Chapter 9 #2
“Anything you think I need to know. The point of this is for me to see what you’re about.” East laughed inwardly at his inquisition. Not once in his life could he ever remember openly asking a woman about herself.
Now, there were plenty who would toss facts at him that moved through his mental Rolodex and never once took up space.
He didn’t remember personal details about their lives, only the best angle to put a woman in so she could handle his deep stroke or her schedule so he knew when the optimal time to hit her up was.
Yet, here he was, specifically inquiring about Joi.
“Why do you want to see what I’m about if you don’t date? That’s something a man who wants more than sex does. That’s not you.”
East laughed hard, another thing he didn’t do often. It started from his core and pushed through his chest so fast he couldn’t curb it. “The fuck is that supposed to mean, shawty?”
“It means exactly what it means. You said you don’t date. That means your only intention with women is to have sex.”
“Damn, you really think very little of me. That’s your way of saying I’m shallow as fuck.”
“Shallow? That sounds dangerously close to being feminine, like the word hoe, which you told me not to use in reference to you.”
East laughed again but with a little less force behind it. “You got that, but you also get my point. I don’t just look at a woman and see pussy.”
“Then what else do you see?”
Joi was curious. It was her way of asking why he was so intrigued with her.
Aside from a few lewd comments, he hadn’t touched or handled her inappropriately.
Their situation had basically disproved her previous point, but she wouldn’t dare state it.
The idea made her feel special, and she wouldn’t dare relinquish that feeling, not until she had to.
“That’s a trick question.”
East grinned and raked his hand over his head. He had no idea why the conversation had him nervous, but it did. Maybe it was that he knew that being truthful would force him to admit he was feeling Joi in ways he wasn’t accustomed to.
“How so?” Her brows hiked while she waited.
“Because everything I see about you is physical. If I explain it, you’ll write it off as sex, but it’s not.”
Joi’s heart rate increased while she tossed around her next response. She was playing it cool, but internally, she was exploding like fireworks. “Maybe I won’t. Try me.”
East chuckled again and nodded. “I see your skin. You’re tatted, and even though those shits are girly as fuck, they’re still sexy and add another level to you. I have to fight the urge to touch you because it makes me want to explore all of you.”
East briefly dropped his head to get his smile under control.
It surfaced because he felt like a weak ass man who was trying to cake with a woman who was out of his league.
Spitting sweet shit he knew she wanted to hear, just to leverage better positioning to fuck her.
That wasn’t the case. East knew he could have Joi.
He could likely fuck her right now, in the restaurant full of people, so that wasn’t his motivation.
She was his motivation, everything about her, and that’s what had him smiling.
This shit is new. The fuck is wrong with me?
“And that’s not about sex?”
“Nah, it’s not. It’s just the truth. A man can explore a woman’s body without fucking her. That’s your nasty ass taking it there.”
“Says the man who wanted me to hurry so he could feed me and then maybe I would feed him,” Joi repeated, referring to his comment from earlier.
East chuckled and nodded before his eyes swept her body again. “Are you going to? I bet I could be between your legs for hours and never get enough?”
And I don’t even eat pussy.
“East!” Joi’s voice elevated as her eyes darted around, checking the few tables near them. Two older white couples were to the right but with two empty tables separating them on each side.
“The fuck you looking at them for? They don’t give a shit about me eating your pussy. Well, past the fact that she wants him to eat hers, but he likely won’t do it or do it right if he tried.”
“Oh my God, would you shut up?” Joi hissed.
East could see her face burning as she adjusted in her seat. He was having a similar reaction but was able to manage it better than she was.
“Aight, I’ma chill. What about your family? You said your aunt owns the apartment you live in. Y’all must be close. What about your parents?”
Joi’s eyes saddened and East saw something shift. “They’re not here. My aunt is my mom’s sister, and she raised me kinda. My parents died when I was twelve.”
“Damn. Shit, my bad.”
“It’s cool. I love them, I miss them, but they’re not here. You didn’t know, so don’t feel bad.”
East did, however, feel bad because he saw how much it affected her. His father could die at any second, and he wouldn’t feel one way or another, but his mother, his rock, if he lost her, East wasn’t sure how he would survive. She was all he had.
“Ay, if you’re gonna waste my money then let’s ride.”
East didn’t do emotional shit very well, so he wanted an out. He also wanted to change the course of the conversation because he was craving the blessing of her pretty smile.
“Are you gonna be mad?”
Joi had stuffed herself with bread and the appetizer they ordered before her food arrived. That, combined with the anxiety of being around East, had killed her ability to eat. Joi was ready to leave too but didn’t want to seem rude or ungrateful about the money he spent on her meal.
“Nah, not mad, but you’re in debt again. A place I see you like being with me.” He winked at Joi then signaled for their server.
After settling the bill, the two left and made the short drive to her building. Once he parked, East shut his car off and turned his head to give Joi his attention. He could sense she was anxious, which showed in her pretty brown eyes. He kept his expression neutral while she bit back a smile.
“You good over there?” East lifted his hand and lowered it onto Joi’s thigh then began to move his thumb in a slow, steady motion across her skin.
Grinning to himself, his head lightly shook with thoughts of other parts of her body he wanted to explore.
“You make me nervous.” Joi’s voice was softer than usual. He liked it.
“How?”
“Because you’re you.”
East smirked, half understanding what she meant. He knew who he was. He was also well aware of the effect he had on women. It was something he put little effort into, but it didn’t change how they felt about him.
“Come over here with me.”
“What, no?”
Joi’s head quickly moved left to right. It was tempting enough being confined to his car, surrounded by his scent, with the warmth of his hand on her thigh. She damn sure wasn’t about to be that close to him. She’d survived his lap once and it damn near killed all of her will power.
That charming smile he seemed to use as a weapon was on his face in a matter of seconds but accompanied by the lustful state of his hooded eyes, Joi was done for.
“Shawty…” and there it was, that slow, southern drawl that spoke intimately to her libido had won the war of wills. “C’mere.”
East’s voice broke her down, and Joi pushed out a soft huff, exhaling her nervousness before she did as he asked.
It took a little effort for her to climb across the vehicle and into his lap.
With her knees positioned on the outside of his solid legs, her dress rose up to her panty line.
East didn’t miss it because it was where his eyes moved first, followed by his hands, which rested at the slight curve of her waist. It took him a minute to travel the distance from the apex of her legs to her face, but when he reached his destination and found her dark, stormy eyes staring back at him, he tucked his lip into his mouth and held it in place with his teeth. Only for a second.
“You’re sexy as fuck.”
The two had a stare down as East considered the fallout from what he wanted to do.
Sex wasn’t a big deal for him. It happened as often as he needed and with no remorse.
Just a good nut to satisfy a need. With Joi, it would be a little more complicated.
He had only known her for a few weeks, had only been around her a handful of times, but felt something he wasn’t quite ready to admit.
She was challenging his plan. A plan to just do him and not fall for the fuck shit most people chased.
East wasn’t the type to give in to feelings.
Having feelings for people allowed them a certain type of control over you, whether you liked it or not.
East wasn’t trying to go down that road in any way, shape, or form, but Joi was forcing his hand.
Could he fuck her and it mean nothing like with the others he dealt with?
The answer was no. He already knew beyond a shadow of doubt, but still.
Fuck, I want her so bad.
The idea of anyone else having her had him feeling territorial. East knew the power he had, he knew being inside her one time would do the one thing he was trying to avoid her doing to him, handing over control. She would hand it over willingly.
“I uhh… it’s getting late.”
East smirked and looked past Joi through his windshield. It was just after eleven, which wasn’t really late. Not for two grown ass people who didn’t answer to anyone. East was sure the reason for her mention was that she was feeling the same pull he felt. A will to give in.
“You trying to run from me, shawty?”
“No.”
“I’m trying to run from me. The me that I know wants this with you.” Joi’s honesty made East’s dick twitch. Her words spoke directly to it.
“Would this be so terrible?”
Joi’s eyes shut immediately when she felt his hand ease between her legs and glide across the sheer material that was her only protection from what she knew was coming.
East’s fingers found the perfect rhythm as they moved across the seat of her panties, which were damp and soaking more by the second. Fuck it.