After the Kiss

by Violet Williams

  “Fuck me,” I breathed into his ear. “Fuck me, Demetrius!”

  His grip tightened on my ass and he lifted me in the air. Everything else faded to black.

  There was just his body and my body—my back, slamming into the wall; his firm and hot as he held me steady, using one hand to free his cock.

  I was so fueled by savage need that I let him push inside me bare. When he realized his brazen move, he pul ed out a few inches until I reassured him.

  “I want you,” I said hotly, gazing into his aqua eyes. “Just like this.”

  He thrust back inside me with abandon, pul ing out and then driving back into my folds as I fought to keep my moans capped. It was a struggle, because he was fucking me with a ferocity that made me want to scream from the rooftops. I bucked into him, lost in the motions.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he moaned as he plowed into my pussy. “So beautiful.”

  It was just what I needed. Countless people had told me so tonight, but his was the only compliment I wanted to hear.

  I came hard, biting down on my lip until I tasted the copper tang of my blood. I felt my inner muscles clamp down on his cock with a wild rhythm.

  When he told me he was close, he gave me a look and he released me slowly. A baby was one repercussion I wasn’t ready for and we were already pushing our luck.

  I sunk to my knees and his eyes went round with surprise as he stroked my head. He didn’t know how I’d been craving the taste of him since I saw his erect beauty.

  I gripped his cock with one hand and leaned forward. I teased him at first, swirling my tongue around the head and slowly dipping into the slit and slurping at his sticky desire. I took a deep breath in through my nose and dove forward, swallowing his ful length, and he let out a strangled moan that made me suck harder.

  “I’m gonna cum,” he whispered, his thighs quivering.

  He succumbed, shooting his load down my throat and I gulped his seed down my throat, stil suckling him until he went soft in my mouth.

  When I was finished, he surprised me by easing me back to my feet and giving me a slow, sensuous kiss on the lips. Most guys would have been squicked out, hel I rarely gave blow jobs and I never swal owed, but I wanted him inside me. I wanted him to be a part of me. I guess we were both ful of surprises.

  The kiss ended and his blue eyes sparkled down at me. He let out a string of words and I furrowed my brow. There was something vaguely familiar about a couple of them. I scratched the tip of my nose as my mind jetted back to freshman year. I’d heard the words in a class…

  Italian 1. I picked out two words that fel from his mouth. “Bel a”, beautiful, and “per sempre”. I was pretty sure that meant always. No, forever.

  I gave him a curious look. “Italian?”

  His face was unreadable as he turned from me, tucking his penis back inside his pants and zipping his fly.

  I stepped up to him, cording my arms around his waist and resting my chin against his back. “Not that I’m not impressed. I took Italian a few years back and I pretty much only remember bits and pieces. Like how to say my name and ask where the bathroom is.”

  He didn’t respond, so I tried to explain. “I guess I expected Greek. That’s where you’re from right? Greece?”

  “We better head back out there.”

  I slowly removed my arms but reached out and turned him to face me. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Everything’s fine,” he said, annoyance tinging his voice. He buttoned his jacket and flashed me a half-hearted smile. “I’m gonna head back out before Nikolai misses me.” He made it to the door in two long strides, pausing for a brief moment. “Wait a minute or two before you fol ow me.”

  “But I-”

  I stood awkwardly staring at the empty space that he’d just fil ed. What had I done to get the cold shoulder so abruptly?

  I slowly put my clothes on, piece by piece before moving to the mirror. I splashed a bit of water on my face, gazing at the sad face reflected back at me. I’d gone from cloud nine to down in the dirt and muck.

  Serves me right.

  I swiped my purse and tidied up my makeup, swiping a bit of blush over my cheekbones and a bit of gloss on my lips before I stepped back into the hal . As I approached the main floor, I saw the Kournikovas near our table and Max threw me a dopey grin.

  I maneuvered to them, throwing an apology at Mrs. Kournikovas stone cold glare. Max pul ed out my chair and then saddle up next to me. He leaned in to my ear, his hot breath making the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention.

  “After dinner, I have a surprise for you,” he said softly.

  My eyes darted to two tables over where Demetrius sat with a distant, odd look on his face. I couldn’t help but feel a little miffed. I mean, I thought what we’d done was hot and amazing and from his reactions in the thick of it, I thought he’d felt the same. So why was he acting al weird?

  I shook my head slightly as I turned my attention back to Max. “I’ve got a lot of homework and-”

  “Homework can wait.” There was something in his voice that told me it was no longer a request. “Don’t worry, babe. You’re gonna love it!”

  ****

  Nikolai succumbed to his wife's barrage of insults and gave us the night off. Usual y, those under his employ would meet at his office around 10 or so and discuss the state of our accounts. Were any fal ing into or squarely delinquent? Were we getting attitude or lip? Did anyone need any schooling as to why they needed to make protection payments and stay in Nikolai's good graces? In the event someone just needed a little reminding, our mitts would do.

  There was a scale, ranging from pain, but no bruising to bodily harm. Usual y, just an unscheduled visit was enough to get folks to fly right, but if not, we took them on an involuntary trip to Worchester Field. It used to be the center of __. Little league games and other events were held there, until Nikolai built the expansive Kournikova Arena. It was a reminder that he could take away everything with a swipe of his pen or Visa.

  When we arrived, the psychology of being driven out to an isolated spot was enough to make them beg for mercy, but it didn't stop there. We'd drag them from the car, kicking and screaming if necessary, and throw them in the weeds. We'd pul out our gun and hold it against the back of their head. We'd tel them our life would be so much easier if we just pul ed the trigger, fol owed by snotty wails interlaced with apologies. And then we'd put the gun down and say that if it was up to us, they'd be lying in the dirt, brain matter seeping from their nostrils. The grand finale was a little white lie--that it was Kournikova that told us to give them one last chance. Funny thing, Nikolai's wrath was the thing that drew attention. There were no warnings, only a string of disappearances. It was only after he discovered a rat and found the undercover that he realized that brute force was gonna send him into early retirement.

  I bid the Kournikovas good night and started toward my car. Boris stood in my way, his pot bel y about to bust through the buttons of his dark dress shirt.

  "Not in the mood."

  "Just hear me out." He licked his beefy lips, glancing around him before stepping closer.

  He took on a confidential tone. "I may have been outta line the other day." He let out a sigh of relief, like he'd just knocked the weight of the world off his shoulders.

  "Is that an apology?" He came into my house and disrespected me. I couldnt let that slide. We lived in a world where respect was currency. "If so, you better cough up the actual words."

  "Jesus, man," he said with a groan. "What's next? We gonna hold hands and sing kumbaya?"

  "Get the fuck outta my way."

  "Alright, alright," he hissed. "I'm sorry. It's just, I run things. After Nikolai of course," he added. "So I thought you were stepping on my toes."

  I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just doing my job."

  "I know." He clapped my shoulder. "And as long as you keep it up, we're cool."

  I fought the urge to knock his heavy hand from me
and smiled instead. "Alright." I took a step toward my car. "I'm gonna cal it a night-"

  "Before you go-" he cocked his head. "We may have to do some disposal tonight out at warehouse 13."

  My eyes went wide and my back taut. This was it...they were bringing me into the fold.

  Al I needed was to catch them in the thick of it to get the bal rol ing.

  But I hid my eagerness. "Oh yeah?"

  "Yep," Boris said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Apparently Max is serious about his chick. He's binding her to him?"

  I had no idea what that meant, but something about Boris' glee made me worry. "Binding her to him?"

  He nodded. "She's gonna be part of a hit. That way, she's locked in. For better or for worse." He paused, peering at me. "You okay?"

  I wasn't. I bal ed my fists to keep my hands from shaking. Not my Ebony. She wanted out of this thing so bad. He couldnt involve her!

  I cleared my throat and tugged my tie loose. "Think I may have had too much to drink." I booked it to the driver's side. I didn't trust my face to hide my intentions. "I'l pass this time.

  Gonna cal it a night."

  I didnt wait for his response before i slid behind the wheel and with a fluid motion, started my car and pul ed from the parking spot.

  My mind went a mil ion miles a minute. I gripped the steering wheel so tight I was surprised it didnt crumble in my hands. I just saw her doe eyes, wide in horror as that sick bastard took her back to some dark room where some schmuck was tied, ful y aware that tonight was his last on earth. Even if she just watched them end him, she was a part of it. She would be an accessory. Possible prosecution aside, it would ruin her emotional y. Seeing death with your own two eyes changed a person.

  "I'l kil him," i growled, pressing the gas. Fuck the fal out. I was a couple of minutes from the warehouse. I just prayed I had enough time.

  I had no idea what I'd do once I got there. Chal enging Maxhew dead on what screw up the trust I'd been so careful y building with his father. I was barely a month into the job and it was already crumbling.

  But I couldn’t think about that now. I just had to focus on Ebony. Anything else was a distraction and she would need me on my A game.

  My car shook as I pul ed onto the gravel road. I saw the old building standing ominously beneath the ful moon. Out of the way. Secluded enough that no one would hear screaming.

  As i pul ed to the side, i saw a huddled figure, crouched, almost in the fetal position.

  When the head raised, dark eyes staring into the blinding light, my heart broke into a mil ion pieces.

  It was Ebony. I was too late.

  I moved faster than what was humanely possible, putting the car in park but not even bothering to kil the engine.

  I ran to her side and sunk down in the dirt beside her. I scooped her in my arms, her sobs rocking her whole body and sending tremors of regret and sorrow to my very soul.

  "I didn’t...he made me..." she looked up at me, mascara running in rivers down her terrified face.

  "I'm so sorry, Ebony," I said, wiping her tears. I should have been there. I should have protected her instead of keeping my distance. I'd been so worried about the possibility of blowing my cover that I failed her. "It'l be okay. I swear."

  She shook her head before she let out another gut wrenching sob. "No. It won’t be." She gripped my shirt, bal ing it in her fists with pain and frustration. "He made me watch. He made me WATCH!"

  10

  EBONY

  I could hear Demetrius’ voice filtering in through the closed door of the bathroom. It was colored with worry and hesitation as he asked me a tough question. Four words through the mahogany, four words that cut through the wood with a dagger.

  “Are you okay, Ebony?”

  I stiffened against the tub, drawing my knees to my chest. I muttered the words of the lie.

  “I’m fine.”

  I roped my arms around my legs, creating a cocoon as I lowered my head and squeezed my eyes shut. Not even that could give me relief. Behind my lids, I replayed the whole terrible event.

  After tel ing his rents goodnight, Max had seemed giddy, almost like a kid on Christmas morning when he swiped his keys and gave our driver the rest of the night off. As we turned onto the silent night road, I turned my attention to the street lights, lined up like sparks along the nestled street. It was a welcome distraction from Max’s odd behavior.

  I had no idea what Max had planned, but I could feel his excitement pouring off him in waves, al jittery and eager and weirdly talkative. He asked me about Dr. Howel , wondering if she’d straightened up or was stil giving me a hard time. She had, actual y—doing a complete 180, but where I felt disappointment and a push that I could do better before, when I was in her presence lately I got a hefty dose of distrust and cold politeness. I should have been grateful I suppose, but I didn’t feel gratitude. Even though I’d stepped up in class and more than doubled our field work hours, I’d always wonder if my final grade was a product of my work or my professor’s fear.

  And then he started talking about the future. I’d actual y perked at that. We’d said I love you, but it always seemed flat, something said out of duty more than anything else. But when he gripped my thigh, damn near driving us off the rode so he could look into my eyes and say the three words, I felt worried.

  The one thing that brought me comfort about my indiscretions with Demetrius was the fact that I knew one way or another, Max and I had an expiration date. There was no way we’d last forever. Yeah, maybe his dad was cordial and his mother sweetly frosty, but there was no way in hel they’d sign off on an interracial marriage or mixed children. And that didn’t even address the fact that Max stole glances at other chicks al the time and had pictures of women that were a far cry from my curves and dark skin plastered al over his walls. I held tight to the knowledge that Max would tire of me and end things. Or so I thought.

  “You know I love you, right?” he said, dropping the bomb for the second time that night.

  “Of course.” I smoothed the front of my dress nervously. “Of course, babe.” I hoped he didn’t notice that I didn’t reaffirm my love.

  “You’re not like other girls.”

  When I whipped my head and locked eyes with him, not missing the weird tone in his voice, a part of me screeched with joy. Was he doing it now? Was he ending things?

  He cleared his throat. “I mean, you’re special.”

  I dropped my shoulders. So, not ending things. “Thanks.”

  “And I want to share my life with you,” he continued. “I want to share everything with you.”

  He eased the car onto an old country road and I was grateful that the car began to shake because it made me turn my gaze to our surroundings. What the hel were we doing in the cut, an area with no light and nothing but abandoned buildings and creepy bits of broken down cars and equipment?

  “Um, Max?” I asked, fear bubbling in my voice. “Where are we going?”

  “You trust me, don’t you?”

  We were out in the middle of nowhere, out so far that no one would hear me scream. I forced a smile and told him yes. He wouldn’t just proclaim his undying love and end me, right?

  The warehouse that he parked beside looked normal enough. Outside of the building peeking out from the weeds were different forklifts and other machinery. When he helped me out of the car, I forbade myself from dwelling on why he’d bring me out to a warehouse in the middle of the night.

  Inside, the one floor of the building was lined with parcels and brown boxes, stacked high, some almost reaching the rafters. A smal pivot revealed more of the same. It was a cardboard city. Obviously no place for romance.

  And then I heard it.

  At first I thought it was a feral cat. Our apartment complex saw its share of the felines, making al sorts of tortured mewls when they were pregnant or battling it out with each other for territory or food. The sound happened again and I gasped. It was too pained to be that of a human. T
o animal-like and pitiful.

  I peered toward the back my gaze fol owing a dusty aisle between the boxes. There was a silver door at the end.

  I turned to Max. “What the hel are we doing here?”

  “C’mon,” he grinned, his grip tightening on my forearm. “Don’t you want your surprise?”

  I floundered for a second and laughed at his randomness. It was an uncomfortable sound that I covered with a shrug. I had to believe that the weird sounds were nothing to worry about. This had to be a set up for some joke. I mean hel , what else could it be?

  I fol owed behind him, my breathing coming in quiet gasps as my mind played tricks on me. The closer we got, I swore I could hear crying.

  Feral animals don’t cry, I thought, my throat going dry as sandpaper. People cry.

  About two feet from the door, an odor so pungent invaded my nostrils and I gagged. It was the smel of garbage. The smel of waste. Human waste. My God—what was happening in there?

  Max picked up on my terror and tried to calm me, tel ing me that if we were gonna last, we had to do something together.

  “What’s that smel , Max?” I said, ignoring him, my voice rising.

  “Ebony-”

  “What the FUCK is that smel ?!”

  The excitement faded from his handsome face and was replaced by a look of business.

  A look I’d only seen on his dad’s face. “You’re aware of what my father does?”

  I took a step back and folded my arms tight across my chest. “He’s a businessman.

  Manufacturing?”

  Max let out a bel ow that turned the blood in my veins to ice. “C’mon, Ebony. I know you have suspicions. There’s no way my dad could afford our house by owing a bunch of shit yokel factories.” His eyes cut at me. “I know people talk. So I’l ask you again—you’re aware of what my father does, aren’t you?”