Chereads / The Meet Ups / Chapter 10 - Smile like that

Chapter 10 - Smile like that

Hey, I'm not as busy and I miss you. Meet me in ten minutes. And I mean exactly ten minutes. 

I was very busy. My report was what the whole institution was waiting on so as to help the board come up with a decision. I had been delaying it like the last minute type of person I was. This was going to be interesting, not for him but for me. I was going to have to condense the remaining three days of work into around ten minutes. He had picked the worst time ever to ask me for a meet up.

Ethan, I'm very busy today. 

I sent the text without much of a thought. For the first time I was turning him down knowing fully well that what he wanted was exactly what I wanted. The only thing that was different was the situation I was in.

First name basis huh! You have seven minutes. 

I know you are busy. I'd be insane if I pretended not to know that but that whole damn institution works at your convenience. Make it work.

I knew I messed up when I saw the first text. I had never used his first name yet here I was doing it. This only promised one dark thing that made the hairs at the back of my neck to stand. I had just joked with Ethan and there was no way to undo it. I however wasn't going to bow to him in that moment.

Actually make it three minutes daddy. I just need enough time to get to your car ;). 

I picked up my laptop and shoved it into my handbag. If he wasn't going to give me time to finish my work then I was going to bore him with that work throughout our entire meet up. There was no denying that it had become kind of addictive to joke with him since the last time. The promise of pain and pleasure wrapped in one was like a delicacy that I wanted to taste time and time again. Delvin never was one for pain in pleasure but Ethan was. Slowly I could see how he was becoming an addiction that I was having a hard time quitting.

I carefully made my way down the steps in my heels taking care not to twist my ankle again. The only memory I had of the damned shoes was falling and twisting, nothing else. It took me a couple of minutes whereas normally it would only take me one or two. I walked out of the building just as his car pulled into an empty lot. I high fived myself in my mind for being exactly on time, for the first time since we started our whole situation ship. I crossed to where he was and let myself in the car before he even opened his door to try and practice his chivalry. I smiled victoriously not even looking at him.

"Why sit at the back baby girl?" He asked hidden humor shining in his voice. He was taking all this so casually that I almost felt discouraged in my route for not affecting him.

"The front sit is usually for wives you know." I stated pulling out my phone and trying to distract myself so that my eyes would not meet his on the rear view mirror. I could feel his hot gaze on me and I just wanted him to stop looking at me and drive. It wouldn't be good for me or my reputation if anyone saw us together. For one the first thing I knew was that both of our partners would receive that information and we wouldn't get the chance to ever be together again.

"Suit yourself. But just so you know, you are the only woman other than her that I want at the front seat. So let this be the last time you do that Emily." His voice sounded steely and cold and right away the thrill I was looking forward to came rushing to my mind. This was my chance to push his buttons and I was so tempted to do it but instead I moved to the other side away from his direct gaze and heat hoping it would calm my racing nerves.

I was scrolling aimlessly through my phone when it was pulled away and I was pulled closer. His lips brutally painted the contours of mine while his tongue thrashed into my mouth asserting his dominance. In that moment all the thoughts in my head came to an abrupt stop and was replaced by the need to feel more of him. For a moment the surrounding was a blur and the whole world seemed to rotate around us. This is what I wanted. This is all I had needed yet somehow I couldn't get enough of it. I found my arm trying to make its way to caress his body, maybe have some more contact than what we had. The he pulled away, leaving me cold, hot and bothered, with a smile on his face. He knew what he was doing. I knew what I was getting myself into yet I couldn't stop scowling at him for that. I heard him chuckle but did not turn to face him. Instead my face was turned to the outside.

"In due time baby girl." Damn that name. He had a knack for using it and somehow it had grown on me to the point that I just wanted everyone to call me that. He then started the car and drove away towards our destination which I had no idea about. This man was going to be the death of me and I knew it. I quickly texted Delvin reminding him of our after work plans and wishing him a great afternoon before turning my phone off and looking forward to spending the afternoon with the gorgeous man.

"Bring her some potato wedges and two bottles of Savannah." I didn't even get time to make the order when he said that. I had barely sat down comfortably and he had made a point to order for me. I threw him a dirty look before fishing my small laptop out of my bag. I placed it on the table unceremoniously hoping to get some work done before the food he ordered got there. I let myself try to get immersed with my work and not focus on the heat that was emanating from me.

"I don't need you ordering for me daddy." I said absent mindedly clicking away on the keypad. I was had just sent the document when my laptop got slammed shut. A small piece of it came flying off and I felt pissed at it. I looked up at him and the look of hunger in his eyes had me shut up.

"I will get you another device baby." He whispered before he pulled me closer to him using my seat. He threw one had over my shoulder and pulled me impossibly closer before he placed a kiss on my lips. He had to have a death wish for him to kiss me in such a public place. I for one had no desire to get on his woman's bad side. She was everything I was not, including the ability to murder. I smiled into the kiss at that thought before I pulled away from him. This was too up front even for me.

"When you called me daddy, you gave me the authority I needed over your order." He said in a husky voice, letting me know he was as affected by our kiss as I was. It was better for him since he could formulate a coherent sentence. I didn't think I could even come up with a word, with him so close and the taste of his lips on mine. I stared into his eyes through his glasses, hoping this was not an error but he wanted me as much as I wanted him in that moment. I cleared my voice and tried to pull my seat away from him. I packed up my laptop into my bag not even assessing how broken it was. I didn't want to be taken away from the mood so fast.

"Your drinks." The soft masculine voice reminded us just exactly where we were. This was not our environment. I needed to gather my thoughts together before I messed up. My jumbled up mind couldn't come up with anything at all in that moment. I needed to get away from him and the server gave me just the escape I needed. I pulled away to create room for him to serve us. He set down the four bottles in front of us. I watched as he opened them and poured into our separate glasses before leaving us. I immediately took a swig of mine.

He was watching me. Even without looking at him I knew his eyes were on me with how they burned into my face. I placed my glass back down not giving him much as a glance his way. I looked at my phone as the screen lit up from the table. I picked it up trying to distract myself from his watchful eyes.

Error free as always. Good work Emily. 

The smile that came on my face seeing that text from my boss was unmatched. This man was not known to give compliments yet he always gave them to me freely. I responded as I usually did.

Anything to grow the company sir. 

In that moment my phone vibrated again and I was taken aback. He never sent two texts at the same time. It only took me a second to notice it wasn't from him but from… I looked up at him with questions in my eyes as he tipped his glass up to catch the last of his drink. He winked at me before motioning towards my phone.

Hope I get you smiling like that when I text baby girl :) 

I almost laughed out loud but did my best to contain my reaction. He knew how much he affected me yet he behaved as if that was normal. I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow at him. I did not reply but instead placed my phone on the table focusing my whole attention on him.

***

The room was cold and almost dark. It felt mystic and desolate like my heart was feeling. The metallic amenities in it made it even worse. Two metallic benches on either sides of a table were not where I had envisioned spending the first day after I had gotten discharged. The dim lights did no justice in illuminating the room but I already knew where I was. It was my first rodeo but one had to be the dumbest person in the world not to know when they were in a police interrogation room. In that moment I couldn't care less about anything. I had just lost two of the most important men in my life and it felt that there was no loss that could compare to that. My heart hurt, as did my body as the painkillers wore off. The cold from the seat bit into my backside but I ignore it. Both of my hands were cuffed in front of me and sat on the table. It all seemed a bit too unreal for my liking. In front of me was a mirror and I could tell there were people watching from the other side even though I couldn't see them.

The door opened letting in two people, a gentle man and a lady. The man was tall and a bit lanky dressed in a suit. His hair was coiffured and his shoes seemed to shine even in the dim light. In his hand sat a file which I presumed held all the information about me. The lady was in dark jeans and button up with a long blazer. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun that seemed like it almost hurt. A thought about retreating hairlines fleeted through my mind causing me to almost burst out laughing. The lady sat opposite me while the man placed the file in front of me and opened it for me to see. I was determined not to look at it. I had been there both times and I knew for a fact I did not want to witness the gruesome scenes again. I couldn't relive it. I instead decided to focus on the woman that was sitting right opposite me. She looked like one of those officers from the movies that normally played the good cop. Her eyes were kind but not too kind.

"Look at these Emily. Don't pretend you don't want to while I'm sure you enjoyed every bit of getting rid of them." I wanted to ignore him but he forcefully turned my head so that I was looking down at the table sprayed with photos of my husband's and lover's accidents or what they now called crime scenes. I felt myself almost getting sucked into the dark hole that called me whenever the two of them were mentioned. I had already grown familiar with it but now wasn't the time. I knew for a fact that I did not do anything to either of them rather than fall in love. It felt as though that was so wrong now. I was left with nothing, no one. I closed my eyes as my mind took me back to the moment I spotted Delvin's body to when I was thrown away from the car by that damned explosion.

"You had us believing your husband's death was an accident. I thank God I had a brain to investigate further. So what do you have to say for yourself." I could feel the tremor probably of joy in his voice as he spoke. I knew I never wanted to be on his wife's bad side. I knew she had done this. I knew no one could get me out of this. If only they were around, one of them would have found a way around this but I was on my own. This only served to remind me who always held the upper hand.

"I'm not speaking without my lawyer present. Also I was not properly mirandized so you should be thanking God I've watched enough movies to know these things." I spat out trying to inject as much venom as I possibly could into those words. I heard the chuckle but I found my eyes drawn toward the images in front of me. Some bloody and gory and some ashy and smoky. I had dug myself into a deep one. I couldn't help it but chuckle lightly at it. I could already hear his voice at the back of my head as I looked at them.

"I don't think you could be a serial killer and even if you were I think your MO would be use of unnecessary force. The things you write just don't make much sense at all when it comes to murders." He had said that the very first time I had given him my manuscript for reading. To defend it I had not given him the complete thing. It was just a small excerpt but he couldn't help but criticize me. The memory brought a sad chuckle to my lips. If only he had known how true his words would be, he would never have spoken them. I smiled even as the officers gathered the photos and the file and walked out. I remembered how he asked whether he made me smile like that.