Authors: Scarlett Black
“But
you hired somebody to put three women in the hospital instead of making an
effort? And that man over there in the corner is dead because you didn’t say
something! Do you have any idea how insane that sounds, Michelle? I mean,
Jesus, what were you thinking?”
“You
wouldn’t have listened. You never listen to me. Miss Stanford. Miss MBA.
You always think you know what’s best, but who got pregnant by the first guy
she met in a bar? Who got laid off and was living in a rat hole apartment and
couldn’t afford decent food for her child? Who was a dirty, filthy
prostitute? We’ve known each other our whole lives, Kim. Don’t you think I
know what works with you? Drastic measures. I had to shock you back to
reality.”
I
stood, immobile and completely shocked, like she’d wanted.
Roman
got up from the chair and cleared his throat.
“What?”
I snapped.
“Can
you two work this out elsewhere? I’ve got bigger problems to worry about, and
in case you’ve forgotten, he’s over there getting stiff in the corner.”
I
mustered all the snark I could find. “Can’t you give us a minute?”
Calm,
cool, and collected, being the Roman I was used to, he said, “Look, I know
this…this lovely feud going on is important to you two, but I couldn’t give a
shit. It sounds like there are deeper issues here that don’t involve me, so
I’ll make you a deal. The two of you leave. Walk out that door behind me and
never come back. Shut down your business, send the girls back to me, and I’ll
forget this ever happened.”
I
was so totally and utterly exhausted that I didn’t have the need, desire, or
want to negotiate. I nodded, motioned to Harris’s body and asked, “What about
him?”
With
his hands in his pockets, Roman casually turned. “Oh, him? Disgruntled
client. And it doesn’t hurt that I give the police chief a heavy discount.”
“Right.”
I should’ve known he’d have things covered.
“Go,”
Roman said, leaning toward the door. “Both of you. Work this out somewhere
else. Walk out right now, no questions asked.”
“Deal.”
I looked past his shoulder as Michelle headed for the door. “Finn? Let’s go.”
Finn
emerged from the back hallway, looking sheepish. He pinched his lips together
in an awkward grin and offered a don’t-mind-me wave to Roman as he shuffled
across the office and slipped out.
Surprised,
Roman said, “Who the hell was that?”
I
offered a sarcastic smile and winked at him. “You said no questions. See you
around, Roman.”
He
shook his head and looked away. “God help me, I hope not.”
Six months later
Maui, Hawaii
We
woke up in paradise.
Sunrise.
Warm breeze. Tropical birds chirping outside the window. Fresh, succulent
fruit waited for us in the resort’s clubhouse.
We
were so spent from the previous night’s lovemaking that we’d fallen asleep on
top of the sheets. Nude, tanned skin in dark contrast against the pristine
whiteness of the bedroom. It was our third trip that month.
I
watched the ceiling fan drift in lazy circles.
Finn
said, “Can you get any sexier?”
“Hmm?”
I murmured, not fully awake yet.
“I’m
serious, look at you. You’re so brown…I’m loving the whole no-tan line thing.
Your hair’s lighter. Just…amazing.”
I
thanked him for the compliments and said, “You act like you’ve never seen me
naked before.”
“It’s
different, I guess. We’ve been so busy—it’s almost as if I have time to
actually
look
at you.”
“And
you like what you see?”
“Does
this answer your question?”
Finn
rolled over and put his mouth on my nipple, licking slowly, sucking, nibbling,
pulling it with his teeth. It stiffened with desire and I felt that familiar
longing between my legs. I wrapped my arms around him, caressing the muscles
in his back, tracing my fingers down those perfectly sculpted biceps and across
his chest. Down, down, down to below his waist, wrapping both hands around the
stiffness that waited for me. He moved up to kiss me and I buried my tongue in
his mouth, stroking gently as he used a hand to part my thighs.
“I
love you,” he whispered into my ear.
“I
love you more,” I replied.
“Impossible.”
He
entered me, lovingly, tenderly, working his hips with a gradual rhythm.
Filling me deeply and fully. After six months together, we flowed with the
grace of water.
We
stared into each other’s eyes. We blended into one.
He
rolled over onto his back, pulling me on top, holding onto my hips as I arched
my back and thrust myself against him, whimpering, moaning while I struggled to
fight the coming orgasm. I wanted it to wait, to last longer, to last as long
as possible in that perfect little moment, but my body relented. “Oh my God,
Finn, I’m coming, I’m coming.” The climax left me shaky and weak, satisfied.
I
lifted my hair and rocked my hips, giving Finn the sultry look that always sent
him over the edge. He grabbed my hips tighter, burying his fingers into my
skin, then released himself inside me.
I
collapsed on top of him, but kept myself positioned so that he could stay
inside until it went soft. I loved that feeling, that bond, and then the slow
release.
“Wow,”
he said, breathless, “we should have morning sex more often.”
“Tell
me about it.” I kissed his neck, then peeked at the bedside clock. “We have
to be there by nine. Plenty of time for showers and breakfast.”
“Pffft,
plenty of time for round two. That went way too fast.”
I
giggled. “Stop. Let’s save it for after. We’ll need to celebrate.”
“True.
Fingers crossed, right?”
“It’s
a done deal,” I assured him. “Eric wouldn’t have brought us here again otherwise.”
It
was our second day in Maui for that particular trip, and in a couple of hours,
we’d be taking a cab to Eric Landers’s estate, at a place on the island where
even the rich people were envious. Eric had become a close friend and mentor
to the both of us over the past six months, and we were certain that he’d
become our primary investor before lunch.
No
more escort services. It was for Finn’s startup idea. Something safe, secure,
and didn’t involve secrets, lies, taboo sex, or hired hitmen.
I
couldn’t be more thankful that we were away from all that, away from all those
mistakes and poor choices. I’ve been told that I’m brilliant my whole life; I
learned the hard way that it doesn’t necessarily make you smart. There’s a
difference.
Finn
and I were asking for five million in seed money, which was nothing to Eric,
but meant everything to us. We needed office space. Fashion artists. Manufacturing
supplies. The works. Finn’s idea was a simple one—designer dog-walking
purses—but it had tested so well and shown so much consumer demand for it that
we knew we had a winner. Now it was all a matter of lighting the rocket’s
fuse.
Finn
ran his fingers up and down my back. “I wish we could’ve brought Joey along.”
I loved that about him. Their link was stronger than I’d anticipated and my
little guy had already begun referring to Finn as “Daddy.” Watching them
together warmed my heart every day.
“
Aww
,
me too,” I said. “But you know Dreama. I didn’t tell you that she tried to
bribe me into letting him stay with her, did I?”
Finn
laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.
She tried to give me five hundred bucks. Said it was for the trip, but I knew
what she was really up to.”
“Regardless,”
Finn said, “I’m sure she’s spoiling the hell out of him, and on some level,
it’s probably a good thing that you guys are on speaking terms again.”
I
snickered. “We’ll see.”
Dreama
didn’t know what happened. Dreama would
never
know. In her usual
it’s-all-about-me way, she’d demanded to know why I’d removed myself—and her
grandson—from her life for so long. I stood up to her. I told her that my
life was my business and that after the way she’d treated me for the past
twenty-two years, she was lucky I was in hers at all. Reluctantly, I’d agreed
to some familial counseling. We were getting better together, but we were far
from close. Whenever she inquired about what had happened during that time, I
subtly reminded her, “Boundaries, mother.”
My
phone chirped on the nightstand. I grunted, rolled off of Finn, and checked
the display. It was a text from Michelle saying, “Good luck!!” I thumbed out
a curt, “Thanks…” and said to Finn, “She’s still trying.”
“Who?
Michelle?”
“Yeah.”
“I
thought for sure you would’ve forgiven her by now.”
“I
have, I guess. It’s not the same, though. Maybe one of these days.”
“It’s
so different for guys, you know? If one of my friends had done that, I’d be
like, ‘Dude, you’re a dick…so are we watching the game at your house tonight?’
Then it’d be over.”
“Which
is exactly why the world’s in the shape it’s in. With you men running things, the
consequences aren’t harsh enough for betraying each other.”
Finn
chuckled and put his arm around me, pulled me close. “You might have a
point.” I snuggled up against him. “Speaking of dudes,” he said, “guess who
called me yesterday?”
“Santa
Claus?”
“Honestly,
I would’ve expected that or the Loch Ness Monster more than who did.”
“Who
was it?”
“Roman.”
“He
did? Why?” I squirmed around so that I could face him. “And why didn’t you tell
me?”
“We
were about to get on a plane for Hawaii, Kim, I didn’t want to ruin the trip
for you.”
“How’d
he get your number?”
“Beats
me. He called the office.”
“What
did he want?”
“He
wanted to talk to you. Said you wouldn’t answer your phone.”
“Yeah,
exactly. That’s what happens when people change their numbers.”
“I
know, right? I told him I’d give you a message, but that was it. He said to
tell you Lucy’s not budging.”
“And
that’s my problem?”
“Well,
you did kinda…”
“Shit.
Okay, I’ll call her when I get back.”
After
that horrific afternoon in Roman’s office, Michelle and I gathered everyone
together again the next day and told them we were shutting down Secret Desires
for personal reasons. We informed them that Roman would gladly take them back,
no questions asked.
Not
a single one volunteered to go back to him. They wanted to work, but not for
Roman, so, we sold the business to Lucy. She wanted it. She asked for it.
She got it.
She’d
said, “The house in Maui can wait a while.”
“A
while” didn’t last very long. She’d been doing so well that she asked us to
bring her real estate brochures when we returned.
Roman,
of course, couldn’t stand to see her profits eclipsing his struggling business,
and had finally given in and offered to buy her out. She’d refused. Good for
her. Make him sweat. When we’d last spoken, she told me she’d keep refusing until
he added an extra zero to his offering price. Maybe she wasn’t the one I
needed to convince. Maybe to sever all those final ties, I’d need to call
Roman and convince
him
.
Maybe
I’d call. Or maybe not.
That
wasn’t my battle anymore. The war between us was over.
I
leaned up and kissed Finn on the cheek.
My
lover. My partner. My forever.
Thank you
so much for reading this novel! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing
it. While most of us probably wouldn’t choose the same path that Kim took, her
journey is one we can all identify with in some way. Plans change. Dreams
take a detour. Like Finn said, “Life happens,” but we find a way to stay
strong and keep going. Make the best of yours!
Want more fiction from Scarlett
Black? Please leave a review with your thoughts on CEASEFIRE!
I have to
give a huge amount of credit and sincere thanks to my editor, Shay Bresnan, who
provided a tremendous amount of help, support, and encouragement while bringing
this novel to life. Her wise guidance and keen eye made this book better.
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Thanks
again!
Scarlett
November,
2013