Chapter 7
SEVEN
Having anything to look forward to in prison felt more criminal than the crime I’d committed.
However, here I was, anticipation dragging me down the hallway with the sound of chains reminding me that not everyone in the facility was on payroll.
Nevertheless, my chin never lowered and neither did my eyes.
Pride was still at the forefront of my presence.
Bzzzt.
The door of the legal chamber began to peel backward. The beats per minute my heart managed increased with each centimeter the door widened. Behind it was a brown-skinned, high-functioning woman with a mind that didn’t quite work like others.
She didn’t process things the same.
She didn’t see things the same.
She didn’t share the same thoughts.
Feelings.
Observations.
Slowly, her full profile was revealed, sending daggers straight through my chest. The moment the walls didn’t have me bound, I’d tie her to the bed and nail her to the fucking mattress. She deserved the finer things in life. That started with me.
A smile curled the corner of my lips as my eyes landed on her left hand.
Good girl.
She was an absolute angel, dressed in cream. A skirt was wrapped around her waist, tying on the right side. The shirt she wore matched in color. It had long, oversized sleeves that swayed dramatically with each movement.
Sunshine.
Her cell was pressed against her ear. She wasn’t sitting down. Not as she usually was. She paced the floor. The sight of me halted her steps. Her mouth slacked. Those pretty lashes of hers touched her cheeks before lifting again.
“Is it an emergency?”
She paused, listening to the caller on the other end. Her cell didn’t leave any secrets.
“No, baby. It’s not.”
Nervously, she turned her back toward me. I took a seat.
“Then, I’ll have to call you back, Kason. I’m in the middle of something important.”
There was a brief pause.
“See you tonight.”
“Okay.”
Repulsed, I watched as Range gathered her bearings as best she could. She slid across the bench, taking a seat in front of me. Nervousness forced her fingertip against the table.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Eye contact failed to exist. She’d lost her way to me. Our connection had faltered. There was static on the line.
My stomach knotted. My heart joined, performing flips as I inhaled deeply. Words didn’t come to me. Only heartache. Disappointment. And, an emotion I had never felt in life.
Jealousy.
I pulled my lips into my mouth. Range had been sent to ruin me. I was convinced.
“Good morning, Mr. Blackwood.”
I stood up and maneuvered around the table. With my eyes pinned on Range, I backpeddled toward the door I’d come through.
When her beauty became too much to bear…
When her shame became too much to consider…
I turned around and headed in the direction I’d come from.
“Sia–” She whispered, stumbling over her words.
My feet never stopped. My heart was aching and with each step, it settled a little. Hurt a little less.
“Mr. Blackwood. If you care to be a free man, you will not walk out of that door. Because, the moment you do, that ends it all. I will not return. And, I will excuse myself from your case.”
Her words cut like a knife. They rendered me motionless. I stopped, contemplating my next move. Aubrey was waiting. I didn’t have the heart to throw away the opportunity to see her sooner.
Still, Range was capable of blowing every gasket my body had. She didn’t play fair. And, as much as I hated to assert my dominance, she hardly left me a choice.
You’re going to get somebody hurt, Range.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t willing to call her bluff. I wasn’t ready to leave. I wanted to stay. I wanted our time together. But more than anything, I wanted her to myself. Her disobedience was clear. She’d gotten rid of the ring, but the nigga was still around.
My oxygen level lowered as I released a long, steady breath. My feet began to move again. Not toward the door. Toward her. Toward the table. Settling underneath it.
I broke every rule in my book. Submission. To a woman. And, I wished I could lie as if it was complicated. Hard. Disruptive. It wasn’t. It was easily the simplest, most natural thing I’d ever done.
Like being a brother.
Like being an uncle.
Like being a son.
Like being a man.
Silence led the way. Range’s orbs still hadn’t greeted mine. Her cheeks were flushed another shade of brown. Sweat beads formed on her forehead. Though small, and almost naked to the eye, I had studied her details enough to know when one had changed.
“I’m pleased that– that you decided to rejoin me.”
My heart didn’t leave me a choice. The lack of response halted her movements. She peered at me, chest deflated. Her eyes met mine, breaking the ice that was quickly building.
“My tolerance hardly exists,” I confessed.
“Josiah– I–”
“Josiah, shit,” I scoffed.
“I–”
“You can play out there, but you will not play in my fuc– You will not play in my face.”
It wasn’t a warning. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a direct demand.
Still, I chose my words as carefully as I could. Sunshine swallowed, eyelashes batting.
Silence.
Darkness coated the room. Her sun wasn’t shining so brightly, and a chill was beginning to form in the gloomy room.
“About your case–”
“That’s better.”
“I have reviewed the information eighteen times. Everything. I haven’t missed a single clause or cause or motion or admission or submission or– I haven’t missed anything.
But, I have failed to find probable cause to even hold you here– aside from you being the last person the victim was in contact with.
“No motive. No accurate timeline. No footage. No ill intentions. No past confrontations. No filed police reports. No evidence. No body. No witness. No proof that a crime has truly been committed. Nothing. I am considering moving forward with a motion to dismiss your case entirely.
“As much as I’d like to file that motion today, my ducks must be aligned. Instead of acting on impulse, I prefer thorough proceedings so that you won’t end up here again. Ever… if I can help.”
She slammed her briefcase shut. Still, her chest was hiked and her breathing was unsteady. She was flustered. She ran a hand through her hair, attempting to reconnect her nerve endings.
“What is it, Range?”
She pushed out a shaky breath as she slid her right hand down her chest, tucking it underneath her breast. It was a coping mechanism. It was comforting.
“Elaborate.”
“There’s something more. Something you’re forgetting or something you’re not telling me.”
She pulled her glossed lip into her mouth. The bottom one. And, stretched it until it rolled back out. Her eyes wandered around the room. Her jawline flexed and her nose flared at the realization that no one was staring back at her. No one was watching us.
The deposits had cleared. We were alone. All alone.
“Josiah,” she moaned as my fingertips touched her bare skin.
“What have you neglected to tell me, Sunshine?”
She pushed whatever was lodged in her throat down. Her chin rose. Her head turned from one side to the other. I took the opportunity to deplete the space between us. My side of the table was no longer of interest to me. It was her side I needed to be on.
“Siah,” she murmured.
Her surrender was apparent. Her closeness was gratifying. So was her astonishment. And her silence. And the twinkle in her eye that assured me I hadn’t crossed any invisible boundaries.
“Hm?”
“What are you doing?”
Her whisper was loaded. It was breathy. It was arousing.
“What you’ve been dreaming or… What you’ve been thinking of… What you’ve been replaying in your head nightly… What you’ve fooled yourself into believing is impossible. I’m doing exactly what you want me to do, Range.”
Her chest caved. My left hand rested on her knee. My right hand searched for the source of the heat coming from between her thighs.
“Tell me, Range. What have you neglected to mention?”
Her skin was smooth. Like silk. Like satin. Like feathers. Like a pillow. Like chocolate pudding that I loved in my mouth. On my tongue. On my lips.
“Uh.”
I’d located the source.
Threadless.
Pantiless.
Hairless.
Naked.
Fat.
“Please–” she moaned, rotating her hips toward me.
Discordance was written all over her beautiful face. She was conflicted. Her thoughts were concerning. Her actions were condemning. Still, she submitted to the restless yearning, not her conscience.
Moistness assisted my expedition. It eased the exploration of her dam.
Outer lips.
Inner lips.
Opening.
Clitoris.
I slid closer, honoring Range’s privacy. My eyes were on hers. They wouldn’t leave her. As long as she was in my presence, they were hers to have.
“Talk to me, love.”
I pressed my thumb against her clitoris. My index and middle fingers entered her opening. Immediately, her palms expanded on my knees. She was bracing for impact. I was reeling from the feeling of her hands against my body.
My temperature spiked. So did her heart rate.
“Talk to me.”
“I– I– uhhhhh.”
“Range…”
I massaged her clit. Her spine curved. Her posture suffered.
“Yes?” She moaned.
My fingers caressed parts of her I wanted to feel around my dick. She was soaking and I wanted nothing more than to run into her rainy weather. No umbrella. No hat. No hood.
“I need you to focus. What is it that you need to tell me?”
“I cleaned.”
“You cleaned?”
“Um h– Uhhhhh.”
I located her internal switch and rubbed my fingers against it. The same rhythm was used to ignite the external one.
“Range.”
“Yesssss.” She nodded.
Her eyelids lowered. Her body leaned toward mine. Gravity was not on her side.
“Open your eyes, Sunshine.”
“Siah–”
“Look at me when I’m inside of you,” I demanded.
Her irises were mine again.
“Uhhhh.”
“Range.”
“Yessssss?”
“Talk to me.”
She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she nodded, struggling to hold her composure. She was falling apart. Ripping at the seams. Rapidly.
“The– the floors. The walls. Every– uhhhhh– everything.”
“And.”
I quickened the pace.
“New floors. New subflooring. New paint on the walls. New furniture. Same pieces.”
“As of when?”
“As of last night.”
It had been more than a week since I’d given her the address.
It had been more than a week since I’d last laid eyes on Range.
She’d been working. She’d been cleaning.
She’d been sourcing. The pieces in my hideaway hadn’t been easy to find.
It had taken me two years to fill the empty spaces.
Somehow, Range managed to locate every piece she needed in a week’s time.
That was the beauty of womanhood. Their resourcefulness was never to be mistaken for anything less than it was. Instinctive genius. It was innate.
“Josiah,” Range gasped.
I halted.
“Please–”
Don’t beg, Sunshine. That’s not necessary.
“Don’t stop.”
“Quiet down, love.”
She nodded as she pushed her hips forward. Her desperation hardened my dick. Deprivation wasn’t an issue for Range. I was no fool. However, preference was.
The nigga she was playing house with was available. That was his only advantage.
His freedom.
His availability.
However, if she could have me, she would.
In a heartbeat.
In a split second.
There was no doubt in my mind.
“Siah–”
The way she called my name was agonizingly addictive. It made me want to demand everyone else call me something different.
I pulled toward me. My thumb slid across her clit.
“Oh God.”
She began to quiver with each stroke of my fingers. Her climax was near. The potency of her arousal was enlightening. My nostrils flexed as I locked her scent into my memory. Etched it on my heart.
Her eyes closed, leaving me lonely. Things inside of me broke. I couldn’t accept her willful bowing. It placed a barrier between us.
“Look at me, Sunshine.”
It was my turn to beg.
“Uhhhhh.”
Her head fell backward.
“Range.”
“I’m cumming,” she cried out through clenched teeth.
“You deserve to.”
My dick was preparing to break free from my threads.
Her grip on my legs tightened. Her fingertips pressed into my skin.
Those long legs trembled. So did her bottom lip.
Her eyes were on me, but her eyelids were heavy.
Her features were scrunched. And, her mouth was wide enough for me to stick my dick right in it.
And, I would. But, not right now. Not right here.
“Siaaaaaaaah.”
I flexed my fingers, applying more pressure to her clit as I slid my thumb across her swollenness. Unable to stomach the distance between my lips and hers, I wrapped my hand around her neck. Her spine straightened. Her legs widened. Her skirt slid up her ass. And, her body moved closer to me.
I assaulted her pretty lips with mine, hoping my ruggedness didn’t alter their softness. My tongue entered her mouth, anxious to explore. Range was sweet like nectar. I could taste the mintiness lingering on her tongue. She’d had candy.
I wrote my name in cursive on every surface I touched inside of her mouth. Her jaws. Her teeth. Her tongue. The roof of her mouth. The floor of her mouth. Her gums. No place was safe. Simultaneously, no place was safer.
“Mmmmm.”
Her chest heaved. She was mounting. Her peak was here. I tightened my grip around her neck and elongated the strokes of her pussy. She was long overdue for a deep thrust of my caliber. She’d have it soon enough.
“Mmmmm.”
She slid backward, freeing herself from my grasp. Breathlessly, she panted. I watched her fail to collect her bearings. I watched her fail to enlist her morals. I watched her crumble. I watched her crash. I watched her burn.
She was in flames. Warm to the touch. Face flushed a shade of red I’d never witnessed before.
I pushed forward, closing the gap between us again. My hand made itself a home around her neck again. And our eyes were locked again.
“Playtime is over, Range. Get rid of that nigga you’re allowing to hold space in your life or consider yourself fired. I don’t take threats lightly. I’ll extract you from my legal team quicker than I can make you cum and won’t feel a fucking way about it.”
She managed to retain some strength. Some audacity. Some nerve.
“You don’t have a legal team, Josiah. I’m all you have.”
“You were an option. Not the only option. A gift. A favor. I can have a new favor by morning.”
“What do you want from me?” She asked, breath shaky and eyes glistening.
Her chest had swelled significantly. Her emotions were running rampant. She’d lost all self-control. Mentally, physically, and emotionally.
I tapped my index finger against her chest.
Silence.
She didn’t have words. Neither did I.
As I released her from my grasp, freeing her of both my hands, I slipped the moist one in my mouth. A smile pulled my lips backward on my face.
Mmmm.
“Because that pussy is already mine.”
I stood and headed for the door. Two knocks and the buzzing began. Just as it widened enough for me to pass through, I turned to share my final thought.
“Go to that nigga’s house tonight and you’re going to experience your darkest day, Sunshine.”