Tulips for Tonica (2 page)

Wasabi’s Sushi sat mostly empty at this late hour. The rain drove most people indoors during October for fear of ice and slick roads. Tonica had left her car about a block and half back down West Market Street by the Panera, having followed Carte on foot. She didn’t want his driver spotting her vehicle’s tail. So, she simply watched his sleek, ebony Lexus SUV drive down to the bookstore, Carte got out, entered the bookstore with driver in tow. He exited the bookstore sometime later and walked down to the sushi house. Tonica had followed him, discreetly until Olivia pulled her off her assignment.

Screw that.

“Here you are,” the hostess said, still smiling softly at her. “Would you like hot green tea? It will warm you.”

“Yes, thank you.” Tea sounded so good on such a dreary and cold day.

She slid into the two-person booth and shuddered, the chilly leather seat cold against her wet clothes. Her nipples contracted and pointed merrily through the soaked blouse. Like a second skin and a wet tee-shirt contest, her drenched clothing suddenly made her feel naked. Her pointy peaks tingled. No wonder the damn host kept smiling at her. She yanked her raincoat tighter, and then relaxed. Putting her observation skills to work, she took in her surroundings. Maybe the décor kept it intimate, but like most sushi places, it held a close familiarity, cold and abstract, but familiar all the same.

Across the empty seating area, sipping a small cup of saki, Carte Seay sat, facing her. His driver/bodyguard sat at a perpendicular angle, to Carte’s right, where he could see the door, no doubt. So the bodyguard had seen her come in.

“Here’s your tea,” said a waiter, making Tonica flinch. The waiter stepped right into her field of vision. Now she couldn’t see Carte. “You ready to order?”

“Yes, uh, I’ll have the, uh, California roll,” she said, scanning through the menu from its propped up position on the table. Yeah, the Cali roll would be the easiest to order, since she knew it by heart. “Thank you.”

The waiter nodded and left.

When the waiter vacated her view, she noticed that Carte had moved. In fact, he was gone! She frowned. Where the dickens had he got off to in such a short time?  She looked toward the door. Nope. The driver remained seated at the table.  Restroom? Maybe.

She put the menu down on the table and stood up. Adjusting her coat, she slung her purse onto her shoulder and headed to the restroom. Her sneakers squirted cool water between her socked toes and she grimaced. When she reached the ladies restroom, she slowed and pretended to dig into her purse searching for some lost item. She wanted to see if she could wait until Carte came out of the neighboring door.

She fished around her bag, counting to twenty. If he hadn’t appeared by the time she reached twenty, she’d make a show of going into the restroom.

“You lose something miss?” asked a voice so velvety smooth, Tonica’s ears actually relaxed. “You can use my cell phone if you need to call someone.”

Tonica looked up and in to the most vivid verdant eyes she’d ever seen. Like emeralds, they held her fast. Fire and shrewd intelligence burned deep in those orbs. Carte Seay. In. The. Flesh. Dressed in an immaculate navy suit, Carte gave her a smile so sinful, so full of carnal promise, she nearly came right there. Untouched, no foreplay, nothing but his smile beamed at her.

Hot damn.

A smile that had disarmed so many prosecutors and allowed so many paying clients to walk around free. Tonica reminded herself of whom she dealt with—not some Swiss god, but a walking cancer—a defense attorney.

Wheat-brown hair seemed to pulsate around him. Cut long in the front, and shorter all around made his eyes seem all the more green, and the fine line of stubble sprouting along his jawline made him look less polished, but rugged. Like sex with him wouldn’t be stilted and boring, but rough and rugged—good Lord help her.

“I, uh, I…” she stammered, unable to make herself think past that alluring smile. Strong white teeth, even and handsome in his luscious mouth—a mouth made to suckle her nipples, kiss her clit and make her melt. Yep. That mouth. Right. There.

She swallowed.

“I noticed you’re eating alone,” Carte said, smirking now at her. “You could eat with me, at my table.”

“You?” she spat through a wad of horniness and horrible indecision.

“Yes.” He frowned at her and then his eyes brightened, his face relaxed. “Oh, yes, forgive my bad manners. You have no idea who I am...”

Tonica had every idea of who he was, and despite the allegations against him, the fine ass attorney held her to the spot and drained all logical thoughts from her brain-except for one. The one operating her libido.

“…I’m Carte Seay.” He extended his hand formally. “And you are?”

“Um, oh, Tonica.” Her brain misfired under the heat of his gaze.

Damn it. She can’t believe she gave him her real name. Olivia was going to kill her—kill her for sure.

She shook his hand, and he let his fingers linger on hers. So soft, as if they’d never done a day of labor—ever. Those palms would feel so nice cupping her breasts, gliding down her stomach to her beating desire. Slipping into her wet heat, thumbing her clit and making her…

“Very nice to meet you, Tonica. When you come back from the restroom, you will join me at my table,” Carte said, taking his hand back with another small smile. He looked at his hand and then back at her. “I insist.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, blushing, feeling her whole body flush from his touch. “Mr. Seay…”

“Carte,” he interrupted. “See you in a bit.”

With that he turned on his Italian leather-shod feet and headed back to the seating area.

Tonica swallowed hard. That bit of lust hurt going down her throat, all raw edges and panic. Already, she spied the waiter going to her table and collecting her tea to take to Seay’s table. Shit. Shit. Shit. She didn’t know what the hell had just happened.

All she knew for sure was that Olivia was going to kill her.

Chapter Two

The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love.

—Unknown

Carte Seay returned to his table, picked up his saki, and tried to slow down the roar of blood and adrenaline racing through him. He allowed himself a small smile. He’d done it. After weeks of planning, his time had arrived. His stomach tightened in anticipation. Would she be able to accept what he’d done? The lengths he had gone through to get to this point? It’d been a big risk, but his good friend and client, Stephen Silver, owner of C.A.K.E. had assured him that he, too, had done some very dramatic things for love. He didn’t love Tonica, but he liked her very much.

“Far be it for me to tell you what to do, boss, but are you sure about this?” Tre Alexander, his bodyguard, asked in a low rumble. “She is pretty, but you’ve dated more beautiful woman than
her
.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, don’t you know, Tre? Besides, I like more than just her attractive packaging.”

Carte smirked at the unsolicited advice from his bodyguard and accountant. Tre not only handled Carte’s personal finances, but he also owned an accounting firm that boasted several of the larger businesses in the Greensboro area. Despite four years of partnership, Carte never asked him about his personal life, but he’d never witnessed anyone on the big man’s arm. A large man with wide shoulders, bald headed with rippling muscles that conveyed sheer strength, Tre’s mental brilliance in accounting disarmed many. Still, love advice didn’t appear to be one of Tre’s many talents.

“Beauty, gold diggers, glory hounds, everyone wants something,” Tre said, barely moving his lips. Even from behind his dark sunglasses, Carte knew Tre saw everything.

“Tonica is none of those. She’s a smart woman, cunning and charming, funny and brilliant,” Carte explained, and shrugged out of his suit jacket. “I want a chance, Tre. I missed it before. I’m not going to let this one go. She, she could be the one.”

Tre snorted in disbelief. “The one. This isn’t
The Matrix
, Seay. You’re already tangled up in a mess with Shae.”

He shrugged. “My handling of Shae’s claim has been a mistake.”

“Then there’s how you’re doing this. You ask a woman outright. This thing you’re doing…” Tre shook his head.

Carte scowled. “I know it’s unconventional, but I had no choice. With the paparazzi…”

The scent of rain and lavender caught his attention. Tonica approached, skirting through tables, her petite legs moving with purpose. He noted that Tonica’s slick black raincoat hadn’t done a good job of keeping her dry. With her clothes clinging to her like a second skin, all of Tonica’s luscious curves had been put on display. Her figure stole his breath, made desire tingle through him and stirred his cock. The long-sleeved hunter-green tee-shirt revealed the outline of what appeared to be a lace bra. Dark jeans, so wet they looked black instead of navy clung stubbornly to hefty hips, tight buttocks, petite legs, and a waist thick, but not sloppy. Tonica’s hair hung in long, wet waves to her shoulders. She had the most amazing eyes, deeply dark brown, but surprisingly bright when something caught her fancy or made her curious. Fighting back the hunger growling at the base of his abdomen, Carte drank some more saki. Signaling the waitress, he tapped the lip of the container for a refill.

“Ah, thank you for joining me,” he said, standing up to get the chair for Tonica. He hoped the table blocked his partially hardened cock. With quick movements, he risked her glimpsing it to help her into her seat. He couldn’t keep his eyes from watching her round, tight bottom, clad in a pair of soaked jeans, slide down into the chair.
Lucky wooden chair.
When he returned to his seat, he exhaled a bit, trying to ease the ache she caused in him.

“Tonica, this is my bodyguard, Tre Alexander. Tre, this is Tonica Faye.”

Tonica cast Tre an appraising glance, before moving her eyes back to Carte.

“Nice to meet you.”

The aroma of fresh sushi and soft cherry blossoms wafted along the heated air. The notes of Japanese music danced along the aromas. Tonica crossed her legs. She mixed her tea, adding in sugar and a touch of milk. She seemed perfectly comfortable.

He hadn’t ever felt so uncomfortable in his life. He’d defended some of the biggest clients in the Triad area and faced down some of the most vicious prosecutors, but a casual conversation with Tonica Faye caused his palms to sweat and his heart to race. Why did this little chocolate beauty cause such a visceral reaction? He’d watched her as she interned at Graves & Yang Law Offices as a UNC-G student. As a graduate of one of the area’s top law schools, he had worked at the same law offices, watching her like some anthropologist—from afar. She worked in one department and he, another. She spent a lot of time completing investigations, so she probably didn’t remember ever seeing him. They didn’t work or play in the same circles. Still he enjoyed their interactions, albeit brief.  Five years older, Carte had made it a point to monitor her progress at the firm, but whenever he worked up the courage to talk to her, something intervened.

That had been nearly six years ago.

“So, Carte Seay …” she said and then sipped her tea.

“Tell me about yourself, Miss Faye? What do you do?”

“I do a little this and that.”

“So do I.”

She laughed. “Riiight.”

“If you can be ambiguous, so can I.”

Her eyebrow quirked. “Touché.”

When she smiled, his cock twitched. Her teeth seemed white and perfect in her mouth. He wanted to know how they would feel nipping along his arm, around his neck and down his stomach. Her sinfully long lashes batted at him.

“Tre, excuse us, please.” Carte reached for his own cup of saki to keep his hands busy.

Tre’s muscles bunched and relaxed under his suit jacket, making the fabric bunch up before he stood. He nodded and stepped away from the table. Carte waited until the man had cleared the section before resuming his conversation with Tonica.

“What types of this and that do you do that brings you out on such a drab day?”

Tonica bit her lip. She blushed, but not so much with the flushing of her smooth, chocolate skin, but in her demeanor.

He knew good and well
who
Tonica Faye worked for and he knew why she ended up at
Wasabi’s Sushi
.  The reporters, paparazzi, and now private investigators had been trailing him for months—going through his trash, calling his law office and trying to get whatever dirt they could on him for Shae’s paternity claims and ratings.

Yes, he knew why Tonica followed him for nearly six hours today.

“I was out seeking something beautiful and naughty,” she said, hitching her chin and meeting his gaze.

Heat broke out across his shoulder blades. In his opinion, something beautiful and naughty sat directly across from him.

“Is that so? Was it so important you forgot your umbrella?”

Another smile. “Oh, you have jokes. Well, I’ll have you know I got caught in the rain.”

The curve of her cherry-tinted lips conveyed something words couldn’t ever truly capture. The fire in those depths threatened the tight control Carte had on his carnal desire. Women often flirted with him, but Tonica’s long lashes, sensual smile, and dangerous curves circumvented his defenses. He allowed himself to drink her in, letting his mind run off with its own fantasies. She smelled nice—a heady mix of lavender and rain. Her skin looked soft and warm under the Japanese lantern’s glow.

Clearing his throat, he adjusted the pressure his slacks had on his growing arousal. She didn’t seem to notice, and thankfully, the sushi arrived to block out his efforts.

Tonica had a fierce determination that he adored. It made her incredibly exciting.

Once the waitress had left, he reclined in his chair. He loved sushi, but he delayed appeasing his appetite in lieu of satisfying his yearning.

“Really? Beautiful and naughty? A strange combination. What were you looking for?” He fingered the edge of his chopsticks.

Tonica shrugged. “Not really strange. Some people’s beauty masks their naughty—dangerous habits.”