by Vivian Ward
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
I honestly do want him to be happy. I want all of us to be happy.
“So now that you know my situation, let’s talk about yours.”
I bite my lip, debating whether or not I should tell him anything.
“You know how he is. He got jealous, and I think I hurt his feelings by hanging out with you.”
“By hanging out with me?” he chuckles and takes a drink from his glass. “Wait a minute. He doesn’t know, does he? He doesn’t know that we’re working together. Am I right?”
I shake my head, biting my lip.
“No.”
A look of hurt resentment hurled out of his sea-green eyes that I’ve never seen before, like a wounded animal.
“But you don’t understand,” I begin to explain. If I can explain. “One night when your brother and I were out, he told me what happened to you—with the way you were handled.” Thinking about it sends a shiver up my spine. “He told me how scared he was for you, how dangerous it is, which I already knew, and if I told him that I was doing it, he might just lose it. Like really, really lose it.”
“You know what? I can’t even,” he stands up from the table. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I grab my purse while he takes out his wallet and leaves a few twenties on the table; enough to cover the bill and leave the waitress a tip.
“Good because I’m taking you home.”
The entire car ride is silent, and neither of us utters a word as I begin to exit the vehicle until he stops me.
“Wait a minute,” he says.
He turns his torso around and fumbles with a briefcase in the backseat.
“Here,” he hands me a stack of cash. “This is yours from tonight. It was nice having you on the team.”
And just like that, he drives away down the dark, quiet road leaving me on the sidewalk in front of my father’s condo. Feeling the weight of the cash in my hand causes me to look down, and that’s when my mouth drops open.
I have no idea how much money is here, but I can tell it’s more than my last ‘big payday’.
Chapter 15
There must be at least double the money as my last payout!
I can hardly believe it.
Then why aren’t I on cloud nine?
You’d think with a couple hundred grand, I’d be on top of the world, but I’m not. All I can think about is Trent and how I wish he’d talk to me.
Staring at the screen on my phone, I decide that I don’t care that it’s almost 3 AM.
He’s going to talk to me one way or the other, and I’m not waiting any longer.
On my way down the stairs, my dad startles me, and I almost jump out of my skin!
“Oh, dad! I didn’t know you were awake,” I say as I get to the bottom of the steps.
My hand is still clutching my chest, trying to stop my pounding heart from fluttering out of it and flying around the room.
“Sorry, honey. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Is everything all right? Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I'm okay. What are you doing up so late?” He notices my wallet in my hand. “Were you going somewhere?”
“Yes, actually, I was going to go visit Trent. Is it okay if I take your car?”
“Sure. You know you’re welcome to use it anytime you need to, baby.”
“Thanks, dad. Do you need me to do anything or get anything for you before I leave?”
“No,” he starts up the stairs. “When will you be back?”
“Probably morning, after he goes to work.”
Planting a kiss on my cheek, he bids me good night, and I disappear out the front door.
Maneuvering down his long, winding drive that circles near his front door, I wonder what he’ll do when I show up.
Will he think I’m an intruder? Will he try to attack me?
No, of course not. He’ll know it’s me; I’m not worried about it.
I punch in the access to code to unlock his front door, hoping I’ve chosen the correct code. He’s never given me the code to his house before, but I assume it’s the same as his passcode on his cell phone.
And I’m right.
An audible click tells me that the front door is now unlocked, and I begin to make my descent inside the dark, spooky house.
The arched doorways cast strange shadows, and the ceilings that are typically beautiful when natural sunlight is lighting up the room appear foreign, almost threatening.
Bumping into furniture as I go, I realize that I would never be able to pull off being a professional house robber. My clumsiness would betray me the instant I stepped foot inside someone else’s home, and apparently, it has done so tonight.
“Who’s in here? I’ve got a gun, and I’m not afraid to unleash the dog!”
Strange, I hear panting but he has no dog, and I know for certain he doesn’t own a gun.
Or does he?
“It’s me, Joline. I came to talk to you.”
He flips the light on, shielding his eyes from its brightness.
“Joline? What are you doing here?” his gruff voice gives away the fact that I probably just woke him out of a deep sleep. “I thought you were an intruder.”
“What was that panting sound?”
“It was me. Do you think someone is going to believe that I have a dog if they don’t hear one?”
That last bit makes me chuckle. He's so crazy.
“Sorry if I woke you, but you haven’t exactly wanted to talk to me lately, and I couldn’t stand being away from you for another minute.”
“Joline,” he says. “Do you have any idea what time it is? Are you drunk?”
He leans forward and begins sniffing me.
“What? No! I’m not drunk. It’s just that ever since you saw me with your brother, having a simple drink, you’ve hardly talked to me. You’re so distant and cold, and—,” he stops me mid-sentence.
“Joline, I’ve missed you,” he says, grabbing my face, kissing me like our lives depend on it.
His soft lips feel hard as they come crashing down on mine, our teeth clinking together as his tongue forcefully invades my mouth.
He wraps his firmly around my bottom, lifting me a few inches off of the floor as he picks me up and begins carrying me into his bedroom where he presses my body firmly against his mattress.
Hands are everywhere. Mine are all over his back, chest, arms, ass and hair. His are all over my things, between my legs, enveloping my breasts and stroking my hair away from my face.
“I’m sorry that I upset you,” I manage to say between kisses.
“Shhh, let’s not talk about it right now,” he insists.
Hiking up my dress, his hand cups my mound, giving away how turned on I am. There’s no denying it. My panties are wet, and my sex is swollen, just like his.
I can feel his hardened length pressing firmly against my belly, and all I can think about is how badly I want him inside of me.
Reaching up to undo the buttons of his shirt, I frantically grasp each one as though I’m going to lose my damned mind if I don’t have him this minute.
“I’m so glad I have you,” his husky voice whispers in my ear.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, nibbling on his earlobe.
His fingers swirl around my sex, deliciously circling it, teasing me until I can’t take it anymore. He knows exactly what he’s doing to my body, and he’s so damned good at it because it’s working.
I reach down, taking his length in my hand and start rubbing it through the material of his pants before I pull down the front of his pajama pants, exposing him.
“It’s okay. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters. You’re all mine. Mine only.”
There’s nothing better than feeling the heavy weight of his body snuggled against mine as we cuddle in the morning. His obnoxious alarm clock blares a little too early in the morning, but I don’t care. I’m just glad to be here with him.
His thi
ck seed is still trickling out of me from last night, but I don’t care how sticky my thighs are or how messy my hair is because I’m in his bed with him.
“Good morning,” he says, pressing the tip of his finger against my nose. “Sleep well?”
“Not really, but I’m here with you, and that’s all that matters.”
He hugs me tight and kisses me on the shoulder.
“I hate to say it, but I’ve got a busy morning. Let’s grab a shower together and then you can cook me breakfast.”
A sly grin tugs at the corner of his lips.
God, he’s so sexy.
“Whatever! You can make me breakfast,” I throw the pillow at him.
“How about if I buy you breakfast? On my way to work.”
“Okay,” I shrug.
Whatever was between us is now gone. No more anger, jealousy, resentment. Nothing. It’s like it never happened.
He’s in such a great mood, and I’m glad to see him like this.
In the shower, a dense cloud of steam swirls around us in his enormous open, tiled shower. Squirting some soap into my hands, I begin to rub them all over his body, starting with his shoulders as the hot water cascades down from above our heads.
“I love it when you touch me,” he says.
“Yeah? How about when I do this?”
Dropping to my knees, I get up close and personal with him. Down there.
My soapy hands reach around his flaccid penis, and I begin soaping it up, nice and slow. It doesn’t take long for him to start responding to my touch.
Rock hard; I begin rinsing the suds away and take him in my mouth, as deep as I can take him. With my lips wrapped around him, a low moan escapes his throat and his head drops.
Steadying himself in the shower as I give him the blow job of his life, his hands firmly grip my head, and he begins guiding himself in and out of my mouth.
With his arousal growing, I can tell he’s getting close. It doesn’t take much before I can feel him beginning to swell as his balls tighten.
“Oh, god, baby!” thick, ropey strands of cum land on my tongue as his cock pulsates in my mouth.
Satisfied with my handiwork, I spit into the drain and rinse my mouth with clean shower water, smiling at him the entire time.
“I don’t know what you do, but I think you can do some voodoo shit to me when I’m with you.”
Voodoo. Witchcraft. Black magic.
Those are the things that Zack always says to me, and it doesn’t sound right coming from Trent. It’s like it’s wrong for him to say it.
I can’t get Zack out of my head, and this doesn’t help. It doesn’t help to hear Trent saying things like his brother.
A coy smile takes over my face, but it’s not sincere. I don’t mean it at all. I quickly shower and get out, dressing as fast as possible.
For some reason, I feel dirty—but I shouldn’t.
I’ve always said that I wouldn’t get involved with the Richardson boys, but here I am, and I need to make a commitment. I need to choose to be with Trent; the good brother.
But for some reason, I can’t do it. Not yet.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I’ve put this man through hell. Made him chase me for years, then tempted fate by working with his brother and now that I’ve finally got him back, I still can’t commit to him.
“Ready, babe?” he asks, fastening his cufflinks.
“Yeah, but I think I’m going to drive myself home. I still have my dad’s car, and I think he might need it this afternoon.”
“Babe,” he pouts. His hands slowly wrap around my waist before he pulls me to him. “But what about breakfast? I want to buy you some.”
“It’s okay; I’ll be okay. You should get going to work, and I’ll talk to you later.”
Chapter 16
Since I’m no longer part of the underground activity that I was doing with Zack, I figure it’s best if I find some work until I decide what I’m going to do with my winnings.
I also need to buy a car, but first I’m going to send out a few resumés.
Getting out of the card counting business is a good thing. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
I’m lucky that nothing happened to me while I was doing it. These past couple of months have been crazy. They’ve also been fun and exciting. I can see why Zack likes living on the edge. There’s something dangerous and exciting about doing it.
Makes you feel like you’re living.
With all of my credit cards and bills paid off, things will be much easier and I still have plenty of money in the bank. I just need to be discreet about it when I go shopping for a car. I don’t want my dad or Trent asking how I could afford an expensive car when I’ve been out of work for the better part of a year.
Having lunch with my dad, I decide to ask him to take me car shopping to get him out of the house and give us some time to hang out, bond a little.
“Hey dad,” I begin. “Do you think you could take me to look at cars this afternoon? I mean, if you don’t have anything else to do.”
He cocks an eyebrow and smiles at me.
“I feel like you’re a teenager all over again. My baby needs her daddy to take her to look at cars.”
I smile back and take a bite of my sandwich.
“Yes, I’ll take my little girl out to look at cars. What did you have in mind? There’s a good used car dealer up the street, or I can take you to the dealership to look at some certified pre-owns. You’ll get a better deal that way, but I don’t know what your finances look like.”
“Yeah, I think that’ll be a magnificent idea. Take me to look at the pre-owns. I have a feeling I’ll find a job soon enough.”
“You got it, baby.”
After lunch, dad took his daily medicine regimen and promptly waited for me in the car when he was finished. I think he’s more excited than I am to go car shopping.
On the car lot, he’s pretty quiet trailing behind the salesman who’s showing me the best deals on the lot, but none of them suit me. To be honest, I don’t like anything they’ve got.
“What exactly are you interested in?” the salesman asks, hopeful that he’ll have something he can make some commission off of.
I shake my head.
“I’m not sure, maybe something within the last year, something silver,” I squint my eyes and use my hand as a makeshift visor to keep the sun out of my vision.
He thinks for a moment, scanning the lot.
“I don’t know if you’re interested, but I have an SUV. It might be more than you’re looking to spend, though. It’s this year’s model, but it is a pre-owned because it was a rental car for the first half of the year, but it has low miles. Would you like to look at it?”
“It can’t hurt.”
The three of us stroll across the lot, making our way to this SUV that he’s going on about when I see it. It’s not exactly what I had in mind, but I like it.
“Now, this Pathfinder only has 14,000 miles on it, and it’s in excellent condition,” he says as we walk up to it.
The inside looks like it has enough space, but I get in to try it out.
I like the seats; they’re comfy, and I have plenty of leg room. I’m totally inhaling the new car smell; I love it.
“Get in, dad. Tell me what you think.”
Watching him walk in front of the car, I play with some of the knobs and check things out.
“How much is this?” I ask.
“This one is,” he checks the sticker in the rear side window. “$22,500.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it,” he laughs.
“Maybe we should look at some other options,” I suggest. “How much are one of these new?”
“New? They go for about $30,000, depending on the options.”
“Let’s look at something else. I like SUV’s, though so let’s go with those. They have enough space, I think, which I like.”
My dad grabs my arm.
&
nbsp; “Do you know what you’re doing? Don’t buy something you can’t afford.”
“Dad, it’s fine,” I whisper.
We follow the man across the lot to the New Sales department where he can show me more vehicles because there’s a bigger selection to go by than what they have for people’s trade-ins.
“There are a couple of models that I think you’ll like. Let me show you a few, and then you can tell me what you think.”
“What do you have in mind?” I ask.
“We have the Lexus NS, the Buick Envision, and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. They’re all different in their own way, but they have the space that you’d like and many of today’s favorite features.”
My dad looks worried as I look at the cars and check out their interiors, but I keep giving him reassuring gestures to let him know that I can afford it.
I know he’s just looking out for me because when I first arrived here, I was broke and since I’ve been ‘out of work’ for what feels like forever, he probably thinks I’m living off of pennies.
“I think I like the Land Rover,” I tell the salesman. “Can I take it out for a test drive with my father so I can see how it handles?”
“Sure. Do you have your license of it so I can make a copy of it?”
“Yes,” I pull it out of my wallet. “Here you go.”
He takes my license and brings it back with the keys to the SUV.
On the road, I try to set my dad’s mind at ease and let him know that I can afford it.
“Look, baby, I know you’re a big girl, but I think you might be getting in over your head. Do you have any idea how high your payments will be?”
“Dad, I promise, it’s going to be okay. I can do this. I’m using the money from my savings account, and besides, I’m bound to find something soon. Look how long I’ve been back home, looking for work. Surely, someone will hire me soon.”
“I just worry about you, you know.”
“I know, dad, and I appreciate it. Thank you.”
Not wanting to raise any eyebrows at the dealership, I write a check to cover the downpayment and intend to pay it off once I get my online account set up.