Come To Me

COME TO ME

BY

LAVERNE
THOMPSON

This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or
locales or persons, living or dead, or other status is entirely coincidental.

First Copyright 2009 and again in
2013 by LaVerne Thompson

All rights reserved, including
the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever
known, not known or hereafter invented, or stored in any storage or retrieval
system, is forbidden without written permission of the author. LaVerne
Thompson. [email protected]

Second e-book edition 2013
Isisindc Publishing, LLC

This book was first published
2008 by another publisher

Lavernethompson.com

[email protected]

Editor- Faith Bicknell-Brown

Cover illustration by Dee Allen

Deeallencoverart.com

ISBN-
978-0-9859646-3-4
eprint

DEDICATION

For all the risk
takers out there. No regrets.

This one’s for Faith
who went above and beyond. Thank you. And also Marci for once upon a time
taking a chance on an unknown.

And to my partners in crime. You know who you are. lol

This
work was first published in 2009 and the story in that version ended when Baron
and Jasmine meet in D.C. They were always one of my favorite couples and over
the years I heard from many readers who wanted more. So this one’s for all of
you who enjoyed Baron and Jasmine the first time around. I’ve revised the
original work and continued their story for a while longer in the
re-publication of Come To Me. Staying to the premise that we have five senses
and we can use any of them to fall in love.

Chapter One

The mangled scents of
perfume and sex teased Baron Munro’s senses as he turned his head and looked
for a clock on the bedside table. There wasn't one. Didn't matter, it was time
to go. He'd indulged them both long enough. Glancing at the tangle of long
blonde hair resting on the pillow near his head, he hoped the owner would
continue slumbering. The last thing he needed was to explain why he wasn't
going to spend the rest of the night, or any other, with her. He should have
been long gone already, but he'd been exhausted even before the sex marathon.
And that damned near drained him. Yet, he still felt unsatisfied.

In
the last few months, no matter how much he indulged, he'd roll out of bed
feeling as empty as he had before he climbed in it. Even with his brief hiatus
from casual sex, this time was no different from any of the others. A break was
not what he had needed. Whatever he was looking for wasn't here either. He
passed his hand over his face in exhaustion.

Shifting,
Baron eased his body off the bed and picked up his clothes where he'd thrown
them on the chair earlier in the evening. Naked, his things clutched to his
chest, he carefully opened the bedroom door. He closed it behind him and
released the breath he'd been holding. After dressing in the hallway, he made
his way fully attired to the front door. When he reached the lobby, he dumped
the card with the woman's name and number in the trashcan near a pillar. They'd
been out a couple of times now, but he’d never saved her number in his contact
listings. He wouldn't be calling her again. She was a mistake, another in a
long succession of them he was damned tired of making.

At
thirty-one, he was too old for this shit. He had to believe something more
existed out there. After he got into his silver Porsche Boxster-S parked across
the street from the building, he did a U-turn and then headed toward his condo
overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of the District of Columbia. By
the time he turned into his garage, the clock on his dash read 2 a.m. A white
signboard with black lettering proclaiming the second level loomed before him.
Rounding the corner, he expected to pull directly into his reserved parking
spot. Instead, a red Thunderbird sat there.

“What
the hell?” he snapped. “Unbelievable!” Stopping behind the car, he whipped out
his cell phone and called the building manager. It was her job to take care of
things like this at the condo.

Her
sultry voice came on before the ring had finished its first vibration, as if
she waited by the phone for his call. He wished.

This
wasn't the first occasion he'd spoken to Jasmine Sandler and it wouldn't be the
last. Not if he had anything to say about it. She gave him hope. In truth,
since she became the building manager six months ago, he'd taken every
opportunity to talk to her, to try to get to know her—even if her voice
wreaked havoc with his libido every time he heard it. Which was why he always
called instead of texting or emailing, preferring direct human contact.
Especially if that contact was of the body-on-body kind with her.

Their
flirting had begun from the very first, and she'd flirted right back. He'd
tried several times to meet her, but she always put him off. No one he knew in
the building had ever seen her, but everyone he'd spoken to about her agreed
she had a sexy voice. The kind that had him taking cold showers once in a while
after talking with her. No matter how often he told himself she was probably
sixty with four kids, nothing helped. If she looked half as hot as she sounded
on the phone, he'd still want her.

Therein lay his problem of the last six months. She went by the name of
Jasmine. She teased his senses on every level. A woman he'd never met, but one
he could not ignore. Lord knows he tried to deny his feelings for her, but no
matter how many other women he’d been with, he still thought of her. Pathetic.

“What can I do for you in these wee hours of the morning, Baron? You know, you
really have to stop calling me so late.”

“Now
Jasmine, you know I have to hear your voice before I can settle in for the
night.”

“Date
didn’t go so well again, huh?”

He'd started telling her about his dates in an attempt to get a reaction out of
her. But so far, her indifference wasn't the response he was looking for.
They'd become friends, of sorts, but as far as he could tell, nothing fazed
her. In truth, before tonight he hadn't been on a date in a month, a record for
him. The only reason he went out earlier was because he'd been pissed. A day
ago she'd told him she couldn't talk to him because she had a date. A date with
another man. What the hell! The concept of jealousy was a strange one for him.
In his world, he caused it, and a woman experienced it. Jasmine seemed to be
the exception.

“Who
said I was on a date? And if I was, would it matter to you?” he asked.

“No.”

“Well,
I was jealous when you were on your date last night.” He seized the steering
wheel. There, he admitted it. Put what’s been brewing between them front and
center. Let’s see if a little honesty, for once, worked.

“We
are not getting into this. It’s too late. So what’s wrong now?” she said in an
obvious attempt to change the subject.

He
heard her exasperation over the phone.

At
first, he'd talked to her once a week, always about something condo related.

But
for the last couple of months, he'd been talking to her at least once almost
every day. And about nothing even remotely condo related. Sometimes just to ask
about her day and to share his with her. Even though she knew his number, she
never called him; he always called her. If the reason was ever condo related
and required repair, she'd send someone over. Her staff always made the
follow-up calls or sent a text, but never her, so he'd stopped looking for
problems to complain about. It got him no closer to her.

“How
come you won't have dinner with me?” So much for promising himself he wouldn't
ask again. If a woman said no, he moved on. He didn't chase women; they chased
him. But he found himself running hard after this one. Besides, it had been a
month since he'd last invited her out. This time he wouldn't accept no for an
answer. He was ready for a serious relationship and hoped she was, too. It was
way past time they met. He refused to continue like this.

“You're
one of the tenants in the building I manage,” she said. “It wouldn't be
appropriate.”

He
frowned. “Who said?”

She
sighed into the phone. “I do. Now, do you really have a problem or did you just
call to talk?”

“What
if I really just called to hear the sound of your voice?”

Silence
greeted his confession. He wondered if he'd finally gotten through to her. This
was the first time he'd told her that and meant it. No more lines. Dammit! She
haunted his dreams. She was the reason he couldn't be satisfied with other
women. Until he met her, this madness wouldn't pass. And maybe not even then.
He knew in his gut she would appeal to him, and on so many levels, she already
did.

“Baron,
I…”

He
didn’t pause. “Meet me right now. Meet me.”

This
time her response didn’t come quite so quickly. “It’s late.”

“I
don’t care. Besides, I can’t get into my parking spot anyway.”

“What
do you mean you can't get into your parking spot?” she asked.

“Just
what I said. There's a red Thunderbird parked in my space.”

“Hang
on a sec, let me call towing.”

She
had only been gone for a few moments, long enough for Baron to pull his car
into a visitor's spot and shut off the engine.

“They'll
be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Fine.
So are we meeting or what?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

“Baron,
I still don't think it's such a good idea.”

He
drew a deep breath. “You're probably right. But I don't care. I need to know
who you are. I need to meet you, baby. You haunt me.”

“You’re
really very sweet. And I’m flattered, but I can’t.”

“Can’t
or won’t?” he asked.

“Does
it matter?”

Used
to her offhand manner, he wasn't going to give up. “That's not gonna work this
time. It matters. You didn't lie to me, did you? You're not married, right?”
One of the first things he'd asked her was if she was married or engaged. He
stayed away from those women, respecting their commitments, but everyone else
he considered fair game. Even if they had boyfriends, all's fair in sex and
sex.

“Nope. I already told you I wasn’t.

“But
you do date men. So date me.”

She
snorted. “Yeah, right. You and your one-or-two-night-date rule.”

“You
know damn well with you it would be different.”

A
short pause before she spoke. “I don't know if I do. But, the truth is, there
is an unwritten company policy discouraging dating among the employees or their
clients."

“Gimme
a break?” he said, exasperated. “They can't even begin to enforce such a
thing.”

“They
don't, really, but it makes a lot of sense. There are sound reasons for the
policy. But that's not all. We're not even in the same city. Actually, I live
in a different state.”

“I’m
assuming you’re not talking about Maryland or Virginia.”

“‘Fraid
so.”

He
hadn’t thought of that. “How far away, exactly, are we talking here?”

“Far
enough you’d want to fly for a date with me.”

“Baby,
just tell me where.”

Chapter Two

“What!”

Jasmine
couldn't believe her ears. He'd actually get on a plane and come to her. All
for a date!

“You
heard me.”

She
knew Baron Munro wasn't hard up. She'd spoken to him quite a bit during these
last few months, and had gotten to know more than a few things about him. Like
he dated plenty, but only went out with the same woman once or twice. Clearly a
player, if she could believe him. But that's not all she knew about him.

They'd
actually talked about a lot of things, and not all of it condo related. The topics
of their discussions had spread way beyond the professional. They'd touched
upon their lives, likes and dislikes, too. She even looked up his application
for the building, purely for business reasons. Right.

He'd
only been in his place about a year. He was single, a civil engineer, and
co-owned a business, but he'd already told her about his job. He also owned one
of the larger, more expensive condos in the building. Funny, intelligent, and
his voice alone caused her blood to rush her senses, which had to explain why
she responded to him from the first.

She
liked him. In spite of the way Baron seemed to chase women, he always sounded
genuinely interested in talking to her. Unlike her last date, Robert, who
couldn't even remember her name, although they had mutual friends and had
spoken on the phone a few times. At dinner, every time a female walked by their
table, he couldn't seem to maintain eye contact with her, his date. A real
prize. Not.

Instinct
told her it would be different with Baron. Often he surprised her by repeating
or remembering things she'd told him about her job or herself. Oh yeah, he
definitely paid attention to anything she had to say. And when she spoke to him
late at night—like this while she lay in bed, she dreamed of what he’d look
like as he lay next to her. With her luck, everyone she'd dated recently were
handsome losers. What if Baron had a gut hanging down to his knees and hair all
over his back? Yuck! But God, if he only looked half as gorgeous as his voice
sounded she'd be in serious trouble.

Regardless
of his appeal, he'd just been flirting with her—he had to be—and
she couldn't help but flirt right back. She couldn't take him seriously, a
self-professed player, and yet....

“Baron,
be for real. You can't just get on a plane for a date with a stranger.”

“You’re
not a stranger.”

She
sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes.
But people go on blind dates all the time, and in our case, we're one step
ahead of them, so it's why I’ll come. I want us to really know each other. So
what city and state?”

She
stared at the ceiling, then shut her eyes, finding it hard to believe she was
contemplating this. Him. “What if I’m in another country? What if I’m in
India?”

“Always
wanted to visit India. So are you? Outside of the U.S.?”

Why
oh why did he have such a huskiness to his voice, one that had her thinking
about him long after she hung up. A voice that had her eager to answer the
phone when his name showed up on her screen. “No. I’m right here in the good
old U. S. of A.”

“Where?”

She
hesitated, chewing on her lower lip, a nervous habit. And boy was she a basket
case. Did she really want to do this? What if she was disappointed? Her last
few dates had been disasters. What if he was the one disappointed? But, what if
neither of them were?

As
if he'd read her mind, he whispered, “Don't think, baby. Just tell me where and
let me come to you. It's time we meet.”

Jasmine
shut her eyes and did as he asked. She stopped thinking and allowed herself to
respond to the underlying plea in the tenor of his voice. “I'm in San Diego.”
I must be out of my freaking mind!

He
immediately replied, “I'll be there later today. I'll call you with the details
of my arrival as soon as I know them. Do you want to meet me at the airport or
somewhere else?”