Surrender (9 page)

“Good.”

Jada lifted a brow at Rome’s response. “And why is it good?”

Rome glanced over at her, smiling. “Because I want to get to know you better while I’m here in town.”

“You may not want to do that.”

“Why?”

“There are reasons.”

Rome shook his head when he brought his car to a stop in front of her apartment building. “There aren’t any reasons that matter to me.”

A part of Jada wanted to believe that. She wanted so much to believe what he’d just said was true. “Thanks for bringing me home, Rome.”

“You’re welcome.” And in the next breath he asked, “Would you go to a movie with me tomorrow night?”

A part of Jada wanted to say no, but another part wanted to say yes. It was the part that wanted to put her ordeal with Tony behind her and to get on with her life. She didn’t respond to Rome’s question for a few brief moments before finally saying, “Yes. I’d love to go to the movies with you.”

I
t had been the longest week of her life, Netherland thought as she did a quick walk-through of Sisters to make sure everything was in place for tomorrow night’s affair. All week she had battled the flare-up of memories that assailed her at different times. Ashton’s nightly presence in her establishment had become such a norm that on numerous occasions during the week she had caught her gaze seeking him out, only to remember that he’d left for D.C. And then at night when she would close her eyes to sleep, images of him were there in her mind.

When Netherland heard a laugh she glanced across the room to where her brother and Jada were talking. It was unbelievable the difference Rome had
made in Jada’s persona in just a few days. The woman was now actually smiling most of the time. Netherland knew that Rome had taken Jada to a movie on Monday night and had taken her to the state fair on Wednesday. But according to Rome, things between him and Jada were moving slow. Although she had agreed to go to those two places with him, they had yet to get beyond just holding hands. Rome had mentioned that he noticed how skittish and nervous Jada was at times around him. Netherland had decided not to mention to him about Jada’s ex-husband’s abuse of her. Netherland felt that information was something Jada would have to share with Rome when and if she ever got comfortable enough to do so.

“They look good together, don’t they?” Rainey observed when she noticed Netherland watching the couple. “That was the first time I’ve ever heard Jada laugh about anything. Rome’s company seems to be good for her.”

Netherland turned around and flashed Rainey a smile. “Yes, and I think he really likes her. She’s all he’s been talking about lately. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he were to find a way to stay in contact with her after he leaves.”

Rainey nodded. “Speaking of staying in contact, have you heard from Ashton any this week?”

Rainey’s question made the pain of missing Ashton that much more profound within Netherland. She had tried to downplay her disappointment that he hadn’t
called her, but then she hadn’t really given him any reason to. “No, but I would imagine he’ll be here for tomorrow night’s function. At least he said he would.”

Rainey chuckled. “I’m so excited about tomorrow night I can’t stand it. Just to think movie actors Sterling Hamilton and Diamond Swain Madaris are going to be here.”

Netherland nodded. Sterling Hamilton and Diamond Swain Madaris would be serving as MCs for the charity event, which according to ticket sales would be a huge success. In fact it was already sold out. Sisters would definitely have a packed house tomorrow night. “You’re still planning on bidding for Alex Maxwell?”

Rainey smiled. “Yes. He’s the only one I would be interested in, but I don’t intend to let my interest in him get me into the poorhouse. There’s only so much of my money that I’ve set aside to use; after that he can go to the highest bidder with my blessings.” She chuckled. “Now Ashton is another matter. I would gladly break the piggy bank for him if I thought it wouldn’t test our friendship overly much.”

“You can bid on Ashton if you want. This is a free country.”

“Yeah, right. I’ll pass. You’re going to have enough trouble keeping Angela away from him.”

Netherland lifted a dark brow. “I don’t plan on keeping anyone away from Ashton. Any woman who wants him can bid for him.”

“And you still don’t plan to bid?”

“No.”

“I think you’d be making a mistake. I’d love to see someone knock Angela off her high horse.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s been going around bragging all week about the weekend she plans to have with Ashton after she wins. It appears she’s no longer a man-hater where Ashton is concerned, but has turned into a number-one nymphomaniac. From what I hear she intends to get her money’s worth out of him.”

Netherland fought back the spark of jealousy that raced through her and said, “Then I’m happy for Angela.”

Rainey shook her head and gazed thoughtfully at Netherland. “I hope you don’t live to regret what you’re saying, Nettie.”

Netherland took a deep breath. She didn’t want to tell Rainey but a part of her hoped so, too.

Rome stood just inside the door to Jada’s apartment and stared at it in mute admiration. Although the furnishings were sparse, it was a neat, tidy place. They had known each other for almost a week. He had taken her out on two separate occasions, and this was the first time she had taken the initiative to invite him inside.

“Thanks again for bringing me home, Rome,” Jada was saying as she walked nervously to the other side of the room. She cleared her throat. “You did say you wanted something to drink, right?”

Rome nodded as he came into the apartment and closed the door behind him. “Yes, I’d love a Coke or Pepsi if you have one.”

“Yes, I do. I’ll be right back.”

Rome watched as she quickly left him to go into the kitchen. She shot one quick glance back at him before leaving the room. He pondered her actions for a minute. If he didn’t know better, he would think she was afraid of him for some reason.

He studied her intently when she returned and handed him the ice-cold can of Pepsi. He found her even more beautiful than the first time he’d laid eyes on her. Her shoulder-length hair cascaded around her face like a halo, and her lips were firm and full. But it was her eyes that always managed to take his breath away. They were the most gorgeous set of brown eyes he had ever seen on a woman. “Thanks. Do you mind if I sit down?”

Jada’s face tinted with embarrassment. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think to ask you to have a seat. How stupid of me, and—”

“That’s okay, Jada.” Rome reached out to place a reassuring hand on her shoulders and immediately she recoiled from his touch and took a step away from him. He lifted a brow. “Jada? What is it? Why are you afraid of me?”

She dropped her gaze from his. “My inviting you here was a mistake, Rome. I think I shouldn’t have begun seeing you in the first place.”

“Why?”

She met his gaze again. “I have issues.”

Rome chuckled. “Don’t we all?”

“But mine are serious.”

Rome studied her as his heart thundered deep within his chest, and a funny feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. “You’re not sick or anything like that, are you?”

Jada lifted a surprised brow at the seriousness of his question. “No, it’s not about an illness or anything like that.”

Rome released a deep sigh. He had lost one woman he loved and he didn’t want to lose another one. And a part of him knew that he loved Jada. He’d known that he’d fallen in love with her the first moment he had seen her less than a week ago. He wasn’t amazed by that fact. The same thing had happened between him and Kimmy. He had known from the first, and hadn’t been interested in another woman since Kimmy’s death, until now.

Rome continued to study Jada and he saw her increased nervousness and tenseness as she shifted back and forth under his steady stare. He really didn’t care about these issues she was talking about. They didn’t matter to him. However, they seemed to matter a great deal to her. “Do you want to talk about these issues?”

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. Then you’ll understand why I won’t be seeing you again.” She inhaled deeply. “You wouldn’t want to see me again, anyway.”

Rome’s gaze slowly drifted over her, and he
wondered why she would think such a thing. There was nothing she could tell him that would keep him away. He took another chance and reached out and took her hand in his. He ignored the deep trembling he felt in it. He grasped it firmly but gently. “Come on, let’s sit down and have that talk, all right?”

She nodded and let him lead her over to the sofa.

Netherland drove along the busy highway heading home. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper, which was unusual for this time on a Friday night. She then remembered a rock concert was being held in town.

She yawned, feeling sleepy. It was early yet but the day had been rather busy getting things prepared for tomorrow night. She needed to go home and get a good night’s sleep. Things would be even busier the next day. She glanced at her watch. It was a little past eight. She couldn’t help wondering if Ashton had arrived back in town. She hated admitting it but she had missed him something fierce. She had spent her nights tossing and turning in bed, waking up thinking, hoping that she would see him standing at the foot of her bed to turn her heated dreams into reality. The longer she went without seeing him, the more her mind and her body longed for him, his touch—every single thing about the man.

Making a quick decision and refusing to think about what it meant, she exited the highway and took the road that would take her to Ashton’s hotel.

Like a dam bursting beneath the huge force of a tidal wave, words poured out of Jada’s mouth, from deep within her soul as she told Rome about those days that she had been married to Tony, as well as his kidnapping of her. She lifted her head and met his gaze and said quietly, “So, as you can see I have some things I need to deal with before I jump into a relationship with anyone.”

The anger that had consumed Rome while listening to Jada slid into oblivion when her words suddenly consumed him with something else. Compassion. He had compassion and respect for a woman who had gone through what she’d gone through and survived with her self-respect and dignity still intact. He would like to have some private time with Anthony Roberts for hurting her both physically and emotionally. No woman deserved that type of treatment, and no real man would have done that to her, especially the man who had vowed before God to love and protect her for the rest of her life.

“After listening to what you’ve just shared with me, Jada, I think you’re one remarkable woman,” he said, soft and low, sensing she needed to hear that but more importantly she needed to believe it.

She laughed shortly, harshly. “Remarkable? What’s remarkable about being too afraid to stand up for yourself? I stayed with him for two years and let him use me like a punching bag because I was too weak to leave.”

Rome shook his head. “No. The reason you didn’t leave is because of the threat he made to your father. You didn’t stay with him any longer than necessary after your father’s death, did you?”

Jada took a deep breath. “No.” In fact, she had left him right after the funeral, taking nothing more than the black dress she had worn and had gone into hiding at the women’s shelter. After a month she’d felt it safe to reenter the real world. But it hadn’t been. She hadn’t known the extent Tony would go to in order to get her back. He kidnapped her, snatched her off the streets in broad daylight, less than a block from where she had begun working as a clerk in a library.

“And that ordeal you went through when he kidnapped you could not have been easy. Yes, Jada, I think you’re someone who deserves some happiness in her life. But right now I think what you need is comforting from someone who cares. Can I hold you for a little while and comfort you, Jada?”

Jada nervously sank her teeth into her bottom lip weighing Rome’s request. She believed him to be a good person, a strong person…but then she had thought the same thing about Tony in the beginning. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t compare every man with Tony’s mistreatment of her. And more than anything, she did want Rome to hold her. “Yes,” she said quietly, swallowing hard. “You can hold me.”

Slowly, Rome took her hands. Gently he pulled her closer to him on the sofa and when she was there, just a breath away, he pulled her into his arms. His
grip on her tightened, and she clung to him, burying her face in the strength of his solid chest. Then he heard the sound of her crying and wondered if this was the first good cry she’d had.

“That’s it, Jada. Get it all out,” he said softly while his hands moved up and down her back in an attempt to aid in her cleansing process. His hold on her tightened when he felt the tremors course through her body. They affected him in a way he didn’t know was possible.

A few moments later, her voice came soft, low and close to his ear. “Thanks, Rome, for holding me.”

“Jada.” His voice sounded hoarse, husky. “Can I kiss you?”

She pulled back and met his gaze. He then reached up and slowly slid the palm of his hand along the curve of her jaw. “Can I kiss you, Jada?” he asked again.

Robbed of any coherent thought, Jada could only nod. That was enough for Rome. He leaned in closer to her and gently took her mouth in his, invading her warmth, demanding her passion and eliciting her trust.

Moments later he groaned when he pulled his mouth from hers. He smiled, then kissed her again. And again.

Netherland used the key Ashton had given her to enter his hotel room. After closing the door behind her she glanced around. She could immediately tell that he had not returned.

She turned to leave and stopped before reaching the door. As much as she wished otherwise, she
wanted to be here when he got back. Making another decision that she didn’t want to think hard about, she walked back into the room and tossed her purse on a nearby chair. Not wanting to consider the implications of what she was doing, she began removing her clothes. When she had stripped down to her bra and panties and felt the slight chill in the room, she walked over to the closet.