Page 109 of Family Affair
He tensed. “Why is that?”
“He’s just a jerk.” Coco gave him another one of her little impersonal smiles as her features blanked.
He sensed an unpleasant story behind Coco’s smooth exterior.
Lucy wouldn’t quit. “I think you should tell all. How he harassed you all those months you worked for him, thriving on your mistakes and refusing time off, belittling you in front of your co-workers and generally treating you like a schoolgirl.”
“Mom,” a clear warning rang in her tone, but Lucy spoke over her daughter.
“There’s no shame in telling. He accosted you today!” Training her large hazel eyes on him, Coco’s eyes, Lucy went on, “This Aaron kicked her out of the building, subjected her to all kinds of abusive words, groped her in private places and tried to bully her into being intimate with him!”
“Mom!” Coco wailed. “Stop it!” Her cheeks pinkened and her eyes shot daggers.
He got that funny feeling inside, the one he remembered from catching Dan with the whores.
“Groped you how?” He wished he were there to see it, to stand up for her and experience the pleasure of separating her boss’s balls from the rest of his body.
“In the elevator,” she flopped back on the couch and opened and closed her hands a couple of times to demonstrate the act of groping. “You know, the usual. With his hands.” A delicate shudder went through her small frame.
“What did you say his name was?”
Bloodlust apparently showed no matter how neutral he kept his voice, and she sat up straighter. “It’s all in the past. Besides, I beat him up.”
He straightened up, too. “You what now?”
Still rosy from being the center of attention over an unpleasant matter, she explained in a halting voice, “I remembered what you did with Dan at the police station. That is, when you went at each other… You kind of jammed your shoulder into him. A neat trick. And it worked!” Animated now, she started gesticulating in a manner he found endearing.
“Aaron just slammed into the wall, and his head made this loud bang, and then he lost his glasses. Of course, if he were a normal man, normal-sized I mean, like you for instance, I wouldn’t have had a chance…” she trailed off and her beautiful, wide eyes slowly swept all over his body, up from his legs, his torso, taking in all the ragged, rough length of him before settling on his face.
He hadn’t noticed how his arousal happened. A blink of her eyes – and he was hard, aching, and grateful for his sitting position to conceal the blatant bulge of his fly.
Let’s try it, he wanted to say.Go on, tackle me, and let’s see who ends up on top.
“You didn’t tell me about that!” Lucy’s astonishment broke through his desire.
Coco slashed air with her hand and stood up. “It’s over with. I don’t want to talk about that idiot anymore. The fact that someone like me was able to take him down means he’s completely inept.”
They all migrated to the kitchen and soon the savory smell of a late dinner saturated every corner of the small and cozy space. Chap, lured by the smell from his deep slumber – a permanent state for the animal, from what Cade was able to determine – ambled forth with the air of a born ruler.
“Have the police asked any more questions of you?” Coco asked over her shoulder, her hands slicing bread in quick, efficient motions.
“Detective Willis has been in touch,” he said, evasive.
It wasn’t the last time Cade heard from him, off-record. And he reserved the right to exploit the good detective’s underhanded approach to his benefit, thinking that it wouldn't be too bad to have an ally in the law enforcement corner. Willis was tenacious. He was also committed to finding The Truth.
His partner, Smirnoff, was a lot different like that. If the Santa impersonator had been able to find a plausible excuse for Cade’s arrest, he would've been dressed in orange scrubs and eating the state mandated bean mixture this very moment instead of dining on Lucy’s tender pot roast with steamed asparagus.
Fabricated charges, circumstantial evidence – whatever it took. By booking Cade, Smirnoff could shake off various headaches that had been plaguing him because of his stalled progress. The invasive reporters, the pressure of the public opinion, the Feds sniffing around his case –ciao!So long. Have a nice day. And Cade’s lawyer could always appeal.
“But they have nothing against me, thanks to your alibi.” Cade gave her a small smile, not wanting to trouble her by what he really thought about this case.
“I’m glad I could help.”
She was so secure in her belief of his innocence. Such humbling trust. He wanted to get on his knees and kiss her hands, like she was his queen, simply for believing him.
He looked at her slender form in a simple blue knit shirt and jeans. She was deftly helping Lucy to finish the salad. So simple, so graceful, the back of her long neck on display as she bent her head over the bowl, intent on her task.
He was almost shaking with the need to touch her, not in a sexual way, but simply lay his hand on the small of her back and feel her body move as she cut the tomatoes. Or trace the length of her neck with the backs of his fingers. She had such tender skin there, white and smooth like marble, but warm to the touch, silky, alive.
