Twice The Charm Ch. 13

"You're the type of girl that's used to getting what she wants, aren't you? A flip of your hair, a glance of your eyes, a quick smile and everyone is putty in your hands. Therefore, I take it that when Stark," she said intentionally using her nickname for him, "turned you down, you left like a wounded kitten to lick at your bleeding pride. Did it taste good?" Manni taunted increasing her sinister smile into a wide toothed grin.

"You black--"

"What?" Manni asked when Dana hadn't continued. "Black what, sweetheart? Black goddess? Black queen? Black everything to the man whom you are lusting after? Like I said, take this as your warning, leave Scott alone because the next time, I won't use words, sweetheart. Now it's getting late. you should run on home."

Dana found herself shaking with a mixture of humiliation, fear, and fury, nevertheless; she hustled to the living room, snatched up her purse, then stomped her way out the door. Manni was no ordinary woman. She was wicked and Scott deserved much better than her.

"Dana already left?" Scott asked joining Manni in the kitchen.

"Yeah, she told me that she wanted to say goodbye, but she had forgotten that she had made late night plans."

"That's fine," he said pulling her into his embrace for a soft kiss. "I'm so proud of you, Manni."

"For what?" she asked skeptically. She had been on her best behavior all night.

"For not going upside Dana's head like I know that you really wanted to," he told her, letting her know that he had been able to see through her façade of tranquility that entire night. "Even though I'm pretty sure that you set her straight after I had left."

"You know damn right," she told him smugly then laughed as he squeezed her tightly before hefting her over his shoulder. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the shower to cool down that hot temper of yours. Then I'm taking you to bed to rile you back up all over again," he promised landing a firm slap to her backside that made her release a squeal and a moan. "I take it you liked that."

"Stark," Manni said once he had finally accomplished getting her undressed after the good fight she had given him.

"Yes, baby?" he absentmindedly answered too consumed in his task of nibbling on her neck to pay her complete attention.

"I've started to realize that Star and I spend more time at your place than we do at my condo. Don't you think that it's only fair that we put it to good use since I'm still paying for it?" she was able to say breathlessly.

"Nope."

"What?" Manni asked pushing away from him to clear away some of the fog that was in her head. "Why not?"

"Because we are going to put it up for sale right after you and Star officially move in."

"Whatchu say?" she asked giving him a look of disbelief while poking out her plump lips.

Scott groaned with need feeling his erection twitch as he leaned down to taste her. "You, my fiancée, the mother of my child, and my daughter, Star, the first fruit of my loins, will be moving in starting next week. No more commuting to and fro."

"Wh-when did you decide this?" she stammered now that his tongue was leaving hot trails down her stomach and dipping into her navel. When had he even gotten down there? "Scott, please, I need to focus."

"Nope," he told her again, shaking his red head. "I don't want you to over think things. I've already asked your parents to help us with the move which gives you seven days to pack up and prepare yourself."

"Scott! You can't just make decisions without consulting me first!"

"I did ask you and you said yes," he told her straightening up to look into her chocolate eyes.

"You did? When?"

"Two weeks ago before we became engaged. Why do you think I asked you to marry me, Manni?" he asked caressing her cheek. "I wouldn't have taken that next step if you weren't ready for us to live with each other again. I know that that's a big deal for you."

"I seriously don't remember you ever asking me," she told him looking up at him with concern. "Should I get my memory checked?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he told her going back to kissing all over her. "Luckily, you are just like Star only with the addition of sleep talking," he said. Manni could feel the big smile on his lips against her collarbone. "All I had to do was ask you right before you were dead to the world and I knew you would have agreed. And since you're not one to break your word, I also knew that you would keep your promise."

"What? That's cheating!" Manni accused wishing his hair was still a bit longer so that she could yank a handful of it.

"Not cheating," Scott clarified righting himself to look into her dark brown eyes. "Only using an ulterior method to get what I want. And now that this discussion is over, what I'm wanting right now is you. Call me Stark."

Manni bit her lip as she felt her juices begin to flow from the look of intensity in his murky green eyes. "Stark."

"That's my girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Manni was in heaven. The move had been a success, not to mention the huge barbecue that Scott called himself trying to throw until Manni's father, Samuel, tossed him aside before he burned down his wooden deck. The man just couldn't understand that he was not a cooker. If he looked at chicken the wrong way, it burned. If he thought about baking cookies, they would come out as black bricks. If he even tried his hand at making juice, it tasted like arsenic and cigarette ash. The man just had to realize that of all the things that he was good at: women, children, sports, and math, food was not one of them.

"Are you still lounging about in bed?" Scott asked, tugging the wet towel from off of his head.

"Go away. You're ruining the ambiance," Manni mumbled, hiding her head underneath her pillow. It was all thanks to him why she was so tired. He had kept her up two nights straight without remorse, not that she was complaining. Her body was still tingling from it all. It was a good thing that Star was spending the week at her parents', since her daycare was on vacation for the week, or she would have walked in on them getting down and dirty. And Manni had no intention of damaging her little girl with images of her parents butt naked.

Scott planted a kiss on Manni's warm shoulder, smiling when her body shivered. "I want to play with you," he told her sounding like a whining child.

"Nope, it's my day off and I plan on making love to this sexy bed of yours."

He laughed watching Manni grind her hips into the mattress then groaned, thinking about those hips had moved above him last night and the night before. "You're lucky that I actually have work to do or I would stay here and torture you until you get up."

"Does that mean that Dana will be here?"

"Yes," he answered, leaving the bed to dress himself. "Don't stay up here all day just because you want to avoid her."

Manni sucked her teeth, "the only thing that I'm trying to avoid is shoving my fist in her face."

"Well, I promise you, once this account has been completed, you won't be seeing her anymore."

Manni slightly turned, finally removing the pillow from her head to give him a sarcastic smile. "That's great, you know, because I was wondering if I should give her a wedding invitation."

"I was kinda thinking about it," Scott said then laughed when she launched a fluffy down pillow at him. "What?" he asked innocently. "You don't want her as your matron of honor?"

"I'm going to kill," Manni replied jumping from the bed to attack him. It only made him laugh harder as she thrashed about against him all but forgetting that she was completely naked. She cried out when he landed a firm slap to her backside then rubbed it fiercely to get rid of the sting. "That really hurt."

"That's what happens when little girls act naughty," Scott taunted before planting a quick kiss on her lips. "Papa has work to do."

"If you were my dad, I wouldn't be screwing you," she called after him then hopped back in bed to curl up in his thick blankets while his footsteps carried him further down the stairs.

Scott chuckled feeling like a king. It was all thanks to God why he had his life back. He had expected things to be a lot more difficult before Manni agreed to be with him once more. Heck, he had even prepared himself for the possibility that she would always hate his guts and never forgive him. He had screwed things up because he had felt as if he'd been suffocating, but once she had left, Scott had known that she had taken all of his oxygen along with her. His life had been constricted without her. His days had blended into nights without him never really knowing that they were passing him by. But now, all thanks to God's good favor and his perseverance, he had his life and his soon to be future wife back.

The ringing doorbell broke him out of his thoughts and he grumbled to himself for having to see Dana for another day even though he knew that within another week she would be out of his life forever. So with that in mind, Scott swung the door wide open with a bright smile on his face. "Hey there, Dana. You have great timing. I was just heading to my office."

"Hi, Scott," Dana greeted somewhat shyly as her eyes roamed over the fitted shirt plastered to his heavenly pecs and his rippling washboard stomach. She almost started to salivate. "I brought the files you requested."

"Thanks," he replied, locking the door behind her then walking away, pretending not to know that her eyes were eagerly eating him up. "I was thinking," Scott said after clearing his throat. "Since next week is your last week, why not make today your last instead of dragging things out? I've pretty much caught up on everything so there really isn't a need for you to come here everyday. Not to mention how much its possibly costing you in gas."

"No, that's no problem. The company actually provides me with gas money since it is a bit out of my way," Dana told him as her stomach formed in knots. Scott was trying to get rid of her.

"May I have those files, please?" She stared down at his large hand extended in her direction that suddenly became blurry as she handed him the files. "Dana, are you alright? Are you not feeling well?"

"No," she answered him truthfully. She had been pining over this man since the first time she had seen him, telling herself that just because he was engaged didn't mean that he wouldn't be interested in her. That he might even fall for her and decide to leave his fiancée for her.

"Why don't you just head back home? I'll finish this up on my own. Your health is more important than work."

Dana shook her head furiously making her hair flutter about her face. "There's something that I need to tell you because I feel as if I don't do it now, that I'll never get another chance."

"You know, that's alright, Dana. You don't have to do that," Scott said having an inkling of what she might say. It didn't help her cause that she was grasping onto his hand for dear life either. The sudden drop in his stomach made him suspect that things just might end badly between them today.

"Please just hear me out," she persisted. "I love you. I know that this is crazy because I haven't seen you for the past four years, but I do. I still feel the same way now as I felt when I first saw you. And I think that you're making a huge mistake by marrying that woman."

"That woman?" Scott asked incredulously, snatching his hand away. "That woman happens to be the mother of my child and my fiancée."

"Scott, please be reasonable. She kept the fact that you had a child from you for four years," Dana pleaded. "How could you possibly love a woman like that?"

"Dana, you're crossing the line."

"What? Did you think that I wouldn't notice that all of a sudden you have a four year old daughter? Did the stork drop her off on your doorstep or something?"

"Dana!" Scott yelled standing to his feet. She jumped from the boom in his voice though she never ceased with her assault.

"That woma--"

"You have one more time to call her that woman," he told her, quieting the tone of his voice. He was doing a pretty good job of controlling his temper when he really wanted to be shaking some sense into the woman standing before him. "Matter of fact, I think that it's best if you left. Right now."

"Scott--"

"Take one more step closer to my man and I'll be ripping your pretty little hair out," Manni told her, leaning against the door frame. She had heard Scott's loud voice upon her exit from the shower and knew that something was up.

Scott's eyes roamed over Manni's towel clad body, tempting him to smile at how sexy and innocent she looked yet all the while emitting an aura of pure anger though she appeared to be calm. "Dana, I said that you should leave," he said more for her benefit than for his own. If she wanted to live another day, she would heed his warning.

"I'll walk you to the door, sweetheart," Manni told her with silk in her voice although her eyes were spitting fire. She didn't wait for Dana to comply, simply leaving the door frame to grab her arm and yanking her after her."

"Manni--"

"Scott, stay out of this. I'll deal with you later."

"Let go of me!"

"Girl, if you don't shut your tall, skinny tail up, I will give you something to be hollering about," Manni threatened still dragging Dana behind her until she threw the front door open. "Get out of my house."

Dana looked at her incredulously, "your house?"

"You heard me," Manni said not backing up from the woman towering over her. "My house because that man back there will be my husband which makes this my house."

"Your husband?"

"Are you deaf or hearing impaired?" Manni asked her crossing her arms over her blue terry cloth towel.

"He doesn't even love you," Dana told her as her voice shook. "If he did, then why would I have this?" she asked as her trembling hands dug through her over sized purse big enough to hold a midget.

"I don't see anything."

"This," Dana yelled holding up Manni's old engagement ring. She smiled victoriously, when her nemesis' eyes bulged, then smirked.

"Where did you get that?"

"Where else?" she asked. "Don't act dimwitted, although it does suit you, at the moment I'm trying to have an intelligent conversation with you."

Manni fought the urge to slap Dana's pretty little white face, laughing instead as she planted her hands on her hips. "Where did you get that?"

"Scott gave it to me," Dana lied knowing very well that after Manni had caught them in his office he had stormed out after her, leaving the engagement ring Manni had thrown at his head discarded on the ground. So what did she do? She waited until he had tormented himself with it for a good week then kept it when she saw that it was now on his desk staring back at her.

"Its nice to see that you're getting what you deserve in life. Sloppy. Seconds," Manni told her then swished her hand out in front of her so fast that neither her nor Dana had been aware that she had slapped her before snatching her old ring out of her fingers.

"You hit me," Dana stated in shock as tears stung her eyes. No one had ever done that before not even her own parents. She started to cry, unashamed that she was a thirty year old, six foot one woman which made her older and taller than the evil woman standing in front of her. Which also meant that she should know how to hold her own.

As unexpected as the first slap, Manni landed another one to Dana's opposite cheek almost laughing when the water works really began. "The first one was for what you did today because I warned you. And the second one was for what you did four years ago. Now get the hell out of my sight before I do much more than slap you around."

Dana didn't have to be told twice to high tail it, but she wouldn't leave without getting the last word. "I hate you. And the day when Scott drops you like a bad habit will be the day that I piss on you for being right."

"Heifer, you must think that you're R. Kelly. Do I look sixteen?" Manni asked threatening to step out the door after her. Dana all but ran to her car and jumped in to peel out of the driveway. "And you better not ever come back." She slammed the door, stomping her way back to Scott. He was still standing in the same spot that she left him in looking sexy.

He smiled.

She didn't.

"You didn't kill the poor woman, did you?"

"No, but I might be doing just that to you," she told him taking deliberately slow steps towards him. She was actually counting to ten in her head to control her temper instead of allowing herself to lose her temper and jump to conclusions. "Take it," she said holding out her hand.

Scott looked down at the ring as his eyes widened in recognition. "Manni, I swear that I don't know how she got that."

"I believe you. I'm not going to pretend as if I'm not fuming inside, but knowing her she probably would have dug through your trash cans for it," she told him. "I remember the talk that we had a few months ago about me not losing my temper and yelling like a demon woman. And I want you to know that one, it's hard as hell not to do so especially when it's with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Manni smiled shyly, "you know that sometimes we argue just for the sake of arguing, anyway, I'm digressing because of you." She playfully punched his arm feeling the need to touch him. He pulled her close holding her tightly against him.

"What's number two?"

"I trust you," she whispered laying her head over his heart. "And I know that you're not the type of person to give away your ex-fiancée's ring to your sideline hoe."

"I thought that you were my sideline hoe?" Scott asked then laughed when she bit him.

"AND," Manni added when he thought that she was finished. "I'm proud that you held your ground with her instead of popping one of her fake titties in your mouth like the last time." She looked up noticing that Scott was as red as his bright hair and smiled.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"I just had to throw one more pun before I let it go for good. I love you, Scott. That's not ever gonna change...unless you become an alcoholic gambler who starts to beat on me and Star. Then you're just out of luck."

Scott's laughter sounded like music to her ears transforming her smile into a wide grin. "Never that. I can't wait until you're my wife."

"What's going to happen then?" Manni asked eyeing him skeptically. She absentmindedly rubbed her shoulders feeling the chill of the air conditioner against it.

"I'm going to make love to you all day every day and show you just how grateful I am that you're back in my life."

She laughed shaking her head as she began to back away. "Scott, you have work to do," she yelled running towards the stairs before he tackled her on the couch.

"I know, working on that fine ass of yours. Don't fight it," he told her, gazing down into her soulful brown eyes with all of the love in his being for her.

"I won't. Ever," she promised caressing his cheek.

"Good girl," he told her with a sweet kiss that had her arching into him. "Because I won't let you."

The End