Chapter 6
Excitement and anxiety swirled in my gut when we parked in front of Lovie’s grandmother’s house. We agreed to meet here on Saturday when we came over. I couldn’t lie like that catfish plate didn’t have me laid out once I made it back to the crib. Mixed with my satisfaction were constant images of Lovie. Her smile… Her frown… Her passion… Everything about her was entertaining and God’s best work.
I pumped my fists hoping to release some nerves, but it did nothing for me. My ringtone sounded off in the car after Austin shut the truck off. He opened his door to step out when my voice halted him.
“Give me a second.”
He nodded then shut the door to give me some privacy.
“Wassup, Mama Toy,” I answered and greeted the woman who’d raised us after our mother abandoned us to run the streets like a rat.
“Hi, baby boy. How are you? I feel like we haven’t had a chat in a month of Sundays.”
I chuckled, knowing even if a day went by without us talking, she’d feel this way. This time it was true though. I had been a little distant out of respect because I wasn’t in control of my feelings. When I got like that, I was liable to say anything, and I’d never want to come at Mama Toy the wrong way. She was my backbone and my strength; her feelings would always triumph over mine.
“I know. I’ve been a little focused on work lately.” I told a half-truth.
Even though I was more in control and understood what was going on with me emotionally, it didn’t mean I was ready for this conversation right now.
“That’s not all. You heard I had a phone conversation with your mother?”
“She’s not my mother,” I instinctively snapped.
I pumped my fists, feeling the rage that wanted to take over. There was too much to unpack there in a hurry. The woman who birthed me had long ago lost my respect, love, and support. I owed her nothing, yet she still found a way to take from me. Taking a deep breath I recentered myself.
“My bad. It’s not even the phone call. It’s the decision to put money on her books. You know what kind of person she is. Why would you do that? How did she even get your number?”
“She’s working on bettering herself, Romani. Everyone deserves forgiveness. I gave it to her awhile back in case she ever needed me.”
“Everyone deserves it when they’re being genuine. We can bet right now that money fed the monkey on her back. Jail doesn’t slow an addict like her down.”
Mama Toy began to speak when the back passenger door on the right yanked open. The scent of vanilla and marshmallows was the first thing to assault me. Lovie’s beauty immediately followed as she slid next to me in the back seat.
“You scared to get this day started or something?” she teased.
I frowned. “I have nothing to fear.”
I wanted to say more, but I could hear Mama Toy’s voice in my ear doing what she did best.
“Who is that?”
“And that’s your problem. You need to stay out of other people’s business.” I massaged my forehead, knowing nothing I said would keep her away from her sister. Almost on cue, she confirmed as much.
“When it comes to my sister, I’m never going to turn my back on her. She’s not perfect, and I don’t support everything she does, but I love her. You don’t have to forgive her for all she’s done, but I do.”
“Why can’t I ever be someone’s first choice? You’d choose the person who walks all over you and treats you like shit the same way she does.” I chuckled dryly. “I’ll never understand the logic behind that choice, but I gotta go, Mama Toy. Love you with every breath in me. Talk soon.”
I didn’t even wait for a response as I ended the call. Fire raced through every fiber of my being. I hated it when she tried to downplay the trauma I experienced at the hands of her sister. She was not special, having suffered the same abuse from her yet would give her last if her sister asked. Robyn was like that too. I would never understand it. Maybe it was a woman thing to forgive and forget, but I was taking my bitterness to the grave.
I got even more pissed off when I realized we weren’t moving, and I could feel the heat of Lovie’s eyes on me. It wasn’t my intention for her to hear any of that, but she just couldn’t wait for me to come get her out of the house. My foot began to bounce, having a mind of its own.
“What the fuck are you waiting for? Drive!” I yelled as my frustration bubbled out of me.
“M-my apologies boss,” Austin apologized. In the next thirty seconds, he had the truck started and pulling away from the curb.
I sat back with my eyes focused on the trashed streets of Chamberlain Square. Every time my mind wanted to drift to the woman who birthed me, I flinched. She was like a poison. The only way to save yourself was to cut her from your life completely, but the people I truly loved and cared about refused to do so. The only one with some damn sense other than me was Regal. He was away at college and never cared to know what was going on with her either. I had to find a way to protect the people I cared about because I knew it was only a matter of time before Anette struck again and left them heartbroken.
“Are you okay?”
Her voice was the gentlest I’d ever heard it. So silky and smooth, it caressed me long before her arms slowly found a way around my waist. She nuzzled herself against me with confidence and a softness I didn’t realize I was in desperate need of.
Everything in me said to push her away, yet somehow, I remained in place. I was unable to move even an inch out of fear of becoming too vulnerable… too emotional… She’d already gotten a glimpse of the broken little boy inside of me. I couldn’t handle her seeing anything more.
Nothing more was said as we made our way to the Motley building. You’d think having her so close would be awkward after a while, but honestly, it just felt right. Every circle she rubbed on my back… every squeeze of her arms… every inhale of her sweet scent… I couldn’t move if I wanted to. I was a prisoner in my own body.
I was relieved when we finally arrived. Except when she withdrew her body from mine, the chill that was always there reemerged colder than ever before. Afraid of what that might mean, I reached for her hand in desperation. When she looked down at our joined hands, I prepared myself for rejection. She held on to me tighter instead of putting my racing heart at ease.
We were immersed in a stare off until Austin opened my door. I pulled her out behind me, keeping her close to my body for the entire walk inside the building. She was like balm soothing my gruesome scars that ran deep. She pressed against me in the elevator that carried us to Rogue Realty headquarters.
Aisley was at her desk. She was probably on a personal call when we stepped off the elevator. There was a smile on her face until her eyes landed on us. The tone of her voice lowered to a whisper. She hung up the phone entirely shortly after.
“Good morning,” she greeted us with a tight smile.
“Morning,” I greeted her plainly. Turning to Lovie I asked, “Do you want something from Morning Brew?”
She nodded excitedly. “Absolutely.”
I nodded toward Aisley. She turned, giving her order without a second thought.
“I want a caramel cookie Frappuccino with two pumps of sugar and extra whipped cream.” She turned to me before her eyes widened in glee, and she called off something else. “Oh, and could you ask them to add a sprinkle of nutmeg please.”
“Okay,” Aisley grated.
“Why are you so happy?” I couldn’t help but laugh. Her energy was contagious.
“I love Morning Brew.”
“Well, let me know how else I can keep that smile on your face. You want something to eat too?”
Her cheeks rose as she tucked her chin to her chest, trying to hide from me. I lifted her crown with my finger. I swear when she looked in my eyes, I heard Tony! Toni! Toné! singing in the back of my mind. It started as a tickle then became a loud serenade as her innocent gaze locked me in place, inviting me to lay my head on her pillow and relax.
“No, just coffee for now,” she whispered. “Now around noon, that’ll be another story.”
I winked then lifted her hand to my lips. I placed a soft kiss on it, never breaking eye contact with her.
“Don’t worry. I got you.”
I could not move from the floor to ceiling windows that gave a beautiful view of Mount Juliette in the distance. The sky was a beautiful array of pinks, oranges, and blues as the sun rose higher in the sky. I was frozen in place, not just because of the snapshot of beauty before me, but also because I needed fresh air to come off my Romani high.
I didn’t know what to expect today when he arrived, and his energy was off. Once I saw the suffering he was truly going through, I was sucked into his orbit. I knew there was destruction to his fragile heart, and repairs had to happen. He didn’t need to ask me to fill in the role because the call was like music to my ears. A delicious journey that was sure to have rough edges and sweet centers awaited me. I was ready to risk it all by taking a dive into those murky waters.
Since we’d come into his office, he was busy shuffling through papers on his desk. His desk phone ringing sliced through the silence.
“Romani Rogue speaking,” he answered with the call on speaker phone.
The confidence in his voice made my knees wobble. I cleared my throat, hoping to get myself together, but the more words that slipped through his juicy lips the weaker I became. I was starting to feel like this day couldn’t end without me feeling them.
“Good morning, Romani. Throwing your towel in the ring has made the asking price go up.”
His chair creaked when he leaned back a little.
“What are they asking for now?”
I walked around to the front of his desk, unable to pretend that I wasn’t listening. His eyes landed square on me as I took a seat in the lounge chair on the other side of the desk. He began to pull at the hair on his chin as he watched me.
“Breathe,” he mouthed with a toothless grin.
I wasn’t sure how he knew I was on pins and needles waiting to hear her response.
“Bidding is starting at a quarter of a million dollars,” the woman on the other side of the line finally said.
I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth. Hearing what it was going to cost had me ready to faint. I was never going to get approved for that much. However, the thought of parting with the community center still didn’t sit well with my spirit.
“Alright. You know what to do. I think this purchase is invaluable. Therefore, I don’t care what it’ll cost me.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll be in touch when I have updates.”
“Bet. Thanks, Shelia.” His voice brought me back to reality. “Why are you looking like that?”
I ran a hand down my face with a shake of my head.
“That’s a lot of money. All hope is lost.”
“No, it’s not. I’m confident that we’ll outbid the other guys.”
I sat up quickly. My chest pressed against the front of his desk as his words rang from one side of my brain to another.
“The other guys? What other guys?”
He chuckled deeply, sending chills down my spine. I straightened up a little more when he inhaled sharply then released a slow breath.
“You really don’t know what’s going on.” He shook his head disappointedly. “The city is selling the center. The other guys want to turn it into condos with a shopping plaza. I want it to function as it does now but make it better.”
He leaned forward, folding his hands on top his desk. The brown shirt of the set he had on bulged in the most delicious way. He could put a nigga to sleep with those guns.
“I respect and support what you have going on over there. I would never want to ruin that. The principle of my business is to water the good seeds already planted in our neighborhoods while planting new ones where needed. I have purchased other properties, but they all serve a purpose in uplifting my people. In all honesty, our children deserve more people like you that are willing to give their time to make them better in whatever capacity they’re able to.”
Now that I was able to put the full picture together, I understood how wrong I was about everything. All this time, I was treating Romani like my enemy when he was my ally. I dropped my face into my hands. I lifted it back quickly hoping to save face. The arrogant smize in his eyes said he was enjoying this as he predicted he would on the day we met.
“So, you mean to tell me there’s someone else I need to be harassing?” I sank deeper in my seat, allowing my head to fall backward.
“Hell no. You stay away from those people. I’m going to make sure you don’t lose the center, Trouble.”
Hearing his declaration caused a crack in the walls I’d been building my entire life to protect myself. Maybe Romani didn’t see me as a problematic burden but as someone who could really create beautiful change in the lives of the kids who came to my center. For some reason, when he called me that this time, it didn’t make me feel like I was doing something wrong but like an acknowledgment of the redeemable qualities he saw in me, qualities others had used to label me as trouble. Could someone really see my boldness… my strength… my fire as beautiful?
I nibbled on my lip as I slowly sat up. “Can you promise that?”
He straightened his shoulders and clenched his jaw.
“Yes. I’m relentless in all my pursuits.”
There was an edge to his tone and a handsome smirk that was pinning me in place until all I wanted was to be pinned underneath him.
Thankfully, there was a knock at his office door before it came open seconds later. When I glanced over my shoulder, I spotted Aisley bringing in our drinks. Her eyes bounced from me to him constantly before finally landing on him. She rounded his desk and bent over slowly to place his coffee down. The skirt she wore was so short I knew it lifted a little in the back.
I rolled my eyes, finding it difficult to fight the jealousy burning in my veins. She was obviously into him. I began to wonder if they had something going on with each other as she finally rounded the desk to hand me my frappuccino.
“Thanks.”
“Welcome,” she replied in fake sweet tone. Turning to her boss she added, “Let me know if you need anything else.”
The longing in her eyes wasn’t lost on me. She looked like she was ready to give her right kidney for Romani. When I turned back to him, he was watching me intently.
“Come here.”
He barely had the command off his lips before I was around his desk. He slid his chair back to make room for me in front of him. His big hands landed on my knees then slowly ventured up my thighs to grip my waist.
“Can I be honest?”
I nodded. I was unsure of what I would say if I used my words.
“I want to kiss you. If that makes you uncomfortable let me know now because I’m ready to take what I want, or I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.”
He tucked his bottom lip, making my core shiver and quake. Knowing we were on the same vibration tossed any concerns I had about Aisley out of the window. He certainly didn’t look at her the way he stalked me whenever we were in the same room.
His eyes fell to my breasts when I leaned toward him. I placed a hand on his cheek, drawing him closer. His genuine words and weighted promises circled through my mind, yet no weight landed on my shoulders. For some reason, I couldn’t explain I believed him when he said he would save the community center.
Our lips crashed together with the strength of a cyclone barreling to shore. Our body heat mixed with the slight breeze of air conditioning flowing through his office was the perfect blanket swallowing us until we disappeared into a world of our own. I moaned when his tongue slipped into my mouth oh so smoothly. He was delicate with me even as his fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me deeper into him until I was straddling his lap.
I could feel a rigid log resting on his thigh that increased my curiosity about him. When he separated from me, I immediately missed the plushness of his lips. His fingers wrapped around the front of my neck as he placed gentle kisses up my chin.
When his lips were by my ear, he applied more pressure and whispered, “If you come home with me tonight, I’m going to beat your pussy out the frame, and then you can give me that apology you owe me.”
“Who says we have to wait until tonight?”
* * *
Romani’s workday ended promptly at noon. He shut down his desktop, grabbed my hand, and led me out the door. Aisley sat at her desk watching us come down the hallway. Her face frowned, seeing how cozy we were. I kinda got the feeling that she didn’t like me, but I could care less. I hadn’t done a thing to her.
When we got on the elevator, he pushed me against the wall and began to suckle on my neck. The sensations rocking through my body felt so good I began to moan. This wasn’t on my mind when the day started, but I realized this was something that needed to happen.
“I can trust you right? You’re not walking around with a dirty dick, are you?” I asked as we were nearing the ground floor.
Romani chuckled. “Showing a MyChart ain’t never been a problem for me. Only thing dirty about my dick is the way I’m about to fuck you.” He took my hand and placed it on his crotch. “It curves.”
A chill ran down my spine because he was well endowed, and a curve was exactly what I needed for my spot to be grazed.
He took my hand as the doors opened. We walked briskly outside to where Austin pulled up his truck. The door was open already, so I slid in first with Romani following me. On the ride to his house, we exchanged recent MyChart results that showed we were both free of any sexually transmitted diseases.
Romani leaned over, placing his mouth by my ear.
“Can I nut in that pussy?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “I guess we’ll have to see.”
His eyes twinkled as if he saw my words as a challenge. He just didn’t know what he was getting himself into. I wasn’t a woman who was shy in the bedroom. I got real nasty without shame. He was going to be addicted like most were.
I was so happy when his iron gates rose before us. The drive to the front door took only a minute after that. Romani opened the door and hopped out. He helped me down then led the way to his front door. I stood behind him, waiting for him to unlock it and let us inside. While he was distracted, I grabbed the scrunchie from my purse and pulled my hair into a high puff.
When he opened the door, I pushed him inside then pressed him into the closed door. I dropped to my knees and began unbuckling his trousers.
“Damn, it’s like that? You can’t wait until we get to the room.”
I shook my head smiling. “No, I’ve been waiting.”
I released his dick and moaned. I was going to have so much fun with him. I opened my mouth widely then shoved him inside. His dick was as handsome as him. He smelled fresh like soap and was neatly trimmed. I bobbed my head up and down like the pro I was creating more saliva in my mouth with every suck.
“I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you. I know you’re on my side now,” I apologized then immediately gurgled on his dick.
When he looked at me, my eyes were already on him. He tucked his bottom lip to hide his smile. The sight created an ache so intense I took it out on his girthy flesh.
Romani hissed above me before his hand went to my puff. I loved the way it felt when he tightened his grip on my hair while fucking my face. It encouraged me to go harder. I juggled his balls in one hand and gripped the base of his shaft with the other. While I stroked his dick, I dipped my head to suck his balls. I heard his toes crack when I did that. When he began moaning softly, I knew I had him where I wanted him. I think he also knew it because he stopped me.
“Bend over right there.”
He pointed to the little stand in his doorway that had mail sitting on top of it. He knocked it all to the floor before forcing me over the edge. He pulled down my pants and slid inside of me all at once. We both moaned at the same time. He felt absolutely amazing inside of me.
His hands went to my hips as he began to rock in and out of me. The stand we were on began to rock with each one of his powerful strokes, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Fuck. Even your pussy is trouble,” he growled.
I would’ve spoke if his dick didn’t have me speechless. All I could do was moan and take every delicious inch he used to massage my walls. I moaned aloud when he smacked me on the ass. He gripped the front of my neck and increased his pace.
“I’m about to get this first one off, but I promise we’re only getting started.”
His words were music to my ears. I could definitely use more of this.
“Okay, baby. Make my pussy cum,” I begged, arching my back even more. I shivered when I felt his thick head bump against my spot. “Right there, baby. Don’t stop.”
And stopping was not on his mind as he drilled me into oblivion. One of the legs on the stand cracked just as we came. We fell to the floor before either of us could stop it.
We burst into laughter with his dick still pulsing inside of me and my pussy tightening around him as he took me where I needed to be.
“I think it’s time we take a trip to the bed,” he whispered in my ear.
I was ready for another round and loved the sound of that. When I say we spent hours exploring each other’s bodies, I mean just that. I’d never cum so many times in my life, and the sex was even better somehow after we got drunk off a bottle of Black Sade and ate a huge spread of food from Aria’s.
This was the best day I’d had in a while. I didn’t know my body could exert so much energy or my pussy could get so wet. She would already be purring before he touched me just off the strength of how handsome he was. I fell in love with kissing his tattoos. He fell in love with massaging my ass cheeks.
After our feast, we stumbled back to his bedroom. I got under the covers while Romani went into the bathroom. I heard him paying his water bill before the toilet flushed and the sink came on. Seconds later, he was crawling into the sheets too, except he didn’t lie beside me. He crawled his ass underneath my nightgown and wrapped himself around my body like a damn python.
“Really?”
He nodded his head.
“Mhm… You feel good. You smell good. I wanna sleep right here.” He paused then said, “Actually, I want to sleep inside your pussy, but I haven’t figured out how to get myself in there yet, so this will have to do.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. He was unhinged, but I loved it. I rubbed his back through my nightgown while halfway watching what was on TV. A few minutes later, I heard light snoring. I peered down at him through the head opening to find him fast asleep. He looked like such a big baby sleeping against me like this, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He was my big baby at this point, and I’d let him do whatever he wanted to me because I knew there was a reward in there for me somewhere.