An Arrangement of Love (13 page)

“I’m a naughty girl when I’m in a relationship with someone I love and trust.”

He leaned in as if to kiss me. My heart stopped. I clutched the couch pillows in terror, but I didn’t move away. I couldn’t, because in the end I craved his touch more than I had the courage to admit.

“I want to be that guy for you.” He kissed me. And not just any kiss. He kissed me like he owned me, as if he’d bought me last night and my orgasm was the payment. His tongue didn’t explore my mouth. It taunted me, gliding in and out between my lips in a rhythm that reminded me of hot sex. He shifted his hand to the back of my head and trapped me to him. My bag and its contents dropped to the floor as he groaned and closed the distance between us.

God. I don’t want this to end.

I whimpered under his lips. My body waited impatiently for his hands to travel around my skin, his fingers to do naughty things to my flesh, and his cock, dear god I needed to see and feel it. My panties shifted to instantly wet. And between my legs was a searing hot heat that signaled I was ready for him.

“Jasmine,” he whispered. “All last night I pictured your face right when you came. Did you think of me last night?”

“Yes.” My smooth breathing transformed to panting as he nibbled the curve of my neck.

“Did you touch yourself when you thought of me?” he whispered.

“Yes. I thought about you all freaking night.” I arched my back to him as his hands glided to my hips and then pushed up under my shirt.

“Will you give my arrangement a chance?”

Fuck.
I closed my eyes and sighed.
Not again.

“Please stop.” I shoved him away with trembling fingers. “I already told you. I don’t want any part of that crazy arrangement. In fact, I’m going back to sit in my seat.”I rose. “Thanks, but I’ll see you after the flight.”

“Wait! I won’t do that again.” He stood with me. “Let’s just hang out. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

Yeah right. I can’t even promise to be on my best behavior right now.

I raised my hands as if to say stop. “No. It’s cool. I just want to chill in the front and read my book.”

“You can read it here.” He clenched and unclenched his hands. “Give me another chance to show you I can be a good boy.”

“No. I would really feel better away from you right now.”

“Why?” He closed the distance between us. Every cell in my body screamed for him to embrace me, pull me down to the couch, and fill me with the long length I imagined in my dreams last night.
Turn around, Jasmine. To have sex or not have sex? That is the question.
I gritted my teeth.

“What’s on your mind right now?” he asked. “Your face is making those delicious expressions. Ones I thought only my fingers could make.”

The room’s temperature increased around me.

I backed up and was sure I looked like an animal trainer who had just realized the hungry tiger’s cage was open. “So...I’ll be in front.”

“I want you in here with me.” He targeted me with those eyes. “Stop racing away. Just give in to me now, Jasmine. You know I’ll have you eventually and when I do, you’ll hate yourself for taking so long to let me fuck you.”

I mumbled something incoherent and hurried to the bathroom at the front of the plane. His laughter trailed behind me. Heat centered in my sex as his image drowned out my thoughts.

Chapter 13

W
hen the plane
flew in we’d passed mountaintop castles and forts that jutted up on top of cliffs. The view had snatched my breath from my body. I cursed myself for not bringing a camera. I’d never been anywhere overseas. When I applied for my passport it was for a road trip with Vivian to Toronto, Canada. She’d read some weed magazine that bragged about the country having the best marijuana in North America, so we planned a trip there on her erratic whim. And I’d made it a point for us to actually do other things in Toronto beside her smoke and me watch, which meant lots of eating and art gallery hopping.

“Wow.” I gazed at Jaipur, which was the capital of Rajasthan, India. Bright colorful fabrics decorated the women and girls. Layers of color glowed in the sky—flaming orange, flamingo pink, and soothing sky blue. Vivian would have spent all day trying to paint just this sky. I wished she was here.

I stood on a corner directly outside of our hotel, waiting for Lucy to finish whatever she had to say to the receptionist. As soon as we landed, Lucy shadowed me the whole time. She’d followed me off the plane, helped me check-in, took me to my room, helped me unpack, and now insisted we explore the area together. The only reason I’d allowed her invasion of my privacy was because Chase gave me space each time he’d seen her near me.
And I definitely need to stay away from him.
Besides, Lucy was fun and enjoyable to be around. Whenever I needed/wanted a time-out during work I loafed around in her office and joked with her. I was confident we’d be close friends if I made it through the year.

“Okay. We’re all set.” Lucy rushed out, wearing huge cheetah print sunglasses. Even though she had dark red hair, for some reason she reminded me of Audrey Hepburn. “Are you ready?”

“Yep.”

Hundreds of people with skin browner than mine crowded the streets. It was thrilling and amazing to see such a different group of people and way of life.
I hope I can ride a camel before I leave.
I’d spotted tons of them. The only time I’d ever seen one was in the zoo. It blew my mind to watch them stroll along with people. Even cattle filled the streets. Loads of people rode bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and buses. Everything seemed so packed as people bumped into me and I edged around others.

And the whole place symbolized an odd make-up of things. On some streets dilapidated buildings, abandoned and carved out with a hollow emptiness, stood on our right. On our left, grand structures that looked like castles existed. Homes appeared to be thousands of years old as if each brick owned its own history. When we were on the plane, I’d noticed that desert spanned across certain areas. In other spots lay grassy landscape amid buildings.

We walked through a people-littered market, brainstorming what we should buy a twenty-one-year-old son of a wealthy Indian family. Apparently, his birthday was the reason Chase had flown us out here. Chase wanted to show public support to the family and further cement their business relationship, because the family invested large sums of money into Stone Industries’ business ventures, especially the ones in India.

“I can’t believe he waited to the last minute to assign the gift buying.”

“Yeah,” Lucy said with a strained smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you promise not to say anything to Chase?”

“Sure.” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I already bought the present for the birthday boy a month ago. It was delivered here last week.” She displayed a weak smile. “Chase wasn’t even going to come to the party. He really decided to leave this morning.”

I struggled to calm down my anger. “Why are we here then?”

“He said you couldn’t run from him in a foreign country.”

“Awesome.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

We remained quiet for a while.
So again Chase has managed to wrangle my free time for his own desires. And what is his plan for this trip? Will he be keeping me in India until I say yes, or will we be flying off to Russia or Spain next?

Lucy glanced at me. “I told him you would be pissed.”

“I’m not.”

“You look like you’re going to kill him.”

“Okay. I’m a little pissed.”

“Think of it this way. You got a great trip to India.”

I nodded. “Good point.”

Lucy eased around a woman draped in bright orange and pink fabric. The woman carried a baby on her hip. I wiggled my fingers at him, and the little guy laughed.

I halted on the dusty road. “So what are we supposed to be doing now, if you already bought the present?”

She grinned and took my hand into hers. “We’re supposed to be bonding.”

I yanked my hand away. “Bonding? Is that what our psychotic lordship requested?”

“No. Actually our ladyship ordered me to bond with you. Dawn thought it was a good idea if I talked to you and answered any questions you might have about our living arrangement.”

“And why did she think this was a good idea, again?”

“Chase didn’t tell us what happened Friday night, but we figured things didn’t work out because you didn’t come to Willow Park and Chase was pretty angry.” Lucy captured my hand again. “So Dawn and I are trying to do damage control.”

This is weirder than I thought.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I told him I wasn’t interested.” I returned to walking and allowed her to hold my hand. For what reason she needed to hold it, I didn’t know.

“You said no?” Lucy giggled really loud. “I’ll bet he hated that. We barely ever tell him no. Then what happened?”

“Nothing.”

“No way. Something happened. Chase doesn’t just hear no and back away.”

“Nothing happened that was a big deal,” I lied.

“Oh, it had to be major. He stayed up in the batting cage all night hitting baseballs. Boom. Boom. One after another. My window is right over the batting cage so there was no way I got any sleep,” Lucy said. “Dawn raced out there later and begged him to come inside. It must have been five in the morning when he finally did. Two hours later he announced that we were going to India.”

I gave her a weird look. “You stay with him?”

“We all do. It’s a huge property called Willow Park. A big mansion with five individual apartments in it.”

Willow Park.

I remembered the name. When he had fingered me, he’d whispered that he wanted me under his roof in Willow Park and in his bed. Heat spread across my skin at the thought of that night, and it wasn’t from the sun that beat down on us as we walked.

“I want to get those henna designs on my hands.” Lucy’s eyes shone with excitement.

It was such an odd sight, being that she’d just confessed they all lived together.

This is too much to handle.

I’d witnessed some of the worst fights on South End that started with a female catching her boyfriend with another chick. Once two women had battled in the middle of the street for hours, scratching skin, yanking weaves, and screaming curses the entire time. And there in Willow Park, Chase lived happily with his three women.

Why does he even need a fourth? He’s so freaking spoiled.

“Chase always runs off to the batting cage when he’s seriously pissed. When he’s full of rage he’ll stay in there until the morning.”

She studied my face as we stopped at a street corner. “So? Tell me what made him so mad Friday night.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Was there any penetration?”

“No. Oh my god.” I covered my eyes. “There wasn’t any penetration. And by the way, do you just chat about anything with anyone?”

“You’re not anyone. You’re Chase’s possible girlfriend, which would make us sort of like sisters. You know, like members of a special club.”

The sisterhood of stupidity.

“You’ll have to get used to my bluntness. Part of our success is staying truthful with each other.” She hooked her arm under mine. “No secrets. So no penetration, right?”

“None.”

“Good. He’s not allowed,” she whispered. “He can kiss and touch you, but no licking or sex until you agree to join us.”

I cringed at her words and close proximity to me. “Why can’t he have sex?”

“Dawn’s number one rule. It keeps Chase from sleeping around,” Lucy said. “At least that’s what she thinks, but I happen to know Chases is too happy with this arrangement to break the rules or sleep with other women.”

“But he is sleeping around when he hooks up with Wendy.”

Horns beeped as two men on motorcycles rolled by. Lucy and I jumped out of the way. I seized the opportunity to get out of her hold.

“It’s okay for him to sleep with Wendy.” Lucy bumped my hip with hers. “So do you have any questions? You must have a bunch of them.”

“None. It doesn’t matter because—”

“Oh, quit being stubborn and open your mind. You’re driving Chase crazy and when he’s wacky we all have to deal with it. I would like things to return to normal.”

We entered a bigger market area. Tiny colorful corridors boasted piles of fresh fruit and vegetables plumper than I’d ever seen in an American supermarket. Tasty samples of exotic treats stuffed barrels, lounged on tables, and taunted me with their spicy scents.

Sacks rested on women’s heads as they headed off with determined but weary expressions. Vendors lined the streets. Scales propped on tables that held every bright shade of seasonings. I inhaled their fragrances, so many I couldn’t pinpoint one. Other sellers displayed pots, shelves, bowls, and additional items one would find in a household. Bags, shirts, and garments hung from wires and hovered over the market square.

People traveled in all directions. I found myself jumping out of the way as everyone journeyed to their destination. The stench of cattle became all-consuming the closer I came near them so I ventured off to the direction of the food. Lucy followed me. Music played all over—some sort of drumming under a hypnotic woman’s voice. I had no idea where it was blasting from, but I was exhilarated by it.

And the food, oh god, it was all over the place. Bowls of vegetables, pots of soups, containers of steaming rice. On one side, a man flipped circular shapes of meat over burning charcoals. On another side, a woman stirred some red and thick liquid concoction. My stomach growled in anticipation.

“I’m never leaving this place. I’m about to try everything that looks different. Starting . . . over . . . there.” I pointed to a woman mixing orange pieces of bread in a large pot of oil.

“It smells good,” Lucy admitted and took off her sunglasses.

“You can pretty much fry anything and it will taste good.” I headed over there. “When I was nine this bum sold my brother Troy and I fried squirrel legs for a dollar. They were wrapped in this dirty foil and smelled god-awful. My brother dared me to eat it.”