Today’s snippet theme is Villain Scene (bad guy shining moment). Below is a scene with the antagonist from my book. It is long so placed it behind a link. Enjoy
A snippet from Conquering Jazz….
Twenty minutes later, Jasmine strode into the lobby of the temporary offices of Christopher Enterprises. She paused and took a deep breath. Glancing around, she saw there was no one at the reception desk. Walking farther inside, she passed empty offices. Listening briefly, she thought she heard someone singing to her right. Following the sound, she made her way past more offices until she reached a partially open oak door.
Pushing it open, Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat at the sight before her. Derek was singing to an adorable little girl, who looked like a female version of him. The little girl could be no more than four years old. Watching them, she felt a twinge of pain. Surprised, she realized it wasn’t because she was obviously Derek’s child, but because Jasmine knew she would never have any children of her own.
Standing quietly in the doorway, she listened as he sang to the little girl. His lovely voice washed over her as he sang about angels and cats.
Startled, she glanced back as an accented voice came from behind her. “He’s
amazing with them.”
Turning, she saw Lyric Janssen, the woman she had seen that day in the house with Derek. Jasmine no longer felt any anger toward her. Curiously, she gazed at Lyric’s trim figure.
Opening her mouth to speak, Lyric was drowned out by the sound of running feet and a high-pitched, “Mommies!”
The serene smile that came over Lyric’s face took Jasmine’s breath away. Lyric was ravishing as she turned to embrace the two little girls who ran up to join them. They looked identical to the one Derek was holding.
Realizing that he had stopped singing, Jasmine looked back at him. His face was a cool mask as he looked at her. Shifting his gaze, Derek’s face softened. The little girls squealed and ran over to him. He laughed, setting the little girl he’d been holding down and catching the other two in his arms. He kissed them. Then, putting them on the floor, he walked all three of them over to Lyric. Kissing her cheek, he whispered something in her ear. She swatted him and laughed. Waving at Jasmine, she left, partially closing the door behind her and the girls.
Derek looked at her, and the look on his face made her breath catch. Pain lined his face, and sorrow filled his eyes. Going with her instincts, Jasmine closed the distance between them and hugged him. Derek stiffened, and tried to pull away. Holding onto him, Jasmine waited for him to relax. Finally, he did, pulling her close to him. His arms tightened around her, and she gasped at the intensity of his embrace. She gripped him fiercely, soaking in his scent. Derek kissed her softly on the head, then stepped back, looking down at her. The smile on his face was as she remembered—devilish.
“Hey now, I don’t want Reese to come and break my legs or something.”
Her heart jumped at his knowing look. Derek had always known her so well. Tears filled her eyes. She realized it hadn’t just been his sexual betrayal that had hurt so much. She had also missed him as her friend and confidant. When she needed him most, he had always been a great listener. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to her. Jasmine pushed it away. She was through being a ninny and crying. Now was the time for action.
“Here now. Come and tell Smoothy all about it.”
She laughed at the familiar nickname. He had been dubbed “Smoothy” by her family, referring to the way he always did everything—smooth and slick. He led her to the couch, and pushed her gently to sit down. Then he sat beside her and took her hand.
Looking at him, Jasmine blurted out, “I hated and blamed you and that woman— Lyric—for everything that’s happened to me.”
He froze, then squeezed her hand, and that’s all it took for her to pour out everything—about the accident, Reese, and her own stupidity. Derek listened, as he always had in the past, without interrupting or passing judgment.
He kissed her hands gently.
Then it was his turn. He startled her by saying, “Lyric is my sister. Well, she’s my sister-in—law, actually. Oh God, I’m so sorry, Jasmine.”
Watching his face, she saw he meant it. But something he said nagged at her. Her eyes widened as she realized that Lyric wasn’t his lover, but family.
“So Damian is married to…”
“No, not Damian. David, my other brother, was married to Lyric. He passed away a little over five years ago. I never knew him, Jazz.” Sorrow dripped from his voice.
Frowning, Jasmine tried to process all this new information. A stunned expression covered her face as she comprehended that Derek was not a twin, but a triplet. That explained the three little beautiful girls Lyric had; such things tended to run in families.
She had never known Derek had any brothers or any other family. Squeezing his hand, she waited for him to continue.
When he did, he told her about his early years as an abandoned child, sent from place to place, never knowing who his parents were or if he had family somewhere. His revelation explained a lot. During their time together, Derek had said very little of his past. She tensed as he explained that, when she had walked in on him and Lyric, he had just found out the truth about his birth and his real family.
Lyric had run into him by accident. She had known he wasn’t Damian, and seeing him—a man who looked exactly like her husband—she had passed out. He had taken her to the hospital, and eventually to their house, to sort out what had happened. Lyric was trying to convince Derek that his family could not have possibly known about him, or they never would have left him. It was at that point that Jasmine had walked in, and instead of telling her the truth, he had let her assume he was cheating on her. He stopped, waiting expectantly for her to respond. Jasmine didn’t know what to say.
Watching his face, she could tell there was a lot more he left unsaid, but she didn’t ask. All these years, he had had let her believe he didn’t love her, and now to find out he had supposedly sacrificed and let her go, thinking he was being noble.
Jasmine chuckled. She couldn’t be mad at him; it was the same thing she was doing to Reese. She did what Reese should have done to her.
Reaching out, she smacked him upside the head. She said, “God, you’re such an idiot. How could you think I was that shallow as to…” she trailed off.
Reese had said the same thing to her, and she hadn’t listened to him. It was too late now for her to reprimand Derek for his stupidity. Actually, she was thankful to him. If he hadn’t done what he did, she never would have known how much Reese loved her. She hoped he still did. Standing, she pulled Derek up off the couch. Then, holding his face between her hands, she pulled him down and gave him big smack on the mouth. Stepping back, she picked up her bag and looked at him.
“You know what? Even after all that has happened, I have to thank you for being an idiot and dumping me. If you hadn’t, Reese and I never would have gotten together. When we…if we get married, I want you to be my bride’s man, my very own cupid.”
Watching him frown, she laughed in delight at his chagrined expression. He joined her.
Taking his hand one more time, Jasmine kissed it and said softly, “We were never meant to be. Some day, you’ll find the perfect woman for you.”
Turning, she walked to the door and opened it. She glanced back and waved at him, then hurried out.
Staring at the empty doorway after she left, Derek was sorry he’d lost her, but also happy for her. Reese was a lucky man to have a woman like Jasmine love him.
He turned and walked over to his desk, then whispered softly, “I already had the perfect woman, and I lost her, Jazz. I’ll never find anyone like you.”
Copyright © McKenna Jeffries, 2008.
All Rights Reserved, Liquid Silver Books.
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