Love Me Carefully

by A. C. Arthur

  Keesha was up and out of her chair first, walking with her confident stride, sashaying hips that a skinny woman prayed for, thumbs hooked between the belt loops of tight hip-hugger jeans that showed the rim of a sexy black thong. She’d gotten her hair done yesterday, so long black and burgundy braids hung seductively down her back except for one lengthy, wayward plait that dangled between the two lush mounds of her breast.

  Jeffrey thought Marty’s tongue would fall out of his mouth as the young woman approached. Young boys, he thought cynically.

  “Good morning, ma’am. My name is Jeffrey Tobias. I’m with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.” Removing his badge from his back pocket, he flipped it for the woman who stood staring at him with huge brown eyes.

  “Well, well, well. What have we done to be honored with the presence of two such gorgeous men?” Sparing a cursory glance for the badge the taller guy flashed, Keesha was more intent on choosing which one she preferred. The one with the badge was tall, dark-skinned and fairly handsome, while the one with the cute smile had a creamy coffee complexion, curly hair, dancing brown eyes and a killer dimple in his left cheek. She wanted that one. Nikki could have the tough cop, she’d take the cute one.

  “Did you say you’re with the FBI?” Nikki approached the group, eyeing each man suspiciously.

  “Yes, ma’am. We’d like to ask you a few questions.” Jeffrey looked at the woman now standing in front of him. She was a lot prettier close up than in her pictures. Her face had been carefully made-up, with peach toned lips, and she directed a frown at him. Her skin was a shiny bronze accented by glittering gold eyes. She was a very attractive female.

  Shaking his head, Jeffrey cleared that thought from his mind. He was here on business. “You’re Nicole Ayers, am I right?” The quiet shock in her eyes told him she now believed he was with the FBI.

  “Yes. Is that what you wanted to ask me?” Nikki’s cool stare and poised stance gave the impression that she wasn’t the least bit bothered by being questioned by the FBI. But in truth her stomach was clenched, and, at any moment, she feared she’d relieve herself of her breakfast, right on this agent’s feet.

  “No, ma’am. I have a few more questions.” Jeffrey cracked a small grin at her brashness. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d initially thought. She wasn’t as silly as her profile made her out to be. If she knew anything, she would be very careful about what she told him. A part of him prayed she didn’t know anything.

  “I want to ask you about the owner of the shop, Donald Douglas.” Recognition flickered in her eyes.

  “What about Mr. Donald? Is he in trouble?” Keesha’s loud voice shattered the private conversation between Nikki and Jeffrey, bringing Jeffrey quickly back to the matter at hand.

  “I don’t know. We were just trying to get in touch with him. Do you know where he can be reached?” Marty asked.

  “We have his home number.” Keesha smiled into Marty’s excited eyes.

  “If you’re the FBI, you have his home number too, don’t you?” Nikki asked Jeffrey. She ignored the other guy, who was clearly lost in the cleavage Keesha so bodaciously displayed.

  Jeffrey was beginning to like her sassy nature. He stared into those mystical eyes and answered, “We have his address and his phone number, but we haven’t been able to reach him. I was wondering if maybe you knew where he was. Did he say anything about a business trip, a vacation or something?”

  “No, he doesn’t discuss his personal life with his staff.” Her answer was cold and brittle. But beyond that, Jeffrey thought, it was probably true. The odds of Donald Douglas discussing his personal affairs in the beauty shop were slim to none. The man wasn’t that stupid.

  “Okay, what about Rosetta Pierce? Has she been around lately?” A small flicker of something Jeffrey couldn’t quite put his finger on flashed in her eyes for a brief second.

  “No, I haven’t seen or heard from Ms. Rosie,” Nikki responded quickly.

  She would protect the woman, Jeffrey noted. But did she really know where the woman was? Probably not, he figured. “Is Mrs. Pierce involved with Mr. Douglas?” This question had been on his mind for the past few weeks, so he was eager to finally have an answer.

  Marty stood beside his partner, a little taken aback, because this wasn’t in the file. They hadn’t even discussed this as a possibility. He’d have to pay attention to the conversation and not the hot little number in front of him so he wouldn’t miss anything important.

  “Oh yeah, they’re engaged. They’re getting married in May,” Keesha chimed in.

  Nikki’s angry glare toward the other girl confirmed to Jeffrey that she had been prepared to deny any knowledge of that fact.

  “Really? Well, that’s…interesting,” Jeffrey managed. This changed things drastically.

  “Is that all, officers?” Nikki folded her arms over her chest, her eyes glued on Jeffrey.

  “Ah, yeah, I think that’ll be all, for now.” Jeffrey turned to leave.

  Something in the way he’d said those last words had Nikki shivering. She wanted these men out of the shop. She didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t like it. Ms. Rosie had called the other day saying that she and Donald were going on a cruise. Nikki had been taken aback because Ms. Rosie hadn’t mentioned a cruise before, and something like that she definitely would have told them about ahead of time. But Nikki figured it was what engaged people did. Now all sorts of thoughts were going through her mind. She was going to call Leah as soon as these men left. Maybe she would know what was going on with Ms. Rosie and Donald, since she’d been working so closely with them on planning the wedding.

  “Ah, we’ll be in touch, ladies,” Marty said as he turned to follow Jeffrey out of the shop.

  “You know where to find us.” Keesha hurried to Marty’s side and walked him to the door.

  “We sure do.” Jeffrey turned before opening the door, his gaze locking once again with Nikki’s. “We know exactly where to find you.”

  The words seemed to be spoken to her alone, scaring her, so that Nikki rolled her eyes and turned to walk toward her station. For a moment—a brief moment that seemed to last an eternity—Jeffrey watched the gentle movement of her bottom and the tenseness of her shoulders. Swallowing quickly, he turned and left the shop.

  * * *

  “Dammit! Where is she?” Nikki muttered for the millionth time today. She’d been calling Leah ever since those FBI men had left the shop. Melinda had wondered why Leah hadn’t come into the office, and told Nikki she’d been calling both Leah’s house and cell phone all morning as well. A call to Marsha didn’t help matters, since she hadn’t talked to her daughter in a couple of days.

  It wasn’t like Leah to just go off and not tell somebody where she was.

  As soon as she was finished with her last client, Nikki was going over to Leah’s apartment to see what was going on. She wished she had the phone number of Ms. Rosie’s son. Maybe he knew what was going on. If he didn’t, he probably should know that the FBI was asking questions about his mother.

  * * *

  “It’s gonna take a few hours to get a search warrant for the house. But getting in there is the best chance we have of finding some clue as to where he went. Until then, we’re gonna sit right here and wait.” Jeffrey and Marty were parked in front of Donald’s house. They’d gone there right after leaving the shop.

  “So what do you think about this engagement thing?” Marty asked.

  “I don’t know, Marty. I just don’t know.” Shaking his head, Jeffrey tried to think of something besides Nicole Ayers. “I told you something was going on.”

  “Yeah, something’s definitely going on,” Marty agreed as he opened a pack of peanut M&M’s.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Tell me about your girlfriend,” Leah said suddenly. They had been lying on the blankets trying not to think of the situation at hand. The quiet was driving her crazy. How could they not think abou
t what was going on? They were trapped in a basement, for goodness sakes.

  After their meager dinner, they’d talked about her relationship with Leon, causing her to rethink that whole situation. Why was her four-step method so baffling to him? Did he really think that dating was all about marriage? Of course he did, he’d said as much. But who cared what Terrell Pierce thought?

  Reluctantly, she forced herself to admit that she did.

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.” Quietly, he said the words that remained a sore spot in his mind.

  She’d known that already, but didn’t want him to know that she knew. Instead, she hoped he would confide in her the way he had about his mother. And she wanted to see if he still had feelings for the woman. “Why not?” she persisted. “I mean, you are looking for a wife, aren’t you? According to your little theory you won’t ever find that wife if you don’t date and pursue a meaningful relationship.”

  She lay on her back with her hands tucked behind her head and with the soles of her feet planted solidly on the pad of the blankets, which elevated her knees. She’d taken off her boots earlier because they’d been wreaking havoc on her tired feet. Terrell hadn’t seemed to mind; in fact, just a few minutes ago, he’d discarded his own shoes as well. They both seemed to accept the fact that they were stuck here, at least for the night.

  Terrell hadn’t talked about what happened between him and Tanya since telling his mother, and even then he hadn’t gone into great detail. He and Leah seemed to be getting closer and he didn’t want to alienate her now—not when he was feverishly thinking of a way to make her want him as much as he wanted her.

  And oh, how he wanted her. The thing was, at first it had seemed to be only sexual. She’d told him he wasn’t her type, and he’d been bound and determined to find out why so he could change her mind. Now, after spending time with her, after talking to her, she seemed to be everything he wanted in a woman, despite the contrasts to his little criteria list. Leah was definitely beautiful; there was no question she’d passed the cute stage in his book. And she was successful. He’d done his homework. In the four years she’d been in business she’d seen major profits and had a good reputation. She was outgoing and courageous, compared to his more introverted personality, which made them an obvious mismatch. Yet there was a connection, he could feel it.

  “I had a girlfriend. Her name was Tanya,” he began. After the first few words, he found it was surprisingly easy to finally get it all out. Leah listened patiently, just like his mother had when he was younger and he’d gone to her with a problem. Another plus in Leah’s corner—she reminded him of Rosie.

  “So she was a ‘ho’?” Leah surmised after Terrell’s recitation of how his relationship had gone bad.

  “I wouldn’t say that.” He chuckled at her tone. “Well, okay, I would. But I played a significant part in the relationship’s end too. I know that now, even though I couldn’t see it at first.”

  “Okay, admit your faults so I can tell you how they don’t compare to her being a ‘ho’.”

  He wanted to laugh, but thought it wise not to; Leah wasn’t smiling. In fact, she looked more than a little irritated. “I didn’t pay a lot of attention to Tanya’s needs. I was so focused on working and making sure she had everything she wanted I guess I never thought she might only want me.”

  Leah chewed on his words for a moment. “And sleeping with another man in your house, in your bed, made up for your neglect? Hmmm. I don’t think so. She could have handled that differently.”

  Curious now, he propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at her. “Really? How would you have handled it?”

  Leah mimicked his movements and they were face to face, on their sides. “I love my job and I tend to work really weird hours as well, so I probably wouldn’t have much more time than you did. But when I did have time I would expect to spend it with you. Keeping in mind that you’re a workaholic as well, I would make allowances for that, occasionally. But as you said earlier, I’m kind of bossy, so that means I’m used to getting my way.”

  Terrell smiled. “You would have demanded I spend time with you?” He could almost picture her doing just that.

  “Not demanded. I would have persuasively suggested that you spend time with me. Then I would have tortured you until you did.”

  He raised a brow. “Tortured? In what way?”

  Leah’s grin was slow, seductive. “A woman’s most lethal weapon.”

  Terrell groaned and fell back on the blankets. “Ahhhggg. I would have given you whatever you wanted.”

  His words left a hush in the air as Leah looked down at him. His glasses were crooked again and she lifted her hand to straighten them.

  Terrell took her hand before she could finish the task, turned her palm and planted a soft kiss in the center.

  She sucked in a ragged breath as his lips moved to her wrist. He pushed up her shirt sleeve and proceeded up her arm until the shirt would reveal no more skin. She was hovering over him now and, with his free hand, he removed his glasses and set them gently to the side before pulling her down.

  “Terrell,” she whispered just as his lips brushed across hers.

  Greedily he took her mouth, pouring all the pent up desire he felt for her into that one kiss. She matched his fervor and he moaned. My God, Leah, where have you been all my life?Leah shifted so that she was completely straddling him now. She’d think about what she was doing later. Right now, right at this very moment, she was taking everything Terrell Pierce offered her. His hands moved to her butt, pulling her against his now rigid erection. She sucked his tongue and undulated to match his rhythm.

  Having her on top of him, moving over his arousal so sinuously he could scream, just wasn’t enough. Terrell’s hands moved swiftly beneath the ribbing of her sweatshirt, tracing a heated path up her bare stomach until he found her heaving breasts. He cupped them both in each of his hands and she nipped his bottom lip before moaning.

  “I want to see you. Now!” he growled.

  Leah dragged her lips away from his long enough for him to pull her sweatshirt over her head and unclasp her bra. Her breasts tumbled free, falling heavily into his hands. Moving to a sitting position, keeping her comfortably on his lap, Terrell looked from her face down to her bare breasts. “You are a beautiful woman, Leah.”

  Leah’s heart beat frantically as she tried to digest what he’d just said. “Nobody’s ever called me beautiful before.”

  Cupping her face, he dropped feather light kisses on her nose, her cheeks, and her lips again. “Then I’ll have to make up for all the stupid people who’ve obviously overlooked you.”

  His kisses trailed down her neck and Leah arched her back to accommodate him. When he closed his mouth over one puckered nipple, she almost screamed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, had ever felt as good as his mouth on her. Kneading one breast in his hand, Terrell sucked the other one until Leah’s legs began to shake with intensity.

  Stopping suddenly, Terrell lifted her off him. “Not yet, baby. I don’t want to bring you to release just yet.”

  Leah was too dazed to ask any questions. All she knew was that she felt awfully incomplete and, if Terrell didn’t do something about that soon, she might have to resort to drastic measures. “Terrell,” she said in a ragged voice.

  “Shhhh, sweetie. Trust me.” He unbuckled her jeans, slid them down the length of those legs he’d known would be long and enticing, and over her feet. From her ankle to her inner thigh, he placed hot, titillating kisses.

  “Mmmmm, Terrell. I never knew,” she moaned, her head thrashing from side to side.

  The mere sound of her voice pushed him on, and he hooked his fingers into the rim of her panties, pulling them down and off as well. When she lay splendidly naked, waiting for him, he thought about what he was about to do and what it would mean to their future. He wanted this. He wanted this woman more than anything he’d ever set his sights on in his life. And at this moment she wanted him too. But he needed more th
an that. He needed her to trust him, to feel completely safe with him. And he knew just how to achieve that goal.

  “Are you ready, baby?” he asked as his hands moved to her knees, lifting her legs into the air.

  “Terrell, hurry,” Leah panted.

  With her consent he lowered his head, stroked his tongue from the tip of her honey glazed core to the center and back again.

  Leah sucked in a breath, filled with intense pleasure.

  Gently he slid his tongue over her puckered nub, back and forth, up and down, repeatedly, until her hips were lifting from the floor. He inserted two fingers into her center and had to use his other hand to hold her still. “It’s alright, baby.” He spoke softly as his fingers loved her earnestly. “You can let go. Trust me, I’ll take good care of you.”

  She looked at him for one dazed moment. Then her eyes closed as his mouth returned to stroke her so efficiently. Between his fingers and his tongue Leah wasn’t sure where the most pleasure began. And didn’t really care. All she knew was that her previous sexual encounters had never reached this point, had never made her reach this point. That scared her momentarily. Then he was stroking her slowly, talking her into release. She cleared her mind, let his words and his ministrations guide her, strengthen her as she felt herself rising, floating, soaring into oblivion. “Terrell.” His name was a jagged cry from her lips before the final descent into ecstasy.

  Terrell lay beside her, cradling her in his arms. “But I didn’t give you anything,” she murmured.

  “Sweetie, you gave me more than you know,” he told her before pulling the blankets up and settling them in for the night.

  * * *

  Though Leah fell asleep quickly, Terrell lay wide awake, thinking. There was no turning back now. What they’d just done sealed it for him. Leah was the woman he wanted, the woman he was determined to have. But when she awoke, when a new day dawned, how would she feel about him? He didn’t know, and tried not to think about it.