Sonnet Ellison
My head hurt before I even opened my eyes. Pieces of last night came back slowly, and I smiled into the pillow. Being with Dior had made me feel normal again. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed his presence.
Vega was fine, the sex was incredible, and being around him could be a good time when neither of us was worried about somebody trying to kill me.
Still, my life hadn’t felt like mine since he stepped into it.
I wasn’t the girl who entertained a fine gangster and got good dick.
I didn’t sleep in expensive hotels or ride around the city with fine niggas in expensive cars.
Everything about my life currently felt foreign.
Dior reminded me of who I had been before murder, guns, and men with enough power to erase people came into my life.
I reached behind me because I didn’t feel Vega’s arm around my waist, as usual.
I opened my eyes and rolled over. He was lying on his back beside me, scrolling through his phone.
The lines across his forehead weren’t as deep as they had been before Lowe’s prognosis improved.
Some of the strain had left his expression, but the worry remained.
I knew that was because my life was still in danger.
As if he felt me watching him, Vega set his phone on the covers and turned toward me with a shit-eating grin spread across his face. “Good morning.”
I squinted at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
His smile deepened. “You don’t remember?”
My stomach flipped nervously. “Remember what?”
“You told me you loved me in the car last night.”
I pulled the covers over half of my face. “I did not.”
“You did. Right before you fell back asleep on my shoulder.”
Embarrassment rushed into my cheeks. I stared at the covers between us, wishing they could swallow me. “I was drunk,” I muttered.
“Were you lying, though? A drunk mind speaks a sober truth.”
I peered at him “I wasn’t lying.”
His teasing grin faded, and vulnerability settled into his eyes. His lips parted, but he remained silent, staring at me as if my admission had reached a part of him he feared.
“I love you,” I admitted. “I feel silly saying it because this happened fast, and none of it makes sense. I shouldn’t love you already, but I do.”
Vega’s eyes stayed on mine. The silence made me want to snatch the words back, but he reached over and pushed the strands away from my face that had fallen out of my bonnet.
“Loving you gave my enemies something they can use against me. I knew that before I let myself do it. I did it anyway.”
My entire body softened against the mattress. That was his confession. Vega wasn’t going to dress it up or make it pretty. He gave me his sentiments in words that sounded exactly like him.
“Anybody trying to get to you will have to survive me first.”
The promise frightened me more than it comforted me. “I don’t want you dying to prove you love me. I want you alive long enough to build a future with me.”
His mouth curved into a smile. “That sounds good coming from my woman.”
I frowned playfully. “When did I agree to that title?”
“The morning you chose to give me that pussy.”
“Having sex with you didn’t make you my owner.”
“I agree.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“You chose to own my heart. That makes you responsible for it. So, you’re mine.”
Blushing, I admitted, “Loving you gave me the first family I’ve ever been afraid to lose.”
His hand closed around my waist, fingers digging into my skin with a possessive grip as he pulled me on top of him beneath the covers.
Our warm bodies pressed together, and we collided in a kiss that was hungry.
Our tongues tangled in a desperate, wet rhythm.
His hands traveled over the curve of my back, sliding down to cup my ass and squeeze hard, hauling me closer until there was no space left between us, my breasts crushing against his hard chest.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips.
His fingers slid under my bonnet and into my hair, tugging my head back slightly to expose my throat. “I love you too.”
Hearing those words made my sight blur, and a surge of emotion crashed over me that only intensified the ache between my thighs. I kissed him harder, feeling my body and heart crave him.
He rolled us over in one fluid motion, pinning me to the sheets and settling his heavy weight between my thighs. His lips moved along my jaw and down my neck, sucking a dark mark into the sensitive skin of my shoulder while my arms wrapped tightly around his neck, pulling him deeper into me.
“Dillo di nuovo. (Say it again),” I whispered, arching my back as his hand slid down, brushing against my clit through the thin fabric of my panties.
“Ti amo, Occhiali. (I love you, Glasses).”
His tongue swept across my lips before he moved down to capture a nipple.
He sucked it deep into his mouth. I gasped, and my hips jerked upward, desperate for the feeling of his dick thrusting in me.
He took his time. His touch was worshipful.
He reached down, hooked his fingers into the waistband of my panties and ripped them aside to expose my soaking wet pussy to the cool air.
He didn't rush. He leaned down, and I could feel his breath hot against my inner thigh before his tongue flicked against my clit.
I cried out, and my fingers clutched the sheets as he licked me with slow, rhythmic strokes, swirling around my nub and then diving deep inside me, his tongue mimicking the motion of a dick.
I was shaking, my walls pulsing around the void where he should be.
Vega looked up at me, and his eyes were filled with lust and devotion. He reached down and freed his dick from his boxers. He guided the head of his dick to my entrance, rubbing it against my swollen folds, teasing me until I was sobbing for him.
“Please, Vega...,” I breathed.
He pushed inside me in one slow, agonizingly perfect thrust. I felt every inch of him stretching me open, filling me completely.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking him in as he began to move.
It wasn't fast; it was a slow, grinding friction that hit every nerve ending.
He sank deep, causing his balls to slap against my ass, before pulling back nearly all the way and plunging back in.
“Ti amo tantissimo. (I love you so much.).” My voice shook as the pleasure peaked.
“I love you too.”
He picked up the pace. His thrusts became harder and more urgent. The sound of our bodies slapping together filled the room. He gripped my hips, anchoring me as he hammered into me, his dick rubbing against my G-spot with every deep drive.
The feeling of him filling me and the overwhelming intensity of his love caused a tight coil of tension that suddenly snapped, sending waves of electricity crashing through my pussy.
I clamped around him, my walls squeezing his shaft in tight, rhythmic pulses.
Vega let out a guttural roar, his body stiffening as he delivered one final, deep thrust and came hard inside me, filling me.
I flipped the visor down for the third time and leaned closer to the mirror. My hair looked the same as it had five minutes ago, but I ran my fingers through it again, checked my lip gloss, then adjusted my glasses.
Vega glanced over from the driver’s seat. “Fixing the same piece of hair ten times ain’t changing nothing.”
I narrowed my eyes at him before returning to the mirror.
His mother had invited everyone over for brunch, and Vega had insisted that I come, which meant that I was about to meet his parents.
He reached over and closed the visor. “Stop.”
“I wasn’t finished.”
“Why you nervous? You already met half my family.”
“Meeting your cousins and brother isn’t the same as meeting your parents.”
“My parents are cool as hell. They’re gonna love you.” Then he kissed my fingers before pulling into the driveway. “You think too much.”
“Duh.”
He laughed and parked behind a row of cars. “You look beautiful. Stop stressing.”
We got out of the car, and I followed Vega toward the house on shaky legs.
I’d never been in a relationship serious enough to meet anyone’s parents, much less sit down and share a meal with their entire family.
I felt completely out of my league, but Vega kept my hand in his as he let us into the house, rubbing his thumb across the back of it.
Voices and laughter carried through the house as soon as we stepped inside. Music played near the kitchen, people talked over one another, and the smell of bacon, potatoes, syrup, and cinnamon filled the air.
A woman with Vega’s eyes came around the corner before we reached the dining room. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw me. I recognized her as his mother from the pictures Vega had shown me.
She smiled from ear-to-ear. “You must be Sonnet.”
“I hope so. Otherwise, you would have blew up my spot,” Vega muttered.
Renee playfully swatted at Vega while hugging me.
“Nice to meet you,” I told her.
“It’s so good to finally meet you.” She held my arms and looked me over. “Vega didn’t tell me you were this pretty.”
He smiled proudly as Sal came in behind her. I recognized him too, but Vega still made the introduction. “Sonnet, this is my father, Sal.”
Sal pulled me into a hug before I could offer my hand. “Welcome, baby girl. You hungry?”
The endearment caught me off guard. “Yes, sir.”
He playfully clutched his chest and winced as if he were offended. “Don’t call me ‘sir’. You’ll make me feel old.”
I giggled, saying, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t listen to him. He is old,” Renee said as she linked her arm through mine. “Come on.”
The dining room was crowded with familiar faces who were already eating. Wise, Prodigy, and Lux stood as soon as they saw me.
“What’s up, Sonnet?” Wise greeted, pulling me into a quick hug.
Prodigy hugged me next, and Lux came around the table to do the same before they returned to their seats. Denise moved her purse from the chair beside her, making room for me, while Sal set a glass of orange juice and a stacked plate in front of my seat before I could ask for anything.
Renee touched my shoulder, saying, “Vega told us so much about you. You graduated early, then earned your master’s. That’s impressive.”
“Very impressive,” Denise added. “I hope you’re proud of yourself, girl.” Then she sassily snapped her fingers.
Giggling, I replied, “I am. It took a lot of work.”
“I know that’s right,” Renee quipped. “I’m glad Vega chose an educated woman.”
Wise looked across the table at his cousin. “We all surprised.”
Vega frowned. “Why?”
“Because y’all seem like two completely different people,” Lux replied. “She looks like she spends Friday night reading research papers. You look like you spend yours in strip clubs.”
Vega coughed into his fist, disguising the words, “He does,” beneath it. The table laughed.
“He’s a nerd too,” I told the table.
Vega turned toward me. “Oh, you tellin’ business now?”
“Tell them how we can spend all day watching history documentaries” Then I told them, “He loves documentaries. And don’t let House of Dragons come on.”
Wise frowned at Vega. “House of Dragons, nigga?”
Vega waved him off. “Man, whatever. House of Dragons goes hard.”
Lux glanced at his phone when it vibrated, then set it back beside his plate with a smile. “Lowe just texted me and said for somebody to bring him a plate.”
The mention of Lowe took the smile off of Carla’s face. “I wish the police would find whoever shot my baby.”
I swooned at Carla referring to Lowe as “her baby”, even though she wasn’t even his mother.
Vega had told me that they told everyone Lowe had been caught in a drive-by. She didn’t know the men around the table knew far more than they could tell her.
Renee reached across and squeezed Carla’s hand. “They will.”
The conversation gradually returned, though the concern for Lowe and anger for who had done this to him remained on many faces.
Marcus looked from Vega and me to Wise, Knox, and Prodigy. “Since Vega finally found the one, when the rest of y’all settling down?”
Wise nodded toward Prodigy. “He already settled down. He spends more time with Novi than he does with us.”
Prodigy glared at him as Knox leaned back in his chair. “He ain’t lying. You might as well get over Arielle and move on if you feeling Novi.”
“Wait,” Denise cut in with a smile. “Who is Novi?”
“This woman temporarily living in one of my properties,” was all Prodigy informed her. Then he gave his attention to Wise and Knox. “I like Novi. I’m definitely attracted to her, and I enjoy being around her. But she got a lot going on. Her baby father dead, and she pregnant.”
Renee’s eyes widened. “My God. She does sound like a lot of drama.
Marcus shook his head. “A woman having a child doesn’t make her drama.”
“That wasn’t all he said,” Renee replied.
“I heard him.” Marcus looked at Prodigy. “When I met your mama, she was mourning the absence of your father. I raised another man’s baby with no hesitation because I loved my woman. “And nobody on this earth can tell me Prodigy isn’t my son.”
Denise’s expression softened into a swooning smile at her husband.
Prodigy’s eyes met Marcus’s full of respect and gratitude. “You my pops. Ain’t nobody questioning that.”
Marcus nodded once. “Then don’t let her situation deter you. Novi’s situation might be complicated, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth exploring.”
Knox pointed toward him. “That’s all I was saying.”
I watched them all with envy. I envied the history and security someone had always been there to catch them.
Then Renee placed another spoonful of fruit on my plate. “You like strawberries, right?”
My eyes widened then I smiled over at Vega while answering her, “Yes, ma’am.”
“And take some more bacon,” Sal added. “You hardly ate anything.”
Vega looked at my plate. “She got enough food.”
Sal waved him off. “Nobody’s talking to you.”
I smiled as Renee asked me about graduate school and Denise wanted to know what I did for a living. They listened to my answers and praised what I’d accomplished.
I hadn’t grown up with a family like this, but sitting beside Vega while his family fed me, bragged about my education, and included me without hesitation, I realized I might inherit one.
Their closeness didn’t only make me ache for what I’d missed; it also made me grateful for what I might finally have.