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    Stefan sighed and came back to the present. He returned to his seat with the report as Jerome finished his conversation with Creed’s bodyguard and stepped into his office. “Stefan, did you hear?”
    “Yes.” He saw no reason to lie. “I appreciate you keeping my secret.” Jerome knew Talicia was his lover but not his wife.
    “That’s my job, and as far as I’m concerned it’s none of their business what you do. So what you’re Stefan Marquette. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have privacy.”
    Stefan chuckled. “Thanks. No one’s harassing you, are they?”
    Jerome rolled his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. I got you, and these are some pretty big shoulders should anyone get stupid enough to challenge me.”
    “I doubt that will happen.”
    Stefan shook his head, amused. He hadn’t chosen Jerome for the color of his skin but for his skill. Yet, as an African American, Jerome fit into Talicia’s club a lot better than he did. Stefan liked the man a lot and considered him somewhat to be a friend. He’d encouraged Jerome to call him Stefan and drop the mister. All the other guards stuck to a more formal address to his brothers and their significant others. Stefan did make sure Jerome stuck with Ms. Talicia for his wife as he never wanted Talicia to feel less than what she was.
    “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be going over there,” Stefan said. “The gig might be ending soon.”
    Jerome nodded and took the seat Stefan indicated. “I guess that’s how it goes. You’ll get another one, but this time don’t sneak off and leave me behind. You can trust me to have your back.”
    “I know.” Stefan talked about the performance, but what he thought about was his marriage. In the beginning, he intended to annul their marriage. In fact, at the time, he couldn’t believe he stayed so single-minded to have gone through with it or that Talicia had been carried along to say I do.
    Their wedding night, he’d made love to her, and it was then he realized the fever she had started. He couldn’t stop touching her, kissing her, listening to her. Even in the club, he watched how she ran the place, with precision Creed could be proud of. Yet, she was always tense and on guard. The only time she relaxed was when he had her in bed. Then he worked to make sure she experienced intense pleasure. Not to mention his own.
    Visit after visit, he told himself they would break it off and just dissolve the marriage. Yet, he knew the time for annulment was past. Now they were looking at the only way to break the connection being through divorce.
    No, his mind shouted. If he gave Talicia a divorce, she would end the affair. He wasn’t ready for that to happen. Therefore, no divorce. Period. Stefan knew she wanted him, and his desire for her hadn’t lessened one iota in almost a year. If anything it had grown, along with his feelings for her. He couldn’t say for sure if he loved her. They spent so little time in each other’s presence, and when they did, it was all about lovemaking.
    Even now, thinking about her, he got a hard-on. He wished he could see her more often, but his schedule didn’t allow it, and neither did hers. They were from two different worlds, and he doubted the two would ever meet. She didn’t want to come to him, and he wasn’t sure his family would accept her without hurting her first. No, he refused to allow them the chance. Talicia was far more vulnerable than she believed or anyone around her knew.
    Maybe I’m being selfish. Am I embarrassed over her?
    He thought about Talicia and didn’t think so. She was intelligent and successful. For the most part, she ran the club on her own, handled the finances, the management, hiring, marketing, customer service, all the various parts he and his brothers shared. If anything, he admired what she had done. Aside from all that, she was so damn sexy he wanted to make love to her on a nightly basis.
    Would it be so bad if he pushed to get