Chapter 35
The sun was just beginning to hide behind the clouds when Tasha heard the knock.
She knew it couldn’t have been housekeeping.
This knock was slow and intentional. She opened the suite door, and there he stood.
Kenji. Fresh off the plane, wearing his team letterman jacket unbuttoned over a white tee, and grey sweats hanging low on his hips, with the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He looked tired... but damn good.
“Tired?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe, trying to keep her cool.
Kenji dropped the bag and pulled her close. “Tired as hell. But tired of missing you more, though.”
He kissed her, deep, slow, and heavy. The kind of kiss that made legs get weak. She wrapped her arms around his waist. “You hungry?”
“Yeah,” he whispered against her lips. “But not for food, Ms. Lady.”
She smirked. “Umm, Mr. Riggs, are you gettin’ fresh with me?”
“Sure am.”
Kenji stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind him. Tasha had the lights dimmed low, soft R it was like someone worshipping.
He kissed her neck, kissed every surgery mark, every stroke down her stomach, every time he looked up at her like she was something worth holding onto.
She moaned as his mouth found her thighs, then lower.
He licked her slow at first, then deeper, gripping her legs like he was trying to hold her still.
She squirmed, hands in his curls, eyes rolling.
“Ken—ji…” she gasped. “Fuck…”
He pulled back, licking his lips. “Damn, this is the best meal I ever tasted.”
She laughed as she threw her head back, “Then make sure you don’t leave no crumbs, baby.”
Kenji slid into her warm, wet center, causing her to freeze.
Kenji had Tasha feeling like a born-again virgin.
She hasn’t been intimate with anyone since Juelz.
A part of her was fighting against him, and the other part was pulling Kenji deeper with every thrust. Stroke by stroke.
Moan after moan. Her nails dug into his back, his forehead rested on hers, and for a second, the whole world disappeared.
No diagnosis. No heartbreak. No doctor’s appointments. Just them. Skin to skin, in the moment.
“Damn, Tasha,” he groaned, holding her tighter. “You feel so good. Look at me,” he said, voice low. “Let me see you feel all these inches in you.”
She did. Eyes glassy. Mouth open. Moaning his name loudly. He sped up, sweat dripping, grabbing her legs and pushing them back. He fucked her deeper, harder. Her body slapped against the sheets, the headboard tapping the wall. She was loud now, not holding back, and saying all kinds of shit.
“Right there, baby, Fuck, don’t stop—”
“I’m not,” he growled, biting her neck. “This is mine now. Say it.”
“It’s yours, yasss. Fuck… it’s yours…”
He was flipping her over, bending her forward, and beating the pussy from behind with one hand around her throat while the other one was on her waist. The sounds in that room? Filthy. Wet. Loud. Real. Tasha damn near lost her voice screaming and moaning.
It was messy, emotional, beautiful.
Kenji's teeth bit down on his lip. “Fuckkk… Ms. Lady. I feel you wetting all this dick up, baby. That’s it… Put all that shit on me.”
She was too far gone to think straight. So far in the zone, she wasn’t even in the room anymore.
Her eyes were rolling. Legs shook, her voice was breaking. “Yasss… I’m cumming, Jueee…yasss… Jueee!”
Kenji froze. His strokes stopped. Tasha’s eyes flew open, heart dropping.
“Wa…wait. I didn’t mean… Kenji, I swear I—”
He slid out of her slowly, not saying a word at first. Just looked at her as he sat on his knees.
That calm, unbothered energy? It was gone now. Kenji froze. He rubbed his face, letting out a low, breathless laugh. Not funny-ha-ha but pain-ha-ha. The kind that stung.
“Damn,” he muttered, grabbing his boxers off the floor. “That’s wild. Tasha. That’s really fucked up.”
Tasha reached for him, voice shaky. “Plea—please don’t leave like that. I wasn’t thinkin’, I—”
“Nah, you were thinking,” he cut in, eyes cold now. “Just not about me.”
Tasha sat on the edge of the bed, the sheet clutched to her chest. “Kenji—please don’t. That wasn’t on purpose. I wasn’t even thinkin’, I swear.”
He turned, slowly. Face unreadable. Hurt wrapped in calm.
“You called me another man’s name while I was inside you, Tasha.
And not just any man.” His voice was low and controlled.
That calm-before-the-storm type of tone.
“Your fucking ex. Do you know how crazy that sounds?” He exhaled loudly, looking at her with so much disappointment in his eyes. “Come on, yo.”
She jumped up, not caring that she was still naked. “I ain’t been with nobody since him. Not even touched. Not kissed. Nothin’. This was real to me, Kenji.”
His jaw clenched.
Tasha’s eyes brimmed. “You think I wanted to say that name? Hell no. My body just got ... it got confused.” Her voice cracked. “But it wasn’t him I was seein’. It was you. I swear it was you.”
Kenji stared at her for a long second. “You still in love with him? Aren’t you?”
She didn’t answer right away. And that was enough. He got out of bed and started putting his clothes back on. He grabbed his things off the chair and placed them back into his bag.
“Kenji, please listen—” she stepped in front of him, still clutching the sheet around her, palms on his chest. “I’m tryin’. I’m healin’. I’m, I’m, learnin’ how to let somebody love me other than him. This meant something to me.” She grabbed his wrist. “Bare with me.”
He looked down at her hands, then up into her eyes. “I know it did. That’s why this shit hurt more.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “So you just gon’ leave me after this?”
He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I’m not leaving you. But I’mma fall back for a minute. 'Cause I need to know you fuck with me for me. And not just 'cause I came around when the last man broke you.”
Tasha blinked back tears, trying to avoid looking him in the eyes.
Kenji stepped back, with his duffle bag in hand. “I'll be around when you're ready, okay?”
And just like that, the door shut behind him.
Leaving her standing in the middle of the dim room, naked, shaking, and wishing she could snatch Juelz’s name back out of the air.
But it was already too late. She went and fell face first on the bed, screaming into the pillow. “Damn you, Juelz. FUCKKK!”