All I Want Is You (Kimani Romance) (11 page)

“W
hat do you mean he’s in jail?”

“JD,” his mother said in a tart voice. “You know I hate it when you shout.”

“What is Donnie doing in jail?” JD asked, trying to keep rein on his temper.

“He got into a little trouble, that’s all.”

“He always gets into a little trouble.”

“I’m sure that once you bail him out, everything will be cleared.”

JD released a fierce sigh. “Fine, where is he?” He could drop by the jail, pay the fee and still make it to the farmhouse.

“Nevada.”

JD paused. “I’m sorry, did you say Nevada?”

“Yes.”

“What the hell is he doing there?”

“JD, you’re shouting again.”

He lowered his voice. “Answer my question.”

“It’s complicated. He told me it was a business deal. We can’t just leave him in jail over the holiday weekend.”

Yes, we can.
“I have plans.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” he said, annoyed by his mother’s surprise.

“You know I would go, but these situations are always so stressful for me. You’re so good with him, and you always were. You could get there in no time. Denis said he’d let you use his private jet. He still doesn’t know why you won’t get one of your own.”

“Since he’s so concerned, why doesn’t he go?” JD asked, referring to his mother’s present boyfriend.

“He’s here with me. His daughter made a special dinner, and—”

Right. It seemed that everyone else’s holiday plans mattered more than his. Probably because he’d never had any before. Usually he was at work and could rescue his brother at a moment’s notice. It would annoy him, but it usually didn’t bother him this much. This time he had spent weeks thinking about Monica and what they would do when he saw her again. And he would see her again. Nothing would stop that. He could make a phone call and have someone else handle it, but he didn’t like to use his staff for his personal life. He glanced at his watch, weighing his options. If he scheduled everything right, he could still make it to Monica. He picked up his phone.

Monica stared at the ringing phone, not sure if she wanted to answer. What excuse would he give her?
Would he say that work got busy, that he’d forgotten and wanted to take a rain check, that he’d met someone else? Why even call at all? Soon the ringing stopped and she regretted letting her imagination run wild with different scenarios instead of hearing his explanation. What if he was just delayed? What if something awful had happened? When the message light came on she accessed the voice mail. JD’s voice came on the line.

“Hi, Monica. JD. I have some business that I have to take care—” Then the line went dead.

Monica listened again, just in case she could hear the rest of the message, but it cut off in the same place. He had business. Did that mean he wasn’t coming?

She wrapped up the dinner and put it away then went to her studio to take her mind off things, but it didn’t work so she decided to watch TV. She was flipping channels when Baxter started barking. She scolded him to stop, but he refused and soon she heard the same noise that had agitated him. She put the TV on mute as the sound grew closer. Then through the window she saw a beam of light cascading over the ground. She opened the front door and saw a helicopter landing in the distance.
It couldn’t be.
Her heart leaped when she saw the silhouette of a man exit and wave to the person inside then head toward the house.

Monica raced into the bathroom and checked her reflection to make sure everything was in place. She adjusted her head wrap then she bounded down the porch stairs and threw herself into his arms. “You came.”

JD laughed, evidently pleased by her response. “I told you I would.” She reached for one of his bags, but he moved it out of reach. Baxter jumped around him.
JD bent down to greet him. “Good to see you, buddy!” He lifted him up then stopped. “Wait a minute.” He set the dog down and looked up at her, surprised. “What’s he doing here?”

“He lives here now. I think you should adopt him.”

He stood. “You do?”

She nodded. “He ran away from the shelter, and I knew he would keep doing that because he considers this place home. So I thought he could stay here until you made things official.”

“I see.” He rested his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll talk about that later. I’m glad to be here.”

“You’re late,” she said as they walked into the foyer.

He sighed, and for the first time she saw how tired he looked. “I know. I’m sorry.” He dropped his bags and drew her close. “Forgive me?”

“Only this time.”

He buried his face in her neck. “Mmm…good. You’re nice and warm.”

“But what kept you—”

He placed a finger over her lips. “Shh, no questions, remember?”

She kissed his finger. “I remember.” Monica slipped out of his grasp and headed for the kitchen. “Let me go heat up some food.”

JD unbuttoned his shirt. “Do you really think I came all this way just to eat?”

Monica stared at him and saw a devilish gleam in his eyes. She backed away as he approached her, unable to stop a smile. “But I cooked so much food.”

He tossed his shirt aside, his smoldering eyes never leaving her face. “I’ll eat it later.”

“Sweet potato casserole and roasted turkey.”

His heated gaze scaled the length of her as if she was a hundred-dollar bill and he was a broke man. “It can wait.”

“You mean you’re not even a little bit hungry?”

“Baby, I’m ravenous.” He lunged for her.

She escaped him with a shriek. “You’ll need your strength.”

“I’m strong enough.” He grabbed her and covered her mouth, his hand slipping down her dress.

She pulled away, remembering the bright kitchen lights. “We can’t do this here.”

He unzipped her dress. “It’s working for me so far.”

“Let’s go upstairs.”

“I have condoms with me.”

“I have something else for you upstairs.”

“I don’t need anything else right now. All I want is you.”

She pinched him. “You can have me upstairs.”

JD let out a fierce growl. “All right. Let’s go. Fast.” He lifted her up in his arms. “Which room?”

“You don’t need to carry me.”

“Either I carry you or take you right here.”

“Okay, okay,” she said quickly when he started to set her down.

“Which room?”

“Yours.” Earlier she’d made sure to close the drapes.

He took her up the stairs and set her on the bed. “Satisfied?”

“For now.” She closed the door, removed her dress then stood in front of him. “The rest is up to you.”

JD took that as his cue and spent the next two hours
satisfying her in ways she didn’t know possible. The touch of his hand, the feel of his mouth, the way his body covered hers filled her with pure, explosive pleasure.

“You like that?” he said when she moaned.

“Oh, yes.”

“Tell me what you’re thankful for,” he whispered.

“I can hardly think.”

“I’ll tell you what I’m thankful for. I’m thankful that you like when I do this.” His hand roved down the back of her thighs. “And this.” His hand slid between her legs. “And especially when I do this.” He let two fingers slip inside. “I’ll be even more thankful,” he said in a hoarse whisper, “the day I get to see your face when you come.”

Monica closed her eyes, unable to speak, her body trembling from the wondrous sensation. She drew him close and kissed him then whispered against his lips. “Please don’t regret this moment.”

“I won’t regret a thing. I just wish—”

Monica didn’t want him to be disappointed about anything, so she said, “Your wish is my command, master.”

He laughed. “So you’re a genie now?”

“Yes. I’m all yours. Close your eyes and see me with your hands.” She grabbed his hands and placed them on her face. “Do I not please you, master?”

“You please me very much.”

“I want to please you even more.” She kissed him, wanting him to forget that they could make love only in the dark, that she had secrets to hide and that this time wouldn’t last. She touched him in places so that he’d
remember her when she wasn’t with him. She wanted to claim every part of his body as hers.

Once finished, JD lay on his back, spellbound. “My Cinderella girl,” he said then drifted off to sleep.

The next day they ate Monica’s Thanksgiving meal and JD treated her to a vanilla-custard strawberry shortcake, made with fresh biscuits, and a berry-flecked pudding with angel food cake he’d had specially ordered from Wisconsin. The next three days were spent eating and finding inventive places throughout the house to make love—the darkened basement, an alcove in the attic, the walk-in closet in the master bedroom.

“I want you to do something for me,” JD said as he packed his bag.

“What?”

“I have a friend’s birthday coming up and I’d like to give her a necklace.”

“Do you think I’ll let you give another woman jewelry?”

“She’s an old friend and I’d like to give her one of your designs.” When she hesitated, he said, “I’ll pay you for it.”

“I don’t need money.”

“I’ll pay you anyway.”

“What does she like?”

“Anything sparkling.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

He kissed her. “Thank you. See you at Christmas.”

Christmas seemed like forever. There were only four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but Monica missed him. She missed his touch, his caresses,
his smile. Everything about him. Fortunately, her assignment kept her busy. She wanted to make JD’s friend a gorgeous necklace and make JD proud. And when Christmas came and Monica showed him the necklace, he was speechless.

“I don’t know what to say.”

She hugged him. “Good.”

He took out his checkbook and wrote out an amount. Monica saw it and shook her head. “That’s too much. I told you I don’t need your money.”

“This is business. Take the money.”

She took it. “I’ll frame it then.”

He snatched it back. “No, if you’re just going to put it on a wall, I’ll invest it for you.”

And they let the conversation drop, not wanting to spoil their limited time together.

JD was amazed with the transformation of the house. Monica had spent a lot of time and money decorating every room with Christmas decorations. He especially liked the pair of “holiday” briefs she had placed at the edge of his bed wrapped with a large red bow. Beginning with the large wreath hanging on the front door, to the red-and-green-striped shower curtain, bathroom mat and towels Monica brought back memories of the wonderful Christmases he had spent with his grandparents during the holidays.

That morning they sat in front of a roaring fire, the scent of a cinnamon broom Monica had purchased filling the air, and exchanged gifts. Monica’s gift to him was a coupon for a massage.

“I wasn’t sure what to get you,” she said.

He flipped the coupon over. “Where do I have to go to redeem this?”

She grinned. “You don’t have to go anywhere.”

He lifted a sly brow. “Am I looking at my masseuse?”

She rubbed her hands together. “I’ll take good care of you.”

“You always do,” he said, and then he followed her to the attic alcove, their favorite spot to make love.

It took them several hours before they returned to the family room, where JD gave Monica her gift. He sat on the couch wearing just a towel while Monica wore a full white terry robe. She opened the box JD handed her. Her heart fell when she saw the object. “A cell phone?”

He nodded. “So that I can reach you any time and you can call me. I have my private numbers programmed in. I don’t like you alone at the farmhouse with only that landline to depend on. And you’ll like this. I gave it a special ringtone. Listen.”

JD dialed and soon the sound of the catbird filled the air. Monica laughed, realizing how wonderful his gift was. It was unique and it had been made just for her. She’d been used to expensive clothes, designer chocolates, pearls, large bouquets of flowers, but this moment would always stay with her. She hugged him. “Thank you.”

“I also have another project for you. I have a friend who wants a special jewelry set her for her wedding. Do you think you could get something together in three weeks?”

Monica feigned a frown. “Should I worry about all these female friends of yours?”

JD nuzzled her neck. “Not a chance. No one compares to you.” And the next several days he made sure she believed him.

Since Monica refused to travel, JD brought the world to her doorstep. On New Year’s Eve, JD surprised her by having a selection of famous Southern dishes prepared by a world famous chef and delivered that day. Early in the morning he surprised her with a gift.

“Open it.”

“JD, what is it?”

“You’ll find out.”

Monica gingerly tore open the wrapping paper to reveal an exquisitely embroidered summer dress. She knew it had cost him a fortune.

She held it against her. “It’s beautiful, but I have nowhere to wear it to.”

“Yes, you do. You’re going to wear it tonight. Be ready by 6:00 p.m. sharp. I’ll pick you up then.”

“JD, you know I don’t want to go out…”

“I know. Trust me. I have it all planned.”

That evening, JD drove up in his small sports car. Monica wore the lime-green cashmere coat he’d bought her, hiding the new dress underneath. He drove her to the back of their property, where a small white tent had been erected.

When JD raised the door flap to the entrance, Monica stood speechless. Inside was an elegant dining setting: a glass table, two chairs, white silk tablecloth and napkins, and fine chinaware. Off to the side stood a row of heating containers where the food was being kept warm. Propane lanterns lit the intimate setting while soft music played in the background.

“When did you do all this?”

“I have my ways.” He held out his hand. “Madam, are you ready to begin?”

“Certainly.”

“May I remove your coat?”

She did, and it was JD’s turn to be speechless. “Just like Cinderella.”

She sat down. “And you’re my prince?”

“I’m trying to be.”

“You already are.”