Only Skin Deep (16 page)

“We
can do that later. I want to lay you down on the bed. I need to make sure I
didn’t hurt you.”

Awh
.
Deja
thought his sincerity and
fussiness adorable. “I’m fine. You could’ve drilled me as hard as you wanted,
I’d have taken each one fine.”

“Yeah
well, you were just in an accident.” She unwound her arms from him so he could
set her down. “I don’t like losing control
Deja
, you
know that.”

“Someone
has to test you once in a while.”

Derek
snorted.

“C’mon.
I was made for your cock.”

“Damn
straight.” He left to get a warm wet cloth from the master bath. Derek’s
beautiful body left her breathless. She loved watching him come and go. Each
step showcased his defined muscular stature.
Broad shoulders,
tight ass, sexy quads.

“Get
your fill?”

“Of watching you?
Never.”

“Spread
’em.”

“Yes
sir.”
Deja
obliged. Bareback gave her a new
experience that she couldn’t compare. Feeling him in her made her heart stutter
and halt. Precautionary measures had been a bust, but never had she had bare
dick riding her pussy. Adding in love and perfection didn’t begin to cover how
right the experience felt. As he cleansed her,
Deja
basked in the feel of being cared for.

“Nothing
hurts?”

“No.”
Lord above, the man was something else. “Now quit worrying and tell me when I
can have more.”

Derek
grinned, making her body turned to jelly.
“After work.
I have to check in. You should check in with Barbie. I thought I’d go grab some
barbeque for lunch in a few hours. I have some conference calls to make.”

Deja
pouted. “I wanna play.”

“That’s
nothing new.” He kissed her lips sweetly and leaned over to retrieve her
charging phone.
“Business before pleasure.”

“And
what was what we did in the kitchen then?”

“That’s
simple. Pleasuring you was my business and breakfast in one fell swoop.” Strong
lips descended on hers, he kissed her so hard,
he
left
her breathless as a parting gesture.

Deja
grinned at the wink he threw her. When he turned his
back to her she got a delicious view of his ass until he threw on some pants.
She rested on her elbows, her gaze locked on his crotch when he turned to her,
the button at the top pants open. Saliva pooled in her mouth from want of him
and his sexy navel. How could she look away from his package? He knew his
effect on her. “Damn tease.”

“See
you in a bit. Make a doctor appointment before you call Barbie,” he ordered as
he chucked the wet cloth in a hamper and disappeared out the door.

Deja
threw her body pillow in his direction. She questioned
if he knew the aftermath his brand left her reeling from. Leave her with a
smoking hot kiss and nothing else. Normally, that wouldn’t bother her. Huffing,
she grabbed the phone and dialed the number to the women’s clinic.

“Women’s
Clinic of Kansas City, This is Sarah can I help you?”

“Hi,
I need to set up an appointment.”
Deja
watched to see
if Derek would come back in. She heard him in the other room.

“I
can fit you in this Thursday at ten sharp. I’ll need your full name now and
insurance number when you arrive, at least fifteen minutes early please.”

“My
name is
Deja
Crane and I will make sure to bring the
rest. Thank you.” She ended the call. The receptionist had a welcoming tone
that put her at ease. She marked the appointment on her calendar and set a
reminder in her phone. No doubt once she told Derek he’d have them there a half
hour early.

Thinking
on how to tell her family brought a crushing despair. A rising panic filled
her, making her stomach roll. She desperately wanted to believe Derek could
withstand anything, but she’d seen couples torn in two over family discord. First
thing first, she needed to reschedule the meet and greet she missed during her
hospital excursion. Powering up his laptop took only a few seconds. For a smart
man he didn’t have an encrypted password set up.
Deja
found easy access to his files. They’d have to have a chat about protecting his
work, his files,
his
bank account information.
The whole shebang, and soon.

Three
hundred emails greeted her. Upon first glance, ninety percent of the messages
were spam. No she wasn’t looking for a date, or wanted to be a winner of some
techy toy. She searched for her contact
Zamarah’s
email and brought her up to date on her recovery, thanking her for being
patient and not pulling out. She really wanted to showcase her zany handbags
and accessories in the shop. Once that was settled, she opened up the rest of
her email and switched to the interoffice program, so she could contact Barbie
and get the status of the store.

Beergurl54: How you doing sweetie?

Dejavous121: Damn
Nadja
just pop up
out of nowhere. I’m tired but okay.

Beergurl54: Good, was worried ‘bout my BFF—clicks on the
thumbs up face—

Dejavous121: LOL! I’m in safe hands.

Beergurl54: I’m glad. I really like Derek and so does
Donato
.

Dejavous121: I’m gonna keep him for a while still.
Really?
Donato
doesn’t like too
many peeps.

Beergurl54:
Yeppers
, he’s gonna
invite him to more ‘guy’ events.

Dejavous121: That’s nice. He fits in well with the group. I
guess.

Beergurl54:
umhm
. You’re staying
home for a week to recoup right?

Dejavous121: No got bills to pay and siblings to provide for.
Gotta chase that paper.
Found a new accessory
designer, handbags and fun jewelry. Missed the meeting but set up a new one for
tomorrow.

Beergurl54: We won’t go into how I feel ‘bout you floating
your parents constant dough.

Dejavous121: Yeah. Don’t—clicks the sigh face—

Beergurl54: You sure everything is good with you?

Dejavous121: Yeah, staying with Derek for a few days so I’m
off balance.

Beergurl54: He is now my favorite guy! I somehow missed that
a few
im’s
ago—clicks on the rock on face—

Dejavous121: Hey I’m tellin
Donato
!—clicks
on the wink face—

Beergurl54:
Ohh
snitches get
stitches. Seriously, I’m glad he’s there for you. He’s a keeper.

Dejavous121: Gotta get to work I’ll ding you when I’m done.
K?

Beergurl54: Much love!

Deja
clicked off her instant messenger and rubbed her head.
Nadja
meant well. But skirting around
convos
regarding her family and their constant open hands
was just easier. How could she tell them no when education is the key to
success? Her sister’s orthodontic needs were a top priority. Self-esteem and
good oral hygiene topped on her list. She opened up the budget sheet she’d
saved from the desktop and looked at their never-ending list of needs.

Should I cross all but the absolute needs
off the list?

Would it start a war?

Memories
of starving and barely skimping by, walking to the bus stop late at night and
worrying she’d be assaulted, even in a good private college assailed her.
Criminals didn’t just come from the hood but all walks of life, and she gained
a semblance of relief knowing her family was safe. But she wasn’t their mama…or
was she. She’d raised them all. Gave them all the emotional support they’d
needed for the majority of their life. To keep them safe and for her piece of
mind, she paid for her sister and brother’s cars while they were in school.

Her
spreadsheet compilation of data for her business needs and the capital it would
take to expand the store stared back at her. Driving the revenue up was a top
priority. The perks her family received would have to go and they’d have to
deal. She hadn’t even compiled the costs of medical care and a new baby either.

Bringing
Derek to her family and giving the joyous news might go well and backfire at
the same time. Her sibs didn’t handle change well. She wondered if the two in
college could get study jobs or if the high school sibs could take losing their
phones and money for shopping trips. Her parents were going to have to step in
and take up some of the cost. She’d have to quit spoiling them to appease her
bad habit of feeling bad for leaving them to live her own life.

And if they couldn’t accept her man?
Then what? She prayed
they would have the common decency and sense to be polite. Love her enough to
keep their opinions in the dark…the silence where they belonged.
Unspoken.

She
hoped she had enough strength to be worthy of being by his side. For Derek, for
their child, she would. By God’s grace she’d find the strength to stand her
ground for the man she loved so much her soul wept at the thought of losing
him.

Chapter Five

Derek
sat at his desk working. Phil had couriered the final contracts for the sale of
the apartments they’d rehabbed. The deal proved sweet and gave him enough money
to take on another set of apartments to rehabilitate. The money from the sale
pleased him. Negotiations took longer than he’d expected. Major loans issued by
the bank held too high a cost with overage fees. Inclement weather, lost
supplies and sick workers in the past showed him how to be frugal. He hadn’t liked
losing a massive amount of cash for overage fees. Instead he posted his own
money and worked on his own time ensuring with decency and good order the job
could get done flawlessly. Profits increased after selling and recycling material
into a new project to flip, or a business to fix thereby repeating the process.

Working
mobile allowed him to stay on the move. Since the murders of his best friends,
he couldn’t handle staying in one place too long or making friends. Though he appreciated
Donato’s
offer, making friends wasn’t on his list. He
had
Deja
and now he’d have his son or daughter. As
soon as he found out about her pregnancy, he initiated the sales of his vacant
residential properties—three upscale condos on each coast and the two in the
Midwest—while retaining the current one he and
Deja
shared. His latest project was buying a home with a good deal of acreage,
preferably in the outskirts of town. A place to grow a family, not now but
soon, he hoped.
Real soon.

Derek
was lucky to have his most trusted employee Phil doing the accounting and
advising for him, as well as the legal work when needed. They had an easy
working relationship and melded well together on big jobs. When necessary, he
hired subcontractors trusting their crews to do the hard labor. This gave him
time to handle the rest on his own. He’d had every job a contractor could as a
business man, with his adamant drive to succeed that meant knowing how to do
every job from the crappiest to the best.

Even
with his years spent learning, saving and getting a college diploma, he found
there were those without degrees who held an insane amount of knowledge no book
or university could give. In that aspect he never took advantage of his
workers, gave them time they needed, and appreciated the backbreaking work they
did as a team to make what he did look effortless. Now he had the girl and his
world rocked. Having her made some of the pain from his past ease. Having her
made him want to have the finer things in life, hopefully leading to a way to
finally move on.

Cohabiting
with
Deja
worked relatively easy. So easy in fact he
wanted to broach making having her next to him permanent. Perhaps not asking
for her hand just yet, but living together, hell yeah. He knew how he’d propose
when the time was right. Until then, he’d ask her to move in and suggest her
keeping her apartment, in case she needed some time to herself, not time to run
or get flighty but a little space while she got used to the whole permanency
idea.

Their
first doctor appointment went so well it gave him hope for the future. They’d
been given her due date, a slew of advice on nutrition and exercise, and a list
of books about caring for newborns up to toddler years.

Her
first bout of sickness came at a barbeque restaurant. Her violently ill
reaction sealed two things, no summer cookouts for them and no barbeque for
him, unless he happened to eat out. The sadness in her face killed him. His
girl loved beef brisket soaked in the mild smoky flavor sauce. Heaven help him
since she couldn’t have her craving sated. When they got home he’d soothed her
and picked up the book, turning to sickness brought by pregnancy. He hoped the
book was accurate, and that smells would cease to bother her in her second
trimester. Her friends and their
boyfriends
hosted get-togethers
alternating at each other’s homes and in their community firing up the grills
and smokers was as natural as breathing.

Thinking
of her made his cock swell. Having her underfoot kept him from keeping his mind
on his work. He looked at the documents waiting for his signature, needing his
riveted attention and he couldn’t give it. Derek’s mind kept returning to the
sexy woman not two hundred feet from him. Her scent littered every room in the
condo, an article of her clothing decorated the arm of a chair, silk stockings
over his bathroom rail, no matter which way he turned traces of her remained.

Did
he feel overwhelmed? Not at all but she had a dazed and confused look on her
face after they left the doctor’s office. The sonogram sealed the deal for her,
gave her certainty. The best part was, somewhere along the way she released the
iron grip she had on her independence and let him in, allowed him to take the
reins, began to truly trust him.