Forces of Nature

Chapter 10


Douglas stroked Crystal’s cheek as she pretended to be sleeping. “Damn, you’re beautiful,” he whispered against her ear. “And I know you’re not sleeping.”

“Maybe if you’d shut up, I could go to sleep.”

Douglas held her tighter. “Do you ever turn the feisty off? Or is this just for me?”

Crystal chuckled, belying the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. “I’m sleepy,” she said. The truth of the matter was that she was wondering what was next. She’d slept with the enemy. She gave him every inch of her and had a good time doing it. But when the sun rose in the morning, nothing would’ve changed. He’d still want Hughes Farm. Right now, before she sobered up and before reality hit her like a ton of bricks, he was just going to be the man of her dreams—for the night.

“Are you sleeping?” he whispered.

“No,” she replied, turning around to face him. She smiled at his smile and sighed. “It’s obvious that you don’t like it when people sleep around you.”

Douglas pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, then stroked her cheek. God, she liked lying with him like this. It felt so . . . natural. Right. She traced her finger across his chest, then replaced it with her tongue, causing Douglas’s body to respond. He gripped her bottom, wanting to spear her, spread her wetness and make her scream until she came. He wanted to feel her bucking against him, her tight little body taking him to the heights of passion. But they needed protection and he was all out. “Shit,” he muttered as he brought her head to his chest.

“What?” she asked. “I’m wide awake now.”

“I don’t have another condom on me,” he said. “And since there isn’t . . .”

Crystal tightened her thighs around his waist and leaned over to her nightstand. Opening the drawer, she asked, “Will two be enough?”

“Quite the little granola vixen, huh?” he said when he eased forward and took the condom package from her hand.

“What?” she asked as she watched him rip the package open. “Am I supposed to sit at home and wait for a millionaire to sweep me off my feet?”

“As long as I’m the one with the broom,” Douglas said after rolling the condom in place. Crystal straddled his body, slowly twisting her hips and building the anticipation of him melting with her again.

“Let’s just make it through the night,” she moaned as she took him deep in her valley and slowly rode him like a cowgirl on her prized steed.

Douglas didn’t often give up control in the bedroom or the boardroom, but tonight he didn’t mind Crystal taking over and giving him pleasure that exploded from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head. What was this woman doing to him? Douglas exploded, filling her with all of his lust, desire, and need. He didn’t want the night to end because in the morning, they would be adversaries again.

Crystal fell into the curve of his arm and nestled against him, slowly breathing in his scent. Clean, spicy, lemongrass and citrus. But she had to forget all of this. If she had half a brain, she would’ve kicked him out of her bed after the first round. But she was cuddling with the man who wanted to take her livelihood, her family legacy, and turn it into a business park. What was sleeping with him supposed to change? Still, she eased closer to him. Inhaled again.

“Are you okay?” he asked, noting her silence.

“I was really trying to sleep,” she lied.

Douglas rolled over and eased down the bed to face her. “You’re not a good liar. That’s probably what makes you a good community activist.”

“I was trying to sleep,” she whined. “And every time I try to go to sleep we do this dance.” She glanced over his shoulder at the alarm clock on her nightstand. “It’s four a.m. At some point, I’d like to sleep.”

Douglas raised his right eyebrow. “So, let’s have the conversation that neither of us wants to have.”

“What’s that?” she asked, propping up on her elbows.

“What happens in the morning? When this is all said and done, what are we going to do?”

Crystal sighed. He was right—she didn’t want to have this conversation. “Let me sleep on it,” she said.

“No. Because you’re going to wake up in the morning and pretend you’re Jamie Foxx. I know you’re not that drunk. And I know that I’m not going to be satisfied with just one night with you.”

“It’s not always about what you want.” Crystal tugged at the sheet to cover her breasts, but Douglas pulled it away, smiling at her hard nipples.

“Then let’s talk about what you want,” he said as he brushed his thumbs across her erect nipples. “And I know sleep ain’t it.”

“Douglas,” she moaned. God, he loved how she said his name. He stroked her nipples again and she breathed his name as she arched her back. “What do you want, Crystal?” he whispered, then licked her earlobe. “What are you going to do?”

“Stop it,” she said. “Please. Don’t. Stop.”

Douglas replaced his thumbs with his lips and tongue. “Dooouglasss,” she gasped, and reached for his hardness. As he licked and sucked her nipples, she stroked his erection back and forth nearly bringing him to climax with her expert touch.

“Need you. Need to be inside you now,” he growled.

“But what are you going to do tomorrow?” she asked. Oh, she was cruel, Douglas thought. His brain was mush. He didn’t give a damn about tomorrow when she had her hand right there tonight.

“Crystal,” he gritted. “Crystal.”

She stroked him slower, feeling him get harder and harder. Douglas’s knees quivered and had he been standing, he would’ve fallen flat on his face. “Is this all about getting my land?” she asked as she reached for a condom with her free hand.

“Hell no,” he exclaimed. Crystal opened the condom and rolled it in place. She pulled him into her hot and awaiting body. Douglas slowly pumped in and out, thrusting his hips into her as he covered her mouth with his. Hungrily, he sucked her tongue as she ground against him. Her hot wetness made it hard to hold back his climax. He wanted to teach her a lesson, but once again he’d been schooled. Crystal took control of his body in ways that he’d never imagined. He’d almost expected a timid lover and she was anything but.

Douglas howled as he exploded from the inside out and she tightened herself around him as she reached her own climax. Wrapping up in each other’s arms, neither of them could move, talk, or do any worrying about the question that still hung in the air. What was going to happen in the morning?

The incessant ringing of the telephone and the doorbell woke the couple up Sunday morning. Crystal hadn’t slept so late in months, hadn’t been so at peace in God knows how long, and if she had half the brain that her family thought she did, she wouldn’t be in Douglas Wellington’s arms smiling as if what happened between them last night was normal.

“Morning,” he said, his already deep voice a few octaves lower. “Or is it afternoon?”

“Mmm,” Crystal said as she looked over his shoulder at the alarm clock on the nightstand. That couldn’t be right. It was twelve-thirty. “Damn it.” That’s why the phone was ringing, and knowing Dena, she was ringing the doorbell as well. “Don’t move,” she said.

“I have no plans to do so,” he said, attempting to thwart Crystal’s effort to move.

“The door,” she said.

“You’re naked.”

Crystal wiggled out of his arms and grabbed her robe from the end of the bed. “Now I’m not.” Rushing down the hall to the front door, Crystal prayed it was one of the Starlight girls at the door, but it was indeed her lawyer. Dena had her finger on the doorbell and her BlackBerry to her ear as Crystal opened the door.

“Hi, Dena,” she said, attempting to keep her voice cool and even. “I was . . .”

“In bed with that man, huh? I knew this was going to happen. I knew this was a bad idea, and if we lose this land, Erin and Joel are going to kill me.” Dena reached into her oversized gray handbag and handed Crystal a legal form.

“What is this?”

“An injunction. While you were getting ready to do . . . whatever, I was in court Friday. Legally, they can’t touch this land for three months. Now what we have to do is prove that this farm is a value to the community and provides more than that business park will. And here’s something else for you to think about,” Dena said, thrusting her finger in Crystal’s face. “Some of the city council are in Welco’s back pocket and if Waylon Terrell is involved, they might try to use eminent domain to get this land. Did you think about that before you hopped into bed with Douglas Wellington the third?”

That was just the reality check she needed, Crystal decided. But she still needed to know what Dena and her mother weren’t telling her. “Do you want some coffee? Because we still need to talk,” Crystal asked.

“Is that man still here?”

“Dena.”

“Crystal, you’re playing with a very hot fire that’s going to burn you in the end. Don’t repeat history.”

“What history?” she asked.

Dena folded her arms and glared at Crystal. “Ask him why his father wanted this land so badly. These Wellington men and their ilk are ruthless and your mother and I have the scars to prove it. I was really hoping you’d be smart enough to stay out of the fray.”

“I don’t understand. So, this is some personal vendetta?” Crystal’s head throbbed as she crossed over to the coffeemaker. Dena glanced at the nearly empty bottle of Jack Daniels, the two glasses, and the shorts. She didn’t say anything, but Crystal felt her eyes burning holes in her back.

“Listen,” Crystal said as she pressed the button to start the coffeemaker. “I was . . . we had too much to drink.”

“Maybe you did, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that this man won’t do whatever he has to to get what he wants,” Dena said.

“Well,” Douglas said from the doorway of the kitchen, “I thought my name was being dragged through the mud.” Standing in the kitchen—shirtless—he couldn’t help but recall the previous night’s activities. And what he wouldn’t do for a repeat. But the lawyer had to go.

“What are you doing in here?” Crystal asked through clenched teeth.

“Obviously eavesdropping,” Dena said, not hiding her disdain for the younger Wellington.

“I was thirsty,” he replied.

“I’ll bet,” Dena said. “Crystal, remember what I said.” Then she pushed past Douglas and headed out to her car.

Crystal glared at him. “I asked you to stay in the bedroom,” she said.

“I was thirsty, and how was I to know that you and your attorney were having a bash Douglas fest? So, you just used me last night, huh?”

“Are we really going there?” she shot back.

“No,” he replied in all seriousness. “But I do have a question for you.”

Crystal grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet above her head and said, “What is it?”

“Do you share your attorney’s view of me? Do you think last night was about the land and this business deal that I want to happen out here?”

Crystal set her mug on the counter and then turned to face Douglas. “I don’t know. But I do know we have an injunction against your company.” She pulled the papers from the pocket of her robe and handed them to him.

Douglas set them aside. “I’ll look at that later, but I want an answer to my question.” He closed the space between them and when he was less than an arm’s length away from her, Crystal wanted to have an instant replay of last night. But somehow, the light of day made her realize what was really at stake.

Still, being that close to him, knowing how he could handle her body made it hard to think, breathe, and comprehend. “What was the question?” she asked.

“Do you think I’m using you?”

She shook her head. “Last night was amazing for both of us. But we know it can never happen again. I think you should take those papers and leave now.”

“Is that what you want or what your lawyer said you should do?” He reached out to stroke her cheek and Crystal turned her head away from his hand as if she didn’t want to be burned. Then she rounded the island in the middle of the kitchen, beginning to clean up their discarded whiskey glasses. When she grabbed the bottle and started to throw it away, Douglas crossed over to her and took it from her hands. “Since you’re kicking me out, I’m going to need this.”

“And a shirt. The last thing I need is one of the Starlight girls seeing you walking out of here looking like that,” Crystal said, giving him a slow once-over. How was it that he looked even more delicious to her extremely sober eyes?

“The least I could do before I leave is help you clean up and cook brunch.”

Crystal cocked her head to the side and slapped her hand on her hip. “You cook?”

“At times I have,” he said, leaning back on the counter opposite where Crystal stood. Knowing she was naked underneath that short robe made him bubble with desire. But, he’d play her game—for now.

“What are you going to cook?” she asked as she loaded the dishwasher.

Douglas crossed over to the refrigerator and opened it. He wasn’t surprised to see the fresh eggs, vegetables, and cheese in bowls. Knowing Crystal, she probably picked the veggies and gathered eggs daily.

“How about omelets, grits, and toast with some of these preserves you have back here?”

“What do you know about preserves?” Crystal asked, clearly impressed.

“I grew up here too,” he said. “I bet we would’ve been friends if you lived in the city.”

“I doubt it,” she replied. “I bet you wouldn’t have given me a second look in high school and you probably would’ve pulled my hair in elementary school.”

Douglas set the ingredients for the omelets on the island and gazed at Crystal. “You’re probably right. But you know why little boys do those things, right?”

“Because they’re little jerks?”

“That’s how we show that we like a girl. That and this,” he said, quickly crossing over to her and taking Crystal in his arms. He kissed her fast, hard, and deep. The chorus of moans that escaped her throat were like a melody to Douglas’s ears. He started to untie the sash on her robe when there was a knock at the back door.

“Damn,” he said as they broke their kiss. “Is it always busy like this over here?”

Crystal ran the tip of her tongue across her swollen bottom lip. “I have things that I normally do on Sundays,” she said as she crossed over to the door. It was MJ and Renda standing on the back porch with their gardening tools. Sunday was the day Crystal and the girls worked in the flower garden.

She opened the door and stepped outside. “Hi, girls,” she said.

“Miss Crystal,” MJ said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, I just had a long night.”

Renda folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side. “That man is in there, isn’t he?”

“Renda,” MJ said, slapping her sister on the shoulder. “That’s none of our business.” She turned to Crystal. “You like him, don’t you?”

“I . . . uh . . . am just trying to work with him to save this farm and Starlight House,” Crystal replied.

“Like Halle Berry in that James Bond movie,” MJ said with a gleam in her eyes. “Is it working?”

“Why don’t you two join us for brunch?” Crystal suggested.

“Or,” Renda said, “you can bring him to the rose garden after you eat and we can bash him in the head with a rock and then get . . .”

“What did you two watch last night?” Crystal asked with a laugh.

Renda and MJ looked at each other. “There was a James Bond marathon on,” MJ said.

“You two do know that things like that only work in those over the top movies, right?”

Renda shrugged. “Then what are you doing? Isn’t this some Lifetime Movie Network movie plot?”

“No,” Crystal said, growing tired of hearing that analogy about having Douglas at the farm. “Listen, I’m going to do whatever I have to do—aside from pretending I’m a Bond girl—to save this farm and your home.”

“We believe you, but some of the others are scared,” Renda said.

Crystal nodded and hugged both of the girls. “Everything is going to work out, I promise,” she said, hoping that she would be able to keep her word.

“We’re going to go, but if you do bring Mr. Wellington to the garden, we won’t knock him out.”

“That’s good to know,” Crystal replied with a laugh. As Renda and MJ headed for the rose garden, Crystal was left to wonder if she was doing the right thing by those girls or if she was setting them up for failure by not listening to Dena and tackling this problem in a more professional manner.

Slowly, she returned to the kitchen and was surprised to see that Douglas had finished preparing their brunch. On the island there were perfectly folded tomato and spinach omelets, cheese toast points, potatoes, peppers, and cheese, and warm biscuits smothered in peach preserves.

“This is a lot of food,” Crystal said.

“I thought we were going to have guests. You and those girls are close and if they wanted to join us, I wanted to make sure there was enough food to share,” he said as he picked up a piece of potato and held it out to Crystal to sample. Watching her as she closed her mouth around the fork, he smiled, thinking about those lips around his erection and how good it felt.

“Not bad,” she said. “Not bad at all.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “I told you that there’s more to me than my millions.”

Crystal took another potato slice and popped it in her mouth. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” he said as he placed an omelet on a plate and some potatoes. “Do you need more convincing?”

She took a big bite of her breakfast and smiled. “Why don’t you prove me wrong and tell me that you’re not going to come after my farm. Otherwise, you’re still everything I thought you were.”

Douglas clutched his chest as if he was having a heart attack like Fred Sanford. “You know, business is business, but I’d like to think that we’re getting to know each other on a different level.”

“But we’re still at an impasse,” Crystal said, pushing her plate away. No matter how good the food was, she couldn’t pretend that the gorilla in the room had moved an inch.

“Crystal, I’m not going to make promises to abandon this deal, but I can look at some things and see if there is a way we can coexist on this property,” he said as he spooned grits onto his omelet.

“That’s not a viable option,” she said. “This land is important, not just to me and my family, but—”

“I know the story,” he said. “You’ve been beating me over the head with it, but there has to be some sort of compromise.”

“Yeah,” she said. “The only compromise that I can live with is you finding another place to build this business park.”

Douglas stepped closer to Crystal, feeling the heat of her breath as he stood in front of her. “Business is business, Crystal. This land is the perfect location for this business park.”

“As you’ve said more than a million times, but what about what this land does now, gives a home to girls no one else cares about, provides food for the hungry and the throwaway people in this county that Welco—”

“Wants to provide jobs for. You and I want to do the same things.”

“No, we don’t,” she snapped. “You want to make money and I want to make a difference. It’s not the same thing.”

Douglas paused, taking a fork full of food into his mouth. She wasn’t totally wrong—the business park was not a charity. Yes, he wanted to make money, but what businessman didn’t? Why should he continue to apologize for that? As soon as he found the file, he’d find out why this land was so important to his dad.

“You know what?” he said. “Enjoy your food. I have some work I need to take care of.”

Crystal threw her food in the trash can and stormed down the hall, slamming into the bathroom and ignoring the sounds of Douglas dressing in her bedroom.