Belle

by Treasure Hernandez

  “You bitch!” he exclaimed, raising a hand to strike her.

  Boom!

  The gunshot sounded so close that Belle was certain somebody had shot her. But when she looked down, she was still in one piece. Looking at Scoop, she saw a look of pure terror frozen on his face as he looked at something behind her. She turned around to see Kidd walking toward them with a still-smoking gun hanging at his side.

  “What’s good, Kidd,” Scoop said, and Belle noticed that the bass in his voice had vanished.

  “Ay, G, what the fuck y’all doin’ over here, man?” Kidd asked, stopping next to Belle. “Holding a gun to one of Gene’s girls like you lost yo’ fuckin’ mind?”

  Scoop’s eyes widened, and he looked back at Belle. “Aw, man. I didn’t know she was one of Gene’s,” he said and held his hands up. “I wouldn’t have even tried her if I had known. My cousin just said a stripper with lots of cash moved across the hall. We was just tryin’a hit a lick, that’s all.”

  “Sounded to me like you were about to do more than just rob her,” Kidd sneered, raising the side of his lip. He held his gun up to Scoop’s face and put a finger on the trigger. “Fuck is wrong with you niggas? Out here takin’ pussy like a bitch. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t smoke you in this parking lot.”

  Scoop didn’t say anything. He was frozen still. He probably hadn’t even realized that his gun had dropped to the ground as he was staring at the pistol in his face. Belle swore she didn’t even see his chest moving, like he was holding his breath, and that made her angry.

  “So you’re only big body with females, huh?” she asked and slapped him so hard that her arm instantly became numb.

  Kidd’s head jerked in shock, but he didn’t stop her from giving him an ass whooping of a lifetime.

  “Ah ah,” he said, aiming his gun at the two minions behind Scoop when they looked as if they were going to help their partner. “Y’all know who the fuck I am and I how I get down. I wish you niggas would lay a hand on her. I’ll leave your brains on the concrete. Drop your guns on the ground.”

  They did so without so much as a complaint, and when Belle was done with Scoop, Kidd hit him so hard with the butt of his pistol that a few teeth went flying.

  “Ho-ass nigga,” he said when Scoop fell to the ground. “Every time you look in the mirror now, you’ll think of me. And understand that the only reason I’m lettin’ you leave here with your life is because I already know there are witnesses waitin’ on a homicide to happen. But know you’re on borrowed time. Get the fuck out my face.”

  Kidd let Scoop and his people go but didn’t let them grab their guns. He intensely watched them run, stumbling, to a baby blue Dodge Charger and speed off. He had put his gun away, but his fists clenched in a way that let Belle know he didn’t really want to let them get away. She bent down to pick the guns up and went to a nearby sewer drain, tossing them down. When she got back to where Kidd was standing, she caught him looking toward her apartment complex.

  “That nigga said his cousin lives here. You know her?” he asked in a dry tone.

  “Y . . . yeah. She’s my neighbor.”

  “Show me.”

  “Are you gonna hurt her?” Belle asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “Right this way then.”

  She led Kidd from the parking lot and back to the apartment and showed him the exact apartment that Char stayed in. The hallway had high ceilings, as did the apartments, and smelled delicious like someone had made a home-cooked soul-food dinner that evening. The hallway was brightly lit, and it was quiet, being that the other two apartments were on the lower level of the building. She pointed at the door across from her own apartment, letting him know that was the one. She thought he was going to knock, but with one swift movement, Kidd kicked the door in. Belle followed closely behind him, and they saw that Char had been in the middle of rolling up a blunt in her living room when she heard the loud noise. She instantly reached her hand under her couch cushion, but Belle’s fist to the side of her face stopped her.

  “And here I am thinking you were cool,” Belle said, unleashing all of her anger on her. “You were going to just let them rob me and rape me, huh? Is that what you were gonna do?”

  Belle’s fists plummeted into Char’s defenseless face until she had blood leaking from nose and mouth. The only reason Belle stopped was because the adrenaline rushing through her veins was making her heart pound violently, and she needed to breathe.

  “Get out,” Kidd told Char simply.

  “This . . .” Char huffed. “This is my shit. You can’t make me leave.”

  “I can when my partner is the landlord,” Kidd said. “You’re evicted, effective immediately. Now get the fuck out. I’m not gon’ ask you again, bitch.”

  Char looked from Belle to Kidd and weighed her options. Finally, she grabbed her Coach purse and got to her shaky legs going to the broken door. Blood drops stained the sandy brown carpet with each step she took. Belle hit her a few more times when Char passed and shoved her as hard as she could to the ground.

  “Y’all are dead,” she said when she picked herself up. “I’ma make sure of that.”

  Kidd didn’t seem at all affected by her words. He watched her until she left, and when she was gone, he asked Belle if she knew what kind of car she was in.

  “I think a yellow Jeep,” she told him, looking at the broken door. “You aren’t worried about what she just said?”

  “Nah,” Kidd said, shaking his head. “She ain’t gon’ make it to see the morning. None of them are.”

  The way he said it, Belle believed him. The fear in Scoop’s face when he saw Kidd spoke volumes. He almost peed himself. Belle studied the hard expression on Kidd’s face as he stared into space. She hadn’t ever seen him that mad, but she wasn’t afraid. She cleared her throat and interrupted his thought process to point at the door.

  “What you gon’ do about that?” she said. “I ain’t paying for it.”

  “Don’t worry about that. My best friend Ollie owns this property. It was one of the first things he purchased when he started gettin’ bread. He’ll have somebody come take care of it,” Kidd said. “Go wash that blood off your hands. You probably need a shower, too.”

  Belle looked down, and sure enough, she had drying blood all over her knuckles. There were even a few splatters on her dress, and she groaned. “I really liked this dress.”

  “Go ’head. I’ll meet you over there,” he said.

  “What are you about to do?”

  “I need to make a phone call.”

  Belle didn’t ask him to elaborate. The less she knew, the better. She glanced down at the time on her phone and saw that it was almost eleven o’clock and got irritated. She was missing out on money because of the stupid stunt those nobodies tried to pull.

  Once inside her two-bedroom home, the first place she went was to the master bathroom. When she was done washing every trace of blood from her skin, she kicked her shoes off and plopped down on her bed.

  “Dammit!” she shouted and punched her comforter.

  “Chill out, shorty, they’re gon’ get handled,” Kidd’s voice entered the room. “Believe that.” He leaned on the doorframe and observed her.

  “That’s not why I’m mad,” she said to him. “I’m missing out on money because of this shit.”

  “Of course that’s what you’re worried about,” Kidd scoffed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothin’. That was just fast is all.”

  “What was fast?” Belle said, quickly growing tired of his game.

  “You turnin’ into one of them.”

  She didn’t have to ask him to elaborate to know exactly what he was talking about. She jerked her neck at him before looking him up and down. “I didn’t turn into anything but a woman who’s about her money.”

  “There it is, that stripper attitude.”

  “You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she said, rolling
her eyes.

  “Don’t I? I’ve seen it too many times. The sweet, innocent girl turnin’ into money-hungry smut. That’s how it always happens. I don’t know why I thought you would be different.”

  The disappointment in his eyes made Belle’s stomach drop. She hated how he was staring at her. Not with anger, no. That wasn’t what she saw in his eyes. It was pity.

  “Okay, you spoke your piece. You can leave now,” she snapped.

  “Damn, you’re not even gon’ give a nigga a thank-you? If it weren’t for me, those dudes would have had you pinned down somewhere.”

  “I can handle myself,” she said and pulled a small Barretta from the Gucci handbag she was carrying. “I would have handled it.”

  “You’re carrying guns now?”

  “Yep.”

  “Since when?

  “Ever since Gene told me to start carrying one.”

  “Does Gene control everything that you do? Speakin’ of Unc, doesn’t he usually have somebody for any girl who lives off-site?”

  “Mind your business. And I’ll mind mine.”

  “He doesn’t know you don’t live with Dynasty anymore, does he?”

  “No. And to answer your question, nobody controls me,” she told him. “And how did you know I was staying with Dynasty? Matter of fact, how did you know where to find me? The only person who knows that I was even looking at this place to move was her.”

  “Maybe I put a little bug in her ear when she let it slip that you were stayin’ with her but lookin’ to move,” Kidd said. “Maybe I’m the one who suggested this place.”

  “And why would you do that? Matter of fact, why are you even here?”

  “Because I wanted to see you.”

  “I don’t see why. I haven’t seen you in weeks.”

  “Gene doesn’t like it when business and pleasure mix, so I had to keep my distance for a while.”

  “Why did you want me to move here then?”

  “So I could keep my eye on you.”

  “From a distance?”

  “Right.”

  “Well, I don’t need you to watch me anymore, okay?” Belle snapped.

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yeah.” She paused and furrowed her brow at him. “Wait, what do you mean, mix business and pleasure? You and I have never done anything.”

  “It doesn’t matter. If Gene even thinks somethin’ is goin’ on, there will be hell to pay. He’s very possessive over what he thinks is his,” Kidd told her, coming into the room and kneeling in front of her. “He’s done unimaginable things to men he’s employed for dabbling in the amenities of the Bliss Lounge.”

  “Is that why it was so easy to keep you away from me?” Belle’s voice had dropped to just above a whisper. His nearness gave her butterflies. She could smell the cologne radiating off of him, and the way her bedroom light hit the diamonds on his chain made it look like he was literally shining. Her head dropped, but his finger caught her chin.

  “Stop playin’ with me,” Kidd told her. “You know I feel somethin’ for you. And I think you feel the same. I hope you feel the same, anyway. Do you?”

  “I don’t know,” she told him. “I don’t even know your real name.”

  “But you know my heart,” he told her. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s Andrew.”

  “That doesn’t do me any good now.”

  “I’m sorry, Belle. I stayed away to keep you safe.”

  “Keep me safe from what? I don’t think Gene would hurt me.”

  “It’s complicated,” Kidd told her and shook his head. “You don’t know my uncle the way I do. And if somethin’ were to happen to you, I’d torch that place to the ground. I don’t know what kind of spell you cast on me, Belle Dubois. Since the first day I met you, you’ve had me wide open. And I don’t even know what the pussy is like.”

  Belle’s hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they traveled up and over Kidd’s blue Balenciaga shirt. The fabric was smooth underneath her palms all the way until she got to his neck and face. She didn’t break eye contact with him when her fingers wrapped around the back of his head.

  “I do feel the same,” Belle told him. “I don’t know what it is, but I do know that you saved me that night y’all found me. And ever since I only feel safe when I’m with you.”

  “I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt,” Kidd told her. “I need to keep you safe until I iron some shit out.”

  He tried to pull away, but she had a firm hold on him. Even so, he didn’t try very hard. He was caught in her trap.

  “If you leave, I don’t know when I’m going to see you next,” she said. “Stay.”

  “You need to go to work, remember?”

  “I can miss tonight.”

  “You haven’t even gotten in the shower.”

  “Clean me.”

  Kidd couldn’t hold her off anymore. Or it might have been that he couldn’t hold himself back. Their lips found the other’s, and they shared a long, deep, passionate kiss. Their tongues danced beautifully, and neither of them cared to come up for air anytime soon. Kidd’s hands fondled her breasts and pinched her nipples through her dress before ripping the thin fabric at the bust.

  “Mmm,” Belle moaned into his mouth when her breasts bounced freely.

  Kidd wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up. She wrapped her legs around him and let him carry her into the large, well-lit bathroom. When he set her down, he turned the shower on before turning back to her. He then finished ripping her dress until she was completely naked, and when she was, he stepped back and looked at her.

  “What?”

  “You’re everything,” he told her and caressed her cheek. “Do you know that? You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in this lifetime.”

  Belle smiled. She’d heard that sentence so many times, but that was the first time that it meant something. Her clit responded to the way he was eyeing her down, and the place between her thighs became soaked with her juices.

  “Take these off,” she instructed, pointing at his clothes.

  She helped tug his shirt over his head and unbuckled his jeans so that he could kick them off. The bulge in his briefs was impressive, but when he removed those too, she bit her bottom lip. She took a deep breath as she grew even more aroused. Stepping into the hot shower water, she motioned with one finger for him to join her. When he slid the door closed behind him, she wasted no time dropping to her knees and staring his thick, eight-inch snake in the face. Her lips were around its head in seconds. She didn’t care that the water was destroying her freshly flat-ironed hair as it rained down her body.

  She gripped his sides with her hands to keep him steady as she forced his manhood to the far back of her throat. The sound of the shower became just background noise as her gurgles and slurping took over the room. She made love to him with her mouth, and by the way his legs shook, she knew he loved it. In her mind, his skin tasted like her favorite milk chocolate Hershey bar, and she couldn’t get enough. She would have kept going until he shot his kids in her mouth if he hadn’t forced her up.

  “You tryin’a have me goin’ crazy,” he growled in her ear and pinned her to the wall of the large shower. “I know that’s what you were tryin’a do. You tryin’a have this dick crazy about you, huh?”

  He grabbed a handful of her hair and roughly pulled her head back so he would have access to her neck. His lips and tongue sampled her neck and travelled down, pausing at her nipples. Volts of electricity coursed through her body, making her jump whenever she felt his teeth take a nibble.

  “Oooo,” she moaned and let her left hand fall between her legs while the other dug into his shoulder. “Baby. That feels so good.”

  She used her middle finger to swirl around her engorged clit while he feasted on her breasts. Kidd’s hands massaged her butt cheeks like he was molding clay, and just feeling his strength mixed with his wet tongue was enough to bring on her first orgasm.

  �
�Ahhh!” she shouted into the showerhead like a microphone.

  “Let me taste,” Kidd demanded and lifted Belle in the air.

  Her back slid up against the wall, and he placed her thighs on his shoulders. With a small hum, Kidd buried his face into her kitty cat before her climax had passed all the way. Her face twisted into a grimace, and she tried to steady her breathing as his tongue beat away at her throbbing clitoris, but it was impossible. She cried out over and over but never once told him to stop. Her hands caressed the top of his head and encouraged him to keep sucking and licking away like she was his favorite candy until she sprayed him with more of her juices. Her entire body vibrated, but he wasn’t done with her yet. He let her slide down but not so her feet were touching the floor. He made her wrap her legs tightly around his waist again. Kidd kissed her tenderly, and she kissed him back.

  “Mmmm. Mmmm,” she moaned with her arms around his neck.

  She held him tight like he might disappear at any moment. She wished there was a cameraman to capture that beautiful scene so that she could really hold on to him forever. The tip of his manhood positioned itself at her slippery opening, and Belle gasped as it fought against her walls for entrance. Her nails dug into his back at the pleasurable pain, and with three powerful strokes, Kidd gained access to her most secret fortress. Everything around Belle faded to black as Kidd drilled into her, and the only thing she saw was him. His rough breathing into her ear turned into small moans, and Belle could hear her wetness mixing in with her own cries of bliss. She worked her hips to meet him stroke for stroke. Just as he was fucking her crazy, she wanted to do the same to him. Their eyes connected, and in that moment, they were one. Kidd’s wet hand found her face, and he rubbed her lips before he rammed into her deeply.

  “This pussy,” he said and shook his head and suddenly withdrew.

  “What about it?” she said breathily, grabbing for him when he set her down. “Why’d you stop?”

  “It’s dangerous,” he panted. “Don’t let me back in it unless you plan to give it to me forever.”

  His words went straight to her chest. She could tell by the fierceness of his gaze that he was dead serious. The shower water ran down his face and onto his muscular torso, giving him the look of a Greek god. He was more than a man. He was her man. Or at least she wouldn’t mind him being that. She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed his soft lips before pulling away and turning around. Placing her hands on the soap holders for balance, she bent over, giving him the best view of her round butt and swollen kitty. Looking back at him, her amber eyes pierced his.