by K, S
In the dimly lit room, Darrell leaned back in his chair and watched the woman working the stripper pole like she was born to do it. The seductive music played softly in the background. His gaze followed her every movement as her body writhed sensually to the beat. His hot, hungry eyes roamed over her toned and fit frame.
Damn. To be that G-string runnin’ along the crack of her ass must be nothin' short of heaven, Darrell thought with a deep sigh.
The ridiculously high heels she wore accented her thick legs and juicy ass, and the pasties that covered her nipples emphasized her firm, full breasts. She had to have the best tits he’d ever seen on a woman. His mouth watered as he imagined devouring each like luscious, sweet melons.
His eyes followed her sexy strut that was purposely exaggerated in order to mesmerize and hypnotize her audience of one. Damn sure was workin’ too. Turning to face him, she placed her legs around the pole then slowly dropped backwards, curving her spine until her head almost touched the floor.
Darrell groaned as he eyes wandered in between her slightly spread legs. He licked his lips as he looked at the path he wouldn’t mind his tongue taking right about now.
“Do your thing, baby,” he whispered to her in a low sexy voice.
His private dancer slowly pulled herself up then slid down to a squatting position. Once there, she used every muscle independently to methodically slither and creep her way back up the pole, winding her body like a sinuous serpent. She stuck her butt out then rippled inwards until her stomach kissed the pole. Continuing the sinewy move, she pulled her shoulders back and brought her pelvis in, grinding her pussy mound against the hard, cold steel. She repeated the sexy act so that she flowed up and down the pole in a slinky motion.
“Hell yeah.” Darrell reached down to cover the crotch of his pants and squeezed his rock hard phallus. “Work that shit, baby.”
Standing in front of him with her back resting against the pole, she slowly spread her legs out and slid down and ended the move with the splits. With the pole still behind her, she began to hump the floor so that the coolness of the steel rubbed enticingly between her ass cheeks.
“Fuck…” Darrell whispered hoarsely. "Come here."
The words were spoken quietly, but there was no mistaking the fact that it was a demand – not a request. His gray eyes were dark with desire. He wanted her…now.
“Are you sure your wife is okay with this?” she asked as she got on all fours and crawled over to him.
“My wife likes to see me happy. And right now? I’m very happy. So why don’t you come over here and make me ecstatic.”
The woman grinned as she approached him and slid between his wide spread legs. She moaned in appreciation as her hands moved up his muscled thighs to get to her prize which was outlined thickly in his pants. She licked her lips in anticipation, but before she could go any further his phone on the table beside him rang. The woman paused and looked at it.
“Don’t stop,” Darrell urged as he put a finger underneath her chin and turned her head back towards him.
“But…”
“Shhh...” He leaned down to kiss her soft, succulent lips. Moaning, his mouth continued to the enticing curve of her neck, loving the way she trembled at his touch.
The phone rang again. She tensed and glanced over at it again before pushing his shoulders. “You should get that.”
“Nah, baby...”
“Or do I need to.” Her eyes told him they weren’t going any further until he answered the phone.
Darrell threw himself back against the chair with a thousand knots forming in his frowning face. “Damn, Jerra!”
“It could be about DJ, baby.”
“DJ’s fine, he’s with Keisha and Dom.” When she just continued to stare at him, he leaned over and snatched the phone up.
“What!” he growled.
“D, it’s Marcus.”
“It’s not a good time, bruh.”
“I need to talk to you. You remember I was meeting my sister today?”
Darrell froze and shut his eyes. Shit! That’s right.
“Damn, I’m sorry Marcus, I forgot.” He sat up straight and looked longingly at Jerra’s shapely rear as she walked to the bathroom and closed the door.
“It went great, D. I can’t wait for you to meet her tomorrow. It’s like the years we hadn’t seen each other all but vanished. But wait, that’s not what I wanted to tell you."
Darrell frowned into the phone. “What happened?”
“She brought her boyfriend along.” Darrell could hear the obvious dislike in Marcus’ voice.
“Oh, he was an asshole, huh?”
Marcus paused. “You’ll never guess who the fuck he is."
Darrell watched Jerra as she came out of the bathroom and grimaced when he saw she had put on a long t-shirt and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. He asked in a distracted tone, “Who?”
“Amir Montgomery. Aleesha's ex-fiancé!”
“What?!” Darrell jumped up and yelled into the phone. “Get the fuck outta here!”
Chapter 19
Jerra frowned at her husband. “What’s wrong, baby?”
Darrell glanced at her with a deep scowl but didn't answer because he was still engrossed in what Marcus was telling him.
“You heard me, man. That bitch is the man my li'l sister is in love with, or thinks she’s in love with.”
“You shittin’ me Marcus.”
“I shit you not. On top of finding out he's her boyfriend, she told me he’s also the father of her ten year old son.”
“Darrell…what is it??” Jerra came and stood in front of him.
“His punk ass was sittin’ there actin’ all innocent and shit, trying to tell her half of what went down. I fixed that shit quick, though. I told my sister everything about his cheatin’ ass.”
“Good! At least that’s the end of it.”
“Nah. She says he’s changed and she loves him. Man, if that muthafucka hurts my sister…”
“Aw hell nah, Marcus! We gonna take care of this shit! Call Dominick now and let’s all ride back over there and whip this muthafucka’s ass…”
“D, hold on. My sister thinks she’s in love with him. I just found her. I can’t lose her now. They’re both coming to the house tomorrow for the get-together we’ve planned. She’ll be able to hear directly from Aleesha what a no good, two timing bastard he is. Believe me. His days are numbered. He won’t be a part of my sister’s life after tomorrow. You can bet on it.”
After Marcus hung up, Darrell stood deep in thought, mentally going over the conversation he and Marcus just had. "Son-uv-a-bitch," he muttered under his breath.
Jerra tugged on his arm. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about? How did the meeting between Marcus and his sister go?"
"You are not gonna believe this shit. Apparently, things were goin' fine until Marcus met her man."
"Why? What happened?"
"It's not what happened - it's who the fuck happened. Marcus' sister is seeing Amir Montgomery!"
"What??"
Darrell nodded and went on to tell Jerra about the meeting and how Alexis made Marcus promise to try and get along with Amir. "Thinks she's in love with that muthafucka! Even after everything Marcus told her, she still wants to say his lyin, cheating ass has changed. I told Marcus we need to nip this shit in the bud now. I mean, who in the fuck does he think he is? Does he have a shitload of nerve or what?"
He waited on Jerra to add her input, but when she simply went over to her bureau and grabbed a nightgown before heading to the bathroom, he called out to her. "Hey...you ain't got nothin' to say?"
Jerra paused before closing the bathroom door. "Yes. Four words: stay out of it."
Darrell folded his arms and his expression grew dark. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Darrell. This is between Marcus and his sister. No, I take that back. It's really not Marcus' business either. He can't tell his sister who to date. And they have a ten year old s
on? I don’t know what that's all about, but apparently there's a lot more to it than either of you are aware of."
"Marcus’ sister is family now. Plus, I understand him wanting to protect her. I'd do the same thing if it were Gabrielle. Speaking of which, what's up with her anyway? You mentioned she called earlier today but Dominick and Keisha came by before you could tell me what that was all about. Please don't tell me she's still involved with that quarterback, 'Forest Rain' or 'Thunderstorm' or whatever the fuck his name is."
Jerra pursed her lips and planted a fist on her hips. Darrell knew good and well the name of the quarterback who played for the Miami Stingrays. He was just upset because the athlete called himself pursuing his sister. Although Gabrielle had confided to Jerra that she was feeling him - a lot - she wasn’t foolish enough to get involved with him when she knew he dated other women.
"His name is Toby 'Hurricane' Jones." Jerra's eyes suddenly locked with his. "Darrell, don't forget that you're not supposed to know about that. If you hadn’t been eavesdropping on Gabby's and my conversation, you still wouldn’t know."
"For your information, I wasn’t eavesdropping, Jerra. I walked into the house and you just weren’t aware I was here. And that's another thing. Why the hell doesn’t she want me to know about this clown?"
Jerra didn’t bother to remind him that the "clown" he was referring to had led his team to the Super Bowl two years in a row to win the championship - and was on his way to doing it again. "Probably because of the same attitude you’re displaying now. Darrell, Gabby isn’t a child. She and Marcus' sister are grown women. The two of you need to stop interfering in their lives before you both get your feelings hurt." Jerra gave him a look which said 'now think about that!'.
"Yeah, alright Jerra. You try’na be cute, but I tell you this. They can be grown all they want but let a muthafucka act the fool with either one of them and more than just hurt feelin's are gonna be involved."
Jerra rolled her eyes and let out a low hiss of frustration. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door on Darrell's stubborn expression.
Darrell mumbled under his breath and continued to carry on a one-sided conversation as he threw himself on the bed and interlocked his fingers behind his head. He thought about the little sister he'd become extremely close to over the years. When he left Philly almost fourteen years ago, Darrell had periodically kept in touch with her without the woman who'd given birth to them being aware of it.
His thoughtful expression turned to a frigid scowl when Tina briefly entered his mind, but he just as quickly dismissed her. He'd mentally distanced himself from her a long time ago after she’d dropped him off at an orphanage so that she could be footloose and fancy free. Darrell considered her one of the sorriest excuses of a mother he'd ever come across. When he and Marcus turned eighteen, they decided to leave Philadelphia for Las Vegas. He'd given in to the temptation that had been gnawing away at him ever since he'd found out where she lived and stopped by her house to see her. Darrell had secretly hoped she'd at least be a little curious about him, but the chilly reception he'd received left no doubt that she had no interest in him and only wanted to be left alone. So that's what he'd done.
Tina Monroe meant less to him than a pile of dog shit on the cold, dusty ground. Darrell didn't understand how a mother could give birth to a child then give it away as if it meant nothing. He didn’t wish her any ill will, because to do so would mean somewhere deep inside, he still cared...and he didn’t. To be honest, he didn’t give a fuck about her one way or the other. But his sister was a different story altogether.
He'd briefly met her when he stopped by Tina's house that day, but the moment Tina saw him and realized who he was she'd rushed Gabrielle back into the house as if he had a contagious disease. But Darrell never forgot his li’l sister. He waited until she was in high school and showed up outside her school one day. The moment their gray eyes connected, Darrell could tell she recognized him. They'd talked for hours. Come to find out, she'd heard her mother and father arguing about Darrell one night and that's how she'd found out about him.
Darrell cautioned her that it would probably be best if Tina didn’t know they were in contact for a while, which Gabby readily agreed. They stayed in touch and saw each other often over the years, and when Gabby went off to college on a full academic scholarship, she informed Tina that her brother was going to be in her life whether Tina wanted him to be or not. His sister had a strong will just like he did, and Tina's objections fell on deaf ears. The bond between brother and sister was iron tight. By unspoken agreement, Tina was a subject they gladly avoided.
Over the years, Gabby had turned to Darrell many times for advice. He'd even been the person she called the first time a guy broke her heart, which is why her decision not to confide in him about Jones had him baffled. Okay, so yeah, maybe he came off as being a tad bit overprotective when it came to her and men, but it was only because he knew the game they would run on her if she let them. Hell, he'd been the king of spittin' bullshit to a woman before he met his baby. He'd be damned if he let some muthafucka use his baby sister the way he'd done with more women than he cared to think about. If Jerra hadn’t sworn him to secrecy, he would tell her under no circumstances was she to believe a got damned word that came out of Jones' mouth.
A couple of minutes later, Darrell heard the shower being turned off. His mind immediately switched to an image of his wife in the next room, wet, slippery, and naked. Swinging his long legs off the bed, he figured it was just as good a time as any to finish the fire they'd built up before he got Marcus' phone call.
He was unsnapping his jeans and heading to the master bathroom when he noticed what looked to be a slip of paper on the floor by Jerra's nightstand. Once he got closer, Darrell saw that it was actually a photo. A small frown marred his forehead as he tilted his head. He immediately recognized the young girl in the picture as being Jerra. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. His eyes went to the tiny mole above her lip and her smooth mocha complexion. Her dark eyes were large and seemed to dominate her face, and her long, dark hair was pulled into two ponytails, one on each side of her head.
Darrell laughed softly. He hoped the next baby they had was a girl. Although DJ was the spitting image of him, Darrell knew if they had a little girl, she would look exactly like Jerra. His eyes narrowed a bit. Why hadn’t he ever seen this photo before...?
When the bathroom door opened a second later, Darrell looked up and smiled, gesturing to the picture he held in his hand. "I thought you said you didn’t have any pictures from when you were young..."
Jerra stood motionless in the doorway and tucked in the corner of the towel she'd wrapped around her body. She literally stopped breathing when she saw what Darrell was holding in his hand. She flew across the room and snatched it out of his hand. "Where did you get that?"
Darrell's brows lifted in surprise at the sharpness of her tone. "It was on the floor by your nightstand. You never showed this to me.” He folded his arms and frowned. “And why are you gettin’ so upset?”
Chapter 20
Jerra made an effort to steady her breathing when his eyes went to the pulsating vein in her neck. "I’m not upset. It's just an old picture of me from when I was little," Jerra murmured. "I must have dropped it." She busied herself by opening the nightstand drawer and stuffing it under her address book. She'd have to remember to move it tomorrow...
Jerra looked at Darrell out of the corner of her eye and noticed him still studying her with a puzzled frown. She knew he was hesitant to question her because of the circumstances surrounding her childhood. Her stepfather had savagely raped and beaten her when she was fifteen years old. She eventually managed to escape after he passed out in a drunken stupor. Sixteen years later, it was still something she didn’t like to talk about.
Her innocence had been stripped away from her in the cruelest of ways. In its place, her stepfather's seed was planted. Jerra gave birth to a baby girl nine months later - the s
ame little girl whose picture Darrell had been holding in his hand. And he had no idea she even existed.
Seeing his mind still racing, Jerra was desperate to distract him from the thoughts he was surely pondering. She reached up and circled her arms around his neck. "I was wondering what was keeping you. I expected you to join me in the shower so that we could finish what we started earlier." The look on her face turned sultry and seductive as she slowly trailed a finger down his chest. "I guess you weren’t interested...?"
His desire for her pushed the speculative gleam from Darrell's eyes as his attention dropped to the edge of the towel snugly tucked between the valley of her breasts. "Nah, baby, never that. In fact, I was just on my way when you came out."
He deftly loosened the towel and let it drop to her feet. Jerra's breath became lodged in her throat for a completely different reason. Darrell stretched her out on the bed and kissed his way down her body. Jerra opened her legs, inviting his mouth to continue the journey to her promised land, and when his tongue made contact with her wet center and engorged pearl, her fingers curled tightly around the bedding as her hips undulated in time to his rhythm. Her orgasm slammed into her with the quickness and accuracy of a lightning storm. But it had been like this between them from the very first time. Their chemistry couldn't have been any stronger if it had been formulated and perfected in a lab. That connection could never be broken because it was built on love, respect...and trust.
As Darrell stood up to rip his jeans off, Jerra's thoughts briefly turned to the picture stuffed in the drawer of her nightstand. She had finally confided the secret she'd kept to herself all these years to Keisha and Aleesha, and she planned on telling Darrell soon – she should’ve told him a long time ago.
Over an hour later, the two of them lay under the covers exhausted but with a level of satisfaction they could only achieve with each other. Darrell tightened his arms around Jerra, who was fast asleep, and kissed the top of her head. His chest rose in a deep sigh as his thoughts went back to the photo he'd found on the floor. It wasn’t lost on him that Jerra never did answer his question about it. He knew she'd been trying to distract him away from the subject and he'd let her, but he hadn’t forgotten about it. He would just have to let her come to him in her own time.