The Black Widow Clique

by Genesis Woods

  “My man,” I said, pulling him in for a hug.

  “Tell my girl Mel I said hey, and kiss my baby Kason for me,” Viktoria cooed.

  I nodded my head and waved good-bye before I walked out of the courthouse lobby. I had called a car service, and the driver was waiting at the curb to pick me up. Surprisingly, there were only a few print and broadcast media outlets in front of the building to take my picture and push their microphones in my face as I walked down the small flight of steps outside the courthouse doors. I guessed with me no longer being front-page news, my life wasn’t as interesting to them as it had been. Pushing my way through the small crowd, I made it to the tinted-out SUV and nodded my head at the driver, who already had the back door open for me. As soon as I slid into the backseat of the car, I loosened the tie around my neck and pulled it off. Next to go was my jacket. I rolled both sleeves of my shirt up and laid my head back on the seat. I couldn’t wait to get home so that I could pull the rest of this shit off and get into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I also couldn’t wait to see Melonee and the kids.

  It was crazy how the night we took a chance on each other had turned into a conundrum. I often wondered if whoever was really behind the attack would ever reveal themselves or slip up and get caught. I mean, I’d gone over everything I remembered from that night, as well as some of the things Melonee remembered, and I hadn’t been able to link anything together. For instance, Melonee didn’t know Benji from anywhere, and I sure as hell didn’t know Fiona or Proof. I didn’t have any enemies out there, to my knowledge, and neither did she. Of course, there was the daughter of her ex-husband, who, Melonee had said, unexpectedly appeared at my benefit banquet and tried to cause a scene, but when I had Uncle Kazi look her up, he said that she had died in a car crash.

  I had asked Mel if she thought her Black Widow Clique could’ve been behind the attack, since I was the intended target, anyway, but she doubted they would make a move like that and harm her in any way. All in all, I was pretty stoked that the shit was now behind us and that we could start to live our lives without having to watch our backs constantly.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it back on. I knew I would have a ton of e-mails and text messages waiting for me when I did. Sorting through those, I responded to the ones that needed my immediate attention and saved the rest for tomorrow. It seemed like ever since Benji took over as CEO for Real Time Delivery, things had been going okay but could’ve been better. He had closed a few more international deals but hadn’t been able to come to an agreement to buy out FedEx or a few courier businesses that I was ready to sign the contracts for when I was CEO. And a lot of the employees had either quit or were out on disability, draining the funds in that pool. My ex-assistant, who still sent me daily reports, had said that she was about to put in her two weeks’ notice and resign because being Benji’s “ho wrangler” was not in her job description. Now that I was free and clear of the rape and IRS charges, I was going to talk to my father and see if there was any way I could get my job back. RTD was a family business, and although Benji’s last name was Black, his veins didn’t have the same blood pumping through them as mine. But more importantly, Benji hasn’t been doing a stellar job.

  After sending a text to Bree, I made a few phone calls, the last one to the in-home nurse I had hired to watch over my father, since Julia’s ass was too busy doing other things. If she wasn’t at Benji’s new house, lounging by the pool, she was in someone’s high-end store, running up the company credit card, which she wasn’t supposed to have, or splurging on surgical procedures for herself and her friends. The day that my father was released from the hospital, she hadn’t even shown up. She’d left a note on the refrigerator that said she was on her way to Hawaii for a weeklong vacation to relieve some of the stress that I’d caused her and our family over the past few months. I had snatched the note down before my father could see it and had reached out to Joc to see if he would be interested in this nurse position for the next few months. At first he had declined the offer, but once I offered to pay him twenty-five hundred dollars a week, he was at my father’s house the next day, bright and early.

  My phone vibrated, and I read the message Bree had just sent, telling me that everything was in place and that she would be at my house by the time I got there. Melonee had no idea what I had planned for her tonight. I just hoped everything went according to plan.

  Girl, I know you’re scared of love, but you never had a love like this. I know you been hurt before, but you never had a love like this

  “Roman . . .” Mel laughed. “What’s going on?”

  With a scarf covering her eyes and my hands gripping her hips, I guided Melonee through the living room of my new loft and into the dining area, where I had something special set up for her. In our talks at that hospital, I had found out that she was a big fan of Donell Jones, so I had a mix of some of his greatest hits playing in the background. One of my favorites, “Love Like This,” was now coming through the surround-sound speakers, and I hoped Mel was taking every word of this song to heart.

  “We almost there. Just a few more steps, and then I’ll take the blindfold off.”

  “If you let me fall, I’m going to kick your ass.”

  “You know I got you, baby. Now stand right here for a minute, and I’ll be right back.”

  “Roman,” she called, but I was already on my way into the kitchen to grab a lighter to light the rest of the candles, the ones that Bree hadn’t got a chance to.

  After making sure everything was perfect and in its right place, I stood in the dining area, across from Melonee, and stared at her. The way her body filled out the jeans and low-cut top she had on was nothing short of amazing. And just after giving birth to my son. Her breasts were full and round. Her hips and ass, man . . . I shook my head. Damn, she was beautiful. Wrapping her arms around her body, Melonee moved nervously to the left, then back to the right. A slight crackle from one of the flames beside me caused her head to turn in my direction.

  “I know you’re there, Roman.”

  “How do you know that? You can’t see me, can you?”

  She shook her head. “No. But I can feel you. The same way I always have.”

  I could feel her too. Her presence still affected my body and had it reacting in that belly-fluttering, hair-raising, sweaty-palm crazy way. After walking back over to Melonee, I undid the loose knot of the scarf at the back of her head and removed it from her eyes. Once they adjusted to the light, she looked around the room in amazement.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “Our do-over date.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the romantic scene behind me, now that everything was in place, and made a mental note to thank Bree for executing my vision. Chilled champagne, a picnic basket with a three-course meal for two, chocolate-covered strawberries, and rose petals were spread out over a white shag rug, with vases of flowers and candles surrounding it. The setting was real intimate, as the lights were off and the candles gave the space a warm glow. After grabbing Melonee’s hand, I carefully stepped onto the rug, took a seat, then pulled her down to sit between my legs.

  “This is beautiful, Roman. How did you . . . When did you do this?”

  “I’m not gonna lie. I had a little help, but the vision was all mine. I wanted to make our do-over date one to remember.”

  Melonee turned in my arms and looked at me. The way her eyelashes kissed the top of her cheeks every time she blinked, and the way they curled upward when she looked at me, drew me in. Captivated me. My heart started to beat faster. Those gray irises were pulling me in deeper and deeper. And despite looking directly into her eyes, I couldn’t help the way my peripherals took in her breasts, rising and falling, and the curved shadows under her collarbones.

  I swallowed hard to relieve the lump that had grown in my throat. For some reason, I was nervous as hell, and I knew Melonee could tell. Her eyes softened as our eyes connected again, and a cute but sexy smirk p
layed on her lips before she raised her head up and pressed her mouth to mine. When she wrapped her arms around my neck, her breasts pressed intimately against my chest. Her legs straddled my lap, and she opened her mouth and licked my bottom lip tenderly, eliciting a low growl from me. After moving my hands from her waist up to her face, I pulled Melonee into me as much as I could and deepened the kiss.

  Melonee had me in a daze as she slowly rocked her hips from side to side. My dick was already hard as a rock, but with the way she was moving, I could feel it trying to bust through my pants. I wanted—no, I needed—to feel the inside of her. And I needed that feeling now. After removing her jeans and panties in one swift move, I slid my hand between her thighs, where her essence was already spilling over. As I gently massaged her swollen clit and she moved in rhythm with my fingers, I could feel her orgasm building. Melonee bit her bottom lip as she tried to fight the pleasure I was giving her, though small whimpers kept slipping from her throat.

  “Let it go, baby. It’s mine, isn’t it?”

  She nodded and laid her head on my shoulder, giving in and opening herself up fully to me. After unbuttoning my jeans, I placed my hands under her ass and raised her up in the air slightly, then positioned myself at her entrance. The warmth and wetness that enveloped my dick as our bodies connected had me closing my eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

  “Fuck!” we both exclaimed at the same time.

  I threw my head back, gasping for air, as the tightness of her pussy and the remains of her last orgasm enveloped me whole.

  “Roman,” Melonee moaned, her body adjusting to my size. “Oh my God, baby. Oh, my God.”

  I started to move, withdrawing until just the tip of my head was in and then pushing all the way back in. I set a punitive pace as my dick stroked her G-spot over and over again. Melonee wrapped her legs around my waist and wasted no time matching me thrust for thrust. It was like we were trying to convey any and every emotion we were feeling right now, and I gladly accepted all the love she was giving me. Our lips were like magnets, unable to break contact as our souls became intertwined.

  A slow tingle started to build up in my toes, and it traveled all the way up to my belly. I wanted to hold out for a little while longer, enjoying the feel of this woman, who had completely stolen my heart, but I couldn’t. My body tightened as she panted with each lift of her hips, each grind of her wet, cushioned walls against me. Melonee’s breathing became faster as she wrapped her arms around my neck tighter, helping her with the up-and-down motion that was driving me crazy.

  “I . . . I . . . can’t hold it any longer, Mel,” I said breathlessly into her ear, then bit down on her neck, trying to gain some kind of control.

  “Cum with me, then, Roman. Shit! Cum with me, baby. Aw.”

  No other word was uttered as I gripped Melonee’s hips and pushed my dick in as far as it could go, then pounded into her, never letting up on the speed or power of my strokes. Even before the contractions in her had completely subsided, my fingers massaging her swollen clit had her cumming again. This time, my own release was near. With a loud groan and one final push, which sent her over the edge for the third time, I came too. Decorating every inch of her insides with my name and seed. Secretly hoping another baby would be conceived.

  Melonee’s body collapsed on top of mine, causing me to fall back on the rug. After wrapping my arms around her and pulling her closer to my chest, I tucked the loose strands of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear and kissed her forehead and basked in the intense connection that just happened between us.

  “Mel . . . ,” I called but got no answer. “Mel . . .”

  She licked her lips, and the soft touch of her tongue as it lightly brushed against my chest sent a shiver down my spine. She cleared her throat. “Yeah?”

  “Your phone is going off again.”

  “I know, but I don’t care.”

  I smiled. “As flattering as it is to know that I have this ‘drunk in love’ effect on you, I think you should get that. It might be Bree calling.”

  If the circumstances were different, I probably would’ve said, “Fuck the call,” too. But Bree was watching Madison and Kason tonight, and although my son had been cleared by the hospital to come home, we had been advised that some complications from his premature birth might still arise. I sat up, with Melonee still clinging to my chest like a newborn child. The warmth from between her legs was waking my dick up, and I could feel it stretching her out again.

  “Mmm,” she moaned and began kissing my neck. I closed my eyes, savoring every touch, feel, and taste of this woman. Her arousal turned me down even more. When she wrapped her chocolate limbs around my waist a little tighter and pulled my dick deeper into her wetness, I forgot all thoughts of her phone going off again.

  “You sure you’re ready for round two?” I asked as I flipped her onto her back, knocking over the picnic basket and the champagne. I grabbed one of the chocolate-covered strawberries and fed it to her. Licking the sweet berry taste from her lips, I pushed into her and was taken to paradise again.

  Two hours later, we were lying comfortably in the same spot we’d just made love in, and were dozing off when there was a loud bang on my front door. Melonee, who had been asleep for the past thirty minutes, shot up, with a worried look on her face.

  “Who could that be this late?” she asked, reaching for her phone to check the time. “What the fuck?”

  I stopped pulling my pants up and turned my attention to her. “What’s wrong?”

  “My granny and Bree have been calling my phone all night. Oh my God, something’s wrong! My babies. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” she cried as she frantically searched around the room for her top, her cell phone nestled between the side of her face and her shoulder.

  Someone banging on the door again caused both of us to look in that direction.

  “Roman, maybe you should go answer the door while I try to call Bree.”

  I nodded my head, pulled my pants up all the way, grabbed my shirt, then walked to the front of the house, turning on a few lights along the way. A little déjà vu pegged me for a second, but I doubted whoever was banging on the door was the police. After pulling my shirt on over my head, I unlocked the dead bolts and swung the door open, just as the person standing there was about to knock again.

  “Bree . . . is everything all right?” The look on her face caused my heart to drop. “Where’s my son? Is everything all right?”

  “The kids are good. They’re at my mom’s house. . . .” Her wet eyes looked up at me. “Where’s Mel?”

  I looked over my shoulder. “She’s in the back, throwing some clothes on and trying to call you. If the kids are okay, what’s going on, Bree?”

  “Auntie!” Melonee yelled as she pushed past me. “Where’s my babies? Are they okay? Tell me my babies are okay!”

  “They’re good, Mel. I just dropped them off at Mama’s so I could come over here. We’ve been calling you all night.”

  Melonee’s eyes turned to me. A look of embarrassment was on her face. “We . . . we were a little busy. But that’s a topic we can discuss later. Why are you here? Why do you look like you’ve been crying?”

  Bree nervously licked her lips. “I think you should let me come in so we can talk. You might want to have a seat when I tell you this.”

  I looked around my bare townhome. The only piece of furniture I had in it right now was the coffee table that had belonged to my mother. I was going to leave the task of decorating this place to Melonee, when and if she and the kids decided to move in with me permanently.

  “Auntie, just tell me what’s going on please. My nerves are already on edge.”

  Blowing out a breath, Bree looked up, trying to stop the tears from falling down her face. “Proof . . .” She shook her head. “Proof’s mother called Mama and told her that they just found his body in a Dumpster behind some shitty motel.”

  Melonee looked bewildered. “What?”

  “Pr
oof’s dead, Mel. Someone shot him in the back of the head and just threw his body away like trash.”

  “No, no, no, no! Don’t tell me that, Aunt Bree. Please don’t tell me that. My baby . . . What about my baby? She loves her daddy. What do I tell my baby, Aunt Bree? Jaylen. No,” Melonee cried. She began to sob loudly. “What about my baby?”

  Melonee fell back against my chest, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her. She began shaking and fell to the floor, her cries ringing loud in my ear. I wanted to take the pain away, but I knew that I couldn’t at the moment, so I just held her tighter. Proof and I hadn’t been the best of friends, but I did care for their daughter and would never want a child to experience the loss of a parent. My heart went out to Madison, and I prayed that in time, I could replace that missing part in her heart.

  Fiona

  Ever since April had killed Proof, it seemed like everything going on around me was all out of whack. I had never believed in karma or anything like that, but I was starting to become a believer, as I felt that was indeed reaping what I sowed. Not only had I been demoted from my position as the head of the Black Widow Clique by April’s ass, but I had also found out last night that I was carrying Proof’s baby. For a second I had thought it was Benji’s, but after confirming with the doctor that I was a little over ten weeks, I had to have gotten pregnant the night Proof and I had sex when Melonee was in the hospital. A drunken night that honestly never should’ve happened, but had. I had never been one to regret anything that I did, but this shit right here . . . I shook my head. I didn’t deserve to be a mother. Didn’t deserve to bring a child into this world, one whose father had been killed by his or her grandmother.

  Wiping away the tear that slid down my cheek, I took a deep breath and quickly got myself together. I needed to see what the fuck was going on with my brother and why he’d been missing in action for so long. Furthermore, his phone number had been changed, his e-mail had been deleted, and all his social media had been deactivated. Cowboy had gone completely off the grid, and I wanted to know why. Everybody I had ever cared about was gone, and he was the only family I had left. That was why, at the present moment, I was sitting in my car, which was parked in Cowboy’s driveway, and watching as the curtain in his living room moved every ten minutes or so, letting me know that someone was in there. I’d been coming by his house for the past week but could never get an answer when I knocked. Today I had decided to park my ass right here and wait until he pulled up or came out to dump the trash or something.