The Perfect Deception (17 page)

I
t started from the time Jessica closed the door. Nathan: determined, focused, ready. Wrapping her in his arms, letting his actions convey what words could not, scorching her mouth with his long, stiff tongue, squeezing her plump asset as he ground his growing manhood against her silk dress. He broke the kiss long enough to unzip and pull the piece from her shoulders and down her lean frame. Taking in her black lace bra and thong, showcased against her creamy tan flesh, made him harder. He moved to the couch, taking her with him, covering her with his body as he plundered her mouth again.

“Ooh, baby. I’ve been wanting this all night.” He quickly stripped off his clothes, then dropped to his knees to kiss another set of lips.

Jessica’s scream came out hoarse and high-pitched. Something about the way he licked her through the lacy thong, causing friction on top of friction, sent her someplace else. She tried to move away from the delicious yet mind-blowing assault. Not a chance. Nathan ripped off the thong and slid along and then inside her folds. Her pearl was treated special—nipped and licked and sucked and pulled—until Jessica stopped fighting and gave in to the thrill. A strong finger found her opening, and then there were two. Still he lapped and tongued and kissed and devoured until her legs began to shake and an orgasm spiraled from the core of her being to the tips of her toes. While still in this climax’s clutches, Nate plunged inside her, full and complete.

“Nate! A condom—”

“Sorry, baby,” Nate moaned, a deep thrust accompanying every other word. “I couldn’t. Wait. Next time. Damn. This is good. So good.”

After tattooing her insides, he pulled out and placed his tip at her mouth. She readily took him in, outlining the burgeoning mushroom tip with her tongue, licking his length, tickling the vein. She opened wider, took him deeper, tried to best what he’d given. Hard to do with a man this thick and long, but she gave it a good old college try. Must have been on to something because after pulling on his dick like a hookah pipe, Nathan abruptly stopped her.

“Baby, you’re going to make me come. And we’ve got a long ways to go before that happens.”

The loving continued every place, every way. When he knocked at her back door, she let him in, or tried at least. That’s something she’d sworn would never happen again, something her ex once did by force. Nathan was gentle and patient, running a finger between her nether lips as he sucked on her ear, then kissing and tonguing her starfish until tense muscles relaxed. And later, kissing every inch of her, as if she were a fragile flower and her skin was candy glass. By the time they fell into exhausted slumber, there had been no marriage ceremony. But the consummation of their red-hot love had definitely occurred.

 

“You’re going to do what?”

Sunday morning, early afternoon actually, and the two love birds were just beginning to stir.

Jessica turned on her side to face Nathan. “I know I didn’t hear you right.”

“I said I was cooking breakfast.”

“You can’t cook!”

“You probably don’t have anything down there to cook.”

Jessica hid her face in the pillow.

“Uh-huh, I’m right, takeout queen. You probably don’t have one raw egg or a cup of flour.”

“No, but I’ll put my collection of takeout menus against the best of them.”

“Ha!” Nathan rolled out of bed, shameless in his naked glory. He walked into the bathroom and after the necessary ablutions returned to the room. “Didn’t I leave some shorts over here, or something to wear?”

“Yes. Look in that bottom drawer.” She pointed.

Nathan retrieved a pair of worn khakis and a Ravens t-shirt, slipped them on, and headed out.

“Where are you going?”

“Downstairs, to raid your pantry.” Jessica scrambled out of bed. Her reaction startled him. “Where are you going?”

“To help you, of course.”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to take a long, hot shower.” His mood changed as he sauntered toward her and pulled her into an embrace. “I know I worked that body last night. And I’m still not done. So go on in there, grab that funny-looking sponge and that froufrou soap you like—”

“It’s not froufrou. That gel is Vera Wang.”

“Then go grab Vera and get rejuvenated.”

He began to pull away, but Jessica stopped him. “I’d rather you join me.”

“Later. But right now, I want to do this for you. Go on, now. Let me pamper my fiancée.”

She gazed at the ring. “So incredibly beautiful. I still can’t believe I’m engaged.”

“Well, you are. So once you’re refreshed and I’ve prepared this amazing spread, we can head out, maybe find a park to soak of some of this beautiful sunshine and then discuss dates over brunch.”

He kissed her forehead and headed out of the room. Jessica grabbed a T-shirt and was right behind him.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I . . . want us to cook together!”

“And I want to cook for you. Now be a good little wife and obey your master. Get in the shower!” His chauvinistic words left her sputtering. He cracked up. “I knew that would get you,” he said, still laughing. “But seriously. Go on, now. I’ve got this.”

He started out again. “And don’t follow me.”

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

He continued down the stairs, shaking his head at his lovable lady. He’d never been this happy or felt so complete. Stopping by her iPod dock, he turned on the music. The base of the dock was loose, but the beats played. He headed toward the kitchen. A buzz sounded.
What’s that?
He looked around but when it stopped he shrugged and walked to the set of cabinets.

“Man, this is pitiful,” he murmured, opening up one door and then the other. Aside from the ones that held dishes, the shelves were almost bare. The refrigerator wasn’t much better. He continued opening drawers and cabinet doors, familiarizing himself with where things were: silverware, an unopened box of cookware and another of ceramic bowls, magazines, a catch-all drawer, her takeout collection. His chances of finding edible product was bleak, but still he opened the cabinets beneath the sink: dishwashing liquid, scrubbing foam, and several gallons of antifreeze.

Nathan walked over to where a pair of casual loafers he’d left on a previous visit were still sitting by the door. Car keys were on a nearby table. He grabbed them. “Babe!”

A pause and then, “Yes?”

“I’ll be right back.”

Once she heard the door close, Jessica raced downstairs and into the kitchen. She looked around, praying that nothing suspicious had been lying about. At first, she’d been very cognizant about immediately storing the poisons in their proper places, but during her shower an image of liquid arsenic sitting on the counter had almost caused a heart attack. Now, as she looked around, she realized the image had been created from paranoia, not fact.

Then she heard a buzz.
Damn!
She walked into the living room and pulled the vibrating burner phone from its hiding place. “Sissy, I can’t talk long. Nathan will be back soon.”

Minutes later, Nathan returned with a bag of groceries. He banned Jessica from the kitchen and whipped up a turkey sausage and spinach omelet served with bagels and cream cheese.

He and Jessica sat at her bar counter, music still going and TV on mute. She took several bites without stopping. “This is good.”

“Told you I could cook.”

“They say food always tastes good when you’re starving.”

“Whatever.”

“Hey, you forgot drinks.” She slid off the stool. “You want an orange juice spritzer?”

“What’s that?”

“OJ and club soda.”

He nodded. “That sounds good.”

She pulled the juice container from the fridge and moved aside the Simply Cranberry and bottles of Perrier to reach the hidden and innocent-looking six-pack of club soda. One of the cans had been opened, emptied, and refilled with antifreeze. Setting the six-pack on the counter, she secured it with her right hand while lifting her left hand to gently remove the can of poison from the plastic ring that held the cans together. A ray of afternoon sun caught the diamonds on her engagement ring and caused them to sparkle. A wave of guilt assailed her. She quickly placed the soda back in the fridge, then turned to see Nathan watching her every move.

She jumped.

“Wow, you jumped like a thief caught stealing.”

“You keep sneaking up on me. I didn’t expect to turn around and find you leering.”

“Can’t a brother leer if he wants to? Your ass shouldn’t be so fine.”

She poured two glasses of orange juice and gave one to Nathan.

He took a sip. “This is a spritzer?”

“No, um, I forgot that the drink also calls for a splash of grenadine, which I don’t have. Sorry.”

“This is fine.”

They walked back to the counter and sat down. Nathan immediately dug into his food. Jessica, lost in thought, pushed her food around the plate.

“Having second thoughts already?”

“Of course not.” She picked up her fork and took a small bite. “I’m just a little sleepy.”

“Oh, well, I’m not going to apologize for that.” He gobbled down a few more bites. “By the way, it’s obvious you don’t use your kitchen. Might as well take out the appliances and turn it into a game room.”

“You know I don’t cook.”

“Yes, but you should keep something on hand in case of an emergency.” Nathan drank almost half the juice before placing the glass on the table. “At least a few cans of soup, or beans, a box of crackers, some PB and J. If the city got shut down and restaurants couldn’t deliver, you’d starve. Your car would run okay, though.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve got enough antifreeze in there for the next ten winters.”

Silence.

“You having car problems?”

A huge bite bought time to create an answer. “No. That’s been there a long time.”

“Why so much?”

“Does it matter?” Never before had Jessica found lying to be so hard on her nerves.

“It does now that you’re acting so defensive about it.”

“A guy I dated put them there, okay? He had an old car and always used it. I’d actually forgotten about them . . . the same way I’ve tried to forget him.”

He sat back with a sigh. “I’m sorry, baby. Didn’t mean to stir up unhappy memories, especially this weekend.”

She dismissed his guilt with a wave of her fork-holding fingers. “Easy to do with the life I’ve had. Is there any more left of that omelet?”

“The one that’s only good because you’re hungry?”

“It was pretty tasty.”

“Yes,” he said, sliding off of the stool to replenish her plate, and in the process stealing a kiss. “Just like you.”

The rest of the day passed leisurely. Instead of going out they ended up making out and both the park and brunch were forgotten. Jessica fell asleep Nathan alternated from watching sports to surfing the Web on Jessica’s iPad. When he decided to listen to music and the iPod dock wobbled again, he decided to fix it.

“I don’t know why I’m in this empty kitchen looking for a screwdriver,” he mumbled as he rummaged through a catch-all drawer.
Why do I think I’ll find tools where there’s not even food?
He learned more about his wife-to-be with what he did find: receipts, loose change, pens, coupons and such, all thrown together with no rhyme or reason. He casually scanned a couple of the receipts before feeling like a snoop and placing them back in the unkempt drawer. Such a mess would drive fastidious Nathan crazy. Clearly, when living together, they’d each have their own closet.

He found some interesting things, but not the screwdriver. Jessica woke up and they finally went out, ending the weekend with a spoken-word event. He went home. Given the jam-packed and significant weekend, he should have been exhausted. But sleep was elusive.An observation he’d made earlier had been bugging him all evening and no matter how he analyzed, rationalized, and dismissed it in his mind, the uncomfortable feeling would not go away.

Sleep finally came, but when the alarm clock went off, Nathan did not feel rested.

C
ome Monday, both Jessica and Nathan would get a dose of reality thrown on their magical weekend. For Nathan, it rang right around noon at the office, just after he’d finished a round of phone calls and the initial research on an unexpected project.

“Morning, Sherri.”

“Hey there, VP. You got a minute?”

“Absolutely, I was going to call you anyway. What’s up?”

“I saw Mom this weekend.”

“You went to Raleigh?”

“Yes, me and the kids.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Unbelievable, considering the scare she gave all of us last year. The medication created through Randall’s research is really something. It’s almost like she never was sick.”

“I still shudder to think of what might have happened had she not started using it when she did.”

“I refuse to think about it, can’t imagine life without—”

“Me neither.”

Clearly, Nathan could not handle the thought of his mother dying, but that’s exactly what had almost happened last year. She went from being healthy to having intense headaches, blurred vision, and memory loss. The doctors suspected a brain tumor. Sherri’s husband Randall thought it might be an infection. Tests were run, biopsies were taken, and eventually a small tumor was found and removed. But, indeed, there remained an infection caused by some mysterious microorganism resistant to standard treatment. That’s where Randall’s company played a major role. PSI, Progressive Scientific Innovations, had been developing and perfecting a plant-based serum for brain-related diseases. Because it hadn’t been approved by the Federal Drug Administration, the drug couldn’t be administered by the hospital treating her. So Randall enlisted his best friend, a doctor who treated her privately. Everyone, including the doctors who were prohibited from using it, believed it was this drug that saved Elaine Carver’s life.

“Have they approved that treatment yet in America?”

“No, but Canada has used it in several cases with good results. Randall hopes red tape doesn’t hold up the product indefinitely because there are people who need it.”

“Mom was surprised she didn’t hear from you this weekend. She said you’ve been calling more regularly. We both appreciate that.”

“Yes, well, I have this irksome sister who keeps nagging me about acting like a concerned son, as if I wasn’t one.”

“I’m sure Mom thinks you’re the best son she’s got.”

“I’m the only son she’s got,” he deadpanned.

“A minor detail.”

“Ha!”

“Being promoted was awesome, but I’m sure it’s stressful.”

“True, and with what happened this weekend, life will only get busier.”

“What happened?”

“Hold on.” Nathan shut his office door. “I got engaged.”

“You did not.”

“I finally popped the question, Sis. I asked Jessica to marry me.” Stunned silence, as he’d expected. “‘Congratulations, Bro. I’m happy for you. Great news’ . . . or anything to that effect would be appropriate.”

“Of course, I’m happy if you’re happy. I’m just . . .”

“Shocked.”

“That word isn’t nearly strong enough.”

“Appalled?”

“She wouldn’t be my first choice, Nate, but I don’t think she’s a monster.”

“Whew. Good. Then there’s hope for one big happy family after all.”

The sarcastically delivered statement defused the tension. They laughed. Nathan relaxed.

“Does Mom know?”

“I’m calling her next.”

“When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t discussed that yet.”

“Don’t rush into this, Nathan. It’s been a whirlwind from the day you met her. Now that you’ve put a ring on it, slow down and take the time to really get to know her. Divorce is expensive, and forever is a long time.”

“You’ve been trying to tell me what to do since I can remember.”

“That’s because I’m your big sis.”

“As much as you annoy me, I usually listen.”

“I hope you will this time.”

“This is going to surprise you, but what you’ve suggested, taking my time, is exactly what I plan to do.”

 

“Wow, what’s the occasion?”

Jessica looked up as Vincent leaned against the reception desk. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, gorgeous. Did I miss the announcement for a photo shoot?”

“Do you see a camera or photographer anywhere?”

“You’re beautiful enough to be a model, even without makeup. So what is it? Lunch date?” He glanced around, lowered his voice, then looked at her crazy. “Job interview?”

“You nut.”

“At least I made you smile.”

“You always make me smile.”

“How was your weekend?”

The slightest hesitation and then, “Fine. How was yours?”

“Pretty cool, actually. A buddy of mine set me up with a date, his wife’s best friend. The four of us went to dinner and then to a play at the Fox Theatre. It was nice.”

“Nice enough for her to get a second date?”

“Most definitely.” The elevator dinged. He straightened from his laid-back posture and reached for one of several
Wall Street Journal
s the firm provided. “Enjoy your day, beautiful.”

Jessica watched him stroll away, immediately aware of two things. One, the delight with which Vincent had described his date had made her jealous, which considering the past weekend’s event was absolutely ludicrous, and two, this jealousy was only slightly less crazy than accepting Nathan’s marriage proposal.

But I did accept it.
She replayed the litany of thoughts that had flowed nonstop since a dazzling diamond and heartfelt proposal blindsided her Friday night, answering phones by rote as her mind relived the dinner, engagement, mind-blowing sex, Nathan’s breakfast, shared showers, and spoken-word event. Her heart fell when recalling the voice mail that had burst the bubble of the weekend’s feigned happiness. The likely fallout once that call was returned is why the two-and-a-half-carat radiant diamond from Nathan sat in its case instead of on her finger, and why dark circles beneath tired eyes were hidden with rarely worn foundation.

 

Minutes after she got home from work, reality called.

“You were supposed to call me back.”

“I was going to in a little bit. It was a very busy weekend.”

“How sick is he?”

“He’s not.”

“You doubled the dose and he didn’t get sick?”

“No.”

“That’s impossible. Are you sure you—”

“I didn’t do it, okay?”

“Because . . .”

Jessica took a breath deep enough to push out the words that might be some of the last ones shared with her blood kin. “Because I got engaged. He proposed, Sissy.”

“That’s excellent, perfect! I get it now. It was smart of you to hold off after something like that, play the excited fiancée. So this week when we double the doses, he’ll start puking his life out and you’ll smell like a rose.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Of course you will. You already told me that the witch was warming up to you. Now that you’ve snagged her brother, she’ll consider you fam.”

“It’s not that I don’t think this will work. It’s that I don’t think it’s going to happen. I can’t do this, Sissy. I thought I could, up until this very moment I knew I would. But not now, not after agreeing to become his wife! I love you more than anyone and will do anything to help you, anything but this.”

“Right now, this is the only help I need.”

“Why is this the only way to help you? Nathan’s got money. I can ask for some and get you a good attorney.”

“I’ve got a good attorney, an excellent attorney. What I don’t have is time to keep arguing with someone who’s obviously only looking out for herself.”

“That’s not true.”

“It isn’t? You’re getting ready to marry the brother of the woman who put me behind bars, to sleep with my enemy and leave me to rot. Tell me, dear sister, where are my best interests in that scenario?”

“It was his sister who wronged you. She should pay, not Nate.”

“Losing the brother she loves so much will be the ultimate payback.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know how it feels right now, at the thought of losing you.”

That statement gave Jessica pause. “That won’t happen. I’ll never again let another man come between us or keep us from talking.”

“You won’t have to. If you go back on your promise, I’m the one who’ll end contact. There’s no way I could let someone who betrayed me remain in my life.”

“Sissy, can’t we just—”

“No. We can’t. You need to grow a backbone and decide once and for all what you’re going to do. If it’s to keep your word and help me, then call me back. If it’s to turn against me, then we’re done. Forever. Good-bye, Jessie.”

Jessica sat, stunned, processing the words of her sister. How could one feel both the highest exhilaration and the lowest disappointment in the same forty-eight hours? To marry Nathan would mean to lose her sister. Help her sister and she’d lose Nathan. Blood was thicker than water. But was love thicker than blood? And did Jessica want to risk finding out?