NO SECRETS NO LIES (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES Book 3) (31 page)

    
A week and a half later, Darrell and Marcus were in Marcus' home gym
exercising. Darrell was on the chest press machine, grunting with each controlled
motion as he drove his body to the brink. His abs tightened and contracted with
the forward push of the handles as he inhaled through his nose and exhaled out
of his mouth with hard puffs of air. He ignored the painful burn in his muscles
as he started another set of repetitions.

    
Marcus was on the leg lift machine across from Darrell, staring at him and
shaking his head. He slowly lowered his legs and unfolded them from underneath the
bar. Groaning from the punishment he'd given his thighs, he got up and
stretched before going over to stand in front of Darrell.

    
"Don't you think you should take it easy?" He craned his neck to look
at the amount of weights Darrell was pressing and lifted a brow. "Damn.
You dat frustrated??"

    
Darrell paused for half a second to glare at Marcus before finishing the set.
Releasing a long breath, he sat back and closed his eyes. His body protested
the movement when he gingerly raised one arm then the other before leaning over
to grab his sports drink off the floor. His throat worked furiously as he took
several, deep gulps. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he finally
shifted his attention to Marcus.

    
"I guess that was supposed to be some kinda joke?"

    
Marcus laughed as he tossed a towel at Darrell then reached for his own.
"Hey, I know you 'bout ready to blow a gasket because you and your wife
have decided to ease up on the physical side of your relationship, but –"

    
"Why you sugar coatin' shit. What you really mean is I ain’t gettin' no
pussy," Darrell growled.

    
Marcus tried to hold his laughter in but couldn't keep the chuckle out of his
voice. "Hey. You said it, not me."

    
"Marcus, fuck you, a'ight?" Darrell's temper simmered as he hopped up
off the machine. "I'on wanna hear your smart ass comments. You and Dom
think this shit is funny. We'll see how got damn hilarious ya'll think it is
when my foot is knee deep in ya asses."

    
Marcus fought to keep his lips pressed firmly together, but Darrell looked so
serious, he couldn’t stop the laughter that spouted loud and boisterous. Seeing
Darrell's expression darken even more, Marcus bent over, one hand on his knee
and the other holding his own sore abs as he practically howled.

    
"Man...! You think I'm playin' with yo' ass, don't you?!" Darrell
scowled and threw his towel down. He stalked up to Marcus and gave him a hard
shove.

   
Marcus' laughter abruptly stopped as he stumbled back a step. ”Hey! You betta
watch that shit!”

    
Darrell brought his fists up and crouched down into a boxer's stance as he
bobbed and weaved. Lightning quick, he slapped Marcus on the side of the head
before bringing his fists back up to protect his face. "Nah. You think this
is funny mu'fucka? Huh?" When Marcus assumed the same position as Darrell,
Darrell smiled and nodded. "Ahhh, yeah. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.
Step into this wasp nest and get ya ass stung. You don't want none o' this,
son."

    
They circled around each other, ducking blows and calling out taunts. Marcus
landed a solid open handed smack and grinned. ”Wassup, pretty boy Monroe? You
think you can take me? Huh? Better recognize who you fuckin' wit...”

    
They continued the lighthearted horseplay they'd engaged in with each other
since they were ten years old before Darrell grabbed Marcus in a headlock. They
both laughed as Marcus pushed Darrell off of him.

    
“Punk. You always do that when you losin',” Marcus grinned as they picked up
their towels and walked out the door. “Seriously though, how are things with
you and Jerra?”

    
Bewilderment showed heavily on Darrell's face as he scratched his head.
”Besides the obvious, it's going great, believe it or not. We been doin’ a lot
of talkin' about our relationship, how we could've handled things differently,
what we need to do to stop from making the same mistakes all over again...I
mean, now that I've had a chance to cool down and listen to what Jerra was
going through internally and emotionally, I can't fault her for the way shit
went down. I didn't realize she was still dealing with some of the stuff that
happened to her. Jerra still keeps a lot of her emotions inside. I didn’t even
know her mother's birthday was last month on the second. She didn't even tell
me."

    
"Yeah. Not everyone deals with circumstances the same, as we well
know," Marcus commented as he thought about the death of his own parents
when he was seven years old. "Jerra's gone through a lot just like we
did."

  
  Darrell nodded. "Yeah. It was almost pure instinct to try and
deal with everything by herself. I took it for granted she knew she could come
to me about
anything.
She's the one of the strongest people I know, but
at the same time, she has this fragile side."

    
"The only thing you can do is continue to be there for her, D. What about
Roni? Is she okay with that situation now?"

    
A sharp hiss whistled through Darrell's teeth as he lifted a cautious brow.
"Okay with it? I wouldn't go that far, bruh. She's tryin' to see my side
of things, but at the same time, I guess I can understand where she's comin'
from, too. If the situations were reversed, I can't say I would be just as
understanding if she picked up and just left me and DJ the way I did to go and
see some other man she used to be in serious relationship with, no matter what
the circumstances," Darrell huffed and shook his head as they rounded the
corner to head to the kitchen. "I know it's a double standard, but I'm
jus’ keepin’ it real."

    
"I hear ya, man," Marcus commiserated. "Well, I'm glad things
are getting better. Looks like there were some issues you both needed to bring
up and clear the air about. Keep the line of communication open, ya know?"

    
Darrell nodded and slapped hands with Marcus. "Fa' sho', my brutha. No doubt."

    
As they entered the kitchen, they saw Jerra and Aleesha sitting at the island
talking over bowls of  ice cream. Marcus went to the refrigerator and got
a bottle of water while Darrell leaned back against the counter opposite the
women. Aleesha reminded them that they were supposed to be at Dom and Keisha's
house tonight around seven.

    
"You ladies feel like making a night of it and hittin’
Club Ecstasy
later?"
Marcus asked, mentioning their normal hangout spot. "It's been a while
since we all went out."

    
Aleesha immediately cosigned the idea but Jerra's answer was noncommittal. The
subject eventually turned to Dominick and Keisha, who were being secretive
about the sudden dinner invitation they'd issued. Jerra glanced at Darrell and
found him watching her with legs crossed at the ankles and arms folded. He'd
been casually listening to the conversation with mild interest, but his eyes
were glued to her face and burned with an intensity which left no doubt as to
what thoughts were running rampant through his mind. He squinted as he watched
her the way a cat observed a mouse it was toying with.

    
Jerra's gaze roamed over his muscular upper body, still damp with sweat and
swollen from the punishing workout he'd inflicted on it. She dipped her spoon
in her bowl and scooped up a generous amount of ice cream before bringing it to
her mouth. She deliberately closed her eyes in ecstasy and hunched her
shoulders up a little as if she were in heaven. Her tongue peeked out and
licked her lips before she looked directly at him. Darrell cleared his throat
and shifted from one foot to the other as if he was a tad bit uncomfortable.
Holding his eyes, Jerra slowly licked the back of the spoon then turned it over
and  licked the front, letting her tongue glide over it before smacking
her lips.

    
Darrell pushed away from the counter and came around the island to stand beside
her. She had been subtly teasing him the last couple of days. He knew she was
trying to see if he would keep his word and wait until she was ready, but his
patience had grown thin and he was tired of playin' games. He needed some
lovin' and wanted that connection they'd temporarily lost; he missed being with
his wife on that level.

   
Jerra never acknowledged him standing by her, never gave any indication that
she felt his thigh pressing against hers even though her flesh burned with
awareness. Instead, she just dipped her spoon into the ice cream again.

     
"It’s good,” she commented suggestively, still not looking at him.

    
“Oh, I
know
that,” Darrell replied in the same like manner.

    
“Want some?" she casually asked.

    
"Can I have some?" Darrell's voice was a low whisper in her ear.

    
Jerra shivered when his warm breath blew against the delicate shell of her
earlobe, but all she said was, "Sure."

    
She brought a spoonful of ice cream up to his mouth. Darrell's gaze held hers
prisoner as he closed his lips over the spoon. This time Jerra was the one who
couldn't tear her attention away. After she lowered the spoon, Darrell
swallowed several times. His tongue sucked against the roof of his mouth before
he licked his lips.

    
"You're right. It
is
good." He lowered his eyes to her bare
thighs. "I want some more."

Chapter
38

    
Jerra's sat blinking up at him with a blank expression on her face. Ever since
she'd suggested they needed to work on the emotional and spiritual part of
their marriage and just take the physical side out of the equation for a
minute, she'd made it a point to insure she didn't intentionally put herself in
any tempting situations. She couldn't fault Darrell one bit. He'd done what she
asked and hadn't pushed her or pressured her to change her mind. His only
stipulation was that she not do anything to ease her frustration. He told her
when that time came, he would take care of that.

    
Jerra was beyond frustrated. Darrell didn’t need to do
anything
to
entice her to break her self-imposed celibacy. Just his mere presence was
enough to make her want to attack and ravish his sexy ass. At night when DJ
went to bed was the worse. It was easy to make their child the center of
attention, but after he fell asleep, the sexual tension between her and Darrell
was magnified and even more evident. Yes, they'd made a lot of progress in
their relationship, had taken the time to really talk. She'd admitted some of
her deepest fears and concerns to him and felt so much lighter afterwards. The
ban on their sexual activities allowed them to focus and become strong in their
marriage.

    
But that ban was about be lifted.

    
Darrell didn't know it yet, but DJ would be staying with Keisha and Dom
tonight. Keisha and Aleesha had practically cursed her out because they'd been
wanting their godson to spend the night with them but Jerra had held on to him
like a life preserver. Right or wrong, he was her only defense when it came to
resisting the magnetic pull her husband commanded without even trying.

    
The feel of Darrell's finger running up her thigh brought her out of her daze.
"Uh...what...what did you say?"

    
"I said I want some of your cream."

    
Jerra's body was flushed and throbbing. If Darrell's finger continued its
journey to the very heart of her desire, he would come in contact with all the
cream he could ever want because her pussy was overflowing with need. Tonight,
she planned on fucking him senseless, but she was determined to wait until
then. She had the scenario scripted out in her mind. Nature had taken care of
setting the right mood. It was supposed to storm tonight, and Jerra loved making
love in that type of weather. The props needed to make tonight a top rated
production were ready and waiting: soft music, wine, chocolates, sexy
lingerie...video camera. Jerra bit her lip. She couldn't wait.

    
"I, well, Aleesha and I were just getting ready to...to..." Her eyes
desperately sought Aleesha's, and without missing a beat, Aleesha smoothly had
her girl’s back.

    
She slid off of the stool and grabbed Jerra's arm, dragging her behind her.
"Sorry
to have to steal your wife, brother-in-law, but we were leaving to hit the
malls and do some damage. See you guys later."

    
Vexed, Darrell did nothing to hide the irritation pulsating through him as his
eyes followed his wife. Enough was enough, and he planned on telling her
exactly that the second they -

    
"Darrell?"

    
His head jerked up. He glared at Jerra, who had paused and was looking at him
over her shoulder. "What."

    
"DJ's spending the night with Keisha and Dom."

    
His eyes lightened and glowed as if the sun had broken through the dark, black
clouds of his frustration.

    
"And Marcus and I have dibs on tomorrow night!" Aleesha yelled out
from the other room.

    
Darrell's lips parted and his mind raced. Maybe they could just skip out on
going to Keisha and Dom's for dinner. Maybe he could just drop their son off
and he and Jerra could -