Pawns & Kings Page 8

  “What am I doing here? And why are you here with me?”

  “Because I’m the one who found you,” he said. “By the time I got in there you were unconscious. He beat you pretty bad. I wanted to go deal wit’ his ass right then, but I chose to get you out of there first.”

  “How did you even find me?” I asked as I pulled the comforter tighter around me.

  “After I left your house, I was about half-way down the street when I remembered that you left your suitcase in the trunk. I was coming back to bring it to you when I saw you driving away. I decided to follow you, partially out of curiosity and partially because I knew that your parents didn’t want me on their property anyway. I saw you go inside the garage with that guy, but I didn’t know who he was so I just waited. But then when I saw D.J. go inside I started to put the pieces together. The guy that you were with is the one that used you to set Darius up.”

  I looked away, embarrassed by the fact that I had given in to Allen when everybody knew that I had no business being within ten feet of him. It was my own stupid decision that had me in this condition, yet Terry had gone out on a limb to rescue me. But that still didn’t change the fact that he saw me naked without my permission.

  “Thank you, Terry. Thank you for saving me,” I said to him.

  “I just did what any real man would do,” he replied.

  “Well, I appreciate what you did,” I told him. “But did you have to take off all of my clothes?”

  “How else was I supposed to clean you up and keep your wounds from getting infected,” he said, his expression remaining serious as if seeing me naked hadn’t affected him at all.

  “You could have at least kept my bra and panties on. I’m not okay with you seeing all of me,” I told him with a little bit of an attitude.

  He sucked his teeth and said, “Don’t flatter yourself too much, shawty. Seeing you naked wasn’t all that special. I’ve seen bigger versions of what you got anyway.”

  I gasped in shock as I stared at him appalled. He continued to sit there and look at me as if he didn’t care at all about how his comment made me feel. My feelings were a little hurt, but I wasn’t about to let him know that.

  “You know what, if I wasn’t in so much pain then I would find something to hit you with,” I said.

  “Yeah, I bet you would,” he said sarcastically.

  “Jerk,” I mumbled under my breath and that got a laugh out of him.

  “Call me what you want, chick,” he said as he stood. “I know you gotta be hungry. You been asleep for over twenty-four hours.”

  “Are you serious?” I said as I put my hand to my head. I thought about my parents and knew that they would be worried, but then I remembered that I told them that I was spending the night at a friend’s house when I went to meet Allen. I recalled them accepting that as a viable excuse to leave the house, especially after the argument that we had.

  Almost right on cue, my stomach growled and I instantly realized that I was starving. I began rubbing my stomach while Terry stared down at me.

  “Is there any way that you could go get me something to eat?” I asked him, trying to show my sweet side in hopes that he would do as I asked.

  “Yeah, I might be able to sneak you a turkey sandwich up here,” he said.

  “Oh please, Terry. That would be great,” I said as my mouth began to water at the thought of being able to eat.

  “A’ight. Just chill here and I’ll be right back.” As soon as he left the room I managed to get out of the bed and make it over to the bathroom. After releasing my bladder I went to the sink and washed my hands. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I saw my purple bra and panties hanging on the towel rack on the wall behind me. I moved over to them and began putting them on. Terry had some nerve trying to imply that my body was subpar to what he was used to. My measurements were 34, 24, 34, and as far as I was concerned that was perfect. I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I looked around for the rest of my clothes but didn’t see them anywhere.

  “Damn,” I mumbled to myself. I gave up on my search before it had even gotten started and resumed my place in bed. Just as I did Terry came back into the room carrying a plate that held a turkey sandwich and a cluster of grapes. He handed the plate to me along with a bottle of water. I barely said thank you before I took multiple bites out of the sandwich and began to chew away. I quickly swallowed and then took a few more bites.

  “Damn, girl. Slow down,” he told me as he sat in front of me on the side of the bed, but I didn’t listen. I finished the sandwich in no time, took a swig of the water and then began working on the grapes.

  “Oh my god, food has never tasted so good,” I said, voicing my thoughts out loud.

  “If you say so, boo,” Terry said as he watched me eat.

  I looked at him as I put a few grapes into my mouth. “You think that just because you saved me that makes me your boo now?” I asked.

  “Nah… I ain’t mean it like that,” he said nervously. This was the first time that I had ever seen him nervous.

  “I was just messing with you,” I said even though I was enjoying seeing him in an uneasy state.

  “Oh,” he said, relaxing a bit. He stood and said, “Well, in the morning I’m gonna have to tell Darius about what happened.”

  “What?” I said as I watched him walk away from the bed and stand over by the dresser. “You can’t do that.” I put the plate on the nightstand and got out of the bed.

  “I have to. I can’t keep something like this from him. I shouldn’t have kept quiet about it this long, but I really didn’t know what to do after I found you,” he said as I walked over to him. The small bit of food that I had just eaten made walking a lot easier.

  “Terry, please,” I begged. “If you tell him, then he’ll tell my parents and they’ll never let me leave the house ever again. And there’s no telling what they’ll do when they find out that you rescued me and kept me here for a day and a half, or however long it’s been.”

  “Oh well. I guess that’s the risk that we’ll have to take. I’m telling Darius and there’s nothing that you can say to make me change my mind,” he told me.

  “Pleeeease, don’t tell,” I pleaded as I clutched his shirt. “I’ll do anything.”

  “Leah, come on now. Don’t start begging and shit,” he said as he grabbed my hands and put them back at my side. He seemed to have his mind made up, but he was still a man. If there was one thing that my mother taught me it was that men would do just about anything for you if you made the right offer.

  “What if I do something for you,” I said as I stepped closer to him.

  “What’chu mean?” he said but I knew that he was already aware of where I was going with this.

  “You should let me do something for you. You know, to thank you for rescuing me,” I said as I leaned my body into his and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “What you got in mind?” he said as he put his hands at the back of my thighs and then moved them up over my ass and to my waist.

  I moved my hands over his shoulders and down his arms. I was about to go in for a kiss until I felt a scar on his right shoulder. I looked at what my hand had touched and saw that he had a hole in his arm.

  “How did you get that?” I asked him as I looked from his scar to his face.

  “I got shot while we were in Paris,” he told me.

  “Oh,” I said still looking at the scar that I then knew was a bullet wound. “Did it hurt when you got shot?”

  “Hell yeah, it hurt. But I handled it though.” He redirected his eyes to my breast which were resting against his chest and being pushed up by my bra. For someone who had acted as if seeing me naked hadn’t fazed him, he sure was interested now.

  “Now, what were you saying about wanting to repay me,” he said, getting right back to the point.

  “Well, what I was about to say is that I like a strong man. One who can protect me, rescue me if he has to, and even endure pain,” I said a
s I brushed my hand across his bullet wound.

  “Oh, you like that, huh,” he said, his mouth almost touching mine.

  “Um hmm,” I said nodding my head as he pulled me closer. I put my hand at the back of his head and kissed him long and hard. I let him slip his tongue into my mouth and I savored the feeling of it. It didn’t take long for him to begin removing my bra and panties.

  I pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his muscular chest and torso. He picked me up and carried me over to the bed. He lay me down gently and then removed his jeans and boxers. I was able to enjoy the sight of his long, thick erection for a few moments before he reached over and turned off the lamp. He climbed on top of me, being careful not to put his full weight on me or to touch any of my sore spots.

  “It’s okay,” I said as I pulled him toward me and allowed his body to settle on top of mine.

  “You sure?” he asked, still propping himself up on his elbows. “I don’t want to hurt you.” His sincerity and compassion were touching. Most guys wouldn’t give a damn how the woman felt as long as they could get their rocks off.

  He lowered his head and grazed my nipples with lips. He was such a tease. He finally opened his mouth and let his tongue out so that it could taste my nipple. He began to suck and lick them like he was licking a popsicle. I rubbed my hand up and down the back of his head and neck as he went to work. Then I lifted my legs and wrapped them around his back, which let him know that I was ready.

  “Let me know if I’m hurting you,” he said as he slid his dick inside of me, working it as deep as he possibly could. I gasped as I felt his girth completely filling me.

  “Oh, Terry. That feels so good,” I moaned as I grabbed him and pulled him to me, kissing him deeply. He slowly began to grind his hips into mine and I did my best to match his thrust. His lips found my neck then my chest and nipples again. I bit my lip, trying to stifle the moans that were beginning to escape my mouth as he grinded harder and deeper. He had one nipple in his mouth and the other was being pinched between his thumb and forefinger. Both sensations were driving me insane and eventually I came intensely.

  He pulled out then gently turned me over so that I was lying on my stomach. I stood on my hands and knees and begged him to enter me again. He did as I asked, entering me more roughly than before but I didn’t mind. I put one hand against the headboard as he put his hands on my hips and thrust back and forth. Terry wasn’t the first guy that I’d had sex with, but for some reason it was so much better with him. I wanted so badly to scream his name as he pounded into me. I had to fight the urge though because I didn’t want anyone to know what we were doing. But after a few moments I couldn’t hold it together any longer. I put my face into the pillow, allowing it to muffle my moans and screams of pleasure. He continued to fuck me with reckless abandon, and the more he did, the more intense my screams became until we both came and collapsed beside each other.

  Terry took a moment to catch his breath and then got up and went into the bathroom. Exhaustion had begun to set in again and all I could do was lie there. I heard him turn on the faucet. The water ran for a while and I figure that he was probably cleaning himself off. A few moments later he came back into the bedroom carrying a wet rag. He turned me over on my back then began to clean me as well. After he did that, he took the rag back into the bathroom and then came back to bed. He put the comforter over me and then lay beside me.

  I stared at him in the moonlit room while he stared at the ceiling. We were both silent, neither of us knowing what to say. It was one of those moments where I felt that nothing needed to be said right then. What we had just shared said enough.

  I moved closer to him and snuggled up against him. He tensed at first and I could tell that he probably wasn’t used to cuddling after sex. But then he put his arm around me and I felt him relax. He pulled me closer to him and I lay my head on his chest as we both drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter XI- Natalie

  I just didn’t understand him sometimes. Why would he be getting on a plane and flying miles away with everything that was going on? See, this was exactly what I was talking about. All of the doubts that I had been having about us and our relationship were being confirmed. He didn’t give a damn about how his decisions affected other people, me especially. How could I make him understand that what he was doing was both self-pleasing and self-destructive at the same time? He just didn’t seem to get it. Yet, I still loved him, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to stay.

  I stood in the doorway between the bathroom and bedroom and watched as he finished packing his last suitcase. His back was to me but I knew that he could feel me watching him. He packed slowly, almost as if he wanted someone to stop him. I could lay down my pride and beg him to stay, but I was pretty sure that he’d leave anyway. What I had to say didn’t seem to matter to him.

  We argued about it last night, but it was impossible for me to stand my ground with him. He knew what to say and how to say the very thing that would distract me from the reason that I was mad. Then he’d look at me in that way that would make particular parts of my body respond.

  He used that look to distract me last night while we were arguing. I protested just as he began to caress me, but my will-power was no match for his sensual touch. Before I knew it, he had undressed me. He told me to lie down on the bed and then he began to use his tongue to work his magic all over my body. After that I let go of all of my restraints and we made love more passionately than we ever had.

  Though last night was still a fresh memory in my mind, it had no bearing on how I felt today. Nothing had changed. He was business as usual and still had every intention to go through with his plan of going to Miami to meet the family that he never knew.

  “Darius, I’m going to ask you again,” I said. “Do you really think that it’s a good idea for you to be going out of town right now?”

  Darius lifted his head and sighed before looking over his shoulder at me.

  “Yes, I do,” he said simply.

  “Really?” I said as I approached him. I stood beside him and he turned to face me. “Even with all of the people out there who want you dead. Not to mention the fact that we’re supposed to be trying to work things out between us.”

  “Natalie, you and I both know that that’s going to take time.”

  “Time that you just don’t have right now,” I stated.

  “Baby, it’s not like that,” he said as he reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist. “But I can’t put the rest of my life on hold while we figure things out.”

  “Well I’m sorry that I’m just in your way then,” I said, folding my arms.

  “Natalie… come on now. Don’t make this harder than it already is. Besides, you know that I’ve been trying, haven’t I?”

  I looked away from him before looking back into his brown eyes. “Yeah, I guess you have. Last night was definitely a step in the right direction,” I said bringing a smile to both of our faces.

  “I think I would have to agree with you on that,” he said as his hands began to travel under my robe. I unfolded my arms and wrapped them around his neck as he began to kiss me deeply. He pushed his fingers past my lace panties and it didn’t take long for my vagina to respond. I moaned against his mouth as he moved his fingers in and out of me at a slow steady pace. If he didn’t stop, he was going to end up being late for work.

  He broke the kiss and looked down into my face.

  “You gonna let me hit this one more time before I go to work?” he asked. “My plane leaves right after I get off so you won’t see me again until I get back.”

  “Well, in that case, I’m gonna give you something to come back to.” I lifted my leg and coiled it around his thigh. Just as he was unzipping his pants, there was a knock at the door.

  “Damn,” he mumbled in aggravation. He zipped his pants up. “Hold on.” I sat on the bed while he went to answer the door.

  Chapter XII- Darius

  “Yo D, can I h
olla at you for a second?” Terry said as he stood outside of the door to my room. I looked over my shoulder at Natalie and watched as she got up off of the bed and sauntered toward the closet. I felt like cursing Terry out for messing up our flow. My boys knew better than to bother me before I came down for breakfast, but I figured that this must be important if Terry was coming to see me this early in the morning.

  “What’s up?” I said as I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind me.

  “Walk with me over to the west wing,” he said and I did. We walked down the hallway and to the private stairs that led up to the master suite and my study. Terry led the way down the stairs and I followed closely behind. I wondered what was going on in the west wing that I needed to see, but I was sure that I would find out soon enough. As we walked through the foyer I looked through the glass windows on the sides of the double oak doors. I could see my security men as they did their morning walk through of the outside grounds. We went through the living room area and to the grand staircase that led to the second floor in the west wing.

  “Look man, I ain’t gon’ be able to come to work today,” he told me as we arrived at the top of the stairs and stood at the balcony that looked over the foyer and the living room.

  “Why not? Is something wrong with one of your kids?” I asked, concerned.

  “Nah, it’s nothing like that,” he said while shaking his head. “It’s just that I got something to take care of.”

  “What? You need me to help you out with something?” I dug deeper.

  “No,” he said with a sigh and then finally said, “It’s Leah.”

  “Leah? What’s wrong with Leah, bruh?”

  “She’s here.”

  “She’s here?!” I said, completely shocked. “Why the hell is she here?”

  “Who’s here?” Derek said as he came out of his room and walked over to us.

  “Look man, I had to bring her here. I didn’t have a choice,” Terry said.