The Love Triangle (BWWM Romance) (48 page)

He looked over the cases of the week with a renewed confidence in his job. He was good at what he did and he just needed to focus on that and leave all the other stuff alone. He should find himself a nice professional woman who wants a no strings attached fun relationship and leave all the emotional stuff to someone who was cut out for it. That night would be the proof of his new found determination to erase whatever emotional connection with Ciara he’d developed. He glanced at his watch before closing up the case file.

He would go out with his friends, find a beautiful woman and buy her a drink and soon he would be working off all of the tension that had him wound so tight. They had started that mission a few weeks ago after her goodbye. It had started as a guy’s night out to dinner and now it was a guy’s night out on the town. Despite his resolve to find a woman to fill a void for the night, he hadn’t taken anyone home yet. Every woman he met seemed to be lacking something, sometimes things he couldn’t even put his finger on. Either way, he would know who would fit for him when he met her. That night they were going to a new place, a club of sorts. Connected loosely with a strip club, it was painted up and extravagant. There were a few busty women at the doors taking payments and all offering up a sample of what little they left to the imagination. In the club were tables draped with black linen and accentuated with white centerpieces. The ambiance was almost elegant if not for the obvious sex appeal they were pushing on the men. He met the rest of the group and they all settled in to have a few drinks and laughs.

At some point a couple hours later, they were playing some card game when he heard the first chord. A sweet and husky sound filled the room and every man stopped to listen more closely. He relaxed and listened to the voice. It was soothing and he liked it. Whoever she was, he wanted to know. He spun around to look up on the stage. She was in a white dress that hugged her body. It was form fitting, but not trashy. It molded to her every curve like a glove.

Her face was hidden by a white mask and she sang with her head lifted towards the sky and her arms out. The room fell silent as she belted out the notes of a love song. For the first time in a long time, Derek felt himself drawn to the woman. The melody drew him to her and her body pushed him over the edge. He tipped back the rest of his drink and excused himself from the group. He was determined more than ever to meet the mystery woman.

He carefully slipped towards the back of the building. He knew he would be able to catch her there as she exited the stage. He waited patiently, but it was hard. As he heard her approach, he stood and watched her figure round the corner. It wasn’t until she pulled off her mask that he felt like someone had poured ice water on him.

“Ciara!” He stood there looking at her incredulously.

She was obviously startled. “Derek… What are you doing here?” She waited for him to respond as the people with her continued on to the back.

“Me? Really, Ciara, what am I doing here?” He was angry. What the hell was she doing in a place like that in the first place? Dressed like that!

He watched her get angry and turn to stomp off and leave him in the hallway. He grabbed her arm before she got too far.

“Answer me, Ciara, why are you here, and just what the hell is going on?” He was doing his best to carry himself with a sense of calm but seeing her like this was sending him into a blind rage.

She jerked her arm away. “What I am doing here is none of your business, Derek. Besides, I’m working. What the hell are you doing here?” Her eyes glittered with anger.

She started back down the hall to a room where she could change and he followed her. As she tried to shut the door behind her, he stopped it and stepped inside.

“Derek, really? I need to change, I have to get home.” She crossed her arms over her chest and it took everything he had not to focus on the skin that pushed out of the top of the dress.

“There is no way I’m letting you work here, Ciara. This is not who you are!”

“Not letting me work here? You are out of luck, Derek, you and me, that was a long time ago and you can’t tell me where I can and can’t work!” She moved her hands to her hips. He took a step towards her.

He couldn’t help but touch her face as he moved even closer. He felt her flinch slightly but he also felt the heat between them leap up like a flame.

“It wasn’t that long ago, Ciara, don’t you remember?”

He pulled her to him as he crushed his mouth to hers. Her resistance was short lived as he melded their mouths together. He let his hands run over her curves their mouths never breaking. They were lost in their own world, both seeking and searching something from the other. It had been months since the cabin and since then he hadn’t been with anyone. He wanted her, and needed her. She was the only woman he had ever met that made him crazy like that. He felt her hands in his hair and he knew she was his.

He unzipped her dress and peeled it from her shoulders. No words were spoken between them, their actions were in sync. He trailed kisses down her throat and let his tongue swirl around the crested peaks of each breast. He felt her pulling his head closer and he easily pulled the rest of the dress from her body. He moved her closer to the wall now and pressed her against it. He knew she could feel the pressure of his desire on her thigh. He fumbled with his own pants, hurriedly trying to remove them so they could claim each other once again. There was a sudden knock on the door.

“Ciara, he wants to speak with you for a moment before you go home.”

They froze, suddenly brought back to the reality of where they were and what was happening between them. He felt the air between them shift and she pushed off of him to move away towards the door.

“Thanks, Angel, I’ll be right down.” Her voice was smooth as if nothing had even happened. She turned to look at him.

“Derek, you should go.” She slipped on a shirt and pants and he watched her become cold again.

“Ciara we need to talk about this.” He rezipped his pants, still aching to touch her.

“No we don’t, Derek, this doesn’t work, it never worked and you’ve obviously moved on. I have to go talk to the boss.”

“Ciara, what are you talking about? That’s another thing, this place isn’t a good place for you, Ciara and you know it. What would your father say?”He saw her visibly flinch and regretted it the moment he said it. “I’m sorry, Ciara, that was out of line.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“You’re right on both counts, Derek.” She started to leave the room,

“Ciara.” She stopped but didn’t turn around. “Give me your word, we will talk again …tomorrow. There is a lot I need to talk to you about. I won’t go until you promise me.”

“Fine, I promise. Just come to the apartment tomorrow.” She left him standing there, missing her already though he refused to admit it to himself.

Chapter Fourteen- Ciara

What had she been thinking? She had been dealing with the agony of her decision to work in the place from the first day she’d come down. She had gone home and looked at the card Greenleaf had slipped her that day and the rest of the night she did her best to pretend that she wouldn’t go down there and accept his offer. If only it hadn’t been such a good offer, it may have made the decision easier for her. T

he amount of money he was offering to pay her for three nights a week easily was what she made in a month sometimes. She looked around her apartment then, listened to the rumble of the people upstairs and the noise they made. She noticed the bucket under the sink catching the constant water that dripped off the pipes. Antoine deserved to live better, somewhere else. That place held too many memories of her father and too many times of hardship. If she took the job she could move them to someplace nicer, more suitable for Antoine and safer for that matter. She wouldn’t be dancing or stripping or anything like that, she would simply be singing. She imagined it could be somewhat therapeutic for her in that way.

She made her way down to the club he wanted her to sing at. Although on the same property as the “other place,” true to his word the places weren’t connected. She could still see the women strolling in and out of the other place and she swallowed hard. She felt so out of place there. She squared her shoulders with new determination to go inside. She had to try, for Antoine if anything else, and she had a list of her own to share with Greenleaf.

The building was elegant and draped with expensive taste. The printed menu was inlayed with gold and the tables were covered in silk. As she walked in even more she noticed the stage. It was high and a semicircle. The red velvet drapes were pulled back and she could see where she would be standing. The room catered to the stage and as she envisioned how it would go, she heard a familiar voice.

“Miss Jones, so nice to see you.” He moved towards her and pumped her hand, his eyes roaming over her body. He reeked of money and she found his interest in her body almost repelling.

“I wanted to see if perhaps we could talk a little more about the position.” She wet her lips and sat down in a chair he motioned to.

“Yes, of course, what did you have in mind?”

“Well for starters, I want to choose my own outfits, and I want my face covered at all times.”

“I see. Well I can meet you halfway. You pick your outfits from a selection I give you. Covering your face isn’t a bad idea. It will give you an air of mystery men will love.” He stood. “So do we have a deal then, Miss Jones?”

She gulped and looked down at the floor before she stood and responded with a simple “Yes.”

The night she sang for the first time had been nerve wracking. Her choices in clothing were few and very skimpy. She settled on the tight fitting mermaid dress. It was tight but at least it covered her up. She could still feel the anxiety she felt when the curtains were pulled back. It wasn’t until she sang the melody of the tune that she lost herself in the music. That had been two weeks ago and then Derek had shown up, and ruined it for her.

She was still angry at herself for getting lost in the moment with him. It was undeniable they had an attraction to one another. She wasn’t sure when that had shifted, when she had done her best to ignore him until he was there in the flesh.

He had kissed her, and she had been lost to him. There was nothing she could do to fight him at that point. He still tried to make demands of her and it was infuriating. What right did he have to share his opinion about her at all? He had a new woman in his life, why did he care about what she was doing anyway? He had pushed her too far mentioning her father. She felt herself tear up. He wouldn’t be happy where she was working, but he would be happy she had a job at all.

She took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Greenleaf’s office.

“Come in,” he announced to her.

She poked her head inside. “You wanted to see me?”

He smiled at her. “Yes, yes, Ciara, come in.” He stood to greet her and motioned for her to sit.

“I’m fine standing if it’s okay with you.” She smiled at him and he stood to walk over to her. She took a step back self-consciously and he reached out to brush a lock of hair back from her face.

“You are a beautiful woman, Ciara.” He took another step towards her. She felt herself tremble slightly. “I know many of the women who work here but you… there is something special about you.” He smiled down at her. “I want you, Ciara.”

Before she could respond, he sealed his confession with a kiss. She felt his hands grab her from behind and roughly push her body to his. She pulled back in disgust.

“Mr. Greenleaf, I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong impression of me.” She was angry and afraid. None of it was what she wanted. He moved towards her again and roughly pushed her against the wall, his left arm scooping behind her, pinning her arm to her body and his right hand trailing down her body.

“Come now, Ciara, I know you want this as much as I do. What did you think would happen? I have so many things I want to show you.” He roughly grabbed her breast and pulled hard on it and she did her best to move out of his arms. Finally she was able to get free. She grabbed her sore arm and moved to leave the room. He was on her in an instant.