Night of Seduction (26 page)

“Wow, you are
breathtaking. There ought to be a law against that. Welcome to
Atlanta.
”

“Thank you,
Mitch. It
’
s nice to meet you,
”
she smiled.
“
Jason told me what you did. From what I
’
ve been
told Latoya is not one to mess with in this town. It was brave of
you to step forward.
”

“The only thing
that gave her any power was her connection to
Jason.
”

“That ended
last night. I
’
m cutting her
off.
”

TeKaya held his
hand in hers.
“
No
you
’
re not.
”
She gently kissed his lips and
smiled.
“
Here
’
s what you are going
to do. You can sign the house over to her or purchase her a smaller
one, pay her child support for Sierra, and call it a
day.
”

“Why in the
hell would I do that? Sierra will be living with
us.
”

“Yes, she will.
But Latoya is her mother and you will make sure that she lives at
the same level that her daughter does. Because when Sierra visits
her mom, we want her in a safe, loving
environment.
”

“Who said
I
’
m going to allow Sierra to visit
her?
”

TeKaya pulled
away.
“
I did.
”
She said and looked
at Jason with those big brown eyes and he caved in to her
request.

“I
’
ll buy her another
house.
”
TeKaya gave him a kiss.
“
And maybe a
monthly stipend or something,
”
she kissed him
again.
“
One of the cars.
”

She squeezed up
close to him and put her arms around his neck.
“
See,
you
’
re getting the idea.
”
Then rewarded him
with a full kiss.

Clearing his
throat, Mitch called out,
“
Let
’
s get this interview
started. I believe this man has better things to be
doing.
”

♪

Eric walked into the kitchen and found Siri
sitting at the breakfast bar watching all the action taking place
on the veranda. Mitch was interviewing Jason and TeKaya, with both
mothers sitting next to them. A small crowd of photographers,
camera men, light technicians, a make-up artist, and a few
attorneys, all stood in the background listening. He had to admit,
they made a beautiful couple. But he wondered why Siri sat in the
kitchen alone, while everyone else was outside. He heard Sierra
giggle in the background and before he turned to see what she was
up to, he noticed Siri wiped a tear from her cheek. The thought of
her being sad cut through him like a hot knife against butter.

She knew the moment that he was in the room.
The fluttering in her stomach alerted her that he was somewhere
near. It would have been easy to give in to the man behind her. The
way he made her feel last night almost convinced her to let go of
her fears and give in to him. But looking around, all she could she
were news camera in the front, at the back of the house, and now
inside the house. This was more than she could stand. The public
life was not for her. A tear fell as she came to the realization
that Eric and his lifestyle, were and always would, be off limits
to her.

“Siri,
”
his smooth voice called out to her as
if it was a melody to a song.

Never looking
around, she began talking.
“
They make a beautiful
couple don
’
t
they?
”

He was now
standing right behind her.
“
Yes, they
do.
”

“We can never
have that Eric. I
’
ve been through the
hurt of a public marriage, I barely survived. The life you lead is
different from normal men; it
’
s even different from
Jason
’
s. People want to be you, know you, touch, and love
you. You belong to them. What you and I feel for each other is
secondary. The media is a permanent part of your
life.
”

“I would give
it up for you.
”

“I
wouldn
’
t want you to. Music is a part of who you are.
Hell, it was your music that drew me to you. Please
don
’
t ever change that. Would you do something else for
me?
”

The two never
touched or looked at each other, but he knew this was the last time
he was going to be alone like this with her. The reality
hurt.
“
Anything.
”

She wiped
another tear.
“
Don
’
t ever kiss anyone
the way you kiss me. You have a wicked tongue.
”
She
picked up her purse and stood.
“
Tell my mother and
TeKaya I
’
ll see them when they get
home.
”

“I
’
ll take you back to
Richmond.
”

“No.
”
She replied never looking at
him.
“
I have a flight booked.
”

She began to
walk away.
“
Siri,
”

“Yes,
”
she stopped but did not turn
around.

“Send me a copy
of your book.
”
She smiled, but did not trust herself
to answer, so she just nodded and walked out of the
kitchen.

He waited until
he heard the outside door closed before he moved. He walked over to
the door leading to the veranda. His heart had just been shattered
into a million and one pieces, but his brother
’
s heart
had been healed. Eric wasn
’
t sure if he should
laugh or cry.

Ty stepped back
into the kitchen to answer his cell phone.
“
The damn papers
are signed. But this isn
’
t over. Your boys
will have to deal with me again,
”
Latoya, said right
before the other end of the line went dead.

Relived to know
Jason could now begin his new life, Ty looked over at Eric solemnly
looking out at the couple. It was clear the woman on the screen
with Eric last night was Siri. From what he observed last night,
there seemed to be tension between them and Ty
wasn
’
t sure what steps to take in regard to the tape. If
this woman was the one for Eric, the one to make him smile like
Jason, then it was his duty to keep anything from damaging their
chances. And that tape would do more damage than they could
imagine. His cell chimed and he answered the call.
“
I have your guy. He
’
s a small time
investigator, not sleazy, but not clean either. I have someone
sitting on him. What do you want me to do?
”

“Sit on him.
I
’
ll hit you back in fifteen.
”
The frown on
Eric
’
s face, told him things must have gone badly. He
wondered, whether Eric had feelings for this
woman
—
only one way to find out.
“
You were right,
Siri is a beautiful woman.
”
Ty said as he stood
off to the side of the room.
“
Makes me wonder, how
a man could let a woman like that go.
”

Eric turned to
Ty with fury in his eyes.
“
I have no intention
of letting her go. It
’
s taking her a little
time to realize it, but I know just like there is a heaven above
she will be mine.
”

Heaven’s
Gate

Siri

O
n a flight from
Atlanta, Georgia to Richmond, Virginia, the flight attendant
approached Siri Austin as she stared out of the window.
“
Would you like any refreshments?
”

Looking towards
the attractive woman, Siri smiled.
“
No thank
you.
”

Seeing the
tears on her face the attendant asked,
“
Are you
alright
—
may I be of any assistance to
you?
”

Wiping the tear
away, Siri replied with a sad smile,
“
No,
I
’
ll be fine.
’

The attendant
acknowledged her response and moved on. Siri turned back to the
window and wondered how she had allowed her life to be turned
upside down again
—
by a man. A month
ago, she was doing fine. After all the publicity surrounding her
divorce from Carl Austin, she was finally getting her life back.
She was teaching again, she had finished the book she had begun
writing over a year ago and the book had been accepted for
publication by Crimson Publishing. One of the most prestigious
publishers in the business wanted her novel. The credit for the
wonderful achievement did not belong to her and therein lie the
problem. The completion of her novel could be attributed to one
person, Eric
“
Silk
”
Davies.

A little over a
month ago Siri
’
s younger sister,
TeKaya invited, or more like dragged her to the Friday at Sunset
Concert series held in Richmond, Virginia every summer. That
night
’
s performer was soulful R&B singer Silk Davies.
The man
’
s music was known for being responsible for the
conception of a number of children. Putting on one of his
CD
’
s was a sure thing for getting any woman in the mood
for a good night of love making. Siri was no different. There was
an instant attraction to the man that mesmerized her the moment he
stepped on stage. All of the hurt she
’
d experienced from
the devastating divorce began to dissolve the moment he began to
sing. All the doubts she was left with, evaporated the first time
they kissed. And all the shields she
’
d erected around her
heart began to melt the last time they made love.

Siri arrived
home with just enough time to shower and change to meet an agent
name Kiki Simmons. She had set up the appointment before she went
to Atlanta to be with her sister, and before she allowed Eric to
claim her heart. Until Friday night, it was just a physical
attraction, but now she just wasn
’
t sure.

While dressing
in her room, her eyes continuously roamed over her bed. The same
bed that had not been changed or made up since she and Eric rushed
to Atlanta. The temptation was so strong to go over and smell the
pillow to see if his scent was still on it
—
but that would
only make things worse. She immediately got up from her vanity,
stripped the bed and ran downstairs to put everything into the
washer. She was determined to get Eric
“
Silk
”
Davies out of her system. I
shouldn
’
t have let him in, in the first
place
—
right? The thought crossed her mind minutes after the
washer started. Standing in the middle of the laundry room,
watching the machine was not going to answer that question for her.
Somehow, she had to protect her heart from opening to him any
further. The telephone rang and she jumped, startled by the sound.
Thinking it might be her mother or sister TK, whom
she
’
d, left in Atlanta, she ran into the kitchen to answer
it.
“
Hello.
”

“Hi. I wanted
to make sure you made it home okay,
”
Eric
’
s voice vibrated
through the line.

“Yes,
”
was all she could say, her heart
wanted to say more, but her mind knew better.

Silence
resonated around the room.
“
Be sure to have an
attorney read over all those documents before you sign anything.
That goes for your meeting with the agent as well. What was her
name again?
”

“Kiki
Simmons,
”
she replied as she cursed herself for being
distant with him. Here he was trying to help her and she was being
defensive.