The Sorceress (18 page)

Frowning and coughing from the bitter taste of the liquor, Rome said, “Come again.”

“This is between you and me.” She stared at him intently.

“Got it. Confidentiality and all that shit.” He gestured for her to continue.

Jen started laughing. “It just struck me as funny that I'm bothering to worry about the Provosts' privacy when there's a furious ghost on the loose who might have it in for me.”

“Why are you taking it personally? I saw her, too.”

“I take it very personally,” Jen snapped. She pointed a finger. “You were born with that extra skin over your face. You're accustomed to seeing ghosts. I'm not.”

“That's true.”

“But what I can't understand is why I'd see that particular apparition, twice? I think it's very strange that I saw that awful woman on the internet and then again on Piper's Bridge.”

“Don't worry, baby. I know how to deal with spirits.”

“Oh, yeah? How are you going to deal with her the next time she makes an appearance? What are you going to do? Arrest her for indecent exposure? Are you going to take her to the station for questioning?” Jen started laughing.

Feeling the liquor, Rome joined in with loud laughter, smacking the top of the table as his shoulders shook. The table smacking made Jen laugh so hard, tears formed and her stomach muscles clenched.

When their liquor-induced hilarity subsided, Rome's face turned serious. “You saw that same female ghost on the computer?”

Jen sighed. “Long story.”

“I have time.”

“The little boy I look after…Ethan Provost…he doesn't play with toys like regular kids. His only interest in life is looking at stock photo images of bridges. Ethan doesn't talk…but one day, I heard him talk. I looked over his shoulder at the monitor and there was a black woman on one of the bridges Ethan admires. She was naked and running back and forth. I heard him tell her that she was going the wrong way.”

“Wow!” Incredulous, Rome shook his head.

“He also told me that his name is Xavier. And the voice that comes out his mouth sounds ancient. It's scratchy and terrible, like how you'd envision the Grim Reaper would sound.”

“Wow!” Rome repeated.

Jen shot him an irritated look and then went on. “I told his father that Ethan started talking, but the senator doesn't believe me. He thinks I'm overworked and overwrought.” She narrowed an eye at Rome. “Please don't say wow!”

“I don't know what else to say. This is not a typical, every day conversation.”

“I realize that. That's why I'm here. We have to try to figure out what's going on and how it might affect us.”

“Maybe it doesn't.”

Jen gave him a long look.

“Ms. Provost is going to be the vice president. There's no doubt about it. Her running mate is getting up in his years. Old boy might not make it through his term and that would make her the president.”

“Yeah, and…”

“And maybe this is a hoax or some kind of a plot. You say you saw the same woman on her son's computer—”

“I did!”

“So it sounds to me like someone hacked into that computer. This whole thing could be a terrorist plot aimed at Ms. Provost. That's why the ghost lady didn't have the translucent quality of a spirit. And that blue light… That could be some high-tech terrorist weapon.”

In her inebriated state, Jen thought Rome's deductions made a lot of sense. “I think you're onto something.” Jen was pleased that Rome had solved the mystery.

“But you should look for another job,” he warned. “Might be best for you to put some distance between yourself and the Provosts.”

“I know. And it's not like they'll listen to me about this terrorist plot.”

“No. If you tell them you think they're being targeted by terrorists, they'll think you're some nutjob, conspiracy theorist.”

“You're absolutely right. Hell, they might even blame me; try to pin the commuter hacking on me!”

Rome held up the near empty bottle, offering Jen the last shot.

Shaking her head, Jen declined. “The senator is going to be interviewing nannies for the next couple of days. After he finds someone suitable, I'm going to resign.”

“Wise choice.” Rome stood. “I'm twisted. I gotta lie down. Come on upstairs. I won't bother you.”

“I'm not going upstairs with you.” She ran her eyes over his muscular frame and was tempted to give it up right there in the kitchen. On the floor. But she wasn't intoxicated enough to give it up before their first official date. “Hey, you can't go to bed. You have to take me home.”

“I need a half-hour to sleep this liquor off. I promise to keep my hands to myself.” He held up his right hand as if making a solemn oath.

Getting caught shirking her nanny duties was not the end of the world. Jen could deal with having to face an angry senator, but that ghost lady…whew! The prospects of having to deal with an evil spirit were more than she was equipped to handle.

So, relieved that the naked woman was part of a terrorist plot and not an evil spirit, Jen was practically giddy as she trotted behind Rome up the stairs.

Rome's bedroom was very different from the other rooms in the house. His personal space was stunning but the word “sensual” described it best. The room was ultramodern and manly with natural tones.

The leather headboard and chocolate suede bedding on the king-sized bed had a strong masculine appeal. Spellbinding
tapestries accented the walls. These wall hangings depicted ferocious wild animals engaged in the chase and Jen wondered if this art was a reflection of Rome—agile, muscular, bold, and ferocious…in bed?

Jen was very curious. And totally horny. An onslaught of decadent fantasies rushed through her mind. Rome's bedroom had all the trappings to persuade the most levelheaded and prudent woman to strip out of her clothes and offer up a session of no-strings attached sex.

Yawning, Rome obviously had other things in mind—like sleep. He held up an oversized white T-shirt. “You want to put this on?”

Jen gave him a look, all the while thinking how badly she wanted to touch and be touched by him.

“I'm not trying to get you naked or anything…though that would be nice.” He gave her a lopsided smile that was so cute… rugged and boyish at the same time. He rubbed his tired eyes and even that innocent gesture was a turn-on. She wanted to do really naughty things with this man.

“I thought you might want to put this on so you don't wrinkle your clothes.”

“Okay. You only need a half-hour, right?” Jen said, raising a concerned brow and feigning reluctance as she accepted the shirt.

“I need to chill for about thirty minutes. After a quick power nap, I'll be straight and we can roll out.”

Jen smiled to herself. She liked the off-duty Rome a lot more than the inquisitive cop she'd met on Forbidden Drive. Hot Cop was sexy, but he was even sexier out of uniform and in the relaxed environment of his home. She hadn't realized until now that Rome's speech pattern had changed from formal police lingo to casual, Philly talk.

He was easygoing and had a great sense of humor. And the
mere sound of his voice aroused her. She caught herself staring at the bulge inside his jeans, wishing he'd unzip and give her a peek. Everything about Rome was so perfect, she was certain that his dick was wonderful, too.

She wanted to taste him, feel his dick, hard and urgent, entering her mouth. She wanted to feel him stretching her inner walls… She covered her mouth, muffling a moan. If he could read her mind, he'd think she was a terrible slut.

Rome was nothing like those college boys she'd wasted her time with. He was a grown man and Jen wanted him. And not for one night, which would be the case if she gave up the goods without allowing him the opportunity to engage in the chase like the animals on his walls.

“Bathroom's down the hall. You can change in there.”

Aw, Rome was a gentlemanly womanizer.
Jen accepted the shirt and trekked down the hall to change. She located a bottle of mouthwash. She swished the liquid inside her mouth, getting rid of the smell of whiskey and giving her breath a fresh minty scent, in case she decided to give Rome a kiss. Nothing more. Just a kiss.

She was no sexpot. Her frizzy hair refused to cooperate with the brush she quickly pulled through it. Rome's T-shirt was long, but not long enough to completely cover her thunder thighs. She tugged on the bottom of the shirt one more time, trying to force it to stretch down a little further. The fabric stayed in place, revealing her extra-thick thighs, big hips, and big booty. As far as Jen was concerned, her boobs and flat tummy were her only saving grace.

When she returned to the bedroom, Rome had thoughtfully dimmed the lights and she was grateful for that. But he couldn't dim the heat of his gaze as it traveled from her face, her boobs,
her thick thighs, and the swell of her ample hips. Forgetting her dissatisfaction with her body type, she met his gaze, revealing the desire that burned in her eyes as well.

His jeans were tossed on a chair. Bare-chested, he relaxed on the bed, wearing only boxers. She pulled her eyes away from his broad shoulders and amazing chest but mistakenly settled her gaze on his thighs, which were roped with steely musculature. Her mouth watered. She swallowed a lump of desire and averted her gaze.

“Hey, you look cute in that shirt,” he complimented, his voice cutting through the sexual tension that was thick inside the bedroom.

Jen wanted to yank off the T-shirt and let it pool on the floor beside the bed, but she controlled her urges. Ignoring her over-active hormones, she sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded on her lap.

Rome got under the covers and tugged at the fabric beneath her butt. “Lie down. Get under the covers. I'll be a gentleman. I promise,” he said softly.

Jen pretended to be reluctant, easing cautiously beneath the suede duvet and the sheets.

“Half-hour,” he reassured her, tugging her arm gently until she was curled beneath the covers, her buttocks merging into the contour of his body. He draped an arm loosely over her. She could feel his manhood pulsing against her derriere, each beat tightening the knot of desire within her core.

A slight brush of cotton fabric against her nipples made them flush and harden into small beads that pleaded for attention. Overly sensitive, her pearls yearned to be touched…pinched… suckled.

But his fingers did not wander toward those dangerous, peaked
regions. Instead of fondling her luscious breasts or soothing the hot spot between her legs, he stroked her wiry tendrils, his fingers concentrating on taming her wayward strands of red hair.

“Your hair smells good,” he murmured and inhaled a full breath of her scent and continued smoothing down her wild mane.

The air from his nostrils tickled the back of her neck, arousing and tormenting her to the point of wanting to scream. She forced her body to become stiff and rigid, not to ward off any potential advances, but to keep herself from twisting around, ripping off Rome's boxers and molesting him.

Jen bit the inside of her lip as she fought the building desire. Rome didn't appear to be struggling the way she was; he seemed content with his gently pulsing dick and with the nearness of her. Then she felt the pounding of his heart as it thumped against her back, beckoning her to join him…to connect her body with his.

She didn't notice it happening. Didn't feel her defenses breaking down. It seemed like the most natural thing when she finally relaxed and allowed her body to move, uncensored… unrestricted by rules of morality or even common decency.

It was the most natural thing for her to turn toward him and press her feminine mound against his groin, moving rhythmically against his concrete manhood.

Rome squeezed her hip, caressed her thigh. “Baby…You feel so good.”

She couldn't bear it. His low groan was so sensual…too sensual. Made her want to do things she knew she'd later regret.

“I wanted you the first time—”

She couldn't listen to sexy murmuring and be held accountable for her lustful actions. Desperately, her mouth covered his, silencing him with her minty kiss.

He groaned and began groping at the shirt, urging her to take it off.

Obliging, she pulled it over her head and tossed it to the floor.

Rome watched with anticipation as her luscious breasts gently bounced and then settled. He reached out and touched one rosy nipple and then the other, feeling them grow hard under his heated touch.

She hooked a finger beneath the elastic band around the V of his waist. “Your turn,” she purred.

He quickly shed his boxers. Now all barriers between their burning fleshes were removed.

She devoured his naked body with her eyes. His dick looked good at half-mast but when it became engorged and stood at full attention, it was a husky, good-looking dick and Jen wanted to cover it with her lips and bathe it with her tongue. But she restrained herself.

She gave good head, she'd been told. But wasn't sure if she should display all of her talents on the first night with Rome. Maybe she'd give him a sneak preview of her oral skills.

Rome captured her lips; she opened her mouth for him, permitting his tongue to wander freely. At first he entangled his fingers in her wild hair, pulling handfuls until she cried out in pain and writhed in pleasure. He abandoned her hair, his hot hands scorching her skin as they traveled to her shoulders… squeezing, caressing and then sliding down and tenderly cradling her breasts.

A primal sound rumbled in the back of his throat as he lowered his head and drew in a ripened nipple. His tongue lashing against her hardened flesh gave her surges of delicious sensation.

“Rome,” she whispered, her voice filled with unmistakable pleasure.

“What, baby?”

“I want you.”

“You got me, baby. It's you and me, now,” he responded, his voice hoarse, his words emerging in broken chords.