Chapter 15
Being in Ezekiel’s presence was soothing to my mental. While I missed my mama something fierce, I knew he was the reason why I hadn’t let it consume me. Lying in his arms was everything. He’d even gone to the floral shop with me and watched me design an arrangement. He’d only been here for three days, and I was already attached. I never wanted him to leave.
He'd taken a couple of business calls, and I knew he would have to leave sooner rather than later. He was waiting on his agent to get back in touch with more details about an audition. We’d spent time with my grandmother, but I realized she was way more social than me. There were people at her house every day, keeping her company.
Had it not been for Ezekiel, I would have been home alone, trying to figure out how to cope with this loss. During the day, I would have work to keep me busy and occupied. It was at night that I knew I would have the most problems. That was why I really didn’t want her casket to be open. All I saw in my mind was her beautiful face, lying there with a slight smile on her thick lips.
It was hard to conjure up any other memory, because that was the last visual I had of her. Our last day together had come to mind as well, but because it was filled with drama that Will caused, I found myself not wanting to think about it. His ass had been eerily quiet, but I had a feeling that he was going to show his face sooner or later. He was probably waiting until he thought Ezekiel would be gone.
I got out of bed to find Ezekiel in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. I smiled softly at him. Cooking was the last thing on my mind, because my appetite was nonexistent. However, he learned his way around my kitchen to take care of me. I couldn’t appreciate him more. Although I was just getting out of bed, I’d awakened at four this morning and taken a shower while he slept. When I was done, I’d gotten back in bed and dozed back off.
Looking at the time on the microwave, I saw that it was only eight. So I didn’t sleep that long. As he stood at the stove, scrambling eggs, he looked over at me and beckoned me to him by tilting his head. When I got to him, he kissed my forehead. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
I gave him a one-sided smile. There was nothing gorgeous about me this morning. My eyes were puffy, my hair was a mess, and I was slightly congested. “Good morning.”
“What’s that look for?”
“I look a mess.”
“And still gorgeous. So, imagine how I feel when you’re all made up. Girl, I can barely contain myself when I’m near you.”
He kissed my head again, then went back to his eggs. Once he plated them, he turned to me and asked, “Now, can I get the kiss I want?”
I licked my lips then bit my bottom one, giving him permission without saying a word. He smiled and circled his arm around my waist, pulling me closer again. When his lips touched mine, I wanted to melt to the floor. He’d been here for three days, and we hadn’t had sex again. He was more concerned with consoling me through my grief and catering to my emotions and mental state. However, I needed him to cater to my body… my physical needs.
I wouldn’t let his efforts go to waste, so after breakfast, I would let him know just how much I needed him. His tongue slid against mine, and his hands slid down my back to my ass. He gripped it as I brought my hands to his face. Words wouldn’t be needed after this. I believed he could read between the lines. My actions were speaking loud and clear.
He pulled away as he sucked my bottom lip, then stared at me. “You’re making me want to say to hell with breakfast. So if you want to eat, I suggest you go sit your fine ass at that table.”
I smiled. “You don’t want to eat?”
“Oh, I do, and I will. My menu choices will just change, depending on your answer.”
My smile got bigger, despite my efforts to suppress it. “I suppose I should eat breakfast and get my strength up.”
He chuckled, then leaned over and kissed my neck. I could feel him sniffing my scent. My pheromones were strong as hell… had to be. I’d only used Dove sensitive skin bodywash in the shower, and it didn’t have much of a scent. He bit my earlobe, then said in a deep voice, “Hell yeah. I’m gon’ be a bottomless pit in a minute. I’m not gon’ ever get full.”
Lord, have mercy. “Mmm. Sounds like I may need a little B-12 too.”
He chuckled, then pulled away from me, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss. “Go sit your fine ass at that table.”
I giggled then did as he said. This man was good for my soul. I didn’t know how I would function after he left. My spirit was calm and at peace. I knew my vulnerability played a huge part in how quickly I had found peace in this new relationship, but I didn’t care. He was who I needed at this appointed time, and I could only hope that he would be who I needed forever.
When he joined me at the table, he set two plates of food down, then went back for coffee and orange juice. I wasn’t a big coffee drinker, but I knew I needed the pick-me-up. Although I’d gotten about six hours of sleep, it was broken… four hours, then about two hours. Once he sat, he grabbed my hand and began saying grace. I smiled slightly as I stared at the plate of biscuits, eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. He probably would have cooked more had I gone grocery shopping. I usually kept instant grits on deck. I couldn’t stand the grits cooked on the stove.
The butter flavored Quaker grits were my favorite. I’d add more butter in them and eat them like they were a delicacy. I usually had breakfast sausage as well. One thing a sister did was stay stocked on food. However, since my mother’s death, stuff like that didn’t matter. I was rarely eating anyway. The only task I could seem to focus on was my business.
After he said amen, we dug in. “Thank you, Ezekiel. This is delicious.”
He smiled and ate some bacon without responding to me. Once he swallowed it, he said, “The bacon was the only thing I hadn’t tasted yet. If it wasn’t good, I would have called bullshit.”
I chuckled. “Believe me, if it wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have said so. I would have said thank you for breakfast and nothing more. I don’t lie to appease people’s feelings. I just remain quiet. That’s the best policy.”
He laughed. “You shol right about that. I need to adopt that in business. When I was building, initially, I would compliment bullshit all the time, kissing people’s asses to advance. I did it so much, it became normal business practice. I’m still building, so that unintentional advice comes in handy.”
I nodded and smiled. He took a swig of his orange juice, and when he set the cup down, I noticed a little bit on his lips. I swore I wanted to go over there and straddle him and lick it off. My body was on the next level of horniness, and I didn’t understand why. Well… I supposed it was because I’d been around him a few days without getting any. I knew what he felt like now, and my body was sending signals about what it needed.
The rest of breakfast was completely quiet. Anyone that would have walked in on us would feel the intensity. The silence wasn’t awkward at all. We watched each other eat, and that shit was unraveling me even further. Just meeting his lust-filled gaze with my own proved to be more than enough communication between us.
Once he was done, he stood and took his dishes to the sink and rinsed them out, then put them in the dishwasher. His actions only made me eat a little faster. I was ready for the next course. He leaned against the countertop and watched me, like he was a predator, and I was his prey. I was ready to suffer my fate.
After getting down the last of my hashbrowns, I stood and took my plate to the sink to do the same as he had done. When I closed the dishwasher, he was right behind me. He slid his arms around my waist and leaned over to my ear, biting my earlobe. My eyes closed, and a soft moan left my lips. I needed this so badly.
Spinning around in his arms, I slid my hands up his bare chest. Jesus, this man is so fine. His breathing pattern changed, and his heart rate seemed to increase. Sliding his hands to my ass, he picked me up and began making his way to my bedroom. The way he just picked me up like I weighed little to nothing was impressive.
We stared at one another, our gaze unwavering, the entire way to my room. Once inside, he lowered me to the bed and began removing my clothes. I wanted to just strip that shit off, but he was taking us slowly, as if plotting out what route he would take first. I didn’t give a damn which way he went, just so long as his dick ended up between my walls, fucking shit up.
He pulled my shirt over my head, then kissed me on the lips… slowly. I swore I was about to take control and pull him to this bed and ride the shit out of him. My body was hot, and I was about to start sweating at any minute. I needed relief… now! As he kissed my neck, I said softly, “Ezekiel… I need you now, baby. Please.”
He lifted his head and stared into my eyes for a moment, then stood up straight to pull off his shorts. My eyes dipped to the main attraction, waiting for him to unveil it. He quickly yanked his shorts and underwear down in one swoop, then stroked his dick for a moment. “This what you want, Nishia? This the nigga you want?” he asked as he hovered over me and pushed inside of me.
It felt like I had been given oxygen after being on the verge of suffocation. “Yeeeeesss! This is what I neeeeeded! Fuck!”
He was thrusting into me like he was trying to burst through my cervix, and I was all for that shit.
“Yeah, Neshia. This some good pussy, baby. I been wanting this shit so bad.”
I opened my eyes to stare into his. He was biting his bottom lip as he fucked me senseless. Grabbing my legs, he pushed them up toward me. I bent them, and he pushed them forward even more. Shit, I could barely fucking breathe, but I wasn’t about to interrupt the intense fucking I was getting.
However, that was short-lived when I heard my doorbell ring. I frowned, and Ezekiel slowed his assault. I assumed we were both listening to see if it would ring again. Sure enough, it did. As he was about to pull out of me, I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
“They didn’t call first. I don’t do pop-up visitors.”
He licked his lips and was about to continue until the person started banging on the door. The anger flooded my being, because I hadn’t nutted yet. I felt this was going to fuck up my mood. I rolled my eyes and huffed as Ezekiel stood. I stared at his wet dick, wanting to taste it. I quickly went to my knees and sucked him into my mouth, getting all my flavors. When I was about to pull away, he held me in place. Staring up at him, I continued sucking him, swirling my tongue around his shaft.
He began slightly thrusting into my mouth until the banging on my door started again. Withdrawing from my mouth, he said, “Want me to go see?”
It would be quicker for him to slide his shorts on to go to the door, so I said, “Yes, please. I’ll be up there in a second.”
He nodded and quickly put on his basketball shorts to go to the door. I huffed again and stood to put my sweats back on. Somebody was about to get every ounce of attitude I possessed. As I walked down the hall, I could hear Jerzey’s voice. I frowned and quickly made my way up front. The look of panic on her face scared the shit out of me.
“Jerzey, what’s going on?”
“I had to call the ambulance for Jamia. Some bitch came to the shop and broke in. Threw something right through the window. When I ran to the front, Jamia was tussling with her. They’d fallen on the floor, and she cut Jamia with some broken glass.”
“Oh my God! Is Jamia gonna be okay? Where did she cut her?”
She swallowed hard, but the tears escaped anyway. “I don’t know. She cut her in the stomach and sliced her face. I called nine-one-one and yelled, letting the perpetrator know that the police were on their way. That was when she stopped and ran. I wish I would have had my gun on me. Fuck!”
“I’m gonna go put on something more presentable. What hospital did they take her to?”
“Saint Elizabeth.”
“Okay. Go meet her, Jerzey. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Denishia, I’m scared. There was so much blood. I’m used to seeing blood. I work with that shit every day, but to see it all over her like that…”
She broke down in tears. I went to her and pulled her in my arms. After she calmed a little, I said, “Stay here, and we’ll go together. Okay?”
“Okay.”
She was trembling in fear. I felt like she was afraid of being attacked her damn self. I would be. Who would want to hurt Jamia? She got along with everyone. Maybe they were after me. Could Will be behind this? My mind was racing, thinking of the possible reasons something like this would happen. My shop was definitely targeted. We weren’t located in a crime-infested area. Secondly, she had to know Jamia and Jerzey were there. If she just wanted to vandalize the place, she would have left after she broke the window.
This just didn’t make sense, and I wouldn’t rest until I got to the bottom of it. As I was about to exit my bedroom, Ezekiel appeared in the doorway. “Sorry. I had to use the bathroom, so I went to the one in the hallway. Let me hurry.”
I nodded but then said, “You know you don’t have to go with us. You can stay here and relax if you want.”
He frowned immediately. “Why would I not want to go? I obviously don’t know Jamia as well as you do, but I do know her. Plus, I feel like you need me. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for you.”
I nodded as I watched him come out of his shorts and put drawers and a pair of jeans on. My heart felt heavy. Jamia was my best friend. She wasn’t just an employee. She impacted every life she touched, so I knew Ezekiel had been blessed to soak up her aura. They’d had a couple of conversations.
“Come on, baby,” he said, grabbing my hand.
Apparently, I’d zoned out. I can’t lose Jamia.