Ordered seconds,” she said and he laughed.
“I can't blame him. This is amazing,” Matt enthused. “Your restaurant is going to be a hit.”
“That's what we're planning on,” she said with a smile at Mark.
Mark was still trying to get the image of a man proposing to Desi out of his mind. What kind of an idiot would offer to marry a woman just so she could cook for him, he wondered. Hell, if he was that rich he could hire an army of chefs. Mind you, Desi's food was out of this world, but the whole idea was ridiculous. “Do things like that happen often?” he asked suddenly and did not like the possibility.
“Like what?” Desi asked since they had moved on to discussing the restaurant and she wasn't sure what he was referring to.
“Strange men proposing,” he clarified and the frown assured them all that he didn't like it.
“That was a first for me,” she admitted.
“Don't forget about that sheik that offered to buy you,” Harley said with a devilish smile just to see what Mark's reaction would be.
“He did what?” he barked and the frown became a scowl.
“He offered the manager a veritable fortune if he'd sell Desi to him,” she elaborated in amusement. “Charles actually looked like he was considering the offer when Desi blew a gasket and started throwing pots at both of them.”
“It was too bad they ran out before I got to the knives,” Desi laughed.
“It's not funny, dammit,” Mark growled jealously.
“It wasn't then,” Desi admitted. “I absolutely refused to greet the VIP's for weeks after that.”
“I can't say as I blame you,” Matt agreed.
“Well, you won't have to worry about that kind of nonsense here,” Mark assured her. He'd be damned if she'd have to put up with crap like that.
“We don't get many sheiks in Lakeside,” Harley said tongue in cheek.
“I meant greeting the guests,” he corrected irritably. “Desi can stay in the kitchen where she belongs.”
Matt almost choked, Harley smothered a laugh and Desi stared at him in disbelief. “Excuse me?” she asked with a frown of her own. “Did you just make a purely sexist comment?”
“Hell, no,” Mark denied. “I just meant you belong in the kitchen preparing the food, not out in the dining room being harassed by the guests.”
“Well, for your information, I prefer staying in the kitchen, but every now and again, I like to mingle with the guests. It's good public relations.”
“I'll handle the public. You concentrate on the food.”
“As I recall the restaurant is mine and the club is yours. Since when did the two come under your purview?” Desi queried with a raised eyebrow at his presumption.
“Since I found out that the customers were flirting with you,” he growled jealously.
“And I suppose your customers never flirt with you,” she said dryly and knew damn well that they did. Hell, she'd witnessed women make complete fools of themselves just to get his attention on more than one occasion during the last week.
“That's different,” Mark assured her.
“Is it now?” she asked jealously. “How so?”
“Because you're mine, dammit,” he snapped and glared at her.
“And you're mine,” she stated evenly.
“Damn straight,” Mark readily agreed.
“Then what's the problem?” she asked with a smile, more than pleased with his answer.
The anger left as quickly as it had come. “There isn't one,” Mark admitted. “As long as we're agreed that customers are off limits.”
“Yours or mine?” she pressed.
“Both, dammit.”
“I don't have a problem with that,” Desi agreed cheerfully and lifted the wine bottle as calmly as if the tension of the last few minutes hadn't occurred. “More wine, Matt?”
“Please,” he said in amusement as he and his wife shared a look. Yeah, the puppy had it bad and it looked like he had finally met his match.
~~~~
That night Mark made love to her with calculated determination. This was the last night that they would have together before Kylie came home and he was determined to make sure that Desi belonged to him. He wanted her to crave his touch and need him with a desperation that no other man could fulfill. He wanted to brand her with his passion and make it impossible for her to desire another man. He wanted to possess her body and soul.
Desi could tell there was something different about him all night and when he began to make love to her, she could
feel it in his touch. Mark teased and tormented her body with pleasure until she was mindless with need, trembling uncontrollably and desperate for him to make her his and still he continued to lavish her with attention. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she pleaded with him incoherently, her nails scoring his flesh, her eyes glazed and wild as they met his.
“Tell me you want me,” Mark commanded hoarsely when he finally poised his aching body above her.
“I want you,” she moaned in agony and arched her body up against his.
“No one but me,” he insisted and raked his teeth against her overly sensitized nipple.
“Just you,” she gasped and grasped his head in her hands, her nails raking his scalp. “Mark, please! Please!” When he entered her, Desi's release came mere seconds later and she cried his name and clung to him as she rode the crest of the most powerful climax that she had experienced thus far. “I love you,” she sobbed brokenly against his neck. “Love you so much.”
Those three little words shook him to his very core and were exactly what he had needed to hear. Mark closed his eyes as relief washed over him and that peculiar sensation flooded him with warmth. She loved him! Desi was completely his now. Every doubt and worry he had disappeared as if they had never been and he made love to her with such tenderness that she cried and when she fell asleep in his arms, her cheeks were still damp with tears. Mark felt fulfilled, as if his life had new meaning as he held her possessively against his side.
~~~~
He woke sometime during the night and realized that he was alone in bed. He looked around the apartment and when he didn't see Desi anywhere, Mark slid out of bed, pulled his pants on and stepped out the open Arcadia doors. She was sitting in one of the deck chairs staring sightlessly out at the lake and he knelt beside her in concern. “Desi? What's wrong, Baby?”
“You used me,” she said sadly and couldn't look at him.
“Like hell,” he denied emphatically. Mark would be the first to admit that he had used women for various reasons in the past, but not Desi. He'd done nothing but give and the only thing he'd taken had been what she was more than willing to give.