by S. K. Lessly
I was stunned and I had no problem letting that shit read on my face. “Wow, baby. I mean, I wish you would have told me sooner. Like that fucking day. How did his sorry ass take it?”
Her features sobered a bit as she took a deep breath before answering me. “Not very well.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean ‘not very well’? What did the pissant say to you? Please tell me he didn’t get stupid and put his hands on you?” I was doing my best not to lose my shit but could feel myself slipping into darkness.
She shook her head frantically. “No, no. It wasn’t anything like that.” I breathed out a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted to do was leave her, naked in this bed, while I went to Philadelphia to kill that son of a bitch.
“Explain.”
“Okay, after I gave him the ring back, things have been quiet, he’s been quiet. He called himself giving me space to get my head on straight. But just recently, he texted me.”
“Saying what exactly?” I prodded as gently as I could, my temper getting some steam. I didn’t want to be angry. I was between my woman’s thighs, exactly where I belonged, and that sorry son of a bitch didn’t get to ruin it. But still, it pissed me off he wasn’t getting it. If he kept harassing her, I would definitely have to step in.
Lexie shrugged her shoulders as she stared at my bare chest. Her fingers ran down my skin, grazing over my nipples. My dick started to get excited all over again, but I couldn’t let this go until she answered me.
I leaned back, grabbed her by the wrists, and pinned her hands against the bed. “Talk to me, baby. What did he say to you?”
She sighed. “Nothing, Ethan. Just that it wasn’t over. He was going to give me a pass because I had just lost my mom. Stuff like that.”
Yeah, he and I were definitely going to talk.
Just then, as if she was reading my mind, she wriggled out of my hold and cupped my face. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here with you for a reason, which is why I’m asking what we’re doing. This means more to me than just us having sex, Ethan. I want more. I don’t know how you feel about that, how you feel about me, but I need to know. I need to know if you want me and not just physically, but everything else in between. Ethan, I want—”
To shut her up, I kissed her, hard. She tried to protest, to push me away, but I held her still, pushed my tongue into her mouth and kissed all her doubts and fears away.
I only released her when I felt her body relax under me. “Come away with me,” I asked without hesitation.
“What?” It was her turn to be shocked.
“You heard me. Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere far from here. A beach or the mountains, whatever. Say goodbye to your old life and make a new one with me. Let me take care of you, make you feel good and special and loved like you deserve. Let me treat you the way you were meant to be treated.”
She looked in my eyes, hers wide as hell. “Are you serious?”
“Hell yes, I’m serious. I’m dead fucking serious. All you have to do is say yes.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alexis
“Come away with me.”
“What?” I looked at him stunned, unable to breathe.
“You heard me. Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere far from here. A beach or the mountains, whatever. Say goodbye to your old life and make a new one with me. Let me take care of you, make you feel good and special and loved like you deserve. Let me treat you the way you were meant to be treated.”
I looked in his crazed eyes, knowing my eyes were wide as hell. “Are you serious?”
“Hell yes, I’m serious. I’m dead fucking serious. All you have to do is say yes.”
I paused and looked up at him, unable to fathom how we got to this place. I was only looking for him to say he wanted me. I wasn’t sure how to respond to going away with him. And did that even answer my question?
As if reading my mind, which he was the bomb at doing, he hedged, “You’re mine now, Alexis. I’ve claimed you, every bit of you from your body, to your mind, your heart and soul. I want you. I’ve wanted you for quite some time and now that I have you, I’m not letting you go. Believe that. So, say yes so we can get the fuck out of here and begin our life together.”
I was grinning from ear to ear at this point, my stomach doing somersaults and my heart about to explode with happiness. I couldn’t begin to stream words together to tell him how I felt. Instead, I said the next best thing.
“Where should we go?”
He brushed his fingers along my face, smiling down at me. “Anywhere you want: the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Fiji. You name it, we’re there. We can stay gone as long as you like. Forever, if you want. Just say you’ll come with me.”
To say I was being bombarded with a flood of emotions would be an understatement. My heart was racing but not because of fear. Because of excitement. Remembering my decision to take risks, I started to nod my head before I even spoke the words. “Okay,”
“Yeah?” he asked, smiling.
I smiled back. “Yeah.”
We stared dreamily at each other for a few minutes before a thought popped into my head. “But first, there are some things I have to settle before we go and Ethan, I have so many things I need to tell you, important things.”
“Me too, but we can tell each other our deepest secrets when we’re gone.” He pushed my hair away from my face and brought his eyes to my lips. He leaned in and kissed me deeply, passionately. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer to him.
“When do you want to leave?” I asked after I caught my breath.
“As soon as possible. When can you be ready?”
I pushed against his chest and sat up. I couldn’t think with him so close to me. Could I really do this? Drop everything and run away with him? I didn’t have any ties here keeping me. I could get someone to pack all of my clothes while Lionel was at work. I needed to grab my other laptop, the one I’d built by hand along with some important papers like my passport, birth certificate, stuff like that. I also had to dip into my offshore bank accounts to free up some money. That would raise some flags due to the amounts I’d probably need, but we’d deal when that happened.
Ethan took my silence to mean something else because he started kissing me.
“Stop worrying. I can hear your mind working overdrive. It’s going to be me and you, as it should be. Trust me.”
I found myself nodding, closing my eyes and relishing in his touch.
“What’s your answer, baby?” He sucked on a spot just below my ear and I moaned deeply. I could feel my body heating up, my thighs dampening as he teased me.
“Ummm…there’s some things I need to get settled before we go. Can you… ohhh… mmmm… two days?”
He raised his head from my neck and searched my eyes, disappointment evident in his.
“I don’t know if I can wait that long, but I’ll try. Come here.” He threaded his fingers through my hair and brought my lips to his in a kiss that had my toes curling.
Kissing him was something I always hoped would be great, but I never thought it would be fantastic. His lips were masterful, soft and seductive. The way he orchestrated his along mine had me wanting more, craving for more.
Ethan deepened the kiss and soon I found him pushing slowly inside me. I gasped. The man was freaking huge, but I had thought my body had gotten used to his size. No such luck. When he pushed inside, it was as if he was doing it for the first time. The bite of pain was instantly replaced with a need so strong I thought I would explode.
He gloriously swiveled his hips, pulling almost all the way out before plunging inside me again slow and easy. We both moaned with pleasure, white hot sparks igniting my body. He felt so good. I couldn’t see straight much less speak in complete sentences. I felt him everywhere, in my heart, against my skin, inside me.
My body responded to every delicious stroke of his thick shaft, coming alive for him, melting for him. I bit my lip as he
glided along a place deep inside I had no idea existed. My eyes went wide when he coasted along that sensitive bundle of nerves again, causing my toes to curl and my back to bow.
“Oh, shit, fuck Ethan, right there, please fuck me…”
“Yeah, baby, right there? You like that?”
Ethan sat up, spread open my legs and began to pummel the hell out of my pussy. I screamed his name, thrashed underneath him and begged for him not to stop.
By the time he was done with me, all I could do was curl up and pass out.
The next day, after Ethan woke me up with his fingers strumming my clit until I exploded, I jumped in the shower, dressed, and eagerly started preparing for our departure. Ethan had to leave early too, telling me he had some things he needed to do in D.C. first before we could leave.
He left me sitting on my bed, my head in my laptop. I had so much to do. My job was already taken care of; I had no job. I was supposed to return back to work weeks ago and I never showed nor did I call. I was sure it would look bad on my resume, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t like I needed the money anyway.
So next on my list, I needed to head back to Philly. I needed to get some things out of the safe, as well as some clothes and my passport. I checked the time and saw it wasn’t even twelve. I had time to get to Philly and back before Lionel got off from work.
I didn’t want to deal with him today or ever. I hoped he’d gotten the hint by my radio silence, but deep down, I knew he hadn’t and that I would have to see him again.
I just hoped everything would work out in the end.
“Please, Mama. Have my back.”
***
I waited for Lionel on the porch of my mother’s home getting restless. It was about five p.m. and I was pissed as hell but relieved all rolled into one. Lionel caught me as I was leaving the apartment the other day and cornered me in the lobby. He begged to talk to me, but I had appointments that day that I couldn’t miss to deal with him. We planned on meeting the following day at my mom’s house, which was why I was here. I promised myself I would stay strong. No way was he going to manipulate me any longer.
I stood up, feeling antsy and sticky, and started to walk around the property. The process for closing on the house wasn’t for another two days. Until then, this house still belonged to me. I touched the side of the house, smiling, thinking about all of the memories with my family, and Ethan. I closed my eyes and looked up at the heavens. I hoped my mom was okay and happy. I hoped she was smiling down on me, saying to herself, “I told you so,” about Ethan.
I chuckled. Yeah, she was saying that and much more. I opened my eyes, a smile still covering my sweaty face when my eyes landed on something strange. Something…I hadn’t ever seen before.
I walked closer to the porch and squinted my eyes up to the small roof. There was a square-shaped object, black, stuck to the side of the porch’s roof. It was hidden by the shingles from the roof and because of the color, it had blended easily. It looked like a camera, but I had never seen it before. Maybe my mom had installed security cameras and forgot to tell me. That was plausible. Nowadays, you didn’t need a panel inside your house to control your security system. A smartphone would do just fine.
I walked around the house, slower this time looking for anything else out of place. After further scrutiny, I found a few more square-like cameras outside the house, one even pointing to the porch. Feeling a bit paranoid, I started searching inside the house, looking for similar devices, but I didn’t find anything. However, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention. Shivers racked my body thinking about what this could mean. In my line of work, having cameras that looked as obscure as these fired off alarm bells. They weren’t common at all. They were high-tech and no doubt very expensive.
I quickly went to my car, pulled out my special laptop, and flopped back into my rocking chair. I leaned forward, my laptop open and ready on top of my lap, and did quick work of signing in and finding the software I needed to do something I hadn’t done in a very long time.
It took less than fifteen minutes to find what I needed, and I hit pay dirt. I lifted my head and took in my surroundings. Paranoia started to sink in, and my heart started beating a mile a minute. What could this mean? I had no clue, but I had no idea who to go to, who to talk to about this. Maybe Ethan would help me understand why I’d found freaking cameras all around my property and how they got there as well as inside my house. Who was spying on my mom?
I decided to dig in further and what I discovered had me sick to my stomach. Anger coursed through my body at what I found, and I was ready to kill. God, I was going to kill that son of a bitch.
I fell back against the rocking chair and tried not to blow my top. I also tried not to feel ashamed. I had been made a fool out of big time and I had no clue.
Tears started to fill my eyes, but I blinked them back. I would not cry over any man ever again!
I opened my eyes and reached for my phone lying on the floor next to the chair. As I was looking for the bastard’s number, I heard wheels crossing asphalt. I looked up and found the bastard had arrived. I steeled my expression, not wanting to give away how pissed I was. I had to play my cards right. If I started going off right away, he would deny everything. And if I showed him the evidence, he’d know what I’d done and that couldn’t happen either.
This shit was so messed up, it was unreal.
Lionel stepped out of the car watching me cautiously. He was dressed casually in a short-sleeved button up shirt and dark blue jeans. He walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek. He looked me up and down, his expression changing to suggestive, which made me feel dirty and cheap. I didn’t even have on anything sexy, just my usual casual gear, a pair of jean shorts and a tank. But I still felt like I had no clothes on at all.
My ex stepped back, smiling at me, and rested his butt on the banister. I noticed he didn’t come here empty handed, which puzzled me. He had a bottle of wine and two clear solo cups in his hand. I frowned at the items he held but remained quiet.
What the hell was he doing? I hope that wasn’t for us. For one, he should know I didn’t drink wine, and for two, what would be the occasion? Him being a lowlife fucking cheater and a damn liar?
The smarmy, worm-infested scoundrel hit me with his winning the jurors over smile, unscrewed the bottle in his hand, and started pouring wine into the cups trapped between his fingers.
“Look Alexis,” he began, looking up at me before bringing his eyes back to the two cups in his hands. “I just wanted to come here and apologize to you for how I treated you during your time of need as well as over the years.” He bent over, placed the bottle next to his feet then handed me one of the solo cups.
I looked at him, unable to hide the shock.
He laughed. “Yeah, I know. I should have said this sooner. I apologize for that too.”
I found my voice and gave him a side eye. “Okay, what’s the catch here?”
He laughed again and it was a creepy sound, disingenuous and shady.
“There’s no catch. I’m serious. I’ve been an ass to you, especially when you needed me the most. And I know that’s why you gave me back the ring. Look, I understand. Really, I do. If I dealt with someone and they abandoned me in my time of need, I would have done the same thing. Listen, I just wanted to come here and talk, hash out our differences and maybe become friends.” I narrowed my eyes on that heavily shoveled bullcrap and he put a placating hand up, looking sheepish. He chuckled too, which grated on my nerves.
“I know this is hard to believe. But I’m serious, Alexis. I want to be friends. We can be that, right? We can be friends? Why don’t we try? Let’s toast to a fresh start for the both of us.” I frowned my nose, ready to tell him first to go and fuck himself and second… go and fuck himself. However, I never got a word in edgewise.
Lionel said quickly, “Hey, I know you really don’t like to drink this stuff.” He held up the solo cup and tilted it my way. “But will you have a
sip with me? Just for old time’s sake? I just want us to end on a good note, you know. Come on, please? Just a sip.”
I studied him hard. This wasn’t like Lionel. He wasn’t nice, attentive, understanding. Something was up with him. I decided to test his sincerity.
“Come on, Lionel. You know wine makes me sick. Besides, where is all this coming from? I remember just weeks ago you were insulting me, calling stupid for—”
“I know. I know and I’m sorry for my behavior, seriously. I shouldn’t have treated you that way. Especially when you’d just lost your mom. My actions were unforgivable and yet I’m asking for forgiveness. I wasn’t the perfect boyfriend; someone that you needed. I’m trying to be a good friend now.”
My gut was telling me he was full of it. But, the look of sincerity in his eyes had me giving him the benefit of the doubt. He wasn’t fighting me on ending things, which had me loosening up a bit. Maybe bringing up the videos I had just seen wasn’t the time. I didn’t want to fight with him. I was tired. I just wanted him to go away.
I sighed, relenting but keeping my guard up. I took the cup from his outstretched hand. “Okay, but just a sip. I don’t want to be sick.”
He smiled at me. “Fair enough.”
He lifted his cup in the air and waited for me to do the same. “Here’s to happiness and love for the both of us. I know it’s somewhere out there. Unfortunately, it’s not with each other.”
I snorted. I’d drink to that.
We clinked cups and I took one large gulp, just for the taste, and placed the cup down next to me. Lionel took two sips in before he regarded me with that smile of his back on his face.
Goodness, why did he have to look so sneaky when he smiled?
“So, have you sold this place yet?”
I nodded and smiled. “Yes, actually…they should…be ummm…”
I stopped speaking, the words dissipating like a fog in front of my face. I started to feel cold all of a sudden then hot, extremely hot, as if my blood was heating up in my veins. I looked up at Lionel, about to tell him I wasn’t feeling well, but he was going in and out of focus. I squinted my eyes, trying to bring him in focus. It wasn’t working.