Chapter 34
SOLEI
I packed up my office by noon, boxing up personal items like photos of the kids, a few books, and my framed law degree.
Standing in the doorway of my office, I just looked around for a moment before closing the door behind me.
The hallway felt longer than usual as I left, feeling eyes on me as I passed. I held my head high, though.
I made it to the elevator, pressed the button for the parking garage, and finally let myself breathe. My phone was in my hand, texting Money’s regular phone before the doors even closed.
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
I stared at those words, and something inside me broke.
After I hit the send button, I leaned back against the elevator wall and closed my eyes.
God, I needed him so badly it hurt. I barely remembered getting on the highway.
All I could think about was Money. His hands.
His mouth. His dick inside me, making me forget everything except how good he made me feel.
I was wound so tight I could barely breathe. I needed to forget all of it.
By the time I pulled into my building’s parking garage, my hands were shaking.
Then I saw Money leaning against his car near the entrance, dressed in a charcoal-gray suit that fit him like it was custom-made, because it probably was.
White dress shirt, no tie, top two buttons undone.
His watch caught the sunlight, and his chains glinted against his tattooed chest. He looked fine as hell.
Our eyes met through my windshield, and the intensity in his gaze made my breath catch. I parked, grabbed the box from the passenger seat, and got out. He was already moving toward me.
“What’s good? His eyes dropped to the box in my arms, then back to my face. “What happened at work?”
“Not here.” My voice was tight. “Inside.” He took the box from me without asking, his jaw clenched, and followed me into the building.
The elevator door opened instantly as someone stepped off, nodding politely.
“They suspended me,” I said finally, staring at the numbers climbing. “Pending internal review.”
“Motherfuckas.”
“I’m upset but… maybe this break is what I needed.” I looked at him. “My mental needs a break.” The elevator doors opened, and we walked out. Once we made it to my front door, I pulled my keys out of my Birkin bag with trembling hands.
Money gently took the keys from me and said, “I gotchu.” He unlocked the door, and we walked inside before putting the box down on the entryway table.
I dropped my purse onto the island in the kitchen and immediately reached for the bottle of wine in the fridge. I didn’t even bother to grab a glass. I just guzzled straight from the bottle.
“Soul.” He called out to me, hands on my waist, pulling me closer. His eyes searched mine. “What do you need from me?” he asked.
“You,” I whispered. “I just need you.” His hands framed my face as he kissed me. “Mmm,” I moaned into the kiss, my hands fisting in his suit jacket.
“Where?” he murmured against my lips.
“Everywhere.”
He lifted me onto the island as I set the bottle of wine down. His hands were already pushing my skirt up over my hips and pulling my panties down. His fingers found me wet and ready, and I cried out. He dropped to his knees, and I braced for impact.
His mouth was hungry as his tongue circled my clit like he was savoring every inch of me. He groaned against my skin, the vibration sending shockwaves through my body. He did it again, and my hips bucked involuntarily. Spitting, he slurped on my pussy, licking and teasing.
I whimpered, my hands holding the back of his head. “Please…”
“Already?” His voice was muffled against me, but I could hear the smirk in it.
“Please, Money, I need…”
“I know what you need.” His tongue flicked directly over my clit, quick and precise, and I cried out. His hands slid under my ass, lifting me closer to his mouth, and he buried his face deeper.
“Oh God…” My back arched off his tongue pushed inside me, fucking me with slow, deep tongue strokes.
Money groaned again, the sound primal and hungry.
“So fuckin’ wet, baby.” He alternated between sucking and licking, his tongue moving in circles, then flicking rapidly, then pressing hard and flat.
He knew exactly what he was doing–building me up, bringing me to the edge, then pulling back just enough to keep me from falling over.
But when he slid two fingers inside me, curling them just right as his tongue swirled my clit, I lost it.
“Yessss! God, yes…” The orgasm slammed into me without warning. I screamed his name, my thighs clamping around his head, my entire body convulsing. He didn’t stop or even slow down. His fingers kept pumping, his tongue kept working, drawing out every last wave of pleasure until I was sobbing.
“Moneyyyy…” I moaned, rotating my hips, grinding onto his tongue.
“Give me another one, baby.” His tongue was relentless now, licking and sucking with renewed intensity. His fingers moved faster, deeper, and I felt the pressure building again, impossibly fast. “That’s it,” he growled against me.
“Oh fuuucckkk… babeeee…”
“Mmm. I miss hearin’ you call me that. Cum on my tongue.”
And I did. The second orgasm was even more powerful than the first, ripping through me like lightning. My vision blurred, my ears rang, and I couldn't breathe. Money kept going, his mouth and fingers working in perfect rhythm, wringing every last drop of pleasure from my body.
When I finally came down, I was gasping, my entire body limp and trembling.
He pressed soft kisses to my inner thighs, my hips, my stomach, giving me a moment to recover.
“Feelin’ better?” he asked, his voice softer now.
My legs were shaky, my body still trembling from the orgasms. I couldn’t even speak.
I could only nod. “Come here,” he commanded, his voice low and dangerous.
He helped me down off the island, turning me around. And as I placed my palms flat against the island, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. He kissed my ass cheeks as I heard him fumbling with his belt and the zipper of his slacks.
“Money,” I panted, damn near begging him to fuck me.
“Look at you,” he murmured, his hands sliding up my thighs, gripping my hips.
Then, I felt the head of his dick pressing against me, and I pushed back, desperate, needing him inside me again. He plunged inside me, and I cried out. “Mmm!
“Fuck, Soul.” His grip tightened on my hips, his fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.
He didn’t give me time to adjust. Money just started moving, hard and deep and relentless, each thrust hitting something inside me that made my eyes roll back.
The angle was deep, and I could feel every inch of him.
“Yesss! Right there!”
“Right there, baby?” His hand came around to rub my clit, and I nearly collapsed. “Nah, you needed this, remember?”
I was sobbing now, pleasure and emotion mixing until I couldn’t tell them apart. This was what I’d been running from. This intensity. This connection. This felt like I was being split open and remade into something that belonged only to him. “Moneyyy… I’m gonna cummm…”
“In a minute.” He pulled out suddenly, and I whimpered at the loss of warmth. Then, I felt his hands on my ass, spreading me open, and his mouth was on my asshole, licking feverishly.
“My Goddd…” His tongue was everywhere–licking, sucking my ass and my pussy, devouring me like a man starved. He stood up, and before I could catch my breath, he slammed back inside me. “Babeee… fuuucckkkk!”
“You know what the fuck it is.” His hand came down on my ass, and slapping is hard. He did it again, harder this time, and I felt the heat spreading across my skin. “Pussy always gon’ be mine.”
I was pushing back against him now, meeting each thrust, desperate for more. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, mixing with my moans and his groans.
“That’s it, baby," he growled. “Fuck me back. Show me how much you want this dick.” His other hand reached around, finding my breast, pinching my nipple hard enough to make me gasp.
“Montana!”
“I know.” He pinched harder, rolling the sensitive flesh between his fingers. “I know exactly what you need.” He was right. He always knew how to touch me, how to fuck me, and how to make me lose my damn mind.
“Cum on this dick, Soul.”
“Mmm… yesss…” I came so hard I saw white, my entire body shaking, my pussy clamping down on him like a vice.
“Fuuckkk,” His rhythm faltered, his grip on my hips becoming almost painful.
He groaned, low and guttural, and I felt him pulse inside me, hot and deep, as he emptied himself.
We stayed like that for a long moment, both of us breathing hard, his body draped over mine, his dick still inside me.
“I love you,” he whispered against my shoulder. “I’ll never stop.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “I know.”
“Say it back.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of those words, the truth of them. “I love you too,” I whispered. “God help me. I’ll never stop either.”
???
We lay on the sectional couch in silence, our fingers interlocked, both of us in our thoughts.
My body was still humming from what we’d just done in the kitchen and in the living room.
My legs were still trembling. I could feel him inside me and on my skin.
The sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and all I could focus on was the weight of his hand in mine and the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Then, Money broke the silence with three words. “I did it.” His voice was low, rough from exertion and emotion.
I turned my head to look at him. “Did what?”
He stared at the ceiling for a moment, his jaw tight, then looked at me. “I set everything up for Check and Tip to take over.”
I went still. “What?”
“I’m out, Soul. No more overseein’ product, no more territories, no more crew meetin’s, no more front businesses. My niggas are gon’ handle it. It’s done.”
I couldn’t breathe for a second. I pushed myself up on one elbow, staring down at him. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.” His dark eyes held mine. “I promised you and I meant it this time.”
“When did…?”
“Solidified everything this mornin’.”
My mind was racing. “Money, are you sure?”
“I know what you’re thinkin’. That I’m gon’ miss it and that I can’t really walk away.” His hand tightened around mine. “But I’m done, baby. I’m really fuckin’ done.”
I searched his face, looking for the lie, the hesitation, the crack that would tell me this was temporary.
I didn’t find it. I was quiet for a long moment, processing.
Then, I kissed him deep and hard, pouring everything I couldn’t say into that kiss.
When I pulled back, his eyes were dark and intense.
“What the fuck took you so long?” I whispered. “And why did it take all of this? The arguments, the separation, and me almost marrying someone else for you to finally do what you should’ve done years ago?”
Money was silent for a moment. Then he exhaled slowly, his free hand cupping my face.
‘Cause I was scared of bein’ a nobody again.
” His voice was raw. “Of goin’ broke. Of losin’ everything I built.
Of not bein’ able to provide for you and the kids the way I wanted to.
I was scared of you lookin’ at me different when I wasn’t that nigga anymore. ”
My chest tightened. “Money…”
“I know how it sounds,” he said quietly.
“But that’s the fuckin’ truth. I was terrified of goin’ back to bein’ just another broke nigga from the hood with nothin’ to offer you.
The game gave me money, power, and respect–everything I thought I needed to keep you.
And I was scared that without it, I’d lose you. ”
“You almost lost me because of it,” I said, my voice shaking.
“I know.” His thumb brushed my cheekbone. “I see that shit now. But back then? I thought the empire was what made me worthy of you. I thought if I stopped, if I went legit, you’d see me for what I really was–just some corner boy who got lucky.”
Tears burned my eyes. “You were never just some corner boy to me, babe.”
“I know that now too.” He pulled me down until my forehead rested against his. “But fear makes you stupid, Soul. Makes you hold on to shit that’s killin’ you ‘cause you’re too scared to let go, and I held on too long. Way too fuckin’ long. I’m sorry.”
A tear slipped down my cheek. “Apology accepted.”
We stayed like that for a long while, foreheads pressed together, breathing each other in.
Then Money tapped my thigh so I could move, and he got up from the couch.
I watched him walk into the kitchen, reach for his slacks, and pull out a tiny black box.
When he walked back into the living room, he handed it to me.
“What’s this?” I asked, eyebrows furrowed as I took it.
He nodded for me to open it, and when I did, my breath was snatched from me. It was a platinum 3-stone oval diamond ring. I quickly looked up at him, sitting all the way up on the couch. He took the ring out of the tiny black box and reached for my shaky hand to slip it onto my finger.
“Marry me again. Big weddin’. Kids involved. Whatever you want.”
I stared at the ring, my heart pounding. “Money…”
“I need you, baby. I need you real bad. Say yes.”
I looked down at the ring in his palm. “What if we fuck up again?”
“We won’t. I won’t. Marry me again, Soul. Please, baby.” His hand cupped my face again, and he kissed my lips. “You already know I’m not lettin’ you go. Ever. You’re my wife. I want you back home. Us in therapy. Whatever it takes. Soul.”
I stared at him, at the man I’d loved and hated and couldn’t escape no matter how hard I tried. Then, I exhaled deeply, wiping the tears that slipped onto my cheeks. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed, my voice barely above a whisper.
He pulled me up from the couch, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I love you,” he said against my mouth.
“I love you too.” I kissed him deeply. “Now, which one of us is picking up the kids?”
Money laughed, head back and all. “We both should get them.” His hands slid down my back, gripping my hips, pulling me closer.
“I think they would love that.” This moment was beautiful and everything I could have lowkey hoped for. But, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think of Darius. Now, more than ever, I knew that I owed him closure.