C2 The Jealous Husband

"Mr. Kane, why have you been searching for me?" she asked.

"Please call me Darius, and if I might say, you are even more beautiful up close," he commented, watching her face closely.

Although she was beautiful, he had to admit there were lines on each side of her mouth that gave her a bitter, cynical expression.

"Why don't you answer my question first?" she continued.

"Alright! I am here because of you!"

This time Eva narrowed her icy violet eyes at him and studied his face for a moment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she finally said.

"I have wanted to meet you for a very long time now."

"Really?" Eva asked incredulously, wondering what the man was driving at. "Are you not here for the celebrant?"

"Nope! I want to meet you in person; that's why I'm here," Darius replied. If she wants him to be direct, then so be it.

"I don't understand; how did you know I would be here?"

"Because I see it, Eva. When I want something, I can do anything to get it. I arranged for you to be here!"

A sudden realization hit her.

"Wow! Story of my life. Are you saying you were the one who included my name on the guest list?"

"You can say that again, Eva, but it does not make any difference. You are here; that's all that matters to me."

"Wow! How romantic!" Eva exclaimed sarcastically.

"Eva, this is for real! I have wanted to see you for a very long time now. To possess you and make you mine."

"Are you drunk?" Eva asked, watching his face closely.

"I'm not drunk, Eva. I just want you. Is it too much to ask?"

His words puzzled her, yet she felt her body warming to them. There was something about his handsome face. Something so masculine, so possessive, and compassionate. To her dismay, she felt a trickle of moisture between her thighs.

"Well, if you must know, I'm a married woman," Eva said, watching his face closely.

"I know!"

Eva stiffened and looked at him suspiciously.

"You know?"

"Yes!" Darius answered firmly.

"But we've never met before."

"That I know, but it does not change anything.”

"Of course! It does change something. You know I am legally married, and yet you still want me?" she asked, looking at him as if he was crazy.

"Yes!"

"What kind of man does that?"

"The type that goes by Darius Martin Kane!"

"You've got balls of steel; you know that? What if my husband comes charging in here?" she asked.

"I don't care about him!" Darius snarled.

"Vince can be pretty rough sometimes, and you know he would be fighting for what rightfully belongs to him!" she said, a note of warning in her voice.

"As I said earlier, I don't care. In this city, we've all heard the kind of man Vince Montreal was. Such a man does not deserve a woman like you."

"How do you know the kind of man I deserve? You talk as if you already know everything about me," Eva said, studying his face.

Darius didn't say anything.

"Alright! If you want me, then prove it!" she said.

"What?" Darius replied, totally caught off guard by her response.

"Prove it that you want me. Here and now!"

"Tell me how!" he replied huskily.

"Kiss me!" she said softly, moistening her glistening red lips with her tongue. "Reduce me to jelly, handsome."

Darius felt as if he had stepped on the teeth of a rake and had the rake handle slam him in the face.

"Kiss you?" he asked, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

"Yeah! Kiss me, hot man!" she said. "Crush me up in your arms. My body is starving."

"But... we've just met?" Darius bundled the words out of his mouth.

"Do it!" Eva said coldly. "I won't repeat myself."

Something about her should have warned Darius, but he was beyond caring. This was something unique, something that made him short of breath and a little crazy in the head.

He moved towards Eva, grabbed her to his chest, and touched his lips against hers.

The kiss made something explode inside of him. His lips were pressed hard against hers, and he felt her tongue exploring his mouth.

"Oh, my God!" Eva said against his mouth, "hold me tighter."

He had undone her gown's zipper with an experienced hand and slipped the strap off her shoulder. She was not even wearing a bra. Free from its constraint, her full breasts spilled out. He dipped his head and took the rosebud nipple into his mouth. He felt her body stiffen with desire, and she clutched his head closer for him to take more. After a while, he brought his head up and began to kiss her again. They stood there, their breath mingling, their eyes closed, swept away by the intensity of the passion, and neither of them became aware that a third party had joined them. The tall, powerfully built man grinned wickedly as he watched them kiss. Then he laced his fingers together, lifted his hand, and slammed it hard on Darius's neck.

Darius went down on his hands and knees. He thought the ceiling had fallen on him. Dazed, he turned around but was a shade too late to avoid a blow that crashed against the side of his face.

A vivid streak of light blinded him, and then he seemed to be falling into thick, suffocating darkness. He grunted and went down like a pole-axed bull.

Vince, for the man was Vince Montreal, regarded the still body lying on the hardwood of the patio, a flick of recognition on his face, then he dragged his eyes to Eva, who was looking at him, her fists clenched, her eyes dark explosions.

"Hello, Eva," he said, a bite in his voice. "I can see you have upgraded your tastes to the likes of Darius Kane. Now that's what I call real smart!"

"You creep!" Eva seethed. For modesty's sake, she used her hands to cover her naked breasts.

"You seem hard to find this night, and yet I still found you."

"Quit the talk, Vince. We both know you are a crazy stalker. It's a shame you can't just keep following me around. You're always behaving like a lizard after a fly!"

His face went white with anger.

"Are you referring to me as a lizard?" he asked in a weak tone.

"Yeah! A very sick one. I think you've got wax in your ears. I keep telling you to stop following me, but you wouldn't listen."

"But you are my wife, woman! I have to do whatever I want with you."

"Real men don't follow their wives around."

"Damn you! I'm a real man," he said hotly. "Have you got no shame? How could you let another man touch you when you still got a husband?"

Eva scoffed.

"Husband? I've got no husband! What I've got is a gutless insect!"

Vince's face twisted with raw rage.

"I'm gonna break your jaw if you don't stop talking," he snarled.

"Go on, break it!" she retorted. "You'd prefer to break the jaw of a woman than to talk trash to a man! No wonder you're such a goddamn coward."

"Don't worry!" he said quietly. "I'll fix you for this when we get home," and he reached out and patted her cheeks with soft, moist fingers.

"Don't do that!" she said violently. "Don't ever touch me like that, damn you!"

"I'll fix you!" he said, smiling wickedly. "You will like it when I fix you. Now move," he pointed a thick finger towards the doorway.

The wild look in his eyes told Eva he meant every word, and a cold chill ran through her. She knew she had stepped on the cobra's tail. Before she could look for a means of escape, Vince had moved towards her, caught hold of her arm, spun her around, and slapped her buttocks with a viciousness that made her squeal.

"Move," he yelled at her. "Move!" She wanted to vent her anger back at him, but the shame of people seeing her in the state that she was weakened her, and she allowed him as he roughly propelled her out of the patio to their limousine, which was patiently waiting for them outside.