Ice In His Veins

by Tressie Lockwood

  “You always say that.”

  “It’s always true.” He nudged her legs wider apart and studied there. She bit her bottom lip. Something about him staring at her naked made her both excited and nervous.

  “You’re so wet.”

  “Well, I mean you’re touching me.”

  His big hands skimmed her hips up to her waist. He climbed over her but didn’t bring his body down enough to touch. “I’m not being critical. Your body is always ready for me to come inside. Stay that way.”

  She smirked and shook her head. “Okay.”

  One of his eyebrows rose, and his look said she would dare laugh at him. Oh, how she was going to suffer for that. He came down. At the same time he nudged her legs wider, he drove inside, arching his hips. He pounded her softness mercilessly. She gripped the covers beneath her and cried out his name. Just when she thought it too much, he switched the angle of entry, and the sensations changed.

  “N-no fair, Arik.” She gasped for breath. He knew exactly what he was doing. “Y-you’re…”

  He cupped her chin and made her look at him. Her eyes drifted closed, but he gave her the tiniest of shakes. “No you don’t. Open your eyes, Chevelle.”

  “It’s too much.” A tremor passed through her entire body. “That spot…”

  “Look at me.”

  She gave in, and he brought her to the brink of mind-numbing pleasure. Then he stopped. She struggled to drag in a breath. “I n-need to come.”

  “You need me,” he growled.

  For a man who didn’t want a commitment, he was sure demanding. She pressed her lips together. His eyes glittered, and a slight grin stole over his face.

  “Chevelle, are you thinking about challenging me? You know who will win. Whether I use my dick or my fingers, your g-spot is going to be the instrument I play. You’ll come when I say.”

  “Jerk!”

  He pulled out of her and replaced his shaft with his fingers. Practice had shown him just where to touch. He wiggled his fingers inside her tight passage, and her hips came up off the bed. She teetered on the edge of an orgasm.

  “Chevelle?”

  “Y-yes.” Moisture gathered on her top lip. No matter what he demanded her eyes refused to open. She had lost all strength already.

  “Who wins?”

  She was helpless. “You.”

  His lips touched the shell of her ear. “Who?”

  “Arik,” she breathed.

  He took her to the heights she loved and gave her satisfaction she would never forget so long as she lived.

  Chapter 12

  Arik woke to find Chevelle had left the house. He picked up his cell phone to text her and thought better of it. Something was going on with her. He could sense it the night before. She seemed distracted or maybe distant, and he had intended to talk with her in bed. However, once she challenged him and he spent the night proving she couldn’t resist him, he had worn her and himself out. They fell asleep afterward, and the next time he opened his eyes she was gone.

  In a slightly foul mood, he climbed out of bed and showered. Perhaps that evening or over lunch he would talk to her about his idea. He had been thinking of it for the past month or more. She might be pleased. He didn’t know. Sometimes he could predict her reactions, and then others she was hard to pin down.

  He supposed that was how women were. They didn’t think logically, he’d found, not in a straight line like men. Chevelle’s way of thinking went in squiggly lines and circles he couldn’t follow. She might end up at the same conclusion he did, but it would take a lot of convoluted processes to get there.

  A grin stole over his face as he exited the bathroom. Whatever was on her mind, he would make her forget it. He would take the plunge and tell her to let go of her apartment. She could move in with him. He winced at the thought although he had been thinking on it for a month. This wasn’t a true commitment. It was convenience and pleasure for both of them. Chevelle spent the night at his place most of the time anyway. His decision was no big deal.

  “If it’s no big deal,” he grumbled to himself, “then why are you still arguing in your head about it?” Never mind. He would tell her that day and get it over with.

  A short while later, he arrived at work. Chevelle wasn’t at her desk, but she might be in the kitchen or in the restroom. He rolled his head on his neck and listened to it pop as he moved past her office to his own. His mug set on the desk where he left it the night before, and he expected that Chevelle had his favorite brew waiting. Funny how the distinctive scent didn’t permeate the air today.

  He raised the cup only to find it empty. In fact, it hadn’t been cleaned from the day before. Dried brown liquid lay at the bottom. He frowned and walked out to Chevelle’s area. A pile of mail lay on her desk. Normally, she would have sorted through it by now and brought the important stuff in to await his perusal.

  “Maybe she wasn’t feeling well.” Unpleasantness in his gut stirred as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed her. The phone rang several times and went to voicemail. He tried again with the same result. “What the hell?”

  He checked the time. A critical meeting was due to start in twenty minutes. It wasn’t enough time to drive all the way over to her apartment and get back before the meeting began. Then again, if she was seriously ill, he didn’t want to put off checking on her.

  He paced back to his office, squeezing the bridge of his nose. A sound at the outer door caught his attention, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The woman shouldn’t have put him in this position. Hadn’t he taught her last night?

  “Chevelle, you’re late. You—” He had begun speaking as he left his office and came up short.

  “Sorry, big bro. I overslept.”

  Arik flared his nostrils. “Cael, you aren’t taking this job seriously. You aren’t taking me seriously.”

  “I am. Promise.” Nothing could dampen the bright smile on his little brother’s face. He kept grinning even as Arik wanted to strangle him. Cael reached out and straightened Arik’s tie. Arik slapped his hands away.

  He hesitated. “I need you to do something for me.”

  “Anything.” Cael rocked on his heels, glancing about the office as if he hardly paid any attention. Arik ground his teeth.

  “I need you to go to Chevelle’s apartment and check on her. I have a meeting in a few minutes, or I would do it myself. You will text me immediately when you find out how she is. Cael! Are you listening?”

  His brother saluted. “Got it. Spy on Chevelle.”

  Arik growled. “I didn’t say spy, damn it! I said… Never mind. You’re coming to this meeting with me. Don’t say anything. Just listen.”

  “Sounds dry.”

  “Do you want this job or not?”

  “You’re not paying me, big bro.”

  Arik stepped closer to him. “I don’t think you understand how close I am to throwing you out on your ass and washing my hands of you.”

  Cael, who was as big as he was, didn’t flinch. Nor did his smile waiver. “You don’t want to do that.”

  “Enlighten me. Why not?”

  Cael patted his shoulder. “Because despite all the huffing and puffing you want us around.”

  Arik was robbed of speech. He had never heard Cael so perceptive or serious. Was he just putting on an act with the devil may care attitude, or was there something deeper to him? Arik looked into the blue eyes, but he could detect nothing but open honesty and amusement. He swore because normally he could read people within a few minutes of meeting them. He thought he understood Cael when he met him, but if so, Cael would never have made such an astute statement as he had just done.

  “Are you coming to the meeting or leaving here?” Arik said.

  Cael slapped an arm around Arik’s shoulders and joined him as he left the office. Arik spent the rest of the morning with his mind half on the endless meetings and half on wondering where Chevelle was. At noon, he ditched a working meeting because he’d had enough. H
e needed to know where she was and if she was fine.

  After leaving a few tasks for Cael, he hopped into his car and drove at breakneck speed over to Chevelle’s apartment. As he neared her home, he recalled he had given her a key to his place for convenience sake, but she had never given him one. At the time, he had been relieved. She maintained her independence, which meant she wouldn’t get notions about him marrying her one day. Now, it frustrated him to know he might have to stand outside banging on the door and wait for her to open it. Well, if push came to shove, he could bribe a maintenance man to let him in.

  “Or threaten him,” he grumbled, feeling frustrated to the extreme.

  He arrived at Chevelle’s apartment complex and scanned the parking lot. Her car was nowhere in sight, but there was still the possibility she had parked on the lot at the side of the building. Sometimes when she got in late, that was her only option. He couldn’t verify it from his position.

  Taking the stairs up to her level, he noted how his heart beat faster, and it had nothing to do with the exertion. Was she sick? Was she even in the apartment? Was she…ignoring him? He tensed when he arrived on her level and slowed his pace as he approached the door.

  What are you nervous for, Arik? This is ridiculous. Knock!

  He rapped on the door and waited. No sound reached him from inside, nor did anyone open the door. He knocked again. The knot in his gut intensified. She was just out at the store and would be back soon. Not an issue.

  His knock thundered the second and third time. He heard stirrings behind him, but he didn’t turn around. A lock rattled, and a hinge creaked. Still, he kept his back to the person in the apartment across the hall.

  “Haven’t you figured out yet she ain’t here?”

  He took his time turning around. The elderly woman standing before him wore pink and blue curlers in her hair, and a cigarette hung from her lips. She gestured toward Chevelle’s door.

  “She’s gone with some man.”

  Arik stilled. “Some…man?”

  The woman revealed a slow grin. It was obvious she had picked up on Arik’s reaction to the news. Resentment glittered in her beady eyes. “Yeah, Miss Hoity-Toity Chevelle, who always thought she was better than everyone else ’cause she had a highfalutin boyfriend. Now she’s off cheatin’ with someone else.”

  Arik bit down so hard he wouldn’t have been surprised if he cracked his jawbone. “I’m not sure what you mean by highfalutin or about Chevelle thinking she’s better than anyone. Your perception is wrong.”

  “Oh, you’re going to tell me, huh?” She put a hand on a bony hip. “Well, now you know. She’s not what you thought.”

  He sneered. “Chevelle, is exactly what I think. Tell me. What did this person look like that she went off with?” He knew he shouldn’t ask, but bile had already risen into his throat, along with rage. That another man was touching her right then. It did something to his insides, and he wanted nothing better than to smash his fist into the wall. Instead, he tucked his hand into his pocket and waited for the woman to answer his question.

  “A black man,” she almost spat with satisfaction. “Someone she should have been with in the first place. I never did agree with that mixing of races thing, especially with you white men thinking you can take our women. She came to her senses is what I say.”

  “Thanks.” He was at his limit for hearing more and turned to walk down the stairs. The woman cackled behind him, muttering about young people and their fickle ways. He thrust open the door on the first floor with too much force. It crashed against the wall with an exploding racket. The noise did little to soothe his foul mood.

  Once he was behind the wheel of his car, he tore out of the parking lot. Only when he spotted the sign that said Slow Children Playing did he let his foot up off the gas. A beep caught his attention, and he dug his cell phone out of his pocket. The indicator said he had a voicemail, but he never heard the phone ring.

  After a few short clicks, he connected with his service. Chevelle’s voice came on the line.

  “Arik, this is Chevelle.”

  Like he didn’t recognize her voice?

  “Look, I don’t like doing things this way, but I don’t have any other choice. The last time…” She paused, and he strained inside for her to continue. He knew what was coming, but he could be mistaken.

  “I guess you can figure out what I’m getting to. I’m breaking things off with you. Every time I’ve done it before, you… No, I’m not going to blame you for my own… Um, it’s over, okay? I figure it’s better to do it like this. I’m going to be out of town for a few days for you to get used to the idea.”

  He slammed a fist against the steering wheel. She was breaking their arrangement and doing it in a cowardly way so there would be no discussion. He wouldn’t accept it!

  “I know you, Arik. You’re not going to accept me being the one to break it off so easily. The best thing for me to do is to stop being your secretary too.”

  “What?” He shouted.

  The recording ended, and he swore several times, but then it went to a new message. Chevelle’s voice came back on. He hardly heard her words. She gave him instructions and information about securing a new secretary. He had no wish to hear any of it and stabbed the button to disconnect. The last words she spoke were about her final check. He liked to think her voice cracked on the end but didn’t give in to the emotional weakness to go back and run through the message again.

  He tucked his cell phone into his pocket, but almost immediately it rang. His irritability increased when he discovered it was Reinhart calling. For some reason he answered.

  “Yeah,” he snapped. “This is Arik.”

  “Arik, my boy. I was calling to see if you would like to spend the weekend at my mansion with your brothers. It’s a time for all four of us to get to know each other better. Much more intimate than just a casual dinner here and there. What do you say?”

  Words teetered on his lips that he had no interest at all. He put his phone on speaker and tossed it into the passenger seat. Now that he had reached the highway, he worked out his frustration with speed.

  “All right fine.”

  “Really?” Reinhart sounded surprised.

  “You asked me, and you’re shocked I accepted?”

  Reinhart chuckled. “I thought I would have a harder time convincing you. I had Cael as backup.”

  “I’ll be there.” He stabbed the disconnect button and drove faster.

  Chapter 13

  Arik rolled over without opening his eyes. He extended a hand to the opposite side of the bed, expecting soft skin to meet his touch. Nothing but chilly sheets. He knew of course. It’s not like he’d been asleep. The room stretched out around him so much bigger than he recalled. Chevelle didn’t warm the left side with her curvy body.

  In fact, it had been days since he slept more than an hour at a time. Most nights he stared at the ceiling. He took meds, and they would help him to drop off, but something in his brain woke him again. Work suffered, business relationships suffered, and he hadn’t seen Cael in a couple days after he had blown up at his brother for a minor issue.

  After showering, he headed into the office. A hot mug of coffee sat on his desk and as he raised it to his lips, he heard the click of his temporary secretary’s heels as she approached. The bangles on her arms jingled, and she hummed. Remnants of perfume loomed in the air. He winced against the migraine it aggravated.

  “Good morning, Mr. Johansson,” she called with too much cheer and noise.

  He glared at her over his mug. “I told you not to wear that awful perfume in the office.

  She pouted. “I only put a dab on.”

  “None! It stinks.”

  Her cheeks pinked, and he could see from her expression that he’d hurt her feelings. Annoyed, he sipped his coffee and gagged before slamming it on the desk.

  “There’s cream and sugar in here!”

  “I thought—”

  “Stop thinking, damn
it! I pay you to do as I ask.”

  “Mr. Johansson, you don’t have to be so mean. I’m trying my best.”

  He blinked at her in disbelief. Why in the world had he elected to keep this woman? The temp agency must be losing their edge. She was incompetent, stupid, and annoying, and she drove him insane. He didn’t have the mental capacity with so little sleep to handle her.

  “You’re fired.”

  Her mouth fell open, and she didn’t move.

  “You can leave now, or I can call security.”

  The waterworks started. He regretted his harshness. Even if he was cold normally, he was always fair to his employees. As far as he knew they didn’t have reason to complain. This woman was impossible to deal with, especially because…

  She’s not Chevelle. Damn it to hell!

  He sat down at his desk and rubbed his temples. Coffee had spilled everywhere, leaving sticky residue. The secretary stood crying in his doorway. His cell phone rang, and he considered ignoring it. If someone were calling about business, he was in no state to deal with it. The pain in his head grew.

  When he could take no more, he stood and walked around the desk, grabbed the secretary by the elbow and walked her out to Chevelle’s old desk. He gathered her things and shuffled her along to the elevators. When the doors opened, he gave the woman a small shove into the elevator and stuffed her bag into her arms.

  “Have a good day, Ms…” He grumbled because he’d forgotten her name that quick.

  The waterworks stopped, and she opened her mouth to speak, but it was too late. The doors closed on her. He brushed his hands together in acknowledgement of being free of the burden and turned back to his office.

  Perhaps things would be better if I marry for convenience.

  He shocked himself with the thought. He had never considered it before. Family was messy with too much expectation and too much emotional attachment. If he arranged it all from the beginning with no love and feelings, then it wouldn’t be a big deal.

  “But not Chevelle,” he muttered to himself as he cleaned up the coffee. She left because she wasn’t happy and because she was the type of woman to embrace all of the fairy tales she’d ever been told as a child. He wouldn’t even attempt to offer her what he was thinking now. She’d done right by herself to leave.