Cut (26 page)

“This isn't your home,” she replied.

Brent drove the car through the open gates. At this hour she couldn't see the deep green of the grass or the impeccable shrubs trimmed to form squares.

“I've been to your house and this…this is not yours,” she said.

“Welcome to my other house, in Pacific Heights.”

She gaped at him. “You have
two
houses?”

Brent inclined his face to hers. “Yes.”

“How?” She couldn't stop staring at the residence in front of her.

“Jessica, I'm a wealthy man.”

“No, you're not.”

“Let me show you.” Brent moved his hand across her waist and opened her door. He got out of the car and walked around to the other side.

She stepped out of the car. “I don't understand.”

“You will.” Brent led her to the front door and opened his home to her.

She stopped in the doorway and took in the sight of the two staircases.

“I'll grab us a drink while you look around,” he said, going to the room directly off to the right.

He walked over to the bar at the far end of the room and selected a red. He poured them each a glass and looked up to find her standing in the doorway.

“I have so many questions,” she said.

“I bet you do,” he said, walking over to her and handing her a glass. “Have a drink first.”

“To think I thought you weren't as successful as your brother.”

“Trace Elements is successful because of the gemstones I find and return. My cut is the biggest. What you don't know is the amount of money I have made through other contracted positions. My stint at D & F last year, for example. Jefferies taught me everything I know about negotiating diamonds in this business.”

She took a sip of her wine. “I don't know what to think about all this.”

“I'd like to tell you a little bit more about what I do. I've barely explained to you about my line of work. Supply and demand is an interesting beast. The market is created by the preferences of Jefferies Abbott. Let's say a patch of pink diamonds are discovered on his property. He makes sure the right clientele are made aware. The clientele influence trends—the wealthy, celebrities and well…you get the picture. If a famous actress is wearing a large pink diamond on her ring finger, suddenly everyone wants one. Jefferies hires a man like me to go and find new product before anyone else. I scout out the hot tips. I taught other men to go and find the next big thing for him. He hears about a rare find first and he swoops in and offers the land owner more than they dreamed of and now he's gained more value.”

“You're paid to bring his product to market.”

“In essence, yes.” Brent took a swig of his wine. “The diamond industry gets a bad rap, but it's like any line of work; there are reputable, honest, and hard-working people and there are those who are shady and rotten. Jefferies is not an angel, but he
is
a businessman with an impeccable reputation for workers' rights and treatment of employees—most of his employees,” he added with a sour note. “I received a hefty contract for the work I did. I also provided education to some of the diamond cutters he hired; some are the best in the business.

“I told you before I spent time with a family of diamond cutters. That's all they do; it's an old craft handed down from generation to generation. It's a highly specialized skill falling to the wayside because of new machines that can cut diamonds with lasers. Jefferies wants all of his diamonds cut by hand. I proved invaluable to him and his company for many reasons, but that one in particular. I retaught those skills to the members of Jefferies' team.

“I patented the educational tools of course, and study practiced in the industry today. I made my money young and fast and I continue to grow and expand. I own sixty-five percent of the jewelry store we're opening next year. I have the controlling share.”

“I had no idea.”

“No, you wouldn't.”

Jessie took another sip and jutted her chin to the lights on the outdoor balcony. “Why did you take me to the other house?”

“My other residence is closer to the hospital and to the jewelry store.”

“How can you live there with all those valuables in your office?”

“I just work with more focus in that place. I can't explain it. I've tried doing the same work here and I lack concentration. Plus, the last thing a gemstone dealer needs is everyone aware of the location of his house. Makes me a target. People want to know who you are, how you got your money, and word spreads. I figured the best approach is to blend in. Once the jewelry store opens my residence will be irrelevant. All of the diamonds will be at the vault in the store.”

The way she looked under the soft lights distracted him from all other thoughts. That face of hers. The way she rolled her lips together made him think of how sweet they would feel on his skin.

“I know you've been married before,” she blurted.

Brent didn't expect her to bring up his past. “Who told you?”

“A little birdie.”

Brent swirled the wine in his glass. He knew it must have been Daniel. But Jessie looked at him expectantly. She wouldn't let this go. “I was twenty,” he said.

“She died.”

“Yes.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Samantha was her name. She waitressed at a pub I liked to go to. I asked her out on a note I'd left with the tip. Seven weeks after meeting her, I married her.”

Jessie's hand traveled up to her mouth. “You knew after such a short time that you wanted to marry her?”

“I knew after the first time I met her.”

“Sounds romantic.”

“A short-lived romance full of regrets. I didn't take enough time to get to know her. I knew I loved her. I didn't regret planning to spend my life with her. She kept things from me, and given more time, I would have discovered them on my own. Samantha had moved from Kansas to San Francisco. She didn't have any friends or family nearby. We got married at city hall with her boss as one witness and a friend of mine as the other. We were married less than six months when she dropped the news that she had been a cancer survivor and the illness had returned.”

“She never told you?”

“Not once. It took me a long time to understand why she lied, but eventually, I came to agree with her. She had moved out west to begin a new life—a life undefined by the disease in her ovaries. She hadn't planned on meeting anyone. Once she met me, she took a risk that her health would be fine, but it failed her with swift and aggressive force. I called her family, and explained we'd gotten married. They had no idea about me. They moved out here temporarily to help and they took over. They didn't know me and I didn't know them. I was in the way. They made sure I wasn't allowed to help. I mostly watched and waited from the hospital waiting room. She died and I buried her. I later found out Samantha couldn't have children, another minor detail she kept form me.” His gaze made a slow ascent down to Jessie's. The sheen of tears hung over her irises. “I never told my family.”

“Not even your brothers?”

“Not even them. At the time I'd already left home and been on my own for some time.”

Jessie reached out her hand and touched his chest. Brent linked his arms behind her back and moved her against him. “When you showed up at Whitaker's tonight, do you know what I thought about?”

“What?”

“This.”

One swipe of his hand brushed the hair off her neck. Slow and determined, Brent ran his hand down her skin until his fingers caught the zipper. He dragged it down her elegant back all the way. The fabric parted and fell to the side, revealing her back, visible in the dim lights of the room. The dress fell down to the floor with little prodding, and she stepped out of it.

Everything about her skin invited his touch—the smoothness, the soft glow of her reflection on the window, and the scent of the crisp night air somehow inside his house. Brent kissed one of her shoulders. Then the other. He placed his lips in between the two and moved down her back, holding her hips close against him and working his way over her skin with his tongue and his mouth, going wherever he pleased, only to be stopped by the lace rim of her panties. He slid his hands down her thighs, past her knees, and rounded them around her ankles. One by one he removed her shoes and tossed them to the side.

Brent straightened. He spun her around as she removed her bra. His gaze lowered and caught sight of her breasts with her nipples already hard. His arousal grazed over the tiny bow on her panties. Everything else faded—the city lights on the bridge, the tree branch shadow fluttering outside the window. All the chaos of the last twenty-four hours faded in lieu of the desire swelling in his erection.

Brent changed his pace. His lips claimed hers. His hand pressed against the back of her neck and he drew her closer. The slightest touch of her body triggered the need to be inside her. She seemed hesitant, even shy, which wasn't like her, but he kept at it with greedy intentions.

He dragged his face down her cleavage and kissed her breasts, taking turns with each one, letting the taste of her skin set on his lips. He closed his lips around each of her nipples, giving each one his undivided attention. He took his cue from the soft moans escaping her mouth. Brent moved himself lower, to the place he knew he could push her over the edge. His hand pushed the thin fabric covering her crotch to the side. He breathed in her musky dampness.

“Brent,” she said.

Brent's head snapped up. “Yes?” he said, holding his breath. The pink color on her cheeks shot pride through him at how he could make her color change.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Is the engagement suddenly back on?” he said, distracting her with a line of kisses over the rim of her panties.

“No.”

“Then it can wait.”

* * * *

Jessie didn't have a chance to argue. He grabbed her waist and brought his lips down on hers. She matched his heated, hungry kisses. The sensation of his tongue entering her mouth rocked her straight to her center. Pleasure shot up her neck. His lips slanted over hers. They moved together, each body thirsty for the other.

Brent backed her up against the wall. He stepped back and let his eyes drink in her body. He ran his hands up her bare legs and teased the line where the panty met her thigh with his fingertips. His finger lingered over the space between her legs, at the spot they'd left off at the other night. She closed her eyes in anticipation of where he would put his lips. One of his hands traveled up her abdomen as he rose.

She wasn't used to a man looking at her like this, like he wanted to kiss every part of her. Right now. Jessie's lips met his. She tasted wine. She slipped her tongue in his mouth and twisted around his.

They made out with her back on the wall. Their bodies rubbed against each other. Jessie ran her fingers over the muscles in his arms. She considered no part of him untouchable. She put her hands everywhere and anywhere. Her fingers splayed down his front and to the end of his shirt. She pulled it over his head and took her time letting the sight of his chest sink in.

On his lower left side, a diamond outlined in black, inked his skin. She ran her hand over the flawless stretch of his body. Smooth to the touch, Jessie kissed a trail down to the tattoo of the diamond and she did what came naturally. She placed a row of kisses along the border of his pants as her hands worked at unbuckling his belt. The slightest hint of salty sweat met her lips.

She liked the taste of him. She dragged her tongue along the line of his beautiful lower abdomen and breathed in the smell of male sex. She ran her hand over his groin and he jerked his hips reflexively.

Brent raised her chin and met her gaze. “My turn,” he said, drawing her up slowly and taking her in his arms.

They moved over to the couch. She laid down on her back and he straddled her. He swiped his hands down her chest. On the inside she flushed with warmth and dizzying sweetness. Her nipples stood up straight at the roughness with which he sucked each one of them, then moved to kiss her lips, and back again to her breasts.

She traced his shoulders down his arms all the way to the tips of his fingers. He lifted up and pushed his pants down. His arousal ground over her sensitive area and she closed her eyes. The pleasure built with each touch of his member moving over her. The temperature between her legs grew hot and sticky with each slip of his finger over the delicate spot covered by only her panties. He shoved his hand there. Jessie's legs slackened. Her breathing stilled.

He lowered his hand, parting her legs. His fingers ran over her nub, up and down, slow and steady. Her body responded with moist acceptance. His finger slicked over her there, where she couldn't control her body. He circled his finger over her skin. A bead of sweat fell from his chest onto hers, trailing down over her breast, and the reaction of his body fueled the need for her sweet release even further.

He broke away and reached for his pants, and it was followed by the sound of him tearing a wrapper. He protected himself and then rolled her panties down her legs and off her feet. The sheer size of him covered her body. He pinned her hands down and entered her. She gasped at the plump girth of his manhood thrust inside her with one large, smooth movement.

Brent moved inside her. Their bodies moved together. Each jolt of his manhood rubbed against the spot overcome by sensitivity. He moved faster. Brent kissed her, and she lost herself in his mouth—the rough movement of his tongue.

Jessie's legs squeezed his thighs. A burst of pleasure, followed by a second, longer one, racked her body. Brent moved harder and faster and came a second later.

His body dropped over hers completely and he kissed her shoulder. He kissed her lips too, with softness matching the glow overcoming the rest of her body. A swipe of his hand moved the hair off her face. Her head spun; her heart awakened. Her mouth slackened against his lips. His tongue slid in her mouth and unruly pleasure shot off in all directions beneath her skin. She grabbed his face and kissed him back.