Chapter 28 #2
“I know.” His hands slid down my sides, under the water.
“But right now, I need you, and I know you need me, too.” He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around him instinctively while my arms draped over his shoulders.
The water supported us both, made everything feel weightless and possible.
“Tell me what you need, baby,” he murmured, sliding the bikini bottom to the side and positioning himself at my entrance.
“I need…” He pushed into me slowly, and I gasped.
“I’m listenin’.”
“Shit… mmm… I need you to ask me… real things.”
“Like what, baby?”
“Like…” I moved against him, finding the rhythm. “Like how my day was. Fuck… and… asking me if I’m alright.”
Money plunged deeper. “What else?”
“God!” I moaned, biting down on my bottom lip. “Asking me… what you can help with when it… mmm, fuucckkk… when it comes to the kids.”
“Fuck, Soul.” Sucking on my bottom lip, he rotated his hips, gripping my ass as he drove in and out of my pussy. “What else do you need from me, baby?”
“Moneyyyy,” I whispered against his lips, wrapping my arms tighter around his neck. “I need… I need… you to actually give a shit about what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling.”
He stilled for a moment, then nodded. “I gotchu. Tell me what else?”
“Fuck. I need you, Money. But… different. Better.”
“I’m gonna be better, baby.” He started moving faster and deeper, and I could feel the tension building in my core. I pulled back to look at him, to see his face.
“The lying… has to stop. Mmm… the control. The way you make decisions for me… oooh, shit… like I’m not strong enough to make them myself. Fuck… it all has to stop.”
“Goddamn,” he groaned, and I wasn’t sure if it was from intense pleasure or the weight of what I was saying. Probably both. “I gotchu, baby. I promise.”
“Are you? Or are you just saying that because you’re inside me?”
“Both,” he admitted, and I almost laughed. At least he was honest. “But I mean it, Soul. For you and my kids, I’ll be better. I fuckin’ love you.”
“I know you do.” I kissed him, tasting the whiskey on his tongue. He picked up the pace, and the water sloshed around us, splashing against the pool walls. My breasts bobbed with each thrust, and he lowered his head, taking a nipple into his mouth. “Oh God,” I moaned.
“Like that, baby?”
“Yes. Don’t stop!” He didn’t. He switched to the other breast, his hands gripping my ass, pulling me down onto him harder.
“Yessss…”
“Cum on this dick, baby.”
I came hard, my body shaking, my walls clenching around him. He groaned my name, and I felt him follow me over the edge, his release hot inside me even in the cool water. We floated there for a moment, both breathing hard, both trying to process what had just happened.
“That was…” I started.
“Different,” he finished, resting his forehead against mine.
“Yeah.”
“Good different?”
I pulled back to look at him, really look at him. His eyes were soft, and he had that satisfied look on his face. I’d missed that look. “Yeah,” I said. “Good different.”
He kissed my forehead, then my nose, then my lips. “I meant what I said about listenin’ and doin’ better."
“I hope so, and I’m trying to believe that,” I replied honestly.
He nodded, accepting that. “That’s better than nothin’.”
The water rolled slowly off my skin while Money guided me up the submerged pool steps with one heavy hand spread across my lower back.
The moonlight bouncing across the pool made everything look unreal.
And then there was him… dripping wet. Gold and platinum chains glint against chocolate, tattooed skin.
Swim trunks hanging low on his hips, while he looked down at me like he still couldn’t believe I was standing there in front of him after everything we’d put each other through.
I wrapped my arms around myself as Money grabbed one of the oversized towels from the nearby chair. “Come here,” he muttered, gentle in that dangerous way only he could pull off.
He stepped behind me and draped the warm towel around my shoulders before pulling me back against his chest. I felt him press a kiss against the side of my damp neck. He rubbed his hands slowly up and down my arms, drying me off himself.
I turned my head slightly to look at him. “Why are you being so gentle with me right now?”
That made him chuckle. “I fuckin’ miss you. That’s all. And you deserve this.” For a few seconds, neither one of us said anything, just watching the beach waves up ahead crashing. Then, Money tilted his head toward the villa. “Call your mom’s.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Call her.” He shrugged casually. “I know she’ll get worried.” I turned in his arms and stared at him suspiciously. His mouth twitched instantly like he already knew what I was thinking. “Why are you lookin’ at me like that?” he asked, amused.
“What’s your angle?”
That earned me another laugh. “Ain’t no angle, Soul.” He slid the towel tighter around me, tucked his finger under my chin to bring my face closer. Kissing my lips, he said softly, “Go call her and text your girls, too. I’m gon’ hit the shower.”. The tenderness in his voice made my chest ache.
He grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers naturally, and led me back inside the villa. Money walked straight toward the kitchen island and reached into one of the drawers before tossing something lightly onto the counter in front of me. A burner phone.
I looked up at him and tilted my head, playfully rolling my eyes. “You’re giving me the federal prison special now?” He chuckled, kissed my forehead, and disappeared up the stairs, leaving me staring at the phone as my mind traveled back in time.