Slow Seduction (23 page)

“No, it doesn’t, but people should have diversity around them,” Clinton said. “I had employed a few black workers before you came, but they decided to leave and start their own business. I sent them their first client last year and they called to t
hank
me.”

“So, you can be friends with anyone. Race shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to friends or the woman you fall in love with. Love is something you feel, not a skin color to see every morning.”

“Hell, man, I can tell you are in love with Jenisha,” Dave said, astonished. “Has she ever heard you talk like this?”

“I try to tell her every chance I get how much I love her and need her in my life,” Clinton muttered.

“So, if your emotions are deep for her and vice versa, why would you think she’s cheating on you with a man from her past? A man, by the way, who’s her ex, not current boyfriend?”

Clinton glanced at Dave with new eyes. There was more to his friend than muscles and a few tattoos. Dave Turner actually had a good head on his huge shoulders. After talking with Dave, Clinton knew he had to fix things with Jenisha. Telling Dave t
hank
s, he left.

Lighting the cigar, Mark blew out the smoke in a perfect ring., “I really wish you wouldn’t smoke in the house. It’s so bad on the walls,” his wife complained from the den’s doorway.

“Well, if you didn’t nag the hell out of me when I came home I wouldn’t have too,” he yelled back at her.

Brenda Kimball looked back at her husband with hate pouring from her light brown eyes. She prayed every night he would go away and never come back home. Mark was the cruelest man she had ever come across.

Plans of running away were always in her head, but she never acted of them, fearing Mark would take his anger out on her family. Brenda knew he hated her. However, she was his property, and whatever he wanted her to do, she had to with no questions asked.

A month ago while visiting her sister, she thought about staying and never seeing his depraved face again. He loved making her life a living nightmare.
Who else would he use as a human punching bag
? Mark always had plans that never went the way he wanted. At least he hadn’t noticed she had been in his office searching through his desk, stumbling upon letters from his baby brother in prison serving a seven year sentence for fraud and other crimes.

Dalton Blake had been all over the news a while back, and Mark never mentioned the connection. Brenda knew her husband was during something illegal. She just didn’t have any proof. If she ever found it, Mark would be in a jail cell beside his brother.

“Brenda, you need to get out of my sight before I do something we will both regret,” Mark snapped from his seat.

Reaching for the door, she slammed it shut, closing Mark inside his precious office. It was a place she found cold and scary upon the few chances she was permitted on the inside. The less time she spent around her husband the happier she was. Mark was corrupted from the top of his dark hair down to his handmade leather shoes.

Standing on Clinton’s porch, the wind blew the knee-length, pink, flowing skirt around Jenisha’s knees. She pushed the strap of her purse on her shoulder and adjusted her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on Clinton’s door again. His car wasn’t out front, but she knew sometimes he left it at school and got a ride back home. She hoped this was one of those times because they needed to discuss a lot of things for them to be able to move on with their relationship.

Brushing her hair back off her shoulder, Jenisha raised her hand to knock one last time when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a very familiar, warm male body.

“Are you looking for me, gorgeous?” Clinton breathed by her ear. Loving the feel of being back in his arms, Jenisha could only nod.

He spun her around to stare into her eyes. “I’m sorry for our fight. I take full responsibility for everything. You were right and I was wrong. Please forgive me for being a jerk.” His hands squeezed her waist, a sign she learned that meant Clinton was nervous about her answer.

Blowing a curl away from her eyes, Jenisha examined Clinton’s face, noticing all the pain and hurt he truly felt. Reaching out, she ran her fingers across his lips. “She kissed you.”
Would she ever be able to get the image of Robin’s mouth on her man’s out of her mind?

Turning his head Clinton kissed her palm, “Yes and I hated it. I came straight home after work to brush my teeth and use mouthwash. All signs of Robin are gone from my lips.” He insisted. “You’re the only woman’s lips I want on mine.”

To prove his point, Clinton captured Jenisha’s mouth in a wet, passionate, tongue dueling kiss and yanked her closer to him until not an inch separated them. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Jenisha deepened the kiss, wanting to show him she forgave and wanted him. After mating his tongue with hers a few more times, Clinton finally pulled away.

“Baby, I thought you would stay mad at me for weeks,” he confessed.

“Charisma talked me through my anger and helped me work out my problems about today.”

Warm firm lips kissed her on the side of the mouth, “Remind me to t
hank
her.”

“Are we going to stay at here all night or go inside?” Jenisha questioned, looking around the neighborhood. She couldn’t do this with his neighbors peeking out the blinds and ogling them.

“Neither,” Clinton said. “I’m taking you to a movie.”

Jenisha’s eyes lit up with excitement at the thought of going out on a real date. “I haven’t been to a movie in a very long time. Do we have enough time to see one?”

“If not, we’ll go and listen to a band or something,” Clinton said, escorting her toward his car. He opened the door and helped her inside. “I want to show off my exquisite girlfriend to the world,” he said, closing the door with a slam. Clinton dashed around the car and got in on the driver’s side. Starting the car, he pulled out of the driveway and drove in the direction of the theatre. They arrived too late for the movie, so Clinton took her to a jazz club instead.

“We don’t have to make love. I can hold you in my arms,” Clinton suggested, trying again to get Jenisha to spend the night with him after they got back from their date.

“Clinton, we went through a lot today and I think we should spend tonight apart,” Jenisha answered, trying to block out the words in her heart and listen to her mind instead. She more than anything wanted to wake up with Clinton next to her in the bed. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“No, you won’t,” Clinton said.

“Why not?”

“I’m going to visit Hayward and True because he needs to discuss a few things about our business,” Clinton groaned. He was missing Jenisha already and he hadn’t even left yet. “I wish you could come with me.”

“I do, too,” Jenisha commented, “but I do have this to remind me of you while you’re gone.” She said, holding up her wrist and touching the eye-catching silver butterfly bracelet. “How did you know I loved butterflies?” She almost didn’t take the box when Clinton handed it to her at the jazz club.

“I can’t give away all my secrets,” He muttered with a hint of humor in his voice.

Jenisha poked him in the ribs. “All right, I’ll let you have some secrets.”

Getting serious, Clinton said, “Jenisha, I’m really going to miss you while I’m in Montana. I never guessed taking this job would bring my future wife.”

Jenisha gasped at hearing those words pour from his mouth. When she opened her mouth to comment, he laid his a finger on her full, tempting lips, “Let’s not get into this now. We can talk when I get back.”

Sliding his hand to the back of her neck, Clinton placed her against his heart. “Stay out of trouble and away from Robin while I’m gone, okay?”

“I promise,” Jenisha whispered.

He hugged her a few minutes longer, enjoying the scent of her hair along with feel of her breasts against his chest. Clinton knew his life was going to take a drastic turn when came back from Montana. He just hoped Jenisha was ready for the future he wanted to give her.

“Baby, I need to go so you can get a few hours of sleep before your flight,” Jenisha muttered, removing her body from his arms.

He didn’t want to let her go, but he knew that he had to. Kissing him one last time, Jenisha walked to her car, got in and drove off, waving bye. He stared at her car until it was no longer in sight and went inside.

Clinton arrived in Montana around twelve o’clock the next morning and about an hour late he sat in his brother’s kitchen. He watched Hayward stand up at the counter and make finger size sandwiches for Kevan and Evan so True could take a nap.

“God, I can’t believe how big my nephews are getting,” he said, watching Kevan munch on a Cheerios. He grinned when Evan tossed his Cheerios into Kevan’s hair.

“Yeah….my boys are getting bigger,” Hayward replied, sliding Evan’s half of his sandwich on the high chair.

Clinton laughed when Evan tossed down his Cheerios and picked up some food. “Daddy,” he chanted, waving a small square of the food at Hayward.

“I see it, Evan. Go ahead and eat then you can go and play,” his brother muttered, grinning at his son.

Clinton tried not to feel jealous, but he did. He wanted the same thing Hayward had. He wanted a family with Jenisha—a family that loved him. He sat back and waited to see what his youngest nephew by two minutes was going to do.

Evan nodded at his brother. “Okay, daddy,” he grinned then popped the cube of food into his tiny mouth.

“Hayward, Evan’s speech is so clear,” Clinton said, watching Kevan eat off his brother’s high chair.

Hayward stopped cutting the sandwiches and laid the knife to the side. He said, “True talked to them a lot while she was pregnant. The doctor seems to think it helped their speech develop faster.”

He saw the love in Hayward’s eyes when he looked over at his sons. “I’m very proud of my boys. I love them and True so much. I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to them.”

Clinton heard the hint of lingering sadness in Hayward’s voice as his remembered his first family. “Don’t worry about that now. True and the boys aren’t going anywhere.”

Hayward smiled at him. “I know they aren’t, but sometimes I think all of this is too good to be real.” His brother stared off into the distance for a few seconds, and then he looked back at him, his face easing into a smile.

“T
hank
s for coming and helping with the accounting problem,” Hayward said, joining him at the table. “No matter how many times I worked at it I couldn’t figure it out.”

“Oh, I didn’t mind since I needed to see you in person anyway,” Clinton answered with a wave of his hand. “I want to ask you something.”

Hayward’s brows drew downward in a frown. “You sound really serious. What’s the problem, big bro?”

Clinton smiled at Hayward, “You haven’t called me that in a long time.”

“I know.”

His face spilt into a wide grin. “Hayward, I’m really in love with Jenisha. She has taken me from being an ordinary man to an extraordinary one in a matter of weeks. I love watching her sleep beside me at night, and when she isn’t there I feel like a piece of me is missing. I’m going to ask her to marry me when I go back.”

“Well, hell, it’s about time,” Hayward uttered. “I was about to give up hope on you all together. Jenisha is a remarkable woman, but I don’t know if she deserves an old man like you.”

Clinton looked for something to throw at his idiotic brother, but didn’t see anything. “Come on, I’m serious. Can you help me find a ring for her,” he asked.

“A ring for whom,” True yawned from the doorway. She went over to the high chairs and gave her two boys a kiss. They grinned at her then started back eating their sandwiches.

“Well, look who has finally decided to join us,” Hayward commented with love in his voice.

Clinton noticed the dreamy look that came into True’s eyes as she turned and grinned at his brother. Walking away from the twins, she came over and sat down on Hayward’s lap. Kissing him lightly on the cheek, she glanced back and forth between them. “Is someone going to answer me?”

Hayward arched an eyebrow at him, “This is your call.”

Clinton looked at True and wondered how long she could keep it a secret. Jenisha already knew he wanted to discuss the possibility of marriage, not that he wanted to propose the moment he got back. “True, I’m trusting you with this.”

“I won’t tell if that is what you are worried about,” True sighed.

“I don’t know if I would believe her or not,” Hayward spoke behind her.

Reaching to the side of her, True pinched his brother’s bare leg. “Damn, that hurt, True,” Hayward yelled. “That’s the reason I don’t wear shorts all the time.”

“I’ll kiss it later,” True promise.

“You better,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her neck.

“Guys, can you come down a few notches so I can tell True?” Clinton muttered with a shake of his head.

“Sorry,” they said in unison.

“I’m going to ask Jenisha to marry me.” Clinton sat back and waited for the reaction he knew was coming. Hayward quickly covered his ears with his hands to block out True’s screams that he knew were coming

Screaming, True jumped off Hayward’s lap and ran over to him. “Oh my god, I’m so happy for you,” she screamed, hugging him. The light scent of her vanilla body wash tickled his nose, bringing back a time when he thought he was in love with his sister-in-law. He was so happy that he never acted on those feelings. He wouldn’t want to miss out on the love of Jenisha for anything in this world.

He hugged her back, looking at Hayward with a grin. “T
hank
s, but you can’t say a word to Jenisha. I still have to pick out the ring and I don’t have a clue what she wants.”

“I know the exact ring she wants,” True let go of him and stood by the side of his chair.

“How do you know this?” he inquired. It would make his proposal go so much faster if he had an idea of the ring Jenisha really wanted.

“She showed it to me in a magazine a while back and I kept the picture. I think it’s upstairs inside a folder.”

“My favorite sister in-law in the world, do you think I can have the picture?” Clinton asked.

True looked at him seriously before saying, “I don’t know if you can keep it a secret or not. What if she asks how you knew about the ring? Can I trust you with my secret?”

Clinton glared at his brother across the table. “You wife has a horrible sense of humor.”

“Hey, I’m not in this conversation,” Hayward said, pushing is chair back from the table. “I’m going to take my sons into the living room and leave the two of you alone.” Hayward kissed True on the cheek, got Kevan and Evan out of their high chairs, and strode out of the room with his sons walking slowly behind him.

True a seat and stared at Clinton openly. “Do you really love Jenisha? Will you be able to love her through each and every problem the two of you may face? Be there for her as a shoulder to cry on?” She stared at him with a directness he had never seen before. “If you can’t answer yes to all of these questions, then you don’t need to ask Jenisha to marry you. She is my closest friend and I don’t want her hurt.”

Bending forward, he rested his elbows on the table and trapped brown eyes with his green ones. He wanted her to see as well as feel the words coming from his mouth. “I love Jenisha more than my own life. She means so much to me and I will love her until the day I die.”

Nodding, True smiled at him. “That’s what I wanted to hear. I’ll look for the folder and give it to you. How long will you be here?”

“I’m planning to stay as long as Hayward needs me. Jim and Dave are at the school helping out until I get back. I think Bryant Elementary will be really pleased with the outcome and the additions to the school.” Clinton’s voice was smooth and confident in his ability to do a good job. “Hey, do you think you could get a babysitter and we all could go out to dinner. We haven’t all been out as a group in a long time.”

True looked at Clinton and knew he really wanted some alone time with his brother. “No, I can stay home with Kevan and Evan. Hayward hasn’t had a guy’s night out in a while.”