Chapter 11 #2
He entered me with the hunger of a starving nomad unsure when he’d eat again. Unsure when he’d have shelter again.
His breathing was impaired. I could feel his heartbeat against my chest. We were in sync. Mentally, physically, and emotionally.
“Sunshine,” he mumbled in my ear. “This pussy all mine?”
Up.
Down.
He held me close.
Chest to chest.
Up. Down.
“Hm?”
Up.
Down.
“Yessss. Yesss. Yesssss.”
He slid me up and down his body with ease.
“Tell me,” I pleaded. “Tell me you’re mine.”
“This dick belongs to you, baby. It’s yours. It’s fucking yours.”
Up.
Down.
“Uhhhhhhh.”
Smack.
Smack.
Smack.
Our bodies collided. The sound was blissful. Skin against skin.
Up.
Down.
“Pussy so fucking wet. Fuck.”
His voice was intoxicating. His pleasure was fulfilling.
I pressed my palms into his cheeks and lifted my mouth to meet his.
“Uhhhhh. Yessss.”
He quieted me with his tongue. I sucked it deeper into my mouth.
Mine.
Mine.
Josiah was all mine. My spirit told me so. My heart told me so. My head told me so. My future told me so.
Up.
Down.
He would be my greatest risk and my greatest reward.
Smack.
Smack.
“Shit, baby.”
The intensity was building in my belly. Darkness welcomed me, just before the light show.
“Yesssss. Yessss. Oh, Siah. Yessss.”
Fireworks exploded.
“Yesss. Uhhhhh. I’m cu– Uhhhh.”
“Cum on this motherfucker, baby.
I did as I was told. My natural lubrication was extracted, coating his dick.
“Mmmmm.”
I lowered my mouth onto Josiah’s shoulder. The consumption of my orgasm was overwhelming. I sunk my teeth into his skin. He didn’t flench. He didn’t forbid my method of gratification. He fucked me harder. Faster. Deeper.
“Oh my G– Yes. Yes. Yesssssss.”
“Fuck. You gone make a nigga cum in this shit.”
Up.
Down.
Smack.
Smack.
“Range,” he groaned as his body stiffened. “Goddamn.”
Up.
Down.
Smack.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, unable to gain control of himself. “Shit too good.”
His semen filled me. An instant sense of pride followed. So did a newfound purpose.
10:02a
I peeled my eyes from the wall and planted them on Josiah. He took me from behind. Water cascaded down his back. His skin glistened.
“Mmmmmm.”
The ripples of his abdomen disrupted the water’s flow. He was celestial. He was otherworldly. God had taken his time creating Josiah. He left no stone unturned.
He was pleasant.
His features were pleasant.
His dick was precious.
And big.
And long.
And good.
He kept my walls separated and my head spinning as he stroked my pussy from behind.
“Yessss.”
His lids were heavy with lust. Infatuation kept his eyes open. His bottom lip was tucked into his mouth. Those pearly white, kissable teeth were exposed.
I stabilized my body on the wall. Each time Josiah pushed forward, I pushed backward. The hand around the back of my neck gave me the support I needed to glide effortlessly on his dick.
“Oh God, yesssss. Uhhhhhh.”
Water splashed between us every time our bodies collided. I would never get tired of the sound of our connectedness. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking. And, looking back at him completely unraveled me.
“I’m cu– Siaaaaaaah. I’m cumming.”
My walls contracted around him. I was no longer able to stare into those hungry orbs. I folded. So did my body. Everything around me blackened. There was a loud ringing in my ear that disabled my ability to hear anything else.
Still, my body was ravished. Stroked. Probed. Primed.
I’d never felt so much pleasurable pain. Josiah’s presence was as effectual as his absence. He had yet to address the obvious, but the thought caused me great despair. Tears stained my cheeks. Gloomed coated my sunshine. Heartache threatened to tear me to pieces.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
Josiah pulled me upward as he filled me with his semen. His mouth to my ear. More tears to my cheeks.
Sadness washed over me. The inexplicable kind. The consuming kind. The unavoidable kind. The resistant kind. The worst kind.
“I’m going to love you so good, Range, it’ll hurt. Physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain that settles in the bones and never leaves.”
I heaved, chest caving and world crashing around me. Simultaneously, it was coming together.
And, it did hurt.
It hurt so good.
“Hey. Hey. Hey,” Josiah whispered, ejecting himself from my warmth. “What’s the matter?”
He turned my body around to face him. My vulnerability was at its peak. I was falling. I was falling hard. And, didn’t have on a helmet, knee pads, or gloves. If he didn’t catch me, I’d be hurt. My body wouldn’t be able to stand the trauma.
“We don’t have much more time,” I reminded him. “I would like more time.”
“Shhhhh.”
He wiped my tears.
“This is temporary, love. Just an obstacle. One that was necessary to bring us together. Because of that, we must practice patience. Our day is coming, Range. And, then you’ll be asking a nigga if he has work or some shit cause I’m getting on your last nerve.
Enjoy your time alone, Sunshine. Cause I’ll be in your pretty brown skin once they free me. ”
He settled the waves. The tsunami sirens quieted. My heart slowed, returning to its original pace.
“Smile.”
Sniggering, my lips curled upward naturally.
“There goes my baby,” he murmured, kissing me.
Lips.
Nose.
Forehead.
Hair.
I laid my head on his wet chest. It didn’t matter that I was a mess. It didn’t matter that my hair was wild. I wouldn’t have more moments like this as often as I wanted. Not right now.
My mission to set Josiah free would end in victory, but we were unsure how that journey looked for us.
It could be this morning when he walked out a free man.
It could be this year. It could be next year.
Rushing the judicial process was never my intention.
It never ended well. Beating the judicial process was the better route.
My route. The only route I was willing to pursue.
“I have some things to show you,” he revealed.
We exited the bathroom, fingers intertwined. A towel was around my chest. One was around his waist. Josiah dried me from head to toe in the beautiful shower with jets that massaged your body as you bathed.
I tiptoed on the cool floor, making a mental note of heat installation. I’d request it once Josiah’s freedom wasn’t on the line. For now, cool floors would suffice.
The bedroom that was a blur as Siah carried me into the shower, still lodged inside of me, came into full view.
It, too, was a blank canvas. However, the necessities were intact.
Balloons hung from the ceiling. However, stemmed roses didn’t end the strings.
Small cards with silver keys of all sizes did.
I looked up at Josiah, waiting for his permission to indulge.
“Go ahead, Sunshine.”
He loosened his grip on my hand, freeing me. My towel fell as I stretched my hand to reach the first balloon. I didn’t bother rescuing it.
My nipples hardened. My skin became riddled with bumps. The hair on my back and arms caused pain as they rose.
To my home.
Josiah’s handwriting was scribbled on the first card.
To my loft.
The second.
To my office.
The third.
To my warehouse.
The fourth.
To my car.
The fifth.
To my truck.
The sixth.
To my carts.
The seventh.
To my safe.
And the eighth.
Eight keys collected in my hand. I aligned them neatly as I tried to take control of myself.
With Josiah around, I didn’t understand who I was.
As a woman who thrived in her independence and took pride in being a forward thinker, I was hardly a shell of her.
My thoughts were a mess. I had no self-control.
Of my body.
My mind.
My heart.
“Is this what it feels like?” I asked, avoiding those eyes of his.
They sucked me in so easily, and made it so hard to let go.
“Is this what, what feels like?”
“Love? Consideration? Comfort? Contentment? Partnership? Dependency?”
“How does it feel, Range?”
“Like I’m drowning,” my voice cracked, “And, don’t want to be saved.”
Josiah nodded. “Yes. This is what it feels like.”
“I’ve never been here before.”
I hadn’t. Not like this. Not at this stage. Not at this level. Not at this depth.
“Me either. So, let’s hold each other's hand as we drown together.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
A lone tear slipped from my eye. I swiped it from my cheek quickly.
“Yes,” I repeated. “I would love that.”
There was a comforting silence that fell between us.
Josiah’s eyes were pinned on me.
“I’m a mess,” I sighed.
“You’re my mess,” he admitted.
I chuckled, placing a hand on my chest.
“You make things happen in here that leaves me breathless.”
His smile appeared, making those waves crash a little harder into the shore.
“That’s the point of it all.”
I held the hand with the keys up.
“Full access, Range. I’m giving you full access to my world.
I haven’t slept in this home since it was built.
Too big. Too empty. It wasn’t built for me, alone.
I was preparing for someone special. Now that I’ve found her, I want her here.
As often as she’d like. Whenever. I want her to know that this is always home.
The doors will always open for her. No matter how rocky things are.
No matter how many disagreements. No matter how much time has passed.
No matter what. Those doors will always open. ”
“Heated floors.”
“Hm?”
“The bathrooms. They all need heated floors.”
He sniggered. “Then they’ll have heated floors, baby.”
“Anything else?”
“A room to myself. And, a beauty room. And a closet room.”
He tilted his head and took me by the hand. I left the keys on the comforter and followed along. Barefoot. Naked. And, feeling more confident than I ever had since meeting Josiah. He’d stripped me of everything and replenished it as our bond solidified with time.
The Range that let her tears fall in the shower was not the same Range that crossed the elegant home to get to the right wing. Neither was the Range who entered the single-level, unbelievably spacious closet.
It was larger than the space I’d carved out for my clothes at home. There was also a smaller room attached, reserved for beauty tools. An antique vanity sat in the middle of the space. Makeup and perfume covered the surface.
“Seriously?” I asked Josiah.
With pursed lips, he nodded. “I hope that’s the right shit.”
I scanned the bottles and tubes.
“It’s perfect.”
“That stuff that goes on your face, I wasn’t sure what shade to get you, but the people at the store matched it.”
“To what?” I chuckled.
“Your picture.”
“What picture?”
“I have of you.”
“I haven’t given you a picture.”
“You didn’t have to, Range. I have one. I have several.”
“You’re stalking me, huh?”
Without shame, he nodded. “Something like that.”
Josiah was making it clear that his body was behind bars but his head was elsewhere.
“Come ‘er.”
He pulled me in the opposite direction. We reentered the closet space. It was bare. His need to revisit was baffling.
“What is it?”
“Open the drawers.”
There were drawers in every section of the closet, except where dresses and coats were to be hung.
I opened the first drawer. Naturally, a smile formed on my face.
“Siah–”
I ran my fingers across the stack of bills. Without counting, I knew there was ten thousand dollars between the band. The total was printed on the white paper.
Ten thousand dollars.
Josiah opened the drawer next to it.
Ten thousand dollars.
“Something tells me you’re very particular about your threads. So, instead of stressing either of us out, I figured I’d let you build your own wardrobe. Ten thousand for each section of drawers.”
He pulled out another.
“Ten thousand for this section.”
He pulled out another drawer.
“Ten thousand. Ten thousand. Ten thousand.”
I followed him around the room, unable to speak. Unable to think.
“Ten thousand. Ten thousand.”
He continued.
“Ten thousand. Ten thousand.”
My breath hiked in my chest.
“Ten thousand. Ten thousand.”
All the pieces of my world that had fallen apart began to come together again.
“Ten thousand. Ten thousand.”
And, when we reached the deep drawers, at the very end of the closet, he paused.
“An additional hundred thousand for pieces that belong on hangers. I’m not sure if that’s enough, but there’s more where that came from.”
He pointed at the stacks of money piled in the drawer.
“There’s always more, Sunshine. And, if cash isn’t your preference, I’ve added you as an authorized user to all of my cards. They’ll slowly trickle in over the next week or two.”
“Josia–”
“Just say the word and it’s yours. It’ll always be yours. Whatever your heart desires. Okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“What’s mine is yours, baby. I don’t expect anything in return but your love. And, with your love will come everything else I need in this world.”
I stared up at him, completely smitten by the man in front of me.
“Your mascara is smeared, Sunshine. I think you’d better put that shit in that room to the test.”
My subconscious didn’t force me to flee. It didn’t make me reach for my eyes that I was certain had mascara streaks.
“And you have to get ready,” I purred, lifting my body on the tips of my toes.
I kissed his lips.
“So do you.”
“Question?”
“Answer,” Siah replied, kissing me for a second time.
“Why is the master bedroom so far away?”
“Because when solitude is most soothing for you, I still want you near.”
“But far enough to feel alone.”
“I hope I’ve succeeded.”
I nodded.
“Yes, my love. Yes, you have.”
The white van waited with the engine running. Josiah stepped out. I slid across the seat, prepared to do the same. He resisted.
“See you inside, Sunshine.”
“I–”
He shook his head.
“Someone is almost always watching. Always plotting. I can’t let you step foot outside of this vehicle and ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for. Julian will take you to a drop spot, near the courtroom. You will change vehicles. Understood?”
My heart cracked in my chest.
“Understood?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He leaned over, placing his lips against mine.
“I miss you already,” he admitted.
“You more,” I sighed.
As our palms disconnected, my eyes traveled to my hand. A small vial was all I had left of Josiah. Tears clashed against the glass at the realization of what he’d gifted me. He’d done his homework. He was passing this class with exceptional scores.
Remembering his scent would come with ease. Fortunately, a new collection was born. The most important of them all.
What’s your language? I wondered silently.