Chapter 2
PRIME
I took the stairs two at a time, moving fast but controlled.
The music was loud enough to drown out most sound, but I could still track Farah’s location by the way people moved around her, giving her space because she was stumbling, or giving her attention because even drunk and sloppy, she was still fine.
Farah was thick as hell and had the sexiest pair of lips. But she was forbidden fruit.
By the time I hit the main floor, she was near the bar, swaying between those two niggas like a rag doll. One of them had his hand on her lower back, fingers spread too wide. The other was leaning in close, saying something that made her giggle.
I moved through the crowd like water, people parting without even realizing why. Maybe it was the look on my face. Maybe it was just instinct. Either way, I was on them in seconds.
“Farah.”
Her head snapped up, eyes unfocused but recognition immediate. “Prime!”
She threw herself at me, nearly falling in the process. I caught her by the arms, steadying her, and the smell of alcohol hit me like a wall. Vodka, probably. Mixed with something sweet that wasn’t doing her any favors.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here!” She was loud, slurring, hands grabbing at my chest. “I’ve been texting you, did you get my texts?”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t responded to a single one.
The two men she’d been with stepped closer, territorial. The taller one, dark-skinned with a fitted cap pulled low, looked annoyed. “Yo, we was in the middle of something.”
“Nah,” I said, my eyes on him. “You done.”
Farah was still hanging on me, practically draped across my chest. “You guys are so nice,” she slurred, looking back at them with a drunken smile. “Can we all go back to somebody’s place? Like, all of us?”
My jaw clenched.
“Walk away,” I said to the men, my voice low enough that they had to strain to hear it over the music.
The shorter one, lighter-skinned with a fade and too much jewelry, squinted at me. Then his eyes widened. “Yo… you—you Prime Banks?”
“Yeah.”
He took a step back immediately, hands up. “Aight, man. My bad. We good. We good.”
But his boy wasn’t moving. The tall one with the fitted cap looked me up and down, then looked at Farah like she was something he’d already claimed. “Nah, fuck that. She came with us. She wanted to come with us.”
“Bruh,” the shorter one hissed, grabbing his arm. “Let it go. That’s Prime. Prime.”
“I don’t give a fuck who he is,” Cap Boy said, shaking him off. “She was leaving with us.”
I tilted my head slightly, still holding Farah upright with one arm. “Your boy’s smart. You should listen to him.”
“Fuck you.”
He swung.
Sloppy. Drunk. Slow.
I moved Farah to the side with one hand and ducked under his fist with ease.
Then I grabbed him by the collar and slammed my fist into his jaw.
Once. Twice. He stumbled back, and I followed, hitting him again, this time in the ribs.
He went down hard, and I was on him, fists connecting with bone and flesh in a rhythm I knew too well.
People screamed. The music didn’t stop, but bodies scattered, creating a circle around us.
I felt hands grabbing me—strong hands, familiar hands—pulling me back.
“Prime! Prime, chill!” Cannon’s voice.
“Get off him, man!” Quest.
Justice had his arms locked around my chest, dragging me backward while Cannon stepped between me and the dude on the ground, who was groaning, blood pouring from his nose.
I stopped resisting, breathing hard, adrenaline still pumping. The shorter guy was already helping his boy up, eyes wide with fear, mumbling apologies I couldn’t hear over the bass.
Security was moving in now, Uncle Levi’s guys, and they knew exactly who to grab. The two men were escorted out quickly, one of them limping, the other still apologizing.
I shook off Justice’s grip and turned around.
Farah was standing there, mascara running, eyes wide and wet, staring at me like I was some kind of hero.
“Prime,” she whispered.
“Come on,” I said, my voice rough. “I’m taking you home.”
I didn’t give Farah time to protest. I bent down, grabbed her by the waist, and tossed her thick ass over my shoulder in one smooth motion. Her weight was nothing to me, and she squealed, half in surprise, half in delight.
“Put me down!” She giggled, smacking my back with loose fists.
“Shut up,” I growled, nodding at my brothers who were watching with amused expressions. Quest gave me a knowing look that I ignored as I carried Farah through the club.
People stared. I didn’t give a fuck. I just needed to get her out of there before she got herself into more trouble.
Outside, the night air hit us both. I marched straight to my Bentayga and opened the door, then practically tossed her into the front seat, watching her flop onto the leather like a rag doll. I slammed the door shut, walked around, and slid behind the wheel.
“Where your dusty-ass friends at?” I asked, starting the engine.
Farah blinked at me, confused. “What friends?”
“The ones you came with. The ones who let you get this fucked up and left you with those wolves.”
She shrugged, head lolling to the side. “Don’t know. They probably still inside.”
I shook my head, disgusted. “That’s what’s wrong with y’all nowadays. Women supposed to look out for each other. You don’t leave your homegirls drunk and alone in a club full of niggas looking to take advantage.”
“I wasn’t alone,” she slurred, smiling. “I was with those guys.”
“Those guys?” I turned to face her fully. “Farah, those niggas was about to run a train on you. You so drunk you can barely stand, and they was taking you somewhere to do God knows what. You lucky I was there.”
Instead of looking alarmed, she reached over and stroked my arm.
“Thank youuuu,” she purred, dragging out the word.
“My hero. You’re so pretty, Prime. Has anyone ever told you that?
Those eyes… like the ocean. And these…” She reached up and touched one of my locs, letting it slide between her fingers. “So sexy.”
I pulled away, putting the car in drive. “Stop.”
“Why?” She pouted, her hand now on my thigh. “Don’t act like you don’t want me.”
Her touch sent heat through my body, but I forced myself to focus on the road.
Farah was fine as hell, had been since she was sixteen, which was exactly when I’d made myself scarce around her.
Thick in all the right places, lips that begged to be kissed, skin smooth like caramel.
But she was Rashid’s daughter. And that made her off-limits for life.
“I’m not playing with you,” I said, gripping the wheel tighter as I navigated through the nighttime traffic. “Your father would kill me. And then he’d kill you.”
“My father doesn’t have to know everything.” Her hand crept higher on my thigh, and I swear I felt my blood pressure spike. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Prime. So long.”
I grabbed her wrist, maybe harder than I should’ve, and put her hand back in her own lap. “Your father raised me when I had nobody. He taught me everything I know about being a man.”
“So what? That doesn’t mean you can’t fuck his daughter.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her boldness. “That’s exactly what it means.”
“Why?” She turned in her seat to face me, makeup streaked down her face, but still somehow gorgeous. “You think my father would disown me if he found out I let those guys run a train on me?”
“Yes.” I didn’t hesitate. “And he’d be right to.”
“So what?” She tossed her hair, defiant even in her drunken state. “I’m grown.”
I shook my head. “You say that now, but when you don’t have that cute little penthouse he pays for or that Mercedes you driving around in, you’ll be singing a different tune.”
That seemed to hit a nerve. She crossed her arms, pouting. “I have my own money.”
“Sure you do.”
“You should take care of me, Prime,” she said suddenly, her voice dropping to that sultry tone that made my dick twitch despite my best efforts. “I’d let you do anything to me. Anything.”
I ignored her, focusing on the road. The faster I got her home, the better.
“You know what I want to do right now?” She leaned closer, her breath hot against my ear. “I want to suck your dick so bad, Prime. I bet it’s big. I bet it tastes good. I could just slide down right now and—”
“Yo, shut the fuck up!” I slammed my palm against the steering wheel, making her jump. “I swear to God, Farah, one more word and I’ll put duct tape on your mouth and throw your ass in the trunk.”
Instead of being scared, her eyes lit up. “Ooh, I’m always down for some BDSM. Tie me up, daddy.” I felt a vein throbbing in my forehead.
“And then I’ll deliver you to your father’s doorstep and tell him everything that just happened.
Every. Fucking. Detail.” She paused for maybe ten seconds.
Then, because she couldn’t help herself, she reached over and grabbed my thigh again.
“Come on, Prime. Just one kiss. Nobody has to know. I promise I won’ tell—”
That was it.
I pulled over at the next red light, put the car in park, and got out. Her eyes went wide as I opened her door.
“What are you—”
I didn’t give her time to finish. I scooped her up out of the passenger seat, walked to the back of the car, and popped the trunk.
“Prime! Prime, wait! I’m sorry!” She was squealing now, half-laughing, half-panicking.
“Told you to shut up.” I deposited her in the trunk as gently as I could manage given the circumstances.
“Maybe now you’ll learn to listen.”
“It’s dark in here!”
“Good. Think about your life choices.”
I slammed the trunk shut, got back in the driver’s seat, and pulled off as the light turned green.
From the trunk, I could hear muffled yelling, then banging. Then nothing. She was cussing me out, calling me every name in the book. I turned up the music and kept driving.
After about ten minutes, the noise stopped. Either she’d given up or passed out. I didn’t really care which.