Earning Yancy (26 page)

I
woke up
forty-five minutes later, feeling refreshed and comfortable. I glanced at the video monitor and saw that Carolena was still sleeping, her limbs sprawled out around her. I moved a little, stretching my back and legs.

Charles’ arms tightened around my body. I looked up and saw that he was awake and looking down at me. I smiled.

“Did you sleep?” I asked, still feeling drowsy.

His eyes were warm as he studied my face. “A little.”

He brought his lips to mine. In the last few weeks, he’d kissed me sweetly, passionately, and chastely. This was different. Slowly, we undressed each other. There was no tremor in my hands and my natural shyness was gone.

His touch was different, almost reverent. After he was naked, Charles removed my bra, his hands tracing a path from my shoulders down to my breasts, tugging lightly at my nipples. I squirmed beneath him as the sensations caused a hot ache inside my body.

As his hands grasped the waistband of my shorts and pulled them, along with my underwear, down my legs, his mouth trailed behind. I jerked as he kissed his way down my thigh, almost to my knee. He pushed my knees apart, knelt between them, and his lips, tongue, and teeth moved slowly up my leg. At the first touch of his mouth between my thighs, my back arched.

Charles gripped my thigh with one hand and, with the other, slid two fingers inside me. He suckled and licked my clit as though he had all the time in the world. My orgasm built slowly, but when it crashed over me it was with the force of a tsunami.

I lay gasping for breath as he kissed his way up my body, stopping to nibble on the bottom curves of my breasts and my nipples. After the intensity of my climax, my skin felt hypersensitive and I made a sound of protest, my hands coming up to grab his hair and tug him away.

He braced himself above me and reached into the nightstand for a condom. I watched avidly as he tore open the packet and rolled the latex over his cock. He leaned down, his mouth latching on to mine. He tasted of me.

Charles entered me in one smooth thrust, the wetness created by my orgasm easing his way. I sucked in a harsh breath, my nails digging into his shoulders. While it didn’t hurt, I was so sensitive from my climax that the sudden feeling of fullness was overwhelming.

That was when he lifted his head, concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, taking another slow breath. His face softened as he stared down at me and he brought his face closer and rubbed my nose with his. It was such a sweet, unexpected action that the words tumbled from my lips before I could think twice. “I love you.”

When I realized what I’d said, I stopped breathing and my entire body grew tight. We were both naked and he was inside me. In this moment, I was at my most vulnerable, completely open in both body and mind.

Something changed in Charles’ eyes, but it wasn’t a bad change. He didn’t speak, but he used his mouth to communicate in other ways. His lips were firm and insistent as he kissed me with near ferocity. His hands hooked my knees, pulling them high against his ribs, so that he went deeper within my body. My arms wrapped around his back, my nails scoring the firm muscles along each side of his spine.

Charles lifted my hips, changing the angle of his thrusts. Immediately, I felt another climax building between my legs. He lifted his head, his eyes burning into mine. Then he lunged forward and nipped the muscle that connected my neck and shoulder. That was the final push that took me over the edge.

Crying out, I threw my head back as I came.

Charles cupped my chin, tilting my face back toward him. “Look at me, Yancy.”

I blinked several times before his face came into focus. My vaginal muscles spasmed with echoes of my orgasm. His thrusts were losing their rhythm, his hips moving faster and I knew he was about to come.

Without blinking, his eyes locked on mine, Charles came, the tendons in his neck standing out slightly as pleasure overwhelmed him.

He stopped moving, his body still buried in mine. Charles’ mouth brushed mine tenderly. Our eyes were still open and trained on each other.

When he lifted his head, his words surprised me. “I love you, too, Yancy.”

My eyes closed as happiness burst inside of me and I felt as though my entire body was made of light. Charles kissed me again before sliding from my body. I hated the emptiness he left behind. I watched him as he got up and walked into the bathroom to deal with the condom.

A few moments later, he came back to the bed and gathered me into his arms. I tucked my face into his neck so that I could smell his skin and Charles caressed my back in long sweeping motions.

“I’m glad you were awake this time,” he murmured.

I tilted my head back so I could see his face. “What?”

He lowered his chin, smiling slightly. “Before you fell asleep, I tried to tell you how I was feeling, but you were unconscious before I could get the words out.”

I felt my cheeks heat. Leave it to me to fall asleep while my man made a declaration of love.

He brushed a tangle of my hair away from my face. “I think I liked this delivery better though.”

I smiled and pressed my face against his throat again, wrapping my arm around his belly tightly. “Me too.”

Sunday night was
the first time I asked Charles to stay over. While it felt strange to have someone in the bed with me at night, I enjoyed sleeping beside him. He kept me close. I awoke surprisingly refreshed and left him sleeping in my bed. I was finishing up in the shower when the curtain lifted and Charles stepped in behind me, hard, ready, and holding a condom.

Fifteen minutes later, I left him in the bathroom to finish his shower and I walked into my bedroom on unsteady legs to get dressed. Since Carolena would sleep for another half hour or so, I went downstairs to make coffee.

Even though I had to work around Charles in the bathroom, I was still on time getting ready. Carolena woke up at seven and, while I got her up and dressed, Charles went downstairs. By the time I carried the baby into the kitchen, he was stirring oatmeal in a pan.

Feeling so happy that I had to check to see if my feet were touching the floor, I thanked him for making breakfast and set about pouring a sippy cup of milk for the baby. Kathy came into the kitchen just as Charles and I were finishing up our breakfast. She seemed completely unfazed at finding a man in my house first thing in the morning.

While she cleaned up the baby, I brewed coffee in travel mugs for Charles and myself. I kissed Carolena and said good-bye to Kathy before hurrying out the door. We weren’t late, but we would be if we didn’t leave immediately.

“Do you want to ride together?” he asked.

I started to say yes, then remembered I had a meeting with my lawyer that afternoon. “I can’t. I have to meet Delinda about the custody suit today.”

Charles nodded. “Okay. Dinner tonight? I’ll come here.”

“Sure. I should be home around 7:00. Kathy will probably feed the baby, but you and I can eat together.”

Charles held my car door open for me. “See you at the office.” He winked, shut the door, and went to his own car.

Thinking this had to be the second best day of my life (Carolena’s birth was the first), I left my driveway. Nothing could ruin my mood. Even though traffic was a mess and it took me fifteen minutes longer to get to work, I was still smiling as I parked in the lot at my building. I hurried inside the lobby, with only five minutes to spare before 8:00 a.m.

As I climbed the stairs, my cell phone rang and I discovered there was one thing that could dampen my happiness. Coop’s name was on my screen. I almost ignored the call. My attorney would have advised me to do just that, but I couldn’t. Instead, I answered.

“Hello?” I tried to keep my voice even and neutral. I didn’t want Coop to think for a second that he had any more power over me.

“Hi, Yancy.” He paused, waiting for me to say something. When I didn’t, he sighed. “Look, I want to apologize for last week. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

Since I was familiar with Cooper’s tactics from past experience, I didn’t take his apology at face value. However, instead of calling him out, I merely said, “It’s fine, Coop. Is that all? I’m just on my way into the office and I don’t want to be late.”

He hissed under his breath. “No, I wanted to talk to you about Carolena.”

“Then you should have your attorney call mine and we’ll set something up.”

“Yancy, I just want to see my daughter.”

I sighed. He sounded so sincere, so upset, but I knew Cooper better than that. “I know about the Attorney General’s office and that they intend to start garnishing your wages if you don’t pay the child support you owe me. I know exactly what you’re up to, Coop. If you want visitation with Carolena, have your lawyer call Delinda and set up a meeting with me, with my attorney present.”

“Why are you being like this?” he asked.

I was sure he intended his voice to sound sad, pained, but he sounded like a spoiled, petulant brat instead. “Because I know who you are and what you are. I can see straight through you.” With that statement, I disconnected the call and stuffed my phone in my bag.

There was one more thing for me to lay at Cooper Stevens’ door; he ruined the second best day of my life.

The day passed
quickly and I never could regain my buoyant mood. In fact, my attitude took another hit when I called Delinda to tell her about Coop’s call and she explained that she would have to miss today’s meeting because she had the flu. While I understood and didn’t resent the fact that she was sick, I was disappointed that we weren’t going to be able to further our discussion on the custody case today. Our court date was still a couple of weeks away, but I wanted to have everything in order well in advance and contingency plans in place.

I had a meeting with Judith about several accounts and also let her know that I would need to take some personal time in a few weeks because of Coop’s custody suit. As usual, she was great. She also didn’t pry, which I appreciated.

I left work at 5:00 and drove home on autopilot. I was ready for my yoga pants and a shot of tequila. I remembered Charles was coming over later and decided to call him after I achieved physical comfort and a pleasant buzz. A hug from him would go a long way to erasing the stress of the day.

Since I knew I would be home early, I called Kathy before lunch and told her not to worry about making dinner, that I would handle it when I got there. Now, I was regretting that. I decided that it wouldn’t hurt Carolena or I to order a pizza.

Once I got home and changed, Kathy gave me a rundown of Carolena’s day and left. Less than two minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Thinking it was Kathy coming back because she’d forgotten something, I didn’t check to see who was standing on the other side. Huge mistake.

Cooper stood on my porch, arms crossed over his chest.

I sighed. “What are you doing here, Coop?”

“I want to see my daughter,” he demanded.

“I’m not having this argument with you on the front porch. I told you what you needed to do if you wanted to see Carolena. Considering what you pulled when you left last year, I think you can understand why I don’t trust you.”

“She’s my daughter too and I want to see her,” he insisted.

“No.” That was all I said. I could see that it was beginning to sink in. Cooper couldn’t manipulate me any longer and he was rapidly recognizing that fact. I realized that he actually thought he could come back and I would happily go along with his plans to reconcile. Either he honestly thought I was that stupid or he was actually that much of an idiot.

I started to shut the door, but Coop stuck his foot between the door and the frame. I braced myself for him to push his way inside but he merely moved his face closer to mine. “If I have to, I will stand out here on the porch all night, yelling, screaming, and banging on your door until you let me see her.”

“Fine,” I said. “You do what you have to. If you feel that’s what’s necessary, go ahead. Just know I’ll be calling the cops. Now, you should move your foot unless you don’t mind a few broken bones.”