LOVE QUAKES: BOXED SET (BOOKS 1-4) (28 page)

“It’s not Richard who’s sick and twisted but Joanna and Carmen.”

“Convince me, Juan.”

 “Joanna slept with Richard for three years when she was younger,” he taunts.

“If so, then Richard’s a sexual predator, since Joanna was underage,” I reason.

“She slept with Richard during college,” he laughs wickedly.

“How do you know that?” I challenge him.

“I’ve got pictures to prove it,” Juan claims.

“What do your pictures reveal?”

“Joanna had sexual intercourse with Richard at least twice a week for years while they were in college. He came to the apartment whenever Ashley was away. Joanna broke Richard’s heart and mine, too.”

“Did she ever talk about Richard with you?”

“She didn’t need to talk about him. I caught them in action. She’s a liar and a wicked little tramp.”

“Why would she do something like that after Richard exposed himself in her bathtub shower?”

“She’s lying about that too. That story was a ruse to ruin Carmen’s marriage. After all, Richard and Joanna were hot for each other, even then. She stripped for him all the time. But, she teased him for years. She slept with him because he paid for her entire college education. She promised to marry him but then dumped Richard about a year before she graduated.”

“How do you know this, Juan?”

“He told me and then someone else told me. I know all about her now. She pretends to be the innocent little bookworm but that’s all a game to her. Carmen’s in on it, too.”

“Did you ever sleep with her, Juan?”

“Oh no, she doesn’t like men her own age. We’re not sophisticated like the men in her textbooks. She wants older men, experienced men. She wants to take men away from their wives and then break them.”

“But, Joanna spent years in therapy, Juan. She was traumatized by Richard.”

“She spent years in therapy because she’s twisted and sick. She wants to ruin men; see them suffer. Joanna uses all her sex appeal to lure you in, then she turns the knife,” he promises me with an evil grin on his face.

“So why are you telling me about it, Juan? I don’t mean anything to you.”

“I’m telling you about Joanna because she’s planning something big with Carmen. They’re going to fleece you for millions, dude. They’re hoping you and your security detail can get rid of Richard for them. He’s become too much of a problem for them.”

“I need to see those pictures of Joanna and Richard together during college then. Where are they?” I beg Juan.

“Come to my summer solstice party. They’re going to be on full display for the world to see how Joanna Prime really operates,” he promises me.

I wake again from this nightmare screaming and hardly able to breathe. Joanna hugs me gently and attempts to soothe me. I guess my trust issues aren’t yet resolved. Telling her about my abduction wasn’t enough.

I look into her eyes. They are filled with nothing but love, affection and innocence. Thank goodness this horrible story was just a dream. Joanna’s still my angelic little bookworm. I begin to breathe normally again.

“What was your dream about Tristan?” she asks sweetly. She kisses my head and face repeatedly.

“Juan’s summer solstice party and picture show. He had some revealing shots of you that he wanted to display for the world to see,” I admit and kiss her cheek. My body fills with relief as I return to the world of the living.

She bursts out laughing. “If Juan shows any pictures of the two of us making out, he’s in trouble. But, he won’t do that. He’s a sweetheart when it comes down to it, Tristan.”

“I think it’s interesting that he hasn’t demanded some sort of bribe from me to keep the pictures of us private.”

“My guess is that Juan doesn’t want money. He obviously wants to confront you and maybe both of us by sending the pictures to you,” she muses.

“I wonder how he was able to take the photos so easily.” 

“I think Juan was a stow away on your boat. He was probably hiding in your dinghy.”

“That’s what I imagined. We were so caught up with one another that we hardly noticed.”

“Can’t you threaten Juan with invading your personal space or trespassing and invasion of privacy?”

“If he indeed climbed onto my yacht and hid in the dinghy, then yes, I can charge him.”

“Well, what’s keeping you from moving ahead with the charges?”

“For one, we don’t know for sure that it was Juan who sent the photos to me.”

“I guess we’ll know a lot more at the summer solstice party on Thursday.”

“Thursday should be a very interesting evening. We can drive over together, Joanna.”

“That sounds great, Tristan. This will be a first for me to bring my boyfriend.”

I pull Joanna to my chest and kiss her lovely lips before we get up for a long day at our respective jobs. I’m so pleased to know that my nightmare’s over.

Joanna’s POV

I’m at work observing and taking notes on a variety of different therapies. Lately, I’ve been drawn to the cognitive approaches, probably because things have been a bit tense with Tristan. He had some frightening nightmares after I started exploring his abduction. My poor tortured man. I didn’t realize how deeply buried his trust issues were until we started working on opening up the story on his past. He’s going to see Dr. Wong for extra sessions.

Apparently, Wong’s been encouraging Tristan to trust me. I’m pleased that Dr. Wong knows and supports our growing relationship. After all, Jim has all my psychological records at his disposal. Only Wong knows how my history relates to Tristan’s background. It’s actually quite comforting to realize that Wong knew my full psychological profile before uncovering the fact that I was Tristan’s girl. Now, our mutual therapist supports our union in no uncertain terms. That helps me feel confident about where we’re headed as a couple.

Tristan’s needs for reassurance and love have taken the form of needing frequent sex. That’s great for me. He’s an amazing sex partner. I’m having so much fun learning. Now that Tristan has finally recovered fully, he’s nearly tireless in his sexual performance. We’ve made love in several different ways this week and they’re all a new adventure for me. I continue to explore Tristan’s body with my fingers and other body parts. He’s adapting to my moves quickly.

Tristan really enjoys showing me the ropes and being his pupil makes me feel privileged. He’s pleased to see how naïve I am about sexual activities. I’m madly in love with him but reluctant to admit it to him because of my own trust issues with men. When Tristan proclaims his love for me, it’s often while we’ve having sex. I want to hear him chant those three little words more often.

Tristan won’t tell me much about his nightmares except to mention something about some pictures of me at Juan’s party. The only photos of me that I know about were those taken on Tristan’s yacht. I suspect that Juan is the person who’s taken them but trust that he won’t display any of me topless. I’ve texted Juan to let him know that I’ll be there for him on Thursday. He hasn’t responded yet. I assume that Juan will demonstrate good taste at his summer solstice party. The crowd will be a bunch of art and photography majors from SDSU. Tristan’s rather skittish about the entire event. I suspect that jealousy plays a large role in his attitude. Well, tonight’s the big event.

There’s also been a fair amount of tension between Edwin and Janelle at work. Janelle announced that she wanted to see both Edwin and Tom Hawk because she liked them equally well. Edwin’s been in a funk ever since she let him know about her new love interest. I think he blames me for introducing Janelle to Hawk. I had nothing to do with it but Edwin needs to project his feelings on someone and I’m the most convenient target. I huff in frustration. In the meantime, Janelle’s been getting some hot texts from Tom. When Edwin notices that Janelle’s texting someone at work, he fumes; especially when she’s smiling from ear to ear. Poor Edwin.

My phone pings around 3pm. There’s a text from Tristan.

“Is leaving at 5:30pm good for you?” T.

“No problem. Will Bailey pick me up from work?” J.

“I will be there to drive you to campus.” T.

“OK. Dinner?”  J.

“After the party.” T.

“Snacks before?” J.

“If you’re the snack.” T.

“OK. I’ve got bars.” J.

“You’ve got the mouth, I have the power bar.” T.

“Naughty boy.” J.

“I want to eat you.” T.

“As long as it’s you.” J.

“Only mine.” T.

“Of course.” J.

“How about 5pm pickup?” T.

“No can do.” J.

“Don’t like waiting.” T.

“It’ll be worth it.” J.

“Always.” T.

“XXOXX.” J.

“XXXXX Until then.” T.

“Same.” J.

I click off since Ryan’s bringing me some psychological profiles to update. Apparently, I’m smiling much too often at my desk to be involved solely with therapeutic data. He shakes his head as I look up from my phone.

“Your comments on the last few sessions really showed good insights,” Ryan tells me. “But, I see that I’m not keeping you busy enough, Joanna. Quit texting with your boyfriend.”

“Just making a few plans for tonight,” I admit with a sheepish grin. “It’s my mid-afternoon break.”

“Now that your break’s over, let’s see what you can do with the latest therapeutic updates from last week,” Ryan chides in a friendly way.

“Yes, Mr. Tran. I’m on it,” I announce with good humor. He chuckles as he leaves a pile on my desk.

I’ve finished my analyses by 5:25pm and I’m ready to head out. I wave my farewells to my colleagues. There’s a beaming Janelle. She’s going to see Hawk this evening since Tristan and I will be with Bailey in La Mesa. Edwin grimaces at me since he suspects the worst. Ryan’s waving. He’s pleased, since I’ve worked efficiently through my entire pile.

Tristan arrives exactly at 5:30pm. I’m outside at the curb and jump into the passenger side of the Porsche before Tristan can move. I lean over from my bucket seat to give Tristan a tender kiss on his gorgeous mouth. He’s happy to see me and his lips tug on mine with hunger.

“Loved your text message, baby,” he admits as soon as he finishes the prolonged kiss. He’s wearing a brown leather jacket, tight black jeans and a white tee. Tristan looks amazing and his eyes glow with light. 

“That was definitely hot,” I add vaguely. Tristan looks excited and sexy as hell with his hair disheveled. That’s because I’ve been running my hands through it.

“Let’s go to the back parking lot and make out,” he suggests with a devilish grin.

“You really missed me, Tristan. Guess you’re eager for a snack.”

“When you send me that sort of text, I am,” Tristan adds while driving like a demon toward the TTP parking lot.  No one is parked nearby and the windows of his SUV are tinted.

Tristan parks. Then we move to the back seat of his vehicle for a quick one. He’s so needy these days.

I undo his zipper and feel around for his wonderful toy. It springs free from his boxers as I prop myself on top of him. I pull my panties to the side to let him have easy access. When we connect, it’s magic.

He’s so firm today as he fills me with pleasure. We’re making love with a new level of intensity as he pulls me impossibly close. Before two minutes have passed, I’m riding him with absolute joy.

“Joanna…,” he moans as his orgasm nears, “I need you so much.” That’s clear as he buries himself in me.

“Tristan. Oh yes, baby,” I scream as I come undone around his wonderful organ. He follows me into nirvana within seconds. “Thank you. That was wonderful.”

“You’re most welcome,” he gushes as he smothers my face with kisses after we’ve recovered.

“Oh, Tristan. I want and need you more than you imagine,”  I gush while he looks deeply into my eyes. I rub his back gently for reassurance and the look in his green irises lets me know that he’s soothed by my words. I pull him in close since Tristan needs to feel my touch. My poor guy needs a lot of reassurance about how much he means to me.

“Well, let’s get this show on the road,” he commands while we reassemble ourselves in the vehicle and pick up Bailey. Then he drives us toward the east and our summer solstice party.

I pull a Power Bar for each of us out of my purse as we head toward the SDSU campus and Juan’s place. Tristan doubles over with laughter as he catches on to my joke. Then he swats me gently on the arm as Bailey negotiates the congested traffic on the freeway. All is well in our world just now.

Tristan gazes at me with love while I explain what we'll be seeing and doing tonight.

“The summer solstice party involves a slide show as well as various shots of the sun as it enters buildings and structures at just the right angle. It’s the longest day or the year and when the sun is most intense.”

“Historically, there are so many ceremonies linked to this event,” Tristan adds. We’ve both heard about the Native American rituals related to the angle of the sun at this time of year.

“Juan’s party is the modern day equivalent of the rituals,” I joke. In the blink of an eye, we’ve arrived in La Mesa. Bailey waits for us outside on the porch.

We enter the party but Juan’s not yet in sight. The faculty member who’s going to speak about the summer solstice greets us warmly and hands us each a brochure about the event. She gives us both a wink and directs us to a table filled with fruit, cheese and small glasses of pre-poured wine. We taste the wine. It’s tinny and cheap but not unexpected. A number of other guests are milling about and wandering through Juan’s apartment looking at the pictures with interest.

I eat some cheddar cheese and apple slices then drink a full glass of white wine. Tristan avoids drinking altogether. As we walk arm in arm, he discusses the pictures that impress him the most. We see a few amazing pictures of stone burial sites called passage tombs that only get light at certain times of the year, like now.

Tristan puts his arm around my shoulder and I smile up at him with pleasure. “You know, Joanna, there’s been no bribe about the yacht photos. Perhaps it wasn’t Juan who sent those pictures, after all.”

“That’s just strange. I wonder who took and sent those intimate pictures then.”

When we turn the corner to view Juan’s photos of the sun in the second room of the apartment, however, my chin nearly hits the floor. Much to my surprise, Juan’s displayed six small framed pictures of Tristan and me from the yacht last Sunday. They’re all so tasteful however. We look happy and content as we eat, drink, kiss and run around. Juan’s eliminated all references to our sexual foreplay. Some of the photos have been airbrushed to remove our intimate contact. Others are in color while a few are printed with a sepia tone to them.

“I’d like to see you that way more often,” I pronounce as I point to a youthful and smiling shot of Tristan’s face. A few of the guests look at the two of us and then back to the photos as they make the connection. Those who get it, smile at us in recognition and nod when they catch our eye.

Tristan merely huffs and then stomps out of the room. When I check to see where he’s gone, I note that he’s headed for the faculty member’s group. I gaze at Tristan across the room. He turns and looks back at me while fuming. As I’m standing there alone, Juan appears and greets me cautiously. Tristan grits his teeth and seethes from across the room.

“Are you surprised, Joanna?” he gushes while gesturing toward the shots of us.

“We had no idea you were there. So that’s what you were doing while we played on the deck of Tristan’s boat? How did you find us?”