Chapter 13
MAHOGANY
“Hm?”
With dipped brows, Tamia repeated herself. “I said, I was just coming to let you know I was heading out. Sorry, I called and—”
“It’s fine,” I said, before swiping a piece of hair from my face. “We were wrapped up in—”
“It’s cool,” Tamia interrupted. “I know you’re busy. Do you need anything before I go?”
She knew.
She fucking knew.
Was my makeup smeared? What was the giveaway?
I wondered if she could just sense it. The way I’d just humped on and kissed Crescent.
He went in for a kiss, and I hungrily accepted it like the adulterous slut I was.
I couldn’t control it. It was… the chemistry.
The sex. The fucking desire. It was heavy.
Too heavy. It was his fault. Him and those piercing dark brown eyes that stayed on me.
He wouldn’t stop staring at me. Wouldn’t stop with the flirtatious comments. Wouldn’t stop being all ‘Crescenty’. Watchful. Intense. Drawing. Fucking invigorating. And I couldn’t stop being me. The version of myself that wanted him as bad as she wanted to breathe.
“No,” I paused. “Nothing. Thank you Tami.”
She smiled, looked past me at him and said, “Have a good night Mr. Carter.”
Before she walked away, she looked at me again, smiled and told me to do the same.
Smiling, I told her I’d see her in the morning before closing the door once she walked away.
I was mortified. Too mortified to turn around.
I couldn’t face him. Not after how I behaved.
Not after dry humping his hard-on and kissing him like a hungry teenaged girl. I was… embarrassed. Very, embarrassed.
However, before I could turn around, I felt him behind me.
Solid. Reminded me of that night at Pandora’s.
Chills ran down my spine before radiating through my entire body.
I closed my eyes and exhaled when I felt his lips press up against the side of my neck.
My knees buckled and I told myself to stop him.
I told myself… Tami showing up when she did was a sign.
It was a wakeup call. Well… if that was the case, why hadn’t I woken up?
Why when he turned me around I didn’t push him away?
Why in the fuck did I wrap my arms around his neck and invite him to my lips?
Self-control? What was that?
I didn’t have any. My pussy was in charge, and I let her be. Long gone was Mahogany, the trying wife. Where was the Mahogany that only cheated as get back? At Pandora’s as Mocha? Or the Mahogany who had strict work morals? She was nowhere to be found. I—fuck.
Crescent backed me up against the closed door and pressed his lips against mine.
Slowly, he parted them with his tongue, and I dove in.
Calmer. Slower. Not as eager as I’d been before.
I let him lead. He picked me up, hiking my skirt over my hips, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. With a firm grip on my ass cheeks, he kissed me deeper, swirling his thick wet tongue around my mouth with so much passion I almost had an orgasm.
I needed to stop him.
I needed to stop myself.
I needed to find an inkling of self-control.
Because if I didn’t, I’d fuck him today and regret it tomorrow.
But I was too out of it to think about tomorrow.
Too… into it. I needed to work on staying present, didn’t I?
Why not choose today to work on that? So that’s what I did.
I stayed present. Felt every crease in his full lips.
Felt, and savored the wetness of his tongue skillfully gliding around my mouth.
Effortlessly intertwining with my tongue as if we’d done this two step before today.
Nothing… absolutely nothing about what we were doing felt wrong.
It felt… fated. Meant to be. Five years too late…
but maybe… Just maybe we weren’t five years late.
Maybe we were right on time. Despite the circumstances.
Despite my marriage, despite the contract, the moment felt absolutely perfect.
I ran my hand along his cheek, brushing up against stubble and that crescent moon tattoo that wasn’t there five years ago.
Crescent buried his face into the top of my buttoned-up shirt.
With ease, he plucked the buttons loose with his mouth before attacking my sensitive nipples through my lace bra.
I gripped the back of his head and bit down on my bottom lip when I felt his teeth rake against them.
Was this real?
Was this really happening?
It was surreal. Feeling him. Having him.
Smelling him. Tasting him. Just… experiencing him.
I closed my eyes and basked in it. Because…
finally. As unholy as it was, I exhaled and thanked God.
Was that blasphemous? Was it disrespectful?
To Duke? Fuck Duke. Who was Duke? In the moment, he didn’t exist. I loved my babies, but in the moment…
while I was with Crescent, the feel of his tongue swiping across the top of my titties, we were the only people that existed.
I grabbed his chin and brought his face back up to mine for another kiss.
When his lips crashed against mine, we moaned.
Together. Again, our tongues did that two step.
Sensually, we made love to each other’s mouths.
Crescent, with his hands firmly gripping my ass cheeks, carried me over to the couch.
Delicately, he laid me down. For a moment, he stared down at me, and I was intimidated.
Turned on but deeply intimidated. I looked away.
He gripped my chin and turned my head back in his direction. Eyes on mine.
“Don’t leave,” he said, in a low tone.
I swallowed. “I’m not.”
“Stay right here,” he paused, leaned down and kissed me on the lips. I went to close my eyes, and he stopped me. “I asked you to stay right here.”
I swallowed. Heart rate picked up with nerves, but I stayed right there.
With my eyes locked on his, regardless of how intense it was.
Who even was I with him? I didn’t know. I wasn’t the sultry, freaky, bitch from the club that was for sure.
I wondered if it was because I didn’t have a mask to hide behind.
I wondered if I was… so… different here because it was new.
Despite having cheated on Duke before, the context was undeniably different.
Then, I cheated as Mocha. I didn’t cheat as Mahogany Mills-Morris.
Yes, Judah might’ve seen me without my mask but even without it, I wore one still.
Hid behind an alias and those dark walls of Pandora’s.
There I wasn’t a mother. I wasn’t a wife.
I didn’t own a design company. Here, I was everything.
I was mother, wife, designer, mogul. I was raw.
I was real. Not a facade. So… it was different.
Regardless of what I’d done before, it was new.
This was new. As Mahogany, I had a clean slate.
We kissed. Long and deep. His tongue against mine felt like velvet. He ran his hands up the sides of my body and tingles shot through me. His hands felt like magic. Tingly like before. Tingly like always.
It didn’t take long for him to pluck the rest of my buttons loose.
Didn’t take long for him to slide me out of my shirt neither.
I laid there, chest heaving, titties protruding, while he stared down at me like a piece of art he was trying to read.
I wanted to cover up. Wanted to hide. Wanted to shy away but I didn’t.
He asked me not to run away. Asked me to stay where I was, so I did that, despite feeling the way that I felt.
I dug.
Searched deep within myself for her. Mocha.
For the fun, feisty, careless version of myself.
I needed a mask. Not a real one. One like the masks I wore all of the time.
But with him, for some reason, I couldn’t find it.
I couldn’t hide. Couldn’t tuck my nerves.
He opened me up. I was like a lotus flower. Raw and exposed.
He’d just put his lips on the top of my breast when my phone rang.
Again. This time, it was my cellphone. It was right next to me, sitting on the end table.
I chose to ignore it. Didn’t want to leave.
Didn’t want the moment to end. He paused, though.
Looked up at me with raised brows. I gripped the back of his neck and pulled him toward me.
He got the cue and went back to kissing my breast. But then… the phone rang again.
I sighed and dragged my hands back over my forehead.
Sitting up on my elbows, I looked over my shoulder at the phone and my stomach dropped.
It was Aubry. I didn’t understand why but seeing her call did something to me.
If it were Duke, I might’ve ignored it. Might’ve just…
brushed it off. But Aubry calling brought me back down to reality.
Snapped me out of lala land. Reminded me of the family I had.
Didn’t have this problem at Pandora’s with their no phone policy.
“You good?” He asked, as I sat there, staring over at the phone until the ringing stopped.
“Yeah. I’m—”
It rang again. With a sigh, I picked it up.
It could have been anything. With my finger up, I asked him to give me a moment.
I sighed and answered the phone. Probably shouldn’t have, huh?
Probably should have just ignored it and stayed where I was, hm?
I couldn’t. I left them. Since then, my kids had become Velcro kids. I didn’t want her to worry.
“Hey Bry,” I said, answering the phone.
She sucked her teeth. “Really, ma?”
“I’m busy, daughter. I am at work,” I reminded her.
“It’s late—”
“What do you want, girl?” I asked, watching Crescent from the corner of my eye.
I was too nervous to look over at him. Too… embarrassed.
“I was trying to see if you saw the dress I sent you. I want to get one made and—”