Taeja

28. Chapter 28

28

A loud crow woke her. Groaning, Taeja rolled onto her belly, putting the pillow over her head. The rooster was unrelenting; it was giving Taeja a headache.

Sitting upward, she looked at both sides of her. Damon wasn’t in the bed and Zain wasn’t on his pile of blankets.

“Maybe they’re outside,” Taeja said to herself. She got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. She had a quick shower before searching for her men.

Not seeing them anywhere in the house, she dropped herself on the sofa and pulled her phone out to try calling them. As she put the phone to her ear, a man walked through the front door. He was dark-skinned, slim-built, and tall. His eyes shone at Taeja as he sat beside her.

“Hey,” he drawled.

Moving the phone from her ear, Taeja scooted away. “Uh… Hi.”

“What’s your name?”

“Alie.”

He smiled. “Alie. That’s a beautiful name. I’m Wayne.”

Taeja forced a smile before standing and walking toward the opposite sofa. Wayne whistled, making an unwelcome chill run through Taeja.

“Alie, why yu gone over deso? This big enough fi yu ino.”

“You were in my space.”

“Mi nuh reach so far yet.” He bit his lip, his eyes raking down her body before settling on her breasts .

Taeja shuffled about. She was about to stand and run outside, but she remained seated when the front door opened. Cassedi entered first, followed by Zain, who paused before entering. Taeja stood and rushed toward him.

Zain’s brows raised as he wrapped an arm around her. “You okay?”

“Yes,” Taeja said, relaxing. “Where’s D—” She paused when she saw Damon coming inside. Pulling away from Zain, she smiled at Damon, and he smiled back.

“Wayne, wa yado here already?” Cassedi asked, swinging the bag in her hand.

Wayne replied, “Mi come fi the thing, Aunty.”

Taeja froze, bile rushing up her throat.

“Are you okay?” Damon asked, taking her from Wayne and leading her to a sofa. “You look sick.”

“I’m fine,” Taeja said as firmly as she could.

“A likkle tea she goodly want,” Cassedi yelled. “Zain told me you have to drink fever grass, so we went down the road to pick some off Mass John tree. Mi see seh yu cousin did a keep yu company, though.”

“ Cousin ?” Wayne choked.

Cassedi peeked her head into the doorway. “Wayne, nuh tell mi seh— Yu know seh yu wuda look a dog if it have on drawz!” Cassedi hissed her teeth, grabbing a bunch of keys out of her pocket and throwing it onto Wayne’s lap. “See yu bus key deh. Leave me house!”

Holding his head low, Wayne briskly walked toward the door. Zain tucked his hands behind his back, his eyes following Wayne until Wayne disappeared.

Shaking her head, Cassedi walked toward Taeja. She held Taeja’s hands. “Did he say anything to you?”

“No…” Taeja replied.

“Are you sure?” Cassedi asked, and Taeja nodded. “I’ll apologize to him then. I invited him over, and I thought I’d be back before he came.”

“It’s fine,” Taeja assured. “Can I help you make breakfast?”

“You never offer to help me,” Zain said.

“Because I love it when you do things for me.” Taeja stuck her tongue out, and Zain chuckled, watching as she went into the kitchen. “What are we making?”

“Fried breadfruit with mackerel,” Cassedi said .

“That sounds so good.”

Cassedi smiled as they got to work. “I haven’t told our family that you’re here. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it…”

Taeja sighed. “Can we talk about it after breakfast?”

“Of course.”

They got done, then served the food to the men. Zain watched her as she ate.

“What?” Taeja asked.

A hint of a smile played on his lips when he said, “Nothing.”

Cassedi stopped chewing her lower lip as she glanced between the two men. “You were all so tired yesterday. I feel like I’ve been a bad host to you both.”

Damon looked up from his half-empty plate. “You’ve been amazing.”

“Great! Then I’d like to know more about my daughter’s, um, boyfriends—” She laughed. “Sorry. I never imagined that was something I’d say.”

“It takes some getting used to,” Taeja said, smiling at her men.

Damon looked more relaxed — he’d been so stressed lately with his increased workload. And for Zain. Well, he still looked uptight. But whenever she caught him stealing glances, she’d smile. And he’d smile back.

Taeja looked from Zain to Cassedi. She could still feel Zain looking at her, making her hairs stand. How did this man always touch her without actually touching her? It was a mystery she’d never figure out.

“I bet it does,” Cassedi said. “What do you do?”

“Me or him?” Damon asked.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I’m the head of the IT department,” Damon said, his voice laced with pride.

“I’m a personal trainer,” Zain said.

“Oh, nice,” Cassedi said, inhaling a big breath. “Sorry. I know I talk fast, but let me know if you want me to slow down.”

“We can understand you,” Damon assured. “What do you do?”

“I clean houses and sell goats.” Cassedi looked down at her empty plate with an embarrassed smile. “I know it’s not fancy like your jobs.”

“A job is a job,” Damon said, and Taeja nodded as a weight laid on her shoulder.

Cassedi smiled, standing. “Are you finished?” she asked, looking at Damon’s empty plate.

“Can I get more?” Damon asked, and Taeja chuckled.

Cassedi nodded. “Of course. I’ll go—”

“That’s fine. I can do it.” Damon stood. He glanced between Taeja and Cassedi. “Maybe you could go do something else?”

Cassedi gulped, then she nodded. “Okay. But let me know if you need help. Baby girl, let’s go to the backyard.”

Taeja followed behind Cassedi, pausing to look over her shoulder at Damon and Zain, who stood beside each other. Damon did a thumbs up and gave her a brave smile. With his hands tucked into his pockets, Zain nodded his head. As simple as the actions were, they boosted her morale.

Throwing them a smile, she closed the door behind her and went into the backyard. There was a small garden — full of potted plants, vegetables, and a tall apple tree. They sat on the plastic chairs beneath the tree. The leaves provided shade from the scorching sun.

Cassedi cleared her throat. “I figure you want to hear why I left first?”

“No,” Taeja said, and Cassedi’s eyes widened. “I want to know about your kid.”

Cassedi’s brow furrowed. “My kid?”

“Yes. Your cookie ,” Taeja said, and Cassedi chuckled.

“Cookie’s not my baby. She’s my grandniece, and her name’s ZsaZsa.”

“Oh—” Taeja blushed and looked away. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine. I would be confrontational, too,” Cassedi said, stumbling over the word ‘confrontational’.

“With that out of the way, I’d like to know the truth about why you left me.”

“The truth?” Cassedi asked, her brows pulling together.

“Huh?”

“You always say the truth .”

“Because Jerry basically told me that all I know about you leaving is a lie.”

“What did he tell you?”

“That… you ran away with Romar,” Taeja said, and Cassedi’s eyes widened. From guilt or shock? Taeja couldn’t tell. “And he showed me pictures of you hugging Romar at the airport. ”

Cassedi chuckled, shaking her head at her lap. “That witch Teddy.”

“What does Teddy have to do with this?”

Rolling her shoulders, Cassedi looked at Taeja. “Teddy has never liked me since I met Jerry in university. Teddy’s a controlling mother, who always had a say in Jerry’s life, and when I came into the picture, it wasn’t like that anymore. When she ran off overseas, then filed for Jerry, he returned to marry me so he could file for me, too. When I got pregnant with you, it delayed the filing process.

“When it came through, Mummy told me not to go. She still saw me as her little girl, who shouldn’t go to an unfamiliar country and live with a man who still stayed with his mother. I didn’t listen to Mummy, and well, let’s just say I should’ve,” Cassedi said.

“I need the full story,” Taeja said. “I didn’t travel all this way for you to lie to me, too.”

Cassedi sighed, taking a moment to say, “It was hell living with Teddy. Especially when you were a toddler. I felt like she didn’t like you just because you’re mine. She’d always yell at you… Stop all the crying. No, you can’t have that. You’re spoilt. Go ask someone else. It didn’t even help that even though Jerry was attached to you, he’d take Teddy’s side because he thought she meant you well. It was stressful. I begged Jerry to let us move out, and eventually, he did. He bought that nice house on Crescent Street,” Cassedi said, a hint of a smile on her face.

“We— I mean, he still lives there,” Taeja said.

Cassedi smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I think asking to move was my second worst mistake. Jerry became exactly like his mother. He wanted to control every aspect of my life. He didn’t even want us traveling to Jamaica anymore to see Mummy because he thought we wouldn’t come back. Him even cuss seh a must man me waa see, whole time I just missed my mother and wished I listened to her.”

The sorrow in Cassedi’s voice tugged at Taeja’s heart, making her shoulders slump and her lips twist into a frown. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know that he controlled you this much.”

Cassedi reached over to wipe away the tears in Taeja’s eyes. “It’s fine. I didn’t want you to see that. He wasn’t like that with you—”

Taeja laughed dryly. “He got like that overtime.”

“What?” Cassedi asked, her anger surging. “Wa him do to yu?”

“The same things he did to you…” Taeja said, then told Cassedi some instances. “I thought it was because he loved me, but I realized that isn’t love.”

“How him fi force yu fi go pon birth control?” Cassedi yelled, seething. “Jerry bright, eeh?! How him fi do that to yu?!”

“It’s fine.” Taeja fought the urge to touch where the implant rested in her arm, and reached over to lay a hand atop Cassedi’s. Taeja smiled as Cassedi clasped their hands. “I wish you took me with you.”

“I wish I did, too,” Cassedi said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “But Teddy and Romar were the ones who got me my documents. I should’ve known something was wrong when Romar kept touching me that day, but I brushed it off because I was happy. I honestly thought they were doing me a favor because nothing was changing Jerry’s mind. Romar stayed with me while I visited Mummy, but when it was time for me to come back, I couldn’t find Romar or my documents. It’s all my fault—”

“No, Teddy’s just evil,” Taeja stated angrily. “But Jerry is worse fi mek her rule him head.”

Cassedi slowly removed her hands from Taeja’s. “Do you want to know anything else?”

“Did you… miss me?”

“Yes. Every day,” Cassedi said without missing a beat. “If I knew you’d go through the same, I would’ve tried harder to come for you, but…”

“But?”

“I’m in a rough patch.” Cassedi waved a hand at her old house. “Have been for years. It’s hard to get a good job even with my degree. I went to my bed hungry many nights, but I slept better knowing this wasn’t happening to you.”

Taeja’s lips trembled. She reached over to hug Cassedi, taking the older woman by surprise.

Cassedi’s trembling hands settled on Taeja’s back as she released a short sigh. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better mother for you, baby girl.”

Taeja squeezed Cassedi, not knowing how to speak without crying .

They stayed there for a long moment. Possibly making up for the many years spent without each other. Then finally, they pulled apart. They fell into an easy conversation, laughing and getting to know each other until they decided to head back inside.

“Mi sad yu apple tree naa bear,” Taeja said as they entered the living room.

Cassedi hummed. “I can pick some off Mass John tree so you can have some to eat when you go back to college.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Taeja smiled, looking at Damon, who was tapping away on his laptop. “Where’s Zain?”

“In the room,” Damon answered as his brows knitted further.

“Are you having connection issues?” Cassedi asked. “Sister Pansy has Wi-Fi. I can go ask her for the password.”

“No worries.” Damon smirked as he leaned back. “I’m not having any issues connecting to her Wi-Fi.”

Taeja rolled her eyes as she sat beside him. She laid her head on his shoulder and elbowed him in the side. “Really, Damon?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Damon innocently smiled and kissed her forehead.

Cassedi smiled at them. “Damon, if you aren’t busy, can you follow me to the church? The router has been giving problems. Maybe you can look at it.”

“Sure.” Damon set his laptop aside, then stood. “Are you coming?”

Taeja looked toward the room. “You guys go ahead.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Cassedi said.

Damon stepped toward the door, then paused. He walked toward Taeja, stooped to her level, and kissed her. She was a blushing mess as her mother glanced between the two. Damon smirked and pulled away completely. He walked out the door and closed it behind him.

Taeja went to the room. Zain was shirtless while pacing the room.

“I don’t give a fuck—” Zain hissed, grabbing Taeja’s hand, and pulling her toward him.

A yelp escaped her mouth and her heart rate skyrocketed. “Leggo mi and nuh mek mi get dark!” Taeja said, struggling against him.

“Shh,” he whispered gently before hissing, “I was not fucking talking to you . ”

Taeja’s brows furrowed as she looked at him. Seeing an earbud in his ear, she relaxed. Zain pulled her toward the bed and sat on the edge of it, making her straddle him. He groped her ass, caressing it like it was his last string of sanity.

Head laid on his chest while she tried making sense of Zain’s cryptic and harsh words to whomsoever, Taeja became concerned. Why was Zain this angry? Was it a good idea to be this close to him?

“Respect has everything to do with PNG. Fix it,” Zain hissed. He removed the earbud, tossing it onto his pile of blankets on the floor.

Taeja looked at Zain’s brooding face. She hadn’t seen him this way in a long while. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

“No.”

“What’s wrong?”

Zain’s brows creased further as he looked toward a corner. “A lot.”

“Can I make you feel better?”

He looked at her. “Yes.”

Taeja smiled. “What do you want me to do?”

“Let me fuck you.”

“Okay.” She climbed off him and tugged her shirt over her head. Her breasts bounced free, and Zain’s eyes latched onto them.

She felt more than just naked beneath his gaze. Zain had the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. Whenever he looked at her, they seemed to darken more, like he looked past her exterior and into her soul.

Licking her lips, she hooked her fingers into the waistband of her shorts. She slowly slipped them down her long legs along with the panties. She stepped out of them, taking a bold step toward Zain.

He leaned back on his hands, slightly tilting his head to the side. “I don’t want to just fuck you, Taeja. I want to push my dick so far up your pussy you feel me everywhere. I want you to take all of me until I break you.”

Her breathing quickened as her lips parted. She kneeled before him and put her wrists together, offering them to him. “What are you waiting for? Break me.”

Zain smirked while standing. He stepped forward, his print right in front Taeja’s face. “Take it out, then put your hands on your thighs. Don’t move them while I fuck your mouth.”

Taeja did as told.

“Kiss it.”

She kissed his erection, licking away the drop of pre-cum, too.

Zain gripped her hair tightly and held his dick with the next. He directed it to her mouth and Taeja opened wide. Her jaws stung as they stretched to accommodate his length. Tears pricked her eyes, and she shut them tightly, not wanting them to fall so soon.

“Open your eyes,” Zain ordered, and her eyes snapped open to meet his gaze. “Watch me while I fuck you,” Zain said, gently rocking back and forth in her mouth. “Does this feel good, Taeja? Pleasing me makes you happy?”

Mouth too full, Taeja blinked twice, and Zain smirked. He released his dick to grab two fistfuls of her hair. Then, he started to fuck her mouth ruthlessly, pulling her forward while thrusting into her mouth.

The head of his dick hit her throat. Over and over, bruising it and making her mouth and eyes water.

Fuck, this felt so good…

Watching him go crazy above her.

The flare in his eyes.

The way he used her.

Abused her.

Made her his by forcing her to take all his big, veined dick.

Her pussy was dripping. She could feel strings of wetness flow from her and gather into a small puddle beneath her.

Choking and gagging, Taeja was surprised at how much of his dick she could take. Damn, Zain was treating her like she was nothing more than a hole and she loved it.

Zain’s breaths were ragged, his movements quick but not sloppy. He fucked her mouth with precision. With skill.

Taeja couldn’t breathe, yet the thought of death didn’t scare her as much as this man taking his dick out of her.

At this moment, they were one, and Taeja needed Zain’s cum more than air .

“Fuck,” Zain breathed. He released a ponytail to grip all her curls in one hand. He pulled out of her mouth, pumping his dick with long, quick strokes.

Taeja opened her mouth wide, stuck her tongue out, and waited for him to mark her with his seed.

Zain forced her head more upward, and she kept eye contact while he lost control. His moan was deep and unfiltered as he reached his climax. Thick, warm lines of semen painted Taeja’s face. Hair. Chest.

Zain squeezed at his tip, filling her mouth with every drop before tapping his dick against her lips.

Smiling, Taeja swallowed the cum in her mouth. It slid down her throat with that familiar, slightly salty taste.

Zain smirked at her, wiping his dick along her plump lips. “You’re always beautiful to me, but you look different this time.”

Her throat stung as she asked, “What do I look like?”

“Mine.”

Her heart skipped a beat. A smile came on her face without her realizing it. Releasing her hair, Zain offered her a hand, and she took it. He helped her to her feet, then lifted her, making her squeal.

He dropped her on the bed. Her body bounced as it hit the mattress. Taeja looked up at him, towering above her and looking more handsome than ever.

Zain cleaned her off, then dropped to his knees. Taeja’s excitement soared through the roof as her clit throbbed. Was Zain about to do what she thought?

Zain tugged her to the edge of the bed by her ankles, then he spread her legs wide. “Don’t close them,” he ordered, and she nodded. Zain pressed a thumb on her clit, rubbing it in small circles. “Remember that talk we had?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, squirming because she wanted him to rub her faster.

“You thought about it?”

“Yes,” she said, her cheeks heating up as she answered his next question before he could phrase it, “And yes.”

He smirked. “I think it’s time we stretched your ass for me. Do you want that, Taeja?”

“I do.”