knew just how to fix that. “The room is all paid up until tomorrow. But I had the receipt mailed to your house so you can know just how much you owe the Diallo family.” That’s right, kid. I know where you live. Carter tipped his head to the boy who was now visibly trembling. “Enjoy the pool here. It’s no Ritz but the water is nice and warm.”
He opened the door.
“Don’t hang around this place too long, Trey,” Carter said.
Then he closed the door behind him and headed down the stairs to the rental Benz he’d left in the nearby parking lot.
* * *
On the way to the airport in the car, he read the email Kingsley sent him about his brother’s latest mess. And damn, it was a big one.
He sent Kingsley a quick message:
Not sure this is something I can handle but I’ll have some ideas by the time I get there.
At the airport, he quickly made his way through the line and to his first-class seat. Ignoring the woman dressed in head-to-toe Balmain trying to get his attention with idle chatter, he scoured his brain for solutions his brother and the rest of the family could work with.
When the woman angled her immense cleavage toward him, he got an idea, reached for his phone and sent Kingsley a message.
This looks beyond my scope. If I fix this the way I want, things might backfire and blow back on the business. A buddy of mine used a firm in Cali for something similar a while back. The work was good and discreet. Here is the info to consider.
He sent the name of the firm plus his contact there just in time for the final warning from the flight attendant. He gave her his most charming smile and sat back to be a good boy.
“That’s a gorgeous watch you’re wearing.” The woman reactivated her flirtation and stroked her long fingers along the armrest. A breath of air from the wake of her hand gave the unpleasant illusion that she’d touched him.
But he kept his hand right where it was.
“Thanks,” he said. “It was a gift.”
She raised a thoughtful eyebrow, obviously reevaluating him. The Tom Ford suit. Meticulous manicure. And of course, the Vacheron Constantin watch.
A faint smile twitched the corner of his mouth. He imagined that in her mind, he just went from rich boyfriend, husband or Mile High Club prospect to kept man. Or boy toy. It didn’t matter what she thought, though. He wasn’t interested in her right now.
Normally, he’d give maybe a tenth of his attention to flirting with a woman like her. From the faded ring-finger tan line, he could tell she was divorced. Obviously on the hunt for a new lover or husband. The sex would probably be good. Uninhibited. Maybe even a little bit kinky.
But Carter was still in work mode. Not even an impressive set of newly divorced...assets could pull his attention from where it needed to be. He’d always been a “business before pleasure” kind of guy. Even when the pleasure promised to be very pleasurable indeed.
“Whoever gave the watch to you has good taste,” the woman said, her voice trailing off as obviously as her interest in Carter. No boy toy for her, then.
“Thanks.” He tipped his head her way.
He wasn’t like Kingsley, Jaxon or any of his brothers who had the kind of looks that made women stop in their tracks then offer up their life savings for a night or two between the sheets.
No, he wasn’t as handsome as his brothers. He was, however, big and intimidating. And he was smart. The one who put his native skill set and law degree to good use to keep the family successful and thriving.
Yes, if he’d been one of his brothers, the woman would’ve probably still kept trying to get into his pants, figuring that although there was no money, being close to beauty like theirs for even a short time was worth any effort. But he wasn’t one of the pretty ones, and that was okay.
With the woman suddenly intent on getting more champagne from the flight attendant, Carter settled down to enjoy the ride. He turned to face the window with its view of the clouds and, far away, another passenger plane flying at a lower altitude. His eyelids grew heavy. Then a familiar dream took him.
* * *
Birds chirped loud and cheerful outside his fifth-floor window and sunlight flooded into his single college room. The hard lines of a wooden chair pressed along his back, butt and thighs, and in front of him on the desk sat his half-finished homework.
Why hadn’t he finished his homework yet? Class was in just a few hours.
While vague thoughts of getting back to the homework floated through his mind, his room door burst open. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen rushed through it.
Jade Tremaine. She looked like the sweet girl next door. Permed hair down to the middle of her back, a gorgeous face completely free of makeup. Her body, slender yet curvy, had a thick booty that usually starred in his juicier fantasies.
“Carter!” She was crying.
“Jade, baby, what’s wrong?”
The sadness on her face carved a hole straight through Carter. If she let him, he would move the world to get rid of her tears. Her smiles made him happy. Her laughter made him laugh too. Everyone around them noticed Carter’s obsession and assumed they were more than friends. But Jade already had a boyfriend, and she wasn’t a cheater.
“Carter!” Jade fell into his arms, still sobbing.
This was a dream. After more than ten years of living with it, Carter knew every move he would make while trapped inside its illusion. And he knew how different it was from the real event that happened between them years ago.
Jade’s slender body heaved against his.
“He cheated on me...” Her voice had wounds in it, large enough for wailing sobs to break through. “I can’t believe it. I really trusted him.”
Anxiety turned him inside out at the sight of her obvious pain. He would do anything to make things right for her. “Tell me,” he practically begged. “Tell me what I can do.”
But Jade kept sobbing on him, the same words falling from her trembling lips again and again.
“Just hold me. Please.” She trembled like a leaf caught in a hurricane. “Carter...” Her body felt cool and delicate against his.
“Please, don’t cry.” His voice sounded hoarse and desperate to his own ears. He needed to make everything okay for her. Carter’s mind was in tatters, nothing like the logic and control that usually ruled his day-to-day life. “I’ll fix whatever you want.”
Slowly, the need to help her became tainted with lust and inconvenient desire. His hands wrapped around her slender arms and her skin felt like silk. “Jade, let me help you.”
“Yes, yes.” And she lifted her mouth toward his.
And with that, Carter knew how to help. His body and his love were what she needed.
Happiness
