“Then who is It Momma? Who’s so low and evil that they’d threaten my future and my happiness like this?”
“Baby, I think it’s Claire. I think your birth mother is out to extort money from you for her nasty addiction. Regardless, you need to sit down and tell Lukah everything, even the stuff that hurts. By doing so, no one can ever hold shit over your head or take anything away from you. And don’t worry, his shoulders are strong. He can handle it.”
“What? Why now? I haven’t seen or heard from her since the day she left me with you. Why does she bother with me now?” I can’t believe this bitch is really trying to do this.
“She’s obviously desperate. She tried to guilt me into giving it to her and when that didn’t work, it seems she turned to you next. I know it’s scary, baby, but you have to let him in if you want this relationship to work. Let him see my beautiful girl, let him see you not just strong but also vulnerable.” She goes silent.
Although she’s not saying anything I can hear her sob a little. Momma has always been my rock, strong whenever I needed her no matter what. She has done her very best to raise me and keep me safe, shielding me from Claire and all her bullshit. I know this can’t be easy for her to deal with, knowing that bitch is coming after me and threatening everything I’ve worked so hard to build.
She breaks the silence. “I love you, baby girl. We’ll get through this, together.”
“Momma, I love you and thank you. You always know how to calm me. That bitch isn’t getting anything from me. I know I need to open up and let him in, I’m just scared. I don’t want him to leave me.”
“Baby girl, that man doesn’t know it or isn’t ready to admit it, but he’s in love with you. Yes, it’s only been a few days. But it’s written all over his face. When his head catches up to his heart, he’ll see it too. The same goes for you.”
“Momma…” I start to interject.
“Just listen to me, okay? Do you think that you’d care this much what he thought of you if you didn’t like him so much? Love is a tricky bitch, but she has the best intentions. One day you’ll see it. Now go and get settled. You have an important conversation to be had with that man. I love you. Call me tomorrow when you get up.”
“I love you too, Momma. I’ll text you when I get up and we have decided what to do about Claire,” I reply before ending the call.
I curl up on the couch and wait for everyone to get here. This is just another small hurdle. I need to be strong and not let Claire get to me. She’s never wanted me and she definitely never loved me. I was just a paycheck. The best thing she ever did for me was leave me at Momma’s that day and never return.
I jump at the sound of the door opening and turn to see Fia coming in ,followed by Rhen, who has wine in his hands.
“Sis, are you okay? Fia told me what happened. Who’s ass am I whooping?” Rhen inquires.
“Bubba, she isn’t worth it. It’s Claire. Apparently, she tried to guilt Momma into giving her money and I think that’s what she wants from me too. But she’s threatening me with secrets I haven’t revealed to Lukah yet.”
Suddenly the door opens and Lukah comes rushing over in front of me, enveloping me in his arms. “Baby doll, are you okay? What happened? You looked as though you saw a ghost down there. You scared the shit out of me. I was so worried.”
I pull back a little. “Just got a reminder that I have demons I need to extinguish. Skeletons I need to let out of my closet.” I kiss him. “Baby, we need to talk. I can’t let this person hold power over me, and in order to take back my power, I have some things to tell you.”
He stands up clutching my hands in his, pulling me into his lap as he sits on the couch.. “Before you start, I just want you to know that no matter what it is, we’ll get through it, together. I’m here for the long haul.” He kisses my temple.
I sit back for a moment and think about his declaration. I hope he’s right that we can get through this. Here goes nothing. Fidgeting with my hands and trying to find my courage, I look down before taking a deep breath.
He nods for me to go ahead when I’m ready.
“Well first let me start by telling you about my job. I’m a topless dancer, a stripper. I go by the stage name Kalesi. I wear contacts and a blonde wig to hide my identity. It isn’t something I’m most proud of, but I’m not ashamed either. Most people frown on what I do because they automatically assume that because I dance half naked that I’m also fucking my customers.”
He sits back nodding for me to continue.
“I’ve never been with a customer. I’ve got more self-respect than that. I’ve saved everything I made to put towards my own boutique, only spending the necessary amount on rent, bills, food, and gas. I never in a million years thought an opportunity like this competition would come along for me. But if I don’t win, I‘m still determined to make my dreams come true.”
I sit waiting to see if he’s going to leave.
Instead he says, “Why would you think this would scare me off or change my opinion of you?”
Tears run down my face “Because what respectable, wealthy man wants to walk around knowing that probably half of the city’s population has seen his girlfriend half naked?”
He pulls my chin up and stares me in my eyes. “This one.” He crashes his lips to mine.
I wrap my arms around him crying and kissing him.
“Ahem, sis, I hate to break up this lovefest, but you need to tell us the rest,” Rhen says.
I look his way and nod.
“He’s right,” Lukah agrees.
Before I do, I take a large gulp of wine. “So I told you that Momma isn’t my biological mom right?”
He nods.
I continue, “Well my birth mother, the human incubator as I like to refer to her, because she was never a mom to me, even before she dropped me off at Momma’s and walked away. Well her name’s Claire, and she’s a heroin addict. I didn’t know that when I was a kid. I discovered that only because of the nightmares. Which turned out to be really bad memories from when I lived with her.”
Lukah started to rub small circles in the small of my back as if to tell me he’s right here.
Going on, I wipe my tears. “Claire’s a parasite that feeds off of the good and kind-hearted. Uses pity, guilt, or whatever else she can to get what she wants. She used to tell me I was the biggest mistake of her life. I used to feel unworthy of love and thought there was no way anyone wanted someone so broken as me.”
Lukah pulls me closer and holds me a little tighter.
“I believed her until Momma set me straight. Because Momma wanted me and loved me. And that was enough for me, until Gavin. Then when he did what he did, and I started to feel worthless and no good again.”
I take a breath. Aside from Fia and Momma, no one else knows the horrors we’ve endured from Claire. It’s part of what bonded me to Fia. She too dealt with this type of behavior from her parents. We bonded over being born into a fucked-up situation but finding each other to get through the hard times. I look over at Rhen and Lukah, and they have tears in their eyes.
Rhen speaks up. “Sissy, I’m so sorry. I never knew. I love you. I accept you. You’re my family. I’ll always be here to protect you and Sofia. You two have been through so much, it’s only built strong beautiful women. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than the amazing person you are.”
I climb from Lukah’s lap and go over to Rhen, to hug him and thank him.
“Baby doll, I’d never judge you based on your past, nor on who your ‘human incubator’ is,” Lukah states. He chuckles slightly at that phrase. “I don’t care that you are or were a stripper. I’m smart enough to know that you don’t sleep with your customers. And not to sound arrogant, but I’m confident enough to know it’s me you’ll be coming home to.”
I crawl back into his lap. A spit that’s quickly becoming my safe place. No one has ever made me feel more beautiful than I do right now, knowing this man wants me for me, the real me.<
br />
He continues. “So, what if half the city has seen you half naked? I get to see all of you, inside and out. I don’t get Kalesi, the fictional woman, I get Savannah, the real woman. They get to dream about her, I get to be with you.”
I’m crying like a blubbering idiot., “You have no idea how happy you make me. These last four days have been eye-opening. But what do we do about the text? Do I go and meet her tomorrow?”
“We’ll go together to meet her. I’ll set her straight. She will not intimidate or blackmail you. I can ruin her. She’ll never bother you again when I’m done.”
Izzy has been sitting off to the side observing everything. I should be mortified, but she’s Lukah’s person and by that alone she’s family. I’m glad she’s here too.
I look over at her. “I’m sorry you’ve been drug into all this Izzy.”
She jumps up. “First off, don’t be sorry. Lukah and I had shitty parental figures too. I wasn’t so lucky to have someone like your Momma, but Lukah had Pops and then because of Lukah, Pops took me in too. I wouldn’t worry about that leech. I’ll run interference with the press if that bitch leaks anything before you meet with her.”
She starts pacing until Fia hands her a shot of Jack. She slams the shot then continues. “You’re my best friends’ girl, and so you’re family. I’ll be damned if someone attacks my family. Fia, Rhen, and I’ll be here tomorrow to help any way we can.”
I lay my head on Lukah’s shoulder. “Thank you, thank you all so much.”
He rubs my back. “You never have to thank me or any of us. You and I are in this together, baby doll. Rhen, Fia, Momma, and even Izzy will always have your back too. Now, let’s get some sleep. You can review your envelope and stuff in the morning. It’s been quite an eventful day for you already. You need to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow..”
I nod.
Izzy speaks up. “He’s right. I’m gonna head to bed. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. And if you need anything please don’t hesitate to call me. I’m literally right next door.”
He stands up, still holding me in his arms. “Thanks Izzy, good night.”
She waves goodnight to everyone and heads out to her room.
“Goodnight, love bug, I love you,” Fia says from behind us.
Rhen says, “Lukah, take care of our girl. Sis, get some sleep and we’ll see you in the morning.”
“I love you both so very much. Goodnight,” I say as we walk to our room.
Lukah doesn’t set me down until we reach our bed. He sits me on the edge and goes back to close the door and turn on the lights. I stand and start to strip off my clothes and think of how nice it would be to soak in the jacuzzi sized bathtub.
“Hey baby, would you mind if I took a hot bubble bath and soaked?”
“Of course not. I’ll start your water.” Lukah walks past me to the tub where he starts my bubble bath.
I saunter over to him. “Why don’t you join me? We can soak away today’s stress together.” I wink as I finish stripping off my clothes and climb in.
He nods, stripping off his clothes and joining me.
I lay back into his arms sighing. “I can totally get used to this.”
“Me too.”
We soak for what feels like forever, him washing my hair and body. We rinse off and then Lukah wraps me in a towel and carries me to bed. I snuggle close to him and drift to sleep. Tomorrow will be rough, but at least I still have Lukah. We’ll face tomorrow together.
17
Lukah
Waking up next to this beautiful woman’s a true blessing. I’m falling for her so quick and enjoying every minute of it. I have the urge to protect her and be by her side to help her achieve her goals. After all she told me last night, I now know how strong she truly is.
Not only did the person that was supposed to be her rock, her foundation, and the one person who she was supposed to always be able to count on, abandon her, but her ex used and manipulates her. Then after abandoning her, she returns to try to manipulate her to get her next fix. So fucked up. To think I was such a shallow person that I’d abandon her because of a job. That bitch has no idea who she’s fucking with. She’ll not threaten my girl, nor will she make her feel guilty for her job.
“I can hear your thoughts, baby. Don’t let Claire get in your head. We’ll get through this today and then I’ll rock this competition. Now why don’t you hold me a little longer. I love the feel of your arms around me.” Savy reaches her hand up to caress my face.
“I’m sorry, baby doll, you’re right,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her tighter to me.
If there’s one thing she’s right about, it’s how amazing she feels in my arms. I could lie here all day with her wrapped in my arms, feeling as though our hearts beat as one.
“I need one promise,” I softly say.
“Hmmm? What?”
“I need you to promise me that after the competition is over, no matter the outcome, you and I’ll take a whole day to just do this.”
She opens her eyes slightly. “Do what? Sleep?”
I looked into her eyes. “Lay wrapped in each other’s arms all day. I don’t mean sex. I mean wrapped up in each other emotionally and mentally. We’ll both need the down time after all of this, I’m sure. Just promise me that we’ll take the time for it before we move forward after the competition.”
“I promise.” She nestles her head back onto my chest as I tighten my grip.
That promise must have been all I needed to relax because we wound up drifting off to sleep not long after our chat. Around ten a.m. there was a knock at the door that startled me awake.
“Who is it?” Savy groans.
“You better be covered, I’m comin’ in,” Fia says as she opens the door and barges in. “It’s ten, are you gonna sleep all day? We have a lot of prep to do. We don’t meet with the models until two thirty, but I want to make sure your work area is all set up. Get up. Rhen is on his way up with breakfast and coffee!”
I smile at her antics to get Savy up.
“Sofia Maria, so help me Thor, if you don’t go away,” Savy throws a pillow toward her.
Fia jumps out of the way then leaps onto the bed and starts jumping and laughing as she sings. “Rise and shine, porcupine, it’s sewing time.”
I push myself up into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard, laughing at the sight.
Savy jumps up, forgetting she has no clothes on. “Get out or I’m going to kick your ass, you psycho bitch.”
“Okay, okay, I’m going. I’ll be in the living room. Just make it a quickie though, okay? We have lots to do. And don’t forget you and Lukah have to meet Claire at noon to crush her blackmailing dreams.” She runs out yanking the door closed behind her, avoiding another pillow.
Savy turns toward me. “What the hell is she talking about?”
I let my eyes slowly climb up her body to her eyes and wink. It’s at that moment, she realizes she jumped up, stark naked, in front of her sister. Which I’m not complaining about, not one bit. If Fia had looked at me, she would have seen that I was sporting morning wood, because the sight of my girl does things to me both physically and emotionally.
She starts blushing and laughs nervously. “Shit, she assumed we were in the middle of fuckin’.”
I get up out of bed and stalk toward her. “Come shower with me, my little minx. She’s right, we’ve got a busy day today.”
I hold my hand out to her as she looks into my eyes and nods. I pull her with me to the bathroom, stopping at the sink to grab my toothbrush. I quickly brush my teeth then turn on the shower to get it hot enough as she finished brushing her teeth.
Stepping into the shower, I pin her to the wall and assault her mouth with mine. I devour her moans as she grips me and lifts her leg up over my hip, inviting me in. I growl into her mouth as I plunge my cock into her slick folds. The way her pussy grips me is almost enough to send me over the edge already but I hold back. I want to bring h
er pleasure first.
Once I’m fully within her walls, I start to slowly rotate my hips, hitting her g-spot at just the right angle. Within no time an orgasm takes hold of her and she screams out in ecstasy. I decide not to silence her with my mouth this time. I love hearing her when I’m balls deep in her tight, wet pussy. Her moans and whimpers only fuel me to fuck her harder and faster.
Before long I can feel another orgasm building within her by the way her pussy squeezes my cock. I continue to plunge deep into her folds, then together, we go over the edge of bliss. I empty my seed into her and hold her tightly. After a few moments, we slowly pull apart and I gaze into those beautiful mismatched eyes and kiss her softly.
“You’re incredible,” I whisper as I kiss the tip of her nose and spin her to help her wash her hair.
“I’m just me.” She giggles. “That’s the best way to start every day.”
I laugh at her comment, nodding in agreement. I go on to wash her back and body before washing my own hair and body too. We finish rinsing off then get out, wrapping towels around us as she proceeds to wrap her hair up in a towel too. I follow her out into our room and begin to dry off fully and get dressed. I decide on a nice polo and dress pants.
I turn to find my little minx in a cute sundress covered in daisies and butterflies. She slightly towel-dries her hair and then begins to brush it. I watch in awe. She’s absolutely breathtaking, and all mine. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Come in,” she yells towards the door.
Rhen walks in. “Hey guys, breakfast is on the table.”
She kisses his cheek and thanks him as she walks out to the living room.
He watches her exit the room and waits a moment to make sure she is out of ear shot before looking at me. “Hey, thank you for letting me stay and be a part of this. I like the fact that I’m close and can look out for them.”
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