Beale Street Blues (16 page)

His touch to her sensitive breasts sent a shiver through her body that she couldn't remember feeling before, but she wanted to feel it again and again. No matter how many times she told the man not to get her hair wet, he did; but, this time she didn't care. He lifted her and leaned her against the shower wall. Hot water from the shower matted her hair to her face and shoulders, but he brushed it away as he kissed her cheek and neck. The touch of his lips against her skin heated her more than the steam from the shower.

He held her tight as she bucked against him and the warm shower tiles. Jaxon filled her so completely, but still she craved so much more. He placed her on the tiles of the shower floor, and lowered himself down on top of her.

The wait for his touch made her reach out for him and pull him into her kiss.

His moans as he deepened his thrusts inside her increased her need and to satisfy it, she wrapped one leg around him and took every powerful thrust. The ache in her breasts assisted by the hard warm spray of the shower tightened and firmed her nipples, begging for the warmth of his mouth and the tenderness of his tongue. A subtle push of his head gave him the signal he needed.

She ran her fingers through the wet strands of his hair, holding him tight to her as she kissed him. The weight of his body on top of hers comforted her. She never wanted to lose it, or him. Her leg tightened around him locking their bodies together as her orgasm burst through her, followed by the pulsating thrusts that told her he'd climaxed. Her need for Jaxon was more than sex. Her heart was losing the battle against him. She wrapped both legs around him, and let the water beat down on them as she listened to the rhythm of his breathing.

How could she ever let him go?

Dressed in her tennis whites, Jaxon's mother lobbed tennis balls at him with the strength of a woman half her age. A couple of matches a week had become part of their normal routine since he'd been staying in Memphis. Especially with Rodney back, he didn't need to be in the office as much. His relationship with Darling was easier to conceal with one of them out of the building.

"Mom, let's take a break," he yelled across the court.

She waved her racquet as she responded, "Okay."

He grabbed his towel and they walked to a canopied table to order drinks. But, before he could have the first taste of the cold glass of tea in front of him, his mother asked, "Son, how much longer are you going to drag your feet with Darling, and fabricate reasons to be in Memphis?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"To anybody watching."

"She's been through a lot." He finally had a drink of his sweet tea. "If I push too hard, she'll run."

"What about you?" His mother stared at him with a look of hope.

He grew more confident every day in what he wanted. "I want to be with her, but…her ex-husband…Their divorce finalizes soon. He and his new wife are keeping the house he built with Darling to raise their new family."

His mother squinted against the sun as she watched another match on the court in front of them. "Poor girl," his mother said with a shake of her head.

"They tried for kids for years, but nothing worked. Now, he has a new family and raising it in the house she dreamed their family would live."

"That's a lot for you to fight against." His mom rattled the ice in her glass of tea emphasizing her words.

He knew it would be difficult, but wasn't that the mark of anything worth having? "I want…her."

His mother's glass of tea slipped from her hands against the table and cracked on the ground.

He pushed up from his seat, but his mom waved him off. "Mom, are you okay."

One of the waiters hustled over to the spill and for some reason, apologized to them for his mother's spill as he cleaned it up.

"I'm so sorry," his mother said. "My son surprised me," she said to the waiter with a smile. "Son, I've been waiting so long to hear you say those words about someone, but do you want her because you love her?"

"I've loved her for a long time. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but every moment I spend away from her gets harder and harder." He sipped from his tea. "I don't want to scare her away," he paused. "But, I've never felt this way about anyone."

His mother's hand covered his. "Son, as long as you're honest with her, you won't scare her." Her eyes fell to the ground before locking onto his. "Be honest. Be patient."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

D
arling cursed the chef at the dive near the office as she rushed to the bathroom. The green tea she'd wolfed back did nothing to calm her stomach. Straddling the toilet, she promised to never eat there again. Her stomach cramped in agreement at the memory. "Ugh," she moaned as she leaned her head against the stall door. She was thankful Jaxon had a great cleaning staff; otherwise, it could be a whole lot worse. The smell of pine actually helped to soothe her stomach.

"Who's that? Are you okay?" The question was filled with curiosity, more than concern.

Go away! "I'm fine."

"Darling?"

She stood and flushed the toilet. Wiping her mouth with a huge wad of tissue because the freaking roll wouldn't stop, she tossed it into a nearby garbage can as she focused and eased to the sink on wobbly legs. "Barbara, I'm fine. Thanks."

Darling didn't have to look at Barbara to know that her eyes scanned her whole body. She could feel it.

"What's wrong with you? Are you contagious?" Barbara's eyes drilled her as she took a few steps backwards.

"No, I'm not contagious. I ate something bad at lunch." She tried to force a smile.

"You sure. You don't look well at all." Barbara frowned.

"Thanks, but I'm okay." She splashed some water on her face. "But, I think I might go home early. Can you handle the office?"

Barbara didn't say anything. She kept staring like she knew something that Darling didn't. "You sure you're not pregnant?"

"What?"
Pregnant!
She hadn't thought of that. There was no way she could be. She and Steve had tried for children for years. She'd wanted to try IVF, but Steve said it wasn't worth it to spend so much money. According to him, they were too old and should focus on everything else, instead of wasting money on children.

People would think we are our own children's grandparents. Guess that was not the case with his new wife.

"No. I'm not pregnant."

I'll buy a pregnancy test on the way to my parents' house.

Hours later, surrounded by plastic wrappers from three pregnancy tests tossed without care around her tiny room and shreds of the inconspicuous little brown bag that shielded them from her parents' eyes as she'd carried them into the house, Darling cried. Curled up in the middle of the bed she'd slept in as a kid, she wept until her body shook the mattress beneath her. How had they been so careless? How could she be pregnant at her age? Her divorce wasn't final. She lived with her parents and she was sleeping with her boss.

Great freaking role model!

How would she tell her parents? Jaxon?

Just thinking about it, it seemed impossible, but Jaxon might think she planned it. That she tried to
trap
him. He would hate her.

A week had passed, and Jaxon still hadn't seen Darling. The phone calls and texts weren't enough. She'd told Rodney she hadn't been feeling well and would need some time off. But, Jaxon didn't think that meant time off from him, too. No matter the problem, they were one now, or he thought they were. He rubbed at the ache in his chest. What was he supposed to do if she was walking out of his life?

He knocked at the door and waited.

Her father stood without his normal jovial smile. "Hi, son."

"Hi, Mr. Crawford." He glanced through the doorway, searching. "Is Darling here?"

The grey haired man folded his arms across his rounded belly. "No, son, I'm sorry. She went to visit her girlfriend, Annette, in Charlotte."

What the hell!
Why would she leave the city without telling him?

Mr. Crawford stood waiting and watching while he kicked around different scenarios in his head.

None of the scenarios made any sense. "Charlotte?"

The man's arms slowly fell to his side. "I'm picking her up from the airport tomorrow."

"Airport." Now, even he thought he was beginning to sound stupid.

"Son, you don't have a lot to say do you?" Mr. Crawford stepped back. "Come on in."

He didn't know what to say or do. She'd left town without a word. Images of the past month flew through his mind. Dinners. Dancing. Waking up beside her. Nothing was out of place. There could be no mistaking the meaning behind her kiss or touch. What had he missed that would make her leave Memphis, him, without saying anything. "Sir, I don't want to disturb you and Mrs. Crawford." Maybe she realized she didn't love him? Maybe this was her way of sparing him the face-to-face bullshit of cutting her ties.

He turned to leave.

"Mrs. Crawford isn't here," the older gentleman said as Jaxon turned. "She's at church. But, you can keep me company. It's been a little lonely around here without my Darling." Jaxon stepped inside, and Mr. Crawford closed the door. "But, I guess it won't be quiet much longer."

"I guess not…not when she returns." When she returns to tell him to leave her the hell alone and to not show up at her parents' home. He knew this shit would happen. This is why he didn't want to take the fucking chance. He followed behind Mr. Crawford cursing himself for being stupid enough to think it all might work out in his favor.

The old man wound his way through a living room too tight for the furniture pushed against every wall to a smaller room off to the left. The room wasn't much bigger, but had considerably less furniture. It had only a couple of reclining chairs, a stereo system straight out of the nineties, and a TV from the latest Sears catalogue.

Mr. Crawford stopped in front of the TV and scanned the room. He located the remote and picked it up from its resting place on one of the chairs. "I'll be glad when she's back. I know you must be anxious." He offered Jaxon a guarded smile.

"Anxious?" Angry. Yes. But, anxious. Why would he be anxious?

Mr. Crawford stared with an odd expression between disbelief and question. He stopped switching channels. "Do you like karate?"

"Mr. Crawford I didn't know she'd left town?" He waited for a response. When none came, he continued. "Do you know why she left?"

Mr. Crawford glanced up at him as he lowered himself into one of the recliners. If he didn't know the older man was in his sixties, he would've given him about fifty-two or three. Not one wrinkle creased his dark skin.

Normally, her father greets him with a smile. Today, that didn't happen. But, for a split second, it was there and then it was gone. "Son, it looks like you and my daughter have a lot to talk about when she returns."

"Yes, sir, we do." He sat in the available seat beside Mr. Crawford and stared at the images dancing across the television screen. He'd seen the movie before. The son avenged the death of his father by chasing the ninjas who'd assassinated him. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, the son met and fell in love with the daughter of the man who'd killed his father. He didn't remember how it ended, but he'd be willing to bet not well for the son. How could it? He had to kill the father of the woman he loved, or he wouldn't avenge his father's murder.

No way to win.
Not even in a movie.

"Son, how do you feel about my daughter?" Darling's father muted the television and waited.

There was only one answer to the question, but at that moment, he felt like a sixteen year-old craving the approval of his girlfriend's father. And he was confident that Mr. Crawford knew exactly why Darling had left town. He needed to know what the other man knew. "Sir?"

Mr. Crawford focused his attention on Jaxon. "How do you feel about my daughter?" He smiled. "And call me Roy."

Heat spread across Jaxon's chest as he loosened his tie. "I—sir, Roy, I'm in love with her, but—"

This time, Mr. Crawford did smile and clicked the volume up on the TV. "But, what?"

"I don't know if she's ready to hear me say that I love her." He pressed again. "Sir, do you know why she left town?"

Roy nodded his head as if considering his response. The colors of the television screen reflected against a small shiny bald spot on top of the man's head. "Maybe, but she needs to know that a man can love her no matter what. Steve wasn't a bad man, but he didn't really love my daughter. He loved the way she looked, her education…But, not really her."

"Sir, I love her. I want to be with her. My father left my mother and me when I was young. I never thought I'd find anyone I wanted to be with for life." Admitting he and his father were pricks to the father of the woman he loved was crazy. "But, from the moment I met Darling, she challenged me. She didn't make it easy, but, sir, I love her."