Troubled Waters (Oceans of Love Book 1) Read online

  Troubled Waters

  Nia Arthurs

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  COPYRIGHT

  First published in Belize, C.A. 2017

  Copyright © Nia Arthurs

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be circulated in any writing of any publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This book has been produced for the Amazon Kindle and is distributed by Amazon Direct Publishing.

  I will build a bridge to meet you over troubled waters.

  -Love to someone who does not deserve it

  Table of Contents

  The Ties That Grind

  The House Is Mine

  Holla At Your Boss

  Boys Dem Sugar

  Work My Body

  You From The Star

  Rule Breaker

  Honey On A Low-Hanging Branch

  The Proposition

  Take Me In Paradise

  Animalistic

  Don’t Put It In Your Mouth

  Because Of This Weekend

  Rough Handling

  Tangled Web of Love

  The Queen of Dysfunction

  Do It For Me

  Lost In You

  More Than Bang

  When Two Worlds Touch

  Why She Spreads

  The Arms of the Black Couch

  The Morning After

  When He Was Your Man

  What Are We?

  Full Circle

  Epilogue

  The Ties That Grind

  Kelly Banner thrust her hips and pulsed to the beat of the soca song that blared through the speakers of Club Royal Belize. People danced around and beside her, their eyes closed and their bodies swaying with the rhythm.

  A wild, animalistic frenzy hovered over the crowd tonight, infecting her with its potent energy.

  “Wine it on meeee! Wine on mee!” the singer crooned.

  Kelly obliged, moving her waist and backing up on a short, dark-skinned man with cornrows, dark eyes, and a scraggly beard. His raised hand clutched a beer bottle and the other cupped her rear as he pulled her closer.

  The insistent pressure of his pelvis annoyed her, but she pushed off the reaction. Even in the dim lighting of the nightclub, she could tell that he wasn’t the kind of man who could get a girl when she was sober.

  Offering her version of charity, Kelly turned to face him fully and flattened her body against his, riding the beat and every roll of his hips until his sweat stained the fabric of her off-the-shoulder blouse and mini-skirt.

  The song ended and the DJ grabbed the mike. “How ya’ll feeling tonight?” he asked. Kelly picked up the Jamaican twang coating his words. He was definitely not from around here.

  The lights over the stage flipped on and she eyed the announcer, having been too busy dancing earlier to give him a proper scan. He had light brown skin and intelligent eyes. His nose was strong and flared and his lips were thick. Kissable. He wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but he was solid—his arms massive and sinewy.

  Just the way she liked it.

  “I’m DJ Talon, and I love all the beautiful ladies who came here to dance tonight.”

  The crowd responded with roars of approval and hoots of laughter. She joined in, clapping her hands and pumping her fists over her head. Dancing was her drug and the release she experienced in the club was something close to euphoric.

  “Ready for the next one?”

  She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. “Enough talking!” Those close enough to hear her chuckled.

  As the music started again, Kelly bent her knees—prepared to dance—when she felt hot, shuttered breaths on her ear. Surprised, she spun to find her dance partner inching his fingers up her arm.

  “You look thirsty,” he said, the scent of him nearly overwhelming her now that the music wasn’t covering the stench. “Should I buy you a drink?”

  She scoffed. “No thanks.”

  “How about we go somewhere… more private?” His eyes were trained on hers and the message behind them was crystal clear.

  Kelly pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. That’s what she got for giving men an inch. Did he really think he could go a few miles with her just because they’d danced together?

  She wasn’t that tipsy.

  “I’ll get my own drink!” she yelled to be heard over the dancehall song DJ Talon had selected. The crowd bumped together and dove headfirst into the beat so that Kelly had to squirm and wiggle her way out of the mass.

  As soon as she moved closer to the bar, she sucked in a big gulp of air and fanned her face. The dance floor had been an inferno. Her clothes pressed against her skin and the scent of beer and another, unsavory substance lingered around her.

  Kelly tugged at her blouse and noticed a brown hand waving at her from the bar. A smile formed on her face and it grew into a full-blown grin when she spotted Renesha, her best friend, sipping from a tall glass with a lime wedge on the rim.

  Gliding over, Kelly plopped into the bar stool and pressed her elbows against the cool counters. “What’s that? Long Island?”

  “You know I don’t drink anything else.” Rene jerked her chin toward the gyrating crowd. “Had fun?”

  “Of course. I live to dance.” Kelly lifted her long black hair—courtesy of Chick’s Beauty Store—off her neck. “This old guy tried to get with me, but I shut him down.”

  “What if he turns out to be rich?” Rene wiggled her eyebrows and bent over to take another sip of her drink.

  “Trust me. He wasn’t.”

  “You never know, girl. Some rich men stay undercover.” Rene grinned, her hazel eyes sparkling as she teased. “What will you do if he’s loaded?”

  “If I shut him down, I can turn him on again,” Kelly said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “Wow. You didn’t even stop to think about that. What would Clayton say?”

  “Girl, don’t even talk to me about Clayton, right now. He’s the reason I’m in the club on a Wednesday night.” Kelly tapped her hand on the steel counter to get the bartender’s attention. “I’ll have what she’s having.” The man nodded and whirled around to prepare her drink.

  Rene pulled at the fringes of her short jeans skirt, reclaiming Kelly’s attention. “I figured it had something to do with him when you called me up last minute and dragged me out here. You two fighting again?”

  Kelly shook her head, her dark brown eyes glittering with anger. “It’s the same-old, same-old. He won’t leave his wife. He doesn’t want to break up his family. Yada, yada, yada.”

  “You’re acting like he hasn’t told you that a million times.”

  “And he’s crawled back to my bed a million and one. What? Just because I love him, he thinks he can string me along?” Kelly sucked her teeth. “If I find a rich man, I’ll marry him immediately and keep Clayton on the side.”

  Rene held her stomach as she doubled over in laughter. “That’s messed up.”

  “The world is a messed up place.” Kelly accepted the drink the bartender slid her way. “Why don’t you dance?”
<
br />   “I can’t keep up with you. I prefer to watch.”

  “Girl, spread your legs for meeee!” The song perked Kelly’s ears and she did a little lap dance on her bar stool as the bass dropped and picked up again.

  “I love that part.” Rene bopped her head. “That DJ’s on fire tonight. Why is he playing on a Wednesday? He should have the Saturday night gig.”

  “He’s cute too.” Kelly glanced over her shoulder at the man spinning the tracks. “I should see if he’s single.”

  “All of a sudden you care about a man’s relationship status?”

  Kelly lifted her hands. “Hey, one taken guy is more than enough for me.”

  “What high standards.”

  “Right?”

  “Are you ready to go home?” Rene asked.

  “The night is young.”

  “Trust me. You’ll want your beauty sleep.”

  Kelly tipped her head. “Why?”

  “I hear the new C.E.O. of the company is going to drop by during the staff meeting tomorrow. They say he’s foine. He may be the rich guy you’ve been looking for.”

  “Please. I don’t mix work and pleasure or I would have already undressed Tarique from the Call Center downstairs. Now that man…” Kelly blew out a breath, “he’s worth taking to the storage closet.” She nudged Rene. “If you know what I mean.”

  “Another married guy, Kel?” Rene laughed. “He’s engaged to be married next week. You’re horrible.”

  “I forgot that he was getting married.” Kelly pouted. “I must be drunk.”

  “You’re horny, that’s what you are. You want to take a taxi home or walk?”

  “I can walk.”

  “Are you sure?” Rene glanced at her watch and frowned. “It’s after midnight. Forget it. I’ll call a taxi. Your apartment is too far to walk this time of night.”

  Kelly knocked back the rest of her drink and set her hand over Rene’s. “How about we do this? I’ll go with you in the taxi and then walk the rest of the way home. Your place is closer to my apartment than here.”

  “Alright. That makes me feel better.” Rene made the arrangements and ten minutes later, the girls climbed into their trusted taxi driver’s back seat, giggling and chatting until he stopped in front of Rene’s bungalow.

  “Thank you, Mr. August!” they chimed.

  “No problem, girls.”

  Kelly and Rene climbed out of the car and paid Mr. August before parting ways on the sidewalk.

  “Make sure you give Randal some love for letting you out tonight,” Kelly said, walking backward.

  Rene snickered. “This is exactly why he doesn’t like you. You’re a bad influence on me. I want to be a good little girlfriend.”

  “But being ‘bad’ is so much more fun,” Kelly purred.

  “Girl, go home!”

  The women waved and Kelly took off, allowing the sweet Caribbean breeze and the throaty cadence of nocturnal insects to wash the scent of the club from her body and soul.

  She stuck her hands into her pants pockets and pulled out her phone, a lump forming in her throat when she saw that there were no new messages.

  For all her bluster and bravado, Kelly was deeply hurt by Clayton’s silence. She gripped the phone tightly in her fingers and brushed a tear from her eye. Club Royal had been a great place to knock back a few beers and let off some steam, but tonight the withdrawal left her especially lonely.

  Would Clayton come over without the promise of makeup sex?

  Probably not.

  Kelly unlocked the door to her empty apartment and went to sleep. Alone.

  The House Is Mine

  The next morning, Kelly groggily stretched her arms and yawned wide. Black hair feathered her lips and she cursed. The extensions had cost her nearly a month’s salary. How could she have forgotten to wrap it up last night?

  She rolled over and froze when she saw a body in the bed with her. Her eyes roved the naked, brown torso covered by her white sheet. A flat stomach. The slight ridge of abs. A sprinkle of coarse black hair starting from the navel disappearing into the blanket.

  Her body instinctively scooted toward him as her eyes scanned up to his round chin covered with a neat black goatee, a nose that was slightly turned up at the tip, strong cheeks the color of a blackberry and piercing black eyes that were looking right at her.

  “When did you get here, babe?” she asked, her voice husky with sleep.

  Clayton reached out and played with the sleeve of her blouse. “Early this morning. I wanted to talk. I didn’t like how we ended things yesterday.”

  Joy bubbled in Kelly’s chest, but she did her best to tamp it down. She couldn’t let him off the hook that easily. Just because she had missed him last night didn’t mean she’d open her legs because he said a couple sweet words.

  “I told you to give me back my key, Clayton. You can’t keep coming in here anytime you want. You have your own house key with your own wife, remember?”

  “Don’t be like that, baby.” He rubbed her shoulder and gave her bedroom eyes—the one that made her go weak in the knees no matter what mood she was in. “Besides, I put you in this house.”

  She stiffened and jerked away from his touch. “I pay my own bills, Clay. All you did was put me in touch with the realtor.”

  He grinned a slow, sexy smile and dragged her by her waist until she was flush against him. His strong arms wrapped around her. “Yes, Ms. Independent.” He bent down and kissed her neck. His scent—the musky haze of cologne and confidence wafted over her. It was a huge difference from the stench of the club last night.

  Kelly moaned and melted beneath his lingering kisses. “You should… give them back.” The command had lost most of its sting. She could barely think straight, much less hold on to any punishment she’d been aching to give him last night.

  “After… this.” He roughly rolled her over and climbed on top of her. His hands dove beneath the blankets and she felt his fingers prying off her panties. Her chest arched and she turned her neck to wrap her arms around him when her eyes spotted the numbers on her alarm clock.

  The blood that had been rushing to her extremities, returned to her head. She kicked Clayton in the stomach and he went flying, knocking his back against the wooden floorboards.

  He roared in pain and she winced in apology before scrambling out of the bed, hauling up her thong as she went.

  “Babe, I’m sorry. I can’t do this right now. I’m late.”

  He got up and rubbed his back. “When did you get so strong?”

  Kelly hissed and gathered a fresh pair of underwear from her drawer. Why hadn’t she heard her alarm? Had Clayton taken it off when he came in? Didn’t matter now. She whirled to the closet and chose her most professional outfit—a grey pantsuit that was flattering, but austere.

  “Are you taking a shower now?” Clayton’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Let me join you.”

  “No!” She barely had enough time to jump in, slather herself with soap and get out. “I can’t play around with you this morning, Clayton.”

  “Why?” He moaned and hopped on the bed. “I came all this way.”

  “Without a text or a call or anything!” Kelly sighed. “The C.E.O. of the company is coming to work today. I can’t be late. Oh, Lord. I’m already late.” She skidded into the bathroom and started stripping.

  Clayton threw the door open and she whirled around, naked from the top down. Her eyes blazed and she threw an empty soapbox at him. Screaming, Kelly covered her breasts.

  “I told you! Not right now!”

  “I’ll just watch,” Clayton begged, his eyes raking her up and down as he licked his lips.

  Kelly stomped to the door and slammed it in his face before locking it behind her. The power of a man’s one-track mind was amusing, but Kelly didn’t have the luxury of humor.

  Not when she’d be dressed down by her supervisor and blacklisted by the new C.E.O. for being tardy.

  Why hadn’t she hea
rd that alarm?

  She gritted her teeth and rushed through her morning routine, stopping to slap foundation on her mahogany brown skin and apply a nude lipstick to her plump lips before calling it done and rushing into her kitchen.

  Clayton was still sulking on the bed when she returned to the bedroom to grab her purse and heels. With his hands on the back of his head and his chest on display, he looked ready for a dirty tryst.

  “Later,” Kelly promised. “Can you take me to work?”

  “Nah,” he said. “I’ll just hang out here until Leshawna cools down.”

  Kelly froze. “You argued with your wife?”

  “Yeah.” Clayton made a face. “She’s always nagging and nagging me. Sometimes, a man just needs to breathe, yah know?”

  Kelly’s face turned red. “You came over because you wanted to get away from her?”

  Clayton looked at her like she was crazy. “Why do you keep asking me the same thing over and over?”

  The hope in her heart burst to ashes. Clayton hadn’t come because he’d missed her or wanted to see her. He hadn’t come because she had been on his mind and he had longed for the feel of her in his arms.

  He’d come to get away from his wife and maybe get a little honey while he was at it.

  Disgusted, Kelly threw his shirt at him. “I want you out of here by the time I get back home.”

  “Babe—”

  She stormed toward the door. “And I’m changing the locks!”

  Kelly flew down the stairs of her apartment building, seething from Clayton’s revelation. Why did she keep setting herself up for disappointment like this?

  Clayton was an idiot, but she was too. Kelly had given four years of her life to that man. Four, long years. In that time, she’d had plenty of chances to gauge his character and make a choice.

  Either give him up completely, let him return to his family and—more possibly—send him into the arms of another lover.

  Or give up her fairytale dreams of Clayton leaving his wife to marry her and dedicate herself to being his sidepiece for life.