12. JUSTINA
After a tour of his property and house, Dane and I got back inside his car and headed to the city.
He took me by the old neighborhood where he grew up and showed me some of the places he used to hang out at.
I found myself staring at the side of his face, marveling at the strength of his jaw, drooling at the cut of his thick lips, and the way with which his tongue always darted out to lick them.
Then there were his long locs, lying against his chest the way I wanted to.
At some point, his hand made it to rest on my thigh, and I did nothing to move it.
In fact, the weight of his hand brought a level of security I’d never felt with anyone before.
We’d been riding around all morning and well into the afternoon.
However, not once did I think about anyone attempting to harm us.
Sure, I recognized security following us, but I still felt safe and comfortable right here with Dane.
It could have something to do with the gun tucked at his back.
I’d noticed it after he twirled me around in that beautiful garden. I had my arms around his back and felt the weapon tucked comfortably there. While I wasn’t surprised, I did chuckle a little on the inside.
The entire time we were together, his phone only rang a few times.
Once was a call from his sister. The other call came from his homeboy, Angelo, who he owned the resort with.
I liked that, although Dane was a billionaire, his personal life was as laid-back as I assumed it was.
If anything won me over, it was that Dane was just a regular dude who happened to be a billionaire superstar.
The sun was setting by the time we returned to Onyx Cove Resort. Dane escorted me to my suite, and I invited him inside for a drink.
“Would you like something strong, tea, water, or a soda?” I asked.
He frowned comically. “Tea? That shit is nasty. I’ll take a water.”
I laughed and shooed him out of the kitchen. “For your information, I make great tea. You probably just haven’t tried the right flavor,” I said as I grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to him. I took a bottle of water from the fridge for myself too.
“I’ve been all over the world and have tried several teas. Shit is still nasty,” he countered.
I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “I love it. Give me a lemon, ginger, and berry fused tea any day of the week, and I’ll devour it.”
“Is that right?” he asked, his tone dipping. He downed the bottle of water in one fell swoop, then peered at me intently. “I ordered us dinner. How about we take a walk until the chef is done preparing our food?”
“Uhm…” I really didn’t want to walk around this resort with him. If anyone spotted us, we’d be hot talk until…until forever.
“Sure,” I replied anyway and hoped everyone’s NDAs were kept intact. “Let me change first.”
“I’ll wait for you out here,” he said and had a seat on the couch.
I hustled inside the bedroom to change into something walk-worthy. I donned a pair of cut-off shorts, a tank top, sandals, and a hat, then joined Dane back in the living room. His fingers were swiftly typing on his phone, but he stopped as soon as I appeared.
“Ready?” he asked, looking me up and down. Any time he did so, I was left feeling like I stood before him ass naked. He licked his lips, and his eyes seemed to stroke me. I cleared my throat and prayed I didn’t melt.
“Everything okay?” I asked. He looked serious a minute ago.
“Everything’s perfect,” he said and took my hand. “Let’s go.”
We left my suite and walked towards the elevators. Dane dapped the man standing there, and as we rode the elevator to the lobby, my heart did a shuffle. Dane’s fingers slightly tightened around my hand. When the elevator dinged on the first floor, the doors slid open to two women standing there.
Kady, a renowned R&B artist, and her cousin, Alexis, missed me standing there for staring at Dane.
Kady and I weren’t exactly cordial. We’d had words a time or two.
I wasn’t special, though. Every other week she stayed getting into it with one artist or another.
As long as she stayed away from me, shit was cool.
“’Sup?” Dane spoke cordially while leading me off the elevator.
“Hey, Dane. Haven’t seen you here lately,” Kady stated, causing my ears to perk up. Although she attempted a smile, the look in her eyes was deadly. “Hey, Majesty.”
“Hey,” I replied, unfazed as her eyes dipped to Dane’s fingers locked with mine.
Kady was so beautiful that I couldn’t deny her that.
She was a little taller than me with curves that made any woman envious.
Her style was effortless and reminded me of the nineties.
I could see why just about every man in the industry was after her.
Alexis was just as beautiful, but she wore an unpleasant look on her face as she noticed Dane holding my hand.
“Y’all be safe,” Dane said as we kept walking, only to nearly run into Esian and Oney.
Goodness, I thought. Everybody wanted to be out while I was attempting to sneak out.
Dane didn’t give a damn, though. He walked with his head high and led me through a set of doors that opened to the pool area.
There were people out there too. I just put my head down, hoping the hat hid as much of my face as possible.
A few steps later, Dane and I reached the white sands of the beach.
Dane bent down to take my sandals off, then held them in one hand while he intertwined our fingers back together.
I giggled at my toes sinking in the cool, white sand.
The smell of saltwater was intoxicating, and the breeze was just right.
A few people sat scattered along the shoreline, enjoying the sights before them and the stars above.
All this shit seemed so romantic. I could see myself walking this shore with Dane often.
As we sat out on our walk, Dane said, “It’s ya birthday tomorrow. What do you have planned?”
Sighing, I replied, “Absolutely nothing. Coming here was just a reprieve from life, ya know. I planned on doing a hard reset, re-evaluating my life and preparing for my album release.”
“I kind of fucked it up, huh?” he asked with a light chuckle.
I chuckled, too, and pointed towards the ocean that bubbled up to shore and almost caught our feet. Dane shuffled away just in time to keep his designer shoes from getting wet. I laughed at him cussing out nature’s bountiful pool.
“For the record, you didn’t fuck up my trip,” I said. Reluctantly, I admitted, “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.”
“Enough to make us a couple?” he asked.
Grinning, I glanced up at the stars. They were showing out tonight. “I’ve already given you the blueprint for what I want in a man, Dane. You could very well use the knowledge I’ve given you against me, then dip once you’ve gotten what you want.”
He stopped us, then turned me to face him. Untangling our fingers, he removed the hat from my head, smoothed my bangs out of my face, and kissed my forehead. He was impossibly tall, and when his locs touched my nipples, the contact startled me. He smirked in response.
“As much as I wanna make love to you, Justina. I won’t do it unless I have all of you. Unless we agree to be together.”
My heart stuttered in my chest as I looked up into his eyes. Shit. I’d never felt so helpless to stop myself from feeling shit about this man who would leave me in a straitjacket if he played with me.
Which is why you shouldn’t agree to be with him. He’s dangerous.
Truly, he was. In every way.