When I’m With You (Indigo) (24 page)

“Lift.” He buried himself in her warmth and rolled his hips. His pace started out slow and gentle, but his restraint unraveled when she whispered in his ear, “No mercy.”

Withdrawing, he rose to his knees, hooking his arms under her legs. He braced his hands on the mattress with her thighs wide, draped over his arms. He drove deep and his shoulders hunched from the effort, hammering and slamming into her until she shouted his name at the top of her lungs over and over and over.

Together, they were on a one-way journey to paradise. He roared and she purred. He gave and she took. She convulsed around him, and a second climax made her shudder. When a third threatened to erupt, Marcel withdrew all the way and joined them once again with a forceful thrust that touched her womb, yet accentuated his love.

“Now, baby,” he growled. That final surge caused him to explode. “Let’s come together…now.”

Three days after he gave the laboratory the hair samples from Caitlyn and Ken, Marcel contacted lab and told them he needed the results of the DNA test immediately. The lab technician reminded him the testing usually took seven business days. Marcel didn’t even bother to argue. He simply hung up. His next calls were to several business associates who owed him favors. Within two hours, he was back on the phone to the lab. This time, he spoke to the president. He demanded the results of Caitlyn and Ken’s test within twenty-four hours, and informed the lab’s top man that if he didn’t get them, he, along with several business investors, would head a hostile takeover. He received the results before the close of business the next day.

* * *

“Ken, I’m really glad you could join Marcel and me for dinner tonight.” Caitlyn smiled as she filled his cup with coffee. “Marcel’s told me a lot about you.”

Marcel had asked her whether she minded if a guest joined them for dinner. Initially, she was disappointed they wouldn’t spend the evening alone, but once he assured her that in a few days they’d spend as much time together as she wanted, she quickly recovered. She figured it was a good opportunity for her to demonstrate the progress she’d made with her culinary skills, especially shrimp jambalaya, one of Marcel’s favorite meals. Since family week, she’d practiced every day preparing it, and that night’s meal was superb. She was the perfect hostess and enjoyed Ken’s presence immensely.

“Thanks for having me.” Accepting the cup, Ken offered a genuine smile and nodded to his hosts. “You and Marcel seem very happy together.”

Seated next to Marcel, Caitlyn pulled her legs beneath her yoga style and beamed. “We are. It took me a while but I finally found the love of my life.” She laced her fingers with Marcel’s. “And he has a wonderful family I’ve come to love as well. So, tell me more about yourself. Do you have a family?”

Louis shook his head. “No…I’m an only child.” He swallowed, then cleared his throat. “Recently, I found out I have a daughter, though.”

Caitlyn nodded when he said he was an only child, but shook her head and frowned at his last statement. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but how could you not have known you had a daughter?”

“It’s a rather complicated story,” Ken softly replied.

With a look of assurance, Marcel glanced over at Ken. “But it’s great you’ve located her, and the two of you will be reuniting soon, right?”

Ken leaned and placed his cup on the table. “A little over thirty-nine years ago, I met a woman with whom I fell in love the moment I first laid eyes on her. I thought we could make a go of it, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”

“I’m sorry.” Caitlyn paused a moment and tried not to sound too nosy. “Did the two of you remain friends?”

Ken shifted in his chair. “No, we didn’t. She left and relocated north.”

Caitlyn was still baffled. “I see. And you never heard from her again?”

“No,” Ken whispered.

In a gentle tone, Caitlyn asked, “So, did she know she was pregnant with your child when she left?”

Ken shook his head. “I doubt she knew when she left, but once she found out, she never told me.”

A shocked expression spread across Caitlyn’s face. “And she never tried to contact you once she had the baby?”

Ken released a long sigh filled with regret. “No. Now I know I should have tried harder to find her. It’s a mistake that will haunt me the rest of my life. Anyway, she relocated to New Jersey.”

Caitlyn nodded.

Ken stood and paced in front of the fireplace. “I would give anything to turn back the hands of time.”

Caitlyn scooted to the edge of the couch. “So, you eventually did find out what happened to your daughter?”

Ken looked first at Marcel, then at Caitlyn. “I found out she had to live in foster care after her mother died.”

Caitlyn suddenly felt tears settling in her eyes, and she placed her hand over her heart at Ken’s statement, reflecting on her childhood. “I know what that’s like. I lived most of my life in foster care as well.”

Ken’s gaze locked on Caitlyn’s face for what seemed like an eternity. “You have to believe me, sweetheart, when I say if I had known Della was pregnant with you, I would have moved heaven and hell to find you both.”

Caitlyn’s hands flew to her face. “Oh my God, you’re my…”

“Yes, baby, I’m your father.” Ken reached in his wallet, and with trembling hands handed a black-and-white photo of Della to Caitlyn, along with a copy of the DNA results.

With her hands over her mouth, Caitlyn gasped. Tears ran down her face and she sat staring at the picture. She vaguely remembered her mother, but seeing the dated photo and realizing the striking resemblance between them sent waves of disbelief, joy and anger through her all at the same time.

Ken squatted in front of Caitlyn. “Caitlyn, you have to believe me when I tell you that I loved your mother…”

With her head hung, Caitlyn’s emotions were so fragile she was scared to say anything.

“Baby, there’s something else we need to tell you,” Marcel uttered in a hoarse voice.

Swiping at the tears that ran down her face, she faced Marcel. “What is it?”

“Cole Mazzei is back in the picture.” Marcel’s heart ripped in two when he stared into Caitlyn’s terror-filled eyes glassed over with tears.

“Oh, my God.” Caitlyn clamped her hand tightly over her mouth. She stood and walked to the other side of the room, then whirled to face him. “That’s what was wrong the other night, wasn’t it?”

Marcel remained on the couch and lowered his head. “Yes.”

“W-Why…why didn’t you tell me before now?”

“Kitten, you have to believe me when I tell you I wanted to.” Marcel stood and walked across the room. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “From the moment everything started to unravel, I wanted to tell you.” He glanced back at Ken. “But I had to be sure that Ken was really your father. We wanted to tell you together and I didn’t get the DNA results until yesterday.”

Ken came over and stood next to Caitlyn, rallying to Marcel’s defense. “Sweetheart, don’t blame him. He’s not at fault here.” His words had come out so fast, he had to stop and catch his breath. “Marcel has gone through just as much agony as you’re going through right now.”

Marcel folded her in his embrace, resting her head on his chest. “Kitten, remember the night I offered to help you find your father?”

“Yes.” Her voice was strangled.

“Well, I asked Alex to try and locate your father. Baby, when Alex reported his findings to me, we discovered Pop had also hired an investigator to check into your background.”

Stunned, Caitlyn could only stare with wide eyes.

For the first time in his life, Marcel stumbled over his words. “Do you recall the night you came over to San Francisco to meet me for dinner?”

“Y-Yes,” Caitlyn finally managed to say. “You introduced me to Alcee and Ken for the first time.”

“Meeting you led to Pop hiring an investigator.” Marcel explained everything in detail about the past and how their two families were involved, leaving nothing out.

“There’s something else,” he added. “I also asked Alex to investigate the bidding war for the dealership. He found out that Cole Mazzei is trying to get a position with Louis’s dealership.”

“Oh God…” Caitlyn wrapped her arms around her waist and stared at the wall in front of her.

“Baby,” Marcel took a deep breath, “I told Louis to hire him.”

“You did what?” Caitlyn jumped away from Marcel so fast her feet tangled together. “H-How could you? You promised me that you wouldn’t try and find him.”

Marcel rubbed at the tension in the base of his neck, “Kitten, I kept that promise. I didn’t go looking for him.”

“Don’t play semantics with me, Marcel. I don’t know what will happen if Cole ever finds me.”

“Kitten, trust me, he may find you, but nothing is going to happen to you. I promise you that.”

She didn’t acknowledge Marcel’s promise and stared at him for a long time. “How can you be so sure?”

Marcel grabbed her hand and walked them back to the couch. He sat and effortlessly lifted Caitlyn onto his lap. He told her every detail of the plan he’d come up with that would get Cole out of her life once and for all. “Kitten, this is a sure way for Cole to confess what he did to you.”

Her eyes darted over at Ken who paced in front of the fireplace. “You told my father what he did?” Her voice was a cracked whisper.

“Never that.” He squeezed her tight and whispered low enough so only she could hear. “That’s between me and you.”

Caitlyn’s body trembled and she rose to her feet. “I-I need to be by myself right now.”

“Trust me.” Marcel watched Caitlyn grab her purse and keys. “Kitten!” He heard the front door open. He shot across the room to go after her.

“Caitlyn,” he shouted again as the door slammed shut. He opened the door to go after her, but the hand on his shoulder stilled his movements.

Ken patted his shoulder. “Let her go, Marcel. We’ve put a lot on her today. Give her some time. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

* * *

Caitlyn sat on the edge of Vic’s bed, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist and rocked. Two days ago, she’d landed on Vic’s doorstep. Since then, she’d cried so hard and so long her eyes were beet red and almost swollen shut. She told herself not to shed another tear. The next thing she knew, she was pulling another tissue from the box as she wiped another wave streaming down the slopes of her cheeks.

After leaving Marcel’s estate, she had driven through parts of Oakland she didn’t know existed, until her vision blurred. Her thoughts jumbled, and she couldn’t put a rational concept together if her life depended on it. The only thing of which she was confident was that she had to leave Oakland. But just the thought tore her heart in two. When she’d had to run before, she hadn’t had a choice. It was either run to stay alive or end up physically abused or worse. Before she hadn’t been leaving a man who meant the world to her, but she’d leave Marcel and his family in a heartbeat if it meant they would be safe from Cole.

Vic walked in with a cup of herbal tea and held it out to Caitlyn “Here. Come on now, drink this for me.”

Caitlyn shook her head. “No thanks, Vic. I’m not thirsty.”

Vic sighed, set the cup on the dresser and took her seat next to Caitlyn. “Sweetie, you’ve barely had anything to eat or drink for two days. You’re going to waste away to nothing.”

Caitlyn managed a weak smile through her tears. “Well, you sure know how to cheer a friend up.”

Vic smiled back. “Scoot over.” She wrapped her arms around Caitlyn’s shoulders. “When are you going to call him?”

Caitlyn looked down at her lap. “I-I can’t call him.”

“Why not?”

Caitlyn dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and then softly blew her nose.

“And just what do you plan to do?”

Caitlyn shook her head and sighed. “The only thing I can do: leave and try to let Marcel get on with his life.”

“What!” Vic was on her feet in an instant. “Caitlyn Renee, do you really think that man is going to let you go?”

Caitlyn sniffed in response.

“Caitlyn, Marcel loves your dirty drawers.”

“I know.”

“And his family loves you, too. You do know that, don’t you?”

“I know.” She sniffed again. “Vic, I
will
not
drag Marcel and his family into this mess with Cole. It’s better that I leave. If I were them, I certainly wouldn’t want to be bothered with me.”

Vic chuckled.

Caitlyn looked straight ahead at their reflection in the mirror atop the dresser. “What’s so funny?”

“That crazy family of his loves and wants you as much as Marcel does. Hell, they’ve been running your center for the last two days.”

Caitlyn turned and faced Vic. “Oh my God, the center. I’ve been so miserable the last couple of days, I totally forget about the center.”

“Well, them Baptistes didn’t forget. All of ’em—and I mean every single last one of them—have been over there making sure things don’t go to hell in a hand basket.”