Chapter Fifty
Chapter
Fifty
Stone
I watched her car drive away from the window of my apartment. When I woke up in the middle of the night with an ache for her, I fought it off. She needed her rest. Keeping her home with me, locked away from the world two days in a row, was selfish. I had to find a way to go through the day without having her right there beside me. This was new for me, the constant yearning.
Gerry would fill her ears with stories from her day out shopping before she forgot what year it was and began planning some event or a visit where dead people would be involved. Seeing her with Gerry had been the last straw for me. Fighting this thing that pulled me to her had been hard enough. Reminding myself that Jasper loved her, and although I knew he’d never be able to be the man she deserved, I tried to be a good friend. The kind that didn’t go after the woman his best friend loved.
Eventually, that didn’t matter. When your fate is made clear, you can’t run from it. It owns you. And you want it to. You fucking thank God for it.
Once her car was out of sight, I sighed and stepped away from the window. I had to get my head clear enough to focus on work. I also needed to plan how to deal with Jasper. This wasn’t something he needed to find out through our social network. Because I didn’t plan on hiding this. She wasn’t going to be a secret. I wanted everyone to know she was mine.
I walked back to the kitchen and cleaned the cup I’d used for my coffee. I loaded the dishwasher with my cup and Beulah’s. Her scent was all over the place. As much as I loved it, the sweet, lingering fragrance made it hard to think of anything else. She had work. I should work. Tonight, however, I’d take her on the balcony. Late. In the darkness. Covering her mouth so no one could hear her cries of pleasure.
Fuck, now I needed a cold shower. It was like I was fifteen again, and the house cleaner that my dad eventually married was bouncing around in low-cut tops and no bra in front of me daily. She had kept me in a constant state of arousal. I’d masturbated to the image of her tits for weeks until she walked in and caught me. She went down on her knees and sucked me off that day. Shaking my head, I shoved that memory away. Hilda had become one of my stepmothers a few months later—just more of my twisted childhood.
I was walking out of the kitchen when the front door swung open. “STONE!” Presley’s voice echoed through the apartment. Nothing could have gotten rid of my hard on any faster. Motherfucker, I wasn’t in the mood for this.
Rounding the corner, I found her there with black streaks of mascara running down her face as she sobbed dramatically. This was an act. I knew it just like I’d always known her fake displays of emotion. I watched her as she put her show into motion.
“He took my money. Stole from me! Then left!” she wailed.
I wasn’t surprised. The man was a con artist. I had tried to tell her that when she moved in with me the last time, he had abandoned her. This time, I wasn’t wasting my breath.
“Why are you barging into my home unannounced? I wasn’t aware I needed to change the locks. There’s a doorbell. Use it.” My tone was cold. Flat. Bored.
She paused a moment. Not prepared for that response. She had hoped for concern. Sympathy. And I wasn’t reacting the way she wanted. Her routine would need a last-minute adjustment. I could see it in her eyes as she quickly changed her course. “I know you warned me, but I was hurt, Stone. You had that woman here. You know how I feel about you. And she was thrown in my face, where I lived. It hurt me. I wanted to feel loved, and Wesley made me feel that way.”
They were a good pair. Presley and Wesley. They both used others for their benefit until they were finished with them. I had no time for this. I was used to being alone here. Now, this was Beulah’s home, too. I wanted my life with her to be just that. With her.
“You’re grown. You have a job and can get a place of your own. You’re living here was temporary. Things have changed. It’s no longer an option for you to live here.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. “It’s almost eight, and I need to get dressed. The next time you decide to enter my home without an invitation, I will call the police.”
I didn’t give her time to react. To get angry. I walked past her, opened the front door, and held it open. “Goodbye, Presley.”
She didn’t move. Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at me. When she didn’t get her way, she often acted like an irate five-year-old. “You’re tossing me out?” her voice was incredulous.
“You left already. I never had to toss you.”
“You pushed me away. Over and over. I love you, but you won’t see that. You don’t care. You can’t love.” Her anger eased some. She was changing course. “We were good, Stone. You fucked me like I have never been fucked,” she dropped her voice to what she thought was a sexy tone. “I loved having your dick shoved down my throat. Making me gag. Pushing too far. Having your hot come on my tongue. I still taste it. Want it. I’m thirsty for it.” She was now closing in on me. As her hands reached to touch me, I grabbed them both and moved her back.
“Don’t touch me. It’s time for you to go.”
She wasn’t going to be easily convinced. “Don’t you want it? My mouth sucking hard on your dick. Like a lollipop on my lips. My fingers inside me, pleasuring myself as I take all of you as far down my throat as I can—”
“You’re wasting my time. The answer is no. I don’t want my dick near any part of you. I’m sure there are thousands of men who do. Go find one.”
Fury was in her eyes, and I knew she was about to snap. At least we had come to the end of this ridiculous visit.
“It’s her, isn’t it? She’s still here! You’re fucking her! She’s white trash, Stone! Low class—”
I grabbed her arm and physically moved her out of my apartment. This was for her safety. Hearing her speak about Beulah like that was pushing me to a place she’d never seen me and didn’t want to experience.
“Leave,” I commanded.
“Is it that good?” she spat at me. “It’ll get old. Her trashy roots can’t keep you happy. You like expensive things, Stone.”
“I’m closing this door and giving you three minutes to exit this building before I call the police to escort you out. Do I make myself clear?”
She threw her shoulders back like I had insulted her. Like she hadn’t entered my home without an invitation. I didn’t wait for her to open her mouth and say anything more.
The slam of the door was a relief. It was the end of that part of my life. I would no longer pick up the pieces of the lives my father destroyed. There was only one life he was a danger to that I was going to save. All my planning had led to what was coming and I intended to win. I had to.