OverPowered

by Camaron, Chelsea

  As I finished my meal, I put my napkin on my plate before lifting the glass to my lips and drinking.

  “Why did you pay for my mother’s care?”

  His eyes locked on mine. “Because I refused to let anyone be indebted to Charles Beacon.”

  I nodded and sipped my wine again. Honestly, I didn’t drink regularly. Wine wasn’t typically something I could afford, but I felt I needed the liquid courage.

  “How long did you know about Charles being your father?”

  He leaned back into the chair but kept his gaze to mine. “I’m going to tell you a lot, and I need you to listen without speaking. I have never shared my past with anyone, but in order for you to understand you need to know it all. If I finish and you hate me, you are free to leave. I’ll arrange your transportation home. The money in your account is yours to keep, and your family does not owe me any debt monetarily or even in gratitude. I simply want to tell you my truth. What happens from there, well, Enissa I’m giving you the power. You have the power to stay or walk away.”

  The air between us was heavy, and I felt his vulnerability like never before. I wasn’t sure I was ready for whatever he was about to tell me, but I wasn’t about to stop him from speaking either. Therefore, I did the only thing I could think of and nodded.

  “I started out in life innocent. Like every baby born, the moment my naked, screaming ass took my first breath, I was marked with the sins of my parents. Except, I didn’t have a normal childhood.”

  He paused to lift his glass and drink some wine. I wondered if he was adopted by Ellen Sue. The thought of a young Garrett hurting pained me.

  “My mother was young. She had me and well, for my benefit, my grandmother—her mother—raised me. Shortly after my birth, my mother died of an overdose. At least that’s what I was told. I didn’t know my home life was different until I got to school. Kids would talk about their moms and dads, so I began to ask questions.” He sighed. “Grams spared me the truth.”

  His eyes grew dark. Instinctively, I reached my hand out to give him a squeeze in encouragement.

  “Grams got old. She started forgetting things. I promised to be good. I promised I could take care of her. But, Grams being Grams thought I would be better having kids my age to play with and to have a family environment to grow up in. She went to a nursing home, and I went to a foster home on a farm.”

  In my mind, I pictured a young Garrett running in the fields, but his next sentence ended those thoughts as quickly as they began.

  “I met Onyx, Paxton, and Dane there. We only survived the hell Amos put us through by clinging to each other.”

  He dropped his head, and his shoulders sagged.

  “There is nothing you can’t tell me, Garrett. I want you to know you can lean on me. At my darkest you were there picking me up. I don’t care why you did it. When I needed someone to give me and my family a lifeline, you did it.”

  He lifted his head, and I saw pure anguish in his eyes. “Amos was a bad man. One night, it came down to us or him.”

  He didn’t finish explaining, but it wasn’t necessary. Obviously, Garrett was here in front of me and Amos was not.

  “Ellen Sue literally stitched my wounds in her kitchen. She took us in, and she’s been the only stable person for any of us until my brothers met the women they are committed to now.”

  “How does Charles Beacon fit into all of this?” I asked, wondering how it all led him to me in the first place.

  “He approached me. He wanted my brother Dane to tuck you away. In your solitude you would become so desperate for attention you would submit to Beacon. That was his usual way of doing things. Except I never put him in touch with Dane.

  “I took on the job myself because I didn’t like the agreement. Maybe my subconscious lured me to it … I don’t know. Everything about Charles Beacon pissed me off that day, making me want to prove a point. In my world, Enissa, power is everything. I didn’t like how Beacon was planning to use his resources against you. I don’t like manipulative fucks. So I began to look into him, you, and your family. Knowing the pain of losing someone myself, I decided to cover your mom’s debts and health needs because everyone deserves a second chance at life, and money shouldn’t be a factor to getting that.”

  Tears filled my eyes. That was the most honorable thing I could ever imagine.

  “I didn’t know who Beacon was until I started looking into him. When I saw my mother’s name on a transaction report, I vowed to destroy the man in a way he could never manipulate another person again.”

  I was truly speechless.

  “I’m sorry, Enissa. I’m truly sorry I hurt you. I didn’t think beyond my own desires of how I was playing you too. I was overpowered by my need for revenge, and I didn’t think about the impact on anyone else. I’m not an impulsive man. I can’t go back in time and change things. I also can’t promise you that if I could that I would change what I did. Does the end justify the means? Absolutely not.”

  He leaned forward in his chair. His face only inches from mine. Reaching up, I cupped his chin. Staring at him at this moment, I felt like he was allowing me the power to see into his very soul.

  “The man I am, Enissa Mitchell, isn’t always good. The man I am once was a broken boy tumbling lost through life. I don’t have a conventional family. I don’t even understand what defines family to anyone else, and I truly don’t give a fuck. What I can tell you is when I love it’s hard, it’s fast, and I’m all in. What I believe in is loyalty. When I give myself to anyone, they get all of me, all the way. I’ll never let anything touch you if I can prevent it. If I can’t and something reaches you, I’ll do everything in my power to get you out of it. Family is a choice. Family is everything. This is me, Enissa. I want something real with you. No bullshit, no games, no agreements. In order to have that, I’m giving you the power to break me right now.”

  Tears began to fall from my eyes, and he wiped them with his thumbs.

  “I know family. I know security,” I barely managed to whisper. “I also know that I have never been so drawn to any other person in this world like I am you. Sitting here today, my gut tells me you are meant to be in my life. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know what this time without you has been. I am a woman who knows tomorrow isn’t promised, and we are only given one chance. I want to take my chance with you.”

  He pulled me in his arms, his lips coming down on mine. Instantly, my arms circled him, hands going into his hair. It was so soft as I tugged on it, not able to get enough of Garrett.

  My body hummed as he deepened the kiss. It was as if he couldn’t get enough of me too. That he wanted to consume me.

  It wasn’t slow. Instead, a combustible energy that we fed off of. We only released our lips as our shirts were pulled up and off by the other. His warm skin pressed against mine for only moments before I was lifted from my chair and carried to his room, flying back onto the bed.

  He tore my jeans and underwear from my body, then attacked his own. It took him maybe three seconds and he was on top of me. Inside of me, filling so deep my back arched at the invasion.

  With each thrust our connection built. It was more than him inside of me; it was him inside of my heart and soul. Each movement made that bond stronger as if I could feel him everywhere inside of me.

  His lips came down on mine as my climax hit. In all honesty, I had no idea if I cried out or if his lips muffled the sound. I was so far out of it all I could do was let the euphoria wash over me.

  With a few more thrusts inside of me, I felt his cock release and only then did he relax, putting his forehead on mine as we tried catching our breaths.

  I didn’t know where my life went from here, only that I wanted it to be with him.

  26

  Garrett

  I looked at the screen in front of me. The account that once held thousands of dollars was wiped out with no trail to explain where it went. There was exactly fifty-two dollars and seven cents left. While I knew
the money I had given her was long gone, Lisa Sanders had a few lessons still to learn, and I clicked the button wiping out those measly dollars to get it started. No one fucked with my woman, and no one reneged on an agreement.

  My phone pinged with an alert, and I tapped the screen. The image loaded, and there went the car she had bought riding away on a tow truck. I smirked.

  Dialing her number, I tapped for the speaker to be on as she answered. “You son-of-a-bitch,” she muttered in greeting.

  “Yeah, I am,” I replied. “I’m the son-of-a-bitch who made a deal with you that you fucked up. Now it’s going to cost you. The car is just the start, Ms. Sanders.”

  “You can’t do this! I’ll have my attorney—”

  “Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn’t say those words, Ms. Sanders,” I interrupted her. “First, no attorney in Philly will take you on. Second, we had an agreement. One with a very clear NDA; in case you forgot, that’s the non-disclosure agreement you signed. Since you broke our agreement, I’m within my rights to take possession of any and all assets. You’ll find the locks on your house have been changed. You should be aware I’ll be demolishing the home within two weeks. If you would like your belongings, well, I’ll let you take that up with your family. If your sister and Enissa want to allow you that I’ll grant it; otherwise, I’ll trash your stuff. You have nothing, Lisa Sanders. Beyond the cash in your wallet and the clothes on your back.”

  “You can’t do this,” she screeched.

  “Yeah, I can and I did. Good day, Ms. Sanders,” I said, ending the call.

  I had all the power. I set her up with a nice deal. The only requirement on her end was to give the bone marrow to save her sister’s life and keep her mouth shut about the transaction. She couldn’t do that, so now I would take everything from her in one swoop.

  Problem solved. If she wanted her shit from the house, then she could swallow her pride and ask Evelyn or Enissa for it. Otherwise, I’d take the house to the ground with her shit in it.

  “So when do we all get to hang out? Laurel wants to meet Enissa.” Paxton asked as soon as he landed his ass in the chair across from my desk.

  That figured. While we were family, we didn’t get to spend tons of time together since we all stayed busy with our businesses. Laurel, Aspen, and Torryn had regular girl times together, and I was sure they wanted to include Enissa in the mix.

  “When I’m ready to share,” I retorted on a smile and a wink.

  “That means never,” Onyx replied on a chuckle, and he wasn’t wrong.

  Enissa and I were still new. Very new. Yes, she decided to take a chance on me, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t run for the hills at any given moment. Also, sharing the time I had with her … well, I didn’t share well. Since I worked long hours at times and Enissa still worked her job and wanted time with her mom, we didn’t have hours upon hours together like in the Virgin Islands. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her around my family. The fact was the selfish bastard I was didn’t share.

  I couldn’t believe these thoughts were racing through my head. Enissa was the only woman that I cared if she stayed or went. No one else. High school, I fucked the Amish girls because I was a teen boy with a dick. College, I fucked the girls because they were easy. Law school, I fucked for release only because my head had to be stuck in my studies. Since then, I fucked when I felt like it, but never once had I cared to be in a relationship. Never once had I cared to spend time with a woman beyond getting off. Enissa, I craved her conversation. I loved her smile. I enjoyed the carefree way things were between us. She did have the ultimate power over me. Whether she knew that or not was another story.

  “Are we done here? I have shit to do,” I responded, wanting to get the hell out of there and get to my woman. Because now that they had mentioned her, my mind was stuck on thoughts of her alone.

  “Yeah, Enissa.” The room erupted in laughter.

  “Damn straight.” We all laughed. On a sigh, I shared, “Formally meeting her parents tonight. This should be fun.”

  “Oh hell,” Onyx said, leaning back in his chair at the large table in the meeting room. “Shit’s gettin’ real here, boys.”

  I had to chuckle at that. He had no idea. While I shared that Enissa was important to me, the details were mine and mine alone.

  Enissa had told her parents about what I’d done. The good and the bad. She held nothing back. I asked her to do this for me. If I wanted Enissa in my life, I needed to come clean to the people who loved her. Some would say to keep that shit private, but it was my fuck up, and I owned that shit. Secrets could ruin the good things in life. I wasn’t about to mess this up a second time.

  I played a game that burned their little girl, and I had no doubt her parents would have words about that. I would take every single one of them and know that each one was deserved.

  Whatever the future held between Enissa and myself, I wanted to be free and clear of any hold from the past. It was time to face the music or the firing squad. Either one was earned.

  Stepping over the threshold of Enissa’s home, Evelyn stared up at me, her eyes brimming with tears. Tears could mean so many things.

  Was she angry? Was she happy? What was going on here? I didn’t have a lot of experience with the emotions of women, more specifically the emotions of a mother.

  She reached up, grabbed my cheeks, and pulled my head down to her. She then planted a kiss on my forehead and said, “Thank you. Thank you for taking care of my girl and getting her away from that man.”

  “Ma’am…” I tried to protest, but her finger came to my lips, shushing me when I tried to protest.

  “I do not care what your reasons were for starting this. For getting involved. Those are yours. The way I look at it, you are an angel sent from Heaven. Our family is forever grateful for you.”

  I felt my throat begin to constrict.

  “That doesn’t mean I won’t shoot your ass and bury you out back,” Thomas, Enissa’s father said, coming up beside us.

  Evelyn twisted around to look at her husband, and whatever her expression was the man smiled. I followed suit. It was for damn certain not something I’d been accustomed to, but none of this was. Threats from Thomas were expected, and I had little doubt that he was saying the truth.

  “It’s far from a pleasure to meet you, Garrett, but we are thankful for what you’ve done,” he corrected himself.

  I nodded. “If I had a daughter as beautiful as Enissa and she brought home a man like me, I’d have answered the door with the gun and already had the hole dug.”

  We all laughed, and the tension in the air relaxed.

  So this was family, the laughter and open arms. The way they included me even sitting down to have a beer and relax. There were no awkward moments. They asked questions, and I answered. Being a part of this felt good. No, great. I was ready for what was next to come.

  We stood out on my patio overlooking the Philadelphia skyline as the sun set.

  “It’s not as beautiful as the beach,” I said, my arms wrapped around her, pulling her back to my front.

  “It is in different ways. Here you can see the hustle and bustle that makes the world go round. It may not be as calm, but there is beauty in everything if you look hard enough.”

  Fuck, she turned me on. Everything about Enissa was beauty through and through. How did I get so lucky?

  Her lips were edible—plump and ready for me as she inhaled. I’d always been a tits and ass man, but her lips were something men dreamed about having around their cocks. Damn, she was beautiful.

  Taking what I wanted, I turned her and took her lips with mine. Her fingers ran into the bottom of my hair at the neck, and I fucking loved when she did that. My favorite was when she used her nails there to scrape when she showed me her pleasure.

  Pressed together, she started to move closer like she couldn’t get close enough to me. Considering there was no space, it made me smile then deepen the kiss, my hand going to her ass and the other behind her hea
d to her neck.

  Without a word, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around me, all the while we devoured one another.

  I’d wanted to fuck her out here, but there were too many prying eyes, and I was a selfish bastard who didn’t like to share. If I found out another man or woman looked at Enissa’s round body, they wouldn’t be able to see anymore. So that was out.

  Walking into the penthouse, I didn’t stop until we got to my bed. I loved smelling her on my sheets. Better yet, I loved her in my sheets.

  Laying her down on the bed, I took my time removing every scrap of her clothing, kissing and nipping as I moved up and down. Every inch of her body tasted like heaven.

  Her skin pebbled as her back arched and fingers gripped my sheets. Between her legs glistened. She was always ready for me. And fuck, I was always ready for her.

  Lifting up, I made quick work of my clothes and had them off before she was able to move on the bed. I knew she wanted to give me the same treatment as I gave her, but it would have to wait until another time. I needed to be inside her.

  “Garrett,” she said softly as I laid on top of her, giving her my weight.

  “Later.” I slid inside her. There was no glove. I wanted this woman tied to me in every way possible. If that meant a baby in her belly, so be it. She was mine. She’d be mine until the end of our days.

  That much I knew for sure.

  This was it. What I’d been missing, seeing my brothers getting from their partners. Now it was mine.

  She was mine.

  Forever.

  27

  Enissa

  Two Months Later

  I never knew life could be so good. Mom was getting stronger and stronger every day. The transplant was successful, and her body was building its immunities back up.