Diamond in the Rough Pt. 02

Chapter 3

Steve hated leaving for work as early as he did, but he had operational meetings starting at 7:30. It wasn't the hated going to work; it was that he hated leaving April. Their love left him feeling peaceful and contented, an emotion he had never felt before. His life had always been about hard work and striving for lofty goals. Being happy, comfortable and at ease was something foreign to him, but it was something he could love getting used to.

When he arrived at work, he had to go over all of the plant's operational performance during the weekend and then plan for the upcoming week. After all the operational meetings, he had a meeting with the owners of the bottling plant and by 10 o'clock he finally had some time to himself.

The first thing he did was take the memory card out of his camera and download the weekend's photos to his laptop. As he browsed pictures, he stopped and marveled at the pictures of April. As beautiful as the landscape was, nothing compared to her willowy, succulent figure and when he put the two together, the photographs were stunning.

Her time as a model really came through in the photographs. She knew how to move and pose to show off her lithe, luscious form, creating electrifying photographs with a hint of eroticism. He moved all of her photographs into a private folder that he kept hidden from the world. With her exhibitionism, he knew she would love for him to publish her photographs, but these were for him and him alone.

Photographing her was part of their erotic play. Showing off her naked body in front of the camera was a heady aphrodisiac for April and it got her incredibly wet. Steve knew that and as much as she loved being photographed nude, he loved capturing her elegantly, titillating form. Taking photographs of her was foreplay for both of them and yesterday with her suspended beneath the Acacia tree, had been blisteringly impassioned.

As he stared at the photographs of April, he thought back to last night. Their love making had been nothing short of spectacular and he remembered her body squirming in erotic rapture underneath him. However, right now he was daydreaming about how she never left his arms during the entire night. They started out spooning amid April wrapped tightly in his arms, with her back pressed tightly against his chest and his hands filled with her breasts. Later when he rolled to his back, she used his chest for a pillow and wrapped her legs tightly around his.

A knock on his office door startled him out of his reverie and he returned to the business of running a bottling plant. The rest of the day was nonstop meetings and interruptions, but the smile never left his face. Just before two PM he called April to check on her and found her on the way out the door to work. They spent a few moments expressing their love for each other and then each had to return to business.

At about 4 o'clock Steve began his meetings with the second shift and gave them marching orders for what to do. Everything was running smoothly so there were very little changes for second shift or third shift for that matter. Shortly afterwards he left the plant, picked up some fish and chips from their favorite restaurant had stopped by the hospital for lunch with April.

She was in the middle of a procedure and Steve had to wait for a half hour before she could get free, but then they enjoyed their dinner together. They sat at a little picnic table the staff placed outside and had their dinner. They sat side-by-side with their bodies touching at the hips. The heat of their bodies touching was comforting for both of them and they enjoyed their time together.

It was not nearly long enough and very soon, April was called back the emergency room. Steve gave her a rousing kiss goodbye and left for home. The house they had rented was not very large and contained two bedrooms and two baths at the end of the cul-de-sac. It was on a Greenbelt and afforded them a place for many hikes through the bush and biking to the stores. It was not the most upscale neighborhood, but it fit their needs.

As soon as he arrived home, Steve knew something was wrong. The front door to the house was open, as was the storage areas in their carport. He got out his phone and dialed 999 as he walked towards the front door. A glance inside the door showed that the inside had been ransacked, but a quick look inside didn't show anything missing.

Emergency operator dispatched police and within forty-five minutes the police had arrived and verified that his house had been broken into and ransacked. They didn't hold out any promise that they would ever find people that did this, but they made a report anyway. They didn't dust for fingerprints or do any forensic tests. Steve made a report that's probably all he could do.

As the police left, he went inside to do his own investigation and find out what was missing. He began cleaning everything up and putting things away. None of April's jewelry or her clothes were missing and that was probably the most expensive thing in the house. The TV and all the electronics were also still there and Steve thought that was odd. The electronics were generally the first thing stolen in a break-in.

Steve slowly and methodically went through the house picking up, cleaning up and looking for anything might be missing. Nothing seemed to be missing until he made it to their spare bedroom and storage area. All of April's storage had been picked through, but it seemed as though they were curious and not really looking for something. However, when he got to his photography area the opposite was true. His photography area had been searched very thoroughly.

Steve really preferred the color saturation and effects that he could achieve with film, but film was getting harder to come by. When they moved to Capetown Steve left all of his film cameras behind and decided to go completely digital. All of his memory cards were gone as well as his external hard drive backup. He was furious that somebody had stolen all of his photographs and he worried about photographs of April now getting out into the open.

He knew April wouldn't mind that photographs of her were now out in the open. Actually, it would give her erotic thrills that somebody was looking at her naked body. Just the thought of others looking at naked pictures of her would leave her excited and would result in more passionate nights like last night.

Steve on the other hand wanted to protect April's reputation. Back in Texas, when the henchman of April's father had taken photographs of them making love Steve had moved heaven and earth to get them back. However, once they retrieved them, they spent many hours looking at them and re-creating those erotic nights. April was so turned on by those photos that she wanted many many more.

As April's lover, friend and master it was Steve's job protect her physically, emotionally and her reputation. The photographs they had stolen were very intimate, revealing an extremely erotic in nature. He didn't want anybody else to have those photographs except for him, so now he had to get them back.

However, they were not really missing, because of Steve's habit of downloading the photographs immediately after they were taken. His laptop and camera were still out in the car and he ran out to retrieve them. Once he was satisfied, they were secure inside the house he finished cleaning up and putting things away. He really didn't want April to walk into a house still disheveled. He knew she would have a long stressful day at the hospital and didn't need more stress when she came home.

Once the house was put back in order, he sat down to contemplate what actually had gone on. The break-in of their house had all the looks of a robbery except nothing had been taken, except his photographs. He had to conclude that somewhere along the lines he had taken a photograph of something that somebody wanted or something they didn't want him to see. It could have been someone stalking April and wanting photos of her, but timing indicated that it was something recent. The only thing he could think of was the photographs he took of the elephant capture yesterday.

Steve pulled out his computer and loaded yesterday's photographs. Just on the off chance he checked the backgrounds of all the other photographs he had taken and found nothing. Then he began to browse the photographs of the elephant capture, but he really couldn't see anything untoward.

He wasn't an expert on animal capture by any stretch, so he pulled up some animal capture videos on YouTube. After browsing a couple of different videos captures, he concluded that there was no real difference in the capture of yesterday's elephant. Then he noticed one difference. On the videos, the medicine was given to the elephants via shots, whereas on his video the medicine had been given via packets under the skin.

He really didn't know if there were any real major differences, but it was the only difference that he found. He had just finished looking at the videos and had shut the computer down, when he heard April's car in the driveway. He went to the kitchen, poured a glass of wine and met her at the door.

April came through the door; a smile lit her face and the whole room brightened as if a light switch had been thrown. She dropped her purse and jumped into Steve's arms wrapping her arms and legs around him in a delicious hug. Steve staggered back as she jumped into his arms, spilling a few drops of wine as his free hand was filled with her tight muscular ass. She followed it up raining kisses on his face and neck before she whispered, "Oh God Steve, I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday and had a smile on my face the whole day."

Their lips locked in a deep soulful kiss, only separating when her legs unwrapped and she slid down his body. With her feet finally on the ground and her head pressed against his chest she chuckled, "I don't know which I want more, wine or more of those kisses?"

Steve kissed her forehead and responded, "Why choose, when you can have both."

April took the glass of wine from his hand and downed it in one gulp. Steve lifted an eyebrow and queried, "Tough day at the office baby?"

She squeezed him tying responded, "Just the normal ER chaos, but it kept me out of your arms." She snuggled back into his embrace and held him tight.

Steve tilted her head back and gave her a quick kiss before he broke the bad news, "We had some problems here at home, baby."

April looked up at him quizzically and her face begged him to continue. So, he did, "When I came home the house had been broken into and ransacked. I put everything back together, but I couldn't really find anything missing."

April scurried out of his arms frantically began looking through all of her jewelry, clothing and special things. She confirmed what Steve had found, that nothing was missing. He knew she would be feeling violated and vulnerable right now, so he gathered her in his arms before he continued, "It appears the only thing taken were some of my photographs. Several of my memory cards are missing and there in a kind of a mishmash, so I don't know which pictures are gone, but I suspect some are our special pictures."

She pulled back and with a horrified look gawked at him, "Why ... why would they want my photos? What are they going to do with them?

Steve pulled her back into his arms and tried to explain his theory, "I don't think they were looking for your photos. Based on timing I think they were looking for the photos of the elephant capture yesterday and they just took the memory cards. Unfortunately, some of your photos were on it."

He kissed her and continued, "Since nothing was missing except photos, I think that is what they were looking for. Since this break in was the day after the elephant capture, I really think those are the photos they were after. I don't think your photos were on their list, they were just on the memory cards. Hopefully, they won't notice them."

Steve knew once the thieves saw the photos they would be hooked. No red-blooded man could ignore her incredible body and they would do something to get some more. Likewise, April looked skeptical at his comment. She had men chasing her since she was 13 and knew the thieves would go crazy over the photos of her. They both knew this wasn't over.

He held her tight for a few more seconds then pulled her away so he could look into her stricken eyes and laid down the law, "I'm sure they aren't finished. I want you to be very careful, keep your car locked, don't go anywhere alone and be aware of anyone watching you. If anything, thing feels wrong, you call me and find a safe place to hide until I get there ... understand?"

April pulled herself back into his embrace and murmured, "Yes, my protector and Master."

April had already decided to start carrying her snake slayer pistol as well. She loved his protective instincts and the way he looked after her, but she had lived on her own for a long time before she met him. She knew how to look out for herself and how to fight. She may look like a soft and fragile beauty queen, but she was also a tough Texas rancher.

She would let him be her knight in shining armor, but she would fight by his side if it came to that. If anyone tried to hurt her or her man, they were in for the fight of their life.

They went to bed that night feeling violated and they held each other tightly all night. Steve felt like he hadn't done his job in protecting April, but she felt safe with his arms holding her tightly.

Chapter 4

Steve woke early, restless about the break-in yesterday. He wandered through their rent house trying to find any other way to secure their little love nest. After he had done what he could to their house he wrote a note to April:

Baby:

I've done what I can to secure the house, but I fear it's not enough. Please make sure that you don't go anywhere alone, especially when you're at work. If you become frightened or see anyone watching or stalking you call me immediately and I'll be there. Until we figure out what's going on, be extra careful. Remember I love you and you belong to me

XXXOOO ... Steve

Steve left to go to the bottling plant making sure he locked all the doors securely before he left. His mind was troubled on his drive to work and even network he was very distracted. Since the police were not able to do anything with a minor burglary, he decided to pursue the investigation himself. He called the South African anti-poaching hotline and set up a meeting with an investigator after April left for work.

If his idea was right about something being stuffed under the elephants hide, then hopefully the poaching people would recognize what was going on and whom was doing it. However, his main concern was April. They were obviously after some of his photos, but he feared once they saw the photos of April, they would get a secondary agenda.

Steve got to the water plant as quickly as he could and rushed through his morning operational meetings. Once he felt like he had everything under control and all of his staff have their marching orders he jumped back in his car and rushed back to their house.

When he got there April was gone, but her car was gone as well. He searched the house just to make sure that she wasn't in there, or there was some kind of struggle. Nothing seemed out of place and he walked outside to call her on her cell when he saw her car coming down the street.

April saw Steve's car outside the house and was very surprised that he was there, but also very happy. She parked her car the curb, with a smile on her face ran and jumped into his arms. Steve wrapped his arms around her with love and relief as he carried her back into the house. As the door closed behind them Steve asked, "Where have you been baby? Did you not read my note?"

April kissed him and stared at him with love before she answered, "We needed food, so I went to the market and stopped by the fish market as well." She kissed him softly and sensuously while she snuggled into his embrace before she continued, "Yes master, I read your note and I was very careful to look for anyone following me. There is a car that I have never seen before further down the block, but they didn't follow me as I went market, so I figured I was okay."

Steve looked a little relieved, but his worry was still etched on his face. He kissed her soundly and then whispered, "I love you and need you in my life, so until this is resolved you never go anywhere alone. Do you understand that my gorgeous sub?"

April snuggled into his embrace and in a sultry voice full of expected passion, huskily whispered, "Yes my master!"

Steve gawked at her for a couple of seconds. She could take an ordinary moment and with a look or a phrase, turn it into a desire laden occasion. Her love, fire and passion never ceased to amaze him and reminded him just how lucky he was. Her sultry pose tempted him to sling her over his shoulder, take into the house and listen to her screams as he heaped multiple orgasms on her. He shook his head to clear away his lusty thoughts, but tried to remember that later he would give her what she was begging for. For now, they had other business they needed to take care of.

They went back inside with both carrying their groceries and while April put them away Steve called the plant to make sure everything is going smoothly. They spent the rest of the day puttering around the house, with occasional forays by Steve to make sure no one was watching them. Just in case he made sure his camera and memory cards were in his car as well as his bushmaster rifle, forty caliber 1908 handgun and lots of ammunition.

When 2 o'clock rolled around April got ready for her shift at the hospital and once she was ready Steve drove her there. He dropped her off with the promise to pick her up at the end of her shift then drove to the plant to see how everything was going. Everybody had their marching orders earlier and virtually everything had been carried out with the plant running like a top.

After confirming that everything is okay, Steve left the plant and went to meet with the South African Police Services ( SAPS ) poaching unit. He met with detective Bram Van Dijk, his partner Aarem Janssen and showed them printouts of the capture along with the doctoring of the elephant. After a brief discussion including a consultation with their boss Kwame Botha, they all admitted that it looked weird and different.

They went to check the records and there was no evidence of a permitted capture in the time and location Steve specified. This obviously piqued the interest of the police and for the next three hours the police interrogated Steve, but didn't come to any conclusions. Steve paid attention and he gathered a lot of information from the police as well. As they showed him papers or he saw information on the computer screen he took photos with his phone or jotted down the information on his phone,

After a several of hours their information waned and Steve gathered his belongings and moved into a conference room to go over all the information. He had to admit that he wasn't any further along than he was when he started. His mind began to wander and he thought about April, wondering how her day was going.

*****

April was having a slow time in the ER, a rarity, and her mind wandered to Steve and the wonderful two years they had spent together. He had changed her life and for the first time in her life she was very happy and satisfied. She was worried that this break-in would throw a monkey wrench into the loving relationship they had built.

April had been more upset about the break-in and burglars rummaging through her jewelry and clothing that she had about her safety. The fact that burglars had stolen photos of her bound naked while Steve teased her hadn't bothered her as much as it had Steve.