He Who Is a Friend (Sadik Book 1)

by Love Belvin

  He was saying I was the type of man who didn’t run at the sight of an illegal matter. Kolwaski would likely smuggle small amounts of prohibited goods in his orders I’d be responsible for clearing in customs, receiving, and storing in my warehouse before delivering it according to his companies’ preference. I’ve never allowed smuggling in my customs business. Ever. This opportunity was one I’d be remiss to turn away.

  “You getting me as an account will take your company into the billionaire status in a matter of three to four years,” he continued. “For me, it’ll give me the boutique type of customer service I feel my companies deserve.”

  I stood first. “As do I.” I offered my hand. “I can assure you the A1 customer service you’re due.”

  He stood, broad smile in tow. Kolwaski met my palm in a firm shake. Midway, a gut-pushed laugh belted from him and was followed by his assistant. I didn’t kiss in business. I didn’t laugh, either.

  I toed barefoot down the cool marble white and gray veiny floor. It was the same flooring throughout the entire apartment. The hem of his black tank I tossed on gathered into my palms as I voyaged his home. Who knew this luxury apartment building existed over here? The high rise was nestled behind trees, but just a few blocks away from Route 22 highway. It was a hidden gem.

  The walls had to be, at least, fifteen feet tall all around the place. There were just three bedrooms, but the apartment could swallow my parent’s single family home and be hungry for more. The unit was just one level, but generous with room sizes. And just like his office, Sadik’s home was meticulously decorated. The in-ceiling light fixtures made the place look sexy last night, and the sunlight pushing through the floor-to-ceiling windows in some rooms made it intimidating. Even the bathroom in the master suite had glass walls overlooking a small forest.

  I strode into the kitchen, passing the entrance of the spacious dining room, where a vast, intricate crystal chandelier hung over a ten-seater table. Just amazing. Again, his home was intimidating. I knew for me to feel at home here, I had to take initiative and be domesticated, so I opted to cook breakfast—for Sadik. I’d make coffee for myself. But first, I had to find the coffee maker. Of course, a state of the art kitchen would have one.

  “Magnifica. Hmmmmm…” I whispered to myself as I physically examined it to figure out how to use it. “Okay…”

  Hard arms circled my waist, and soft flesh pressed into my neck. A familiar and alluring scent filled my nostrils.

  “You left my bed,” he murmured into my skin. “What are you doing?”

  My lashes fluttered. “Trying to make a cup of coffee.”

  “That’s an espresso machine. The coffee’s down there.”

  I glanced down the long countertop. “All these toys,” I whispered, enduring his tongue against my pulse. “Almost as nice as your home.”

  “Come back to bed and feed me.” He bit the bottom of my earlobe.

  “I came to make you breakfast.”

  “I have a cook to make me breakfast.” He rubbed his erection against the small of my back. “I need you to feed me.”

  “Sadik…” I tried.

  I didn’t need the feel of his arousal against me any more than I needed the reminder my “boyfriend” had a cook. Last night, I arrived later than I thought, thanks to so many callouts at the diner. Not only did I complete my usual tasks, but I had to assist Nicky and the floor staff. It was a grueling shift because the family of Lenny, who had gone missing over a month ago, held a vigil for him a block away, driving traffic to the diner. And of course, when there were young black men at the diner, I had to serve as a shield. By the time Rory picked me up and brought me here, Sadik’s cook was putting the final touches on our dinner for two in the dining room. She was younger than I would have imagined a cook to be, but very professional. Sadik asked her to keep dinner warmed while he “washed his girlfriend.” I nearly died on the spot. And without an awkward reaction, Kimmy, a medium-build mocha skinned, Black woman agreed to it.

  “Bilan,” his tone was clearer, less affectionate. “just as there’s a ‘no clothes in my bed’ rule, there’s a ‘no leaving my bed until I’ve had you’ regulation.”

  I turned in his arms to face him. “Regulation?”

  “Yes. Unless I dismiss you, I may need your body to help regulate my mind for the day.” And there was the deathly serious scowl he’d wage effectively.

  “You’re serious.”

  “About this? Hell yeah.”

  I crossed my arms. “So, what do we do now?”

  He unraveled my arms and grabbed my hand, leading me across the massive apartment for his bedroom. Sadik pulled the black tank over my body and head then tossed it onto the floor. His t-shirt and boxers followed before he took to the high mattress set on a platform fit for a king. His mouth landed on me first, and his heavy cock plopped next on my belly. A hungry need stirred immediately. My hands roved all over him, starting at his smooth crown. They moved down his neck and shoulders as my thighs opened to him.

  “I want to taste you,” I panted.

  Sadik froze over me. My racing heart and the pulse of his erection were the only two things to be heard and felt.

  “Have you ever done that before?”

  I squirmed, immediately embarrassed. “No,” I grated.

  I told him how little experience I’d had. After a few seconds of self-doubt, I felt his body lift. He laid out next to me, then patted his stomach.

  “Come here, Nalib.” His tone so soft, I hardly heard him clearly.

  However, I acted right away, lifting to my knees and facing him.

  “Turn to face my feet,” he murmured.

  Awkwardly, I obeyed.

  He grabbed my right thigh. “Bring this over my right leg.”

  I had no idea the destination of these orders, but I was too excited to even question it. I brought my right knee to the other side of his right leg. The minute it was planted, he took me at the hips and pulled me backward to his face, his hardness dragging beneath me until it was under my chin. My eyes were wild with wonderment at being this close to his dick. It was even more intimidating than when I’d first seen it.

  Abruptly, my spine dropped and shoulders caved when I felt his mouth between my cheeks. His tongue lapped down my slit, the sensation had me leaning into him. Air pushed from my closed lips and my head collapsed, falling on steel covered in a smooth velvet casing. His musk aroused me, nipples tickled by his skin beneath the pebbles. My hips rolled over his face as I felt his tongue dip inside what I knew wasn’t my sex.

  “Mmm…” My moan stifled by slight shame.

  Pleasure shouldn’t be felt in that zone. Yet Sadik proved it to be erogenous. My eyes rolled closed and I lay a kiss against the ridge of his hardness. As he licked and lashed behind me, I kissed, grabbed, and stroked the length of him. In no time, he was in my palms and mouth as I fondled him. Feeling his abs constrict beneath me made the thought of his cock friendly. I controlled his pleasure with my technique, and he guided the technique with the way his body responded.

  It took time, but I had a rhythm I knew he enjoyed by the growls elicited and the wild thrashes of his tongue reaching my clit. Sadik sucked on it, sending me on a gyrating bliss. I struggled with the task in my hands and mouth, when the zings of pleasure grew to proportions I couldn’t control. Then his body went rigid, mouth withdrew from the creases of me. His hand pushed down beneath mine, assisting my strokes. His thighs widened around me, pelvis pushing into my face. With little ability for full breaths, I maintained the rhythm. Sadik made it hard when his thrusts into my mouth grew erratic. Then came an explosive slap on my ass followed by a guttural cry of ecstasy, and hot creamy liquid squirting into my mouth. My hands slipped around him, but remained in motion.

  That was until my torso was shifted back, disrupting my balance. But his mouth returned, licking wildly until I was squirming in his tight hold. Sadik gripped me so hard, locking me in place. I was forced to endure the pleasure. I moaned hard, ri
ding his face. My head fell against his abs, toes curled, and back trembled until a rope popped and I exploded in his face. My screams of mercy were less crazed than the body tremors. And I still couldn’t move far, his grip strong, mouth busy delivering bliss. I rocked against the waves of ecstasy until my body collapsed against him in utter depletion.

  “Did you hear me?” the softness in her voice curled around my dick, tickling it.

  The hot water beating on my head, neck, and back felt amazing as I leaned into the wall with one arm. An endless number of details, fine and broad, running through my head. It was something I was accustomed to happening when alone at my place. What I wasn’t used to was sharing headspace with someone. The benefit she had over my preferred headspace was her influence of my body and chest space.

  After an unusual morning nap once done with our six-nine session, I woke up before Bilan and ran a few miles on the treadmill up in the gym. When I returned, I warmed up quiche my cook whipped up last night for breakfast. I woke her up, hand-feeding her a late breakfast. I showered, then got a few things done in my office before Bilan strolled in there distracting me in my robe, asking about marketing strategies pertaining to her graduate program application. That conversation ended with me carrying her back to my bed and driving into her plush ass until I was drained of vitality.

  Now, here in the shower, I turned to her. Bilan sat on the bench across from me with crossed legs, an elbow resting on the high knee as she pushed back her cuticles.

  “What did you say?”

  “Your STD drive-thru clinic.” Her smile lightened my chest. “I went a couple of days ago.”

  “For what?”

  “Birth control, dude.” Shit… “We’ve been reckless.”

  No, baby. I’ve been reckless. You’ve been lost in lust with me…

  “I took the full GYN exam and got a prescription. Didn’t even have to wait long as a walk-in. When I gave my name and they ran it through their system, they remembered me. Wonder if they’re going to bill you. When I asked about how to pay, the girl said I’ll be billed. But she never asked for my insurance information.”

  Dr. Clifford wouldn’t charge her. His staff would likely bill me.

  “Do you have insurance?”

  Bilan shook her head. “Not anymore, but I was prepared to pay.”

  “Can I ask you something?” I’d been wondering since I met her in the diner.

  “Sure.” She lifted only one shoulder, uncomfortable.

  “How much do you earn annually?”

  Bilan’s eyes averted right away. She pinched her fingers while licking her lips. But she rebounded quickly, facing me again.

  “Last year, I cleared just over forty.”

  My brows shot in the air. “From the bakery?”

  She nodded. “They pay me fairly.” Then her face wrinkled. “Even though I don’t know what my future there looks like.”

  “Why?”

  “Nicky—my boss—is letting my trainees run my recipes when I’m not there.” She shrugged. “I’m sure my recent requests for time off justifies it. He’d been asking me how long would I be there after graduation. It’s like he doesn’t trust me to give him fair notice if I’m going to quit.”

  “I have an opening at Ellis International, I’m sure you’re going to say—”

  “Nope!” She stood from the bench, nearing me. Of course… “I know nothing about customs, and I’m already too preoccupied with you to have to see you at work, too.” Her arms pushed around my waist. “Did I do that right earlier?” Her voice but a whisper.

  My forehead wrinkled. “What?”

  “You know. With my mouth…” Her hand brushed over my dick. “…here.”

  I snorted. “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because you aided.”

  “I got lost in your hand and mouth work.” I kissed her lips.

  “You sure that’s the only reason? I’m feeling a little… You know. Insecure about it. It’s new to me.”

  And I’m so fucking happy, baby…

  “And that made you perfect. I almost lost my damn mind.” I peppered her faces with kisses, trying to land on each freckle.

  “Nilab,” I whispered.

  Her eyes were closed when she answered, “Huhn?”

  “We’re going to my parents’ for a couple of nights.”

  Her eyes appeared. “A couple of nights?” I nodded. “Why?”

  “It’s time you met them. You’re my girlfriend, and they haven’t been happy with me leaving town with someone they haven’t met yet. I got chewed the hell out by my mother for even having a girlfriend she hasn’t met.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes fell blindly to my mouth. “I didn’t think about that. You kind of sprung that title on me, too.”

  I laughed at her honesty.

  “I did. So, it’s time for me to blend my worlds. There’s no need to delay the inevitable. You have to meet and blend in my family. They mean everything to me.”

  “When?”

  “Tonight.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh,” I mocked her, unable to help my laughter.

  “For a few days?”

  “Yes.” I kissed her chin. “You’ll be fine. You’re gonna see the girls, too. My nieces are going to love you.” I swiped my tongue into her mouth. “But not half as much as I do.” My hands reached up and pulled her body into me as I took her mouth with full force.

  Her little hand gripped my bicep as I ravished her.

  He cut the engine and turned to me.

  “You ready?”

  My eyes bounced all around at the regal entryway of what looked like a historic library, but with a fancy driveway.

  I turned to peer over my shoulder to where we’d just drove at least a half a mile from. “That was the security station for your family’s home?”

  Sadik shrugged, his yellowish eyes regarding me heavily.

  “Sadik, where are we?” We’d driven for what felt like two hours.

  His head bounced back in a muted chuckle. “In the middle of nowhere.”

  “I see!” My eyes ballooned. “Are we still in New Jersey?”

  “Yes.” He gave a gentle yank to my earlobe.

  “Where, exactly?”

  “Elliswoods.”

  “Where in the world is Elliswoods? I’ve never heard of that.”

  “I know.” There was a long pause before he shared, “Because it was just incorporated as a township twenty years ago, here in Huntington County. Before then it was a rare and small stretch of the state the neighboring towns didn’t claim.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Twenty years ago, my father bought twenty acres of nothing here. The owner was some German guy that’s long been deceased. My father purchased the land from his estate. It took years of bringing the state along because of its bastard status—”

  “And I’m sure your father’s reputation,” I urged.

  Sadik nodded, one free hand in the air defenselessly. “And his former lifestyle. Yes. But when all was approved, he cleared out about sixteen miles of forest, then hired builders to begin this estate. He said it’s his last home and he’d have enough space to accommodate his family.”

  My eyes were on what I could see of the expansive property. My god, it looked like a cathedral! The entire structure was lit beautifully from beaming spotlights. The cemented steps leading up to the front entrance guarded by two brass lions had my pulse racing.

  He got out and rounded the car for my door. I stepped out, peering between the man in all black, similar to Sadik’s security, and the entrance with double doors. Sadik greeted him by name. I could hear him tell Sadik our things would be brought inside shortly.

  “You grew up here?” I asked as we took to the stairs.

  “Not really. I was going into college when he bought the land. I was well on my own by the time the house was built. It doesn’t feel like it, though, because I’m here, sometimes, several times a week.”

  For
dinner. I remembered him telling me during one of our first conversations. Being here made me nervous. What if I wasn’t fancy enough for them? Sadik’s hand intertwined with mine could be so much of a point of comfort.

  The doors were opened for us when we were three steps from the landing. We were greeted by another person in all black. Sadik seemed familiar with her, too—

  Holy crap!

  The place was beyond a mansion, it didn’t even feel like a home. We were hit by a glow of lighting in the broad foyer. Cathedral ceiling, shiny marble floors, enormous chandelier intricate in design sparkling over a round dining room sized table topped with fresh flowers… I mean… I didn’t have the words or knowledge to describe the décor. I could only think of one: grandeur. The opulence couldn’t be captured in a picture.

  “Welcome to Elliswoods Palace, Nalib,” Sadik whispered softly in my ear.

  He was so close, so sensitive to my shocked state. I was grateful for his understanding. If it wasn’t obvious when we pulled up to an armed guard’s booth I was out of my element, it was deafeningly clear now.

  “Stacy, where’s my father?”

  “In his study, Deek.”

  Sadik wrapped his arm around me, prompting me ahead. “Let me introduce you to my father first.”

  We walked down two hallways that were more like galleries. Colossal artwork framed in gold cases were displayed on the walls.

  “You got your love for art from your parents, I see,” I murmured, striding at his side.

  “My mother. She’s a big fan of the Harlem Renaissance—the original and the children of the original Renaissance—and Abstract Expressionism. She has an extraordinary collection in her library. I’d like to show it to you while we’re here.”

  We stopped at a set of doors and Sadik opened one, inviting me to go in ahead of him. The room was large, brown leather furniture set in the entrance. Old school music streamed into the air. A man crooned, “Do they turn you on all night till dawn…” There was a mood in the atmosphere, giving the place personality immediately.