“Oh, really?” He grinned, his brow arched. “So you are only with me because I can make you cum over and over and give you tattoos at a discount?” he teased. He gripped her fingers, then interlaced them with his own.
“You know what I mean!” She released him to pull her shirt down. Rising, he lay back on his elbow, allowing her room to draw her panties and jeans back up. He reached down and fastened them for her.
“Tell me what’s on your mind?” he asked as he studied her expression. She was drowning in something, her thoughts had turned left, and he refused to allow her to mentally travel without him riding shot-gun. There was a long pause as he stared down at her, his heart beating fast, patiently waiting.
“I think…no, I won’t take the easy way out.” A spark of fear flittered momentarily in her eyes, then it was gone, although her eyes brimmed with pain and passion. “I love you, Julian.”
He took her hand and kissed it, holding onto to it a bit tighter.
“I knew that.”
“I knew that you knew; sometimes it’s just good to hear it...to say it.”
“Quite true… Hey, I want to ask you something.” He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, but he forced himself to create a bit of space between their bodies.
“Yeah?”
“Would you marry me?” He scratched the back of his ear, looking down at her as if he’d only asked her to go inside with him for a cup of tea or coffee.
“What did you just say?” she asked softly, as if she couldn’t trust her own hearing.
“I asked you to marry me, Milan,” he said seriously, wanting her to see that this wasn’t a joke or a game. “I want to marry you, do you understand?” He cupped her face and laid a gentle peck on her lips. She kissed him back, tasting like the fresh strawberries he’d fed her earlier that evening.
“Julian,” she breathed, looking at him in disbelief. “You have no idea how shocked I am right now.”
“Why?” he asked sincerely. “We love each other. I want you to have all of me…my world, my home, my name. I want to give it all to you! I’m not worth a damn if I’m not sharing what I love most with someone who loves me too…and I love you so much, Milan.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. And then, she smiled wide at him as she caressed his chin with a slow drag of her fingertips.
“…Don’t tell me no.” His voice trembled. Everything was on the line, and dare he admit it, he suddenly felt as if she just might let him down. “Tell me anything but ‘No.’”
“How could I tell you ‘No’, baby, when you’re already married to me in my heart?”
~***~
“And this is Julian…” Milan introduced. He almost didn’t catch the introduction, so mesmerized he found himself by her body, dripping as it was in garnet kisses, also known as sparkling sequins.
Damn, she looks good…
Lust crawled up and down his spine. He couldn’t see her outfit clearly earlier that evening. He’d picked her up and brought her to the company dinner as her date, just as they’d discussed so long ago, but when he arrived she had been wearing her long, light-weight jacket, which had properly hidden a delicious, succulent candy, better known as her lovely ass, just below the surface. Now, she was unwrapped. He traced his bottom lip with his tongue in appreciation, then snapped back into reality once someone in the near distance erupted into boisterous laughter, grabbing his attention from his impish thoughts.
He extended his hand to the man standing there in his dark russet suit, and a head of brown hair with a bit of gray at the temples. It was perfectly coiffed and paired with a thick, Southern accent fit for the narration of children’s stories.
So, this is the big guy….
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Kearny.” Julian shook his hand heartily.
“Please call me Garrett.” The man’s light brown eyes sparkled as he gripped Julian’s palm, as if he knew a secret of some sort.
After a bit of small talk, Milan led him over to the dining area.
“They have some things you can eat, Julian,” she explained as she pointed to the elegant salad bar at the restaurant. “And look, these right here look fine, too.” She pointed to some rolls, conveniently close to a carved roast beef station, causing him much amusement at the irony of the situation.
“Honey, don’t worry about me. I can make my way around.”
“By the way,” she said, a crooked grin on her gorgeous face as she grabbed a plate and added some sliced fried green tomatoes to it. “You look absolutely amazing.” She looked him up and down, making him feel good on her arm while he ogled the raw sliced vegetables cured in Mandarin sauce.
“Thank you.” He picked up a plate as they made their way, one after the other, down the line for appetizers and salads.
“I really like what you did with your hair, too.” She spooned cold string beans with almond sauce on her plate.
“I’m glad you like it.”
He placed a few blackberries on his own, tempted to pop one in his mouth right then and there, but thought better of it. Julian had taken extra care with his appearance that day; his hair received the royal treatment. He’d slicked it back and plaited it into a tight, neat braid, allowing it to hang down his back. He wore a black blazer, black dress pants and insanely expensive dress shoes that he’d only worn once in his thirteen months of owning them. A vibrant red tie covered the shiny, ebony buttons on his shirt. Black swirls danced on the bottom of the tie, giving a bit of a Japan meets Parisian style feel.
Fact of the matter was, he knew how to dress. Julian was a laid-back, down home, country boy at heart who preferred signature shirts with jeans for comfort’s sake but he had a flair for appearances, for the physical and visual. After all, he was an artist and he knew what looked good with what, and what didn’t. A natural matchmaker of fabrics, texture, textiles, hues and shades, he could create a masterpiece in a matter of moments. This was one of his strong suits, and part of the reason why, when he first met Milan, he could sense she was a woman with style and sophistication. Her clothes weren’t over the top, just the right amount of sexiness and class to reel his rebellious ass in. He leapt on her sharp hook, caught on the line, dangling there like a damned fool, begging to be taken back home, fried and eaten. She had him…
Suddenly, a woman with gleaming blue eyes and a slinky light gray dress came up to Milan, her eyes steady on Julian. Julian looked away, avoiding the woman’s obvious flirtatiousness when she gave him an impish grin. He surmised it was her way of paying Milan a compliment in her taste of companion.
“Ohhhhh Milan, so this is the guy, huh?” The woman’s eyes dropped to Milan’s engagement ring, a black oval cut diamond set with white diamonds all around it. “What an unusual yet beautiful engagement ring! Ahhhh!” She dramatically gasped as she held Milan’s hand, forcing his poor fiancée to have to try to balance her plate.
“Thank you, Nancy. Yes, this is Julian, my fiancé.” Milan shot him a secret look as if to say, ‘This heffa has lost her mind’, which made it hard for him to keep a straight face.
“Baaaad boy! Look at those tattoos!” the woman continued on, batting her eyelashes as she released Milan’s hand and pointed to his wrists. He’d tried his best to cover them up, but a few peeked out from beneath his shirt and of course, there was the one on his neck, too — a black rose wrapped in barbed wire in honor of his mother.
He didn’t want to become a distraction. I shoulda used the Dermablend…
He was simply there to be with his woman, nothing more, nothing less; but then, he saw him…
Milan spoke with another woman that joined them in line, and before long, the trio of women were talking about things regarding work, laughing and smiling through their banter. But Julian stood there frozen, holding his lopsided plate close for he’d almost spilled its contents on his chest. It had to be the guy; he was exactly as Milan had described, and he’d held tight to the details when he made the woman confess to him what was bothering her. Blond hair, t
ight, thin lips, long face, a constant smirk across his face, and his notorious sweater vest and shirt paired with pleated pants. A couple of weeks earlier he’d noticed she was not quite herself, and come to find out, even after a warning from Garrett, the fucker was up to some tricks, veiled threats that were hard to prove as malicious. Milan tapped his shoulder, bringing him to full focus.
“Hey honey, you want some of those stuffed olives? I heard they are really good. They have feta cheese in them.”
“Mmmm hmmm,” was all he could muster as he grabbed a few, then made his way down the rest of the line. Soon they were sitting at a long white linen covered table and eating amongst well-dressed strangers. Two other tables with other employees sat close by, and everyone began fellowshipping in celebration of the employee, Darryl, who was retiring. For the most part, many of Milan’s coworkers appeared quite nice and one thing was for certain — they seemed to think the world of her. He wasn’t positive if these folks were just putting on appearances, if they were sincere or acting splendidly because he was there. He’d been told he had a threatening appearance, which boded well for him in his profession, but at times he felt displaced. Regardless, all things considered, it was unlikely anyone would say anything slick to her while in his presence.
He picked at his lettuce, vehemently stabbing it to death while examining other bits and pieces of his meal. Occasionally, he’d look up and smile at whoever was speaking, attempting to be charming for the sake of the woman he loved. Truth of the matter was, he’d rather be curled up by the fireplace in his home with her in his arms. Naked, their bodies wrapped up together like a bawl of twine, or his head buried between her quaking thighs as he devoured the last of her love. After a bit more time had passed, he followed Milan’s eyes to his number one suspect. He immediately took notice of how her easygoing expression stopped, froze and tightened like an insect suddenly sprayed with RAID.
Oh yeah, that’s that motherfucker…
He gripped his pants, bunching the fabric in a tight fist as he stared at the bastard.
“Hey baby, you want something else to drink?” he whispered in her ear after downing his glass of wine, the perfect excuse for a clean getaway.
“Yes, thank you.” She nodded and smiled at him, then turned back towards her boss who was speaking about all of Darryl’s contributions.
He got up and strolled over to the small bar with both flute glasses in hand, where the pigeon-looking fucker stood with another man, a scrawny guy with flared nostrils large enough to inhale all of Atlanta, laughing it up. They stayed glued to the wine and beer as if the alcohol needed bodyguards. Julian sucked his teeth and handed the bartender both glasses.
“I need two glasses of Toro Loco, please.”
The bartender nodded and prepared them. As Julian waited, he threw on an award-winning smile at Martin.
“Hi!” He nodded, chin checking, as if they were long lost buddies.
The man’s face twisted in confusion.
“…Uh, hello…” Martin grinned at the man standing next to him, as if sharing some sort of inside joke, something said with bountiful humor.
“Something funny? What? I can’t say hi to you?” Julian’s smile broadened as he prepared to go in deep.
“Here you are, sir,” said the bartender.
“Thanks man…” Julian took the two wine glasses and placed them down on the table in front of him.
“So yeah, like I was saying…is it a crime to say, ‘hello’?” Julian went on, itching for a fight as he once again faced his opponent.
“No, it’s just, well…” Martin smirked as he eyed him up and down, taking inventory and no doubt making inaccurate assessments, judging him based on his long hair and other physical elements. “I just don’t know you.”
This cocksucker thinks he is really the shit…
“Let me introduce myself, so that you can know me then, Martin.”
The man’s face drew more stern, no doubt realizing that Julian hadn’t come over to talk about the damn weather.
Yeah, it’s not too funny anymore, is it?! I don’t see you kee-keeing, now…you and this parrot faced twerp!
“My name is Julian Savant. I am the owner of, ‘Soul Inscriptions’.”
“Soul Inscriptions? Never heard of it.” Martin burst out in a bounty of chuckles, feeling pretty cheeky no doubt, needing to keep up appearances in front of his one-man audience. Instead, Julian nodded and shot him a cool, relaxed grin.
“Yeah? Hmmm, you ever heard of getting your ass kicked?” Julian said calmly, smiling a bit wider, too. “Does that sound like something you’d like to find out about?” He relished in seeing the man’s face melt right before his eyes. Julian scratched the spot between his brows, waiting for the fucker to straighten up, slip up or fuck up. Whatever came first didn’t matter to him, as long as he was going down. “Yeah, I’m Milan Parker’s fiancé… She’s going to be my wife pretty soon.” He picked up his wine glass and took a casual sip, returned it to the table and crossed his arms.
Martin’s face reddened. It was clear as day that the understanding had now been reached.
“What is your problem?” the man blurted.
He didn’t blame the man for trying to save face; after all, he had a spectator.
“You might want to tell your little ass licker here to beat it. He’s been laughing all night at everything you say, and I’m certain you’re that damn funny.”
The man standing next to him got ready to speak, but seemed to think better of it as he caught sight of the tattoo snaking up Julian’s neck and the brass knuckles drawn across his right hand. This was one time where being perceived as hardcore ‘white trash’ worked in his favor.
“Look man, have you had too much to drink? I don’t know what Milan has told you, but you need to cool it,” Martin barked as he placed one hand on his hip like he was someone to beware of. All that did was tickle Julian, make his stomach roll with delight. “Everyone is just having a good time. Don’t go ruining it...sober up.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m sober as your father should have been when he made the likes of you, you whiny, two-faced, lazy, lying ass fuckface!” Julian shot out between clenched teeth. “Yeah, why don’t you fuck with someone your own size, huh? Milan was just trying to do her job and after that guy, your little buddy helping to run the good ol’ boy system told you to cool it,” He pointed toward Garrett, who was still running his mouth, causing the people at his table to light up with laughter. “You kept on. He didn’t want to lose her; he knows deep down you aren’t half the employee she is, so he pulled your ass aside and told you to cut that shit out. He told you to lay off of her, remember? You seem to need a fresher course.”
Martin fisted and unfisted his hand by his sides, as if he were thinking about striking.
Oh, you little bitch. I’d love for you to do that. Give it your best shot. I will mop this damn floor with your ass!
“You have some serious problems. I don’t know if it is because she’s a woman, because she’s black, or because you know deep down she is better than you that you continue on with this. She’s your biggest competition and you are so fucking insecure that you have to keep doing this shit, to make her seem smaller than you. I suspect it’s because you know she is about to be promoted as manager, too. You’d be equals and that pisses you off. Too bad! I tell you this much though, I don’t care what the reason is, it stops now.”
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Martin choked out, fear clearly in his eyes.
“Oh, I don’t? Let’s see here… You started giving her more work after she told Garrett what you’d been doing. You must be madly in love with yourself, Martin, because you keep screwing yourself over. I hope you and your other half are quite happy together.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?! My job and what I decide to do with my employees is none of your business. Dating her doesn’t give you the right to act like this.”
“Obviously you’ve ne
ver cared about anyone before, Martin. Everything…” Julian stabbed the air with his finger, pointing to the back of Milan, who remained oblivious. “I mean everything regarding that woman right there is my business, so therefore, now you are, too. You’re playin’ with fire.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I’ll break it down to you.” He smirked and looked towards the sidekick, whose glasses now slid down his prominent nose. “It’s good you have your little flunky here to be a witness to this.” Julian pointed in his face. “If I hear of you messing with Milan ever again, trying to make her life harder, I will deal with you personally.”
“Are you threatening me?!”
“No.” Julian took another sip from his glass and set it back down, just in case he needed his hands free. “I’m guaranteeing you that what I am saying is true. Let me find out one more thing,” he cracked his knuckles. “Let me hear of anything else you’ve done to her, and strange, bizarre, damn right obscenely grotesque things will happen to you.” His eyes narrowed. “Keep fuckin’ with her, and I’ll fuck with you. Got it? I’m sure I am well understood. You couldn’t possibly be as stupid as you look. Now…” Julian scooped up both glasses and grinned, his teeth no doubt gleaming under the bright lights. “You have a good evening, and enjoy yourself, Martin. I know I sure will.” He winked at the motherfucker and made his way back across the room to reclaim his seat. Leaning over, he kissed Milan on the cheek. He knew Martin was still looking at him, and that made it all the better.
Martin is a rodeo clown…he can’t fuck with a real bull. This time, he got the horns…
“Hi baby, you missed a really funny story Daryl told. I’ll have to tell you about it later.” She smiled wide as she took a sip from her refreshed glass of wine. “Mmmm, this is even tastier the second time around.” She beamed.
“Indeed it is…” He kissed the top of her head, wrapped his arm possessively around her chair, crossed his ankles and joined in the conversation, easily making everyone at the table fall in love with him by the end of the evening.
Scandalous Heroes Box Set Page 75