Black Desire (A Kelly Black Affair Book 1)

by C. J. Thomas

“Then come up to my place.” I reached for her arm again but she wouldn’t do me the honor. I didn’t care that everyone was focused on us. “We can talk there, in private, without staring eyes.”

  “And be the next whore you invite up?” She huffed and rolled her eyes.

  “It’s not what you think,” I said, knowing she was referring to Sylvia.

  “I gotta go.” She made a move for the door but I caught her before she could leave.

  “Stay. Don’t go,” I pleaded. “I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

  For a second I could see she was at least entertaining the idea of coming with me, but then she leaned close and whispered, “If you want to see me, make a request with the Madam.”

  “That’s not how this works,” I said, gritting my teeth. Then she pulled her arm free from my grip and hurried to the exit, pushing through the glass doors with a sense of urgency I’d never seen in her before.

  I chased after her, unwilling to let her just leave without a fight.

  “Just stop!” she barked at me, causing more bystanders to stop and watch.

  “Never.” My brows raised, not caring who was watching. “You tell me what’s going on with you.”

  Something had her upset and I was determined to find out what that was. It pained me to see her look at me with uncertain eyes and pull away from my advances. That wasn’t the woman I knew, or the Bella I’d been falling for. Whatever had her acting like this, we’d get through it together.

  Kendra turned and laid the flat part of her hands into the center of my chest, pushing me back with a frustrated grunt. “Seriously. Please, Kelly. Not now.”

  I stumbled back and watched her slip into a waiting vehicle before I had time to stop her from leaving me completely. A man who had seen it all said something in my ear, but I ignored his comments, hanging my head and wondering what I did to let things go so astray.

  “Oh, good. She found you,” a voice said behind me.

  When I lifted my head, I found Giselle striding toward me with a satisfied look on her face.

  “Yeah. She did.” I shoved a hand through my hair, watching Kendra drive away, thinking that this wasn’t over. “Come inside. I’ll explain.”

  36

  Kendra

  I hid my face inside my hands the entire ride to Alex’s. Right now, seeing her was more important than having to deal with Kelly. After what I’d just witnessed, I wasn’t sure that I could see him tonight.

  Tears streamed down my face and soon I was a bumbling mess.

  I couldn’t explain what just happened or why I was so upset. Maybe it was because he’d made me feel like I was the only one in his life. The pain of another possible lover twisted in my gut. She was not the first woman to give me such a stark warning to stay away from Kelly. That was the last straw, the one that finally pushed me over the edge. And I couldn’t deal, didn’t have the strength to ask the tough questions I needed to ask.

  The driver made a sharp turn, sending me flying deeper into the back of my seat.

  Normally I wouldn’t have cared so much about being exclusive with a man. I’d been on the opposite side, sending warnings to women who threatened to take what I considered mine. It wasn’t like any of this was new. But, for some reason, Kelly had me caring more about us than I knew I probably should.

  Wiping my tears dry, I sniffled and bravely moved my hands away from my face. I could feel my eyes puffed up and swollen when I looked outside into the bright sunny sky. My hands clenched my hardened stomach, hating myself for letting my heart get involved with Kelly before knowing the facts of who he was. It wasn’t like me to fall quickly over a man, and ever since meeting him, he’d managed to get me to do things I normally wouldn’t.

  The Uber driver caught me in his rearview mirror, getting me to smile.

  At least I had something to be thankful for today. I didn’t know where I would be without him. He was still waiting, just like he’d said, and his show of loyalty today was nothing short of incredible.

  This time, I instructed my driver to just drop me in front of Alex’s building as I wasn’t in the mood to hoof it another few blocks. It was a risky move, but seeing what he’d already done for me today, I figured it was enough to make me trust him with this little piece of knowledge I reserved for only my closest friends.

  Alex opened the door before I even had to knock. One look and we were both throwing our arms around each other, opening up the floodgates. Though we weren’t crying about the same thing, it didn’t matter. It felt good to be held, rocked, knowing that she would always understand no matter what.

  Even though we were both an emotional wreck, between the two of us, I was always the stronger one and my strength didn’t stop today. “I’m here,” I said, petting her silky soft head of hair. “Everything will be okay.”

  She pulled away and caught my face between her hands. “Coming from the person whose face is drenched in her own tears.”

  We both laughed at the ridiculousness of it.

  “Tell me what’s wrong with you?” Alex asked.

  “Not a chance.” I smiled, threading my fingers through hers. “You first.”

  Alex squeezed my hand, pulling me fully inside her apartment, leading us to her couch where we both plopped down. She flopped her arm over my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her stomach like a belt, never wanting to let go. In the center of the coffee table, a bag of potato chips sat open next to a container of vanilla ice cream. That was enough evidence to give me an idea of the exact emotional state my friend was in.

  “I’m worried Nash might still be a suspect in the murder of that girl,” Alex murmured, her voice cracking at the assumption she was making.

  “What did they say?” I couldn’t take my eyes off the ice cream. “What happened?”

  Alex began telling me everything that transpired and the more she talked, the more I realized I knew who had visited her. “Alex, were you talking to Kelly?”

  She thought about it. “I don’t think he ever mentioned his name.”

  I sat up, scooting myself into the corner, needing to be sure Alex could see my face as we talked. “Did he look like the person we searched on the internet?”

  Her head slowly nodded. “If he was, he was gorgeous.”

  I knew it to be true, but that wasn’t what was important. “Did the woman give her name?”

  “Giselle.”

  My eyes popped out of my head as I jumped to the floor, cursing, “Shit. It was him.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him. I was so concerned with what they were asking me that I must not have even thought he could have been the guy you’ve been dating.” Alex set her feet on the floor, leaning forward with her hands flat on her thighs. “I’m sorry, babe. But what does it matter?”

  “It doesn’t.” I rubbed the back of my neck, tipping my chin to the ceiling.

  “Is that why you were crying?” She reached her hand inside the bag of chips and tossed a couple into her mouth. “On the phone you said you went to see him.”

  “That’s not why I was upset.” I moved back to the couch and hugged my knees to my chest, suddenly not caring about the ice cream melting in front of me.

  “Then what was it?”

  I rolled my eyes to hers and sighed. “I was crying because I’m afraid to learn who he is.”

  “Does this have to do with that contract?”

  “Yes … No … I don’t know.” Alex crawled from the opposite end of the couch to give me a hug. “Everyone keeps telling me to stay away, or that he’s not the man I think he is, and the more warnings I get the more my mind is convinced I should listen.”

  “You need to listen to your heart.”

  “My heart is the reason I’m trembling,” I admitted.

  “It’s okay to love.” Alex rubbed my shoulders.

  “It’s too early to love.” I rolled my eyes. “And you know who gave me the latest warning?”

  “Who?”

  “Rem
ember that reporter who was after Nash?”

  “Sylvia Neil?”

  I nodded. “I found her leaving Kelly’s penthouse just as I was arriving.”

  “Did she recognize you?”

  “Said I had a familiar face but I don’t think she remembered me being your friend.”

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Kendra. This is all my fault.”

  I turned my head, giving her a look. “What are you talking about?”

  “I told Kelly to go talk to her. Well, actually I told Giselle. Said Sylvia had an unusually high interest in what happened to the missing money. More so than anybody else I know.”

  I reached over to grab Alex by the hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze to let her know that I wasn’t mad at her. She turned her eyes back to mine. “Did she say anything else?” Alex asked.

  My head nodded. “She said that if I don’t stay away from Kelly that I’ll be the next to go.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  My shoulders shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “You don’t think they’re sleeping together, do you?”

  “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

  We sat there in silence for a long time, both of us collecting our thoughts. Realizing that I might have let jealousy cause me to overreact with Kelly, I regretted leaving without first letting him explain.

  “I see why you’re so fascinated with him.” Alex rolled her head to me. “He’s insanely attractive.”

  The back of my skull peeled off the couch. “Are you straying off the reservation, young lady?”

  “No one can compare to Nash. You know that. And I’d never cheat on him.”

  My lips thinned as they curved. “We’re supposed to be going out tonight.”

  Alex rolled her head back, letting her eyes stare up at the ceiling. “You should be getting ready then. Don’t you think?”

  “You think I should go?”

  “Of course I do.” She turned to look at me. “You have work to do.”

  I arched a brow, tilting my head to the side. “Even after all that happened today?”

  “That’s more reason to sit him down.”

  I nibbled on the inside of my cheek, wondering if I even had it in me to sit down with him after such an emotional afternoon.

  “Besides, I need you to find out why he was asking about Nash, and if I should be worried for him or not.”

  “Oh, so this doesn’t have anything to do with me?” My brow lifted higher on my head.

  “Girl, it has everything to do with you.”

  “Is that right?”

  She nodded with a confidence that inspired me to take action. “He needs to answer your questions honestly.”

  “And then?”

  “Then you can finally introduce us.” Alex smiled. “He needs to know that we’re friends.”

  37

  Kelly

  Giselle eyed me as she passed the threshold into my top-floor suite.

  I followed her, appreciating her look. It was stunning business attire, her collar left open and unbuttoned down to the center of her chest. Giselle radiated a sexuality all her own and, knowing Kendra, I bet that she also was wondering about me working with Giselle.

  But it wasn’t like that. Our relationship was strictly professional, a friendship that went back to the day I first hired her to come work with me at my firm.

  Giselle dropped her bag and purse on the empty stool at the breakfast nook when I said, “Her name is Kendra Williams.”

  “I know. We met, remember? She came by the office looking for you.”

  My brows rose as I subtly nodded.

  “She never did say why she was at the office, but with the look on her face, I knew something was eating her up.”

  “Seltzer?” I asked, pulling an unopened bottle from the fridge.

  “And you’ve been seeing her?” Giselle nodded to the water as she lowered her tailbone to the stool on the opposite side of the bar from where I stood.

  “Something like that,” I mumbled, handing her the first glass I poured.

  Kendra had tension in her face and whatever she had on her mind, she should have stayed to get it off her chest. Clearly, it was enough for her to track me down. I didn’t like knowing that she was making assumptions without involving me in the discussion.

  “That’s great, Kelly.” Giselle’s sparkling eyes matched her smile. “I’ve been worried about the lack of intimate relationships in your life.”

  “It’s complicated,” I said, purposely avoiding eye contact.

  Giselle was one of a few who knew my true life story and why I was the way I was. Though we never discussed it in great detail, she knew and didn’t have to ask. She knew it all. The dark secrets that clouded over me, the very same ones I refused to tell anybody about. The ones that brought nightmares, and the ones that made me sometimes think the world would be a better place without a Kelly Black in it.

  Of course Giselle would want me to find someone to share it with. Instead—before Kendra—I drowned myself in my work, letting it consume me to the point of forgetting about all the pain strangling what little love I had left inside my heart.

  “From what I witnessed, I’d say so.” She took a small sip, keeping one eye on me as she did. “But how did it start?”

  “That’s part of the equation that makes it so complicated.” I rubbed my face inside my hand.

  She gave me a questioning look from behind the rim of her glass. “Don’t want to tell me, fine.”

  It wasn’t that I couldn’t trust Giselle with this kind of information. She wouldn’t judge. But I also knew that in telling her, it might open up more questions than I cared to answer right now. “We crossed paths when doing some work with the Madam.”

  “Oh.” Her lips rounded into a perfect O, lifting her brows a little higher on her forehead.

  “Yeah.” I pressed my palms flat on the counter, leaning my weight over my shoulders, hanging my head and letting out a heavy sigh.

  She set her glass down. “I thought you were done with that lifestyle.”

  “I was.” I glanced into Giselle’s curious eyes from under my brow. She even knew about how the Madam had helped with the recovery to move on with my life after all the shit that happened not so long ago.

  “But?” She reached out to blanket her hand over mine.

  “Like I said, it’s complicated.” I pulled away, reaching for my glass. I gulped down more of my cool drink. “You caught the end of Kendra’s brief visit today, but I think she got the wrong idea about Sylvia visiting me here.”

  “She saw?”

  I nodded, explaining how they crossed paths in the hall leading to my suite.

  “From a woman’s perspective, it doesn’t look good when seeing another woman leaving the place of the man you thought was yours.” Giselle slid off the stool.

  “I know,” I said with a hollowness in my chest.

  Giselle stepped around the side and rested her hand on my shoulder. “She likes you, Kelly. Now that I know why she stopped by the office, she likes you more than you may know. It’s not that hard to see. If you’re looking.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered, reaching up to squeeze her hand.

  “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

  “All yours.” I extended my arm toward the bathroom. Giselle passed through the living area, stepped into the dark room, flipped the switch, and closed the door behind her.

  Tossing back the rest of my drink, I knew Giselle was right. Kendra liked me, and I had it bad for her, too. And no matter how many directions I was being pulled in, I knew that my relationship with Kendra had to come first.

  There was pain in her eyes that caused my muscles to ache. She doubted me, thought the worst when she bumped into Sylvia. Giselle was right about that, too. It didn’t look good.

  But why didn’t she stay and talk? There was clearly a lot on her mind. What it was, I could only guess. Maybe it was my demand for her to sign my co
ntract, or maybe the Madam had put her up with another man tonight and it conflicted with our date. I didn’t know and could speculate all I wanted without getting any real answers until I decided to call her.

  Stepping into the living room, I dug inside my jacket which was draped over the back of the couch and pulled out my cell. Kendra’s name was on the top of my list when I pressed the call button.

  After the first ring, I swallowed. And when she still didn’t pick up, the temperature in my core shot through the roof. I stood frozen, staring out the window overlooking the city skyline, holding my breath, silently begging her to answer. All I wanted was to know that she was okay, that she knew that I was here, wanting to listen. But when it went to voicemail, I hung my head and killed the call.

  When my eyes opened, I found myself staring at the note Sylvia had jotted down for me to call Wesley Reid. Quickly, I moved to take the note in my hand.

  “Hey, you never did say,” Giselle joined me in front of the sofa, “how the meeting with Sylvia went.”

  Staring at Wes’s phone number, I mumbled, “She’s no longer working the story.”

  “What?” Giselle’s mouth fell open. “Why?”

  I lifted my head and locked eyes with her. “Death threats.”

  Her hand flew over her mouth as she gasped. “Shit. From who?”

  “No idea,” I said with heavy lids. “But she suspects that it’s somehow related to her digging into Maria’s case.”

  Giselle sat in the far corner of the sofa, crossing her leg over her knee. “Do you think its Mario’s guys?”

  Shaking my head, I said, “I doubt it.”

  Giselle was lost in thought for a minute before asking, “You still believe he’s innocent?”

  I turned to look at her. “Don’t you?”

  With wide dull eyes she said, “He’s guilty of something, but not her death.”

  We had never discussed anything other than his connection to Maria’s crime, but apparently she had been thinking what I had been thinking all along. Though I didn’t care to know anything else about him. I just wanted to get Maria the justice she deserved without sending an innocent man to prison.