Black Dahlia (5 page)

“Okay. So will this person be at my apartment? It may be a few days or even weeks before I can go back there…”

Raul sighed heavily as he stopped listening to what she was saying. He knew she was not going to like what he was about to say. “You’re not going back to your apartment.”

“What do you mean?” Mercedes asked, her brown eyes leveling a gaze at him
.

“I mean, your apartment is not safe, so to ensure your safety, you’re going to stay with me, at my home.” When he saw Mercedes’ eyes narrow, Raul wanted to smile at the challenge he saw. This wa
s
a battle she would not win, however he enjoyed seeing her defiant side. 

“Hell no! If you think you can use this as a shot to get me in your damn bed, then you have another thing coming!” she said incredulously, pushing back in her chair to stand. Raul stayed her with a hand on her thigh. Mercedes was wearing a pair of black high waist shorts, so his hand made contact with her skin. A jolt of electricity shot through him at the contact. Now that the fear was mostly gone from Mercedes, it seemed his body’s attraction to her returned in full force. Mercedes sat back in her chair as she looked at his hand on her thigh, and Raul left his hand right where it was.

“Mercedes, it’s obvious we both have an attraction for one another. You like me, but you’re scared to admit it,” he leaned in closer, “we both know I don’t have to come up with some elaborate ass excuse to get you into my bed,” he paused letting his words sink in. He squeezed her thigh with the hand that still rested on it.

“With that said, I have four bedrooms, a top rate security system and I live in a gated community. No one is breaking into my home. You’ll be safe there.”
From your stalker, that is.

Mercedes huffed and crossed her arms over her breasts, “Well damn, aren’t you the charmer?” she asked mockingly unable to deny his claim.

Raul smiled and sat back in his chair, finally removing his hand. “You already know the answer to that, Querida.” His smile deepened at the sight of Mercedes biting her lower lip. He knew he was having an effect on her. Good.

“There’s nowhere else for you to go. Your apartment is a mess and unsafe, Devyn and Nikola are leaving in a week to spend the summer in Brazil and you’d be here all alone. And I’m not about to allow you to remain here alone.”

Mercedes turned her gaze to his eyes. “Did you just say ‘allow’ me? You’re not going to allow me…
”

Here we go.
Raul thought. He raised his hand to cut off her impending tirade.

“Poor choice of words. Look, it’s better for you to stay with me, so we can work together to find whoever is behind this, while keeping you safe. Don’t let your stubbornness get in the way of your safety,” he said seriously.

She knew as well as he did what he said was the truth. Nikola and Devyn were going to spend most of their summer at their home in Brazil. Though, Mercedes was scheduled to travel for different performances throughout the summer, when she was home in Atlanta she would be here alone.

Mercedes let out a breath as she ran a hand through her hair, which she’d styled in a twistout that she had pinned up in a high curly puff.

“You have four bedrooms?” Mercedes asked.

Raul could tell she was acquiescing. He nodded. “Yes, well three...aside from the master bedroom. You will have complete privacy. If you want it.” He let that final statement hang in the air and watched as Mercedes sighed.

For the next fifteen minutes Raul and Mercedes discussed their living arrangement and her travel schedule over the next few months. Mercedes had big performances in three major cities along with performances at the Black Kitty and smaller cities. This summer, like most of her others were busy. Raul decided that he would travel with her to her performances. He’d begin making the travel arrangements in the morning, since her New York performance was the following week. A little while later Devyn and Nikola returned and they spent another hour catching up and talking, before Raul got a call from one of his employees. Lorenzo informed Raul of his findings at Mercedes’ apartment. Raul wanted to wait until he was alone with Mercedes to update her. He also needed to talk to her to compile a list of names of who could be behind this. He’d have his team start talking to suspects on the list over the next few days.

Raul and Mercedes left later that afternoon. Instead of going directly to Raul’s home, they made a stop at a few costume and linen stores. Mercedes wanted to begin replacing some of the costumes she’d lost in the break-in. She told him that she made most of her costumes by hand, and she wanted spend the next week repairing the damage to her costumes or making new ones to perform in. They stopped by her apartment and Mercedes managed to collect a few items that managed to escape total destruction, including some of the beads and accessories to her costumes. It was at her apartment Raul had to tell her his team discovered her car tires had been slashed. Raul had already made the arrangements to have her car towed and the tires fixed. They waited for the tow company to show up and take Mercedes’ insurance information.

By the time they got back to Raul’s home, it was eight o’clock that evening. Raul looked at Mercedes’ slumped shoulders and knew she was beginning to feel the weight of the last few days. He took her bags up to one of the guest rooms and told her to settle down in his living room. He ordered some takeout and decided to make her a drink while they waited. He went out to his back patio and picked two limes from his potted lime trees and brought them to the kitchen. He quartered the limes and mashed them together with sugar and poured in the cachaca, making Brazil’s most famous drink. Pouring the drink over ice and adding lime slices to each glass he walked over to Mercedes who was seated on his L-shaped sectional sofa. Mercedes had the world news channel on, but he could tell she wasn’t really paying attention to the screen.

“Food is on its way,” he said to grab her attention.

He handed her the glass. “I figured you needed this.” Although he saw her raise a questioning eyebrow, he proceeded with lifting his hand with the other glass in cheers and took a sip of his own drink.

“Mmmmm,” Mercedes moaned, as she closed her eyes and sipped her drink. Raul felt his cock twitch at the sound and the look of satisfaction on her face.

“That’s delicious. What is it?” Mercedes asked opening her eyes, and looking directly at Raul. For a second their eyes locked and Raul felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He watched as she licked the remnants of the drink from her lips and he felt the temperature in the room increase at least ten degrees. He shook his head to get those thoughts out of his mind. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking of Mercedes this way. Not right now. Now, she needed his security expertise first, not his lusty thoughts.

“Uh...” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s called Caipirinha, Brazil’s most popular drink.” He took another sip of his drink, needing the ice-cold liquid to cool his libido down.

“Thank you. This is excellent,” she said taking another sip, and closing her eyes once again. She looked as if the drink was helping her relax. Just then Raul’s phone buzzed. It was the security gate letting him know the takeout had arrived.

Just in time.
Raul thought as he went to retrieve the Chinese takeout he’d ordered. They ate mostly in silence. Finishing her meal, Mercedes turned to Raul.

“I uh...I just wanted to say thank you for all of this,” she said.

Raul saw the sincere look of appreciation in her eyes and couldn’t help the protective urge that came over him. He stood and moved around the table and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Querida, you don’t have to thank me. You need help and I’m more than capable of helping. Just consider this a friend helping another friend. I’ll put the rest of the food away. You can head up; your room, it’s the second on the right. All your bags are in there, and it has its own fully stocked bathroom. Let me know if you need anything.” Raul saw the shocked expression on Mercedes’ face as he moved in, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Blinking away the expression, she gave him a smile, “Thank you.”

He peered at her through half closed eyelids as she ascended the stairs. He watched the sway of her hips and the way the fabric of her shorts gripped her behind. He blew out a breath.

It’s gonna be a cold shower for me tonight,
he thought.

Mercedes laid in bed restless. It was just after 6 in the morning, and even though she had nowhere she needed to be, she couldn’t sleep any longer. It’d been two days since Raul brought her to his home, and so far he was a perfect gentleman. Together they compiled a list of her recent exes, colleagues and anyone else she could think of who might be behind this. Truthfully, Mercedes didn’t think anyone she knew could be behind this, but Raul strongly believed this was probably someone she knew or had come in contact with somewhere. His security team began gathering information on everyone on the list and would soon begin contacting them for questioning. For her part, Mercedes busied herself repairing or recreating her burlesque costumes. She was bummed that most of her costumes had been destroyed, but she loved doing arts and crafts and the sewing and gluing and piecing together of her costumes. She’d developed an enjoyment for arts and crafts as a child when her mother created a children’s daycare at her father’s church. Mercedes would help out the children with their creations and designs. She carried this enjoyment with her in both her teaching and in her own apartment. She often made arts and crafts projects as assignments for her students, and much of her own furniture and decorations around her apartment, she either made by hand, or had refurbished. When she discovered burlesque, she found yet another way to indulge in her love for crafts by designing her own costumes.

Sighing, Mercedes sat up in bed, placing her feet on the floor. She thought about Raul. Just the thought of him brought a smile to her face. She was surprised when she entered his home two nights before. She was sure she would find the typical, usually sparsely decorated bachelor pad. That was not the case. Though, the home did scream “single male” with its darker colored furniture and huge flat screen television, it was still inviting. He had pictures of family members, including his two Godsons, Jacques and Theodore throughout the living room. Mercedes was pleasantly surprised too when she saw the guest room she was staying in was fully decorated equipped with a king size bed, chaise lounge, closet and dressers. There was also a bay view window that allowed her a complete view of his large backyard. As Raul stated, she had her own fully stocked bathroom so she didn’t have to worry about sharing or running into him while only dressed in a towel.

Not that I’d mind.
Mercedes’ smile grew larger imagining running into Raul with only a towel wrapped around his waist. She could imagine his golden skin as water dripped down what she was sure, was a very defined six-pack of abs…

Mercedes blinked as she tried to clear her mind of those thoughts. She had to remind herself she wasn’t here for that. She was here because someone was stalking her. There was a very real threat against her and she couldn’t afford to get caught up fantasizing about Raul. At least not now. She stood and walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth, deciding to do a short workout before heading downstairs. She figured she would have enough time to work out and then make breakfast before Raul came down. She wanted to make him breakfast as a small token of her appreciation for his help. Mercedes finished brushing her teeth, pulled her hair up in a high bun and threw on a pair of black workout leggings and a hot pink t-shirt. Finding one of her favorite kickboxing routines on YouTube, she kicked, punched, and sweated for the next forty-five minutes. Feeling energized by her workout, she showered, put her hair in a goddess braid, and moisturized her skin before putting on a long, sleeveless sundress. Heading downstairs to the kitchen, Mercedes peeked down the hall at the door to Raul’s bedroom and found it was closed. She figured he was still sleeping. He’d told her he didn’t need to go into the office until later today.

Mercedes made her way into his kitchen and once again, found herself in love with the large space and Italian marble countertops. She loved to cook, and she’d learned in the last few days that Raul knew his way around the kitchen as well. His kitchen appliances could rival those of any top chef. Pulling out eggs, veggies, and fruit, Mercedes began to crack the eggs in a bowl to beat and threw the veggies into the pan with some coconut oil. Mercedes didn’t eat meat except for fish and seafood, and Raul made sure to stock his refrigerator with plenty of foods she could eat. She made two veggie omelets, cut up fruit making a fruit salad, and placed some whole grain bread in the toaster. As the bread toasted, she headed upstairs to see if Raul was awake. It was getting close to eight o’clock so she assumed he was up. She found the door to his bedroom was still closed, and after she rapped on it a few times, she heard nothing. Getting ready to turn and leave a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Further down the hall, a door was opened and she heard low music playing. Mercedes had assumed this room was another bedroom, but as she got closer, she realized it had been converted into a gym.

In the middle of the room, Mercedes saw Raul dressed in only a pair of dark grey workout shorts. His back was to her, as he kicked high and swooped down close to the floor. He crouched and spun twisting and contorting his body. At first glance, seeing his kicks, Mercedes thought he was doing some sort of kickboxing, but it was nothing she was familiar with. His moves were as light and graceful as a gazelle, but she could tell his kicks held the power of a sledgehammer. He swept one leg under the other, before leaping on his back and jumping back up in a crouched position. She knew it took years to develop that type of skill and dexterity. The music in the background sounded as if it was a mix of chanting in a language she didn’t understand and hand drums. Though she didn’t understand it, she felt the beat vibrate through her body. Raul’s movements seemed to be in time with the music, making it look like a dance at times instead of kickboxing. She was in awe. Mercedes continued to watch in silence for long minutes, forgetting about the reason she’d come to find Raul in the first place. When he turned she could see he was covered in a light sheen of sweat, as if he’d been at this for a long time. Possibly even before she went down to make breakfast. She watched as a bead of sweat glided down his moist chest, and down his rippled abs. Just as she’d imagined, not an ounce of fat could be found on his body. She unconsciously licked her lips. She was so preoccupied watching that one bead of sweat, she didn’t even realized he’d stopped moving and was staring directly at her.

Mercedes was pulled out of her reverie when he cleared his throat. Her eyes flew to his face, and she saw the knowing smile on his face. Her belly warmed at that mischievous smile. Mercedes decided to forego her embarrassment. Heck, the man already knew she was attracted to him. So what he caught her gawking? 

“Good morning. I came up to see if you were awake. I prepared breakfast if you’re hungry.” She told him struggling to not let her eyes trail down the rest of his body. Raul moved to the side of the room, picking up a towel. He wiped his face and chest down before responding.

“Thank you. I’ll take a quick shower and be down in a little while.”

“Great.” Was all Mercedes said before she turned and headed back downstairs. She placed the eggs in the oven to keep them warm and grabbed plates and glasses to take out to the back patio. In his backyard, Raul had a large overhead deck, fully decorated with a large wicker couch and table. The area was surrounded with potted palm, lime and lemon trees. Mercedes saw it the first morning she’d been at Raul’s and fell in love with the area. Since then, they’d eaten breakfast on the patio, if he was there or she ate out there alone. She’d asked him how he had citrus trees in Atlanta, and he told her he had a professional gardener teach him to care for them, and once the temperature dipped below fifty degrees he brought the trees inside in a heated room on the first floor. There, they kept pretty well until early spring and he could place them back outside. Mercedes loved the ability to have fresh lime and lemons right at her fingertips. She’d already made a couple pitchers of fresh lemonade and asked Raul to teach her to make the drink he made for her on the first night she was there.

She went back to the kitchen to retrieve the fruit and toast, when she heard Raul’s footsteps coming down the stairs. He came over to help her carry the rest of their breakfast out, and went back in to grab the orange juice and start the coffeemaker. Mercedes wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, but after one taste of the special Brazilian blend he’d brought from home, she’d been converted. The rich and smooth coffee was unlike any other cup of coffee she had before.

“This looks great. Thanks for cooking,” Raul commented as they sat down to eat.

“No problem.” Mercedes wanted to ask him about what she saw him doing in the workout room earlier. She hadn’t wanted to intrude on his workout, but he had looked so fluid and graceful. His body was like poetry in motion. She couldn’t help but stare at him as he moved. They made small talk about the day’s plan for a little while, before Mercedes decided to ask him about it.

“What was that you were doing in the workout room?” she asked, as she popped a piece of cantaloupe in her mouth.

He sat back in his seat as a thoughtful look passed over his face. “It’s called Capoeira.”

She swallowed her fruit. “Capoeira,” she repeated. “It’s beautiful, but what is it? I mean, it looks like you were doing some type of martial art, but dancing at the same time.”

Raul nodded as he chewed and swallowed the bite of eggs he’d just forked into his mouth. He wiped his mouth before speaking. “It is.” He smiled at the confused look Mercedes gave him.

“It’s both, actually. It’s a martial art disguised as a dance.”

“Really?” Mercedes asked, intrigued.

“Yup.”

“How did you learn it?” she asked moving to the edge of her seat. He had her interest piqued. She’d never knew such as style of fighting existed, not that she was familiar with martial arts.

Raul looked just as excited to talk about it, as she was in learning. “It’s a Brazilian martial art. It was developed by enslaved Africans who were brought over by the Portuguese. Slaves were forbidden to practice their African martial arts, for obvious reasons. The enslavers didn’t want the slaves developing a resistance, but they did allow them to get together and practice dancing. It was seen as a way to keep their spirits up, which would increase productivity. What they didn’t know was that the Africans came up with an ingenious way to disguise their practice of martial arts...”

“They hid it in their dance,” Mercedes guessed. Raul smile and nodded.

“Wow,” she said in awe.

“How did you learn it?” she asked.

“It was through Capoeira that many slaves were able to escape their enslavers and formed groups known as Quilombos. The Quilombos fought against the Portuguese and escaped into the deeper rain forests beyond Portuguese control, creating communities of freed slaves. One of the most well-known of these communities is Palmares. My paternal grandmother is a descendant of the people of Palmares. For generations, our family passed down Capoeira from one generation to the next. My grandmother and father taught me when I was really young and I’ve been doing it ever since...”

Mercedes was amazed as she continued to listen to the story Raul shared with her. She’d known that Brazil had been involved in the slave trade, but she’d never heard of the resistance of the slaves, or of Capoeira. She was enraptured as Raul shared his family history with her and the bond he shared with this grandmother who taught him all about their family’s history. She could see the admiration he held for his grandmother, and the passion he had about the topic of his family history. She learned that Raul, like most Brazilians was a mix of Afro-Latino, Indigenous, and Portuguese. Mercedes wanted to ask Raul to teach her, but didn’t know if it was something that he was willing to share with someone who wasn’t family.

They continued to eat and talk for a while longer, before Raul checked the time. It was after nine-thirty. They’d spent an hour and a half talking about his family, dancing, and Capoeira. Mercedes had shared with him her love of dancing and how she got started in burlesque. She’d clammed up when he asked about her family, however. Her family didn’t know this side of her. She knew her parents, especially her father, would not like that she performed half naked in front of a live audience. She knew what her father would refer to her as. Her grip tightened on her cup as she thought about the ugly words her father would hurl at her if he found out about her burlesque dancing.

“Are you okay?” Raul looked at her with concern in his eyes. She realized her thoughts were displayed on her face. She pushed the thought of her parents away.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking about the parts of my costume I have to complete before we leave this Thursday.” It was Tuesday, and they were scheduled to leave Thursday evening for New York, where she had performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Raul’s gaze continued to linger on her as if he was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Whatever he saw must have convinced him to not push and he dropped the subject.

“It will be fine. I can help you if you need it,” he offered.

Mercedes laughed. “Oh yeah, you know how to sew or glue sequins on a corset?” 

“Don’t underestimate my skills. I’m a man of many talents.” He winked at her. Mercedes felt the butterflies rise in her stomach as she stared into those brown pools he called eyes. Once again she thought this man was beautiful. She noticed the wrinkling of the outside of his eyes when he smiled. Her gaze moved down to his upturned, full lips. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from licking her licking her lips.