When I stood, I kissed his neck, leaving my mark on him however I could. He turned me into a crazy possessive girlfriend. He didn’t mind because he took the time to leave his delectable bruises all over my chocolate skin too. Pain never felt so fucking good.
“I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow, Miss Okolo,” he said, standing at the door of the Monarch Room.
“You will, Mr. Clermont.”
“Let me know how Krissy is.”
“Of course,” I nodded. “Tell Mr. Wilmore I said thank you.” I smiled a little then bit my bottom lip as I moved into the hallway. Teachers walked by and none of them gave us a second glance. It all seemed normal.
“I love you,” he said quietly.
“I love you too,” I whispered before darting across the hall. It was insanely risky but neither of us could leave without saying it.
**
I arrived at Krissy’s and walked in, sweeping the house with my gaze, making sure everything was okay. The house was empty except for Krissy. She was taking a shower in her room when I got upstairs.
I made myself at home on her bed and pulled out my blue book of poems. I had to write. Roman always made me tingle with the need to pour words onto whitespace. “You got here fast,” Krissy gasped. She was wrapped in a pink towel with her honey brown hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun.
“You put out the SOS. I came.”
“Thank God.” She fell onto the bed and sighed.
“So you wanna tell me what the fuck is up?” I quizzed, raising an eyebrow. Krissy’s eyes fell to my neck and she frowned.
“Jesus, do you guys ever let up?” She touched the still tender bruises and shook her head with a knowing smile.
“We’re not talking about me,” I laughed. When I looked at her dainty shoulders, I noticed she was sporting her own bruises. My brows furled together as I slid my fingertips over them. “So um…what’s happening here?” I gestured to her and she turned a brilliant scarlet before hiding her face.
“My parents are coming home in a little while and I needed a cover.”
“I’m the cover,” I said, placing my hand on my chest.
“Yes. You know my uncle Colton?” Her pale brown eyes twinkled.
“Your dad’s best friend?”
“Uh huh. He’s staying with us through Thanksgiving and…” Her voice trailed off and my eyes got big.
“Kristibella Lucas! Please tell me you did not fuck your father’s best friend.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen but we were talking and hanging out and…” She shrugged her shoulders then fell over in my lap.
“Is today the first time?” I asked her, buzzing with the news.
“Yes. The tension has been building for days though. He didn’t want to leave afterward but I told him I’d make something up. I told him to go to the store or something and come back after Mom and Dad did.”
“Fuck. Krissy. I can’t believe you. I mean, I can because Colton is fine as hell but still…”
“I know, I know…” She paused and looked at me with emotions shining in her beautiful eyes. “Thank you for showing up for me, Riri.” We crashed in a big hug and I kissed her cheek.
“You put out the SOS and I’m there. No matter what.”
“Clearly, because I know you were knee deep in Clermont dick.”
“Oh God, was I ever. That man.” I shook my head and felt my heart skitter to life.
“Hey. Krissy,” I heard her father’s familiar voice and jerked my eyes toward the bedroom door.
“Daddy, hi!” She chirped a little too enthusiastically. Her father glanced at me then at his daughter and nodded his head. He was suspicious.
“Hello, Zuri.”
“Hi Mr. Lucas,” I grinned.
“Krissy, what happened to your shoulders?”
Fuck .
“I swear to God if you had a boy in here you will be grounded until you turn eighteen.”
“No, Daddy. Just Riri. That’s it. I swear.”
“You mean to tell me you and your best friend are in your room and you end up with hickeys on your shoulders? Am I supposed to be stupid?” His voice boomed and I cringed. I was triggered anytime men started yelling.
I crawled out of my shell though. Krissy needed me.
“Mr. Lucas, there was no boy,” I said, timidly. His light brown stare flitted over to me as I rubbed my own bruised neck. His eyes narrowed with understanding after a few seconds. “We were playing around,” I laughed, nerves bouncing around my stomach.
“You two were…” He pointed from me to Krissy and rubbed his forehead. “Forget I came in here. Please stop fooling around, girls. You’re like sisters.” When he slammed the door behind him, we both let our shoulders sag with relief.
“Shit. I don’t know how to ever repay you for that, Riri. How the hell did you even come up with that?” She laughed a little. “Now my dad is going to think we’re fucking.”
“Better me and you then you and Colton. He’d kill both of you.”
“I know,” she sighed. “And I’m supposed to spend the entire break in the same house with this man? I’m fucking him again. I have to. It was too good.”
“I wouldn’t expect it any other way,” I laughed.
**
Roman
“How did your parents pull off getting my father to work over Thanksgiving? He’s on call for the next two days with important surgeries. He had to take Duke with him to drive him to like three different hospitals.” Zuri was brimming with excitement when she called me.
“My father works magic. I don’t like to use it often though because it’s like black magic. You have to give a little bit of your soul first.”
“It’s worth it if I get to be with you outside of the Monarch Room.” She purred and my dick reacted.
“Are you home alone now?” I asked her.
“Yes, I’m packing a bag. Should I bring extra panties?” She asked. I could hear the smile in her voice. I was smiling too. She did that to me.
“Only because I like claiming them like collector’s items.” Zuri’s stolen panties had their own corner in my drawer because I couldn’t get enough of her scent. One day she’d have her own dresser and her own closet and we’d have a house together.
“I got some new ones. Hot pink.”
“You need to wear those tonight then. Lace?”
“A little,” she giggled.
“You know I love when you wear lace, princess.”
“I know.”
I gripped my erection through my pants and sighed. I wished she would hurry with packing because I wanted her in my house. I wanted her in my arms and in my mouth too. I wet my lips thinking about her delicate flavor.
“You sure you don’t want me to pick you up?” I asked her.
“I’ll be there soon, Roman,” she giggled. She knew what she did to me. When we got off the phone, I cleaned up for the third time, making sure the house was perfect for her.
My father called me just as Zuri’s BMW pulled into my driveway. “Hey, Dad. What’s going on?”
“Have you set up a date to speak with your son’s mother?”
“Not yet. I was hoping to get through Thanksgiving first.”
“Fine. Make it happen and let me know what she says. Are you and Zuri still coming tonight?” We agreed to stay in my parent’s guesthouse and attend their annual party the night before Thanksgiving. I’d agree to anything if it meant I could have Zuri by my side.
“Yeah, we’ll be there for the party, Dad,” I told him.
“Very good. Your mother and I can’t wait to meet her, son. Oh, and you won’t have to worry about her father. I made sure Okolo is busy enough to keep him awake for forty-eight hours straight.”
I laughed a little and shook my head. Like I said, my father was like playing with black magic. I can’t say I minded Dr. Okolo being kept busy though. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Dad. Give Mom my best.” I ended the call and opened the door for Z
uri.
She looked gorgeous in a long sleeve white shirt and gray cable-knit leggings. They made her legs and ass look perfect. When I pulled her in for a hug, I squeezed her behind and she laughed against my neck.
“You smell so good,” she sighed, nuzzling her cold nose against my neck. The air was biting outside. I closed the door and took her bag into my room.
I was excited to see her. It wasn’t just because I missed her, I’d gotten her a present. The second she was seated on my bed, she pulled out her blue book of poems. Its pages were fanned out from being filled to the brim with her gorgeous words.
“Your fingers are tingling, aren’t they?” I asked her knowingly.
“They tingle every time I see you,” she told me. She flipped to the end of the book and frowned. “I thought I had a few more pages before I hit the end.”
“How long have you had that?” I asked, sitting on the bed beside her.
“Since this past summer,” she pouted and climbed in my lap. I kissed her soft lips and slid my hand under her shirt to rub her satiny skin.
“All good things must come to an end, right?” I unhooked her bra and kissed her neck.
“I suppose. It takes me forever to settle into a new book though.” I pulled her shirt over her head and laid her back on the bed. “You don’t care about my damn book,” she laughed. Her teeth were beautiful against her cocoa skin. I could stare at that smile all day.
She clasped her hands behind my neck and opened her legs for me. I was trying to focus though. It was hard with her lips dancing up and down my neck. I loved the way she was blossoming. She was like a flower and she only opened for me.
Before I got carried away, I slid my hand underneath my pillow and felt around for her present. I pulled it out and smiled and holding it in front of her face. She scrambled to sit up before she plucked it from my fingers.
She held it like it was a golden treasure.
“Roman,” she gasped, running her slender fingers up and down. I noticed weeks ago that Zuri was near the end of her journal. I didn’t want her to get to the last page and have nothing to write in.
I’d done that before with sketchbooks.
I got her a black journal with a brilliant orange and white monarch butterfly on the cover. I thought she would like it. I didn’t think she would cry though.
I skimmed my fingers along her cheeks and drank in her face. My palms burned. I had to sketch her, just like that. She was breathtaking.
“This is so beautiful. I can’t believe you got this for me.” She shook her head and stared at the cover while she fingered the spine in awe.
“Zuri, can you stay like that for a while? Actually, here,” I found an ink pen and handed it to her. “Christen your new poem book. I have to sketch you. The way your features look when you’re crying tears of joy is fucking amazing.” I pulled out a medium-sized sketchbook and a charcoal pencil then I went to work, filling the white page with strokes of deep black.
Zuri took to writing and the only sounds in my bedroom were the sounds of pages being scraped against. “You know what’s missing?” She asked with a sniffle.
“Music?” I quizzed without moving my eyes from the pad.
“Yup.”
“Whitney,” I stated, grabbing my phone.
“Saving all my love .” Zuri nodded, scribbling down words rapidly. In seconds the song was playing. It helped my strokes flow freely. I was able to capture the fullness of her lips. They swelled slightly when she tried to suck in emotion. The furrow of her delicately arched brows. They made the space between them bunch with determination. The glisten in the whites of her eyes. She held on to tears like they were precious jewels.
“Why do you hate to cry?” I asked as I framed her brown eyes with thick lashes on the page.
“I told you,” she said in between letters and prose. “Crying leaves you vulnerable. Think of baby animals in the wild. The moment they let out a cry, predators know where to find them. They’re susceptible to death. Sometimes forcing their own mothers to kill them to snuff out the sound.
I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to be a blinking sign for people looking for their next meal. I refuse to be food for fodder.”
Her words made me sketch harder, filling in the background, not with walls and windows, but stars and skies. That’s what Zuri’s words reminded me of. Bright specks of light against the vast navy blue. She lit up the world and she didn’t even know.
“You cry around me,” I said, resting my pencil between my charcoal stained fingers.
“Because you make me feel…”
“Safe?” I finished her sentence with a knowing heart.
“Yes.” We both shared a silent gaze.
“You know I’d never let anyone feed on you.” I moved to the bed, touching her jaw, then her chin. I’d clean the black smudge marks later. “I’d never let any harm come to you physically or emotionally.” I raked my eyes over her face then her flawless body.
I kissed each of her eyelids and she sighed. “You’d never let anything happen to me.”
“Ever,” I tipped her face up and the light from my room hit her like a ray of sunshine. We couldn’t stave off our hungry kisses anymore. Our tongues moved together and our hands explored. I was on my way to pulling her leggings down when my phone rang.
I groaned and picked it up. It was my mother. “Roman,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I do hope you and Zuri are getting ready to head over. If you leave now you’ll get here in enough time before guests arrive.” I sighed heavily and stroked Zuri’s hair. I needed something to calm me down.
“Yeah, Mom. We’re getting ready to leave. We’ll be there soon.” I ended the call and looked at her. “So, are you ready to meet my parents?”
“I was ready to fuck you,” she pouted.
“Oh, trust me, princess…Daddy was ready to fuck you too.” I slapped her ass and she laughed. I liked the way her laughter sounded bouncing off the lonely walls of my house. My life needed her color. Her vibrancy.
“I promise when we get there, once we’ve mingled, we’ll find a spot and I’ll slide my dick inside of you.”
“What if there are people around?” She asked in my ear, licking my lobe. My dick was painfully hard.
“I don’t care. You belong to me. I’ll take you when and where I want to. Understand, Miss Okolo?”
“Oh, yes Mr. Clermont. I understand.”
“Good girl.”
We rushed to get ready. I let Zuri have my bathroom and I put on a suit in the closet, looking in the mirror to fix my tie. “Come on, princess. We’re already late.” I stepped out of the closet at the same time Zuri stepped out of the bathroom in a mist of perfume. She smelled good enough to eat but the dress she had on…
It rendered me speechless.
It was her favorite color, blue, with long sleeves and an open back. The hem dusted her knees and the fabric hugged her tight curves perfectly. I wet my lips with my tongue then whistled my approval. It made her erupt into a fit of adorable giggles.
“Stop, Roman. My cheeks hurt.”
“Stop? Zuri, I’m not going to be able to concentrate on anything or anyone but you all night. When do you turn eighteen again?” I asked, walking around her in a full circle.
“June third.” She told me, still giggling. I pulled her to me and ghosted my lips over her neck. She smelled delicious. I wondered if I’d be able to taste the cocoa butter she always smoothed on her pretty skin. I couldn’t help sliding my tongue along her shoulder.
I wasn’t sure if I’d get to fuck her tonight because I planned to spend hours making her cum all over my tongue. “Come on before I make us late eating your pussy.”
“I’m not opposed to that,” she mentioned with her finger in the air. I grabbed her bag and she grabbed her new journal along with my sketchpad and pencils. It was a tiny gesture, but to know that she held my art alongside her writing made my love for her deepen. It deepened in the same way rushing water car
ves a path out of rock. It took some work but once it was carved, it was there forever. The path was immovable.
Zuri was like water to my rock. She wore my walls down more and more every day. She transformed me and I knew I’d never be the same. Anyone that saw me could see the change.
**
“Wow, your parents live on a damn compound,” Zuri marveled when the iron gates swung open to let my car in.
“Yeah,” I grumbled. Being back there put me in a sour mood. Luckily, I had her to counteract it. The gates closed behind us with a clank and I continued the drive to the guesthouse. It had it’s own garage and driveway so I parked my car there. I wanted to avoid the drivers moving my Lexus.
“I’ll put our things in here, then we’ll head to the big house,” I told Zuri, slinging her bag over my shoulder. She was busy looking around, her head lifted high like a tourist. It’s how most people looked around the Clermont compound when they first entered. I was blind to it all and I couldn’t have cared less.
“Um, Roman…this guesthouse is as big as my normal house and we have money.”
“It’s excessive,” I muttered, taking her hand. I gave her a quick tour and then I called my parents to let them know we were on the grounds.
“Wonderful, Roman. Would you like a driver to bring you two to the house?”
“No, Mom. We’ll walk.”
“Dear, it’s a ten-minute walk. I’ll send a car.”
“It’s a short walk, please don’t.” We went back and forth for five minutes before she told me she wouldn’t take no for an answer, then hung up. I shut my eyes and sighed.
“We’re taking a car to the house,” I told Zuri.
“We’re taking a chauffeured car somewhere ten minutes away?” She laughed.
“Yeah. Exactly.” She grabbed my hand and I led her outside where a black Cadillac waited for us.
“Good evening, Mr. Clermont.” The driver spoke as he drove us toward my parents’ house.
“Good evening,” I nodded in response. Zuri slid her hand down my thigh. It wasn’t meant to be sexual, I could tell she was full of nerves but her touch drove me crazy. “I need to sketch you in that dress,” I whispered in her ear. “Then sketch you out of that dress.”
The Monarch Room Page 16
