Chapter 34
“Domino”
Icouldn’t sleep at all that night. Every time I closed my eyes, the look on her face, the slap, the silence after all replayed in my mind.
Oh… and that fire in her eyes? I was the one who ignited it, and now I was left with the ashes.
“I didn’t take you to be a hoe,” I had blurted out, the words bitter on my tongue.
That line wouldn’t leave me alone like something trying to punish me.
“She ain’t no damn hoe,” I mumbled, pulling both hands down my face, facing the mirror, staring at my reflection like I didn’t even recognize the nigga looking back at me.
I began pacing.
I didn’t mean that… I didn’t mean any of it. I just couldn’t take the thought of her with somebody else… giving him that look… that attention… that energy she gave me without even trying. That didn’t sit right, didn’t feel right, and didn’t look right in my head.
I stopped pacing and stared at the door. And just like that, I could hear my mama’s voice clear as day.
Boy, go fix what you broke. Don’t sit around acting like you don’t know better.
I exhaled, jaw tight. “I know,” I replied as if she could hear me. “I just… I just don’t know how.”
It was almost like we were actually talking, and I could hear her saying, Just talk to her. Apologize like a man.
Before I could overthink it, I was on my way to her room.
***
I knocked once and waited.
No answer.
I knocked again.
Still nothing.
My protective instinct kicked in, so I cracked open.
I eased in, slow and quiet, half-hoping she’d be asleep, half-hoping she wouldn’t.
I stepped further in. Her room smelled like coconut lotion and mango body wash. That’s when I noticed the steam curled from under the bathroom door, telling me exactly where she was.
My fists balled as I surveyed the room. A bra hung over a chair, panties lay scattered on the floor, and a robe was draped across the bed. Little signs of her were everywhere, and none of it helped me think straight.
I should’ve waited… maybe even turned around. Instead, I moved toward the bathroom like a man already in too deep. My hand found the handle, and before I knew it, I was inside.
The steam hit me first, then her silhouette behind the fogged glass.
Ajori was facing away, rinsing her hair.
And that ass? It was perfection. I stared too long.
Seeing that caused my last shred of willpower to crumble.
I dropped my sweats and stepped into the steam-filled shower.
She was oblivious of my presence… not even sensing me until my hands gripped her waist, pulling her back against me.
She gasped and twisted in my arms. “Domino, what the hell—”
Ajori’s mouth stopped moving, and her eyes dropped lower. And whatever sharp thing she was about to say died on her lips.
I was already hard, but more than anything… I was sorry. I didn’t speak at first; I just stood there, letting the water hit my back, watching her chest rise and fall in disbelief. Water ran down both of us while I stood there, close enough to touch, too wound up to lie.
“I came to say sorry. I didn’t mean what I said last night.
I was mad… jealous and acting like somebody I don’t even respect.
” My grip on her waist tightened just a little.
“Truth is, I ain’t never wanted anybody the way I want you.
And that got me out here saying dumb shit,” I admitted, eyes locked on hers.
“That shit also scares the fuck outta me. You don’t owe me anything, but I couldn’t let another day go by without tellin’ you I was wrong. ”
Ajori’s lips parted, but still, no words.
I stepped closer, nose barely grazing hers. “Say something,” I practically begged. “Even if it’s to tell me to get the fuck out.”
She didn’t… but the way her hand found my chest and the way her fingers curled just slightly said everything.
“You really got me out here acting crazy, Ajori,” I went on, voice heavy with heat. “Don’t even recognize myself around you, and I don’t know why. This shit got me spinning it’s all too fast.”
Ajori’s fingers were still resting on my chest, tracing the water droplets sliding down. Her hand moved lower, not far, just… enough. I didn’t even know if she realized she was touching me, but I didn’t care, because the second her eyes met mine again, fire passed between us.
She pulled back, breathing hard. “We shouldn’t.”
My hand slid up Ajori’s arm, then I cupped the side of her face. “But we are.”
When I leaned in, I paused right before our mouths met, letting her decide. I gave her enough room to stop me, but she didn’t.
Ajori made the choice for both of us.
Her lips hit mine hard, angry and hungry all at once, and whatever control I had left snapped clean in half.
I kissed Ajori as if I had something to prove and held her like I was scared she’d slip away.
My hand gripped her hip, then her ass, pulling her flush against me.
She felt soft and hot and way too good in my hands, and the small sound she made against my mouth almost had me losing my mind.
I spun her gently, pressing her back against the fogged glass.
“You trying to punish me for yesterday?” she breathed.
I trailed hot kisses down her neck and down the curve of her breast, letting my answer brush across her skin.
She shivered, and I felt it all the way through me.
I sucked her nipple, then looked up at her with that same ruthless smirk. “Nah. I’m trying to make up for it.”
Every touch after that got heavier and needier; less like an apology and more like a confession.
I lifted one leg and wrapped it around my waist. Then I grabbed her ass with both hands, grinding slowly until she whimpered. I slid the tip between her folds. She was soaking.
“Damn…” I muttered; forehead pressed to hers. “You mad at me, but this pussy say different.”
Ajori bit her lip. “Domino… stop teasing me. Put it all the way in and fuck me.”
That was all the permission I needed.
I hoisted her higher, lined up, and slid inside slowly, inch by inch.
Raw.
All the way.
She screamed.
“Fuuuck, Ajori,” I groaned.
I moved slowly at first, trying to make her feel every apology I didn’t have words for and every emotion I tried to bury.
I held Ajori tight, watching her lose it, as she clung to me, nails raking down my back like she was trying to mark me, claim me, curse me, and bless me all in one stroke.
Her moans filled the steamy room, and all I could think was…
Her ass is mine.
Even if I didn’t deserve her or even if it couldn’t last, in that moment, I was hers, and I was gonna fuck her like it.
“Domino—shit! You feel so good—”
“Say it,” I growled in her ear, pumping deeper, slower, and filthier. “Say what I feel like.”
“Big… good,” she cooed. “Deep. Too deep! Oh my God!”
I hit that spot again and kept that pressure right where she needed it… until she was calling my name like it belonged to her.
“You mine now,” I gritted, gently biting her shoulder. “You wanna play games? Lie to niggas? Let 'em flirt? Cool. But this pussy? This pussy stays with me.”
“And who the hell made you king?” she playfully snapped.
I slammed into her harder, and she gasped loudly.
“You did, when you let me in raw.”
I lowered her to the bench, flipped her over, bent her, and went in… fast, deep, and brutal.
Ajori’s hands slapped the wall. “Domino, wait!”
“Nah,” I said, grunting. “You don’t get to play tough, then cry soft. Take this dick like you been begging for it.”
“I wasn’t begging!”
“Lies,” I smirked. “You was moaning my name in your sleep last night.”
Ajori twisted to glare at me, cheeks flushed, mouth open, right before she exploded.
Her body convulsed around me.
“Fuck, Domino! Oh my! Shitttttt!”
I wasn’t done. I wanted to punish her with pleasure, and she took all of it… over and over, until she turned and slapped my chest with a laugh, weak as hell.
“You evil, mean-ass… cartel dick-slinging devil!”
“Say that shit again.”
“Dick-slinging devil!”
I pulled out, stroking myself slowly, tip leaking against her thigh. “Don’t make me nut on that pretty ass face, Ajori.”
“Try it and see what happens,” she replied with a daring grin.
I grinned, leveling my breath, then leaned in, whispering in her ear, “From now on, I don’t give a fuck who in this house. You need dick? You come to me. You act up? I’ll bend you over wherever we're standing. Understand?”
“You talkin’ like this the last time?” she said in what sounded like a disappointed tone.
“Nah… first of many.”
And just like that, I picked her up again, took her back to bed, still inside her, because one round wasn’t enough.