Chapter 5
Patience
The way he looked at me after I said what I said had me hot all over.
I was so hot that I felt like I needed to be touched, like I needed his hand around my neck and his lips against mine.
When he didn’t move, I leaned forward, my eyes going from his lips to his eyes until I was too close to think.
At this point, it had to be all action. That massive, tattooed hand was around my neck and I literally tried to suck his lips off his face.
During the week he’d disappeared, leaving me with a big ass rock and a security detail that didn’t give a shit about my need for space, I did a lot of thinking.
I realized my circumstances were what they were.
So I accepted them, but then became extremely pissed because here I was accepting him and he wasn’t even around.
When we parted, I was out of breath and my mind was in a frenzy.
“That amongst other things is what I missed.” His voice interrupted my hazy thoughts.
“Then don’t go disappearing on me anymore, especially since I’m now planning a wedding with your mother.”
He laughed, his hand encasing mine on the expensive leather seats.
“You’re planning our wedding, so make that motherfucker as big as your heart desires. Whatever works for you works for me and I told you I was giving you your space.”
“Where are we going?” I looked out of the window. We far in the suburbs, nearly where the woods started.
“A lil hideaway I keep when I don’t feel like being bothered. I don’t feel like going back to the city and want to spend some time with you. Somebody ain’t decorated our house yet.”
I cackled. “I don’t even have access to the house you took me to under false pretenses. It’s massive. That’s not a one-man decorating job. I need a freaking interior designer for a space like that.”
“Then get with Alora about one of those too.”
“And what are you going to help me with?”
“Filling that motherfucker with everything you said you wanted when we first toured it.” I smiled, unable to hold it back.
For a brute, he seemed to always say the right things.
“On the second day of our engagement, I thought about running. Well, maybe not running, but getting on a plane to Paige’s to think for a minute,” I admitted.
“I figured. Why didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “Because one, my cub Zar can’t be without me for too long. And two, well, this whole mail order bride situation interests me.”
“Yo, what the fuck?” He laughed hard.
I shrugged. “What? I’m just saying.”
“I hope you really don’t think that shit.” He shook his head, lying back and closing his eyes.
“Maybe.” I watched out the window as we stopped at a set of gates. They opened no sooner than we stopped. Up the dimly lit, narrow driveway was a massive home, nearly hidden in the forest behind trees.
“You said little hideaway. Hondo, this is a palace.”
“Nah, it’s somewhere I come when I need a break. A minute away from everybody needing something.”
“Must be exhausting.”
He shrugged, then opened his eyes and sat up. “I’m built for it. How was your day?”
“As if you don’t already know the ins and outs of my days, Mr. Carter.”
He grinned. “Logistically yeah, but from your lips no.”
I shook my head. “It was long, and today was the day before my vacation starts. Of course it isn’t a vacation that I planned, because I never take vacations, but one forced on me.” I shook my head, getting irritated all over again at the micromanagement.
“Then who planned it?”
“The same person who brokered my marriage. While your mother said the next few weeks, they’re expecting us to be married and working on a freaking kid by the end of the week.” I sighed.
The car came to a stop and I felt his eyes before he spoke. “Terms of the agreement, baby. They need the money.”
The car door for us to exit opened before I could ask him what he meant. The temperature had certainly dropped since we left his mother’s house. His hand rested at the small of my back as he led me up the stairs into the home. Three guards stood before us.
While he spoke to them, I moved toward the kitchen, praying he had a chilled bottle of wine. This was a beautiful home, literally surrounded by trees, even with almost every wall made of glass.
I found what I was looking for, pulling it out then searching through the cabinets for glasses.
“Above the sink. I got it.” His voice alerted me to his presence. He was standing behind me in seconds. He then reached in front of me and opened the cabinet. Way too high up were the wine glasses. He grabbed one, then handed it to me.
“How much did you pay them to marry me, Hondo?”
He didn’t speak but instead turned me around and picked me up. I was placed on the counter a second later before he stepped between my legs.
“Does it matter?” he asked, using the corkscrew he’d apparently thought of when he saw me with this bottle of wine.
“Yes.”
“Why?” he countered once he had the wine open.
I watched him pour the glass for me before I spoke. “Because essentially they sold me to you.”
He laughed, extending the glass.
I took a sip, then extended the glass to him for him to try.
He shook his head. “I don’t fuck with grapes, baby. Keep my shit brown and strong.”
I just looked at him for a moment, then set the glass down. “Why would you pay them to marry me?”
“You’re thinking too hard about this. You know how old motherfuckers are, Nic.
Yes, our marriage was brokered before either of us knew what this was, but there is a certain amount of money accompanied by me marrying you.
A deposit, if you will, but when your father attempted to renege on the deal set in place, a new deal was brokered.
Because not marrying you wasn’t possible.
I don’t own you, Nic, but you are mine.”
I sighed, then leaned forward and kissed him. How could I be mad at him for any of this when he didn’t sell me. He didn’t do everything my sister had told me my father and grandfather would do years before.
A quick peck later. “The more we talk about this, the easier it is for me to cut my family off. This is all fucked up and you know it.”
“You’re right, it is, but it’s the way of the old world. While your grandfather still follows it, mine died doing so. It’s just the wa—” His phone began ringing, which prompted him to pull it out of his pocket and answer immediately.
He didn’t move, but stayed between my legs, one hand on the phone and the other in his pocket. He looked so good.
I took another sip from my wine, then glanced around before my eyes landed back on him.
He was listening to whatever was being said while his eyes rested on me.
Hondo had these intense eyes that were so dark you’d believe they were black.
They weren’t. He was a golden-brown complexion with tattoos everywhere.
On his face he only had two, one on his right temple next to his eyebrow and the other below his right eye.
Not only that, but he had these perfect chocolate freckles that sat right on his nose, slightly contrasting with everything about him.
His hair had been cut low ever since I’d known him, however, the beard that seemed to encase his face was new… very new. The man looked good.
Having him this close to me with wine in my system severely impaired my judgment because I now thought of a million other things we could be doing instead of discussing backwards dowries and archaic rules.
When he finally got off the phone, he looked at me for a moment before he spoke.
“Why do you look like you’re on something?” he asked before my legs tightened around his waist.
“Because I am.” I smiled up at him. Even with me sitting on the counter, his six foot three stature towered over me.
“Mind letting me in on that?” he asked.
“Kiss me. Then take me to the bedroom,” I requested.
He looked at me for a moment before he spoke. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Very.”
He didn’t say anything else but whisked my ass off the counter like the people in cute couple videos on social media.
He didn’t put me down until we were in his bedroom. While he moved around, removing his watch and cufflinks, I stood there and watched him.
When he was done, he looked at me. “Take all that shit off, now.”
My hand went across my chest and I gripped the strap of my dress. “Everything?”
“Every fucking thing but the ring on your finger, Nicolette.” He unbuttoned his shirt, eyes locked on me.
They were so serious. Intense. Dark. Heavy.
I did as he asked. My dress pooling around my feet in less than a second. I couldn’t even look him in the eyes.
“Look at me, Nicolette,” he demanded.
I swallowed hard, then looked at him. His eyes felt like they were burning a hole into me.
“I said everything.”
No thoughts were necessary. I peeled my underwear off, eyes locked on him.
“You know how long I waited for this moment?”
I shook my head.
“For too fucking long, Nic. Too fucking long.” He was on his feet in seconds, approaching me. He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward him, then he dropped it, his calloused hand gripping my side before he turned me around. I was facing him instead of the bed.
He then nudged me backwards. “Lay back.”
The way he said that let me immediately know that tonight would be long and I didn’t know if I was up for it.
I lay back against the slightly low sitting bed.
“Open up wider, Nic.” His voice sliced through the air authoritatively.
I did just as he got on his knees between my legs. “I wanna taste what I was deprived of, can I?”
He asked, but nothing in his tone said he was requesting anything.
“Mhmm,” I moaned, watching him lick his lips as his fingers traced my flesh. I was so wet and ready for him.
“Say yes and don’t you look anywhere else while I show this pussy love.” He gave me a menacing stare, then he lowered his head and nibbled on me like I was a morning snack.