Sweet Obsession (Men of Whiskey Row Book 1) (35 page)

Briefly Jack closed his eyes; and one of the many unpleasant childhood memories he wished he could forget assailed him.

He was ten at the time and waiting for his mother to pick him and Darby up from school. As he waited for his brother outside, he talked some football with his friends Guy and Charlie. Unbeknownst to him, Patrick was there to pick them up instead. When he finally noticed his father, he quickly grabbed Darby and they hurried towards the truck, lest he get out and embarrass them. Jack had barely buckled himself into the front seat when…Crack! He reeled back from the slap his father gave him, his head hitting the passenger window as blood pooled in his mouth. “Stop slumming with the niggers and that savage, boy! You’ll only give ‘em ideas that they’re as good as you, and they’ll try to take your jobs and women!” Dizzy, Jack struggled not to throw up from the instant headache the blow gave him. Opening the door, he spit the blood out as his father continued to yell at him. His eyes met those of his sympathetic friends, and he wanted to crawl into a hole, certain they could hear the bastard’s ranting and raving across the parking lot. For weeks afterwards, he’d been ashamed to look them in the eye.

“Jack!” At Noelle’s voice, Jack blinked the memory away and wiped his flush face, before continuing his story.

“One day Viv was leaving the laundromat with a box of our clothes, and she ran into Patrick. The box fell to the ground and he saw what was inside. He grabbed her arm and accused her of stealing. As you know, my godmother is not one to mince words, so she slapped him and cussed him out. He grabbed her, and my mother came running out to help her friend. I’m told she jumped on his back, and he threw Viv to the ground, kicked her in the stomach, and punched my mother in the face. Little did he know that earlier in the day, the Romankovs discovered that they were pregnant.”

“Witnesses went to get Alexei and the sheriff, and Patrick took off like the sniveling coward that he was. Alexei was furious at what the two women had been plotting on their own, and he took his wife to the hospital where he didn’t leave her side until the doctor said she was fine. Viv was mad at him for not going to check on Ma, but after speaking to the Sheriff who said the bastard was nowhere to be found, there was nothing she could say.”

“Two deputies were assigned to our house, and Ma pulled us out of school to get the rest of our things. We were upstairs packing when we heard him. We all huddled in the master bedroom and shoved a dresser against the door. She spoke calmly but quietly and gave us instructions to go out the window and to our nearest neighbor’s home. They would know what to do and stay off the road path. We begged her to come with us even as the dresser was being pushed away from the door. Patrick sounded like an animal, and we were terrified to leave her there with him. Ma wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that everything would be okay. We needed to go now and not look back or turn around for anything. When we left, we saw both deputies lying on the ground with blood gushing from their heads and a pipe laying in between them. Both were still alive and later told the sheriff that he’d been hiding under the house.” Jack hung his head, shaking at the memory of that horrible night.

“You are mine, Moira! I will never let you go! Never!!” Patrick Sullivan screamed furiously and high-pitched wails of agony filled the air following his declaration.

“Patrick murdered my mother that night and then took his own life. He forever changed the lives of seven people. My brothers and I were left motherless. Ian and Vivienne were left sister-less. Alexei …wifeless, because as soon as Viv heard what happened to her dearest friend, she moved out of their bedroom into a guest room, remaining there on bed rest until she gave birth to Katerina Moira Romankov. A month after the baby was born, Viv left Alexei and hasn’t been back since, because she couldn’t and
still can’t
forgive him for what he didn’t do. Kat lost out on growing up with two doting parents who loved one another and lived in the same household. All she’s ever known is being shuffled around back and forth between here and D.C. That’s why every day since that night, I wish that I would’ve had the balls to kill Patrick Sullivan and protect my family,” Jack said bleakly.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The silence between them hung heavy. Still reeling from Jack’s confession of his family history, Noelle could sense the emotional turmoil weighing him down and wished she could take away his pain. She grasped his hand in one of hers and held it in her lap and stroked his rigid jaw with the other. Eyes closed, he turned his head into her touch and pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm. Noelle leaned in and gave him a soft lingering kiss. She said sincerely, “Jack, I’m so sorry that happened to you and your family. I wish I could take your pain away.”

Jack gave a heavy sigh and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “It’s not something I usually talk about, but today…just seeing that fried chicken and the
taste
… God, it brought it all back for me. I’ve never allowed myself to grieve or celebrate the time I was blessed to have with her. In the beginning, there was never time. I had to make sure that my brothers were alright; to be strong for them and Vivienne and to never show weakness in front of Ian and Alexei. Pretty soon it just got easier to say and do the things to make everyone around me feel better, that I just buried my feelings and concentrated on making sure everyone else was all good. I never looked back; just kept putting one foot in front of the other until it didn’t hurt to breathe so much.”

“During our counseling sessions, I’d expose a little bit of myself to get the sessions rolling for Casey and Darby, but I wouldn’t really divulge too much. Living with Alexei after Ma’s death was really tricky for me, because he was always watching me, like I was a bomb just waiting to go off. I tried my hardest to be good and keep the boys in line so he would keep us together,” Jack grimaced and leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes wearily.

“It just became…too much for me and when it was time to apply for colleges I picked the ones farthest from home and only came home during holidays and to see my siblings graduate from high school. This visit is the longest I’ve been here since Kat graduated from high school. Usually we all get together in Nashville, D.C., or they come to New York to see me.”

He fell silent, and Noelle leaned back resting her head on his shoulder and rubbed his thigh in a soothing manner. She listened as his breathing gradually returned to a normal state and silently cursed Patrick Sullivan for the all the damage he’d inflicted on these good people.
How much
, she wondered,
would he have hated that they had obviously taken after their mother and grew up to be successful businessmen that were well-liked and established? That a strong, beautiful, black woman had a hand in raising them, and they had a biracial sister? Or that his son was married to a black woman? Oh, how he had to be turning in his grave,
she thought. Suddenly Jack sat up and got to his feet. “C’mon, let’s get out of here and get some fresh air.”

Noelle accepted his offered hand, and he gently pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her tightly to him. “Are we going to join the others?” she asked.

Jack shook his head and grinned. “Nah, we’re going to do something that I haven’t done in a long time.”

Noelle looked at him expectantly. “Okay, I’m game. What do I need to bring?”

He grinned and her heart leaped per usual as he grabbed her hand and led her to the door. “You don’t have to bring anything except a willingness to try new things.”

***

Noelle craned her neck, looking up in disbelief at the forty-foot tall ladder attached to the side of a massive tree. She could make out the large wood platform at the top. Her gaze turned to follow the zip line that stretched from the tree over the huge man-made lake to a tree on the opposite side. Turning to Jack she asked in disbelief “
This
is what you guys did for fun growing up?”

They’d driven into a denser wooded area that made Noelle think of the Blair Witch Project, before coming to a stop by a clear path that led to a fenced in lake. Jack informed her that Alexei had it built for all the local kids the year he and his brothers came to stay with him.

Jack laughed his deep booming laugh and started to unbutton his black shirt, revealing tanned, sinewy muscles that Noelle couldn’t help but admire. “Awww c’mon, baby. Where’s your sense of adventure? This is where you could find the gang every summer from noon ‘til dinnertime. The water’s not that deep, seven feet tops. Growing up, parents didn’t mind because there was safety in numbers; and after Alexei had it built, he hired lifeguards and security to supervise all activity. If you couldn’t swim, you weren’t allowed in. You
can
swim right?”

“Yes, but I don’t have a swimsuit, Mr. Sullivan. Something I’m very sure you’re aware off.” She said dryly. He was down to his boxer briefs now and again Noelle found herself admiring his fine form. Under her perusal, she watched his manhood lengthen. Damn, she couldn’t get enough of him. Noelle had to press her legs together to squelch her ever growing desire for him.

“Not a problem. It’s just us out here. Let’s climb to the top, and I’ll show you how to use the zip line. It’ll drop you anywhere in the lake, but you probably want to drop into the center,” he suggested, glancing at her expectantly. Oh right, he wanted her clothes off. Quickly she kicked her shoes off and yanked her tee and pants off.

Jack felt his eyes glaze over at the brown sugar perfection before him, enhanced by a lacy, pink satin bra and matching bikini cut panties. Her nipples beaded under his hot gaze, and she bit her bottom lip. He cleared his throat and turned to discreetly adjust himself as he motioned for her to climb the ladder. “Ladies first, baby. Don’t worry, I’m right behind you.”

She smiled and walked over to the ladder. Jack groaned loudly, as the lush roundness of her ass teased him through the delicate lace, begging him to rip the bottoms off, cup the full globes and explore the sweet goodness between them. Noelle must have been reading his mind, tossing him a warning look over her shoulder. “Don’t even think about it. This is Agent Provocateur, and you’d best believe you’d be replacing it, mister.”

Noelle reached up to hoist herself onto the first step, only to find herself pressed back against his warm body, his swollen cock nestled perfectly between her ass cheeks. His warm breath tickled her ear as he slid his large hand up her stomach to rest under her breasts. “It’d be worth it. Just so we’re clear…you’re saying as long as I replace it…”

“Mmmmmm, you’re insatiable,” she murmured, leaning back into him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and gently swatted her behind.

“Up you go, so I can enjoy the view.” At the top on the wooden platform, Noelle was able to take in the breathtaking view of the lake as it sparkled in the late afternoon sun. The air was so crisp and fresh that she wished she could bottle it up and take it back to the city with her.

“Pay attention, baby,” Jack instructed; she listened attentively as he explained the mechanics of the zip line bar and nodded her head when he asked if she understood. Then he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips and grinned.
He looks so carefree,
Noelle thought; the heavy weight of his confession had been lifted from those broad shoulders of his. It was a shame he’d carried all that baggage around for so many years as he was clearly relieved to shed it.

“See you at the bottom.” He turned to grab the bar but quickly turned back around and yanked her into his arms. “One more for good luck.”

His firm lips covered hers in a tender kiss, tongues meeting and sliding against each other in the slowest of dances. Noelle closed her eyes and lost herself in his firm embrace as Jack’s arms squeezed her tighter as if he never wanted to let go. It was different from their usual intense kisses, but got her blood boiling nonetheless. Slowly they broke apart, and her hand reached up to caress his cheek. In the late afternoon sun, she could see every green and gold fleck in his hazel eyes and count every freckle on his nose.
He’s the reason our babies are going to be so good-looking
, she thought to herself.

Jack was thinking the same thing as he looked at her lush, pink lips swollen from their kiss and the delicate bone structure of her face, her big gray eyes filled with happiness. “Damn, girl. What’s my name again?”

Laughingly she pushed him away and watched as he took the bar confidently and leaped from the platform. His enthusiastic ‘Whooooooo!’ as he sped down the line was contagious and Noelle laughed as he let go and dove into the middle of the lake. A minute later he popped up and gave her the thumbs up yelling, “Come on in! The water is perfect!”