Tyrant

by Tiana Laveen

  “You’re still a blue belt in karate! As if that’s something to brag about. A C-List, bottom-of-the-barrel clown!”

  “Guess who didn’t have to worry about droppin’ the soap and has never had a probation officer?” Lance chuckled.

  All Nita could do was roll her eyes and plop down in a chair as she rubbed her head, a budding migraine on the loose.

  “Of course you didn’t drop the soap. You bent over willingly, and hey, man… Yeah… drink the lemonade. It’s good, isn’t it? It’s got an extra kick. You like that tangy aftertaste? I pissed in it!”

  Suddenly, Lance spewed lemonade all over the place, his face turning beet red.

  “HUUUUNTER!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Faithfully Yours

  …Several days later

  “You really think so?” Nita filled the dishwasher with glasses she’d already slaved over cleaning to perfection at the old house. She couldn’t help herself; she hadn’t had a dishwasher since she’d lived in her parents’ house.

  “Hell yeah, why not? They had you already doing managerial work many times when he wasn’t there, and you handled it fine. You meet the requirements, right?”

  “Well, I do have an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration and I took those free online courses a couple of months ago but I want to go back to school and get another degree. Been thinking about that for years.”

  “I say go for it. Look how long you’ve worked there and done practically everything. You’re a floater, and everyone likes you there. I could tell when I’d come to get you for lunch. Go after what you want, baby.” Hunter searched for a good spot to place the box of files she’d packed up and decided upon the spare bedroom. He worked nights, but had taken the entire day off to assist. The office was waiting for a furniture delivery and he didn’t want to place anything there just yet. When he returned, he took a deep breath and rubbed his hand along his bare shoulder.

  “What’s up? Are you all right?”

  “Thirsty. Got anything to drink?”

  She shook her head, smirking. “How about some lemonade with a splash of piss? Doesn’t that sound tasty?”

  He shrugged. “Fake news.”

  “You know you were dead wrong for that.” She sliced open another box with a pair of shears.

  “And he was dead wrong for calling me a thug. Anyway, that was days ago.” He waved her off.

  “Funny how when you do something you want it to be forgotten about, Hunter, but when someone does something to you, they have to hear about it for eternity.”

  “What’s your point?”

  She wanted to throw something at him as he marched out the room and down the steps, probably to pillage the grocery bin in the kitchen. Hunter had lied about doing such a foul thing to the chilled beverage and tried to send Lance into a frenzy, and it had worked.

  She heard what sounded like him bustling around in boxes in the kitchen. They’d tossed most of the items out of the old refrigerator, but there were some unopened juice cartons, ice cubes in the freezer, and ice-cold bottles of water and wine. Nita reached for another box then paused when she heard Tisha laughing in their new backyard. She moseyed over to the window, pulled the curtains back and looked out, smiling proudly as she watched her daughter pace back and forth on her cellphone, talking to some friend. Olive was at a job fair to prepare for a summer gig. She hoped that evening they’d all get a pizza and play cards – something to unwind from a stressful few days of moving.

  I’m going to miss this… I know I’m on borrowed time. Having the two of them around makes me feel complete. A wave of sadness came over her, and not just because the girls were about to leave the nest.

  She assumed Hunter would want to move in. Perhaps not right away, but that was the plan. She was wrong, though. He didn’t. He’d told her in no uncertain terms that that was her house, then added, ‘I’m over here all the time anyway. You won’t notice the difference.’ But she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  What man buys a woman a house, a nice house at that, and then doesn’t wish to share the space with her? Did he have someone else on the side? A feeling of dread filled her. Not an insecure woman in the least, this was brand new territory for her. She was hopelessly in love with this man, regardless of the fact that at times he pushed her damn buttons. Regardless, Hunter simply didn’t come across as a cheater; but of course, most successful cheaters didn’t. Hunter popped back up in the doorway and leaned against the doorframe, grabbing her from her deliberations.

  “Got a text message. 5th Avenue Furniture called. They’ll be here in an hour.” She nodded, shaking the thoughts away, but it was too late. He must’ve caught her energy like a butterfly in a net, felt the panic of her little wings flapping about in the grid. “Something wrong?” He took a hard chug of water from a bottle.

  “Hunter, would you consider yourself a faithful person?” She sliced open another box and removed a folded shirt to place in her bedroom chest of drawers.

  The man cocked his head to the side, his brow arched. He took another swallow of water.

  “Now or before?”

  “The entire duration of your dating life.”

  He hesitated, so she kept busying herself with the chore at hand. After a few moments, he broke the silence.

  “I mean, yeah, I’ve cheated on girls I was seeing before and I’ve been loyal sometimes, too.”

  “The ones you cheated on, what made you do it?”

  She threw him a look over her shoulder.

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Different reasons, I guess.”

  “Was it something they did or you believe they did?”

  “I can’t say it was necessarily anything they did. I mean, shit, I was young.”

  “So you never cheated on anyone you were with in, say, the last five or six years?”

  “Uh, if you recall, I was in prison this last time for four years, and I’m not interested in another man’s hairy butthole, so no.” She grimaced and shook her head. “I mean, let’s see… The last woman I was with, no… I didn’t cheat on ’er. She and I were together for a while. The woman before her, yeah. There was an incident.”

  “An incident? Is that what they call it now?” She rolled her eyes.

  “What is this all about, Nita?” He tossed up his hands.

  “I’m trying to figure out a pattern of behavior is all.”

  He finished up his water and tossed it in a small trash bin.

  “Sounds to me like you’re tryna to start a fight.”

  “No, I’m not!”

  “Nita, you’ve created somethin’ in your head and now you want me to play this little mind game. I was literally up here five minutes ago.” he pointed towards the doorway, “and you were smiling, excited, all over me. Now, I come back upstairs and you act like I stole your cookies or something. Men cheat, Nita. Shit. What do you want me to say?” She rolled her eyes, grabbed another shirt, and placed it in the drawer. “We do. I never said the shit was right, but most of us, if we have any sort of dating history, have cheated on a girlfriend or wife at least once. It may have just been oral sex, but it still happened, and I never said it was right.”

  “You’re acting nonchalant about it though.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You didn’t hear me try to condone it. I’m not even blaming my exes, even though one of them cheated on me, too. And it was the one I’d say I loved the most… the whole love spectrum thing.” She nodded, recalling him telling her so long ago that he believed love was on a spectrum. Fact of the matter was, she’d never expected to fall in love with the man. She’d anticipated going to the skating rink with him, having a nice time, and let him help Olive regarding her father. And then, he’d be gone.

  She had no idea that not only would she like him, and they’d go out time and time again, but she’d soon feel adoration and affection for him. She had never felt about a man as she did with Hunter, and initially, she had to admit, th
ings had been awkward. She’d never dated a White man before, but he made her feel so at ease… and before long, she realized she wasn’t falling in love with a color or a race. She was falling in love with a soul. He’d treated her so well, and was so good with her girls, so loving and attentive despite being rough around the edges.

  “Do you think once a cheater, always a cheater, Nita?” He crossed his arms. “Is that what this is about?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Hunter.” She grabbed a handful of socks and placed them in a drawer.

  “I don’t believe when you get to a certain age, and have had enough experiences in life and you meet the right person, that you’ll keep up that sort of behavior. I think people can grow, if they want to grow. I am not holding against you what another woman did to me. My ex who cheated chose to do that. Just like I chose to cheat the times I did, too. It’s a choice to stop fuckin’ around, to be with only one woman. I made that choice. With you.” He slowly closed the door.

  “Really? Why do you feel that way now?”

  “Because like I was explaining to my friend on my birthday, people grow and develop at their own rate. But when you get to that point, whenever that is, that finish line of maturity regarding shit like this, you realize nothin’ is worth breaking up your relationship over. Nobody can break it up from the outside, and no one can tempt you to throw it all away for one night of pleasure.” He walked to her, closing the gap. She shuddered when he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, his warm breath caressing the side of her neck as he let his mouth trail along the sensitive flesh. “You ever cheated on a boyfriend?” He kept kissing her, holding her tighter.

  “No.”

  “Ever thought about it?”

  She hesitated. Swallowed. “Yeah.”

  “Let me tell you something, Nita…” He stood straight, looking her in the eye. “I don’t know what prompted you to ask me this right now, and really, it doesn’t matter. What I need for you to know is now that I’ve found someone like you.” He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t need nobody else.” She smiled back. “Why would I need to fuck a bunch of different women when I can just fuck you a bunch of different ways?”

  She squealed when he picked her up in his arms and slammed her down on the dresser. In a flash, he was dragging his hands along her shirt, sliding it over her head, and then yanking down her dark gray yoga pants. The intensity in his eyes made her gasp. He shoved her red panties aside but didn’t take them off, and pulled his jeans and briefs down just past his hips, exposing his thick, long cock.

  With one hand gripping her ass, he used the other to guide his way inside. The dresser shook beneath her as he pumped in fast, short jabs, tearing her to pieces with instant pleasure. Wrapping her legs around him, she brought him closer, sighing while he moved inside her like the expert he was. All she could hear was his heavy breathing and the rattle and shake of the dresser, the chirping of the birds outside, and the love she felt for him exploding inside her. He tipped her chin up and sucked on her lower lip. Slipping his tongue in her mouth, he kissed her deep and slow, never letting up. He now gripped her ass with both hands, forcing her into each nasty plunge.

  “Mmmm, yes… take that dick, baby…”

  She trembled and her muscles clenched when he stroked her clit and layered her breasts with kisses.

  “Shit…” She shook and came, quaking in his grasp.

  Without warning, he pulled out of her and had her stand on her tippy toes facing the dresser. She felt his hands around her calves, then on her hips. Moisture, heat…

  “Shit!” She purred like a kitten when he yanked her panties aside once more and licked her ass. He probed the tight hole while massaging her breasts over her bra. Gliding his hand down her stomach, he played with her pussy, stroking it to perfection as he tongue-fucked her ass, faster and faster until she came hard, a geyser flowing from between her legs.

  “You like your ass bein’ sucked and played with, baby?”

  “Yes!”

  “I’m just the right, nasty motherfucker to do it and I love eating every hole on your body… and I’m all yours. Forever.” His deep voice rang through her as he bent her at the waist until she could touch her toes.

  “Shit! What are you… what are you doing?!”

  The large tip of his dick entered her ass, but he was working it slow and easy…

  “What’s it feel like I’m doing? I’m fuckin’ my woman in the ass…” He grunted, moving slow, gently, rocking his hips back and forth. The bastard felt her tense, so he paused. “Relax.” The word was commanding, yet comforting at the same time. “Think of all the shit we’ve done, all the things I’ve done to you… things you didn’t think you’d like but loved. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  She braced herself as he pushed more of himself inside. She winced, holding for dear life onto her ankles. “Mmm, baby! Ass so fucking tight!”

  He thrust slow and easy. She wasn’t certain how far he was in, but the pain began to turn to pleasure at one point when he stroked her pussy and kissed her back. She hadn’t had anal sex in years, and even then, it had only happened a couple of times. Definitely not her cup of tea. But with Hunter… well, shit, it was different. As all things with him were. His touch was golden, his kisses divine, his dick flowed in and out of her ass, making her feel dirty and beautiful at the same damn time.

  “You like how I’m making you feel, baby?” he whispered, holding onto her hip with one hand and working her pussy with the other.

  Before she could answer, he slipped his finger inside her and her body seized with euphoria. His digit fucked her pussy, while his dick throbbed in her rectum. An entire head-to-toe orgasm took her over. She began to fall and he caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist and keeping her steady until she was spent. Moments later, he slipped out of her, leaving her dazed, feeling sparkly and strange all over, and went to her master suite bathroom without another word. She heard the water turn on and took that time to try and finger-comb her hair back into place, then slide her pants back on. I’ll get cleaned up after he comes out.

  She made her way over to the other side of the room and looked out the window. Tisha was still on the phone, sitting down on an iron bench the previous owners had left. A couple minutes later, Hunter opened the bathroom door and stepped out, his dick still hard as a rock, bobbing, angry and ready.

  “Why do you have your pants back on?” he asked, sounding pissed.

  “Well, you went into the bathroom so I—”

  “To wash my dick!” he said, as if it were obvious. “This isn’t a one woman show! I haven’t cum yet… You’re selfish,” he teased, causing her to burst out laughing.

  “Selfish?!”

  “You came at least twice but what about me, huh? I want to paint that pussy white. Come here.”

  He grabbed her and tossed her on the new mattress, the damn thing still covered in plastic. She giggled when he mounted her, yanking her pants back down and tossing them to the other side of the room. She gripped the fucker’s wrist as he practically impaled her, going so damn deep she could practically feel his thrusts in her gut. They sighed and groaned, grinding against one another, insatiable and thirsty… hungry for each other. Her heart raced when the bastard reached for her damn throat and squeezed her neck firmly. He rode her hard. The plastic beneath them sighed and bunched, and she delighted in the dominant way he held her, pinned her down, making her take him. All of him. She worked her hips harder, twisting and turning as he kept his pace, knocking her walls the fuck down. Easing his grip on her neck, he gave her a demanding kiss.

  With a groan, she came again, then screamed when he slammed into her over and over, relentlessly… He roared like a lion, fell atop her, and bit her neck, his dick racing within her garden. The sound of his balls slapping against her pussy seemed to echo, or perhaps it was all in her mind. Everything seemed acute, loud and in stereo… She held onto him, scratching and bucking, squeezing, trying to juice him dry.

&n
bsp; “Cum on, baby! I want every drop! Every damn drop!” she urged, addicted to him… hating and loving herself for craving him so. The son of a bitch had bragged about his sexual prowess, but he’d proven time and again everything he said was true. He slid out of her, his dick sheening with their juices, and jerked his cock, letting the last of his warm cream drizzle across her stomach. He groaned and grunted as he sprayed her, then shook the slick, veiny monster before jamming it back into his briefs. It could barely fit while still erect…

  “I heard someone in the driveway. Must be the furniture people,” he said, quickly getting to his feet. Helping her up, he went and washed his hands and sure enough, less than a minute later, the doorbell rang.

  “You’ve got great hearing. I didn’t even notice.”

  He gave her a peck on the lips and started to head out.

  “I’ll let them in and show them where to put the desk and everything after I make sure they have everything we ordered.”

  She nodded, then he closed her bedroom door behind him while she went to the restroom to get cleaned up. Soon, she heard guys talking in mumbled tones. She studied the gorgeous bedroom with its arched ceilings and lots of sunlight coming in, her brain in a fog. One minute, she was feeling a bit paranoid and apprehensive about the man. The next, she was being ravished by her lover, her friend, her soulmate, the one who proved to her on a regular basis that he loved her, and her alone.

  She lowered her gaze and smiled. I’m blessed, but there have been some rough spots in my life. Trust isn’t easy for me. It has to be earned. She’d been the victim of infidelity from a man she’d loved several years earlier, and another before that. It had hurt like hell… Tisha’s father hadn’t done such a thing, but a few others had, and the whole experience had left her a bit jaded. Not only that, money always seemed to be short, and she’d refused to take anything from her parents. They were on a fixed income, so she’d always pretended she had everything under control when they’d offer assistance.