As I sit across from Delilah in the diner, my heart rate finally begins to settle. Kissing her was—Jesus. The best thing I've ever experienced. If I could fly up to heaven and thank my brother for his prescient words, I would. I might also pop him one in the mouth for dying on us, but that's besides the point. In any case, I'd laid it on thick when I spelled out exactly what I wanted to do to Delilah in that heated moment. What I hadn't told her were the thousand other things on that list. Sure, it sounds like I'm only after getting into her panties, and I am. I'm also after getting so deep into her heart that she could never evict me. Because she took residence in mine a long time ago.
I should be ecstatic about this turn of events. While I am, there's a healthy dose of nerves accompanying it. She could change her mind. Worse, I could fuck it up irreparably. I couldn't live with that.
"You gonna talk to me or just stare?" Delilah's smile is gorgeous. Now that I have first-hand experience on what those lips taste like, they taunt me from across the table, soft and delicious.
"Can I do both?" I love the way she rolls her eyes at me while devouring a couple fries. There's a spot of ketchup on the corner of her mouth. I lean over and swipe it away with my index finger and hold it to her lips. After a beat and a prolonged glance, she takes the tip of my finger into her mouth and holds it there. Then, her soft, little pink tongue licks it not once, but three times. As she releases my finger, a mischievous grin forms.
"Temptress."
Having finished my burger, I sit back, taking a sip of cola as I study Delilah. We have a shit-ton to discuss and I have no idea where to start. Of course, we got the main thing settled. It's all the rest that needs sorting. It's a very long list that's probably littered with minefields of conflict neither of us can imagine in our newly blissful state.
"D-doll, are you sure you're comfortable with the path we've decided on?" Now that we have a table between us and I'm not ravishing her mouth, she may have come to her senses. I'm surprised by her hurt expression.
"You've changed your mind already?"
I chuckle. "Absolutely not. If you only understood how far along I am with this in my own head, you'd be running out the door. We've had a few minutes to calm down and regroup. I'd be even more of an asshole if I assumed you weren't having second thoughts."
Delilah spends the next few moments working on her drink. She sets the glass down and folds her arms across each other on the edge of the table after pushing away the plate.
"I'll admit this whole thing is pinging around in my head. The weirdness of the situation is the biggest part I have to accept. Even though John gave us his blessing, other people won't see it that way. They'll come to all sorts of conclusions that are wrong. That we had an affair. That I never loved John. That I wasn't faithful. That you are taking advantage of me. That you're gonna use me up and throw me away. That I'm using you. That John would kill us both. We can't exactly create pamphlets to pass out explaining it and providing John's words."
I hear what she's saying. All of those things are true. What warms my soul, however, is what she didn't say. Delilah hadn't questioned her feelings. Or mine.
"This won't be easy for either of us. I'm sure there's more I haven't even thought of." She pauses, taking a deep breath. "I'm not changing my mind though."
"I'm so glad, D-doll." Needing a connection, I take a hold of her hand across the table.
"JD? Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." When someone asks you if they can ask a question before they ask a question, that's a pretty good indicator you won't like it.
"I have to ask, I'm sorry. I need to be sure, at the expense of being a jerk or whatever."
"Baby, ask away." Uh-oh. Where's this going?
"Other women. Like, um, Roxanne? Will you...will they...ah crap. Is that going to be anything that will come between us? I mean, you can't predict the future, still..."
"Baby, look at me." She does. I see how hard it was for her to speak her mind. If she's going to put it all on the line—her heart, her reputation—she wants assurance. I'll gladly give it. "I'm in love with you. I plan for us to be together for a very, very, very long time. I don't want any other woman. I don't want to find or look for anyone else. I give you my word I will never, ever put myself in another position like the one with Roxanne for a job. I'm not for sale. You're it." I fish cash out of my wallet, toss it on the table and stand, pulling Delilah with me. "Let's get out of here."
****
"That must be one helluva report you're typing up there. I've never seen anyone so thoroughly enjoy supplying the deets on a cheating spouse."
Neil flops down in a chair next to me. Okay, sure. I was grinning like an idiot, and it had not a damned thing to do with what I found out about Mrs. Wilson's husband. Yep, he's banging his secretary—how cliche. Didn't even have the good sense to pull the blinds on his first-floor office at the bank. Martin Wilson isn't a prize, either. At sixty-something, he's slightly balding, and has a little paunch and a little prick. I don't get what the attraction is to the secretary, either. She's not much younger. When I went into the bank to ask about a "loan," I had to talk to her in order to get in and see Wilson. She was a bitch, plain and simple. Customer satisfaction is not in her wheelhouse. I didn't care for the way she barked orders at others. Bonnie Wilson is a far better catch, in my opinion. If I were her, I'd dump Martin and get myself an updated model with better equipment under the hood. So, no. This case has absolutely nothing to do with my current mood. Which is off the charts.
"Nope. The Wilson's are definitely not the reason for my good cheer." Neil is quiet, which is suspicious. I glance up and see him studying me. He strokes his goatee as he thinks. There's a little twinkle in his eye. I can read his tells, no matter how insignificant. I continue typing, as I wait for it.
"I have a job for you."
"All right. Anything more exciting than taking pictures of Martin Wilson in flagrante?"
"Much more interesting. You and Jax need to spend time at the Lotus Club."
I raise a brow. The sleaziest strip club in a twenty-five mile radius? Rumor has it this is where former top-shelf strippers are put out to pasture, and the customers are even worse. At least once a month there's a raid on the place. This ought to be good. "Oh? How much time? What're we looking for?"
"Sex for cash. Money laundering. Your basic shit."
"Uh-huh. Go on."
"A couple of the girls there are in the know. You and Jax need to get cozy with them. Become regulars. Take them into the back rooms where the real business happens and enjoy a few lap dances. Those rooms are all equipped with cameras. You'll need to make it look good. It's common knowledge that the girls will let you get handsy for extra cash. Do what you need to in order to pump them for info." Neil emphasizes the words "handsy" and "pump" with a dirty grin and a hand gesture or two.
I sit back and consider how much of his work order is bullshit and how much is real. I'm leaning toward total bullshit. He's toying with me. I'll play along. For a minute.
"Hmm. How far in the 'handsy' department do you want us to go? Cuz things got pretty hot and heavy at Sensations."
"So I heard. I figured you and Jax would be up for this, based on the debrief from that job."
"I see." I pause for a moment, stringing him along. "Nope. No can do." I spin around and go back to typing. I haven't been with Neil for a long time, but I've also never declined a job. This has to push his buttons.
"Any reason you're saying no?"
"Yes." He'll have to drag it out of me. Payback for messing with me.
"You going to tell me or keep me guessing?"
I spin back to face him, eyes blazing.
"One word. Delilah."
He busts out laughing. "You asshole. I knew it."
"Did you? What exactly do you think you know?"
"That some broad has you wrapped around her finger. And that broad is most likely Delilah. I'd bet there's a damned good story."
"And you couldn't come right out and ask? Like a normal person?"
"Where's the fun in that? This was much more entertaining." He laughs more, totally at my expense and for his own twisted amusement.
"Jesus. You're a pain in my ass."
"Yeah, what else is new?" I glare at him. "What happened?" Serious Neil is in the house.
"It happened." How the hell do I explain this?
Neil's eyes bug out. "You fucked your sister?"
I want to slap him, but before I can do that or correct his fucked up assessment, Jax sails through the door with perfect timing to overhear Neil.
"Yee-ow-zer. That was a mouthful. Uh, should I leave, then?" He thumbs toward the door.
"Oh, for the love of... Get your ass in here, sit down, and shut up." I jab a finger at a chair. Jax does as he's told. "I didn't 'fuck' my 'sister.' First off, she is not my sister."
Neil waves a hand, making a pfft sound. "Sister, sister-in-law, same diff."
I'm angry. "Big difference." I sigh, wondering how to make this palatable. "Things happened..." Two smirks are cast in my direction. "Not those things. Situational things. Short story, Delilah saw me on a date and had a meltdown."
"Ooh." Jax whistles through his teeth, kicks out his long legs and prepares for a juicy tale.
"I went to talk to her about it, and decided it was important to come clean about my feelings for her. Then I took her as my date to a mutual friend's engagement party. He was John's friend too, so on the surface it wasn't odd she'd go with me. I wanted to show Delilah that she meant more to me. We were a little closer to each other during the party. Testing the water, maybe. I had learned a few things about John the day before, which gave me the courage to do this. Remember, I'd told her I had a thing for her and was interested in exploring that."
"Right. I'm guessing the friends had an issue with that?" Neil doesn't miss a thing.
"True, at first. Then I gave them a quick explanation to get them to back off. Which they did. Except Ryan had opened his big mouth earlier in the evening and told Roxanne that Delilah wasn't my fiancee..."
"Hoooold up." Jax about leaps out of his seat, pressing out his hands as if he's stopping traffic. "Roxanne? Like she of the large tits and a stripper's body? Roxanne, as in the one you got busy with at Sensations? What was that bitch doing there?"
"The very same. She's friends with the damned bride."
"Oh, shit." Jax sees where this is headed and shakes his head. Meanwhile, Neil's back to laughing.
"Roxanne slinks up to me and tries to turn on her particular brand of charm, which includes recounting out loud a few of the things that went down in the hotel room in fairly graphic detail. Delilah overheard it all."
"Man, when you fuck up, you take no prisoners."
"Shut up, Neil. Anyway. Delilah and I had a long conversation and I spilled everything. I told her all about Roxanne. I made it clear how I felt about her, and that I wanted a relationship. In the end she was more or less on board, but had some reservations because of John."
"Makes sense." Jax at least is being compassionate and reasonable. "I sense you had an ace in the hole."
I grin wide. "Damned fucking right." I pull out the paper I've been carrying around for days to reassure me I'd read it right. "I got a permission slip from the grave."
"You're kidding, right?" Finally Neil is nearly speechless. I hand him the paper and the two of them pour over it like its a teenage love letter. "Amazing," Neil says when they come up for air. "You lucky bastard."
"That I am. And on that note, I'm not doing the strip club/lap dance/hands-on assignment."
Jax perks up. "Whoa! I'm happy to fill in as needed, boss."
"You idiot. I was yanking his chain. No such job."
Knew it.
****
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