Hot Like Fire (15 page)

Garcelle led Kadina out of the room and down
the stairs. "Yeah?"

"Are you and my daddy mad?"

Garcelle paused as she held the front door open.
"Uh ... no, of course not. Why?"

They continued down the stairs and out the front
door. "You guys don't talk much," Kadina said as
she got into the backseat of Garcelle's car.

"Your dad and I are cool as ever, sweetheart,"
Garcelle lied. She and Kade had deliberately not
shared each other's immediate space since that day
in the rain. "Top down?"

Kadina buckled her seat belt. "Si. Gracias."

Garcelle smiled at her as she worked on lowering
and securing the manual convertible top.

"I wouldn't want you and Daddy to be mad,"
Kadina continued.

Garcelle hopped into the car, and soon they were
headed down the long and bumpy drive to the main
road. "Me, either," she said, more focused on checking for oncoming traffic before she made a right
turn onto Highway 17 and headed to Walterboro.

"You two should kiss and make up."

Garcelle eyed the little girl in the rearview mirror,
with an alarmed expression. "Grown-ups don't kiss
and make up."

"Grown-ups who like each other do."

Garcelle said nothing, wanting the whole conversation to end.

"Everybody knows you and Daddy like each
other like girlfriend and boyfriend."

Garcelle nearly slammed on the brakes. "I work for
your father. That's all."

She felt the tension finally ease from her body
as Kadina fell quiet on the subject. She turned on
the radio and sped toward their destination.

"Garcelle, if you was my new mommy, would I
speak Spanish like my friend Maria?"

Oh my God. This little girl is a pit bull about this.

Garcelle pulled the car to a stop in front of the
spacious brick home of Kael and Lisha Strong.
"Okay, we're here," she said cheerfully, with way too
much enthusiasm.

The front door opened, and Lisha stepped out
onto the porch, dressed in a long jean skirt and a
lime green T-shirt. "There's my grandbaby!"

Garcelle grabbed Kadina's overnight case as the
little girl went flying up the stairs to fling her arms
around her grandmother's waist.

"Garcelle, you better put that hood up. The weatherman is calling for rain," Lisha called down to her.

"I wasn't staying-"

"Of course, you are. It's lunchtime. Come on in,"
Lisha said over her shoulder before she followed
Kadina into the house.

The scent of well-seasoned food mingled in the air
with the natural aromas of the ranch. The smell of
the food won out, and Garcelle's stomach growled in
frustration. A stop at Taco Bell will take care of that, she
thought as she glanced up at the sky and saw the dark
storm clouds overshadowing the blue skies. She decided that putting up the top while she was stationary
was a good idea.

After moving to South Carolina, she had learned
early that rain was a natural occurrence. It could be
blue skies and sunshine one moment and grey skies
and rain the next.

At the sound of horse hooves, she turned and saw Kade and his father ride up together. She had to
force her eyes off the impressive sight Kade made in
the saddle.

"Hola," she greeted them as she snapped the
hood of her car in place as they both climbed down
off their stallions with ease.

"How have you been, Garcelle?" Kael asked as he
handed the reins of his horse to Kade.

"Real good. And you?" said Garcelle.

`Just fine ... just fine," said Kael as he climbed
the stairs of the porch. He turned on the top step
and looked down at her, with assessing eyes. He
turned his head a bit to give his son a long, meaningful, hard stare before he walked into the house,
with a shake of his silver head.

Garcelle thought she heard him say, "Never
thought I'd have a mule for a son. Damndest thing."

She tried her best to ignore Kade, but she felt
him standing there, looking at her. "Tell your mom
I couldn't stay for lunch, but thanks, anyway," she
said in a rush to Kade before she jumped into her
car and sped away like she was driving a race car.

"He's going after her," Lisha said from her spot
at the left side of the living room window.

"That mule-headed son of ours? No way," Kael
replied from his spot at the right side of the same
window.

"Go after her, Daddy," said Kadina as she watched
from her spot in the middle.

They all peered out as Kade turned to eye Garcelle's car as it sped away. He ran his hand through
his hair and kicked the dirt with his boot before he turned amid the flying dust and climbed the
stairs to the house.

"Go ... go ... go," Lisha urged them as they all
scattered from the window before they were caught
being nosey.

It was after seven when Kade left Walterboro and
headed home. Halfway down Highway 17, the skies
opened up, the winds increased in velocity, and he
found himself in the middle of a storm. As the rain
made anything more than a foot ahead of him disappear, he slowed down to a creeping ten miles
per hour.

He was glad when he finally pulled into his
puddle filled yard and dashed into the house. Stripping off the wet clothing by the front door, he carried the bundle into the washroom, located off the
kitchen. He took his cell phone and wallet from the
pants before he dumped them into the washing
machine. The wind rattled the house. Lightning
and thunder fought for dominance.

In his room he turned on the lights and hurried
into an old pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. He
used the remote to turn on the TV in the corner.
He dried his hair with a towel as he listened to the
latest weather update on the local Live 5 news.

"There is a thunderstorm warning and a tornado
watch in the following areas...."

"A tornado watch?" He dropped down on the
bottom of the bed and watched the colorful maps.

"SCE&G are reporting electrical outages. Nearly
five hundred customers are currently without
power...."

Kade frowned as he rose and grabbed a pair of
socks from the dresser drawer.

"Again, if you are in a mobile home, it is best to
find more secure shelter, and if you are in a stable
home, try to stay close to the center of the home in
case the tornado touches down in your area. Wind
gusts are currently up to ..

Garcelle. His face became pensive as he thought
of her alone in that mobile home when there was a
chance of a tornado touching down in Holtsville.
The thought nagged at him. He snatched up his
cordless phone and dialed her home number.

"Hello."

"Garcelle?"

"Kade?"

"Are you okay? I know you're home alone in all
of this-"

The line filled with static, and then the call was
disconnected completely.

He tried to dial her back but got only a busy
signal. He didn't think twice as he rushed into a
pair of sneakers and snatched up his keys, cell
phone, and wallet. He flew down the stairs and out
the door and into the storm.

Garcelle gasped as the lights flickered off. Her
family was away to attend the horserace, so she was
home alone in the dark. She dropped the cordless
phone, knowing it was useless without power. The
wind whipped against the house, causing it to sway
just a bit. She was alarmed. She was nervous. She
wasn't crazy.

She already had candles situated throughout the
house. She reached into her back pocket for the lighter. She decided to light only the candles in the
living room, where she could keep an eye on them.
With the swaying of the house, the candles could
fall over and start a fire.

She chanced a glance out the window. "Aw shit,"
she whispered at the sights unfolding before her. Her
mouth opened in awe and shock. The winds were
causing the trees to bend until the tops touched the
ground. Random items, like garbage cans, flowerpots, beer cans, and trash, soared through the air like
Frisbees. A plastic lid to a garbage can was flung
against the glass door, causing her to jump back
nearly a foot before she scrambled to close and lock
the big front door.

She was wishing frugality hadn't won out when
she'd debated buying a cell phone when headlights
flashed against the living-room wall. A car was in
the yard! She jumped up from the sofa and peeked
out the door. She flung it open wide at the sight of
Kade's Expedition. He dashed out of the vehicle,
and she opened the screen door, wincing as the
rain immediately pelted her legs, which were exposed in the shorts she wore.

"Kade," she said as he stepped through the door.
He threw an arm around her waist and picked her
up, pressing her body against his. She felt his heart
hammering against her chest as she wrapped her
arms around his neck tightly.

In that moment, being in his arms felt right.

He pressed his face into her neck. "I was worried. Damn, the ride over here was the longest ride
of my life."

She nodded as she felt him plant kisses along the
length of her neck.

Kade brought his lips up to her cheek and then to her lips. "I need you, Garcelle. I've been trying
fight it, but I do ... I need you. I need you," he
whispered against her mouth.

They stared deep into each other's eyes as the
candles flickered and the storm raged around
them. In unison, they brought their heads closer to
share soft and gentle kisses. It seemed like they
shared a hundred of them. Maybe a thousand.
Maybe more.

"I have to have you in my life, Garcelle. I miss you
when you're not around the house. I think about
you all the time." Kade dropped his head to Garcelle's panting chest. "You make me happy, and I
deserve to be happy."

"Yes," she sighed in pleasure as she brought her
hands up to hold his handsome face. "I can make
you happy, Kade. I want to make you happy. I want
to be in your life and spend time with you. Make
love with you. Have fun with you. But, baby, are
your ready? Because I don't want to be hurt."

Kade dropped to his knees, bringing Garcelle
with him. He pressed her down to the carpeted
floor, then slipped his hand under her T-shirt to
squeeze her soft breasts. "I'm ready, Garcelle. I'm
ready," he whispered into her open mouth before
he kissed her deeply as lightning flashed outside,
briefly illuminating the house.

Garcelle's hands fumbled a bit as she tugged his
damp shirt over his head. Her hips writhed as he
grinded his hips against her, sending his hardness
sliding up and down against the wetness of her core
until she thought she would come. She placed her
hands on his shoulders and pushed him back onto
the floor. She shifted so that she straddled him. She sat up straight and lifted her shirt over her head.
Her breasts jiggled a bit as she freed them.

Kade's breath caught in his chest as she licked
her fingers before teasing her own nipples, with a
purr. "What the.. . ," he whispered.

Garcelle bent her legs, exposing her core to him
as she sat astride him. She slid her own hands down
the length of her body to play in her slick, wet folds.
One finger disappeared in the warm depths. She
pulled it from her core, and it glistened before she
sucked her own juices from that lucky finger.

Kade felt a fine layer of sweat coat his body. Never
had his clothes felt so restrictive. Never had he
wanted to bury himself so deeply inside a woman's
walls.

She writhed against the base of his hardness, and
Kade winced a bit at the feel of her softness against
his aching dick. His hands instinctively rose to grab
her waist. Her skin was soft and warm. Perfect. She
grinded against him until he felt the moistness of
her intimacy dampen his pants. She looked down
at him with clouded eyes. "Kiss me," she demanded
as she reached behind for his hands and slid them
down to her buttocks.

Kade felt caught in her web. His heart pounded,
its beat distinct from the pulsating of his dick. He
let his eyes drop to the fullness of her mouth. Yes,
he would like to kiss her lips and her breasts and
the rose petal-like lips and clit of her core.

"You are beautiful," he whispered into that intimate space between them as his chin rose. Never
before had he felt so taken by a woman so quickly
and so easily.

The thick muscle between his thighs pushed
deeply against her softness. It throbbed and ached to nuzzle between her lips and pink flesh until her
walls clutched him.

She laughed coquettishly before she bent down
and brought her hands up to hold his face and
pressed her lips to his.

Kade's control broke at the feel of her tongue
probing his lips. He allowed her tongue to slip
through his heated lips before she drew his own
into her mouth with ease as she worked her hips
like they were not under her control.

"Make love to me, Kade," she said into his open
mouth as she looked into his eyes with clear intent.

"I damn sure will," he answered as he rolled her
over and pressed her body down on the floor. He
stripped her, with urgency in his movements, before
he rose to his knees.

Garcelle's eyes caressed his features as he removed his clothing and stood between her open
legs, naked and virile. He was beautiful. Strong.
Sexy. Confident.

She was consumed by the desire to push him
back down to the floor and slide down onto every
delicious inch of his rod until his hairs tickled her
buttocks. She wanted to ride him until she drained
every bit of hardness from him.

Garcelle purred, feeling high with desire as she
spread her legs wider, massaged the curves of her
body, then played in the slick, wet folds between
her quivering thighs. "I want you now, Kade," she
insisted, looking up into his handsome face.

"I can tell," he teased, his eyes seeming to pierce
hers as his hands moved up her squirming body to
massage the full, luscious globes of her breasts with
supreme skill, making her gasp sharply as chills racked her body. His fingers lightly teased and
plucked her thick nipples between deep massages.