Chapter 43

After our brunch, just as I let Mandy slip from my embrace, she halted in the rear doorframe. Clad in a short black skirt and tight pink crop top, one of the tiny outfits unpacked into Debbie’s old bureau, she spun to face me.

“Umm, almost forgot. Charles is gonna text later.” With lips sucked deep inside her mouth, she looked towards her home. “When he asks, please say yes.”

“Okay.”

Did I care what he’d ask? Nope. My Mandy wanted me to agree, so her loving master would.

Sure enough, later that morning as I worked in the office, his message arrived.

Jim, how’d you like to attend our First Annual Traditional End-of-Summer Pool Closing Party?

I chuckled. Two reasons. Duh, the obvious; his title was hilarious. Second, because my pool was never shut down. All the pumps and lines were below the frost level, and if necessary, I swam through ice. My fingers tapped.

Who’s gonna be there?

My boss, Erville Rivas. A group of folks from the office. You saw some of them at the other party. Might be the last decent weather for a while.

Okay. When?

This afternoon.

A clearing sky shone beyond the window, and the day promised to be warm. My gaze shifted to their house. Not that it was visible from my desk, but my mind focused.

No, a woman like Mandy; she hadn’t forgotten about the event. The imp had waited until the last second to mention it. Plus, why so adamant that I attend?

“Great, more mysteries,” I muttered before chuckling.

Hot, and mine, if she wanted me there, I’d show up and uncover her rationale.

Which sorta happened.

The heat of the bright afternoon sun seeped into my shoulders as I walked toward upbeat music and laughter. A scan of the crowd in their backyard revealed why the little minx insisted on my attendance.

Tight curves, honed even more by our workouts, were clad in only the tiniest black microkini. The slender taut strings and three minuscule triangles were all that kept my sexy neighbor from being arrested.

While prancing through the crowd and acting the perfect hostess, she was putting on quite the mouth-watering show. A wide grin declared her unfazed by drawing the attention of a good many men, nor the envious or flat-out hostile glances from several women.

By far, the most focused glare belonged to a tall, Nordic-looking beauty. From beneath long, straight platinum-blonde hair, brilliant green eyes blazed. Yep, could all but imagine the cat-hisses. Based on her furled brows and given the tiny, powder blue bikini accentuating pale athletic curves, she was used to being the center of attention.

As Charles chatted with a small group of older guys, he seemed oblivious to his wife’s display. After spotting me, he waved me over. When I turned towards him, the blonde’s green lasers tracked me.

Like a spear of lightning, the memory of my first meeting with Kali appeared. Both the utter absence of color in both bodies and the intensity of their gazes. Yeah, I was being assessed.

With thin pink lips glimmering, she sashayed closer to the cluster of men. Just as I arrived, she slid onto the arm of a stocky man with a swarthy complexion.

“Hey everyone.” Charles cleared his throat. “For those who haven’t met him. This is Jim. He helped me with the security plan. And is an all-around great guy.”

“Erville. Erville Rivas,” the man bearing the power blonde on his arm offered with a hint of a Spanish accent. Latin American, not from Spain.

Older-looking and much shorter than me. His grip was firm as we shook hands, and lively dark eyes also assessed. Black hair, combed back and glistening, didn’t move in the gentle breeze.

After the others had introduced themselves, they resumed talking. The blonde said nothing. However, neither she nor I was listening to their words; a strange, muffled silence united us. As she continued scanning me from her companion’s arm, the small nipples atop a full, proud chest poked further.

Behind a fake cough, I hid a gasp. Lightbulb moment: she’d attended the earlier pool party. Busy with Desi and Susan, plus teasing Mandy, I’d not paid her any attention.

Oh, but she must’ve noticed me. With lithe curves pressed against Mr. Rivas, the Nordic beauty realized I was correcting my error and very much paying attention to her.

Something else unified us. Behind those eyes ... such a faint glimmer might’ve gone unnoticed. Before the changes brought by Mandy, the odds of me not noticing would’ve been far higher. Though it’d been a long time, the impact struck hard.

Yep, the second bolt from the blue that morning made my heart stagger. Her abrupt indecision: meet my gaze or turn away. Despite that hesitation, there was a clear need and an ethereal recognition of, if not what I was, an understanding of what I could do for her.

Profound clarity.

Except that made no sense. My inspection drifted to her husband; he didn’t seem the type to master, control, or dominate — pick a word. When she turned from me, hugging the older man’s arm tighter and chuckling at an inane joke, I was left with even more questions.

Answers wouldn’t arrive anytime soon, and with the excuse of finding a drink, I excused myself but slid into the pool. From there, my gaze joined those of the other men, tracking Mandy’s delightful waltz through the crowd. Wherever she pranced, every bend or slow twist was raising either hard-ons or ire. After spotting me, she sashayed over with a tray and squatted sideways on her heels to place a tumbler on the deck before me.

“God, you look so fucking hot,” I muttered.

“I wore this for you,” she whispered. “After all, I’m such a naughty little slut, Jim. What did you expect?”

“Hmm”—I gave her a slow inspection—”I expect to find a way to fuck you senseless.”