****

Jeremy

Stepping off the elevator into my luxury hotel suite in downtown Dallas, I feel the tension releasing from my shoulders. I’ve been booked solid with meetings and business appointments, leaving little time for anything else. Ordinarily, a busy work week is a good thing, but because I haven’t seen LaTasha in nearly five days since she appeared unexpectedly at my office door, I’m beyond a little restless. We’ve communicated mainly through phone calls and text messages this week and she’s been making great progress on her book. It’s funny how I can hear the difference in her voice. The relief in her tone is evident and it makes me crave her even more. But work prevails. I’m due to leave Sunday afternoon for another trip to Tucson, leaving me with not nearly as much time as I’d like to spend with her. I grin as I run my hand down the side of my face, feeling the stubble that’s starting to grow. I may not have as much time as I’d like to get even more acquainted with LaTasha’s body, but I sure as hell will make use of the time I’ve got. Hence, the reason I’m here now. 

I make my way through the huge living room space, removing my suit jacket and tossing it on the couch along the way. I only sleep here on really late work nights and when I’m entertaining women. However, I’ve never brought LaTasha here. When I entertained her in my home it felt most appropriate.

I enter the bedroom and head straight to the closet where I keep my toys. My hand barely makes contact with the doorknob before I can sense another person in the room. This hotel, my hotel, has the highest level of security possible, especially my suite. There’s only one other person who has access to this suite when I’m not around, and he wouldn’t be in here waiting for me in my bedroom. But his wife on the other hand...

“At close to eight months pregnant, you’re still sneaking around like the damn spy you are. Does your husband know where you are?”

“I’m sure Mitch has told him by now,” Coral retorts in an amused tone.

“I’ve been expecting you. What took so long?” I question, finally turning to face her.

She remains seated at a chair by the side of my bed. She’d obviously moved it from its original location to prevent me from seeing her when I first entered. She shrugs. “I’ve been a little preoccupied,” she says, rubbing her belly.

I nod. “How is the little guy?”

The smile that spreads across her face tells it all. “He’s great. Suddenly, her face turns serious. “But I didn’t come here to talk about me.”

“I figured as much,” I state dryly, placing my hands in my pockets. I lean against the dresser behind me with my feet crossed at the ankle.

“Okay, smart ass. So you know if you hurt her, I will be making another unexpected visit. Only it will be in the middle of the night.” Her narrowed eyes and flared nostrils demonstrate the seriousness of her words.

“I’m sure many men have been intimidated by that look. And I know you’re not all talk. But save the tough-guy shit for someone else. You know me better than to think I’d hurt any woman.”

“I just thought it was prudent to let you know in person, where I stand.”

“I know how deeply you take care of your family.”

She raises a brow at me. “You know she’s my sister?”

I remain silent staring at her.

“You had one of your guys do a background check on her?” she asks, standing. She approaches me head-on.

Again, I say nothing.

“What did you find out?”

“Enough to know her family background and that there’s a gap in her teenage and early adult years. No records at all. Someone worked really hard to eliminate any records of LaTasha from ages thirteen until about twenty-one.”

“Someone must have.” She shrugs.

“Who hurt her?” It’s a question I couldn’t hold back.

Coral’s face turns hard and angry. “They’ve been dealt with.”

“They?”

Coral closes her eyes for a brief moment, a pained look of regret crossing her face before she quickly masks it. “This damn kid is making me soft,” she states, rubbing her belly and taking a couple of steps back to sit on the edge of the king size bed.

“You’ve always been a big-ass softy.”

“Fuck you. Bennett.”

“Language! You know by now the baby can hear words in the womb.” I chuckle.

“Yeah, well this baby’s going to come out with quite the vocabulary already between Li’s edgy vernacular and mine.” She grins.

I laugh even harder at that. “I’m surprised you can still walk the way Li’s been all over you.”

Coral laughs out loud for the first time. “He loves this pregnant belly.”

“It’s not just the belly.”

Another tender smile crosses her face as she falls silent. That smile makes me happy for my cousin and his growing family. He finally has the love he’s waited a long time for.

“You know she’s writing again.” Coral’s comment breaks the silence. “I know that’s because of you.”

“That’s because of her,” I correct. “She’s meant to write.”

“Yeah, but she’s been stuck in that funk of a writer’s block for a while. If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with my own life, I would’ve realized that the move here combined with the pressure she placed on herself to please her readers were the causes. You helped her with that. How? I don’t know nor do I want to know.” She eyes the closet door a few feet from me, and I can see a number of thoughts running through those hazel eyes. I won’t confirm or deny any of them.

“I’m just happy she’s happy. Thank you for that. Just make sure she stays that way,” Coral says before she stands.

“Save the threats for your husband. LaTasha and I will be fine.” I grin.

“Good. As long as we have an understanding,” she says over her shoulder as she walks past the bedroom door. A few seconds later, I hear the chime of the elevator button and the doors sliding open.

Grinning, I shake my head. I knew sooner or later that Coral would show up making threats about me possibly hurting her sister. I turn back to the closet, finally opening it and seeing my stash of accoutrements hanging on the wall. This is a much smaller version of the playroom I have in my home. It’s always been useful for when I had my past subs stay overnight. I reach for one of my floggers made out of rabbit’s fur, a paddle, and a pair of brand new diamond encrusted nipple clamps. A thrill shoots right to my groin when I imagine LaTasha’s perky brown nipples being squeezed in this clamp. The vision nearly causes me to groan out loud. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with me? I’ve never been this turned on by just the mere thought of a woman. Shaking the image from my mind, I grab a pair of special, unused razors. I smirk at the plans I have for these babies. Finally, deciding I have everything I came for, I send a text message to LaTasha telling her to be ready by seven o’clock tonight.