Chapter Two
The smell of turkey bacon filled the air and his stomach responded with a low growl. Still, Tag knew something was wrong the moment he entered the kitchen. Alex was already up, cooking breakfast like she usually did, but her back was stiff, and without seeing her face, he knew she was upset. Great. The last thing he needed was another argument this early in the damn morning.
He had a day full of consultations and a breast augmentation surgery later. Going into the office with angry words on his mind wasn’t how Tag had planned to begin his day. He decided to play things cool.
“Morning, babe.” He walked over to her and planted a chaste kiss on her warm, brown cheek.
“Hmm,” was all he got for his effort? No “good morning,” and Alex was already dressed, which was odd, because she usually didn’t go to her shop until ten. Tag decided it was best to not ask. He didn’t want whatever was on her mind to turn into another argument.
He put on a fresh pot of coffee and poured her a cup before sitting down at the table. He picked up his tablet to read the new as usual, but a niggling feeling told him not to start reading. Tag just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up and, as much as he wanted to ignore it, doing so was tough.
He knew he’d regret it, but found himself asking anyway. “Alex, is anything the matter?”
She slowly turned around and gave him a tight smile. “Why do you ask, Tag? Everything is just peachy. What could possibly be wrong?”
He knew that tone well. She was spoiling for a fight. Well, if Alex was going to play games and not tell him what was on her mind, then he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of probing.
“Okay, in that case ...” He shrugged and raised his tablet. Without looking up he could tell she was glaring. He could feel her stare burning him like he was an ant under a magnifying glass on a sunny day.
When he didn’t face her, she finally turned away from him, banging pots and pans noisily around the oven range. What the hell? Tag tried very hard to attempt an air of nonchalance while he flipped through the pages of news. However, once Alex practically threw the food onto his plate, Tag realized she wouldn’t let him have any peace until he found out what the issue was.
“What?” he asked in defeat, placing his tablet aside.
“For a man with a medical degree, you aren’t very bright, are you?”
His hackles were instantly raised. Though Alex couldn’t possibly know this because he never spoke of his childhood, nothing angered him more than when someone questioned his intelligence. Having been raised in a home where he was constantly called stupid meant he had a very low threshold on the topic.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Last night, you asked me if I’m on the pill.”
Was that what the fuss was all about? “Huh?”
“Huh, nothing. It wasn’t the first time you’ve asked it, either, and I won’t let you disrespect me like that again. How dare you ask me that? How ... dare ... you!” By the time she finished, she was practically screaming.
“How dare I? What are you getting so upset about? It’s a simple question. We agreed you’d take the pill at the beginning of this relationship.”
“Exactly, because you don’t want children.”
“So what? I’ve made it no secret. What are you getting so mad about?”
Arms crossed over her chest, her nostrils flaring, she glared at him. “Do you think I want children out of wedlock? I wasn’t raised like that, but the fact that you’d ask me that, and during sex of all times, was hurtful.” Her light brown eyes flashed with righteous indignation. With arms unfolding and hands flying to her hips, Alex looked pissed.
Tag stood up, his appetite lost. “What the hell’s the big deal? So I asked you if you’re on the pill. It wasn’t the fucking Spanish Inquisition.” He didn’t mean to curse at her, but his temper had reared its ugly head.
“You may not think it was a big thing, but it was to me. It wasn’t even the question itself, but the reason you asked me last night and the same reason you asked me before. But I know why you did it.”
“Oh, do you, Miss Know-It-All? Why, then?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Tag. You asked because you wanted to make sure I wasn’t trying to trap you. You think if I got pregnant, you’d have to marry me, and that’s the last thing you want, right?”
He couldn’t deny it. Children and marriage had never entered into the equation for him. He liked kids a lot but didn’t want any of his own because he believed they should be born within the union of marriage, and as he had no intention of ever getting hitched, there was no point in having them.
He’d grown up dirt poor and living off the state’s system with four brothers and two sisters, all of them by a different father, and an abusive mother who was also a functioning alcoholic. It had been a nightmare. His mother had been married three times before she took off with another woman’s husband, leaving Tag and his siblings to their own devices. He’d been only fourteen.
After spending a year and a half in the foster care system, his mother had returned. The state of Virginia, in their infinite wisdom — not — had returned him and his siblings to her care, this time with husband number four in tow, a low-life biker named Scott. When Scott wasn’t beating the hell out of his mother and the kids, he was spending their welfare checks on booze and drugs.
One day, Tag had snapped. He and Scott had gotten into it, and he’d ended up breaking his stepfather’s jaw. The man had taken off the next day, but was his mother grateful to be free of the tyranny? Hell, no. Melissa Webster had taken to the bottle even harder and became more verbally abusive than ever.
Unable to handle it anymore, Tag had left home shortly before his seventeenth birthday. He’d gotten his GED and, with the equivalent of a high school diploma in hand, he had begun taking classes at the local community college. He’d then applied to, and, being white, had received a minority scholarship for Howard University. Not only had he discovered his love for medicine there, but he’d also realized his love for black women. Tag enjoyed women of all races, but he had a soft spot for black women. Their skin coloring spanned different shades, and they had shapely asses and an air of confidence they always carried with them.
After graduating summa cum laude from Howard, he’d won a partial grant to medical school at Georgetown University. Those years were difficult. He worked hard, struggled, and made many sacrifices, but he’d never forgotten his family. He had tried to help them as best as he could, but you couldn’t help people who wouldn’t help themselves.
Two of his brothers were in jail, and one was in a mental institution from years of abuse. His two sisters had followed the example of their mother and became teenage mothers. One was married and already divorced; the other was on her second baby with a different man. His youngest brother, who’d Tag had always thought had the greatest chance of success, had married young and was miserable, working a crummy nine-to-five job and supporting a woman who refused to work and help out with bills.
The life he’d led, coupled with his family’s dysfunctional outcomes, had proven to Tag beyond a shadow of doubt that marriage and children were not a direction he wanted to ever go. He adored Alex, but he’d been honest from the beginning, had told her up front that he had no desire to marry. He wouldn’t apologize for his feelings now.
“Yes, that’s exactly why I asked. I wanted to make sure we were still on the same page.”
The next thing he knew she grabbed his untouched plate of food, carried it across the kitchen and dumped in in the trash.”
“What the fuck, Alex? You’re acting like a child!”
Her nostrils flared. She looked unrepentant. “And you’re being an insensitive jerk! How could you think I would try to trap you? Hasn’t this past year meant anything to you? Do you really think so little of me that you think I’d pull a stunt like that?”
“You’re the one who keeps bringing up marriage after, I might add, I’ve repeatedly said I’m not interested.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Do you think me capable of trying to trap you?” The sheen in her light brown eyes looked suspiciously like tears.
He sighed. Tag hadn’t meant to question her integrity, but this was an issue he wouldn’t budge on. “Alex, you’re young. You’ll soon learn that marriage isn’t the be all and end all of everything.” He patted her on the shoulder, which only seemed to enrage her.
“Don’t you dare patronize me, Taggert Webster.”
She never used his full name unless she was really angry. He’d have to tread lightly. “I’m not trying to patronize you. I’m just trying to say that marriage isn’t for me -- something you’ve always known.”
“Why?”
“The way I see it, marriage is just a lousy piece of paper that represents nothing but lies and broken promises.”
“How can you say that? My parents have been married for over thirty years, and happily, I’ll have you know.”
He lifted a brow. “Are they?”
“Yes! And you have a lot of nerve to imply otherwise.”
“What about your sister? Her marriage didn’t end so happily ever after.”
“So? She married a jerk. That doesn’t mean all marriages don’t work.”
“Fifty percent of marriages in this country end in divorce, and the other half may not be living as happily as they appear to be.”
Her eyelids fell and the fight suddenly seemed to leave her. “Is that what you really believe, Tag?”
“You’ve always known how I felt. I’ve said it on numerous occasions.”
“Yes, I know, but I thought ...”
“Thought you could change my mind? Sorry, my dear, but that’s not going to happen. Look, we have a good thing going here. Why rock the boat?”
“Although we basically live as husband and wife already, I don’t get the benefits of a legalized union. What if you were seriously injured? I wouldn’t have the right to decide what to do with you as your next of kin, and vice versa. You’d have no recourse if something were to happen to me.”
“Now you’re being ridiculous. You’re thinking about things that may or may not happen. There are people who are paid to do that—they’re called insurance agents. Look, you knew the deal. Let’s just sit down and have breakfast. In fact, tell you what, why don’t you cancel all your appointments at the salon and have a day at the spa. My treat. You can use my credit card.”
“Is that your solution to everything? Give me your credit card so I’ll shut up? That’s not going to work this time, Tag.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “What do you want, then?”
Alex shrugged. “Besides marriage? Your love and respect would be nice.”
“I do respect you, Alex. As far as love is concerned, I don’t believe it really exists.”
“How can you say that? I love you, Tag.”
“You don’t really love me. I know you don’t, and one day you’ll realize that, too.”
“Then what do we have?”
“Mutual respect, understanding, companionship, and mind-blowing sex. Now, can we stop arguing? I’ll take you out tonight. We can go down to the Wharf and go to the new seafood restaurant you wanted to try.” He hoped his offer would mollify her.
She shook her head, a desperate look in her eyes. “Maybe I won’t be here when you get back.”
His eyes narrowed. She’d threatened to leave him on several occasions these past couple of months, but she never had. He was getting damn tired of her threats.
“Oh, you’ll be here all right, dammit, and this is why!” He grabbed her, his arms wrapping around her body. The minute his mouth clamped on to Alex’s, the same turbulent feelings rushed through his body the way they always did. She always had this effect on him. He couldn’t get enough of her taste, scent, and the way she felt in his arms. His cock became rigid, and his tongue pried her lips apart, demanding entrance. Alex struggled against his hold, but Tag wouldn’t release her until he’d gotten what he wanted.
God, she was sweet; the petal-soft lips beneath his were nearly more than he could take. Every time he kissed her was like the first time, each touch making him feel like his body would burst into flames from the heat they ignited together.
He ground his pelvis against her crotch. Only when she relaxed and returned his hungry kiss did he loosen his grip. Tag lifted his hands to cup the sides of her face, probing deeper into her mouth. He wanted to taste all of her. The soft moans she released filled him with masculine pride. It was he who had brought her to this state of arousal.
If he didn’t have to be at his office in an hour, he’d take her to their bedroom and fuck to her until the thought of leaving never crossed her mind again. Tag lifted his head, looking down into her slightly dazed eyes.
“Let’s not argue about this again, okay?” he coaxed.
Alex gasped, pulling away from him. “Did you think a mere kiss would get me off the topic? I’m very serious, Tag.”
That was it. He refused to continue this conversation. “Grow up, Alex. I wish you’d leave me alone and forget about this marriage crap. If you absolutely have to have marriage, then you can forget about me, too!” He knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but he wasn’t about to give into emotional blackmail.
Just then the house shook and the lights began to flicker on and off. What the hell? “Are you okay, Alex?”
She nodded, a strange look in her eyes. She was probably shocked.
“Who would have thought an earthquake would occur in Maryland? Maybe we’ll hear something about it on the news later,” he said lightly.
Again, she only nodded. Tag sighed, not wanting to leave for work with the way things were. “Alex, say something.”
She looked at him, but didn’t speak. It was almost like she was looking past him. His lips tightened. If this was another one of her games, he wasn’t playing. “I’ll grab breakfast on the way to the office and see you when I get home.”
She stood still. Tag turned away in frustration and gathered his car keys. She’d get out her funk soon enough. Alex would just have to learn that sometimes you couldn’t always get what you wanted.
* * * * *
“Psyche!” A screech rang through Eros’s Temple of Love.
“Oh, boy,” Psyche muttered. Aphrodite was in a rage again and, as usual, the anger was directed toward her. One would think that the woman would have mellowed out after a couple of millennia. At least she learned not to take the goddess’s outbursts personally. Aphrodite would have hated anyone who married her precious son, Eros. Besides, with the God of Love as your husband, an evil mother-in-law was a small price to pay.
She turned around to face the blonde goddess. Aphrodite was so beautiful at times it was difficult for mere mortals to look directly at her. What a shame it was that her main flaw was being a jealous shrew.
Psyche pasted a smile on her face. “Yes, Mother, dear?”
Aphrodite’s eyes narrowed. “How many times have I told you not to call me that? I’m not your mother, nor will I ever be.”
Ignoring the goddess’s rant, Psyche’s smile remained. “What can I do for you today?”
“You know damn well what I’m here for. I’ve told you many times not to get mixed up with humans. You may be the wife of a god, but that doesn’t give you the right to interfere with our jobs.”
Blinking innocently in the face of her enraged mother-in-law, she asked, “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t be an even bigger idiot than you already are. I’m talking about Taggert Webster. I have personally taken an interest in his case.”
Psyche gulped. Had she screwed with something she shouldn’t have? It wouldn’t be the first time, but usually her husband smoothed things over. As it was getting closer to Valentine’s Day, Eros was on his yearly sojourn, shooting arrows at unsuspecting lovers, and wouldn’t be back until the holiday ended.
When she’d visited Earth, Psyche sometimes granted wishes to humans, but knew to be careful not to bother any humans who were under the gods’ or goddess’ protection. “But ... he, uh, he said ... Well, why would you be interested in someone who doesn’t believe in love?”
“That’s exactly why I’m interested in him, you dumb, dumb ...” Her mother-in-law sputtered, apparently unable to find a suitable insult, and poked her finger into Psyche’s chest with every word. “He’s a challenge. You had better fix this or else!”
She was in big trouble. “Oh, dear.”
“‘Oh, dear,’ is right! You’re going to be kicked out of Olympus for this.”
“But how can I fix it when he’s been granted a love wish, blessed by this temple? They’re hard to reverse.”
“Humph. Maybe you should have thought about that before you did this idiotic thing!” Aphrodite was screeching, not looking very beautiful at that moment.
Psyche’s patience was wearing thin. “Instead of hurling insults at me, tell me what I can do to make things right.”
Her mother-in-law tossed a golden lock over her shoulder. “I don’t know what my son sees in you.”
“Would you get over yourself for once? This wicked witch act is getting really old. You could never stand the fact that you’re no longer the most important woman in Eros’s life and, besides, you’ve always been jealous of me.”
Ice-blue eyes glared at her. “One day, my son will come to his senses and when he does, I’ll be dancing for joy.”
“If it hasn’t happened yet, it’s not going to. Are you going to help me or are you going to stand there bitching?”
The goddess shook her golden head. “You’d better watch carefully what you say to me. Of course, you know I will have to go to Zeus about this, and you do know what will happen, don’t you?”
Psyche smiled, knowing she had one last card to play. “Oh, I don’t think so, and this is why ...”