Temptations - The Complete Series Page 19

  “She adopted me out of foster care. That was the last thing that I wanted. I wanted so much to stay with my mother, even if I had to go with her to prison. I remember thinking that I was going to ask the judge if I could live in that prison with her. She was all that I knew, all that I loved. She was just ripped from me, and I had to live with a family that I knew nothing about. Not that they were a bad family, but my father, Scott, was a very busy person. Very important. Was a CEO of a tech company. And Helen, well, let’s just say that I doubt that it was her idea that they adopt me. She had no use for me or for my sister, Alice. She had use for her tennis buddies and her drinking buddies – she played cards during the day and they would all get sloshed on gin. She had very few maternal bones in her skinny body, so the nanny, Vera, was who I knew the best.”

  I took his hand and kissed it lightly. “I’m so sorry.”

  He shrugged his shoulders, but I knew that he was grieving beyond measure. “Yeah, me too. I got my mom back though, when she was released from prison, and we repaired our relationship. I didn’t see her the entire time she was locked up because Helen refused to take me. So, I didn’t see my mother at all between the ages of 7 and 14. Then she contacted me the day that she was sprung, and from that day on, she made sure that we kept in contact.” He took a deep breath. “And now this. I would do anything for her, to help her beat this hideous disease. As much as I know that the odds are against her, I also know that I at least have to try.”

  I tried to bite my tongue to prevent myself from asking him another question, yet I felt that I had to. I had to clear the air. “Slade, do you know what the news channels are saying now? About your mother and your possible motives for killing Jordan?”

  He shook his head. “Yes, I’ve heard, and it’s the dumbest thing that they could have ever come up with. Why would I kill Jordan if he was in the middle of developing a drug that could cure my mother? Wouldn’t that prevent him from developing said drug? I mean, come on. That doesn’t even make sense at all.”

  “That’s what I thought, and I figured that they were just going on random speculation like they always do. But I had to ask you and clear the air.”

  He took the last swig of his beer and opened up another. “You didn’t believe that, did you?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “But you still, deep down, believe that I did it. Or you don’t really know if I did it or not. Right?”

  “No.” Even as I said that, I knew that I was lying. I was 90% sure that he didn’t do it. But there was 10% of me that doubted him. He had access to the lab, and that lab had a top-secret code, and, thus far, nobody had been able to come up with anyone else who would have had access to that particular lab, except Jane. And I still refused to believe that she could have done something like that. It certainly would have helped if other researchers had access to that particular lab, but they didn’t. They worked in other labs that were scattered around the floors that Slade’s firm occupied. Our firm was in the process of subpoenaing all their records, and, thus far, it seemed that these other researchers weren’t lying. They didn’t appear to have had access to Jordan’s lab, for there was absolutely no documentation that would proclaim otherwise.

  Slade narrowed his eyes. “Listen, Serena, if you and I are going to make a go of this, then you have to trust me. You have to. And if there is even 1% of you that still believes that I’m good for Jordan’s murder, then you don’t trust me at all. So, tell me the truth. Is there even a small part of you that still thinks that I did this?”

  I wanted to lie, but I was an awful liar. I used to be a much better liar, but since I had turned over a new leaf, and I stopped lying, I found that I simply couldn’t do it anymore. “Yes,” I said quietly. “But only a small part.”

  Slade shook his head. I tuned into his vibrations and found that he was really, really angry. And, unlike all the times before, he didn’t try to cover it up with a wall. “Serena, I don’t know what to say to you. If you can’t trust me more than this, then I think that there’s really no hope for us. As pained as it is for me to admit to that.”

  “Slade, hear me out. You were the one who told me that absolutely anybody is capable of absolutely anything. Right?”

  “Yes, and I believe that. As wonderful as you are, you’re capable of killing somebody too. But that doesn’t mean that I did it. And that’s absolute crap that you believe that I did.”

  I opened my mouth, but I had no words. Inside, though, I was panicking. Was this going to be the end for us? How could we sustain a relationship, if that was the right word for what we had at the moment, if I thought that he would do something like this?

  Finally, he sighed. “Serena, you’re right. You can’t be sure that I didn’t do something like this, although I wish that you would use your so-called psychic powers to discover that I didn’t. And I really don’t blame you. The facts certainly are against me. But you certainly seem to believe, in your heart of hearts, that I’m a decent person, otherwise I doubt that I would be here right now in your new living room. You’ll soon find out that it wasn’t me, though. When you do, then things between us can get serious. I’d like that, too, Serena – to get serious with you.”

  I felt relieved that he was saying these words. And he was right – there was only a small part of me that believed that he did this. It was the part of me that was logical, as opposed to emotional, and that was just because our firm was having problems coming up with the “other dude” that allegedly did it. If there was just something, anything, that would lead our firm into another direction; I believed that I would have such a burden lifted off of me in my budding relationship with Slade.

  He kissed me lightly on the forehead. “It’s dark, and there’s a light chill in the air. What do you say that we build a little fire in your fireplace and cozy up next to it with this champagne I brought?”

  I smiled. “That sounds amazing. I have no firewood, though.”

  “We can go down to the beach and see if there’s any lying around next to fire pits. We usually can find something down there.” He paused. “By the way, I forgot to ask you where your two little rug-rats are?”

  “They’re at a doggie hotel, living it up in style. I knew that I was going to have to focus on moving in, so I arranged a stay for them for the next few days at least. They’re going down to the beach every evening.”

  “You take such good care of them,” he said to me, with another kiss on the forehead. He kissed my lips. “You know that I’m falling for you hard, don’t you?”

  “How could I not know? I’m feeling the exact same way. As scary as it is.”

  He took my hands. “Don’t be afraid. I know that you might have a certain image of me because of how the media portrays me, but it’s not exactly accurate. I mean, it is accurate, in the sense that I really did date all those celebrity women. But I have no desire to end up with women like Charlotte or people like that.”

  “Well, Charlotte does give you some celebrity cache.”

  “She does, but who cares? She’s not real, not in the least. Her breasts are though, surprisingly enough.” He smiled and raised his eyebrows, and I lightly nudged him in a joking manner.

  “Let’s go down to the beach and try to find some firewood,” I said to him.

  At that, we walked to the beach, hand in hand, and went from one fire pit to another. Some of the fire pits had people standing around them, of course, but there were others that were abandoned. One of them still had twigs and logs that weren’t burned so Slade and I scooped them up and brought them back to my house.

  We got in, and I brought out the lighter that I somehow remembered to bring. I put the tinder into the fireplace and lit it. It soon had a warm, orange glow, and I reveled in the scent of burning wood. It was always something that was heavenly for me; that scent – it was like the pipe that my uncle used to smoke when I was young.

  “I love that smell,” I said, as Slade poured the glasses of champagne.

&nb
sp; “I do too. But most people do. Are there any scents that you like that people might find strange?”

  I smiled. “Believe it or not, gasoline. I know that it’s dangerous to smell gasoline, but I can’t help it. I’ve always loved it.”

  “I’d wear gasoline-scented cologne to get you going, but I don’t think that they’ve invented that just yet.”

  “What about you?”

  He looked wistful. “Garlic. It reminds me of all those sauces that my mother made when I was growing up. And onions, too. Onions always made me cry, of course, as it does anyone, but that was a good thing for me. My father demanded that I be a man at all times, which meant that I couldn’t cry, at least not in front of him. If I did, he gave me something real to cry about. But when I cut up onions, I could cry without getting into trouble.”

  I cocked my head, as I looked at his face. He was staring at the fire, looking very lost in it. I could sense that he was really wrapped up in the memory of his mother and his father, and I felt for him. He was just a little boy, and apparently was getting beat just for tears.

  “He didn’t mind you helping your mother cook? Most misogynistic men don’t want their sons doing such sissy work.” I air-quoted the words “sissy work.”

  He smiled. “Surprisingly, no. I guess because he himself was a pretty mean cook, so he didn’t necessarily think of it as women’s work. So, yeah, cutting up onions gave me an outlet for my emotions, because, in those days, I always had plenty to cry about.”

  I stroked the back of his neck, and he closed his eyes while he sipped his champagne. I tuned into his vibrations, and I felt only pleasure. He might have been thinking back to his past, but he seemed to still be very much in the present. “I’m sorry all of that happened to you,” I told him. “Sometimes I just don’t know what gets into people, to say the very least.”

  He shrugged. “It happens. I guess I should be happy really, considering. I managed to get into Stanford, and, since my adoptive family was so well-off, I never had to take out any loans or anything like that. If I would have stayed with my biological mom and dad, who knows? I probably could have qualified for scholarships and grants and all of that, but I still probably would have graduated with some debt. Maybe a lot of debt. Who knows if I would have been able to get my company off the ground?”

  “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.” I paused for awhile, rubbing his back while he lay on his stomach, watching the fire. “How is your mom? Your biological mom?”

  He smiled. “I call my biological mom, mom, and my adoptive mom, Helen. So perhaps that would be easiest for you as well. And she’s…. sick. Very sick. I hate this disease so much. I’ve never known anyone who has had it, up until now, but what it’s doing to my mother....” He shook his head. “She’s lost so much weight, and she’s already turning a bit yellow, which is panicking me. The doctors have told her that there’s not really a cure. There’s a stop-gap, which buys her a few months, but that’s really about it. It just makes me angry because I feel so helpless. I’m not used to feeling helpless. And it’s ironic that I’m a pharmaceutical scientist and developing drugs is what I do.”

  I lay down on my back, my hair spread out behind me. It occurred to me that I was completely and totally relaxed, maybe for the first time in a long, long time. Being with Slade like this was like heaven. He was open, vulnerable, and so very sweet. I could feel that his walls, his carefully constructed walls, were coming down at a rapid rate, and I loved that.

  “I know how you feel, losing somebody that you love very much.”

  “I know you do.” He paused for a long time and then started to sing softly. “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men….” He shook his head. “That’s how you feel when you can’t help the person who means the most to you. My mother used to tell me that nursery rhyme all the time.”

  “Mine too. I had a book of nursery rhymes, Mother Goose. It had a black and white border, I think, and I think that it had a woman with a tall witch’s hat on top of a goose on the front.”

  “I think that all kids had that one growing up,” Slade said with a smile.

  He lay down next to meso we were facing each other on the floor. He had his hand under his head, and he began lightly rubbing my arm and shoulder. “So. I’m sorry to change gears on you, but…” And then he kissed me, slowly and deliberately. I breathed in and tried to drink in his essence. He was such a beautiful, beautiful man, inside and out, I was finding. I was feeling less apprehensive about my strong feelings for him. When he opened up to me the way that he did, it meant a lot to me. He was giving himself to me, in a way, and I loved that.

  He opened up his shirt, and I rubbed his hard pecs. My finger trailed down his stomach, and he closed his eyes and lay back. I straddled him and put my hands on his shoulders. I closed my eyes and I found that he was totally relaxed. “Do you still want to be in control?” I whispered to him.

  “Always,” he said. “But I like the way this feels all the same.”

  “Good.” My fingers trailed the light patch of hair that was on his chest. I removed his shirt and took a good look at him. He truly was a beautiful man. Every muscle in his chest and his abs were sinewy and defined, and, when I removed his jeans, I marveled again at his powerful, muscular legs, and his extremely large manhood, which was already standing at attention. It was as if I was seeing him for the very first time.

  He closed his eyes. “This is the first time that I’ve really let a woman do this. Take control like this. I have no idea why I feel this way about you, but I know that I do.”

  I smiled as I made my way down his chest with my lips and tongue, while Slade lightly groaned. I got to his cock, and I gently put my lips on the tip. It was really thick, but I managed to suck him, my fingers going up and down with my mouth on his long shaft. I looked up at him, at his face, and his eyes were closed and he had an enormous grin on his face. “That feels amazing, keep doing it just like that.”

  “As you wish,” I said, and continued on. I grabbed his jewels, and my fingers lightly played with his rear. I squeezed his impossibly hard ass and he groaned some more.

  “I need to be inside of you,” he said to me. And, at that, he sat up, and rolled me over on my back. He removed my shirt and my jeans, and his fingers found my wetness, and they were inside of me in an instant. I raised my legs as he sheathed himself, and even though his motions had been quick and sudden up until this point, when he finally entered me, he took his time. He was softly stroking in and out, kissing my lips the entire time. I put my hands on his back and gripped him tightly.

  We continued like this for the better part of the hour, with him slowly and deliberately making love to me. Surprisingly, perhaps for the first time in a long time, I didn’t miss the pain. I didn’t want him to hurt me. I only wanted to feel him like this with me. Just feeling his enormous cock rooted inside of me was enough.

  He came with a mighty rush, after I had orgasmed several times, and he lay down on top of me, his elbows on either side of my head. He slipped the condom off, discreetly disposed of it, and then lay back down next to me. “You’re amazing,” he said.

  “You too.” I closed my eyes. I was so close to him, right at that moment, as close as I could possibly be to another human being.

  For the first time in a long, long, long time, I actually felt safe.

  Chapter 20

  After Slade and I had our breakthrough at my house, I finally felt that we were becoming an actual couple. Which was weird because I saw Slade almost every evening, since he was coming over to my house to help me renovate and settle in, and during the day, I was immersed in his case. It was becoming increasingly important to me that we win this case. Losing it was not an option for me, not in the least.

  Slade was a tremendous help, really, in helping me move and settle in. Before the movers got to my house, we worked together to sand and refinish the floors, and he was right about one thing – he was handy with a sander. He did the living roo
m, while I did the bedrooms, and it took us no time at all. By the time we were finished, the floors had gone from looking worn and old to being beautiful. They were dark brown and had a gorgeous natural sheen. I admired our handy work, feeling so accomplished.

  Then we painted every room. So, by the time the movers arrived with my furniture, I was feeling that they were bringing the stuff to a brand new, beautiful home. Of course, the kitchen and bathrooms needed updating as well, so Slade and I made a date to go to Home Depot to pick out all new appliances, back splashes and countertops.

  I was really having the time of my life with him, and I was starting to see, more and more, that we could actually make a go of it.

  Of course, there was always this nagging voice in my head that told me to not get too far ahead of myself. Slade wasn’t out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. In fact, I felt that our firm was no further ahead in his case than when we started. Yes, depositions were scheduled, and boxes of discovery were brought into our firm every single day. Witnesses were lined up, and our investigators were looking into every single lead. But, even so, we still had nobody other than Jane as an alternative suspect, even though she didn’t know that she was, of course, and I still felt that she was a weak “other dude.” I didn’t think for one second that we could convince a jury that Jane was good for Jordan’s murder and that frightened me. If we truly couldn’t find another suspect, how could we win Jordan’s case?

  It was winnable, of course, even without another suspect. We just had to instill reasonable doubt in the jury’s mind, and that had worked before in high profile cases. OJ, Casey Anthony…but then there was Scott Peterson, on death row. I shuddered to think that Slade might suffer that same fate.

  That just couldn’t happen. I needed to work overtime to follow every lead.

  And then I suddenly remembered something – Santino had told me that he knew something about Slade’s case. I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten that fact, but it just came to me one day when Malcolm asked me to give him a call. “He’s still around, he hasn’t jumped yet,” Malcolm said. “But he’s still being stubborn and wants his day in court. The prosecutor is getting antsy and they’re going to revoke the deal if he doesn’t take it soon. Once they have to start preparing for trial, all bets are off.”