Chapter 23
“I’m not stopping you this time.” Those were the last words that escaped my lips before my words turned into nothing but pants and moans.
“Fuck!” He grunted, bouncing me up and down on his lap, making the wheels of my chair shake beneath us.
“You so perfect, Noa baby.” His hands gripped my hips, guiding my rhythm while he buried himself deep inside me.
God. This man’s dick was addictive. When he was near me, I didn’t even care that I had a chronic illness.
I needed to feel him pushing inside of me, making me feel alive.
“Mm, yes.” I clutched the armrests as I rolled my hips into him like I couldn’t get enough. At this rate, there was going to be a medical journal entry about me somewhere. I could see it now. A disabled woman with a dangerous sex drive sends herself to the emergency room.
“Shit, baby… Goddamn!”
“Quade!” I gasped, barely able to hold my head up. My body was on the verge of climax. “I can’t—”
“Use the safe word.”
“No,… I… I…” Shit, I couldn’t even find the words.
“Just like that.” He grunted, his mouth brushing my neck. “You takin’ this dick so good, baby.”
“Mm-mmm…”
He slowed the motion and kissed up my collarbone, letting me catch my breath as I slumped forward, my forehead resting on his. His hands slid up to my waist and held me there.
“Why’d you shut down on me?” he asked, his dick still digging in my guts.
“What?” I blinked.
“Why’d you shut down on me?” he repeated.
“You… want to ask that right now?” I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared up into his eyes.
“Yeah, talk to me. What’s going on, baby?”
“I—” My throat tightened. I could barely find the answer with the way he was hitting my spot.
“I need to know what’s going on with you, baby.” He stilled his movements, giving me a minute to catch my breath.
“I don’t think I belong in your world,” I whispered.
“I saw the girls around you in the studio yesterday, and I… their bodies are perfect. This world is so fast-paced, and I physically can’t keep up.
” My voice cracked, and I was almost ashamed to look at him.
Quade stopped moving and looked me dead in my eyes.
“Noa.” He paused. “You are my world. This rap and music shit—they don’t mean shit without you.
You hear me?” My eyes welled up with tears again.
“I’m not worried about anybody but you. You don’t have to hide anything you feel from me.
We gotta communicate, baby. Let me in that pretty ass head of yours. Don’t shut me out, okay?”
“I’m trying,” I whispered, and he pressed his fingers deeper into my curves and started rocking me again.
“That’s all we can do, baby.”
I shattered against him, my body shaking uncontrollably. He was making it hard not to fall in love with him. We kissed, hard and messy.
“I’m cumming!” I cried out, legs trembling, but he held me firm.
“Let go for me,” he commanded, his raspy voice cracking against my ear. “Give it to me.”
And without second guessing it, my body obeyed and released all over him. Quade cursed under his breath.
“Fuck, Noa.” He came with a sharp grunt, arms banded tight around me, holding me there as he throbbed inside me without a care in the world. For a second, neither of us moved. My cheek stayed pressed to his neck as I tried to catch my breath.
“You good?”
“Yeah.”
He ran a palm up my back, kissed my forehead, and gently adjusted me. Then, without a word, he stood with me in his arms.
“Oh my—”
“You need to eat,” he said. “I can’t just give you dick. I gotta feed you.”
I couldn’t argue with that. He carried me out of the booth to the small table in the corner.
It was set with two plates and a bottle of champagne.
My body ached in the best way, and it was all because of him.
As he lowered me into the seat, I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.
He didn’t say anything, just leaned forward and kissed me before taking his seat on the other side of the table.
I melted into my seat as I stared at him from across the table.
For the first time in forever, I didn’t feel broken. I just felt full.
“I can’t believe you recorded that,” I said, curled up in Quade’s lap as we sat in front of the soundboard.
“Every damn beautiful second.” He wrapped his arms around me as his fingers moved across the soundboard. He was layering my voice onto the track, mixing it with the melody.
“Look. Listen to this shit.” He pressed play, and the track played again.
That time, we could hear the faint sounds of my voice, a few moans, a giggle here and there.
He even added my confession to him. And strangely, it wasn’t embarrassing.
It didn’t make me want to hide. It gave the song something it didn’t have before.
I thought the song was perfect before, but this version was outstanding.
What he’d created felt intimate in a way I couldn’t explain, and it honored me to be a part of his art.
“It’s so good!”
“Deadass.” He pulled me a little closer and pressed his mouth to my ear, rapping the lyrics he’d written just for me.
I pressed my palm to his heart. This man, this moment, the music we’d made together—it was all unreal.
I didn’t know a relationship could feel like this.
I definitely never thought it would be possible for me.
“You really did that,” I said. “This song, it’s… everything. I want it on repeat.”
“Nah, we did that. It was a solid six before I added your voice.”
I looked up at him, a little breathless.
My mouth opened and closed as I tried to find the words to tell this man I was falling in love with him.
Before I could say anything else, his phone vibrated loudly against the wood of the soundboard, making us both sigh with irritation.
He leaned forward, grabbed it, and glanced down at the screen.
“Shit,” he muttered. “It’s Dru from Eight24 Records.” He stared down at the screen like he didn’t know what to do with it.
“Answer it,” I said softly, and he hesitated for a minute longer before finally answering the call and putting it on speaker.
“Yeah.”
“Quae Fucking Lo!” Dru’s voice boomed through the phone. “Aye, I know it’s late, but you got a minute?”
“I was kind of chilling with my girl,” Quade replied, glancing at me briefly.
“My bad. I respect family time. I’m on my way to the wife as we speak. But look, this won’t be long,” Dru said. “Money just played me your verse. That track goes fucking crazy, man!”
Quade didn’t say anything, just leaned back in the chair and waited. He had a quiet confidence about him that I admired.
“My brother and I want to talk business,” Dru continued. “How do you feel about coming to LA in a few weeks to hear us out?”
“Dru, man. I appreciate the offer, but I didn’t hop on that track hoping to relive my glory days.
I’m not really interested in being signed.
” Quade exhaled slowly, and I just sat there, stunned.
Most men in his predicament would hop on this opportunity, but Quade was sitting here calm and unbothered like the CEO of the biggest independent label in the country wasn’t on his phone.
“I know, man. That’s exactly why we want to sit down with you. I know your first go-around in this industry was some straight bullshit. Savage Row played with you, took advantage of you. You were dealt a bad hand. But we ain’t them, and we don’t do grimy business.”
“I hear you. I’m just not sold on hopping back in the spotlight. I’m older, wiser, and I like my peace and quiet.”
I stared at Quade. I could feel him trying to breathe normally. This was a big moment for him. This decision would shape the rest of his life.
“I get it. Trust me, I do. That’s why we want to sit down face-to-face. My brother is opening a new club in LA in two weeks. Come down to the grand opening. Kick it with us. Hear us out. On our dime, no pressure.”
I smiled quietly, my fingers tracing the fabric of Quade’s shirt. It sounded like a good deal to me.
“Take the meeting,” I leaned in and whispered. “You’re not committing to anything,” I said softly. “Just hear them out.” He looked at me, and I hoped I wasn’t overstepping, but it wouldn’t hurt him to hear them out. His gaze lingered on me for a second longer, and then he looked down at the phone.
“So… uh,… if I come out, I’m bringing my girl,” he finally said. “And she needs certain accommodations. Everything gotta be accessible. Hotel, transportation, studio, all of it.”
I looked at him, and my mouth fell open.
“Man, stop playin’,” Dru said like it was nothing. “You think we flyin’ you commercial? This Eight24. We sendin’ the jet. Any accommodations she needs, we’ll get them arranged. She’s good. Plus, my wife and sister-in-law will be in attendance. It’ll be perfect.”
My heart skipped a beat, not just because Dru was so willing to accommodate me, but because Quade had included me in his decision before he’d even said yes. Quade looked at me, and I nodded my head.
“Alright. I’m down. Send me the details, and I’ll see y’all in three weeks.”
“Bet. I’ll have my assistant send the email in the morning.”
“Cool.” Quade nodded. The line clicked, and I could feel him release a deep breath.
“You good?” I asked.
“Shit. I don’t know.” He rubbed his hands over his face.
“It’s just a meeting,” I said gently. “You don’t have to do anything else if you don’t want to.”
“I know.”
“Talk to me. What’s going on up there?”
“I’m just thinking about how good you’re gonna look on the beach in LA.”
I took a slow breath. I hadn’t been on a plane in years. I hadn’t traveled since the flare that changed my whole life. The idea of flying to a city like LA made me nervous, but Quade wanted me there, so I was going.
“I haven’t been to the beach in so long. I don’t even have a swimsuit,” I said.
He barked out a laugh and kissed my shoulder.
“We can fix that with one swipe of my card, baby.”
“I can buy my own swimsuit, Quade.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to.” He pulled me in closer. “Yo’ man got two jobs, baby,” he said, and I laughed so hard in his arms. We were both reclaiming something we’d thought we’d lost, something I don’t think either of us believed we deserved, and it was beautiful.