A Jem for Chad
© Copyright Aliyah Burke, 2007. All Rights Reserved
Synopsis: On crutches, with shaggy hair, and clothing that smelled like ashes, Edward “Chad” Chadwick, didn’t look like his father was the name behind Chadwick Pharmaceuticals, which was okay by him, he preferred to be separate from his family and the fame their name and money brought. Since his ex had just burned his things, Chad had two options in his mind, go home or find an apartment and hopefully remain anonymous. So he answered an ad in the paper.
The scruffy looking white man on crutches was a shock to Jaleza “Jem” Maxwell as he stood before her answering her ad for a roommate. Despite her sister’s blatant disproval, Jem feels drawn to this quietly intense man. After all, the extra money will help her in getting closer to her dream.
The days pass and they find themselves feeling more than just the “roommate” vibe. When Chad’s true identity and wealth is revealed, he has to fight against time, his ex, and reporters to try and get back through the walls erected around Jem’s heart. Will she forgive him? Will they be allowed to find happiness?
Part One
WANTED: ROOMMATE, CLEAN, NON-SMOKER…
He knew that the ad continued, but he didn’t care. All he knew was that person needed a roommate and thanks to this morning’s fiasco he was in need of a room. Preferably an anonymous one. Scanning the ad one more time, he saw it had just posted today and flipping open his phone he called the number while the charred smell of his belongings filled his nose.
“Hello?” he spoke slowly as a voice picked up on the other end. “I was…um…calling about the ad you placed for a roommate.”
“Wow that was fast,” a husky voice replied. “Well, okay. Do you want to come by and see it?”
“If now is a good time, I would appreciate it.” His jade eyes swept over the ashes that seemed to mock his very existence. He shifted his weight so the crutches didn’t continue to dig into his armpits.
“Sure. Let me give you directions.”
Waving for a cab, he maneuvered his way down to the curb and climbed in before saying, “I just need the address. I’m in a car.” He tried not to focus on how soothing the voice was to his already rattled nerves.
The address was rattled off in his ear and he relayed the information to the driver. He closed his phone after saying he was on his way and watched as a blonde woman walked out of the house and placed her hands on her hips and glared at his retreating cab. The urge to turn around was strong but he ignored it, knowing full well what he would see. Sparks shooting out of her blue eyes and her Jimmy Choo covered feet tapping out an irritated cadence on the sidewalk. And beside her, would be the burnt remains of his personal items.
Nope. Turning around was not anything he wanted to do. All his sports memorabilia gone. Those baseball cards that were…correction…had been worth a pretty penny, sat beside his burnt clothes, in the fire pit that had been severely misused.
The only reason his cell phone hadn’t gone up as well, was it had been attached to him at the doctor’s office. This was definitely not a good way to start off a week.
The cab slowed and the man driving turned and gave him the total due. Opening the cab door, he carefully transferred his lower body out of the vehicle before lifting the rest of the way out.
“Hey, Mister,” the cabbie hollered out of the open window. “Want me to wait?”
His string of bad luck flashed through his memory banks, tempting a ‘yes’ to slip out of his mouth, but he clamped it back and shook his head. “No. I’ll be fine. But thanks.” Hope my luck changes.
Shoving his toothpick back in his mouth, the driver shrugged. “Your call, man.” He put his car in gear and drove away. Eyeing the five stairs that led to the brownstone, he sighed and slowly made his way up to the door and knocked.
****
“I can’t believe you put an ad in the paper!” the woman screeched.
Not even trying to contain her frustration the other woman shoved a hand through her short asymmetrical Cleopatra hairstyle. “Stop yelling at me, Cami. Jesus, I’m not a kid.”
Camilla, aka Cami, crossed her arms and glared at her little sister. “You are acting like one. Putting that out there. Do you know how many weirdoes will get your address and come after you? What on earth would ever, ever make you do something like this, Jaleza Ellamae Maxwell?”
Jaleza Ellamae Maxwell.
“Wow, you must be pissed. I got the whole name this time.” The woman being yelled at responded in a tone that dripped sarcasm.
“Jem, I…I…I just don’t get it. Why do this?” Cami realized she was going to make no headway by yelling at her younger sister. All that did was get her to stop listening.
“Cami,” Jem said. “I figured with rent I can put more money towards my dream.”
Her sister arched a brow. “What dream? Not that stupid—”
“I think you need to leave now. I don’t criticize you about all your stupid choices.” Jem placed her hands on her hips and glared at her sister. “
Cami’s brown eyes flashed. “My stupid choices? My?” She took a step closer to her younger sister.
Eyebrow still raised, Jem didn’t bat an eye. “Yes. I know you ain’t about to stand there and tell me you haven’t done questionable things.” Her harsh tone hid the hurt she felt. “And I don’t criticize your dreams.” Well, I wouldn’t if you ever had one.
“It is my job to make sure you do all you can do to succeed.”
And apparently make me feel like dirt. She forced a smile. “Oh. Well, I’m doing fine. Don’t you have, like a family to go to?”
Cami huffed. “As the eldest sibling…”
Jem rolled her eyes and walked away. She highly doubted her sister would even know she had left. The ring of her phone made her smile. Another reason to ignore her.
“Hello?” Jem murmured into the phone as her gaze drifted back to her sister who was still rambling on as if she were still there.
“Hello?” a masculine voice said. “I was…um…calling about the ad you placed for a roommate.”
Jem frowned. She hadn’t expected a man to call her about an apartment. But the slight hesitation in his voice made her frown crinkle up into a grin. Focus on the money, Jem. You will be all the closer to your dream.
As if realizing she no longer had an audience, Cami shut her mouth with a snap and walked over to stand before her sister. Her mouth opened but she kept her comments to herself as Jem flashed a hand before her.
Anger lurked in her eyes as she waited for her sister to finish on the phone but when the call ended, Cami exploded, “Was that someone about the ad?”
“Actually it was,” Jem said. Her mocha eyes twinkled as she added. “It was a guy.”
“WHAT?!” Cami’s screech reverberated through the brownstone. “No. No. NO! I forbid it. You will not live with a man.”
With a sigh that bespoke of extreme familiarity with the demands, Jem remained calm. “Actually, I can. If he is the roommate that works the best, I will.” I wonder how many years I would get for killing my sister.
“You are just going to be a slut. No matter how much I try to help you, you are still just a slut.” Cami stated with disgust.
The twinkle died and was replaced by the glow of anger. “Well now,” she drawled with a thick syrupy tone. “I think I have had just about enough of your constructive criticism. You know where the door is.”
Camilla seemed to realize she had pushed it too far. “Look, I didn’t mean that. It’s just, what kind of message are you sending if you let some man live here with you,” her tone placating.
It had no effect on Jem. “Yes you did. You always assume I am going to jump into bed with a guy. I won’t be sending any kind of message except we will be roommates.” Jem was directing her sister to the door.
The knock wasn’t heard by either of the women, for it was very light.
Cami jerked it open, looking back at her sister angry herself now, sneered, “Well one of us has been pregnant.” Spinning around she froze. “Who are you?” she snapped.
****
Chad was stunned by the venom in the woman’s voice who yanked open the door. I did call. “I’m here about the apartment. I called a little bit ago.”
“You’re white.”
He pursed his lips. Okay, this isn’t going well. Seconds before he could say anything back, another woman appeared beside the first one. Her gaze was much kinder as she looked at him and sent him an apologetic smile.
“Hi. You must be the one who called about the apartment?” Her voice rang familiar to him as he recalled the huskiness from the short call.
“I did.” Chad wished he looked a bit better, he felt like he should give a better impression. Unfortunately all his clothes were ashes by now. “Perhaps now isn’t a good time.”
“Nonsense. I’m Jem, come on in and I’ll show you the room.”
“Jaleza!” Cami stepped in front of the man on the porch. “I know you aren’t about to bring a white man in here.”
“Camilla, you were just leaving. Goodbye.” Jem gave her sister a not so gentle push and held the door for the man on the porch. Following his slow movements inside the brownstone, Jem shut the door on her sister’s rant.
Her eyes traveled over the potential roommate. Well, he was white, and scruffy looking. His brown hair was a shaggy mess on his head. He was hunched over his crutches like he was in a lot of pain. Wafting from him was the faint smell of ash. “Do you need to sit down?” Jem asked, watching him shift uncomfortably.
“If you don’t mind. I’m still getting used to these things.” He turned his head and met her gaze, the faint hint of a smile drifted across his lips.
Green. Jade green eyes met Jem’s stare. They were intense and hinted of passion that seemed to be in seclusion yet tempted her to try and bring it out.
“No prob. I can answer any questions you may have. Would you like something to drink?” Jem didn’t understand why she wanted to make him feel at home. But despite the shaggy appearance she felt drawn to him.
“Water would be wonderful,” Chad said.
His eyes traveled over her retreating form. She was a beautiful woman. About five-five with a nice hourglass figure, and she had shiny straight black hair that complemented the toffee color of her skin. Full lips sat below a cute nose. She had looked directly at him with her big pooling mocha eyes, despite the nasty words that were coming out of that other woman’s mouth. Funny, he couldn’t even recall what the other woman looked like.
“Here you go,” Jem broke in. As he looked up he handed him the chilled bottled water.
“Thank you.” he smiled. “By the way, my name is Chad.”
She smiled. “Well, that’s a good thing to know.” Jem maneuvered herself over to a different chair and sat down. Jean clad legs were crossed in front of her and she put those searching eyes back on his face. Well, he sure isn’t much to look at. Although those lips are pretty nice.
*
Jem was amazed when she looked at her watch and found that it was nearly dinner time. She had just spent her entire afternoon with a man she didn’t know from Adam and it was one of the best days she had had.
He was genuinely a nice man. Chad looked in her eyes when she talked and it seemed actually listened to what she had said. Pushing up from where she sat on the couch, Jem glanced at the man who sat in an overstuffed chair, his cast propped up on a footstool.
Those jade eyes of his were alert, regardless of the sleepy look he portrayed. The hooded look they had peeking behind from those thick lashes were misleading. Jem swallowed as she stepped toward the swinging door leading to the kitchen.
“So, what do you think?” she asked, pausing beside the door.
“I think.” Chad pushed up from the comfortable seat and put his crutches under his already sore arms. “I would love to rent a room here. If you feel comfortable living with a man, that is.”
“Well, we seem to get along, so if you can handle the down payment then sure, I’d say it was a deal.”
“No problem. I’ll call a cab and get to the bank. First month, last month and a security deposit, right?”
“A cab. Nonsense, by the time one gets here and you to a bank, it will be closed. I’ll take you.” Whoa, Jem. What the hell are you doing?
“I don’t want to impose on you.” Chad pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call a cab.”
“Don’t worry; I’m out to go shopping anyways. Um, when do you want to move in? I don’t know when you can get your things here.”
A beautiful blush ran up his face. Clearing his throat, he licked his lips. “Remember my ex that I told you about?”
“Yes. The crazy woman.” Her eyes narrowed. “She isn’t like a stalker or anything is she?”
“Stalker, no…I wouldn’t say that. But she did just burn all my possessions today.”
“You shittin’ me?” Jem was aghast. “Her ass in jail?”
“Not a chance. Brittany doesn’t go to jail. Her highness doesn’t do jail, would perhaps be a better way of putting it.”
Jem laughed, she couldn’t help it. Brittany. “Oh that’s priceless. What’s her last name?”
Her laughter wound into his bruised heart and soothed it, kissing away the pain and opening his eyes to the fact that not all women were like Brittany. “Brittany Gates, her name is Brittany Caroline Gates.”
Jem wiped her eyes as she continued to roll with laughter. “She sounds…sounds…special.” She reached for her keys and said, “Well let’s get going.”
As he turned toward the door his cell phone began to chime. “Chadwick,” he snapped into the receiver, a bit upset at the interruption. From the corner of his eye he noticed that she slipped back into the kitchen to give him some privacy.
“Hey,” Chad’s voice broke into her revive. He had pushed open the door and stopped. Jem stood by the sink staring out into the backyard. For a moment, Chad indulged in a fantasy. A brief one that included him and the woman he had just met.
His green gaze moved over her dark jeans and up the teal jacket she had slipped on. He pictured her waiting for him after a long day of work, with that amazing smile she had. His arms could hold her properly, instead of the crutches. What was love really like?
“Ready?” Jem asked as she turned to face him.
“Actually, that was a friend of mine; he is on his way with the money and some clothes I had left at his place.” Chad tried to read her reaction. Was that disappointment he saw in her eyes?
“Ok, um, well then I guess I’ll go.” She fiddled with the string on her jacket.
“Hey, I’m not gonna rip you off. I am grateful you are taking me in as a roommate. Trust me.” His eyes implored her belief in his honesty.
Despite everything she had been told about white men, most of it from her angry sister, Jem found herself believing his words. “Ok, in that case, you know where your room is and I’ll see you when I get back.”
His head nodded as he smiled. “See you then.” Chad followed her back into the living room and sat back down on the couch. He kept his gaze on her as she opened the door and left. Her hesitation was obvious as was her desire to turn around, but she kept right on going.
As the door closed quietly behind her, he smiled. “Maybe this day isn’t so horrible after all. Guess I may have to thank Brittany for being such a bitch.”
Part Two
Six months later
Jem juggled the bags in her hands and her house keys. I really should learn to make more than one trip.
“Hey, let me give you a hand with that.” Chad’s voice reached out from behind and swirled around her.
“Just get the door, I’m about to drop all this.” Jem smiled as her now healthy roommate dashed up the steps past her and opened the door before turning back to her and took two of the bags. “Thank you,” she breathed a sigh of relief as she was easily able to readjust the remaining bags in her hands.
“No prob.” Chad kicked the door shut behind him and eyed her ass as she preceded him into the kitchen. “No problem at all,” he muttered to himself. Shouldering through the swinging door he asked, “Having a party or something?”
“Something like that,” she groaned.
Chad smiled. He had come to long for the wide range of expressive emotions to cross her oval face. “I hear a sister-dearest story on the horizon,” he teased as he began to assist in putting away the groceries.
Chad had the lovely pleasure of meeting Camilla a number of times since he moved in. It still amazed him that she and Jem were from the same woman, they were polar opposites. A miracle was that Cami’s bitterness hadn’t rubbed off on Jem. Cami seemed to make it her life mission to make everyone around her as bitter as she was. For the most part, Chad didn’t really let her affect him, but the constant numerous jabs and attacks on Jem were really beginning to rub him the wrong way.
“Oh no, why would you say that? Just because I have two days to make up a big ass meal for her and her group of man-hating harpies. And then after they snarf it all down and make a mess of my home, they will flap their scaly little wings back to their nests, leaving me to clean it up.”
Chad almost choked. He faced the freezer and put away the three half gallons of ice cream in his arms. “I take it you aren’t a fan of these man-hating harpies then.”
“Lord, no. I mean, men bother me from time to time, but to waste a whole night complaining about it. Please, I have way more important things to do.” Jem folded the last of the paper bags and stored them before looking at the man in her kitchen.
“Really? Like what?” Chad had yet to see her go out on one single date. While he…had left under the pretense of a date.
“Working on my dream,” her response was immediate.
“You know, I’ve heard of this dream but you still have yet to tell me what it is.” Grabbing two bottled waters he handed her one and leaned on the counter facing her as she sat on a stool.
“I haven’t told anyone.” Her sister’s mocking tone filled her head, about how she wouldn’t amount to anything.
“Well, don’t you want to share the idea with someone?” Chad asked, taking a swig of water.
“Nope.” Her hand fiddled with the bottle.
“Hey, we’re roommates. You know you can tell me.” He watched her reaction as one hand shoved through the bushy, unkempt hair on his head.
Jem looked up at him with her big brown eyes and he witnessed the shimmer in them from unshed tears. “I know we are, but if it’s all the same. I’m keeping this mum until it’s finalized. Either one way or another. That way if it doesn’t work out, I don’t have to keep telling people over and over I’m a failure.”
He set his water down with a thump. One hand reached out and gripped her chin, forcing an eye connection. “Don’t you ever let me hear you say you are a failure! Ever. Do I make myself clear?”
The seriousness in his tone stunned her. Then there was the touch of his hand against her skin. Who knew her bookworm roomie had callused fingers? Brand new feelings poured through her body. Her throat was desert-dry and there was a serious urge to lick her lips.
His breath was minty, not overwhelming but perfect. His eyes swirled with emotion as he waited for her response. But the problem was Jem couldn’t find any words.
“Jem,” he said. “I need you to answer me. I don’t ever want to hear such words come out of your mouth again. Do I make myself clear?”
“Clear,” she managed to mumble. When did this man become attractive? Grant Chadwick was a nerd. He was clean, but not clean cut by any means. His hair was long and in her opinion in desperate need of a cut. A beard was normally growing on his face, and he was white.
“Good,” his low timbre wound into her very fiber and stroked deep. “Just so long as we are clear.” He let go with one hand but his eyes held her just as surely as if it were still his long, lean fingers imprisoning her head.
Chad’s face was so close to hers, all Jem could think about was kissing his firm lips. She got to witness his eyes as they turned molten with a passion she was shocked by. Could it be that he felt something similar toward her?
When he pressed a napkin under her eyes, his voice was to how she recalled it, just Chad. “Well,” he said, “that looks better. Does it feel better?”
Jem blinked rapidly unsure of what was happening. Then it hit her, the cold chill that slithered up her spine. Camilla.
“What a surprise!” The scathing tone raked across Jem’s skin. “Figured you’d be all cozy with him.”
Jem sighed. This was getting tiresome. “It’s fine. Thank you, Chad.” She patted Chad on the arm in a way that hid her true feelings that had begun to surface when she was around him. Turning around, she looked at her sister who had come in through the yard and walked free as can be into her kitchen. “Hello Cami.”
Derision filled her sister’s gaze. “Didn’t I tell you, you would end up being his bitch? Better watch out or you will get knocked up again, and we know…his kind won’t stick around to help.”
Fire snapped to life in Jem’s eyes. “You know what, Cami; you just need to shut up with that kind of talk. Chad is a very nice man who yes, is white, but it doesn’t matter to me. He has been nothing but polite even though you come in here and berate him for nothing.” She was standing facing off with her eldest sister. “He has a right to be here, you…don’t. So no more, Cami. You either learn to keep your damn mouth shut unless you are saying something nice, or you stay away.” Jem refused to look at Chad; she didn’t want to explain what her sister meant.
Camilla paled under her usual dark skin. Her mouth moved like a fish, but no sound came out. Dark eyes raged against the fact she was at a loss for words. With one deadly glare to the both of them, she stomped out the door.
The silence in the kitchen was just overwhelming. A new intensity of sexual tension erupted and was between them. Finally, Jem turned around and faced the silent man in her kitchen, waiting for the questions to come. After holding her gaze for a moment longer, he grinned.
A mischievous grin that sent her insides to flipping. “Why do I get the feeling that was the first time someone told her off like that?” Chad bit back his question of asking her about the pregnancy.
“Because it would be the truth.” She shook her head amazed at the question he asked. “I don’t get it. She is just like this with men. All men. I don’t understand at all.” Jem shrugged. Determined to escape before he changed directions with his line of inquiry, she moved to the door.
“Go out with me,” Chad blurted seconds before she pushed through the door to the living room.
“What?” Jem found her feet frozen to the floor. Surely I misunderstood what he said.
“You heard me,” his voice dropped low and found that timbre that made her panties wet.
It’s like he can just turn it on and off at will. “Why would you ask me that?” This time she turned and faced him.
Chad swallowed. Day in and day out for the past six months this woman, this stunning woman had inched her way further and further into the fiber of his very being. He loved seeing her face first thing in the morning and was inordinately pleased that hers was the last face he saw before he went to sleep. There was something special about her, it seemed she hadn’t even figured it out yet.
“Why wouldn’t I? You are a beautiful woman…and one I really and truly like.” Chad walked toward her.
Jem swallowed back the wave of pain. A pity date. A forced smile crossed her face. “Thanks, but I don’t feel like being a pity date.” She pushed through the door and disappeared from sight.
The pain in her words dotted his skin like tiny pinpricks. Chad pulled up and let her go. How could he expect her not to believe he wanted more than a pity date from her? Looking at his reflection in the sparkling glass of a window, he groaned.
Why would she think anything except that when he looked like he did? She was probably embarrassed to be seen with him on an official date. Sure they had gone out to grab a bite as roommates, but never in the official “date” category.
Shaking his head, he realized that he had been so focused on other things, like getting his life back in order; his appearance had sorely suffered the consequences. When had he begun looking like a rag doll? After his leg had been busted, he fell into a pity hole and hadn’t climbed out until Jem. But he had still ignored his shaggy look. Time to fix that.
Leaving the kitchen, Chad smiled as he heard the soft strands of her voice filtering down the stairs. His Jem loved to sing. That thought gave him pause, when had she become his? He didn’t really have the answer to that, but as of late that was how he had been thinking of her. His. And he liked how if sounded.
Walking slowly up the stairs, Chad stopped by the slightly ajar door to her room; he had never been inside it. “Jem?” he asked, respecting her desire to have him stay out of the room.
“What is it?” Her voice was slightly scratchy like she had been crying.
“Tonight, six o’clock, I’ll pick you up for dinner.” Chad had been about to ask her again and when he heard the evidence of tears in her tone, it didn’t come out that way.
Silence reigned for a few moments, before her door was swung wide open. Chad eagerly took the opportunity to look past the door and into the place that offered such sanctuary to Jem. His verdant gaze took in the double bed, small dresser and rows and rows of squares that were built into the walls.
The cubbyholes were small but each one had a knickknack in it and he could see a folded card of some type with each one. Piles of books were on the floor and before she shut the door on his quest, he had noticed some of them were on starting and running one’s own business.
“I’m not going out to dinner with you, Chad.” Her words were soft but her tone, unyielding.
“Why not?” He reached for her face, hesitating millimeters away from her soft skin. Immediately the look in his eyes changed and the tension was in full bloom.
“We are roommates and…” she trailed off as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” Before he could answer, she scampered off down the stairs.
Chad leaned against her once again shut door and let his eyes linger over where her tight jean-covered butt had just disappeared to.
*
Jem opened the door and her greeting fell short. On the steps stood a tall buxom blonde woman dressed in clothes that Jem knew she wouldn’t be wearing anytime soon. Not short of winning the lottery.
“Can I help you?” Jem finally found her voice and asked.
“Oh, how quaint. Edward has a maid.” Cold blue eyes looked down at her and she demanded, “I need to speak with Edward.”
Maid? “I’m not a maid. I live here.” Jem braced an arm across the doorway. Her dark eyes traveled down to the chauffeured black Mercedes that waited for her visitor.
A masculine voice from the stairwell reached both women. “I’m going out for a bit, Jem. Can I get you anything?” Chad stopped behind her and only Jem heard his muttered curse. “What are you doing here, Brittany?”
Jem took another gander at the woman before her. This was the infamous Brittany? “I guess she’s here to see you, Chad. I’ll just leave you two alone.” She stepped back and brushed against Chad inadvertently and found her thoughts drifting back to zones better left unexplored.
His hand steadied her briefly before falling to his side. “No, you don’t need to go anywhere. Brittany was just leaving.” There was a coldness lacing his words that shocked Jem.
“Edward?” Brittany’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as she tilted her head to the side. “Surely you don’t mean that. You can’t possibly still be upset over that minor incident?” She waved one finely manicured hand airily as if it were all water under the bridge.
Chad tensed. Shoving his hand through the messy locks on his head, he tried to find the words and found he had no possible way to say anything in a polite manner. “Do you have any idea, any, of what those items meant to me?”
Baby blue eyes rolled. “Please, it’s not like you can’t just buy more. But, seriously babe. You have got to get cleaned up. This…um…shaggy look is not you.” Brittany looked at the building and added, “Buying a brownstone was a nice touch though.”
Jem wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Why would a man need a room to rent if he had the blunt to buy a house? Brownstones weren’t a cheap purchase, she knew from personal experience and she had bought hers a long time ago, during a slump in the market. Not wanting to be around for this “friendly” reunion, she left them alone.
Chad knew he was going to have a lot of explaining to do to Jem. Before he could excuse himself, Brittany wrapped a cold hand around his arm and pulled him away from the house and to the waiting car. When he tried to protest, she shushed him and pushed him into the sleek car before climbing in after him.
Jem watched the vehicle pull away not sure what she was feeling. Sure, she had a brief fantasy that involved the two of them, but at least now she knew where she stood. He had shoved her aside the moment a pretty white woman showed up at the door. At least her dignity was still intact.
The phone rang and soon as she talked with her best friend, the sore feelings she had felt toward Chad dissipated. Jem showered while he was out and got dressed for her night on the town. Being that he still wasn’t back after she was ready to go out, Jem left and went out to meet Sandy at her house.
“Girl, don’t you ever read the papers?” Sandy questioned her as she tried on the ninth dress.
“Sure I do,” Jem defended. “But only things that interest me.”
Sandy rolled her eyes and looked at her reflection. “To long.” Her hands immediately began removing the dress and searching for another one. “Hon, Edward Grant Chadwick, is the black sheep of his family. You know Chadwick Pharmaceuticals.” Sandy pulled her head out of the closet and looked at the shock on her friends face. “You had no idea, did you?”
Jem felt faint. “Chadwick Pharmaceuticals? What the hell could he possibly want to rent a room for?” Her mind conjured up all sorts of reasons, most of which had her sister’s angry face behind them.
Sandy zipped up the skirt she had chosen and sat beside her on the bed. “Honey, don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t let this ruin how you feel about him.”
“I don’t…I don’t feel anything for him,” Jem said vehemently.
A snort of disbelief came from Sandy as she stood up and headed to her vanity to put on some jewelry. “Okay, if you want to tell yourself that.”
Jem watched her friend. So confident, so outgoing, so opposite of her. She was the one person who had been nice to Chad when they met and the only person who hadn’t berated her for allowing him to rent a room. “I want to tell myself that,” Jem clarified.
“Well, in your defense it’s no wonder you didn’t recognize him, he looks nothing like he used to. That and he tends to stay under the radar, hates people knowing how wealthy he is before they know him. I remember one quote he gave that dared someone to like him for him without his money.”
Jem remained quiet. Suddenly filled with an overwhelming urge to go seek solace in her room. Surround herself with all the tiny little collectables that she was saving for her store. Her dark eyes followed Sandy as she stood up and slipped four inch heels on her feet.
“I’m ready. You?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Jem walked to the door and waited for Sandy to catch up.
“I hope so,” Sandy muttered. “Because I have a feeling something is about to change.”
Part Three
Jem smiled at the man she was dancing with. The beat and the music were just what she needed. Plus, when the man you are dancing with was gay, it was just another reason to relax and let go. Ned was a wonderful dancer and as their hips swayed in time to one another, she let her eyes close.
“About time you start to relax, darling,” Ned said over the music, as the song ended and they moved to grab a drink.
“Is it that obvious?” Jem stared at her friend. Ned was about six feet tall and in wonderful shape. Tonight he wore a dark purple shirt and black slacks. The color worked well with the darkness of his skin.
“Please.” He shook his head at her. “I know the signs of man trouble.” Uncapping his water he took a drink while his eyes never left hers.
“I’m not here for psychoanalysis, Ned. I came to dance.” Jem crossed her arms and glared at him.
Draining the water, Ned set the empty bottle down and gathered her into his arms. “Well, then. Let’s get back to it, shall we?”
The night progressed and Jem danced her heart out. She lost herself over to just having a wonderful time. There was one point in the evening where a group of well dressed men moved through the crowd. All of them were gorgeous and many of the women, and men, took a second glance at them.
Jem felt a bit unnerved as one of the men seemed to observe her more closely then anyone else around her. He was tall; his hair was cropped short along the sides and left a little longer along the top. His face was covered by a sexy smattering of five o’clock shadow that only enhanced the angles of his face. Whatever he wore she couldn’t see because of his jacket.
“Does that man know you, Jaleza?” Ned asked as he moved them around the floor.
“I don’t think so. I don’t know anyone aside from you who dresses that nice.” Her grin was infectious as she fought to keep from watching the stranger disappear into another part of the club.
“Well,” Ned murmured in her ear. “That look he was laying down on you tells me something else. Or he is seriously wantin’ to see the fineness that is under this scrap of clothing you are flaunting. His cocoa eyes twinkled as he leaned back a bit and pretended to ogle Jem’s outfit.
“Like having you look at me like that is supposed to mean anything,” she smirked.
“Hey, I have good taste in clothes.” He pulled her in closer and planted his hands on the small of her back pressing their pelvises closer together. “And he’s still watching.”
****
Brittany never shut her mouth once they got in the car. Chad groaned as he watched out the window and dealt with her whines and complaints until the second the car stopped. Chad was out of the vehicle before the driver could come around and open the door.
Blue eyes looked up at him from the interior of the Mercedes and she pointed at the building behind him. “Get cleaned up, Edward.”
It galled him to do so on what seemed her order, but he had already made plans to do this before she showed up. Brittany was good; she had taken them directly to his old salon, Le Chic. His green eyes narrowed as she blinked coquettishly at him. “This changes nothing, Brittany. I’m still pissed and we are still through.”
One blonde eyebrow rose in blatant disbelief, or total disregard for his words. “I’ll be back in a while. Oh, and perhaps why you are here, you could um…fix your attire.”
When her eyes widened, Chad knew there was murder in his own gaze. He muttered something under his breath and slammed the door in her face. Turning he walked inside the large glass building.
Immediately, Chad was surrounded by people he knew only liked him because of his name. They cooed, clucked, and did their damnedest to make him feel at home. He had espresso, biscotti and anything else he could possibly want brought to him. All except the woman he had been dreaming about for the past few months. Jaleza Ellamae Maxwell.
**
“Look son, I know we don’t see eye to eye on…well, pretty much everything, but don’t you think we would have liked to know what happened to you? Where you were?” Chad’s father, Robert Chadwick, asked as the two men sat in his study drinking cognac.
Well, Chad wasn’t so much drinking it as he was just swirling it around in his tumbler, listening to the ice as it clanked against the crystal. “I’ve been gone for longer times than that.” the unspoken words and no one missed me then, hovered in the air between them.
Robert looked at his son. He couldn’t understand why his son wasn’t interested in the family business. In fact, Edward went way out of his way to make sure people didn’t know who his family was. Never attended the functions the family threw and avoided the press like they were diseased.
Taking a sip of his drink, Robert asked. “So, where were you, Edward?”
Chad leaned forward and set his drink down on the low glass table in front of him. “I was right here in the city. And call me Chad.”
Robert sighed. “Brittany has been calling daily for you. Said she wanted to apologize for you moving out.” He propped his feet up on the stool in front of him. “Imagine our surprise when we heard you had left.”
“Really? And did she tell you why we were no longer living together?” Resting his elbows on his thighs, Chad continued. “I came back from the doctor and found her burning all my items. My collectibles, my clothing, everything. Because she saw me talking to another woman.”
Robert shifted in his chair. He knew how much those things meant to his son. “Why didn’t you come to me with this? Why go rent an apartment?”
Chad shook his head. His father just didn’t get it. “I don’t want to run home just because something doesn’t work out. I have a great apartment and the best roommate in the world. I live in a brownstone and I am just me. That’s it. Not Edward, the “black sheep” son of Robert Chadwick of Chadwick Pharmaceuticals, just me, Chad.”
“Well, I’m glad you got a roommate you like. You get along well then?”
“My roommates a gem.” He smiled, “And I am just Chad where I am. You know what? I like that.”
An understanding gleam filled Robert’s eyes. “What’s her name?”
The flush over his face couldn’t be stopped. Chad swallowed. “Who’s name? Her who?”
His father laughed. A sound, Chad couldn’t recall hearing from him in many, many years. Wiping his eyes, Robert said, “Please son. We may not see eye to eye, but I still know what a man looks like in love.”
In love? “I’m not…not…” Chad couldn’t say it. Was he? Was what he felt for Jem, love?
“Can’t deny it, can you?” His old man shook his head. “Well, I haven’t seen you look this happy before so whoever she is, I’m happy for you.” Robert raised his glass in salute and downed the remaining bit of his drink. “It’s not Brittany, is it.”
That wasn’t a question.
Chad shook his head. “Nope. I don’t know what I had with her, but it wasn’t anything like I feel for…now.”
Watching his son try to keep her name a secret made the father in him bristle in immediate concern. “What’s her name? When do we get to meet her?”
Shaking his head, Chad refused, “Nope. I don’t want you all up in my business.”
“What are you hiding her for? What’s wrong with her?”
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong with her. But I don’t want the Chadwick crew swooping in and freaking her out.” Chad met his father’s stare head-on. “Mother isn’t exactly subtle, you know.”
Robert nodded in agreement; his wife was a force to be reckoned with. “Tell me then. I won’t tell anyone, but tell me.” When suspicion filled Chad’s gaze, he added, “Regardless, you are my son and I want to know that it isn’t about the money with this woman. Who knows, maybe she’s a gold-digger.”
Chad blurted out before he could think it through, “She isn’t after my money. She doesn’t know I have any.”
A knowing smile crossed his face. “Sure you don’t want to take a moment to think about it? I mean with that look, you have to have some money.”
“Look, I have to go. I’m going out tonight with Allen, Dan and a few of the other guys.” Chad stood. “She hasn’t seen this look.”
“What aren’t you telling me about her?” Robert persisted.
“I’m not telling you anything about her. I don’t want interference and I mean it.” Chad’s arms were crossed as he stared down his father.
“At least give me a visual, so I know what she looks like.”
“Okay. Here we go. She is five-five, has an hourglass body that can fill out clothes like nobody’s business. The biggest, most pooling, deep mocha brown eyes you have ever seen. The kind you just want to jump into and drown. Sooty lashes that never seem to end.” Chad got this dreamy look on his face as he pictured Jem standing before him.
“Straight black hair. Her skin is smooth, and so soft, it’s like melted toffee.” One hand reached out like he was touching her face. “Her smile, though rare, lights up the world.” Bringing his hand back to his side, Chad chuckled self-consciously for he had never acted like that before.
A noncommittal grunt from his father made Chad look back in his direction. “She’s black.” Again, not a question but a statement.
“You aren’t tellin’ me anything I don’t already know.” Chad was used to his father issuing statements as opposed to actually asking. Before his father could say anything else, Chad reached for his wallet and pulled something out.
“Here, Dad. Look at this.” He tossed the picture of him and Jem on the table he was near and left the room. It was a picture that he had convinced her to take just to loosen up a bit one day when they had both been out and met each other for a quick lunch.
**
“This place is packed.” Allen, like usual, spoke the obvious.
Chad looked at the other guys with him and shrugged. He had missed hanging out with these guys. None gave him any hassle for being off the radar for the past six months, for that was his way. It was all their ways. “Onyx usually is,” he commented easily although his voice had risen to be heard over the music.
As they moved through the dancing area to head to a backroom, where they usually sat, Chad almost fell over. He did a double take just to make sure he saw what he thought he saw. Jem. He had been disappointed that she wasn’t at the house when he got back sporting his clean look. He had hoped she would be so he could tell her about Brittany and his family, but she was gone.
Now he found her. She was dancing with a good looking man, but Chad was having a hard time focusing on anything but the little thing she was wearing that he supposed was passing as a dress. It was teal and had a deep v-plunge neckline with a ruffled hem. There was a black belt that fastened right below her breasts, resting against that bared, and gorgeous toffee skin. He felt like he could almost see her bellybutton as deep as the neckline went. The material of the “dress” was stretched tight across her firm body, showing off every inch that God blessed her with.
Jealousy flared like a wildfire with nothing but dry grass before it and a strong wind behind it. Within seconds he was shaking with anger even as his friends tugged him along. Jesus, she wasn’t even wearing a bra, it wouldn’t be possible in that dress.
Even as he was shoved into a seat at the table they were sitting at, Chad could see the sultry eyes, pouty lips. Damn it! What the hell was she doing out with another man?
“Chad? You ok?” One of his friends asked.
“No. I don’t want to sit here. I want to be able to see the dancing.” He glared at Allen who quickly changed seats with him. They were offered drinks and had women around them, blatantly offering themselves. Chad, kept his eyes on Jem and the familiar way the man she danced with kept touching her.
The minute he couldn’t see her in the club anymore was the moment he decided to leave. Not giving his friends much of an explanation, Chad left the club and headed back to the brownstone, where he prayed Jem was…and alone. Because he had no idea what he would do if she weren’t.
Chad was quiet as he unlocked the front door and entered. Hanging up his leather jacket he stood there for a moment and listened. “Jem?” he hollered. “You home?”
“Kitchen,” she shouted back. “Making a snack, I’m starving.”
Numerous reasons as to why she would be hungry at three in the morning flashed before him, but he latched onto the one that angered him. Working up an appetite in another man’s arms. Visions of her in that dress, which if she wore for him would be fine, but…another man…hell no, filled his head as he moved to the door of the kitchen.
He opened the door and stopped. Chad blinked a few times before he realized that this was his Jem. The one before him. The beauty wearing the navy blue men’s lounge pants and a pale pink spaghetti-strap top.
“How was your evening?” His words were deceptively calm.
“Wonderful,” she said without turning around. “Just wonderful.”
Chad gritted his teeth and moved toward her. He placed his arms on either side of her, boxing her between him and the countertop. “Wonderful?” his question was a low growl.
Jem shivered as she saw his tanned arms settle on each side of her. The dusting of hair on them did nothing to hide the strength within. She noticed his sleeves were rolled up to the middle of his forearms, and the shirt he wore looked like silk. The thought of questioning him about who he truly was, slipped from her mind as the light scent of his cologne filled her senses.
“I asked you a question, Jem.” His breath was warm against the back of her neck.
What the hell was he doing? Her heart began beating erratically as his lips touched the sensitive skin of her shoulder. “What do you think you are doing?” She managed to demand even as she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Getting an answer to my question. What the hell were you doing wearing a dress like you had on this evening?”
Her eyes flew open at that. “What? Why would my dress affect you? And how the hell do you know about my dress?”
“Why don’t you wear something like that around me?”
Jem spun around. And screamed. She swung out, striking at the person standing before her.
“Jem. Jem. Jem! Calm down. It’s me, Chad.” The man before her grabbed her hands and stopped her from hitting him any more.
Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. Jem took several deep breaths, tried not to be affected by the smell that she knew was Chad, and took a closer look at the man holding her hands against that…that...rock-solid chest.
“Chad?” she asked herself more than she did him. Jem took in the new look he was sporting and almost fell over. She recognized him from the club; he was the man who seemed to be staring at her as he moved through the crowd.
The mop of unruly hair had been tamed and Lord help her if she didn’t want to run her fingers through the new length. His strong chin handsomely covered by stubble that she wanted to feel against her skin. The green of his eyes seemed to burn hotter than she ever recalled. It was Chad, but it was a drop-dead gorgeous version of him. The man before her dripped sexual appeal.
It was just so much easier to see and lust about the firm lips he had. The plumper bottom lip and the thinner but no less desirable upper lip. All the angular lines of his face were right there and calling out for a touch. From her.
“Yes, Jem. It’s me.” Chad tugged her closer to his body. He put her hands palm down against the hard planes of his chest.
“But…but, you don’t look like you.” she blushed the second the words came out of her mouth.
He smiled at her. God he loved this woman. Yes, loved! “Actually, I didn’t look like me before.” His eyes traveled over her face, noting the fresh scrubbed look it had. “Tell me who you were with tonight.”
Jem looked up at him. The intensity of his eyes rocked through to the marrow of her bones. Keep it together, Jaleza. This man is your roommate, nothing more. Her tongue snuck out to wet her lips. “I went out with a friend.”
“In that…piece of material?” His eyes dropped from hers and followed the movement of her tongue as it slid across her full lips. He bit back a groan and his eyes darkened two shades.
She narrowed her eyes at the tone of his words. “Is that why you ignored me, because you didn’t like my outfit? Were you afraid I would embarrass you in front of your rich friends, Edward?”
“Don’t talk like that. You know I’m not like that.”
“Do I? I just learned about who you truly were tonight.” She shoved against him, wanting, needing him further away. “I don’t know anything about you.”
Anger flashed through his eyes. The space that she had put between them he closed in a flash. “You know me. I’m the same guy I was when I walked through the door of this brownstone six months ago. The same one that has cooked beside you, cleaned beside you, ate and slept under the same roof as you.” His gaze raked over her face before he lowered his own face right into hers. “I’m the man who is going to toss you over his shoulder and carry you upstairs if you don’t stop sucking on your lower lip.”
Jem whimpered. She knew she shouldn’t, but the image of him doing just that proved almost too much. “Whatever,” she said as her eyes focused on something across the kitchen.
“Look at me.” One finger tipped her face back to his. “The reason I stayed away from you is because I knew I would lose it. Damn it, Jem,” he muttered, his warm breath fanning her face. “I was so fucking jealous when I saw you in another man’s arms. And then your dress…I wanted to kick his ass eight ways to Sunday for daring to touch you.” Chad cupped her face in his hands. “I watched you all evening. Watched all those men stare at you, at your beauty. It killed me.”
“Why?” her eyes were locked onto his.
Chad knew he should answer her. And he would, but first he had something to do that had been in the foremost of his mind for a long, long time. He lowered his lips and covered her warm lush mouth with his; gently at first, he just allowed their mouths to meld together. When she whimpered a second time, he began tasting her mouth. Sampling it like a vintage wine, enjoying it bit by bit. Taking his time.
Jem grabbed onto his biceps and used them to hold her up. She had no idea that a kiss from Chad would be like this. Hell, she had no idea any kiss could be like this. Her fingers curled around the tight muscles covered in raw silk but her mind was honed in on his taste. Chad tasted better than he smelled. It was a culmination of flavors that was one hell of an experience.
He slipped his tongue between her full lips and allowed himself to explore the recesses of her mouth. His eyes drifted closed moments after he watched her lashes lightly rest upon her cheeks. Fingers slid around and wrapped among the silky strands of her hair.
The moment he felt her stiffen a bit he drew back from her tempting mouth, although his hands stayed on her face, and in her hair. Her eyes were melted chocolate as they watched him. “Trust me, baby.”
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Her soft eyes grew hard and unyielding as her grip on his arms turned to a shove.
“That is not an answer.” Jem slid past him and forgetting her snack, marched out of the kitchen. Trust me, baby. Those three words were what got her into the mess she had been in a long time ago. She may be thirty-one and her biological clock may have been screaming at her, but she wasn’t ready to be a mom yet.
Chad growled low in his throat; spinning on his heels he followed her into the living room. As he entered, he saw her silhouette; she was already going up the stairs. “Jem, wait!”
Part Four
She kept right on going, not even acknowledging him. Conflicting emotions swarmed within her and she needed her sanctuary. She needed a place that didn’t remind her of the roommate with the killer kisses and smoldering eyes. Or the voice that made her need a fresh set of panties.
Closing the door behind her, Jem leaned against it briefly before turning on the light and letting her room do its thing. Calm her down.
As she sat down at her workstation and opened up the cards that still needed to be written upon, a loud pounding reached her ears. “Jem, open this door or I’ll do it for you.” Chad’s voice thundered through the wood.
“Go away, Edward,” she sneered. “Go back to your bimbos, I don’t plan on being your plaything.” Clenching her teeth, she focused on the words in front of her.
BAM!
Jumping with a screech, Jem turned and saw what was left of her door, hanging from one hinge. Green flames flickered in his eyes, reaching out and searing her where she sat. “We aren’t done and you sure as hell aren’t a plaything.”
Standing up, she stalked toward him. “Get out of my room.”
“Shut up, Jem.” Chad had her in his arms before he finished talking, and the second he did he was kissing her.
“We…can’t…do this,” she mumbled around his probing mouth.
“We should have done this a long time ago, and you know it.”
Jem couldn’t disagree. Their relationship had been changing, getting more and more undercurrents of passion. Instead, she gave in. all the previous thoughts of playing it safe, being careful with her decisions vanished like a puff of smoke.
Chad picked her up and carried her over to her bed, laying her down upon it. His six-one frame covering her smaller one tenderly. He could feel her body shivering beneath him. Putting his lips against her temple, he whispered, “Do you trust me, Jem?”
Jem sucked on her lower lip as she wrestled with the inner demons she had: past experiences, her disapproving sister, her own lack of self esteem. Opening her eyes, she found Chad watching her with the most compassionate look she had ever seen. “Yes,” she sighed softly, “I do.”
“I…thank you,” he muttered. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he didn’t want her to think it was just to get in her pants. Chad brought one hand up to touch the side of her face. He trailed it down the side of her neck stopping just above where her skin was hidden by her shirt. “Your skin is sinfully smooth. I love how it feels against mine.”
She shuddered and kept her eyes on his face. The fact that his face seemed sincere and so intent on watching her every reaction astounded her. “What are you doing?”
“Exploring the most succulent woman in the world.” His lips followed the trail his fingers just had.
Jem’s eyes rolled back as he kissed his way along the top of her breasts. Damn, his touch was electrifying. Her fingers dug into the pristine white bedspread beneath her. “Chad,” she breathed on a long sigh.
“Right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” His tongue slid between the firm breasts he had seen many men tonight lusting over. “All mine,” he muttered arrogantly.
“What?”
“I said, you are all mine.” Chad pushed up from her and pulled her into a sitting position. His large hands were gentle as they removed her shirt. He shifted as his erection swelled even more inside his slacks at the sight of her breasts bared before him. They were amazing. They were firm and had dark nipples that he longed to suckle upon and find out if they were as scrumptious as they appeared. How the hell is she still single?
“You too.” Jem’s husky voice snapped him out of the zone he was in.
“Anything you wish.” Within seconds, he had removed his shirt and allowed Jem her own look. He held himself still while one small hand of hers reached out and traveled across his torso. Her fingers skipped over the ridges of his toned abdomen.
Chad watched her eyes as she ingested the sight before her. Her dark orbs swirled with emotion and Chad longed to watch them as she came. Preferably around his throbbing shaft.
“Off,” she demanded, looping one finger under his black leather belt.
“Yes.” Chad immediately undid the buckle and the button but left zipper up. Instead his flecked gaze watched her intently.
When she licked her lips, he lost it. Chad lifted her body, sat down and placed her on his lap. His mouth suckled on her left nipple, drawing the pebbled nub into his mouth, rolling his tongue across the tip.
Jem moaned, arching her back, pressing her breast deeper into his mouth. Her hands delved into the new haircut he sported and pressed him closer.
At the end of his control, Chad knew it was the time. The spicy smell of her desire filled the room. Laving a trail of kisses from one breast to the next, he put his hands on her back and slid them down to the waistband of her pajama bottoms.
He rolled them so she was beneath him and quickly removed the two remaining articles she wore. Chad licked his way down her belly until he was just over the juncture of her toned thighs. His mouth watered with anticipation.
Climbing off the bed, Chad stripped the rest of his clothes off and waited for her reaction. It wasn’t long in coming. Her dark eyes grew wide as she centered on the swollen erection jetting out for the nest of hair.
Jem groaned. She wanted him. Buried deep within her. The tip of his penis was wet with precum. She shifted on the bed as another flow of longing washed through her.
Chad lay beside her and kissed her.
Long.
Deep.
Emotionally.
His left hand rested above the glistening sable curls. Strong fingers moved through the hair and delved into her wet heat.
Immediately her body clamped around the two thick fingers and coated them with the thick essence her body created. Her husky moan of pleasure filled the room as she shook beneath him.
Taking his fingers from the warm haven they had just been in, Chad replaced them with the head of his cock. He inched in slowly to allow her to get used to his size.
“Baby,” he groaned. “You are so wet. And so fuckin’ tight.”
“Chad!” she gasped as her hands clenched the muscles on his shoulders.
“Are you okay?”
Can a person die from pleasure? “Yes. Don’t stop.”
“Not on your life, baby. I’m not about to stop.” He flexed his hips and drove home, deep within her. The only way would be if I died right now.
There were no more words spoken. Well, words were mumbled but as far as conversation, it ceased to exist. For the remainder of their night together, Chad and Jem traveled to the planes of pleasure.
****
Jem sat at her kitchen breakfast bar and groaned. She kept her hands wrapped around the mug of coffee. What the hell did I do? Her eyes drifted toward the digital readout on the microwave, it was a little past seven. A clap of thunder made her look to the window and shake her head. A storm. How fitting. Torrential sheets of rain poured down.
A shadow by her back door made her tense. When the door opened, she relaxed as her sister barged in.
Sliding off the stool, Jem went to the counter and fixed her sister a cup of coffee. Placing it in front of her, Jem tried to start the day off in a positive way. “Good morning, Cami.”
A newspaper was slammed to the top of the bar as Camilla took a seat. “I tried to warn you about him.”
“What are you talking about?” Dread filled Jem. It was amplified due to the mere fact her sister actually sounded compassionate instead of vindictive.
Cami took a drink of the coffee before she looked across at her sister. “I won’t say I told you so, and you know how much mother loves to be right.”
Jem reached for the paper and opened it. Cami had kept it protected from the elements for it was dry and therefore perfectly easy for her to read the headline it was opened to.
BLACK SHEEP OF CHADWICK PHARMESUTICALS RESURFACES
By Phil Buckman
Edward Grant Chadwick apparently has resurfaced after being off the radar for about six months, this time he is playing house with a young African American woman, Ms. Jaleza Maxwell. We all know he can afford to buy anything he needs, so there must be a reason…is it possible they are starting a family? I bet the Chadwick family isn’t too pleased about that. This woman has been pregnant before without the benefit of marriage. That one didn’t result in landing on easy street. And we don’t see the kid either. Could she be pretending to having beans in the oven just to tap into that Chadwick fortune? An heir would be a sure way in the door. Begs the question…what’s going on with the wild child of Robert Chadwick. This reporter can only speculate but worry not, I will find out.
Jem let the offensive article to drop back to the pale lemony colored countertop of her breakfast bar. Tears stung her eyes and she desperately wanted to curl up in her bed and hide. Something she couldn’t do because not only was her sister here, but lying in her bed was the cause of this pain.
“You okay?” Cami asked in a rare show of concern.
“I…I don’t know what to say. I’m not like that.” Jem didn’t know how they knew about her pregnancy.
“Well,” Cami said, her tone getting the edge that Jem was used to getting from her. “I tried to warn you.”
So much for not saying ‘I told you so.’ “Shut up, Cami. I don’t need that right now. I am not a slut. I know you hate the fact that I was pregnant before but I was young and dumb. I didn’t get rid of that child; I was ready to be a mother even though he left me. But I miscarried, okay. I lost the baby. I wanted her!” her voice had risen to a screech.
Cami opened her mouth to say something only to stop. Within seconds she was dressed to head back out into the weather. With her hand on the door, she paused and looked back at her sister. “I’m sorry Jaleza. I’m sorry you lost your baby.” Then she disappeared into the storm.
Jem didn’t realize she was crying until she ran a hand down her face and it came away wet. Her eyes fell back to the paper that seemed to mock her very existence and snatched it up in her fist.
She took the stairs two at a time as she headed for her room. Opening the door, Jem hesitated as her gaze fell upon the handsome man sleeping soundly on her bed. He lay on his back, one arm above his head and one hand resting against those hard abs. the sheet was pulled up to his hips hiding his lower half from her.
When a sexy moan escaped his lips, Jem reached back to hurl the paper at his chest and froze. What good is this going to do me? Looking down at what she wore, she realized it didn’t matter, she was leaving anyway. Placing the paper beside him, so he would be sure to see it, Jem walked out of her room and headed for the front door.
**
Chad woke to the brownstone shaking from the force of thunder. “Jem?” he asked as his green eyes opened. No answer prompted him to sit up. He was still in her room; a satisfied masculine grin crossed his face.
How perfect he felt. Last night had been the culmination of six months of increasing passion. He had wanted her for a long time and it had been well worth the wait. Well worth it.
Even though it was dark out courtesy of the storm, there was enough light for him to look more intently at her room. As his eyes scanned the walls, Chad realized what her dream was. And he knew he wanted to help her achieve it.
Placing his hands on the mattress to swing his legs to the floor, he frowned as he felt a paper there. A frown that became a thin line of anger and disgust as he read the article. “God dammit!” he swore. “Who the fuck do they think they are?” His eyes were green shards of death as he headed to his room and got ready to handle this head on.
Dressed he headed for his vehicle, knowing without checking that Jem was gone. How had their passionate night turned into this? The gloominess of the day was in perfect accord to his feelings.
As he drove through the increasing intensity of the storm, Chad thought about what the article had said about her being pregnant. He remembered her sister saying that as well, but he had not pursued it, allowing her to choice of telling him should she wish to.
Pulling off the street into a gas station, he pulled out his cell phone and pressed a preset number. “We need to talk,” he said as soon as the person on the other end answered. “I’ll come to you, where are you?” His eyes glowed with determination. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right there.”
Fifteen minutes later, Chad was striding into a small out of the way diner. As the door swung shut behind him, he noticed her sitting in the back corner booth. Everything within him wanted to grab her up, hold her and tell her it would all be ok.
When she refused to even look at him, his heart began to break. Slipping into the seat across from her, he reached for her hand. “Jem…I had no idea. None. Please, you have to believe me.”
Haunted eyes met his. “Who gave them that information? Who told them?” Jem asked in a voice that was scratchy.
Chad didn’t know what to say. He had told his father, but would he truly go to the press? “I don’t know, but I will find out.” That left one person, Brittany.
She shrugged. “I’d like you to leave. I’ll give you back your money, but you need to be out of my home.” Damn him for looking so good! Jem saw below the jeans and leather jacket she watched him walk in with and saw the man that had loved her so thoroughly in the wee hours of the morning. The stylish haircut, present stubble that had marked her inner thighs, and those lips.
The floor felt like it opened beneath him and swallowed him. Chad saw his future fading away with her expressionless face. She was his future, she made him want to get up in the morning and be a better man.
Flash! The blinding light of a camera went off in their faces. Furious, Chad looked up to see photographers and reporters standing there. The clicks of the cameras got louder and louder while the questions the reporters yelled echoed in his ears.
When one man stuck a recorder in front of Jem asking, “Are you angling to become a member of the Chadwick family? And what happened to your first child?”
Chad came unglued. “You bastard!” he seethed. “You have no right—” Lunging from the booth, he took the offensive man to the floor. His hands were laced around the reporter’s skinny neck and he began to squeeze.
Jem was shocked. For a moment she wanted to sink beneath the floorboards and disappear from the flashes. She was embarrassed. But as she watched the rain-soaked head of her one-night lover snap to the side, followed by his body surging from the booth taking the reporter to the floor, she just reacted.
Scrambling from the booth, Jem joined the circus on the floor. She didn’t acknowledge the other cameras that continued to take pictures or video. “Chad. Chad! Let him go, get off him.” Jem grabbed the sleeve of his rain-splattered leather jacket and pulled. “You’re hurting him,” she blurted, as the reporter’s face turned an ugly shade of red.
Through the haze of anger that clouded him, Chad heard her voice and finally realized it was her fingers that were trying to pry his off the neck of the man lying prone on the floor. “I should kill him for daring to speak to you like that.” His words were a low hiss.
“Please, Chad.” Her fingers touched his chin and she turned his face to hers. “You’re scaring me.” His eyes were so dark they were almost black.
That’s all it took. As if the others weren’t even there, Chad gathered the woman on her knees beside him into his embrace. His lips teased her temple before he tipped her face up to meet his questing mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t ever want you to be scared of me.”
A tape recorder was shoved between them. “What is going on with the two of you? Are you a couple? Are you living together?”
“Yes,” Chad said.
At the same moment, Jem said, “No!”
Pushing the hand between them away, Chad focused his attention back on her. “No? What do you mean no?”
“What do you mean yes?” Jem countered.
A short burst of uncertain laughter erupted from Chad. “Baby, don’t you know how I feel about you?” His smile was sad as he stared into her eyes. “You mean so much to me. I don’t want to live without you. I’ve fallen in love with you more each day I’ve known you.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.” Jem expected something but not this. Not his total disregard for what the paper said, for what the reporters said. She had expected him to ask more questions, demand answers. But instead…he told her he loved her.
“You don’t have to say anything except what you feel.” I love you would be wonderful.
The way he gazed upon her made everything else fade into nothingness. She sucked her lower lip into her mouth as she tried to figure out what to say. His eyes moved from her brown eyes down to her white teeth as they held her lip and back up again. This time, however, they were much darker and brimming with passion.
“You know what that does to me,” he mumbled, oblivious to the recorder that was nearby.
“I…I need to go home.”
Chad nodded. Standing up, he leaned down and scooped her up, pressing her tight against his chest. “I love you, Jaleza. You are…my Jem.” His lips brushed across yours as he carried her out into the rain and their future.
The door closed on her, “I love you, too, Chad. I love you, too.”
THE END