by M. Skye
Thinking over her dilemma, Renee made a decision and walked up the stairs briskly, wanting to be in Tyree’s arms before all hell broke loose. She was overjoyed to see that he was still in the shower and she stripped her clothes off to join him. Pulling the door open and feeling the steam engulf her was wonderful. She needed this as much as she needed him at the moment.
“Hey, you joining me?”
“Yeah, do you mind?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” He snaked his arms out to pull her closer. “Wash my back?”
“Yeah.” She smiled, grabbing the sponge from behind him, squeezing the water down his back. “I thought I could do a little more than that since we have the house to ourselves and all.”
“I love the way you think.”
Lifting Renee into his arms, Tyree’s simple shower began to become hazy. Wrapping her legs around his waist, he slipped inside her, turning his back to accept the steady flow from the shower. Pushing her up against the wall, he buried himself deep, holding his hands under her arms to stabilize her body. When she rolled her hips to him, he pushed harder, causing a loud whimper to fall from her lips. After a few minutes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her breasts into him as he continued to take her higher.
“Uhhh, Tyree,” she screamed as he moved in and out of her with such exquisite perfection it made his knees shake a little. The sound he made pulling out and plunging back in was crazy enough without all the screams of pleasure. The screams made everything seem a lot more real in his mind.
Tyree was swimming inside her, and he pushed as hard as he could, trying to block out everything. He wanted Mia out of his head and heart, and Renee was just the person to do it. With every thrust, she met him halfway, causing the best friction they had ever shared. For the first time since he started this relationship with her, he saw only her face. Renee was finally the only one he was thinking about at that moment. The realization pushed him further, and he secured her legs around him and grabbed her hands, sliding them up the slippery shower wall.
Thrusting his hips forward, Tyree pushed her body up and down the wall as he continued to grip her hands tightly. She dug her nails into his hand, causing a sting that only drove him mad. Letting her hands drop, he slid his hands down to grip her hips, spreading her legs farther apart. Renee then leaned forward, whispering in his ear and kissing his lips gently; and that’s when it all came back to him.
Tyree kept pounding into her and, through his haze, memories of last night came to the forefront, and he almost dropped Renee. She gripped her arms tighter around his neck, and he snapped back and looked at her. He kept moving inside her, trying to wash the memories away, but he kept seeing Mia’s face and feeling her kisses—her sweet, gentle kisses—on his lips. Honestly, he couldn’t be sure if it was real or if he had dreamt it all up. It felt real, or maybe he was just hoping it was.
Tyree was floored by the thoughts and was hating himself for it. He needed to get Mia out of his system. Renee was the future, and he was once again letting the past interfere with what he was supposed to be doing. Focusing on Renee, Tyree ran his hand over her beautiful face and, in an instant, he covered her lips with his. She kissed him back with such hunger, he leaned back into her, pulling her legs tighter around him and he pushed her back into the wall. Renee let out a loud moan, and he covered her breast with his mouth.
“Tyree, oh, God, Tyree. I love you.”
He stiffened for a second still not finding the strength to say it back and then he started ramming her so hard her head flew back. He devoured her neck with his kisses, and her legs tightened around him. He knew she was just about to hit her peak and he dove in, hitting a particular spot that caused her to fold in his arms. Her loud screams floated through the shower, and he slid her down the wall to land on her feet. He knew the fact that he hadn’t climaxed hadn’t escaped her. He just hoped she didn’t know the reason why.
When he stepped out of the shower, she grabbed his arm, turning his body back to her. He lifted her in his arms and walked backward into the room, crashing onto the bed with her still on top. Renee slid up to straddle him, and Tyree’s head shot back to a pillow, his hands finding her hips. When she raised her body and slammed back down, his head shot up, and he began to caress her breasts. Swinging her head back and forth, Renee leaned down to bite down on his earlobe.
“Tyree, you never tell me you love me. Don’t you love me, baby?”
Tyree was in his own euphoria, but when he heard her question, he sobered and looked into her eyes, trying to gather the right answer. “I feel things for you, Renee, but I’m not a guy who goes around screaming ‘I love you’ every day. It’s just not me. I care, you know that.”
Renee continued to rock on top of him, but he could tell she was pissed by his admission. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed herself down as far as she could go and dug her nails into his chest. He knew she did it on purpose and, deep down, he felt like he deserved it. He had been dodging this subject for a while, and he felt like maybe he wasn’t being fair to her.
A few minutes passed, and Renee climaxed again and rolled off him leaving him stunned. He knew she was pissed, but she had never left him unfulfilled. This was new to him, and he didn’t know what to make of it. When he called out her name, she turned to him with a sinful smirk, tilting her head to the side.
“What is it, Tyree?”
“You okay? I mean, are we okay? You just kinda seemed different just then.”
“We’re fine, Tyree.” She smiled sweetly. “I know what you feel, and I’m the one with the ring, right?”
“Yeah,” he murmured, “but—”
“No buts. We’re good. I just need to know that, no matter what happens, you remember that I gave everything to this.”
“You gave? What are you trying to say, Renee? Are you saying we’re done?”
“Of course not. I’m just getting started with you. You and I have a long road ahead of us.” She leaned in to kiss him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” She walked to the door and turned to look at him again. “You should get to work. Miguel and Asha have been calling all morning.”
Watching her walk away, Tyree knew he was in for one hell of a day. He just couldn’t seem to do anything right. As he got dressed to head into work, he thought about what he would do once he was face-to-face with his father and brother. Miguel was going to be a piece of cake, but he knew whatever John had to say wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Tyree finished getting dressed and walked down the stairs to find Renee sitting at the table, eating breakfast. When he just poured himself a cup of coffee and headed to the back door, she tilted her head and put her hand on her cheek. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I don’t have much of an appetite this morning. I think I’m going to head on in, but I was wondering if you want to have dinner later.”
“Sounds good.” She looked up from her plate. “Let’s make it a couples thing. Invite Asha and Terence.”
“I’ll ask and see what they have planned. I’ll call you before we leave the office.” He turned to look at her one more time before walking out the door. “Renee, you know I’m sorry I’m not always who you want me to be, right? I just get intimidated by your feelings sometimes. I’m not the most vocal person, but I do love you.”
Renee dropped the fork she was holding and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. She looked overwhelmed by what he had just admitted.
He couldn’t believe he had finally said what she had been waiting to hear after all this time. As quickly as he saw the happiness appear, it dropped, and he had no clue why.
“I love you too, and thank you for finally telling me.”
“Thank you for being here. I know I haven’t been the best or the easiest to get along with, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“Please don’t,” she replied, and he felt a pang of guilt. He knew he was the reason for her disbelief, but he wanted to be better.<
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“Don’t worry, babe. You will get everything you deserve. I promise you that.” He smiled and walked out, closing the door behind him.
* * *
Tyree had been gone for more than ten minutes, and Renee was still in shock. After pulling out her phone and placing a call, she closed her eyes. When a man’s voice answered, she sighed into the phone.
“What’s the plan to get me out of this? I don’t want to end up with nothing.”
“You won’t, remember? You will have everything we discussed if you just follow my lead.”
Renee hung the phone up and laid her head on the table. This was just too complicated for words. She came into this with a clear head and, now, with all the time she spent with Tyree, she was in too deep. Now she just had to play the role until she could get out unscathed. If Tyree ever found out what she was doing, he would blow up, causing a storm that would affect everyone involved.
Chapter Eleven
Mia walked into the mansion, noting all the changes Cassandra had made. It seemed different, and she was pleased. The mansion was where some of her happiest moments happened and also some of the worst. She had walked up with Kyan to bring him for his day with Cassandra. She had spoken with Tyree on his way to work and agreed to keep things normal until they had the situation figured out. She also promised him she would remain in Atlanta for the remainder of the month, which was three weeks in total.
Mia was hesitant about being there so long, but when Kyan overheard her discussing it and jumped for joy, it was hard to say no. As much as she regretted the decision, at least she would have backup in a week. She was counting the days until she could feel comfort in the one person she always confided in, the biggest part of her life besides Kyan. Mia looked around in amazement until her eyes found the room. She hadn’t been near it since the day she found her mother’s body slumped over the desk after the overdose. Letting go of Kyan’s hand, she ushered him upstairs until she heard the familiar ramblings of her big brother.
“Yes, tell them it’s being handled. There is no way he will get anywhere near any of the businesses . . .” He stopped short when he saw her standing there. “Miguel, I’ll have to continue this call later. I think I see a ghost.” He laid his headset down on a small end table, making his way to her in record speed. “What are you doing here? I thought I would never see you in Atlanta again.”
She wrapped her arms around him and exhaled. “Cassie didn’t tell you I was coming? I got in last night. Tyree picked me up.”
“Tyree? When did you two start talking? This is all news to me. Sit down and tell me everything.”
As Mia went over what had happened, from the phone call from Cassandra to the screaming fit Kyan had last night, Rick sat listening, running his hand through his coal black hair. She saw his handsome face contort and relax more than she wanted to; and, when the story was concluded, she placed a hand on his lap, bringing his eyes to meet hers. “So, what do you think?”
“I think you staying here is an excellent idea. I’ll have Felipe take over until you return or permanently; it’s up to you. We could definitely use you here.”
“I’m going back as soon as the month is up. I just need to be here until we figure out a more permanent custody agreement. I think him only seeing his dad a few weeks here and there is wearing on him.”
“Yeah, but what else is there unless you move here? He has school and all the travel will make him crazy.”
“That’s what we need to figure out, but we have time. We will talk about it.”
Rick smiled and nodded. “I’m glad you two are being more civil. I always wondered why you couldn’t even speak if it only concerned Kyan. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I never minded the trips, but I just thought it was strange.”
“It was what I needed to do to get him out of my head. If I had to keep seeing him then, I would have never moved on.”
“And did you?”
“Yes,” she answered quickly, obviously alerting every suspicion in his mind.
“I know you didn’t come here to talk about Tyree, so what brings you up?”
“Oh, I hear Kyan spends his days with Aunt Cassie, and I wanted to keep up the tradition. I want him to have as much time with you guys as he can before we have to go home.”
“I really wish you would rethink that. I know you have things going for you there, but do you think Jake would be interested in moving with you? I mean, we could find a place for him at Livingston and make it a family thing.”
“He has obligations there. He and his brother are revamping the family business, and he needs to be there to see it through. Apparently, their family used to be a big name there until they hit bankruptcy.”
“That’s good. What is the business?”
“You know, he’s really been keeping it under wraps. He says he doesn’t want to jinx it, and he doesn’t want us offering to help because of our influence and money. They’re very proud.”
“A man after my own heart. Well, at least I don’t have to worry about him trying to get your money.” He laughed. “I’ll tell you, Cassie thinks Renee is after Tyree’s fortune.”
Mia swallowed hard and was met with a pair of worried eyes.
“What’s going on? Do you know something I don’t?” he asked.
“Not exactly. I just know that Kyan isn’t fond of her for some reason. I would have thought it was because he thinks she’s the reason we aren’t together, but he loves Jake. Have you noticed anything when she’s around him?”
“I haven’t, but you know I wouldn’t allow anyone to mistreat my only nephew. What has he said?”
“That’s the thing. He says she’s nice to him, but he is just closed off when it comes to her.”
“Kids know when people aren’t genuine. I don’t hate the girl, but I think a lot of the stuff she does is fake. Nobody is that nice. You should meet her. See for yourself.”
“Me, meet her? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? She’s going to be around your son if they get married. You need to be able to feel content that he is taken care of.”
“She will not be taking care of my son. That is his dad’s job and mine. I don’t let Jake assume that responsibility and neither will she.”
When Mia saw his smirk, she knew what he was thinking. Rick had been there from the start to the end of her and Tyree, and he knew how territorial she was. He knew just like she did that she would meet Renee and pick out everything that was wrong about her and it would be on from there. She might not have had any interest in taking Tyree back, but she still wanted him with the right woman, if she even existed.
“Okay, Mia. Whatever you say, but I think you two should meet. If anything, she just needs to know who will be kicking her ass if she messes up with Ky.”
“I’ll think about it. Anyways, what’s this Tyree says about Dad’s name being on some papers for the company? Tell me it’s a joke. I thought we blocked all his attempts when he came up with those false documents claiming Mom and Janelle left him their shares.”
“Actually, his name was, but it’s handled now. Those documents were obviously forged. There is no way either of them would have left him anything. He had Janelle’s shares, but it wasn’t by her doing. It was something that had been in place since we were little.”
“Explain it to me: how did he get his greedy hands on anything?”
“Well, when Janelle died, her shares defaulted to him. He had it set up that if anything ever happened to either of us, everything would go back to him. Mom’s were passed to us when we first ousted him. She didn’t have as many as we did, neither did Janelle, and because we were so busy with other things, Janelle’s never got switched back. He isn’t active in anything. I just had to sign the proper paperwork, and voilà, you and I have an even split. This addendum he keeps trying to push states that they both willingly signed over their shares to him. If that were true, he would have more votes than we do. I would never let that happen.”
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“Okay, just make sure we stay ahead of this. I don’t want any surprises when it comes to him. It already feels surreal that Mom and Janelle are not here. I would give anything to be able to give those shares back to them. I miss them every day.”
“Me too. I feel like a failure. I was supposed to be her big brother and Mom’s protector, and I really botched the job. I was supposed to protect you all, and I let them get killed and your son got taken on my watch.”
“What happened to Janelle was an accident, and what happened to Kyan wasn’t your fault.”
“What about Mom? It was my decision to not send her back to rehab. I really thought she had kicked the habit that time. She was so excited about us all working together and being around Kyan. I just thought she had changed.”
“She was better. She was different those last few months, and I thought she was fine too. She loved him, you know. She couldn’t call to talk to him enough, and Kyan loved talking to her. I just hate he was here that night. I know he was young, but I think deep down he still remembers.”
“Maybe, but he is such a well-rounded child. You would never know the horrors he has been through. I just still can’t believe she would resort to drugs while watching him. I just thought she was better than that.”
“I still blame myself. I know she was his grandmother, but she had a history of drug abuse. I should never have let her be alone with my son.”
“It’s crazy. At the time, it really did a number on Kyan. He went into all these stories of imaginary friends. I’m glad he was playing hide-and-seek in the closet and missed her shooting up.”
“He was sure there were voices and, God, how I wish it were true. It would at least mean she respected me enough not to do that in front of him.”
“It would also mean that someone else did it, Mia. I think we both know Mom did this to herself and, besides, who would want to kill her? Richmond was already gone.”
“You can’t call him Dad? I don’t know why I still do either. This is all his fault. If he weren’t such an evil bastard, she would have never picked up that habit. As far as I’m concerned, he can burn in hell. I wish we had what we needed to get him put away. He’s lucky.”