The Masseuse Read online

  “I’m not upset!”

  “Or depressed.”

  “Delilah!”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”

  Jezebel sighed. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “I get it.”

  “Okay then.” The waitress returned with a virgin pina colada for Delilah and a ginger ale for

  Jezebel. “So, when do I get to meet him?”

  “Saturday?” This meeting had been long in coming. She’d told Ramsey her sister wanted to meet him and he hadn’t batted a lash when he asked for the time and location. But they’d had to cancel because of his trips.

  “If he comes back on Wednesday,” Delilah murmured.

  “What was that?” Jezebel hissed.

  “Nothing. Nothing. Jeez.”

  When Delilah continued to glare at her, Jezebel sighed. “I’m sorry, okay. I’m just...tense.”

  Her sister rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

  “Let’s talk about something else. How was your photo shoot for—”

  “How well do you know him?”

  “What?”

  “Seriously, Jez, you haven’t met his family or friends...you don’t really know this guy, and he’s not just a screw-buddy anymore. You guys are dating—seriously dating, if the looks on your face indicate anything.”

  Jezebel shook her head. What had gotten into her sister? She was like a dog with a bone this morning. “Delilah, let me worry about that.”

  “I would but you seem not to care,” her sister snapped. “This isn’t like you, Jez. What are you waiting around for? He hasn’t taken you to see his family, he told you that his family is ‘specific’ aka racist as fugg, and you’re just...allowing the relationship to happen at his pace.” Sometimes she regretted sharing stuff with her sister. “Are you afraid he’ll leave you if you demand more?”

  “No!” Jezebel shook her head. “Look, I know what I’m doing, Lilah. I know you’re concerned but I know what I am doing.”

  “Well, can you share it because I’d like to know too.”

  “Lilah!”

  “Fine!” Delilah snapped. “Whatever. It’s your life.”

  “Yes, it is.” They didn’t speak and the waitress arrived with their breakfast platters. Delilah tucked into hers, looking anywhere but at Jezebel, and Jezebel did the same. After long minutes of this, Jezebel decided to make peace. “You’re being nosey as usual, but I love you for it.”

  Delilah gave her a slight smile. “Nosey is in my DNA, just like it’s in yours when you’re concerned about what I’m doing.”

  Jezebel grinned and they went back to eating their breakfast. She’d thought that was the end of it when her sister asked in a loud whisper, “Are you at least protecting yourself?”

  An elderly grandmother looked over at her with a frown.

  “Jesus Christ, Lilah, why don’t you announce to the entire café that I’m having sex?”

  Her sister chuckled. “C’mon, we’re adults. If we’re not having sex, something’s wrong.” She

  clucked her tongue. “So, are you?”

  ***

  Jezebel awoke to an uneasy feeling. Rolling over, she looked around in the dark, silent and alert. Unable to see or hear anything odd, she relaxed. After long seconds listening out for strange sounds, she slipped from her bed and went to the bathroom. She’d probably been awakened by the need to pee. Drowsy but still needing to make sure all was well in her home, she grabbed the steel bat she kept under her bed, navigated the stairs and moved through the house. She’d turned on her alarm for doors and windows. There was no noise or phone calls signaling a breach so she decided that she was being paranoid. Still paranoia had its quirks, and she had to do a full check before she’d be content to go back to sleep.

  She’d checked the living room, and was about to leave when her eyes caught something. A long strand of black hair was on the back of her cream couch. She picked it up and rolled it between her fingers, testing the texture. It could be hers, but while her hair was long, it was and had never been this long. It could be Rosalie, the woman who came in bimonthly on Sundays to help her with cleaning, and sometimes, laundry if she’d been too busy to get to it. However, Rosalie was Ecuadorian and her hair was finer than this. Maybe Rosalie had had help...

  Looking around, Jezebel began to nitpick. Had she left pamphlets on her coffee table? Likely. Had she left the remote on the far corner of the couch? Likely.

  Making her way to the kitchen, she looked around. Everything seemed in place. She moved to the bathroom, to the closets, and finally, to her alarm system. She probably should have checked it first. It hadn’t been turned off or paused in four hours. That sounded about right since she’d set it at 9 o’clock.

  Dismissing her paranoia, Jezebel moved through the house and turned off all of the lights, before making her way back to the bedroom. As she settled under the thin covers, she thought back to the strand of hair. Rosalie must have had help the last time she was here. With a sigh, she nodded. She’d call the woman later.

  ***

  “She has new neighbors.”

  Ramsey frowned slightly as he listened to Vince’s update on Jezebel. “New neighbors?”

  “Yeah. Danielle and Eric Marx. I checked them out. Husband’s in the medical field—sells medical supplies—and the wife, she’s opening a business with her high school friend—something with salons.”

  “Salons?”

  “Hair, nails, waxing—that type of stuff.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” When he’d left on business, Ramsey had told Vince that he had a task for him. Vince was quiet, stealthy, didn’t really ask questions, and just who he needed to keep tabs on Jezebel while he was away.

  “Because they’re...friends.”

  “The wife or the husband?” he bit out, jealously rising at the thought of another man being friendly with Jezebel, particularly when he wasn’t around. Men were dogs around beautiful women, and Jezebel had her share of admirers without some new neighbor poaching on his territory.

  “The wife—Dani.” Vince sounded amused. Ramsey frowned. “She likes to be called that.”

  “When did they move in?”

  “About a week ago.”

  He blinked in irritation. “Why am I only hearing about this now?”

  “Because Dani only went over to Jezebel’s house today. You told me keep tabs on Jezebel, not her neighbors.”

  Right. Vince was right. There was no sense snapping on his cousin because he was...frustrated at the current situation. Not only was Jezebel mad at him, she wasn’t talking to him. “Keep me updated.”

  “How’s everything in Seoul?”

  He thought about the question, and the person who’d asked it. Vince was only curious. “It’s taking time, but I expect the deal will be completed in a few days.” It would either be completed or he was going to get very angry.

  “How long have you been negotiating?”

  “Two weeks.” Two miserable weeks. If not for the fact that this deal was so important, he would have walked away and let the chips fall where they may. As it stood, the chips were going to fall directly into his pocket anyway. This deal was more insurance than profit for Ramsey. If everyone benefited, no one would feel the need to sabotage as loss would be shared as well.

  “Who’s the holdout?”

  “Chang Chul-Moo and his allies.” The snarky bastard. If not for the fact that Ramsey was a different kind of man...

  “Doesn’t he like money?”

  Ramsey grinned. “Sometimes it’s not about the money, Vince.”

  “What’s better than money?”

  “Power.” He sipped his whisky, pulling air over his tongue at the slight burn. Aged to perfection. Just like he liked it. Around him, low music played. He could see the other patrons of the bar, but was in a private, half-enclosed lounge. The female server at the entrance looked his way for what had to be the tenth time in ten minutes. She was responsible for bringing his drin
ks, whatever he needed...but he could see from her eyes that she wouldn’t mind giving him more. She was a pretty woman, all pale skin, delicate bones, and long, thin frame. If he hadn’t seen a doe-eyed, curvaceous, brown-skinned beauty at an event he’d attend on a whim, she would have done well. He would have been satisfied. But she would do nothing for him. Even now, with her eye-sexing him, his cock—Jezebel’s cock—was as flaccid as ever. “Chang doesn’t want to give up his power.”

  “He has to,” Vince said tonelessly.

  “Yes, yes he does.” It wasn’t a choice, though Ramsey had been sure to pose it as one. He was diplomatic, a consummate professional. He liked to offer people choices.

  “So why hold out?”

  “Maybe he has a final trick up his sleeve.” Ramsey hoped not. That would mean he had to spend even more time in Seoul and he wanted to go home, to Jezebel, to her smile, her laughter, her warmth, and his pussy. His cock throbbed at the thought. Christ, he missed her. He’d felt like utter shit telling her that he was delayed, but it had to be done. He’d cancelled his flight three times already. This time, he hadn’t rescheduled. Still, he wasn’t spending more than another week in Seoul. He’d already been gone a month. If Chang wanted to hold out, fine. Ramsey wasn’t playing his game.

  “Maybe you should remove the problem.”

  Ramsey snorted. Vince saw a problem and thought of one way, and one way only, to take it out. “That’s not my style—at least not yet. That’s expected. I’m doing something new, something different.”

  “Why change the mold if it’s not broken?”

  “Sometimes, change is good.” He sipped his whisky again, looking around the bar for imperfections. Like a few others in the city, it was his, and Ramsey tolerated no less than perfection from his businesses. “Look at America. From slavery to their first black president: who would have thought?”

  Vince snorted. “A lot of people had to die for that to happen.”

  He smirked. Vincent had a point. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Vince had attended MIT, but his conversations quickly reminded anyone. “Yes.” Deciding he’d had enough of Vince’s wisdom, he said, “Stay with her. I want her covered at all times of the day and night. Understood?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks, Vince.”

  “Yeah.”

  ***

  “So, it’s Saturday...again.” Delilah held up her empty wine glass and sighed.

  From across the couch, Jezebel glared at her. “I don’t want to hear it, Lilah.” She wasn’t in the mood. On top of Ramsey’s disappointment, she’d had a cold for most of the week and her body was still in recovery.

  “I’m just pointing out that it—”

  “I know it’s Saturday and I know Ramsey isn’t back yet.” On Tuesday, as she was shopping in Victoria’s Secret for some lingerie that would reveal her secret to him, he’d called to apologize and let her know that he had to postpone coming back to the city...again. That had prompted an argument. She’d raised her voice, and he’d remained silent on the other end, taking her anger. It wasn’t until she’d accused him of having another family, with a Korean wife and maybe seven kids that he’d spoken up to tell her that wasn’t the case. “I know.”

  “What’s his excuse now?”

  “Business.”

  “And you believe him?” Honestly, she didn’t know what to believe. Who was Ramsey Stone anyway? Spa owner, masseuse, lover, friend, uncle, and what else? She didn’t know him that well...

  “Jez, it’s been an entire month!” Delilah grabbed the remote and paused the Rom-Com they were watching. She had no idea what was going on anyway. Her mind had been on Ramsey and his trip.

  “I know, Lilah. I know!” She poured more wine into her almost empty wine glass. “I don’t want to talk about this right now either.”

  “Well, when can we talk about it?”

  “When I’m ready.”

  “Far as I’m concerned, Ramsey’s dick must be golden with a ruby tip.”

  “Hey!”

  “Because you never want to talk about the obvious. Your man’s been gone for a month. He’s been out of the good ole US of A for one entire month, and you don’t even seem worried.”

  Though she kept it hidden, she was. She knew business meetings could go over but two extra weeks was a lot. Jezebel worried that maybe... he was lying to her. Maybe he indulged in whores like Kirk...It wasn’t like he needed whores. Ramsey was so beautiful that women flocked to him. But Kirk had been handsome too. She dismissed thoughts of her ex. Had Ramsey slept with anyone else? A month was a long time, especially for such a virile man…

  “I know where you’re going with this, Delilah, and I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just watch the movie.”

  “Is he married? Is that why? He’s got a pregnant wife and he’s telling her he’s got business in America and telling you he’s got business in Seoul?”

  That thought had entered her mind, that he had a wife, but she couldn’t see Ramsey lying to her about that. And she’d seen no clues of that. Maybe she was being naïve considering what had happened with Kirk, but she wanted to trust that Ramsey was not that type of person. Jezebel stood.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Bed,” she muttered. “I’m tired.”

  “We’ve still got an hour left in the movie.”

  “I’ll watch it with you tomorrow.”

  “Jez...”

  The doorbell rang. Jezebel looked at the time. It was after ten. “Did you order food?”

  Delilah shook her head.

  Making her way to the door, Jezebel peeked out, then pulled the door open. Standing in her doorway, and looking like a million, newly minted bucks in his short-sleeved navy blue shirt and dark pants, was Ramsey.

  “Miss me?” he asked. Before she could respond, his arms wrapped around her waist and she was lifted off her feet. His lips crashed against hers. She hiked her legs around his waist and...attacked him. She was kissing, and grinding, and gyrating, and undoing buttons, before Delilah’s shocked gasp and “Okaaay, guess I’m cabbing it home...” pulled her from her haze.

  Ramsey lifted his head, and gave her a quizzical look.

  Breathless, she rushed out, “My sister.”

  He grinned, but didn’t put her down. “Hi sister.”

  “Sister’s got a name,” Delilah chimed. “It’s Delilah.”

  “Ramsey.”

  “So I see.” She chuckled. “I’m going to see myself out.”

  “Lilah,” Jezebel began, feeling like she should apologize for that display. Yes, she’d missed Ramsey, but she didn’t have to jump his bones in front of her sister.

  Her sister passed her with a wink. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  With that, Ramsey moved further into the house as Delilah stepped through the doorway, and pulled the door in behind her.

  Ramsey’s hand began massaging her ass. “You’ve been avoiding my calls.”

  “You went away for a month.” He looked amazing, she thought, staring at his warm tanned skin, his dark eyes, his silky, straight hair.

  “On business.”

  “You said two weeks.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What were you doing for two extra weeks?”

  “Negotiating.”

  “What?” This was the first time she was hearing about him negotiating with anyone.

  He smiled, and moved through her house, still stroking her bottom. “I acquired a new company. That was the delay. One of the shareholders was holding out.”

  She frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me this on the phone?”

  “I didn’t know if the negotiations would be successful. I didn’t want to jinx it.” They were in her room.

  “I didn’t know you were that superstitious.”

  “I am.”

  “And you weren’t playing house with another woman?”

  Ramsey froze and frowned. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you were gone f
or a month!” Was he serious?

  “No.” He shook his head. “I told you. I’m not married and I don’t have any children.” When she stared at him suspiciously, his eyes softened. “I hadn’t found the right woman yet.”

  Did he mean he had now? Was the right woman her? Well, that thought was nice. Hell, she was extraordinarily pleased—if that was what he was saying.

  “Have you found her?”

  Ramsey smiled, and kissed her slowly. “I think so.”

  Warmth spread across her body like wildfire. Jezebel sighed inwardly. She really was easy, wasn’t she? She wanted to yell at him some more for being gone, but he was here and damn, she just wanted him to smell him, hold him, have him inside of her.

  He walked her to the bed. “You still haven’t answered my question, baby.”

  She licked her lips, seeing the fire in his dark eyes. “What?”

  “Did you miss me?”

  Jezebel smiled, kissed him softly, licking at his bottom lip as she pulled away, and murmured, “Not even a little.”

  ***

  He made her eat those words not minutes later when he dropped her on the bed, pulled off her shorts and panties, parted her slick sex, and made himself comfortable between her thighs.

  “Ramsey!” Jezebel moaned, trying unsuccessfully to pull his head away from her poor, epileptic pussy. “I can’t come anymore! Just...oooooh...stop!”

  Lifting his lips briefly, he kissed her inner thigh, licking softly at her skin. “You teased me, baby.”

  “What?”

  “On the phone, remember?”

  She shook her head, and whimpered, “No.” Of course she remembered, but that was so long ago.

  His finger tickled her clit and she gasped. “Turnabout is fair play...or so they say.”

  “You’re being cruel!” She wasn’t above whining. “You leave for an entire month, and now you want to tease me?”

  Ramsey nodded, and returned his attention to her pussy. “Yes. I want to tease my pussy until she remembers who she belongs to.”

  As his tongue laved, she moaned and whined, “She never forgot!”

  “I don’t believe that,” he replied between licks to her sensitive clit. “I think she forgot.”

  “No, I promise...she didn’t! She—ahh—knows—oh God—who... She knows, Ramsey!”