Desi tweaked the navy-blue silk material of the nightgown that came to right above her knee and hoped the cast didn’t detract from the look. She thought its message was a little too blatant, but Tony warned her if she didn’t buy it, he would, so here she was. Seduction wasn’t at all in her wheelhouse, but Harry had found her attractive once and, with any luck, would again.
“Come in,” she said when she heard the soft knock. Harry seemed cautious after her request to close the door.
“Hey, I—” Harry entered and dropped the glasses on the floor. “I…ah…” Harry opened and closed her mouth like a beached fish, her gaze traveling the length of Desi’s body.
Desi smiled, amazed they didn’t have to stop to sweep glass off the floor. “Why don’t you change and get more comfortable? Or you can come sit over here.” Harry just stared at her and acted as if her feet were glued to the floor. “Are you all right?”
“I’m…ah…I’m okay,” Harry said. She ran her tongue across her lips, then smacked them together as if trying to get them to start working again. “That’s new,” she said, pointing at her.
“You don’t like it?” she asked, crooking her finger at Harry.
“I love it.” Harry took a step forward, but it appeared more like she was trying to keep her balance from the way she was swaying. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She smoothed the material down again. “Tony talked me into it, and I’m glad to see you’re not running for the exit.”
“If I can get my feet to move, it’ll be more like I’m running toward you,” Harry stepped closer and put the bottle down. “I dream about this all the time, so no one better wake me up. If I’m not dreaming, remind me to buy Tony the washing machine he wants in the morning.”
“I’m glad he was so insistent.” She raised her hand and offered it to Harry. “Want to come closer?”
Harry stared at her as if having trouble understanding her, but she nodded before dropping down on the bed with the grace of a drunk person. “What did you want to talk about?” Harry asked, swinging her legs onto the bed.
“You know I love talking to you, but I had something else in mind for tonight,” she said, pulling her toward her. “Do you remember all those nights we spent in that spot in the yard, or in the attic?”
“Yes,” Harry said, sounding hungry enough to devour her.
“I remember them too,” she said, running her fingernail up Harry’s shirtfront until her hand went under the collar. “I think about them a lot, and I also think it’s time to add new memories.”
Harry closed her eyes at her touch, but they flew open again when Desi started unbuttoning her shirt. “Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting, so don’t do this because you think I expect it.”
“Baby, you have to know me better than that,” she said, kissing Harry’s neck.
“Just know you’re precious to me, and I’ll never do anything that would hurt you.”
“I want you to touch me. I want you to erase the time we’ve been apart, and I want to start on the life you promised me.” She pulled Harry closer with each word. “I want to feel like a woman you find desirable.”
The kiss that followed had a different feel to it, but at the same time, it felt so familiar. It was a reminder of those electric times when they’d learned what they liked and how much they loved each other. She pressed her tongue against Harry’s lips, thrilled when Harry moaned.
Harry caressed her skin as she lowered the strap of her nightgown.
“Your hands feel so good.” Desi gladly rolled to her back, giving Harry more room to touch her.
“Surgeon’s hands, baby,” Harry said as she lowered the other strap.
Desi closed her eyes, and her breath caught when Harry palmed her breast. Her nipple tightened and it ignited her passion, long-buried to protect her soul from fracturing. But that part of her that burned for Harry came out of hibernation.
“Look at me, baby,” Harry said as she flattened her hand.
“I know I don’t look like I did.” There was no way the excitement of being together again could make her self-doubt disappear. She was waiting for Harry to come to her senses and realize their one chance had passed.
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Harry said, taking her shirt off. “But I do want you to tell me if you need to stop.”
Harry lowered the nightgown and exposed Desi’s breasts, and Desi watched her expression. One of the things she’d loved about Harry was how she couldn’t hide her emotions. The way Harry’s eyes took her in, and the way her nose flared, told Desi what she needed to know.
“You’re so beautiful,” Harry said as she circled her nipple with her index finger. “From the time I was old enough to know what it meant to touch you, I never wanted to stop.”
“I’ve never thought of myself as beautiful, especially lately.” She hesitated to touch Harry, so Harry placed her hand on her chest and kissed her again.
“The only thing that matters is you and me.” Harry lowered her head and ran her tongue over her nipple.
It was like the damn thing was on fire, and it made her clit start pulsing, ratcheting up her need. She needed to be naked and feel Harry on her, loving her, and making her believe she did desire her. The want in her protested when Harry moved off her, but she smiled when Harry took off the rest of her clothes. She took the opportunity to get naked as well, and she came close to tears when Harry lay back down.
“It’s like coming home,” she said before Harry kissed her and ran her hand down her body. It felt so good, and she was having trouble breathing, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted it all. “Touch me, honey.” She sounded strange to her own ears, and everything in her was laser focused on Harry’s hands. “Please.”
Harry moved her hand over her abdomen to the middle of Desi’s thigh and squeezed. “Tell me what you want.” She encouraged Desi to spread her legs and moved her hand higher. “Whatever it is, I’ll give it to you.”
“Please…I need you to touch me. I want you to.” This was how it’d been with Harry from the very beginning. She had a way of making her crave her hands, and the insanity of it wouldn’t stop until Harry filled her and made her come. “Make love to me.”
Harry gently bit her bottom lip as her hand moved again until she was cupping her sex. She covered Harry’s hand with hers, and the heat of Harry’s skin didn’t burn as intensely as her sex. There was no turning back, and that Harry wanted her this much meant there was no looking back.
“Can I touch you?” Harry asked, holding still.
“I’m yours, and I want you.”
Harry dipped two fingers into her opening, then dragged them over her clit. She lifted her hips as much as she could and pressed her head into the pillow. Everything in her had narrowed to that one spot between her legs.
“Tell me what you want,” Harry said.
She opened her eyes and reached for Harry. “You…only you.” That’s all she could say when Harry slowly slid her fingers in and put her thumb on her clit. “Oh God.” Everything in her body electrified as Harry moved her fingers in a gentle rhythm.
“So good,” she said as her body demanded more. “Give me…more, baby—harder.” She held on to Harry’s shoulders as she turned in to her. “I want you.” The start of her orgasm made her want to stop to savor it, but she wanted to reach that peak more. “Oh, Jesus—don’t stop. I…oh, I need to come. Don’t stop—don’t—yes, honey, yes. I’m coming.” She could no more stop the pleasure that engulfed her than the words spilling out of her mouth.
“Wait,” she said, and Harry stopped but didn’t move her hand.
“You okay?” Harry asked lifting her head.
“I am now.” There was nothing that compared to this. “I missed you so much…so stay where you are,” she said when Harry was about to pull out. “I’ve dreamed of this more times than I can count, and it was better than any fantasy I ever had.”
“I missed you for a lot of reasons, but wanting to touch you was always a big one.” Harry kissed her. “Being with you like this was always my honor.” The next kiss was to the side of her neck, and it sparked her desire back to life.
“Come here,” she said so Harry would lie over her. “I want to touch you.” She surprised herself with her sudden forwardness as her hand went down Harry’s back to her butt. Harry was careful of her leg as she straddled Desi’s thigh, trapping her hand between Desi’s leg and her clit.
“Do you want me to touch you?” she asked.
“Yes,” Harry said, but her hand had started that delicious cadence again and it was hard to think.
They moved together, and she held on to Harry as the fire that had burned to an ember flared into an inferno, and she pressed her leg against Harry. Neither of them said a word but moaned as their movements got more frantic. She’d forgotten how freeing this act could be. It was the ultimate act of loving someone.
The only sound for a long while was skin against skin, but Harry went rigid right before her. “Wow,” Harry said as she edged off her, her fingers still inside her.
“That was pretty spectacular,” she said, hissing softly when Harry pulled out.
“Trust me, if you give me the chance, I can do so much better.” Harry laughed.
“Whenever and wherever,” she said, combing Harry’s dark hair off her brow. “I might not let you out of this room, and I hope Mona and Rachel didn’t hear us.”
“Don’t threaten me with imprisonment if you don’t mean it, and knowing those two, they’re at the door with my stethoscope.”
She laughed, and it felt so good to not only feel sated, but cherished. It felt good to be loved.
* * *
Byron stared at the house trying to tune out Mike’s heavy breathing next to him. They were silent as they watched the house go dark one room at a time. He hadn’t seen Rachel, but he figured she had to be in there as well. His first mistake had been letting that bitch stay in his house. Rachel had been a bad influence on his wife, so if she was there, he’d take care of her too.
He’d bided his time, hoping Desi and Rachel had dropped their guard about him and Mike. His father had made him stay around the garage and work, but he’d waited long enough. The cops had stopped by after Mike had followed them that day, but they hadn’t done shit. He was here to get what he’d been dreaming about since that first night in jail.
He could’ve had anyone, but he’d wanted her. He’d picked her—Clyde had given her to him, so she belonged to him. There was going to be no divorce—period. His father was right about so many things. The most important was that she was going to pay for all this independent thinking she’d displayed. Tonight, it was her choice. She either came back and submitted, or she wasn’t going to see the morning.
“It’s not too late to change your mind. Why not quit and cut a deal?” Mike spoke in a whisper as if he was afraid he’d wake the people inside the house. “This sounds easy, but I got a bad feeling it ain’t.”
“Daddy told us what to do. The plan is solid, so quit being a pussy.” He grabbed Mike by the bicep and squeezed. “Remember, if you don’t, you’ll be looking for a new job.”
Mike yanked his arm away from him and lifted his fist. “Quit acting like some big man,” Mike said, making him laugh. “It’s so funny, but you keep needing backup. That ain’t something a man needs.”
“Shut up, or you’re going in there with a bloody nose.” He put his head back and closed his eyes. “Let’s give it another hour. If they’re dead asleep, they’re not going to know what’s going on. That way the woman who owns the house won’t get a chance to call the police until we have Desi. Whoever she is, I might beat the shit out of her for taking my property.”
“If all this is about getting Desi back, then concentrate on that. Leave everyone else out. You don’t, and you’re going back to jail. Only this time it’s going to be for a long time. You think they won’t know it’s you if you do shit, when the cops have been sniffing around? C’mon, man. Think.”
“What the hell happened to you? You’re afraid three women are going to fuck you up.” He had to calm down, or this was going to blow up into a shit storm. His problem was that he couldn’t do this alone, not with other people in the house. “Okay, we only take Desi. She’s going to pay for putting me in jail, and you can’t stop me from doing that.”
“You get caught doing something to Desi again, and they’re going to bury you in that jail before they let you out. Why don’t you wait until after the trial is over? Is it worth years of your life?”
Mike tried to sound reasonable, but he could hear the slight tremble in his voice. He didn’t want to do this.
“Forget all that, and pay attention.” He was sure Desi was in there even if he hadn’t seen her, Rachel, or really anyone else. He believed Mike, and there was only one question he wanted answered. Who did the big house belong to? He’d driven out alone on the nights he couldn’t sleep, but everyone was already inside.
“Let’s go if you’re not changing your mind. I’m tired of sitting out here.” Mike reached up and turned off the dome light. He was willing to help, but he seemed not to want to take any chances.
“I’ll go in first and grab Desi,” he said as they climbed over the fence in the front corner where it was the darkest. “You watch my back, and keep anyone who tries to stop us away from me.”
“This is making me fucking sick to my stomach,” Mike said as he landed in the yard.
“Place like this probably has a fancy security system,” he said, looking at all the utility boxes on the outside of the house. He started cutting wires, wanting to seize the advantage. “You understand?” He didn’t want to cut the main power line and kill himself, so he flipped the main breaker.
“Yeah, I understand that this is going to land me in jail. Let’s go.”
“Go check the panel by the back door, and see if the light went out,” he said. There were two more boxes he wasn’t sure about, so he cut them to be safe.
“It’s out, so let’s go.”
He cupped his hands and pressed them to the glass to look inside. The kitchen was dark, and what he’d done so far didn’t seem to have woken anyone. This was going to be like cutting through warm butter. “Okay, get ready.” He wrapped his jacket around his hand and smashed through the glass.
They waited to go in, making sure everything was still quiet. Ten minutes crawled by, and there was no movement. Mike walked to the front of the house and opened the gate. That was good planning for when they’d need to run out.
His heart hammered as they walked into the kitchen that looked as expensive as the house. Where would Desi or Rachel have met somebody with this kind of money? Next to the kitchen was an office with lots of built-in shelves lined with books. The artwork on the walls looked expensive as well, and he hoped whoever owned it didn’t own a gun.
They reached a staircase like something from the movies, and they walked slowly in case any of the steps creaked. The long hallway at the top went both ways, and he wondered who was in the other rooms, but he was sure Desi was in the one on the end from all the nights he’d watched the silhouettes. She was in bed with whoever owned the house, and that enraged him.
“Watch my back,” he whispered.
The old wooden door opened soundlessly, and he waited just outside the room to make sure Desi and her bedmate were sleeping. His breathing was too fast and shallow, but he shrugged off Mike’s hand, needing to finish this. He was tired of feeling like a failure, and he couldn’t live the rest of his life with his father telling him what an asshole he was for letting some little woman beat him.
He balled his fists and walked in, stopping in the middle of the room. The electricity was off, but there was enough light from the street to see the two people spooning on the bed. It was clear they were naked, and it made it clear why Desi wanted the divorce. It had nothing to do with him hitting her and everything to do with this old motherfucker holding her like he owned her.
Where Desi had found a lover who looked old enough to be her father was a mystery. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together from the pain in his chest that reached into the middle of his skull. The best thing to do was kill them both right here, but he had to have Desi one more time. She’d come to see the mistake she’d made right before he choked the life out of her.
He gulped in air and held it. Desi’s shoulder-length hair was fanned out on the pillow, but her face was under the blanket. He couldn’t hold in the anger choking the life out of him. “You fucking bitch,” he screamed, loud enough to wake the people next door. The people on the bed startled and got tangled in the sheets.
Mike was right behind him when he yanked off the sheet and wrapped Desi in it. When it came off the bed, the smell of sex hit him like a shovel to the face, so he let go of Desi and punched the guy hard enough to knock him off the bed. He’d never wanted to kill someone so much in his life, and the thought of spending the rest of his years in jail didn’t bother him. It’d be worth it.
“I should fucking kill you,” he screamed as he picked Desi up and threw her over his shoulder. He started walking when the old man got up and headed toward him naked. He dropped Desi, hearing the groan of pain when she hit the floor hard. The old man took a swing at him and missed, so he punched the old fucker again, following him to the ground and hitting him a few more times. “Stay down if you’re smart.” He hit the guy one more time, and he slumped back with his eyes closed.
He went to pick Desi up, but she’d tried to unwrap herself. She screamed when he covered her head again, picked her up, and positioned her like he had before. They were on the stairs when she got an arm free and hit wherever she could reach. What didn’t make sense was the way she was screaming back. That was new.
“Let me go, asshole,” Desi said as she grabbed onto the banister and hung on with a strength she’d never shown.
The move threw him off balance, and they both went down together with her landing on top. He moaned as his ankle throbbed. “Are you crazy?” he asked when he sat up, pushing her off. That’s when he looked into the face of a stranger. “Who the fuck are you? Where’s Desi?”
The woman surprised him by driving the heel of her hand into his nose, making it bleed in a steady stream. He put one hand over his face and slapped her with the other. That pushed her back, but he slipped and landed on his stomach. That gave the woman the chance to free her hands completely from the sheet and hit him again. The old man was on the stairs, and he had no choice but to run. Mike shot out the door in front of him and jumped into the driver’s seat, his breath coming in hard rasps.
“Gun it,” he said when he got in the car. “Fuck.” He looked back as they sped away. The sound of sirens was getting closer, and he told Mike to pull over. They ducked as the squad cars raced past.
“I told you this wasn’t going to work.”
“There’s no way they’re going to know it was us.” He looked in the side mirror as the flashing lights stopped in front of the house, and Mike slowly pulled away, lights still off. “No way in hell.”