TWO DAYS LATER
“Your business names and business logos are everywhere, Jabari,” Camilla professed as we stepped inside of the banquet hall. Those were the most words she had spoken since I had picked her up. She had been unusually quiet tonight, and I figured she must have had a lot on her mind.
We were attending a corporate gala to raise funds for mental health programs. I had paid for a top-tier corporate table sponsorship for the gala that had live entertainment and high-visibility branding.
We had just arrived at the gala, but I had wanted to skip it in exchange for spending time with her.
I knew that I would have the rest of the night to spend with her, so I opted to attend.
Too much time had passed since I had seen Camilla. That was the reason that I didn’t do relationships; I never enjoyed missing someone. Yet, all I wanted was to be underneath her. The day my father popped up, I was heading out of town on a business trip later that night.
I had reached out to Camilla because I knew she could help me release the negative energy and the agitation that had been stirred up within me after my father’s visit.
When I couldn’t reach her, I had moved forward on my time with my friends that was already on the schedule.
Right after they left, I left the office, and I hadn’t had time to spend with Camilla.
The most I had been able to do was FaceTime her, but she informed me that she couldn’t chat for long.
She was in the middle of a major project for the magazine.
I respected and understood her need to focus on her business. We had spent a lot of time together, and I knew that could be detrimental when you were in the midst of expansion.
My phone chimed with an email notification from my private email as the hostess and host approached us. I frowned when I read the subject line: OPEN NOW.
It was from Cole.
“I didn’t think you would attend, Jabari,” Juliette Howell, the hostess, greeted me with an air kiss and a hug.
“You know I wouldn’t miss any event you put on, Juli,” I lied.
“I told you he would say that,” Steven Rawlins, the host, declared, laughing.
“Juli, Steve, this is Camilla Valentine, my date for the night. She’s also the founder and CEO of ColorMe CEO Magazine. Cami, this is Juliette Howell and Steven Rawlins. They are the CEO and COO of Coral Health, and they sit on the board of Grady Memorial Hospital,” I introduced.
“I know exactly who you are,” Juliette remarked, grinning broadly at Camilla. “And I love that dress you’re wearing.”
I loved the short, black, backless dress, too, but I couldn’t wait to get it off of her.
“If you will all excuse me, I have an urgent matter to attend to,” I apologized, dropping a kiss on Camilla’s lips.
They nodded and immediately went into conversation. I stepped away and held up one finger at a few business constituents who were trying to wave me down.
I opened the email and scrolled. There was no text, just pictures.
They were pictures of Camilla and my dad on the street just outside of my building.
From what he was wearing, I could tell that it was the same day he approached me for money.
There were more pictures of the two of them walking back to the parking lot, in her car, at the ATM down the street from the building, and at a coffee shop over on West College Avenue in Decatur.
What the fuck was this all about? I wondered.
My jaw clenched, and I hoped it wasn’t what it looked like, but one of the last pictures was damning.
She slid the money envelope across the table to him.
After that, there were a couple of photos of them leaving together, and then one of her dropping him off at the condo he lived in.
I hoped that he hadn’t done anything stupid, but I knew that it was too late for those sorts of thoughts and wishes.
I dialed a number.
“Hello?”
“Tyriq, I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I need you to get my pops off the streets for a while.”
“What’s a while?”
“Until you hear otherwise.”
“Done.”
“Also, there are some problems I need you to get rid of. He’ll give you the names.”
“Done.”
Tyriq was the last holdout that Jett, Kanaan, Regent, and I had from our street days. He still had eyes and ears in the streets, but he had a security firm that was very profitable for him now. He took care of anything we needed, whenever we needed.
I ended the call and took a few seconds to gather my composure.
I was pissed the fuck off because now I understood why she had been avoiding me.
It was clear what the major project she’d been working on had been: me.
The distance that I felt in her since picking her up made sense now.
Camilla knew my past or parts of it, and she was distancing herself while preparing to use that knowledge to further her own selfish agenda.
I returned to the conference room to find her talking with some other constituents. I pulled her away and took her around the room to introduce her to others. If this was the game she wanted to play, then I would make it easy for her, but she would pay a hefty price for her betrayal.
“You want to dance?” I asked her after a while.
“Sure.”
I pulled her onto the dance floor and rested my hand on her hips. She looked everywhere except in my eyes.
“Beautiful.”
“Yes?”
“What’s on your mind tonight? You’ve seemed distant for a while.”
She smiled shakily and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just thinking about some of the people that I’ve met tonight. I never dreamt that I would be in the same room as some of them, let alone have the conversations I’ve had.”
“You seem nervous, babe.”
“You’re introducing me to millionaires and billionaires. Excuse me if I’m out of my element tonight.”
I gripped her chin and turned her face toward me. “You sure that’s it?”
She laughed nervously and asked, “What else could it be?”
I covered her lips with mine in a kiss that was commanding and punishing at once. I bit her lip and then her tongue. When she tried to pull back, I gripped the back of her head and held her close. When I finished, I licked the spots that I knew were tender.
Her eyes searched mine, and she glanced around the room as though she wondered if anyone saw us. I turned her face back toward me.
“I missed you, gorgeous. All I’ve been thinking about are the things that I want to do to your body.”
She smiled and looked at me with a sad look. “I’ve missed you too.”
We danced some more, ate dinner, and chatted with several of the guests before I decided it was time to leave. I didn’t want to play the game much longer.
I leaned in toward her and cupped the back of her neck. I brushed my lips against her ear and asked, “Are you ready to leave, gorgeous?”
“So soon?”
“I told you that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on you. I’ve missed you, and I’d rather be in a room alone with you than here with a bunch of people I don’t give a shit about anyway.”
Her eyes widened as she looked up to see if the other guests at our table heard me. I didn’t give a damn if they did, but most of them would only kiss my ass anyway.
“Sure, Jabari.”
I looked up and around at the table. “We’re leaving for the night. You all enjoy the rest of your evening,” I announced.
“So soon?” Juliette asked.
“Yes. I’ve got some things I need to handle,” I explained.
“Told you he couldn’t keep his hands off her,” Steve declared.
“You owe me, buddy. I told you they wouldn’t last the entire night,” Vanessa James, CEO of HRWorx Solutions, declared.
“You bet on us?” Camilla asked in surprise.
Before they could respond to her, I wrapped my arm around her waist and led her away from the table. I waved to several people as we made our way out to the lobby. The band’s live music flowed out into the lobby as I pulled my phone from my pocket. I opened an app and set it to automate.
“They bet on us, Jabari,” Camilla declared in a disappointed tone.
“Are you surprised?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“I don’t know what you mean.” She pressed the elevator call button.
“Everyone can see how desperately I wanted to leave and how badly I fucking want you.” My dick pressed against her soft ass cheeks as I nipped at her earlobe.
“Not here, Jabari.”
“Why not here? Don’t you think it would be a turn-on to get caught?”
She gasped and tried to break free of my embrace. “No, Jabari.”
“Why not? I think it would make that pretty little pussy wet, just knowing that some of those same men who you were talking to would see you getting fucked.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking of—”
“I’m a possessive man, Camilla. I’m not into the kinkiness of letting people watch me fuck; but I suspect it’s a turn on for you.”
“It’s not,” she denied.
“Is that pussy wet underneath that short dress? Are you even wearing panties, Camilla?”
The elevator doors opened at the same time she released a hot little moan. In one quick move, I pushed her into the elevator with her back against the wall.
I reached inside my pocket and removed my phone. I pressed a button on the app and shoved my phone back into my pocket. No sooner than I did, the elevator stopped.
“What happened?”
I placed my hand around her neck and squeezed tightly before I brushed my lips casually against hers.
Camilla’s eyes lowered with lust, and she leaned in to fuse our lips.
“How loyal are you to me, Camilla?”
She jerked back with her eyes wide. “Very loyal to you.”
“Do you care about me, Camilla?”
She released a nervous laugh. “You know that I do.”
“Would you do anything for me?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“Of course. What’s going on, Jabari?”
“I care about you, and I would hate to lose you or find out that your feelings for me aren’t true.”
I licked the column of her neck and slid her dress up her hips.
“Mm, Jabari.” She moaned. “My feelings are real.”
“It’s not easy for me to open up to someone like this.”
“You can open up to me, baby.”
I slid my fingers into her panties and over the folds of her flesh. Just as I’d thought, she was wet as hell, and I had a feeling it was from the thought of being caught fucking.
“It’s been a long time. Men like me don’t get happily ever after, Camilla.”
“I c-c-could be happy with you,” she moaned as I slowly scissored my fingers inside of her tightness.
“I just want to know if I’m investing in this with you, that it’s real. That you will never betray me, . . . never hurt me, . . . and never fuck over me.” I stroked her walls with my fingers with each phrase I spoke.
“Ohh, God, Jabari.” She whimpered, and her body shook.
“I don’t take betrayal well.”
Her eyes widened, and I leaned in and bit her lip.
I pulled my fingers free from her pussy and sucked them clean, slowly, one finger at a time. I made damn sure that she didn’t break eye contact either. I wanted her to see my sexual behavior, but she also needed to see the danger in my eyes.
“S-s-someone might call for help if the elevator doesn’t start soon.”
“Nobody’s calling for anything, sweet girl.”
“How do you know?” she asked as I knelt.
“I have the app that controls the elevator, and I have an override button on it. Now that I’ve locked it down, no one can unlock it. Absolutely no one,” I explained, ripping her panties from her body.
A slight gasp escaped her parted lips, and she shook as I hooked her leg over my shoulder and rubbed her clitoris with my fingers.
“Why would you have that type of power, Jabari?”
“I own the fucking building, Cami.” I pinched her clitoris, and she cried out.
I clamped my mouth over her pussy and sucked it nice and slow. My tongue slayed her pussy as she plastered her back and arms against the elevator wall.
Camilla did a slow wind as her back slowly peeled away from the wall. Despite her betrayal, she wanted everything that I had to offer. If this were the last time we came together, I would make sure that she didn’t forget the power that I had over her body.
I gripped her ass and pulled her even closer. She was about to cum when I pulled back. I licked my lips that were coated with her essence, and I fingered her clitoris and stared into her bright eyes.
“Promise me that you’ll never fuck over me, Cami.”
“I swear, Jabari. Please let me cum,” she begged before she bit her bottom lip and arched her back.
I grabbed her hand and placed her fingers inside of herself. “Let me see you pleasure yourself, gorgeous.”
She fingered her treasure hesitantly before she succumbed to the pleasure and slid her fingers deeper inside. It wasn’t that she hadn’t pleasured herself before; I was certain she had, but it was more that she wasn’t sure how comfortable she would be allowing someone to watch her.
“You’re so beautiful like this. Beautiful little liar,” I grunted as I squeezed her wrist and went in to kiss her.
I removed her fingers and placed them in her mouth. While she cleaned them, I ate her pussy. Moments later, she screamed my name, begging me to cum.
“You don’t cum until I tell you that you can fucking cum. Got it?”
She nodded as she sobbed. I turned her around to face the back of the elevator, and I spread her legs wide. I smoothly pulled my dick free of my pants before I slid inside of her. She was dripping wet and hot.
“Oh, fuck, Jabari. Oh, shit,” she cried out, pressing back against me. I took her again and again, and I refused to let her release.
“Why are you edging me, Jabari?” she cried after I finally pulled out of her wet walls.
“On your knees.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Blackwood.”
She knelt before me and sucked my dick until I shot my hot release down her throat. She sucked it all, and this time, I didn’t take it back from her mouth.
“Swallow,” I ordered with my hand on her neck and the other hand putting my dick away.
“Yes, sir, Mr. Blackwood.”
I squeezed her throat while she struggled to swallow my cum. When I finished, I stood and pressed the resume button for the elevator to move again.
We arrived in the garage, and I led her to Creed, who waited for her in my Mercedes.
After I buckled her in, I looked down into her eyes and whispered, “Good night.”
“What are you doing? You’re not riding with me?”
“I have some unfinished business to handle tonight, sweetheart. We’ll talk later.”