Chapter 3
The alcohol coursed through my body and mixed perfectly with the remnants of the THC from my lunch earlier. Being cross faded wasn’t for the weak. I’d had enough experiences to know how to navigate the enhanced high.
“I have to pee,” I announced as I rose from the leather couch and tossed my hair over my shoulder. Then I grabbed my purse.
“Do you want one of us to walk with you?” Georgia asked.
With a shake of my head, I pointed at Noble. “My bodyguard got me.”
Venus smirked. “If y’all fuck in the bathroom, can you record it?”
“Vee, puh-lease shut up.” I cackled loudly.
As soon as I moved through the crowd, Noble followed close behind me. I walked past the bar and turned down the narrow hallway to the bathrooms. I usually hated going into public bathrooms, but this club was one of the bright light and green background clubs that had spotless toilets.
Tonight was no different. I went into the stall, handled my business, and washed my hands afterward. As I returned to the hallway, a strong hand grabbed me and cornered me against the wall. I frowned as I looked up at the unfamiliar face of a man I’d never seen before.
“Hi, um . . .” I tried to free myself from his grip, but it was too strong.
Panic began to set in.
This was it.
“You’re hurting me,” I whispered.
“Shut up, bitch.” The man pressed the metal tip of his gun into my stomach.
“I-I can pay you more than what the bounty is offering.”
“Shut up!” He hissed in my face.
I turned my head and closed my eyes tightly. Fear consumed me. I had never been so scared in my life. It wasn’t until this moment that the threats had become very real.
Where was Noble?
As if he could hear my thoughts, Noble appeared from what felt like thin air. He pulled the man off of me and hemmed him up against the wall. His arm pressed into the man’s throat as the gun fell out of the assailant’s hands.
I couldn’t control my thoughts as I watched Noble and the man go back and forth. Noble looked sexy as hell as he fought the man. His muscles were deliciously large.
And then . . .
A warm liquid sprayed across my face. I blinked as I watched the man fall limp onto the floor. My eyes widened. My heart nearly popped out of my chest.
“W-what . . . d-did . . . oh my God.” I couldn’t form a sentence. I couldn’t think straight. My hands shook with fear as I watched the life leave the man’s eyes.
At the sound of my voice, Noble stood and looked over at me.
“Sunni, go in the bathroom and clean yourself up. Wait for me to come get you. I’m going to get him up and out of here before someone sees him. Okay?” Despite the severity of the situation, his voice was gentle as he spoke to me.
I nodded.
Following his directions, I went back into the bathroom and grabbed a hand full of paper towels to scrub the blood from my face and hands. How did no one see this? How could Noble take care of a dead body in a crowded ass club?
The reflection of my blood-covered face in the mirror made the tears finally fall from my eyes rapidly. I couldn’t see anymore. I blindly scrubbed my face and prayed Noble would be back soon to get me.
I wanted this night to be over.
I wanted to go home and sleep.
I wanted to wake up tomorrow and this would all be a terrible dream.
“Sunni.”
The sound of Noble’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. He was standing beside me, and I didn’t even have the energy to tease him about being in the women’s restroom. Instead, I silently followed him out of the bathroom and through the back door.
“What about my girls?” I asked as he ushered me into the back seat of his car.
Noble waited for me to get comfortable before he replied, “I called a ride for them so they can all make it home safely.”
I didn’t say another word. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared blankly out the window.
Visions of the man lying dead on the club floor haunted me the entire ride home.
Even after I climbed into the shower and allowed the steaming hot water to rain down on me, I still couldn’t get the images of him out of my head.
My hands shook through my entire shower.
I’d thrown the expensive customized wig into the trash.
I could never get the memories attached to the wig out of my mind if I continued to have it in my collection.
After my shower, I pulled on my pink silk bonnet, moisturized my skin, and tugged on a pair of boy shorts and an oversized T-shirt. I climbed into bed and checked my notifications.
All of my girls had flooded the group chat, but I didn’t feel like talking to them. Instead, I clicked the notification with Noble’s name and picture.
Noble:
You good?
My thumbs hovered over the keyboard as I reread his message multiple times. It caught me off guard to see a message from Noble checking in on me. I thought he was some mean ass man, but he had a soft side.
ME:
Can I be honest? :/
Noble:
Yes. Always.
ME:
I’m not okay at all. I’m scared, Noble. Is that normal? :(
Noble:
Yeah, it’s normal. Do you want to come downstairs and talk about it?
ME:
Yes, please.
I sat up and slid my feet into my slippers. The polar bear claws were my favorite house shoes to slide around in. They might have been childish, but I didn’t care.
The sound of the living room TV greeted me first as I descended the stairs. Then the sight of Noble came into view. He wore a pair of basketball shorts and a white T-shirt. He had his security iPad in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He looked relaxed.
“Hey,” I squeaked. My voice betrayed me. I wanted to sound okay, but the shiver in my tone gave me away immediately.
“Hey.”
He craned his neck to look at me before I walked across the room to join him on the couch. After taking off my slippers, I tucked my legs under my butt and folded my fingers in my lap.
“I don’t know what to say,” I confessed.
“I’ll go first, if you don’t mind.” Noble put his iPad and bottle of water down before he turned to give me his full attention.
“Go ahead.”
“I want to apologize for the way I handled things.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Noble.” I scooted closer to him and placed my hand on his arm.
“Nah. I need to apologize because I will kill any and everybody who comes at you wrong. It’s in my nature.
It’s in my blood. I’ve killed more people than I can count, so I’ve become numb to death.
You aren’t me, and I shouldn’t have done it in your presence.
I’ll do better at being discreet next time. ”
Next time.
This was my reality until they handled the man who set up the bounty. There was no telling how many people would die before they found the man and handled him.
“How many people do you think will get hurt before this all ends?” I asked. I knitted my fingers together to hide the shakiness.
Noble shrugged. “I can’t give you an answer.”
“Will you get in trouble for killing people who are trying to kill me?” I inquired.
He shook his head. “Nah. Everything is handled so nothing traces back to me.”
“Is that legal?”
“Do you really want to know?”
I chuckled. “I guess not.”
Silence filled the air with only the sound of the TV playing lightly in the background. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all. I wanted to say more, but I didn’t know where to start.
“I’m sorry too,” I blurted out.
He lifted his gaze to peruse my face. “For what?”
“Not taking the threat seriously. I assumed it wouldn’t be as serious as it was, and I put everybody’s lives in danger. It won’t happen again. I’m going to take a chill pill on all of my going out.”
His lips lifted slightly. Was that a hint of a smile? I liked it.
“Nah, you’re good. I don’t think you could go too long without getting into something, especially with the friend group you hang around.”
I snorted. “Boy, please. I’m the queen of finding a new hobby. My girls will just have to understand.”
“Speaking of, it would be best if you didn’t tell them about what happened at the club.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I will not tell them every detail of what happened. Not only is it not their business, but they have parents who wouldn’t hesitate to make an example out of you. I don’t want you to get in trouble. I like you.”
He shook his head. “That’s that liquor in your system again, huh?”
“No. I’ve been attracted to you since you walked into Dad’s office. You’re fine as hell.”
His tongue slid across his bottom lip. “I’m dangerous, Sunni.”
“Maybe I like a little danger, Noble.” I placed my hand on his thigh.
He licked his lips. “I don’t mix business and pleasure.”
“You’ve already said you would kill for me. What’s a little sex sprinkled in going to hurt?” I asked as I climbed into his lap.
His large hands wrapped around my waist. “Sunni.”
“Noble.” I placed my hands on his shoulders and gazed into his light brown eyes. Those beautiful orbs told a story of their own. He had seen a lot of things in his life. I wanted to hear them all.
“Your emotions are high. You’re still visibly shaken from the incident earlier. I cannot in good faith give you what you want when you could sober up tomorrow and regret it all. I’m not the type of man to take advantage of a woman.”
I wanted to beg him to fuck me. I wanted him to knock all the fear and trauma out of my body and tell me he loved me.
The more I thought about it, the more things became clear: I was delusional and needed to calm the hell down.
I hung my head low. “Fine. I’m too cute to beg any man for dick, so I’m going to chill. If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
“Right.” He shook his head.
“But . . .”
I leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. My eyes closed slowly as the feel of his soft lips touched mine. My breathing changed. My heart nearly stopped. My clit throbbed with need. The seat of these boy shorts wouldn’t contain my juices much longer.
These feelings from one damn kiss. Noble was a dangerous man alright.
I pulled away and licked my lips.
“Sunni, what the hell was that?” he asked as he wiped the corners of his mouth.
“What was what?” I replied with a sly smirk.
He nodded once. “A’ight. You can go to bed.”
The smirk fell from my lips at the thought of being alone tonight.
“Wait. Is it okay if I chill down here with you until I get sleepy? I really don’t want to be alone, but I promise I’ll behave.”
Noble ran a hand down his face and scratched at his facial hair. I waited patiently for his response. His eyes searched mine for a long moment before he nodded. “Sure. But you got to get your hot pussy off my lap.”
I tossed my head back with a soulful laugh. “Okay. I can do that.”
Once I slid off his lap, I claimed the spot on the other side of the couch.
I leaned into the couch cushion and kicked my feet up beside him.
Noble grabbed his iPad and focused on whatever was on the TV.
I searched the couch for my phone. When I found it, I opened up the thread with me and my girls.
Dria:
Sunni, you better have a damn good reason for ditching us.
Vee:
She’s probably fucking that bodyguard of hers in the bathroom right now.
Gee:
Girl! Not you sent this man to pay for our ride home. IKTR. Get that dick, sisterrrrr!
I reacted to all their messages with hahas and hearts. I giggled to myself at some of the raunchier text messages as I continued to catch up on all the messages I’d missed.
Dria:
I made it home. Let me know when y’all do the same. If I don’t hear from Sunni before the night is over, I promise I’m sending SWAT to her door.
Vee:
I’m home!
Gee:
Same!
My thumbs hovered over the keyboard as I thought about what to say. They would hound me about the details, so I had to choose my reply carefully.
Me:
Hey babes! I’m home. Tonight was crazy, but I’m okay.
Vee:
Oh she’s alive.
Dria:
Girl! What the hell happened to you? I was about to call the cops.
Gee:
And I was about to pull up on you and make sure that man ain’t killed you.
Me:
I’m good. Noble made sure I got home safely. Someone attacked me in the bathroom, and I got a little shook up. He did what he had to do to keep me safe, though. I just wanted to get out of there ASAP.
Gee:
Oh damn… I’m sorry that happened to you, pooh. Do you need anything? Are you okay?
Vee:
Girl she got that sexy ass man in her house. I’m sure she’s good.
Dria:
Venus, puhlease be serious right now.
Me:
Nah, she’s right. It’s something about a man saving me that had my coochie ready to swallow him whole.
Vee:
You fucked that man??????
Gee:
Chileeeeeeee
Dria:
We need a brunch debrief IN THE MORNING
ME:
No can do. I think I’m going to chill for a few days. Tonight really shook me. We’ll get together soon, though. I promise.
Vee:
I see you didn’t answer my question.
Me:
Yep. Suffer. Good night girls.
I closed the thread and cleared all of my open apps. I grabbed one of the throw blankets and wrapped myself up. He focused on something sports related as I watched him avoid eye contact.
I wanted Noble more than ever. How was I supposed to remain cordial when he said he would kill for me?
I was easy as hell when it came to fine men.
The more he fought our attraction, the more I wanted him.
And the kiss didn’t do anything but ignite a fire in my core.
If a simple kiss was that hot, I could only imagine what it would be like to spread my legs for him.
I needed to find a hobby fast to occupy my time.
Jesus, be a fence.