Chapter Four
Osi
“Nobody’s out.” Ramsay looked out the passenger side window of my SUV.
“Snow will do that.”
“Why do I feel like this is one of those Limited men’s kidnapping deals?”
She was smirking so I knew that she wasn’t serious. “If I were to kidnap you, you wouldn’t be conscious and in the front seat.”
Her head jerked in my direction. “And you’d be using those built in bolts on the floorboard. Right?”
“Or we could use them?” I suggested.
“Car sex?” She looked me up and down. “I don’t know, you’re legs are pretty long.”
“Too cold tonight.” However I liked it that she didn’t say no. Although, Ramsay had never denied me anything that I’d asked of her sexually. That was surprising. The first night, I expected her to be uninhibited but I soon learned that Ramsay liked sex and she gave as good as she got. In bed she was open but once her clothing was on, she closed down.
That was why tonight was so important. We were going to my house for the first time. She’d been on the west coast working with her clients and packing her stock. I’d been on a hunt that had wrapped up yesterday morning.
“Are you tired?”
“I stopped last night in Peoria and slept.” The hunt had taken a circular route through Missouri and western Illinois.
“Was it dangerous?” She was still watching me closely.
“It’s always dangerous. The guy had affiliations, stabbed his ex and a nasty meth habit. He was a crazy motherfucker.”
“But you took him down…alone?”
“I watched him for two days, figured out the best way.” I wasn’t used to discussing my tactics with someone that wasn’t in my line of work.
“But others who do what you do bring people with them to assist?”
“I’ve worked with Forde and Rick on a few jobs and a couple of free-lancers but I’ve been told that I don’t play well with others.” Plus I hated having to report in, disclose my every move and coordinate with the team. I did better alone.
“You’re a Cowboy, figures.” Her chuckle was harsh. “But I already knew that about you.”
“So how’s your assistant doing?”
“Touché darling.” She settled back into the leather seat. “Edwin is a talker. Not to Ryan’s level but he shares.”
I knew that would take some getting used to. Forde’s son by his first wife, worked a few months at Limited and the kid couldn’t stay quiet. The thing that I’d learned was that Ryan was interesting and funny…in small doses.
“But you haven’t fired him.”
“He has a fantastic eye and the guy knows his fashion.” She crossed her arms under her breasts. She was wearing a short wool coat that zipped, jeans and low heeled boots. For once, she was dressed appropriately for the weather.
“As long as he’s helping and not making more work for you.”
“Once he settled in on the trip, he was great. I think that he could be a real asset once he figures out not to hook up with everything that moves.”
“Really?” That seemed unprofessional but I kept my comments to myself.
“I guess that’s his next step in handling a break-up. Although when you hook up with boys that are half your age…what do you expect?”
“I don’t know anything about how gay men date.”
“Is that because of that whole I’m a black man and I can’t stand prissy boys thing?”
“No. It’s because I have enough to handle with you.”
She pointedly stared out of her window as I pulled into my subdivision. I lived off of the first turn off.
I hit the remote for my garage door.
“So this is it?” She was looking out the windshield as we pulled into my garage. “This is pretty normal.”
“It’s a garage. What did you expect?” I put down the door and as I watched in the mirror, I then killed the engine.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I think a part of me pictured some high-rise penthouse with a private elevator. You know all black marble and stainless steel with a room-sized bed with black sheets and maybe it would revolve with mirrors everywhere.” She gave a shrug and a small smile.
“Too many movies Ramses.” I unlocked our doors and got out.
“Well I do think that you might be Batman.” She got out.
“I’m putting on some dumb costume.” I pulled out her suitcase. For anybody else, a bag this size would be good for a week but with Ramsay, it was probably for one night.
“Does that go for me too?”
“You want to dress up for me, you go right ahead.” I used the keypad to unlock the door from the garage to my house. “Come on in.” She seemed a little reticent to cross the threshold. Truth be told, I was a little uneasy. We both knew that this visit meant something.
“Has anybody else been here?” She looked around my kitchen. The counters were empty except for a coffee maker, my juicer and the expensive blender that I used to make protein shakes.
“My mom visited last year.”
“You’re Mom?” She spoke loudly.
“Yeah babe, I have a mom.” Sapphira had my brother when she was fourteen and me at fifteen by different men. She’d worked three jobs to provide for us.
She recovered quickly, “Well of course you do. I mean, I didn’t think that you were created in a lab.”
“So this is the kitchen,” I took off my jacket and hung it over the back of one of the chairs at the table. I then held out my hand for hers.
“Right.” She quickly unzipped hers and handed to me. She was wearing a waffle knit blue shirt that clung to her breasts. “Time for the tour.”
We ended the tour in the downstairs room that I used as my office. It was supposed to be the master suite but I slept upstairs, when I used the bed.
“This is the room that you use the most right?” She had taken over the large recliner, curling her legs under her ass.
“How’d you know?” I liked the look of her in this room, in my house. Tonight she was more casual. She’d lightened her hair and it was loose, she’d left her boots by the back door.
“The books,” she pointed to my two walls of bookcases filled with books. “Have you read all of them?”
“Yeah.”
She got to her feet and moved to the far wall, reading the spines. “Art, history, photography and…what’s this? Poetry?” She gave me a questioning glance.
“I have varied tastes.” It felt weird talking about myself. Sharing myself. I wanted to but now I felt like Ramsay was studying me and I wanted to squirm.
But of course I didn’t.
“What’s with the stacks on the floor?”
She pointed with her sock covered foot to a three foot high stack to the right of my desk.
“Those I haven’t had a chance to read.” I explained.
She walked around my desk and I pulled her onto my lap so that she was straddling my legs. “No pictures.”
“No.” I cupped her ass.
“Not even in here.” She was looking at the wall of books behind me.
“In my line of work, it isn’t a good idea.”
“Because a bad guy could trace them, I mean the people in the photos?”
Smart girl. “That’s right.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck. “That makes me sad for you, Osi.”
“I’m not going to be doing this forever, can’t.”
Her green eyes were huge in face and they were focused on my face. “But even after, you’ll always be looking over your shoulder.”
I moved my hands to her back. “That’s why I have all of the security measures. We all do. Is it an issue for you?”
Her eyebrows drew together as she seemed to think about my question. “I don’t think so, but they don’t really apply to me.”
“Ramses, they do. People know that you are with me.”
“Who? What people.” She started to fidget and I sensed that she was going to put space I us.
I tightened my arms around her. “The type of people who make it their business to know shit like that.”
“Oh.” She didn’t look afraid.
“So that’s why it’s a good thing that you live in Forde’s building and that you didn’t buy that stupid convertible.”
She chuckled. “His head almost exploded when I mentioned that I was considering the Mercedes Roadster.”
“Just the word- convertible upsets him.”
“You didn’t say anything…”
“And if I had, you would have lost it.” I reminded her.
She started to roll her eyes. “You would have done something much more devious.”
I leaned in and kissed her lips lightly. “But I didn’t have to.”
“It’s still snowing. Convertibles are for summer.” Her fingers lightly scratched the back of my skull.
“We’ll see.” I kissed her again.
“Ollie will have one on the island. He always has cars that their guests can use.”
“I’ll check them out and then we’ll use a convertible.”
“We should book our flights.” She told me.
“We will…later.” I secured a hand under her ass and stood, then gently lowered to my glass top.
She giggled as I leaned over her and kissed her. “Desk sex?”
I kissed her again.