chapter 12 #2
Sighing, I gave her a rundown of the talk I’d had with him earlier, leaving out the talk about her. “Maybe I’m a little paranoid, but something’s not right with Unc. Then, I got to thinking…. What if Ms. Tea is not one person, but a group of people?”
Albany shrugged. “I’ll admit it’s crossed my mind more than once. I just can’t imagine the Elijah I knew doing this. He’s a muscle man. If Ms. Tea threatened to kill your ass, then I’d consider it. Besides, isn’t he sick?”
“He’s still sharp, though. He knows a lot for a man that’s been in prison for over a decade. Even told me to watch out for John.”
“Well, that’s not a surprise. Your uncle is a horrible person.”
Turning to her, I said, “This is going to sound crazy, but I’ve always thought John had something to do with my father’s death. Unc basically confirmed it.”
“What did he say?”
“I told you. Don’t trust John. Watch your back.”
“Say he’s right,” she speculated. “What are you going to do about it?”
I felt her staring at me, but I kept my eyes trained on the sky. Once again, the rain picked up as fat drops pelted the awning above where we were seated. Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees. “My feelings about my father are so complicated, I don’t even know.”
“I understand why you would want to find answers, but I’d caution you to be careful. When people feel like they have something to lose, they get desperate. Dangerous. If you open that door, you have to be prepared to deal with the fallout.”
My eyes flicked to hers. “I can’t not find out, though.”
“How about we concentrate on Ms. Tea. Then we can deal with John.”
“What if John is Ms. Tea?”
She paused. “We’ll cross that road if we get there.”
I smirked. “You said we.”
“You won’t leave me alone, so I might as well give in and let you feel like you’re helping me.” A bolt of lightning illuminated the sky and split it into pieces. Thunder followed, the loud snap echoing in the air. “Would it be too much to go inside during the severe thunderstorm?”
I glanced at her while she watched the fast-approaching storm.
She was luminous. Even in the dark, she was stunning.
Her hair was pulled into a messy bun. She wore loose-fitting, but still sexy-as-fuck pink fleece shorts and a white hoodie over a thin T-shirt.
Instead of gym shoes, she had on a pair of white Crocs.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered.
Her eyes flashed to mine. “What?”
Absently, I registered the song playing on the speaker. An Isley Brothers joint. The words fit the moment. She was like an angel. “When we were kids, you were like my own personal angel.”
“Wes,” she whispered.
“Even after I left. We weren’t together, but you were always with me. At my worst moments, when I was so low I could barely think straight, I thought about you. Your eyes, your voice, your smile.”
“I don’t know if we should …”
She was right. Every instinct I had to protect myself was screaming at me to shut the hell up. But I couldn’t leave this roof without telling her my truth. “Can I finish?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“No, for real. It doesn’t. I’m glad that you have good memories, that I could help you when you needed to conjure up a vision of me, but I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not an angel. I’m definitely not your angel.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I don’t want to be in this space with you. I don’t want to travel down memory lane. It’s bad enough we’re sitting here right now having a beer like I didn’t spend years trying to hate you.”
“You said trying. Does that mean you don’t hate me?”
“I could never hate you, Wes. Not really. But it did take me a long time to get over you, to be able to think about you without feeling like I did something wrong.”
“You didn’t.”
“It doesn’t change how I felt then. Or how that feeling shaped me into the woman I am now.”
“What can I do?”
Her shoulders fell, then she peered at me. “You can accept that we can’t pick up where we left off.”
“Then where does that leave us?”
“What do you want from me, Wes? I’m trying here. It’s taking a lot for me to even have this discussion with you.”
“Tell me why you kissed me.”
“I wanted to,” she revealed. “I just needed to see if …”
Her confession was the sliver of hope that I wanted to hold on to. I studied her, noticed the way her gaze dropped to my mouth, the way her hooded eyes assessed me. Even if she didn’t like me, she wanted me. And I would give her what she wanted.
“What else do you want?” I slid off my chair onto my knees. Grabbing her chair, I turned it to face me. “Tell me.”
Albany’s eyes fluttered closed. “Stop.”
“Is that what you really want?”
“No.”
I glided my hands up her legs, under her shorts. My thumb swept over her core and she shivered beneath my touch. “Tell me,” I pressed.
“Please.”
Gripping her thighs, I pulled her closer.
With my eyes locked on hers, I tugged her shorts off and tossed them behind the chair so they wouldn’t get wet.
The downpour intensified, spattering on my back, on her legs.
Slowly, I slid her panties down, inhaling deeply.
Her scent drove me crazy, made me want to set up residence inside her, to consume her.
“Oh shit,” she murmured.
I pushed her legs apart. “Is that a yes?” My gaze drifted down to her core. So beautiful. Running my fingers over her slit, I found her wet. Ready. I parted her slick folds, pressed my thumb against her clit, enjoying her sharp intake of breath.
She nibbled on her lip, offering me a slight nod.
Then I bent down and tasted her, dragging my tongue from her clit to her entrance. Shit. She tasted good, too. Like a sweet treat. And I couldn’t get enough. I repeated the motion, licking her from bottom to top before I sucked her clit into my mouth.
It didn’t take long for her to come on my tongue, but I didn’t want it to end.
I wanted to savor her like she was my first cup of coffee in the morning and my last meal of the day.
Lifting her legs above my shoulders, I pressed my mouth to her, more licking, more sucking until she cried out my name into the dark.
Damn. I couldn’t get enough. I went in for more, bringing her to the brink of another orgasm before I stopped, pulling away from her to stare down at her.
Frowning, her eyes popped open.
“Finish,” I commanded. “I want to watch you.”
Albany slid her hand to her pussy, sinking two fingers deep inside. Our gazes locked on each other as she fucked herself. I unbuttoned my jeans, shoving them down to free my dick from its cage.
When I pressed myself against her, she gasped. But her surprise was short-lived because she gripped the base and tugged, silently begging me to come inside.
Not yet …
“Shit,” I murmured, resting my forehead against hers as I tried to gather my composure.
Then, her lips were on mine. I cupped her face in my hands and took over the kiss, deepening it. I’d dreamt of her mouth, of her body, of her soft moans. But this was different. Nothing in my wildest dreams prepared me for the flood of emotions that threatened to choke me.
“Are you sure?” I murmured against her mouth. Because if I crossed this line, if I made love to her, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from wanting more.
“Shut up,” she breathed. “If I wasn’t sure, your ass would be on your back and my foot would be on your neck.”
Chuckling, I sucked her bottom lip until she purred. “Then tell me …” I wanted to hear her say the words. “Tell me you want me.”
“Wes, I—” She gasped when I pressed my dick against her again. “Shoot.”
The sky opened up, drenching us as the storm raged on. Unfazed, I kissed my way down her neck as I lifted her soaked tank up. I dipped my tongue in her belly button before descending further. Once again, I pressed my tongue to her, flicking her tiny nub until she fell over the edge again.
She convulsed beneath me, grabbing for me, tugging at me until I stopped. Once her trembles subsided, I kissed my way back up her body, sucking on a nipple through her bra.
“I can’t,” she whined.
“You can’t what?” I murmured against her skin.
“Please.”
I pressed my mouth to hers again. “Please, what?”
“Fuck,” she grunted.
“Fuck?”
“Me.”
I smirked. “As you wish.”
My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I buried my dick inside her. Shit. She felt so good, so warm. So perfect. I held myself still, just so I could capture this feeling in my memories forever. The feel of her around me, the way we fit together.
As the storm intensified, our movements grew more frenzied.
Slow and steady morphed into hard and fast as we raced toward completion.
I felt her lips against my face, kissing my cheeks, my nose, my eyes, and finally my mouth.
It was demanding yet relenting, give and take, push and pull.
It was us, the way we’d always been with each other.
Albany fell over the edge first, groaning my name as she came. And I followed her over, my body shuddering my release.
I felt her pull away before I was ready to let her go, so I cradled her in my arms and stood. I expected her to buck against me, to demand that I put her down, to pretend that this didn’t happen. Instead, she kissed me.
“Take me inside,” she whispered against my mouth.
I smiled at her choice of words.
Giggling, she dropped her head to my shoulder. “I meant that literally, in every way you could imagine.”
Winking at her, I said, “Good to know.”