OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES (7 page)

Mario hands wandered her body.  His fingers tracing the
curves of her side, moving up her body until his thumb rested underneath the
band of her sports bra.  Taylor inhaled when his thumb touched her nipple
causing it to harden.

He lowered his head running his lips over her plump nipples
poking through the bra.  Through the material of the bra, he sucked a nipple
into his mouth. Taylor, head fell back from the pleasure slamming her body. 
Using her hand, she lifted the bra so he could get to the actual flesh.

He used the flat of his tongue to tighten the nipple
harder.  Taylor’s hands ran down his broad back to rest at the waist of his
jeans.  She tugged the T-shirt pulling at it up until it was free from his
jeans.

As he feasted on her breasts, she moved her hands under his
shirt feeling the definition of his hard muscles.  She had never touched his
bare body and the heat of him pressing against her was too much for her
handle.  Her legs were shaking trying to support her weight.  He popped her
breast from his mouth to switch sides.  That sent the juices flowing through
her loins.

She unbuckled his jeans slipping a hand inside to greet what
was pressing hard against her abdomen.  He rolled the spandex shorts from her
hips taking her underwear with them.  His fingers found the other set of lips
in need of attention.  He inserted a finger causing her to cry out.

“Which way to the bedroom,” he whispered in her ear.

She started to answer him when a hard knock hit the other
side of the door.  Mario’s back was against the door supporting her weight. He
became still, and she stopped moving.  Her heart was pounding as she clung to
him. 

She could not see through the peephole from her position. 
She tried to gather her senses. Her voice, not under control came out
high-pitched and squeaky. “Who is it?”

“Dillon.  I forgot my legal pad on the kitchen table.  Can
you let me in so I can grab it?  I don’t have your keys with me.”

She put a finger to Mario’s lips as he removed his finger
and helped fix her clothing.  “Um, give me a second to put my clothes on.  I
was getting ready to shower.”

“Hey, you don’t have to get dressed on my account,” Dillon
responded from the other side of the door.

Mario opened his mouth to say something, but Taylor vetoed
him.  “Baby, go upstairs; I will get rid of him,” she whispered.

Keeping his voice low, he seethed. “Why the hell does he
have keys to your house?”

“I will explain it to you later.  Just go upstairs and wait
for me.”

He adjusted his pants and went upstairs.  Taylor made sure
she was decent before opening the door. “Hey.  I didn’t see a legal pad in the
kitchen, are you sure you had one with you?”

“Humph, I could have sworn I had it with me.  I was working
on my notes waiting for you to come home.  You looked flushed….are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.  I started cleaning, and now I’m hot again. 
She pushed him outside the door. “I hate to rush you off, Dillon, but I really
have to get moving or I’m going to fall behind.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow for
sure.”

“Ok.  Whose car is that in the driveway?” He asked noticing
it was the same car he suspected was Sabrina’s.

She peeked over his shoulder.  In need of a quick lie, she
noticed Sebastian’s driveway blocked off by sawhorses and yellow tape.  “Oh, my
neighbor is having his driveway worked on.  I told him he could use mine to
park his car.  He must not have seen my car in the garage.”

“Cool.  I will see you at breakfast in the morning.”

Once again, she watched him drive off.  This time she locked
the screen door and the front door to make sure Dillon could not get in if he
returned.  She dropped her head sighing.  Now to deal with Mario and quizzed on
why Dillon had keys to her house.

Mario was sitting on her bed watching television when she
entered the bedroom.  He did not appear to be angry or upset.  She went to the
closet removing her bathrobe.  “He’s gone and I’m going to take a quick
shower.”

“Wait.  Do you want to explain to me why this man who is
marrying another woman has keys to my woman’s house?”

She lowered her hands.  All she wanted to do was take a hot
shower and go get her hair and nails done as planned.  “Mario, I have explained
this to you before.  Dillon and I grew up together.  He is like family to me. 
He has a key in case something was to happen to me, and he needed to get into
the house.”

“Why is that, Taylor?  You have family close by, and you
have me now.”

“My sister is busy with her own husband and my parents moved
to the other side of town a long time ago.  As far as you go.  You just came
into my life.  We have not exchanged keys yet.”

“Get the key back, Taylor.  There is something strange about
the man, and I don’t like the way he looks at you.  He is always following you
around at work and now after work.  What is his deal?”

She folded her arms taking a long hard stance. “I’m going to
have to stop you right there.  Dillon was my friend long before you and I got
into whatever we are having.  I’m not going to dictate who your friends are,
and you will not dictate who mine are.  Are we clear on that?”

He got off the bed going over to her.  Her stiff body
language repelled his advances. “Taylor, I am not trying to pick and choose
your friends.  I am making a personal assessment concerning Dillon.  He has
serious issues surrounding him.”

“Dillon has always been this way.  You don’t know him, so
you are judging him.  He told me today that he wants to postpone the wedding
but doesn’t want to hurt Kelly’s feelings.”

“Why does he want to do that?  What would be his reason for
doing that?”

“They were getting married because Kelly was pregnant.
Sadly, she lost the baby.  If he tells her, he doesn’t want to get married he
believes she will have a meltdown.”

Mario walked around the bedroom shaking his head. “So, let
me understand this correctly.  He got this young lady pregnant and offered to
do right by her.  She miscarries and he decides there is no reason to get
married and wants to end the relationship….am I correct so far?”

“If you put it that way…..yes, you are correct.”

“If he loves this woman, why not marry her and try again for
a family.” He held up a finger stopping her from answering. “I will tell you
why.  Dillon is not in love with this woman but with you.  He wants to be done
with this woman so he can be with the one he loves.”

 She shook her head. “I see why you are at the top of your
field.  You’ve assumed the answers and are now prosecuting him without letting
him make his case.  I’m going to take a shower.  Please see yourself out.”

He took her elbow before she could bolt from the room. “We
are not ending this on a sour note.  I have hit a nerve, and I apologize.  But,
Taylor, I am seeing Dillon from outside the box.  I am not saying these things
about him to make you angry with me.”

“Even if he does have a slight crush on me, I’m not feeling
the same about him and he is aware of that.  Mario, I want to continue what we
have, but I can’t if you are going to go insane every time Dillon is around
me.  What happened to you trusting me?”

“I do trust you and will keep my sanity intact.  But you are
wrong about Dillon.  I’ve dealt with many crimes of passion before turning
corporate litigator.  Dillon does not have a crush on you—he wants you in a
romantic way.  You know this, and that is why you are keeping us a secret.”

She tugged at her ear as he struck a nerve under her skin.
“What am I supposed to do, Mario?  He is my friend.  He has been there for me
whenever I needed to cry on his shoulder.  I can’t just slam the door on him
and never speak to him again.”

“You are enabling him, Taylor.  He has to learn to accept we
are together and get over it.  You don’t need me to tell you how obsessive
people can become dangerous.  If Dillon’s crush on you grows to an obsession,
he will not hesitate to harm you in order to keep other men from being with
you.”

She rubbed the chill from her arms even though she was not
cold. “I suggested he and Kelly get counseling to work on their relationship. 
Maybe that will cure him of having any feelings for me other than friendship. 
Once they rekindle the flames of their love, we’ll be home free to let everyone
know about us.”

“That was a smart suggestion but I wouldn’t count on that
curing his desires for you.  Taylor, you are pale.  I didn’t mean to frighten
you.”

She shook an ill-feeling away from her mind. “No, I’m
okay.”  She turned to go into the bathroom thinking about Dillon saying he did
not have her keys with him.  She debated if he carried the keys all the time or
if he had been inside her home without her knowledge.

When she stopped at the entrance of the door, Mario became
concerned.  “Taylor, what’s wrong?”

“Mario, when you come back tonight, will you stay the night
with me?  I will call a locksmith to have the locks changed, but I don’t want
to be here tonight by myself.”

“Sure, call me when you are ready to leave the baby shower,
and I will be on your porch by the time you get home.”

She nodded.  “Okay, but will you stay until I’m done with my
shower?”

He began to pull his T-shirt over his head. “I have a better
idea—I will join you.”

She beckoned him off. “No, no, your idea is not better.  I
definitely won’t make it out of this house if you join me in the shower.  Go
back to watching your television program or read a book until I’m done.”

“Ah, tu me estas matando!” He exclaimed pulling his shirt down.

*****

He waited to hear the shower water running before going
downstairs.  He did not trust Dillon Stevenson and if Taylor asked for the key
to be returned, he had to make sure Dillon did not have another way to access
her home.  Checking the front door, he saw she had secured it.  Mario went into
the kitchen and checked those doors and windows.  She had the window over the
kitchen sink raised an inch, but the window was not big enough for a person to
squeeze through otherwise.

In the basement, he found areas that were accessible for a
person to enter the home.  He looked around for any tools.  He shook his head. 
This was a typical female occupied home.  She did not have a tool in sight.

He pushed at the window over the dryer with the palm of his
hand—it opened easily.  He stuck his head through the opening to see which part
of the house the window faced.  It was the backyard and low enough to be out of
view of the house located across the fence.  It didn’t help a large pine tree
stood two feet away blocking any light from the streetlights.

He heard Taylor calling his name as she came near the
basement steps.  “I’m here,” he yelled to her.

The heels of her shoes tapped against the linoleum covering
the wooden stairs leading to the finished basement. “What are you doing down
here?” She asked switching on the lights.  She had applied makeup and combed
her hair into a neat ponytail. She had on black skinny jeans and a
salmon-colored blouse that matched the high-heeled sandals she wore.

“I’m seeing how safe your house is.  Taylor, take a look at
this.  I pushed on this window, and it opened with no problem.  An intruder
could slip inside while you are sleeping, and you would have no clue he is in
your house.”

“Will you quit scaring me? I’ve lived here for five years
and never had a break-in.”

“You’ve never had a person obsessed with you before either. 
Do you have any nails and a hammer?  I can fix the window where it can’t be
accessed from the outside.”

“I want glass block windows but I haven’t had time to get the
estimate.”

“I’ll take care of it myself.”  He went over to where she
was standing.  The scent of her perfume emitted from her body.  The blouse she
wore was low-cut and showed an ample amount of her cleavage—more than he cared
for her to display to others.  “I want you to pack an overnight bag and put it
in your car.  You’re spending the weekend at my place.”

“I can’t spend the night.  I’m having breakfast with Dillon
in the morning.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“How do you propose I explain your being with me?”

“We’ll think of something in the morning.  Now get upstairs
and pack a bag.  Your car can stay here; I will take you where you need to go
today.”

“Mario, I have a lot to do before the baby shower.  Trust
me—it would be better if I drove to my appointments.”

“Don’t worry about me…I can handle sitting on my butt
reading outdated magazines while you do your girly stuff.”

“I give up. Who is more obsessed—you or Dillon.”

“My obsession is keeping you safe from Dillon.  Even if he
returns the key, he may have copies other ways to get inside the house. 
Please, appease me by cooperating…please?”

She groaned not address his comment about Dillon being
dangerous. “We’d better go.  Sabrina has a habit of taking her time with
clients, and since I’m family she won’t cut me any slack.”

                                                                                                                                                         
Chapter 6
              
 

Mario sat wedged between two women reading a magazine
while waiting on Taylor in a beauty salon filled with talkative women.  Sabrina
was her only sister and two years younger.  She was also a stylist working
towards opening her own salon.

Taylor enjoyed the feel of Sabina’s fingers massaging her
scalp, followed by the warm water rinsing the fragrant shampoo from her hair.
Even in a tranquil state, she sensed her sister’s vibes bouncing off her.  “I
know you are dying to ask, so ask,” she said to her sister not opening her
eyes.

“I don’t want to be nosy.”

“I can read your mind, Sabrina.  You’ve been aching to
ask me about him since we walked in the shop.”

“Yeah, screw all that since you mentioned it.  So, who is
the hunk and how did you train him to sit and wait for you in a beauty shop?”

“His name is Mario Infante, and we’ve been hanging out
for a month; nothing serious yet.”

“I should have known.  He is Hispanic, and you are crazy
for Hispanic men.  So how is Dillon accepting the new man in your life?”

“Dillon doesn’t have a voice in what goes on in my life. 
His place is with Kelly.”

“He might have a place with Kelly but you are the one he
wants.”

“Sabrina, I’m so sick of hearing that.  I have to stop
spending time with him unless Kelly is around.  Heck, even Mario, believes
Dillon is obsessed with me.”

Sabrina sat Taylor up in the chair and wrapped a dry
towel around her hair. “I never said anything about Dillon being obsessed. 
I’ve always knew he wanted more than a friendship with you.  It was obvious
when we were kids he was crazy about you.”

She walked with her sister back to her station. Glancing
at Mario, she saw he was engaged in close conversation with the woman sitting
next to him. She sat in the swivel chair with pangs of jealousy shooting
through her body. “Who is that woman Mario is talking to?”

“You don’t remember Megan Wiley?  She went to high school
with us.”

She adjusted the pink plastic cape to cover her lap. “The
Megan Wiley I remember weighed about four-hundred pounds and was a total
bitch.”

Sabrina laughed. “She looks great since she dropped the
weight but her attitude is still the same if not worse.”

“She looks too great if you ask me.  Is she your client?”

“Dang, Taylor, you aren’t getting jealous because she is
talking to him?”

“What could they be talking about?  He’d better be
informing her, he is not available!  And if I see one drop of drool curl on her
lip, I’m going over there.”

“Wow, you have him locked-down like that?  He isn’t
allowed to have a conversation with another woman?”

“Of course I don’t have him on a leash, but there should
be boundaries.”

“Boundaries are set when you make it official.  He does
have to work, and I’m sure other women are employed at his place of business.”

“He probably has female clients and other female friends
I’m sure I don’t know about.”

“So why are you trippin’ over him talking to Megan? You
are feeling the same way Dillon probably does when he has to watch you with
him.  Actually, how does he treat Mario or has he met him yet?”

“We all work together at Cartwright and Associates. 
Dillon doesn’t know Mario and I are seeing each other.  He suspects it, but I
won’t confirm it.”

“Ooh, so Mr. Hottie is an attorney also.  Well, sister, I
think you need to confirm it and make a commitment with him and stop
pussyfooting around with Dillon.”

Taylor pursed her lips eyeing her new man.  Their actions
earlier flooded her memory. Oh, what could have been if Dillon had not
interrupted again?  Mario must have her heated stare as his head lifted in her
direction.  He winked, releasing that addictive and sexy smile.  She returned
the flirt use of body language with a sexy smile of her own.

Taylor drew in a deep breath licking her lips. Sabrina
tapped her lightly on the head with the end of a comb after catching the
signals passing between them. “Hey, this is a family beauty salon.  Get a room
after I’m done with your hair.”

“Sabrina, you are right about me putting my stamp on
Mario.  Do you mind taking my gift to Selma’s baby shower?  Something suddenly
came up, and I won’t be able to make it.”

Sabrina swung the chair around to face her sister. “You
can’t do that! Selma is the only close cousin we actually like.  Taylor, you
have all night, after the party, to mark your territory with Mario, don’t do
this to Selma.”

Taylor rolled her eyes upward. “Why do you do this,
Sabrina?  You have me all worked up and then burst my balloon by making me feel
guilty about ditching a baby shower.  I’m not staying long.”

“Bring him with you.  It’s a co-ed baby shower.  Edward
will be there.  And you should bring that tasty morsel to dangle in front of
the females in the family we can’t stand.  I can see their faces and hear the
comments,” she giggled.
“Taylor James snagged a man that fine…humph.”

Taylor slung wet hair from her face saying, “It would be
fun to do that but no way am I subjecting him to that crew.  It is too soon to
introduce him to our crazy family.”

Sabrina sat the basket containing hair rollers in
Taylor’s lap and began setting her wet hair.  “Are you ashamed of us?”

“Will Uncle Vernon be there entertaining the guests with
his off-colored jokes?”

“Shoot, I forgot about him and his colorful sense of
humor.  He would be the one difficult to explain to an outsider.”

“He is difficult to explain to people who know him.”  She
handed her sister another roller. “Mario did offer to come with me.”

“Then bring him.  You might as well get him used to the
dark side of the family.  Not all of us are Howard graduates or rising star
attorneys.”

“Please, Sabrina.  The deadbeats of the family just want
free legal advice from me.  My accomplishments otherwise, mean nothing to
them.”

“Every family has their share of assholes, Taylor.  Not
only do I have them on our side but on Edward’s side of the family as well.  I
have the regulars that always want me to do their hair but never have the money
to pay me.”

“Can you imagine if you’d stayed in the medical
profession?  You would have them asking you for drugs all the time.”

“I’m surprised we are normal,” Sabrina said securing another
roller in Taylor’s hair.  “Um, can I ask if that is why you haven’t introduced
me to him?  Are you ashamed of me and what I do for a living?”

Taylor swallowed the lump in her throat.  She had
neglected to introduce him to Sabrina. “I am not ashamed of what you do.  You
keep me looking fabulous and you are successful.  I admire how you pursued
another career after deciding you didn’t want to be a nurse anymore.”

“I made a lot of money as an OR nurse.  I gave it up to
be a hairstylist.”

“You followed your passion and that took guts, Sabrina. 
Please don’t take it as intentional that I didn’t introduce Mario to you; I had
a hectic morning and seriously, I totally forgot.  You know it’s been ages
since I’ve had a man in my life.”

Sabrina grunted a dry laugh. “True, Walkman’s were still
in style the last time you had a boyfriend.”

Taylor sat the basket of rollers on the counter and got
out of the chair. Sabrina caught the rollers falling from her hair asking.
“Where are you going?”

Taylor stopped in front of where Megan and Mario were
sitting, interrupting Megan’s story. “Excuse me, I need to borrow him for a
minute,” Taylor said taking hold of Mario’s hand unhinging him from between the
two women doting him with attention.

“Well hello, Taylor James.  How have you been, girl?”
Megan asked.  She stood to allow Taylor to check out her slim figure.

“Megan, it’s nice to see you too.  You look awesome,”
Taylor said.  She couldn’t lie.  The woman had the body of a goddess, and since
she and Mario had not consummated their relationship, Megan’s flirting might
put ideas in his head.

Megan put her hand on her hops thrusting her breasts
high. “It was time for me to take charge and change my life.  Did you become a
lawyer?  I remember that being one of your goals in high school.  Plus you
haven’t changed a bit—older but still somewhat attractive.”

Oh, no she didn’t just call me old. 
Taylor said
to herself.  She was not about to let the sideways dig at her age slide.  “Yes,
I did finish law school and I’m currently practice law. But since my sister
works in a place you frequent praying their magic will keep you looking young
then, I’m sure you know this already.”

“I haven’t been coming to this salon long and Sabrina
doesn’t do my hair, so we don’t talk much.”

Taylor hunched her shoulders. “That explains why she
didn’t mention you to me either.  Anyhow—what are you doing these days?”

“I own and operate a health and wellness gym for women on
4th Street.  You should stop by and check it out.  If you want to keep a man happy,
you have to keep the body toned and not droopy,” she said eyeing Mario’s frame
from head to toe.

Taylor’s eye flinched.  The large shapeless cape hid her
body and at thirty-five, she definitely was not droopy. “Wonderful, but I’m
pretty busy with work to drop everything in the middle of my day and workout. 
Besides, I exercise by walking or running at least eight miles, give or take a
mile.”

Megan wrinkled her nose. “You only do eight miles?  I’m
sure you will work your way up.  I’m a marathon runner myself.  I have calves
of steel,” she said propping her leg on the chair in front of Mario.

Taylor nudged him with her elbow daring him to touch or
look at Megan’s toned leg.  He got her warning and kept his head faced in the
direction of the large picture window, watching the traffic whizzing on the
busy street and pretending to distance himself from their conversation.

Taylor folded her arms across the cape crushing it to her
chest. “I’m sure that strength will come in handy if you need to push something
with your legs.”

“Well, it was good seeing you.  I figured you’d probably
married that pitiful white boy that used to follow you around school all the
time.  He was in love with you, girl.”  Megan touched Mario on the chest. “Make
sure to have her tell you about him.  That boy had jungle fever bad.  I wish I
could remember his name; he was such a dork.”

Taylor tried to keep a smile on her face but Megan was
pushing her to release her claws and dig in.  “As you can see, I didn’t marry
anyone and I’m dating Mario.  Oh, by the way, thank you so much for
entertaining him.”

“Good timing because I was about to make my move on him,”
she said fluttering her eyelashes.

Mario frowned looking at Megan. “I told you I was with
her….”

Megan cut him short. “I have to go, Mandy is ready for
me.  Take care,” she said hurrying on her way.

Taylor gagged. “Ugh, why do women who lose a lot of
weight become the biggest pains in the ass?  The nerve of her to say I’m
drooping.”

Mario said following in step behind her. “Thank you for rescuing
me from her clutches.  I don’t know about her weight loss but she’s an
aggressive flirt; not something I like in a woman.”

“Um-hum, I bet she was.  But don’t thank me yet.  I’m
about to introduce you to my sister Sabrina.  But thank you for not mentioning
Dillon.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything about him.  But, I’m
excited to meet your sister; that means I am making progress with you.”

She gave a weak smile. “Well you might decide to run for
the hills after meeting other members of my family beside Sabrina.  Some of
them are different.”

“I’m not running anywhere,” he said placing his hand on
the small of her back.

 Sabrina stood at her station with a huge smile on her
face.  Anxious to meet the man her sister gushed over, she extended her hand to
him first. “Hi I’m Sabrina; Taylor’s sister.”

Mario shook her hand.  Her features were identical to
Taylor, and he assumed they were twins.  “Hello, I’m Mario Infante. Are you
twins?” He asked looking at each woman at the same time.

Sabrina shoved Taylor in the chair to continue rolling
her hair. “No, we aren’t twins. I’m two years younger and married.”

Mario nodded. “It is obvious you aren’t the recipient of
the baby shower tonight.”

“My husband and I don’t have any children yet.  Maybe one
day.  Do you want marriage and a family, Mr. Infante?”

Taylor dropped her head in her hands. “Oh, my God…she did
not go there.”

He placed his hand on Taylor’s shoulder after her slip of
the tongue.  “Yes I do….one day when the right woman comes along.  Please call
me Mario.”

“Okay, Mario.  My sister is a great woman who can’t or
won’t commit to a man. It will take some coaxing on your part to get her to
come around.  I hope you have patience because she really is worth the wait. 
My parents, and me included, want her to find happiness with the right man. 
You could be that man.”

“Is that right?  Is there anything you care to share to
help me along with the process of getting her to come around?”

“Probably nothing you don’t already know.  Taylor is an
amazing and inspirational woman.  Did she mention she mentors high school girls
who want legal careers?  She has made such a difference in these young women’s
lives.”

He looked down at Taylor.  Her hands were covering her
face to hide her blushing. “No, she did not.  We are still getting to know one
another. I’m sure she would have gotten around to mentioning that to me.”

“There is a lot to learn about Taylor James. You should
come to the party tonight.  Men will be there, and I think you will have fun
getting to know the James’ crew.”