~Seven~
I never took kindly to threats, but this one I couldn’t ignore. Even though Colin didn’t go into detail about what his plan was to pin Jeffries’ murder on me, he made it very clear that I was walking a very thin line with him and any more fuck-ups meant that I would be spending the rest of my life behind bars. I only wished I knew what he had up his sleeve so I could stop him, but that was the least of my problems. The way Tessa looked at me when they left more than told me she was beginning to see what type of man Colin really was, given his confession. Little did she know that she was my only salvation in this mess.
Colin wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. If he had been, he would have waited to voice not only his plan to frame me, but the admission to killing Jeffries when there was only me in the room. There could have been only one reason why he spilled everything with Tessa there, and that had to be because he knew she would never go against him. As confident as he might have been, that would soon change. Now more than ever I needed to get her away from him.
When I got to my place, the first thing I did was get in contact with Jonathan. I knew that of anyone, he would know exactly what kind of man Colin was. I had a pretty good idea already, but there was something I didn’t know, and that was what he craved most in life besides Tessa. I figured that if I could coax him away from her with candy, so to speak, maybe then I would be able to take her safely from him and show her that I was telling the truth. I only hoped that Jonathan had proof of his claim that Tessa was his daughter, otherwise this would it would be useless.
As I waited for receptionist to pick up the line, I poured myself a shot of McCallan’s and headed to my office. Answering in the sweetest voice ever, she said, “Criss Cross, this is Darcy, how may I direct your call?”
“Darcy, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” I could faintly hear her giggle as I complimented her. “This is Xavier London. I need to speak with Mr. Evans.” I knew that with my sweet greeting, she would be more than happy to put me right through.
“London, I’ve already told you everything I know about Colin Gates,” he stated abruptly.
“Not everything. I need to know more about Colin. I need to know what his likes and dislikes are and if he has any bad habits. Anything that you can tell me about him is important,” I responded.
“Not sure where you are going with this, but I’ll play along. Now let me see,” Evans paused for a moment. “Horses. He loves horses and betting on them. I would say that he is addicted to them.”
“Any particular track he likes to go to?” I asked.
“Yeah, Los Alamitos. He seems to always win there. At least whenever I was with him,” Evans confessed.
Before I hung up with him, there was one more thing I needed to know. “You said that your daughter was dead. Can you tell me how she died?” I questioned hesitantly, but with confidence.
“She drowned. I witnessed it with my own eyes,” I could hear the pain in his voice before he continued. “We were invited to go sailing with Gates. It was just about the time I had found out what he was doing. She got too close to the edge of the boat and fell into the water. She was so small, and an undercurrent took her under.”
Concerned about how this could happen, I had to ask, “Did you see her fall in the water?”
“Not exactly, but I remember the commotion from the crew. The Coast Guard was immediately called, but the divers were never able to find her small body,” he admitted with a crack in his voice.
“Jonathan, do you still have documentation on your daughter as far as birth records, or anything of hers?”
“I have kept everything of hers, even a strand of hair from her first haircut,” he confessed.
“Good. I suggest you put them in a safe place.”
“What is this about, London?” he demanded.
“If I am correct, your daughter is still alive.”
~*~*~*~
I didn’t plan on letting the cat out of the bag just yet, but knowing what Colin was going to do, I was going to need Jonathan on my side. I felt confident when I hung up that he believed what I told him about Tusya, aka Tessa. It made sense that Colin would have her name changed. The only thing that was hard was convincing Jonathan to allow me to get her away from Colin before he did anything stupid. When I told him of my plan to make up some bogus story about a rising thoroughbred being named after Colin and that the owner of the horse wanted to meet him in person to go over the details, Jonathan was all in. He even knew of some people in the horse business who would be more than willing to help since Colin had also double-crossed them.
There was something inviting when I walked inside my apartment and the hint of jasmine and honey filled my senses. I thought I was going crazy, but when I saw Tessa looking out the floor-to-ceiling window, my mind was put at ease. I couldn’t understand what she was doing here or how she got here without Colin knowing. Removing my jacket, I laid it across the barstool and made my way towards her. The sun was just beginning to set and the glow of the light radiating from her face made her look somewhat angel-like. She was the most captivating woman I had ever met. Standing next to her, I took in the view of LA and wondered if she saw the magnificent city like I had.
“How could a city that is so beautiful be filled with the ugliest of people?” she asked shyly.
“Not all people are ugly, Tessa,” I replied as I turned to face her.
When she looked up at me, there was a sadness in her eyes that I knew all too well. Pushing to her toes, she moved closer and without hesitation, placing her lips on mine. They were soft, just like the kiss she laid upon me. It was the most heartfelt connection I had ever been given. When she moved away, her eyes were still on mine as she confessed, “I believe what you said. Colin is a monster and I can’t go back to him no matter how indebted I am to him.”
How could I have mistaken her sadness? I thought for sure it was to say good-bye to me instead of Colin. I was overcome with joy, finding it hard to hold back. Walking with her over to the couch, all I wanted to know was what happened to make her change her mind.
“What happened, Tessa? Did he hurt you again?” I questioned, unaware that I was checking her out for any new bruising.
“No, he hasn’t touched me. He never touches me, at least not when it comes to my punishment,” she confessed.
“Then tell me.”
“I was in my room and heard some yelling downstairs. My door was closed, but it was so loud that I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on,” Tessa explained.
Taking her hands in mine, I said softly, “Continue, baby.”
Taking a deep breath, she pressed on. “He was arguing with another man. I couldn’t see who he was without being seen, so I just listened. They were talking about some sort of shipment and how they couldn’t afford the same mistake again. They mentioned the name Viktor Sokolov. I knew that name, Xavier, but I couldn’t remember where. Then I remembered. It was my father’s name.”
“What did he tell you about your father?” I ask, wondering what Colin filled her mind with when she was little.
“That he met with an unfortunate accident. If what you told me is true about my father being alive, then Mr. Colin lied to me about my father.”
“He is a ruthless man, Tessa, and he will do whatever he has to in order to get what he wants.”
Tessa’s eyes lowered to our hands. I knew that she must have felt some sort of defeat as a tear fell upon them. Releasing her hands, I placed my hand under her chin, wanting nothing more than for her to see how sincere I was with what I was about to say. “Everything will work out, baby. Soon Colin’s perfect world will come crashing down and he will be left with nothing.”
The way that she looked at me made me want her more than ever. Without hesitation, I claimed her mouth with mine, tracing the curve of her lips before dipping my tongue inside her warmth. As our tongues dueled in a slow romantic dance, I slide my hands down her shoulders and to her waist. Lifting her with ease, I placed her butt across my thighs. Shifting her body, she swung her leg over, straddling my body. There was no doubt that she would soon be able to feel the evidence of my arousal.
Pulling her body closer to mine, I felt the need to feel every part of her as her breasts pressed against my chest. Snaking my hands under her blouse, the feel of her warm, soft skin beneath my hands sent a surge through my fingertips to my most manly parts. Locating the clasp to her bra, I unhooked the it and worked my hands to the front of her body and under the delicate lace that had kept her soft flesh captive. Nothing had felt so magnificent as the silky warmth of her breasts that my hands rested upon. Knowing that I needed to feast my eyes upon this beautiful woman’s perfection, in one quick movement, I withdrew my hands and gathered the thin material of her blouse in my hands, lifting it up over her head.
Her bra fell from her shoulders and the tiny pink pebbles of her nipples were exposed, hard and perfectly round, waiting to be canonized. Only one word could have described God’s masterpiece before me as I whispered softly, “Perfect.”
Lowering my mouth, I gently kissed and sucked the ample globe before retreating to her left breast, lapping and devouring every inch of the hardened peak. Tessa’s head fell back, and with her back arched, her breasts were mine for the taking. Knowing that this was not the place to do what I had every intention of doing, there was no other thought as I pushed to the edge of the couch and held tight to her as I stood. As she clung to me, I walked with her legs wrapped around my waist to my room where I could properly worship this goddess.
There was something about the way she held on to me that I couldn’t explain. It was almost like she was hanging on in fear that I would be taken away. I only had one thought as I carefully laid her on the bed. What the hell did Colin do to her?
When she looked at me, it was then I truly understood. Fear wasn’t the reason she was clinging to me, it was the lack of tenderness and passion in her life. Moving my body over hers, I understood she needed to be shown what passion and affection was really about. With my lips once again on hers, I gently kissed her, showing a tenderness she would never forget. Easing my mouth away from hers, I began trailing kisses down her chin to the small indentation of her neck, slowly making my way down to her sultry mounds. Stopping for a moment, I circled my tongue around her taut peak before continuing down her gorgeous body. Holding my body above hers with one hand. I lowered the other between us and began undoing the button of her jeans and carefully lowering her zipper.
I could feel her butt lift from the bed, helping me as I worked her pants down her legs and off her body. Working quickly, I removed my own clothing, remembering to practice safe sex. She was a vision of beauty as I moved between her legs, ready to consume her sweet nectar before satisfying my own hunger. Her sweet scent filled my senses as I removed her panties and held them to my nose. Just the thought of tasting her made my cock throb with anticipation, knowing soon I would be engulfed by her warmth.
More than anything I wanted this moment to be special, to be remembered. I teasingly layered kiss after kiss on her fully shaven mound before moving lower, where I found her clit already wet and waiting for me to consume. As I circled the hard nub, her back rose from the bed, begging me to explore her even further. Gliding my tongue between her folds, her juices were already flowing as I lapped and sucked her well of pleasure. Inserting a finger inside her dripping pussy, I began stroking her deep and slow, knowing that she was close. Stopping just before her heightened state, I moved up her body and positioned my sheathed cock at her entrance, careful to insert only the tip inside.
The sound of her pleasure escaped as she wrapped her arms around me and promised, “I will never disappoint you.”
My movement stopped, and I looked down at this angel and asked, “What has he done to you?” only this time sharing my thoughts.
There was no explanation, only an unsolicited request, “Please, show me the difference.”
I knew exactly what she meant as I slowly pushed inside her with gentle thrusts. There was no hurry, only unprecedented pleasure beyond belief. My body in sync with hers, feeling every movement, until the portal of nirvana opened and swallowed us up in pure ecstasy.