Authors: Marie Rochelle
“I had to cover all the important parts.” He mumbled.
True glared at him. “Well, you did a wonderful job of covering everything.”
Chuckling he reached out and yanked her back into his arms. “I didn’t hear you complaining an hour ago, Ms. Williams.”
Tilting her head back, she looked up at him. “No, I guess I wasn’t saying a word was I?”
“If you did I didn’t understand a word between your moans and purrs of pleasure, kitten.” He teased as he licked her sweet neck.
Shoving at his chest True removed her body from his arms. “I need to take a shower” Holding up a hand at him, she added, “Without you. I won’t get a thing accomplished if you join me.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you in the library in about an hour.”
Hayward
said, putting his shirt into his pants
“I’ll be there,” True responded as she went out the door.
* * * *
“You have to promise not to tell him.” True begged leaning forward in the seat staring at the man in front of her.
“I promise he won’t hear a word about it from me.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“I’ve always been a man of my word. Once I give it to you nothing will make me break it. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries. I won’t say a word to him about this.”
True’s
face beamed. “Fantastic, I’m glad I could confide in you about this.”
Jumping up out the chair, she gave
Clinton
a friendly hug but to the man standing in the door it looked totally different. “You don’t know how much this means to me. If I can ever do anything for you just let me know.” She whispered by
Clinton
’s ear.
“What do the two of you have to hug about now?”
Hayward
watched
True
jerked away from his brother.
“I was just t
hank
ing
Clinton
for letting me come to T
hank
sgiving dinner.” She lied.
Hayward
’s eyes narrowed on her face. She smiled and tried to throw him off the scent. It wouldn’t do any good if he found out what was going on. Tearing his eyes away from her, he threw his brother an accusing look.
“If you keep hugging my brother all the time you’ll give me a complex. I’ll start thinking you like touching him more than you do me.”
“
Ummm
…I better to check on Dad.”
Clinton
muttered. He got up from the couch and eased past her, then left the room, closing the door behind him.
Folding his arms across his chest,
Hayward
caught her eyes with his and held them. “What are you up to now, True?”
“Darling you look very handsome tonight.” She said, coming across the room toward him. “I’ve never seen you in all black before. It makes you more handsome than you already are.”
Standing on tiptoes, she placed a quick kiss on his mouth. “Hmm….you even
smell
good.”
Hayward
ran his fingers through her hair. “Kitten, what were you really taking to
Clinton
about?”
There was almost hesitancy to his usual confident voice. His hands brushed the ends over her shoulders before his fingertips stared to massage her scalp.
“It’s a surprise and I can’t tell you.” She removed
Hayward
’s hand from her hair. The steady stroke of his fingers was too relaxing. Anymore of that and she just might blurt out what she asked
Clinton
to keep a secret.
His thumb caressed her bottom lip. “When will I get to see the surprise?” He asked, slipping his thumb inside her mouth. Her teeth bit him gently and then lovingly she licked the bite at the same time.
Grasping his thick wrist, she removed his thumb from her mouth. “You aren’t going to trick me with foreplay. The surprise will stay that way until I’m ready to show you.”
She spun away from him and headed for the library doors. Just as she was turning, the doorknob
Hayward
shut it with the palm of his hand.
“Are you sure you are strong enough to resist me?” He wrapped her hair around his fist moving it out of the way to nibble below her ear.
Hayward
knew this was her weak spot. With a few nibbles and licks, he could seduce everything out of her. His other hand slid underneath her black skirt pushing it out of the way.
Her head fell against his chest. “Damn you, Hayward Campbell!”
She felt his smirk above her head. “That’s right Kitten. Let your body sing for me.” His rich voice encouraged her, while his long fingers slid between her thighs. The sweetly intoxicating musk of his body mingled with expensive aftershave, as the scents overwhelmed her.
Gathering all her strength, she got away from
Hayward
’s aura and arms. Positioning her body several inches behind him,
True
tried to catch her breath. “Yes, I can resist you,
Hayward
and I can keep this surprise too.”
* * * *
Hayward
looked at True with hunger in his eyes. Hell, his need to have her again was plastered all over his face. “Do you want to play with me, True?”
He still hadn’t shown her a lot of things because he didn’t think she was ready yet. But if she kept teasing him with those tender kisses and touches, he didn’t have a problem keeping her in bed. He would show her all the different way they could arouse each other. His body stiffened with shock, it has been awhile since he fantasized about having her.
“I thought we did that earlier in the kitchen, baby.” Her soft voice taunted, breaking into his daydream.
Hayward
’s eyebrows
raised
up in a stunned expression. A split second later, his laughter filled the large room. Wiping a tear from his eye he gave in. “I can wait from the surprise.” Opening the door, he waited for True to walk out in front of him. Standing in the empty hallway, True stared at her reflection in the mirror across from the den and fixed her clothes, after his wandering hands had rearranged them.
Her eyes met his gaze in the mirror. “Don’t even think about touching me
Hayward
. I don’t have time to fix my hair again. I want to look good for the party.”
Hayward
groaned out loud. “I wish
Clinton
had told us about the party before we came, instead of on the ride from the airport.”
“Baby, I think it might be fun.” She said, brushing her hair off her shoulders. “I get to meet some of your friends and business associates. I think meeting the business people will be good for me, since I start working for your brother after Christmas.”
Hayward
strolled forward, stopping in front of her. The love shone from her eyes, as she tilted her head back and stared up at him.
It wrapped itself around his heart and squeezed, like a well-worn baseball glove. It made him felt cherished and wanted. Something, he never experienced in his adult life.
She moved forward closer to him and thrust out her chin. “Stop worrying so much about me. I promise
,
I won’t run from the room in tears if someone insults me.”
God, I really hope you won’t,
he thought
.
Plastering a blank expression on his face, he placed her hand on his arm and led them toward the dining room.
* * * *
Hayward
noticed instantly how everyone turned and watched True as she entered the party with him.
She made eye contact with every guest in the room. Several of their looks reflected shock, disbelief, envy and anger. However, he noticed only one guest looked at True with hatred in her eyes. He spotted the tall blond, with a drink in her hand the second he stepped through the door. He saw the woman’s hatred from ten feet away. Unconsciously, it made his body tense up.
“What’s wrong honey?” True asked. She followed his eyes across the room. “Who is the tall blond in the far corner looking at us?”
Hayward
broke his eye contact with his uninvited guest as
True’s
question raced through his mind. That was one woman that he needed to keep an eye one. Stacey wasn’t even in the same league as the Amazon staring him down.
She arched a well-groomed eyebrow in acknowledgement. “She’s no one you need to know about.” He spotted
Clinton
by the refreshment table. “I see Clint over there. Let’s go speak to him.”
He practically carried True over to
Clinton
so he could put more distance between her and the other woman.
Stopping in front of
Clinton
he asked. “Could you please keep True
company
for a little while? I have something I need to take care of.”
Clinton
sensed the tension in
Hayward
’s body. “What’s going on?”
“Look over by the patio doors.”
Hayward
answered.
Clinton
looked over his shoulder at the patio doors and his mouth spread into a thin line. “How in the hell did she get in here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to remove her before she says or does anything,”
Hayward
snapped, “Just keep True right next to you.”
He moved away from True and headed for the patio doors.
“I want to know what is going on and who she
is?
” True blurted out, while watching
Hayward
rush over to the gorgeous leggy blond.
“Don’t worry about her.”
Clinton
replied
,
glancing at his brother’s back.
* * * *
“What in the hell are you doing here!”
Hayward
asked yanking Stacey White out the patio doors. The Shirley Temple drink spilled down the front of her white off the shoulder dress. Flinging her viper body away from him, he waited for an answer.
“When I heard about my brother-in-law’s new trophy I had to come and see her for myself.” Stacey giggled.
He took a step back from the liquor on her breath. When he was married to Brooke, he noticed how Stacey had a problem with holding her liquor. He couldn’t stand her back then and the feeling hadn’t changed over the years. She was a spoiled bitch that got high from making other people around her miserable.
“She’s a dark little creature isn’t she?”
She taunted.
He lunged toward Stacey but stopped short as he quickly regained control
of
his
temper, before he did any real damage. “I’m not going to disgrace
True
by discussing her with you.”
“Disgrace True! How in the fuck can you say that?” Stacey sputtered. “You’re the disgrace because you are sleeping with a …”
He grabbed Stacey’s arm before the first letter could leave her poisonous lips. “Don’t you dare say it Stacey! I don’t care if you’re Brooke’s half sister. I want you out of my brother’s house now.” He bellowed, latching onto her wrist.
He reopened the patio doors and jerked Stacey past the small crowd of people.
At the dining room doors, Stacey yanked her arm away from him. “I hope you enjoy her because she’s only after one thing and you know what it is. Once her claws are in you nothing will get them out. I feel sorry for you
Hayward
. You don’t know what a sorry bastard you are.”
After her speech Stacey flung open the door and stormed out.
* * * *
The rest of the guests stood in stunned silence after Stacey’s outburst. Most of them didn’t know what to do, but
Hayward
helped them quickly make their decision. “No one can leave until they meet my gorgeous girlfriend. Plus most of you I haven’t seen in years and I want us to get reacquainted.”
Someone turned the music back on and slowly couples moved back onto the dance floor.
Hayward
searched around the room until he found
Clinton
, but True wasn’t with him. He quickly rushed over to his brother.
“God, where is True? Please don’t tell me she left.”
“No, she’s still here at the party,”
Clinton
answered.
He pointed toward the middle of the dance floor. “She’s out there dancing with Daniel Shaw.”
“What is she doing out there with him?” Itching for a fight, he stormed out onto the dance floor.
* * * *
Daniel Shaw’s light brown hair shone under the bright light of the dining room. His light blue-green eyes watched as
Hayward
’s eyes spotted him with True, before he rushed onto the dance floor. His mouth kicked up into a smile at the jealousy on the younger man’s face. It enhanced his dimpled chin making his look a lot younger than his forty-one years.