Chapter 24 #2
I poked my head into his bedroom this morning, but I didn’t go inside.
I’d seen how massive it was last night but had opted to remain outside the doorway then too.
Now, as I walked through the space, a sense of tranquility washed over me.
It smells like Shio, and the entire room felt like a comforting hug.
The only thing out of place was one side of his Alaskan king-sized bed, where I could tell he’d been lying.
The same brown, green, cream, and wood-grain theme from the rest of the house carried into his bedroom, and some classical music played somewhere in the distance.
Floor-to-ceiling panels covered his windows, and since they were shut, I couldn’t see outside.
His room looked like something a mobster would live in.
It was fitting for a boss. A king. A Shio.
Letting my eyes wander around his space, trying to memorize every inch, we made it to his en suite bathroom.
The lights turned on automatically as soon as we stepped inside.
Shio moved away from me and headed to the vanity, where his products sat neatly on one side while the other side was empty.
There was a shower that could be entered from two sides, two closets existed that were separated by a large tub, and marble floors contrasting with the wood, like in the rest of the home, made up the walls and counters.
All of his faucets and dials were gold, like the box he was still holding.
Not wasting any more time, I went to the tub, placed the stopper in, and turned the dials.
Letting in more hot than cold but making sure I didn’t make the water too hot, I picked up the bubble bath that had looked more like décor than something he actually used.
It was the work of the housekeepers; I knew because they stocked my room the same way.
Pumping a few squirts of bubble bath and bath oil in the water, I then picked up the jar of Epsom salt and dumped most of it in the tub.
When bubbles began to form and the eucalyptus fumes permeated the air, I went back to Shio.
He had already begun to remove his tattered clothing.
Pausing, I watched as he tossed it aside, gawking at the work of art that he was.
His muscles were extremely defined in every part of the upper half of his body.
I’d never seen a man more attractive than Shio Cuppacio, and I felt terrible for standing here admiring the beauty that he was when he needed my help.
Get it together, Solana.
He turned and reached for his toothbrush, then smeared toothpaste on it.
He’d done a sloppy job, which further proved that his eyes were damaged.
Since he had it under control, I didn’t interfere with him brushing his teeth.
The motor on the electric toothbrush vibrated as he handled his oral hygiene.
After about three minutes of brushing, he grabbed a floss pick from a clear jar and ran it between his teeth.
Once that was done, he pointed to a bottle.
“Is this my face wash?”
Squinting my eyes, I read the bottle from where I was standing. “Yes… I think so.”
He washed his hands first and then cleaned his face.
I’d never seen a man put that much care into his appearance.
My brothers—the older ones—barely brushed their teeth.
When we were younger, they often had cavities during dental visits.
Seeing Shio follow a full routine showed me why his teeth were so perfect and his skin so flawless.
Even I had some pigmentation I needed to work on, but he was without a scar on his face.
When he lifted from the sink’s edge, face glistening, he peered at me through the mirror.
“Come ’ere.”
“Shio”
“Sshhh. Come ’ere, Solana.”
I wanted to honor what he’d said last night.
We had to have boundaries. It seemed Shio no longer cared about that from the way he was looking at me through the mirror with overcast eyes.
I was sure he couldn’t see me, but the aura coming from him told me he knew exactly who he was looking at.
Desire was all over his face. Shio desired me.
I crept up behind him, pausing at the blood on his back.
A long scar ran across his back above his butt, and it looked fresh.
Lifting my finger, I pressed it against his wound, and he hardly flinched.
Not caring about the fresh blood, my arms wrapped around his waist. My robe was ruined, but again, I didn’t care.
He felt so good against me. Whenever Shio was around, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time, maybe something I never had.
I felt safe. I felt so secure in his embrace.
My ear was pressed into his scarred back, listening to his thudding heartbeat, letting it calm me.
He didn’t remove my hands, but he did begin to remove his pants. I squeezed my eyes shut. Once they hit the ground, he moved toward the tub with me still clinging on to him like a damn koala bear.
Knowing he needed to soak, I let him go. The blood from his back remained on my chest, so I stepped backward to exit his space and go clean up and change. Keeping my eyes closed, I heard him lower into the tub and turn off the water as I started to turn around.
“Solana…” His voice vibrated through me, stopping me in my tracks.
Opening my eyes, his simple nod to come here had me walking the few paces to the tub.
Reaching up, he grabbed my hand and guided me into the tub.
My arms naturally wrapped around his neck as water splashed around us before settling.
My legs were hanging out of the tub as the warm water relaxed my body.
He grabbed my face and stuck his nose against my lips.
Softly, his minty breath fanned my face while I stared into his disturbing eyes.
“You good?” He had the nerve to ask.
He was the one who appeared to have come from an ancient battle, but he was asking if I was good.
I didn’t understand the turn of feelings from last night.
I’d spent the day altering my mind to respect his decision and to cast my feelings to the side so that we could at least unite against those who wished to force me to be someone I didn’t want to be.
Well, at least I didn’t want to be that someone with Felipe.
I definitely didn’t mind the idea of being a wife.
Solana Damita Cuppacio-Ledesma.
“Shio,” I gasped as he continued to nuzzle against my lips. “You said this could not happen? I’m not sure”
“Fuck all that, Solana. This what it is.”
I inhaled sharply.
“This what it is.”
Deciding not to badger him for more of an explanation, I answered his question truthfully. “I’m not good. Well… I wasn’t. Until I met you, Shio. Now, I’m better. Not one hundred percent… But I’m better,” I admitted.
With the way he was rubbing his nose against my lips, it had my body jolting.
My breath wasn’t as fresh as his, my hair was in a ball at the top of my head since I’d slept on it and didn’t protect it in the shower, and I was unsure if I’d done a good job of wiping off my makeup, so last night’s residue was still there.
But he didn’t seem to care. He was perfect even in his current state, yet I was a mess.
Still, he looked at me with so much admiration, and I was certain he couldn’t even see.
With his free hand, he reached under the water and placed each of my legs on the side of his. I was now straddling him, bloody, wet robe clinging to my body like a second skin. I could feel my nipples poking through the thin fabric.
“I don’t need you at one hundred percent. I just need you. We can worry about the math later, baby.”
His tongue traced the fullness of my lips.
Then, his mouth covered mine hungrily. Matching his cadence, I sucked on his tongue as it explored my mouth.
His kiss sent new spirals of ecstasy through me.
I’d never experienced the kind of high Shio gave me, and I was already addicted after the second kiss.
I could feel his monster of a dick growing beneath me, and it made me shake like a falling leaf.
I caressed the string tendons in the back of his neck as he held me in place.
“I can’t see shit. But I see you, Solana. So fucking beautiful. You know you fine as fuck. Right?”
I nodded.
“Good. Fuck all that shit I was spitting last night. You it. And today, when I felt like I was about to die, it solidified that shit. You gonna be mine, Solana.”
I was now choking back tears.
“You know you can get whatever up out of me, right?”
I nodded, internally sobbing quietly.
“You know, when I get this pussy, I’m going against everybody for it. Your papa included. Right?”
The tears sprang free, hearing that as I nodded.
“Nah. You don’t know. And that’s why I’m not gon’ touch you until you do know.
You belong to another nigga. I want you to belong to me.
” He chuckled, a hint of arrogance in his tone.
“He ain’t letting up, and neither am I. When I’m the only nigga in the race, that's when you’re gonna know I say what the fuck I mean and mean what the fuck I say. Aite?”
I didn’t want to hear it because I needed to be touched. I needed to feel, but I knew Shio enough to know he was a man of his word.
I nodded, wiping the few tears that escaped. “How can… How can we fix your eyes?”
“Shit…” He grunted.
Letting me go, he reached over the side of the tub as I sat on his legs and waited. He held up the gold box with hieroglyphics written on it that resembled a jewelry box. Handing it to me, I opened the heavy box and frowned at the dirt staring back at me.
He cuffed water in his hand and drizzled it inside the box. “Mix it and cover my eyes for me.”
Using my finger, I did as he asked, not stopping until the dirt was a paste-like mud. He sat back in the tub, hooking his arms around my waist, making my chest hit his front. My pebbled nipples brushed against his chest, and the friction felt heavenly.
He closed his eyes, and I smeared the paste on his eyelids.
The mixture smelled more like ointment, even though it looked like mud.
When his eyes were fully covered and there was no more paste, I placed the box on the side of the tub.
His arms were stretched on the tub’s sides, so I grabbed the loofah and began washing his chest. His head turned side to side as I washed his upper body.
“Solana.”
“?Si?”
“I got some shit with me, baby. I need a fuckin’ queen. You gotta be willing to go against the world for me, cuz I’ma always do it for you.”
“Is… Is that a lesson for me?’
Licking his lips, he scraped his bottom lip with his top teeth. “It’s a fact. Some shit can’t be taught, baby. It’s gotta be in you.”
“Is it in me?” I asked, sounding desperate but not caring. I wanted this man in every way.
“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be debating puttin’ your pussy in my mouth, baby.”
Father, God.
“Tomorrow. We going on a date. All that fun shit you listed last night, we gonna do all that and more. If we’re gonna do this shit, we’re doing it the right way.”
“O… Okay. I have a doctor’s appointment in the morning.”
He paused. “It’s cool. Go to your appointment. After, you with me.”
Nodding, I dropped the loofah, wrapped my arms around his back, and lay on his chest. There was no place I’d rather be in the world. I just hoped it all worked out how I wanted it to.
“Solana. There will be some shit I have to keep from you, and that’s only for your own good and safety…” His words vibrated my chest. “But you can’t keep shit from me. What I said during your first workout stands. No secrets. Aite?”
Tensing, I nodded. “Sin secretos.”
“English, baby. My head all fucked up.”
“No secrets…”
“Good girl.”