Scream My Name

by Kimberly Kaye Terry

  Danita flopped back down on the bed, Carmelicious’s latest sage words of advice spinning in her head, as the shock DJ promised to be back after the commercial break.

  “Is my kitty free to roam the city?” she questioned out loud and laughed lightly. “God, what am I going to do?” she murmured and forced herself to get out of bed, thoughts of Warren on her mind as she stumbled groggily toward the bathroom, stripping out of her thin nightgown and panties as she went.

  Deciding a soothing bath was in order, Danita walked to the oversize tub, letting the water wash over her hands until it was the right temperature before plugging the drain and filling the tub.

  She tossed in some bath salts, scented bubbles, and a few drops of her favorite essential oils from the chrome basket she kept filled with her bath essentials, and gazed with unseeing eyes at the frothing water, with absentminded attention as she sat on the wide edge of the tub.

  She’d been avoiding Warren, much like she had been avoiding Hawk, and something had to give. She was becoming a nervous wreck.

  When she’d been unable to avoid Larissa’s questions any longe, finally, yesterday, she’d broken down and told her what had happened.

  “Oh, my—are you serious? You did it with that busboy from Aunt Sadie’s?” Larisa nearly screeched the words but Danita had hushed her, frantically looking around the restaurant to see if anyone had heard her friend’s incredulous reaction before turning back to her.

  “Yes, and please lower your voice. I don’t want everybody and their mother to know!”

  “My bad,” Larissa apologized, lowering her voice to comic levels, her face scrunched up, brows lowered, and eyes so rounded they nearly bucked out of their sockets in amazement.

  “When did this all happen and why are you just now telling me?”

  Danita sighed and took a bite of her muffin, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing.

  “Yuck. These are nothing like Aunt Sadie’s,” she groused in disgust before taking a drink of tea. She looked up and Larissa had one of her brows raised, an impatient look on her face.

  “Girl, don’t make me hurt you…” she warned, giving Danita a look that promised a serious beat down if she didn’t hurry up and tell her what had happened. Danita laughed.

  “Larissa, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do,” she said, and proceeded to fill her friend in on what had happened between her and Hawk.

  “Oh, Lord,” was all Larissa could say for long moments, her chin propped in her hand as she listened in rabid attention as Danita spoke.

  “And when he walked into my office looking too fine wearing business casual clothes, briefcase in hand…you just don’t know, Larissa. I nearly had a stroke!”

  “I bet you did! Uh, uh, uh, uh,” Larissa commiserated with her, caught up in the drama. “During your, uh, interactions…” Larissa said, trying to phrase it in a diplomatic way.

  Danita just rolled her eyes. “Go on, say what it was…”

  “Wellll…” Larissa dragged out the word, “I’m trying to be as diplomatic as I can.” She laughed, and some of Danita’s tension eased. “Anyway, my question is, why didn’t he tell you he wasn’t a busboy? I mean, it sounds like you two did a little bit of talking before you got down with it, right?”

  “I don’t know. He kept the conversation mainly on me. He didn’t really talk about himself at all. He didn’t bring it up there or at the meeting, but I plan on asking him.”

  “So, what are you going to do?” her friend asked after a small lull in the conversation.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Danita took another fortifying drink of the strong black pekoe tea.

  “Well, you’ve got to do something.”

  “Uh, yeah. I know that.” Danita rolled her eyes and blew out a frustrated breath.

  “Things haven’t been all that great with Warren and me. I know, I know,” she interrupted Larissa before she could speak when she opened her mouth. “He’s perfect. You, my family, and everyone else have told me that,” she said, slumping down in her chair. “But, well, I don’t know that he’s perfect for me.”

  “I wasn’t going to say that. I know the brother is prime. You know that, everyone knows that, hell, Warren knows that more than all of us combined,” she said, pulling a reluctant laugh out of Danita. Like many eligible, successful men, Warren had an ego the size to match, and was used to women throwing themselves at him.

  “But, you know, Warren really isn’t the type of man to chase a woman, you know what I mean? Hell, a man like that is used to beating women off with an ugly stick, as my momma used to say. He sure in hell doesn’t need to chase a woman. You gotta go to him if you want to be with him. But you, my friend, need to decide what it is you want first.”

  Her friend’s last words ringing in her ear, Danita refocused her attention on the tub, and she turned off the tap when she realized the tub was filled to near capacity.

  She sunk down into the fragrant bubble-filled water, the heat and silky smoothness instantly helping to ease the constriction in the bunched, tensed muscles in her shoulders. She considered her assistant’s words.

  Yes, she knew she had to come to a decision.

  Easier said than done, Danita thought, and sunk her body lower in the tub and closed her eyes.

  31

  Danita smiled as she strolled along the busy blocked-off streets with Hawk before they stopped at one of the festively decorated food booths.

  “I definitely have middle child syndrome. In fact, I’m often asked how I am always so…so…”

  “Cheerful?” he supplied, and when he tucked one of her fly-away strands of hair away from her face and behind her ear, and her skin tingled from the light touch of his hand.

  “Not exactly. I guess even tempered is a better word. Not too excited, but not too quiet. Pretty easygoing, a go-with-the-flow type of girl,” she said, and thanked the vendor who handed her the tall frothy blue stick of candy.

  “And is that who you are? An easy go-with-the-flow type of person?”

  Danita had just taken a healthy bite of the cotton candy when he asked his question.

  “I guess. At least I like to think so,” she replied carefully. After he paid for the cotton candy, they continued their leisurely stroll.

  “Are you having a good time?” Hawk asked, looking down at Danita.

  “I can’t believe I’ve never been to this festival before,” Danita enthused, and Hawk smiled down at her as she delicately bit into the sweet, sticky candy, swirling it around her mouth before swallowing.

  “This is the fifth year we’ve had it. Each year it grows in attendance.” He smiled, and as she smiled back at him, he reached down and lightly thumbed away a bit of the sticky candy from the corner of her lip.

  With his gaze locked with hers, he licked his thumb. Her apple cheeks blossomed instantly, the red flush visible beneath her deep brown skin.

  “We?” she questioned, breaking the connection and glancing away. He placed his hand at the small of her back and maneuvered her around a pair of giggling teens.

  “Yes. The unified tribe I belong to began this five years ago. In the beginning we planned for it to be solely a Native American type of festival, but later we thought it would be better if we included other cultures.”

  “What tribe do you belong to?” she asked with genuine interest in her voice.

  “Actually, my mother was Cherokee, my father was Hopi. He grew up on the Hopi reservation in southwest Arizona.”

  Before she could speak, a young boy wearing a tank top with a white T-shirt beneath and a pair of shorts that hung so low, Danita thought they’d fall to his ankles, came up to them dribbling a basketball.

  “Hey Mr. Wikvaya! Come on over and ball with us! We’ve been waiting for you. They set up a court and we’re about to play teams.” The young man had barely finished when his eyes moved toward Danita. He cupped the ball beneath one arm, the other hoisted the waistband of his shorts.

  “Oh sna
p, Mr. Wik! I didn’t know you were here with someone,” he said, his gaze roaming over Danita appreciatively. Danita felt like crossing her arms over her chest as the young boy’s gaze seemed stuck straight on her tits.

  “Maybe some other time, Tony,” Hawk replied, and wrapped his arm around Danita’s waist.

  Surprised, she glanced up at him. He had an easy grin on his face as he spoke to the boy, and after several minutes of small talk, Hawk reminded the young man of some meeting they had scheduled for the following week. With a wave, the boy ran off.

  “That was one of my clients,” he answered her unasked question.

  “How long have you practiced law?” she asked, and when he guided her to a roped-off area filled with chairs, she waited as he pulled her chair back for her and gratefully sat down, her feet aching from the day of walking.

  He sat down across from her, close, so close she smelled his unique, rich scent reach out and envelop her in its embrace.

  “For six years. I graduated from law school eight years ago, but didn’t actually go into practice until several years later,” he told her.

  “Why? What made you put it off?” She knew she was probably being nosy, asking so many questions, but she wanted to know about him, wanted to learn more about him, as he’d strangely been reticent about sharing any personal information.

  “Hmmm…I suppose I wasn’t quite sure practicing law was what I wanted to do. At least not criminal law, which is what I studied. I took a few years off from law, came back home, and started working with a few teen outreach programs.”

  “Is that when you decided you wanted to work in juvenile defense?” she hazarded a guess.

  He smiled at her, a somber look in his eyes. “Yes. I empathized with them, understood their motivations. A hell of a lot more than I did those of the upscale members of society, who committed crimes so heinous it made me ill. Especially as many of those crimes were committed against social misfits, the ones no one wanted to believe, or even hear their side of the story.”

  The look of raw emotion on his face burned bright and intense before he shut down his expression and turned to her, placing his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her close.

  She wanted to know what had placed that look of pain in his eyes, wanted to know what secret pain he held hidden.

  Danita wanted to ask him more, but let it drop.

  Throughout the day, as he had before during their time at the diner, he’d asked her questions about herself, and before she’d realized it, she’d once again opened up to him, telling him things she’d never told a man, small things that no one really had pulled out of her, particularly on such short acquaintance.

  There was something about Hawk that seemed to make her feel safe, comfortable.

  She glanced up into his dark, handsome face and felt the tingles of awareness and lust flood her.

  Well, not entirely safe, she thought.

  But for all of that, Danita was beginning to feel uneasy that he hadn’t told her anything of substance about himself. Every time she thought he would, he would shut down, retreat.

  After she polished off the last of the sweet confection, they continued to walk.

  “Are you getting cold?” he murmured, bringing her closer to his warm body.

  Danita didn’t respond, simply sighed and snuggled deeper into his hold.

  As the sun began to settle, the night air was much cooler than the warmer afternoon. Although that had nothing to do with the chill bumps running over her body, and more to do with him and his effect on her body…and soul.

  When she showed interest in one of the festively decorated, brightly lit booths showcasing a beautiful variety of turquoise jewelry and ornately designed dream catchers, they stopped.

  Danita reached up and touched one, fingering the delicate design.

  “Do you like this?” he asked.

  “Yes, it’s beautiful,” she murmured, fingering the delicate dream catcher.

  “Do you know what it’s for?” he asked, removing it from its hanging. He withdrew his wallet from the back of his well-worn Levi’s, removed several bills, and handed them to the vendor.

  “No,” she admitted and laughed. “Except that Larissa has one hanging on her rearview mirror in her car.”

  The woman handed Hawk his purchase in a small bag, and he grinned down at Danita.

  “A lot of people do that.” He guided her away from the booth. “This is for you,” he said, presenting her with the small bag. Danita thanked him and dug into the bag so she could admire her gift.

  “Actually, it is exactly what it is named. A dream catcher. There are a few legends about the dream catcher…” As he began to speak, they moved toward the large platform where a band was setting up their instruments for the night.

  “It’s believed the origin of the dream catcher is from the Chippewa tribe. They were made as charms to protect the young from nightmares. Legend says the dream catcher will catch all dreams. The bad ones get caught in the dream catcher’s webbing and disappear in the morning.”

  He stood behind her as he spoke, his long fingers covering hers as she lightly caressed the dream catcher.

  “The good dreams find their way to the center of the dream catcher…” he continued, pulling her close against his warm body and leaning down to speak in her ear so that she could hear him above the sound of the musicians tuning up.

  He guided her hands to the middle of the ornate dream catcher. “They float down the feather. So the dream catcher is thought to be a filter which allows only the pleasant dreams to get through.”

  By the time he’d finished, Danita felt warm and content as she leaned against his hard body, hyperaware of his chest pressed against her back, and the thickness under his jeans pressed against her lower back.

  “Do you have any dreams that need to be caught, Danita?” His lips pressed down her neck, sending tingles over her body. “Any dreams that scare you, make you wake up in the middle of the night, sweat pouring down your face, down your body?” he asked.

  One hand lightly grasped her around the neck before trailing down between the V of her shirt, tracing down her breasts before resting on her stomach, pulling her even closer to his body.

  “Yes,” Danita breathed, caught up in the web he and the dream catcher had seemed to weave around her.

  “Tell me,” he urged.

  Danita thought of her most recent dream, her secret fantasy, and shivered. In the fantasy, Hawk was making love to her, satisfying her completely, when a second man entered the dark room. Together the two men catered to her, making love to every part of her body until she was left weak and satisfied.

  She moaned, closing her eyes. In the cover of darkness, Hawk lifted her blouse and captured one of her breasts, palming the soft mound and fingering her distended nipple until it spiked in a stiff, painful peak.

  When she felt his hand cup her mound beneath the skirt she was wearing, Danita gasped, her eyes flying open.

  “Hawk,” she moaned, moving her breasts so that he could hold her closer.

  “Ssh, no one knows what we’re doing. Just enjoy,” he whispered the hot words low in her ear.

  After she nervously glanced around, and saw the growing audience laughing and beginning to sway to the music, no one paying them attention, Danita’s head fell back on his chest and her eyes fluttered shut.

  While the band played, Danita allowed the soulful music to pour over her, and she enjoyed the biting kisses Hawk was raining down her neck as his hands massaged and manipulated her breasts. Each pull on her nipples seemed to stimulate her all over her body, the walls of her pussy clenched and released with each pull on her rock hard nipples.

  While the band belted out the soulful music, Danita gave in to what Hawk was doing to her body, enjoying the feel once again, of allowing him to cater to her.

  32

  “I had a great time, Hawk. Thanks. It was exactly what I needed,” Danita said, meaning every word.

  She hadn’t la
ughed or just…relaxed in so long, it felt like a much needed breath of fresh air to her starving spirit. She laughed at her melodramatic mental phrasing.

  “What?” Hawk asked, smiling down at her, and she realized she’d laughed out loud.

  “Oh, nothing,” she grinned up at him. “Just thinking about the day is all. I wish it didn’t have to end,” she said. As soon as she said the words she felt his dark eyes on her as they stood on the landing of her covered porch in front of her door.

  “Who says it has to end now?” His hand came up and he ran the callused pad of his thumb just beneath her bottom lip. He leaned down and captured her lips with his in a soft kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips and lapped across, before he opened his mouth and grasped her fuller bottom rim between his and then slowly released it.

  He placed sweet, nibbling kisses down her throat before returning to her lips, only to kiss and bite them, corner to corner, before laving his tongue down her neck and back up again. Danita made urgent sounds of demands, trying desperately to catch his lips with hers, to stop his teasing caresses.

  He released a small deep laugh when she grabbed onto his head, tunneled her fingers within his silky strands, and pulled him down to her mouth.

  All teasing left and the kiss turned into an explosion of want, lust, and need, so potent in its intensity it left Danita breathless. Her fingers tightened in his hair and when he pushed at her, shoving her against her door so that their bodies were flush against each other, it still wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly close enough.

  His mouth opened and he devoured her.

  He shoved one leg between her jean-clad thighs and rotated his hips, grinding against the part of her that now painfully ached, desperately needing his touch. Danita widened her legs against his muscular leg, riding it as liquid heat poured from her, washing her clit.

  Her skin was itchy, hot, making her feel as though a fire was raging throughout her body.

  When he pressed her against the wall, pressed his body tight against hers, Danita hiked up her leg and wrapped it around his waist.