Page 2 of Love Me Carefully
Chapter One
February
Baltimore, Maryland
Terrell Pierce had worked all night, his mind reeling with computer code and logistics. This had been his routine for the past couple of months. SISCO Engineering was a huge job that he was lucky to land as an independent contractor. By Christmas the re-design of SISCO’s entire system would provide him with more than enough money to have him comfortably in his own home.
That went along perfectly with his timeline. His life had been planned and scheduled since the day he’d turned sixteen. He knew exactly what he wanted and wasn’t about to stop until he had it all. The college degrees, the perfect job, the six-figure salary, all that had come easily enough with dedication and determination—of which he had plenty to spare. Now he was moving towards the next phase of his dream.
He needed a family to round out his perfect scenario. He wanted the whole nine yards—successful career, a wife, kids, house and pets. That was where Tanya came in. She was beautiful, educated and classy. She would be perfect standing beside him as he continued his climb to the top. As soon as things slowed down a bit at work, he would propose and, hopefully, by this time next year they’d be on their way to starting a family.
Life was good.
Pressing the appropriate code, he gained entrance to the high-priced condo he leased. As if on cue, his stomach growled. He dropped his suitcase and headed for the kitchen. But then he heard something. His feet stopped, his ears perking up like those of a hound hearing a fox call.
Plush charcoal gray carpet lined the living room and dining room floors, so his steps were muffled.
The moaning he’d heard coming from his bedroom was not.
He moved quickly then, propelled by adrenaline. When he approached the door the moaning subsided. For one brief minute he thought he might’ve imagined it.
“Oh baby! Yes, baby. Yeah, gimme that ass.” A male groaned after speaking those words.
Terrell’s hand was on the knob and for a split second he considered not turning it. Fuck that! He opened the door, a mixture of shock and fury quickly circling in his gut as he stepped into the room.
In the middle of his bed—in the middle of his king-sized cherrywood Signature bed—some guy was pounding into some woman’s ass with the vigor of a champion stallion.
Only the heels of the woman’s feet faced Terrell, but he had a full view of the man’s naked ass working the hell out of her. Terrell’s hands fisted at his sides.
“Oh yeah, come on, baby. Cum for mama!”
But he knew the voice—knew it very well.
Consumed with their activities, neither person heard him approach. He cleared his throat once, then again for good measure. They stopped mid-stroke.
He wouldn’t overreact, wouldn’t turn this scene into some drama-filled fight that his neighbors would hear and disapprove of, even though his frantically beating heart was trying to lead him in that direction.
“What the hell?” The man turned his head to yell over his shoulder.
Tanya screeched, looking around the dude. “Terrell!”
With clenched teeth Terrell stood at the end of the bed, waiting to receive an explanation, which he doubted he’d understand. “Am I interrupting?” He stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep from dragging her from the bed.
The man cursed again and finally pulled out. “I thought you said you lived alone.” He glowered at Tanya as he reached for his pants.
Tanya turned around to a sitting position on the bed, not the least bit bothered by her nakedness, or apparently the fact that she’d just been caught fucking another man in Terrell’s bed. “I can’t believe you found your way in here. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you in the bedroom.” She crossed her legs and let her palms fall to her bare thighs.
Terrell glimpsed what she so openly displayed. But it was like looking at a stranger. Her usually neat and perfectly styled black hair was in disarray, she wore no makeup on her honey toned skin, and her brown eyes were dark, excited. He could repeat her words and say it’d been so long since he’d seen that look in her eyes. With an inward shake from the rage boiling inside him at the moment, he admitted, this wasn’t the woman he’d known for the past nine months. It wasn’t the woman he’d fallen in love with and had planned to marry. That thought should’ve made him feel at least a little better about the situation, but really didn’t.
He clamped his teeth down so tight he thought for sure he’d get lockjaw. He refused to talk to her until they were alone. The man was hastily getting his clothes on, looking from Terrell to Tanya, yelling expletives as though one or both of them should’ve been doing something other than staring at each other. In retrospect, Terrell figured the man was probably right. This had to be the worst busted lover scene in history. It was too calm, too quiet, but then that was the kind of man Terrell was.
“You don’t even care, do you?” Tanya asked after her lover had finally gone.
Terrell took a deep breath. “Do I care that you’re cheating on me, or do I care that you were tasteless enough to do it in our bed?”
She gave a wilted chuckle. “It would be more like you to be concerned about the bed than what I was doing in it,” she spat.
He turned his back to her then, moved to stand near his dresser, his hands still stuffed in his pockets. Inside he was roiling with anger, and his shoulders stiffened as he replayed the visions of them together. Still, he didn’t yell, didn’t demand an explanation.
