One New Message (A Dark Romance Novel)

by Vivian Ward

  I laid on the couch with my cock rock hard, pre-cum pooling at the tip, thinking about all the things I’d like to do to her. All the things I’d like her to do to me.

  What I wouldn’t give to spank her ass for walking around with a perfect body, showcasing it in front of me without giving me a little taste. It was like candy she was keeping for herself.

  She wasn’t gonna break me, though. I wasn’t begging and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna handle business myself. If anything she’d have to be the one to do the begging. I wanted to hear her say how bad she wanted it, and I wasn’t gonna give it to her until she wanted it as bad as I did. Simple as that.

  Henry hadn’t made much progress on Bethany, and Mr. Sanders was threatening to bring in a new guy by the end of the week if we didn’t come up with something.

  It bought us a few days, but it wouldn’t buy us forever. The problem was that Mask was so damn elusive; it was next to impossible to catch the guy.

  “He’s gotta be doing something. Something he’s never done before,” I pounded my fist on the hotel table.

  “What do you mean?” Henry asked.

  “If you haven’t been able to catch this fucking tool by now, he’s gotta be doing something different.” I grabbed a bottle of green tea out of the mini fridge. “You ever think maybe he’s using another identity? Like someone else’s or an alias?”

  Henry leaned back in the chair, rubbing his temples as he blew out a heavy breath of air.

  “Here’s the thing. I have thought about it,” he nodded, “I have. The problem is that if he is, I have no way to track him. Those identity rings buy and sell names, credit cards, and social security numbers faster than a snow cone melting in hell. As long as the two of them have been off the map, he could have easily used more than a dozen people’s identities.”

  “We’re so fucked. He’s gonna send that one guy, isn’t he?”

  “I’m not sure who he’s sending, but all I know is that it’s not good for either of us.”

  “Backtrack to the last trace of activity that you can find and try to retrace his digital footprint from there. Let me know what you find,” I started heading for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to the car lot, and then I’m having my soon-to-be in-laws over for dinner.”

  “Pfft, good luck with that.”

  “You too.”

  Waiting for Shawn to finish up with a customer, I walked around the lot to check out a few cars that might better suit the kid. My jeep was old, beat up and ran a little rough; it was tough and rugged, but I needed something more practical for Bentley.

  “Thinking about getting something a little more reasonable now that you’re a family man?” he walked up on me as I was checking out an SUV.

  “Yeah, something like that,” I backed away from it. “You almost finished?” I nodded towards the office.

  “The lot doesn’t close for another 30 minutes. Why don’t you come in and have a seat? We can talk pricing,” he laughed and slapped me on the back.

  Sitting down at the front desk, he worked on invoices as we talked about his inventory.

  “The whole purpose of me coming wasn’t to buy a vehicle. I wanted to invite you guys to dinner tonight; Anita’s gone out of her way to get the house all set up and she’s excited for you to come see it.”

  “She is? Why hasn’t she called me?”

  His question caught me off guard.

  “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

  “Mmmhmm. It wouldn’t be because you won’t let her, is it?”

  “What?” I was shocked. “No! Why would you say something like that?”

  “My daughter talked to me every day, we worked alongside each other for years, and we were close. You roll up in town, and suddenly, she has to move out, she doesn’t work here anymore, and I haven’t heard from her.”

  “That’s not my doing. She’s been busy.”

  He eyed me suspiciously like he didn’t believe me. I had nothing to hide from the man; I wasn’t the reason. As far as I knew, everything was fine between her and her dad.

  “I didn’t know that you two hadn’t talked; I’m telling you, she’s been super busy.”

  “Let me file these papers and lock up the shop and the house before we follow you over there. It should only take me a few more minutes.”

  While I was waiting for him, I sent Anita a text message.

  Your parents are going to follow me home after your dad locks everything up. We should be there in about a half an hour. Give the kid a kiss for me.

  Pulling into the driveway, I saw Anita on the front porch watching over Bentley as he played in his playpen. Her parents got out of the car and made a beeline straight for the baby.

  Her dad’s dull face came to life as he picked him up and snuggled him against his chest; her mom beamed at the two of them in admiration while she awaited her turn.

  “There’s my boy!” he said, kissing the top of Bentley’s head. “Papa missed you, baby.”

  “Hey dad, come on in. Let me show you two around,” Anita opened the door and nodded inside. “It’s not finished, but pretty close.”

  We all filed into the house as Anita led us from room to room, showing and telling her parents all about the place and what her plans were for everything in the house. I had no clue she had so many plans and the place was nowhere near finished like I thought it was.

  “It looks good,” her mom said, still paying most of her attention to the baby. “What’s for dinner? It smells good.”

  “I threw on a pot roast with all the fixin’s; it should be about ready. You guys can go ahead and have a seat at the table; I’ll bring you your plates.”

  “No, I’ll help you,” I interrupted. “It’ll give your parents more time with Bentley.”

  I followed her into the kitchen and started taking plates out of the cabinet.

  “Babe, the house looks great; I had no idea you weren’t even close to being finished with it.”

  “Well, a house isn’t a home until you make it one,” she shrugged.

  I laughed; not at her, but more at myself.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing.” She put her hand on her lip and scrunched up her nose, waiting for me to tell her. “Okay. When I was living in California, my idea of ‘home’ was having a bed-in-a-bag set that matched. It wasn’t anything close to all the pictures and plants that you have or the rest of the things you want to do around here.”

  She laughed, scooping food onto the plates.

  “Yeah, doesn’t sound like you have much of a taste for interior decorating. Can you get that serving dish down for me, please?”

  We began carrying everything out after it was plated and sat down to have a nice family dinner. We were only about halfway through when her dad came up with an offer that neither one of us could refuse.

  “How about you kids go out for the night? Have some fun? We can stay here with Bentley, read him a story, give him a bath and put him to bed.”

  Oh, you don’t have to do that,” she spoke up.

  “Nonsense. I know the two of you just moved out, but to me, it seems like it was eons ago. Let us have a night with our grandson while the two of you go out. There’s no way you’ve had any time to relax or let loose. We can take care of things.”

  We shrugged and looked at each other. Both of her parent's eyes were twinkling, hopeful that we’d agree.

  “I know a place we can go,” I cocked an eyebrow. “It’d be a lot of fun for the both of us.”

  “Well,” she looked at her parents. Their eyes were still pleading with her. “Okay. I guess it wouldn’t hurt. What did you have in mind?”

  The old man lit up like a firework on the Fourth of July, and her mom danced around in her chair.

  “Put on a pair of blue jean shorts and a t-shirt. I’ll meet you in the car in fifteen minutes.”

  “Great, I’ll just start Bentley’s bath water,” he
r dad grabbed the baby and headed for the bathroom.

  “Well damn, I guess I better go get ready,” Anita folded her napkin on the table and pushed out her chair.

  Chapter 11: Anita

  Climbing inside his old, beat up jeep to go out reminded me of all the good times we’d had together. Two years later and I was still giddy like a damned school girl, leaping and bounding to hop in and go out on the town. I wasn’t sure what he had in store, but I knew it was going to be fun.

  Backing out of the driveway, he caught me grinning like a goon.

  “Happy to get out?”

  “Yeah,” I shook my head. “This sure brings back a lot of memories.”

  The moonlight reflected and bounced off his muscular curvature as we drove on the open road, making me remember how much I used to love having his arms wrapped around me.

  I wanted things the way they once were, but I was afraid that he was still angry and resentful towards me. He hadn’t even tried to make a single pass at me since everything happened.

  I knew that I had pushed him away at the beginning, but I was running myself ragged trying to show him that I cared for him; for our family.

  Having him around again reminded me of how I had once loved about him, and I desperately wanted that back. I’d always wanted a family—a real, honest to goodness family—for Bentley, and now was our chance to have that—if I could make things up to him.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Funny thing,” he turned the stereo down. “I ran into Lee’s wife, Brandy, at the gas station this morning and she said that they’re having a birthday party for Lee tonight and asked if we could come.”

  “If we could come? How did she know we were anything?”

  “I told her.”

  “What exactly did you tell her?”

  “She asked why I was back in town, and I told her that I lived here now.”

  I continued staring at him. “Yeah?” I was waiting to see where this was going.

  “I told her that we just got a place off of Pleasant Ridge.”

  “Get to the part about we and us.”

  It’d be nice to know what he told people and what he thought. Hell, I’d like to know exactly what we were.

  “Oh, she knew you had a baby, she just didn’t know that I was the father. Apparently, nobody knows.”

  I bowed my head.

  Another slap in the face.

  “I didn’t tell everyone because if I were going to tell anyone, it would have been you. I also didn’t think that anyone would believe you were the father.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you’re Gage Miller. The guy with no strings attached. The guy who can have—and has had—any chick he wants. What would you be doing with a quiet, shy girl like me? No one would believe that!”

  “I’d be with a quiet, shy girl because they’re usually the ones who are a freak in the sheets,” he winked and flashed a huge grin.

  My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and my mind started racing back to all the hot, sultry nights we shared for that one, long, incredible summer. I had to make myself snap out of it.

  “What did she say?” I asked.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “She was a little surprised. I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t think you’d go, and even if we could, I didn’t want your parents taking Bentley for another night at their house. I wasn’t just blowing smoke when I said it’s not safe to be there. Your mom and dad are risking their lives.”

  We rode in silence for a few minutes before I finally mustered the guts to tell him what I wanted to say; what I’d been holding back since the day he caught me kissing his friend.

  “There’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time. Will you pull the jeep over?”

  He turned on his turn signal and slowly pulled into an empty parking lot, watching me until I started speaking.

  “I know it was wrong not to tell you about Bentley that first night that I ran into you, but I was scared. I regret every minute of you not knowing, and I know there’s nothing I can say or do to take back your lost time with him, but I hope that you can forgive me. Since you’ve walked into our lives, Bentley has been so happy, and I just love the way his little eyes sparkle when he looks up at you. It’s like he knows you’re his dad.”

  “You might say I’m crazy, but I felt it the moment I laid eyes on him. There was just an instant bond,” he looked straight ahead at the brick building in front of us. “As for us, I’m willing to forgive you. I wasn’t kidding when I said we’re going to fix yours and his last names. Call me old fashioned but my boy will be raised with a mother and father, even if we have to fake it until we’re both cold and dead, but I know there’s more than that to us, Anita. You can’t deny that you see something when you look at me because I can see it. I can feel it.”

  He moved in closer to me, and I could smell him. I mean, smell him; his cologne, his scent; everything about him. Before I knew it, I closed my eyes, and we were kissing. His teeth clashed against mine as our tongues danced and his enormous hands enveloped me.

  “Wow,” I said when he stopped kissing me. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a kiss like that.”

  “Well get used to it, babe. There’s plenty more where that came from, but we better get going to the party, or we’ll be late.”

  The whole time we were at the party, I couldn’t help but think about the kiss in the car. I knew it was only the tip of the iceberg when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pressing his hard length against my back for me to feel his excitement.

  “I can’t wait to get you home and unwrap you like you’re my damned birthday present,” he growled in my ear as he gave me a proper love bite on my neck.

  Goosebumps raced across my skin faster than static electricity.

  We were out the door minutes after Lee blew out the candles on his cake and were speeding the whole way home as he tried to work his hand up my inner thigh. I didn’t think we were ever going to make it, but he got us there in record time.

  “Hey mom and dad,” I said as I walked in the house. “Is Bentley asleep?”

  “He’s been out for about an hour,” he said looking at his watch. “You guys didn’t stay out too long.”

  “Yeah, we wanted to get back home,” I kicked off my shoes. “Besides, I figured you’d be tired and ready to go home.”

  “You’ve got that right,” he shot me a look of disappointment. “It’s hard on me not having you there. I wish you’d come back full time because I could use you. You only working on Tuesdays and Thursdays is killing me, and your mom would like to see more of you.”

  I felt horrible for leaving him with so much to do. I could only imagine the chaos down at the lot without me being there, but what was I supposed to do? There was no way I could be in two places at once, and I was trying to work on things at home.

  “I know dad; I’ll see what I can work out. Thanks for babysitting tonight. It was much needed, and we appreciate it.”

  “Thanks for having us over for dinner, it was delicious as usual. Guess I’ll see you on Tuesday?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Good night, sweetheart,” my mom kissed my cheek on her way out. “Thanks for dinner.”

  “Anytime, mom.”

  No sooner than their headlights were no longer visible, he snatched me up and threw me over his shoulder. A squeal escaped me as my belly bounced off his muscular shoulder as he carried me to the bedroom.

  Finally. No more couch.

  He was mine; all mine.

  My bottom bounced on the mattress as he tossed me onto the bed before he pushed me down and pressed me into the sheets.

  His massive frame covered my body as he balanced himself over me, grinding his raging hard-on against my pussy. Even though we were both fully clothed, his thick mass was prominent, and it was making me wet with anticipation as I thought about him entering me.

>   I leaned up, kissing him. He returned it with a hot, rough force that felt like he’d never be able to get enough. The truth was, I couldn’t get enough of him. It had been so long since I’d been with a man; he was the last person I’d slept with, and that was two years ago.

  Sweet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I hoped I’d be able to fit him inside of me like I once did. Judging by the bulge protruding behind his pants, he was horny as hell, and it felt like he was going to bust through them any second.

  Cupping my breast, he squeezed it hard as he trailed kisses along the side of my face before he bit my earlobe and started working on my neck as he slid his hand down the front of my torso. He didn’t stop until his hand dipped between my legs and he firmly gripped my mound over my shorts.

  “I want these off of you. Now,” he growled in my ear, his hot breath brushing against my neck.

  With one swift tug, he pulled on the waistband of my jean shorts and had them undone in two seconds flat. His fingers greedily worked my zipper before he slid his hands beneath my ass and ripped my shorts off, leaving only my panties as a shield.

  “My, my, my,” he straddled me. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a taste,” his eyes darted south.

  Oh, fuck.

  His mouth started at the top of my breasts, but he quickly worked his way below my navel. Moaning as his tongue cleared the path, he stopped as soon as he was between my legs. I bit my lip in embarrassment.

  He knows.

  I was so wet that it had soaked through my panties, and I knew he’d find it as soon as he got down there.

  “Someone’s excited,” a throaty roar escaped his hot, sweet lips. “That means I’ve only done half my job.”

  Sliding his fingers along the inner edge of my panties, he slipped a finger inside me; playing in my wetness before he went further; every single part of me ached in anticipation. I wanted him inside of me so bad.

  “Mmmm,” he said, pulling his finger out, licking every drop of my juices off of it. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to taste you again.”

  “Ohh,” I whimpered as he started tugging on my panties, “not half as much as me.”