Soul's Survivor

by Navi' Robins

  His strokes became harder, deeper, and faster with each passing second. The sharp and loud smacking sounds of their bodies connecting and their moans of ecstasy filled the air in the smoke-filled kitchen. Something was burning, but neither of them cared as they continued to push each other beyond their physical limits. His muscles began to tighten as he felt himself losing his self-control. He wanted to slow down, but Ayana was in a zone as she continued forcefully pushing back her ass against him while leaning forward with all her body weight, causing him to lean back and thrust deeper inside of her. Her eyelids fluttered, and the veins in her neck began to bulge with the stranglehold of the T-shirt around her neck. Daniel’s pounding began to bring on the most explosive orgasm she’d ever experienced in her life. Wanting this amazing orgasm sooner than later, Ayana grabbed hold of either side of the island and began to wildly buck and push back against her lover. Seeing there was no way of controlling her, Daniel decided to let her takeover. Taking both ends of the T-shirt in one hand, he smacked her on the ass, watching her flesh bounce to the force of his strike. The sudden and sharp pain caused her to yell out in pleasure, and she immediately began moving faster, reaching for an invisible brace in front of her. Daniel began to match her intensity, pushing deeper inside of her. The sudden and intense sensation caused her to climb on top of the island.

  Oh no, you’re not going anywhere!

  In one quick and forceful motion, Daniel pulled her back by the T-shirt still wrapped around her neck, holding her steady, while he continued to pound in rhythm with her. She was coming, and it was so intense, she scratched and clawed at the countertop, trying to brace her body for the oncoming earthquake that vibrated her entire being. Seeing her reaction and feeling her drenched tunnel tighten around him broke away all of Daniel’s mental controls, and he yelled out as he lost himself inside of her. Feeling his warm essence flow through her sent Ayana over the edge, and her body dropped an orgasmic bomb between her legs. The fierce pleasure of her climax caused her to lose control of her body, and she immediately went limp.

  Daniel quickly grabbed hold of her, preventing her from falling to the floor. As if planned in perfect timing, the smoke alarm went off, and they both looked around at the smoke-filled kitchen, astonished. The food cooking on the stove, now a black, stinking mess, continued to fill his condo with smoke.

  “Oh shit!” they both yelled while rushing toward the stove to turn off the flames and turn on the overhead fans.

  “Open all the windows,” Daniel yelled out to Ayana, who was already working on the windows in the living room.

  “Even the balcony doors?” she asked, grinning mischievously while looking at her own naked body. “Your neighbors will get the greatest show on earth if I do that.”

  “Well, if you are in the mood to perform for them after the smoke clears, we could take this out on the balcony.”

  “Ha! You wish, ‘Doctor Feel Good.’ I’ll go get my robe before I open that door.”

  Smiling, Daniel defiantly rushed over to the balcony’s sliding glass doors and flung them open, while standing there stark buck naked with his hands raised in the air. He started yelling at the top of his lungs in full view of anyone at home or in their rooms in the hotel directly across from his penthouse condo. “Look, Ma, I’m on top of the world.”

  Laughing until she fell over on the couch, Ayana shook her head watching Daniel act out on his balcony . . .

  Chapter 12

  The Calm before the Storm

  Timothy stared blankly back at Daniel, trying to process everything he’d just told him. A long, awkward silence followed, and the only thing that could be heard was the afternoon thunderstorm raging outside Timothy’s office windows. Suddenly, Timothy seemed to snap out of his trance and started blinking rapidly before deciding to respond.

  “So, you fucked her on the same night she lost the rest of her family, and now you two believe you found love?” he asked with an uncomfortable chuckle. Smacking himself on his forehead, he shook his head, appearing to attempt to shake off a painful headache.

  “Listen, Danny, you’re my boy, so I’m going to keep it one hundred with your crazy ass. That was a ‘grief’ fuck, nothing more. The problem seems to be that the sex was so good, you two idiots have decided to confuse it with love.”

  “And what would you know about love?” Daniel snapped back.

  “Enough to know what it isn’t, and this ain’t it, bruh. On one hand, I’m happy you are coming out of your shell, but on the other hand, I am not cool with you mislabeling this thing you have with Ayana. Because when the fairy tale is over and reality sets in, your attitude could get worse. I just don’t want you to get hurt because you’ve been through enough.”

  “So, you think she’ll hurt me? I’m that weak to you?”

  “Hell no! Ayana is cool as hell to me. It’s not her per se, but the situation that will hurt you. The woman needs time to grieve, but she’s denying herself that time by covering up her pain with sleeping with you. It’s all good now . . . until the orgasms can’t make up for the loss of her family. Right now, she feels like she’s alone, and it frightens her, but soon, anger and regret will replace the fear, and you will be the receiver of all that negative energy. It’s gonna happen soon enough, and I just don’t want you to be caught in the cross fire when it does.”

  “For a player, you seem to know more than you should about a woman’s emotions. I thought players didn’t give a fuck about a woman’s feelings.”

  “True players know that’s bullshit! You can’t play the game if you don’t have all the pieces on the board, and a woman’s emotions are the king. Don’t try to redirect the issue, dude. I’m not trying to rain on your parade. Like I said, I just want to keep it one hundred with you. This situation ain’t good for either of you.”

  “You think you know what’s going on, but you don’t,” Daniel responded while getting up out of his seat and pacing around Timothy’s office. The thunderstorm outside seemed to intensify the longer the two friends faced off, and Timothy’s office windows were shaking violently as walls of water splashed against the window with alarming force. The lights flickered periodically, and Timothy looked up at them uncomfortably as he tried to reason with his best friend.

  “I don’t know? Okay, answer me this, Danny. Since you two have started fucking—”

  “I wouldn’t call it fucking,” Daniel yelled, cutting off his question.

  “Oh, my bad. Since you two have become ‘intimate,’” he corrected himself in a mocking tone, before continuing with his question. “Since you two have become intimate, have your sessions continued?”

  “What sessions?”

  “The fact you have to ask that question proves my point. You both are completely off track now. Her reason for being there is lost, and both of you are burying yourselves in sex. Hey, if this were any other situation, I would give you a pound and tell you to keep banging. The whole reason why I put my research on hold and work in that madhouse you call an ICU is so that Ayana can help you, not bang you. Y’all need to get back on track as soon as possible because this shit won’t end well otherwise.”

  Daniel’s face was inflamed as he grit his teeth while staring at Timothy with fire in his eyes. Timothy seemed unmoved by his fury toward him and smiled, clearly amused at Daniel’s reaction to what he considered the plain and incontestable truth. Timothy didn’t understand what his friend expected from him . . . a pat on the back, a party, or maybe a cookie? From what Daniel told him, over the past couple of weeks, his friend has had an obscene amount of cookies from Ayana’s jar, and it was time to pull his hand—or dick—out of it before it gets severed. Timothy may be a player, but he knew better than to play this kind of game. The only outcome was mutual imminent destruction. Any real player knew never to get involved in such a game because self-preservation is paramount to a player.

  Nevertheless, he knew he needed to tread lightly because Danny was too far gone. He really believed that what he shared wi
th Ayana was real love, and if he considered Timothy a threat to that love, their friendship would suffer. He needed to lighten the mood in the room before his friend stormed out of his office, irreparably scarred by his comments about his relationship with Ayana.

  “By the way, how many more days before our bet expires, because some of the nurses in the ICU are unbelievably fuckable!”

  Daniel stood there with his arms folded, still appearing angry, but hearing Timothy’s comment about the nurses began to relax him immediately. He tried to fight the smile growing on his face, but the longer he thought about Timothy’s comment and his knowledge that none of the nurses that worked in ICU was remotely “fuckable” caused the smile to break through his angry snarl. No matter how drunk or desperate, there was no way any man alive would consider them eligible for even a “paper bag over the head” quickie. The irony of the joke broke through, and he leaned forward, laughing until tears rolled down his cheeks. Seeing his friend’s reaction, Timothy slammed his hand on top of his desk in triumph and joined him in laughter.

  After laughing until his stomach muscles ached, Daniel returned to his seat, wiping the tears from his eyes.

  “I think we should call it even and let you get back to your favorite pastime because I’m afraid if this continues, you might bang one of those nurses and lose every player point you’ve accumulated over the years,” Daniel joked while shaking his head at Timothy.

  “Naw, I’m cool. I’m going to see this through, but I must admit, there were times of weakness when they did look pretty fuckable.”

  “Oh no, my brother! You can’t be serious!”

  “Real talk, especially Ramona.”

  “Not Jigsaw—please, not her.”

  “Yep, but you have to admit, even though she looks just like that clown on the tricycle, from the neck down, she’s a solid eight.”

  “Eight, my ass. She’s no more than a four on a good day. Your lack of sex has blinded you, my brother.”

  An image of Ramona’s body popped in Timothy’s head, and he shook it in shame before responding, “You got a point.” He started laughing until a loud hiccup escaped his mouth . . .

  Daniel drove home in silence as he considered everything that Timothy said earlier. He didn’t want to accept Timothy’s assessment of his relationship with Ayana, but Tim made some crucial points that were impossible to ignore. Since their first intimate encounter, Ayana hadn’t held one session with him, nor did she bring it up. They were both entranced in their desire to dilute the pain and regret they both felt with sex, and Daniel hated admitting that Timothy was right. Regardless of their disconnection from reality, Daniel was certain he was falling in love with Ayana, and he wanted her in his life. However, he knew that whatever they had wouldn’t last unless he started making the hard decisions for both of them.

  Walking into his condo, he could hear Ayana in the kitchen again, cooking up another amazing meal. She was an incredible cook, and she would prepare small feasts for just the two of them. Daniel feared that his chiseled frame might start to round out more if he didn’t slow down with all that eating. He held his head down, feeling afraid and ashamed at what he knew he had to do. He hated challenging her because he knew once he opened this can of worms, things could get really nasty and strained between them. Nevertheless, he knew that if he really cared for her, he had to do this . . . There just wasn’t any other way.

  About an hour later, Daniel was seated at a candlelit dining room table that Ayana had decorated beautifully. The entire condo was dark, other than the romantic flickering lights of the candles that stood high like lighted towers on either end of the large metal and glass modern dining table. Daniel looked down the far end of the table, and his mouth slowly opened as he noticed Ayana’s dark and sensual body fully exposed with only his burgundy and black tie around her neck, its tail end seductively running between her breasts. She sat upright in proper posture as she ate, seemingly oblivious to Daniel’s amazed expression.

  There is a God, he thought while he lustfully looked at her, unable to lift his fork to his mouth. Suddenly, his plans on lifting the masquerade became ten times harder than he anticipated, and Ayana quickly multiplied things when she suddenly looked at him smiling and said, “I’m really feeling uninhibited tonight. I feel like I would be willing to do any and everything you ask of me. All I want to do is please you tonight.”

  He felt himself slowly growing in his pants as he imagined every kinky desire he’d ever had and the possibility that the most beautiful woman he’s ever been with was willing to fulfill them all. Still not done teasing the doctor, Ayana decided to scoot her chair closer to the table. The motion caused her ample breasts to bounce in the candlelight, and Daniel noticed every succulent movement they made. Feeling like he would burst through the seams of his pants, he tried to situate himself, because the swollen lightning rod in his pants made it very uncomfortable to sit still.

  “So how was your day, honey?” Ayana asked, placing a spoonful of rice in her mouth and then removing it slowly while looking in Daniel’s eyes seductively.

  “It was cool,” he responded, clearing his throat nervously.

  Looking down at his plate, Ayana smiled.

  “Honey, you haven’t touched your food. Are you in the mood for dessert instead?”

  Oh, you are so bad, he thought, looking up at the ceiling, appearing to have a silent conversation with God.

  Ayana was enjoying Daniel’s nervous reaction. He was giving her exactly what she wanted, and she wanted to be in control tonight, taking the role of the giver instead of the receiver. Daniel was the most selfless, incredible lover she’d ever had, and she wanted to reward him for tending to her every carnal desire. However, he was an alpha male, and the only way to allow him to relax and relinquish control was to make him nervous . . . shock him, and now that her mission was going as planned, she wanted to take full advantage.

  “Come here, baby,” she commanded while taking a huge bite out of a chocolate-covered strawberry.

  Seeing her full and juicy lips caress the strawberry caused a trading of places in Daniel’s thought pattern. He was no longer thinking with his brain, but with his vein, and he slowly stood up and began walking toward her. Ayana turned her chair out from under the table and leaned forward in the chair while spreading her legs. His heart was beating so fast he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Like a nervous teenager, he stood a few paces from her, afraid to move closer. Looking only at his crotch, Ayana reached out forcefully, pulling him closer to her by his belt buckle and began to undo his jeans. He felt the cool night air from the open balcony door run up his legs once his pants fell to his ankles. Without hesitation, Ayana took him entirely in her mouth, something Daniel once believed impossible. His knees immediately started shaking as he felt her warm mouth firmly close around him as her tongue massaged his throbbing muscle.

  Oh hell, we can talk tomorrow . . .

  Chapter 13

  After the Love Is Gone

  Daniel watched Ayana stomp around his bedroom at a frantic pace while the early-morning sun reflected on her totally exposed dark and smooth skin, seemingly enhancing her already “out of control” silhouette. The quiet humming of the central air seemed to vibrate along with every jiggle and sensual movement she made as she pranced back and forth in his room, flinging her arms in the air as she yelled and cursed at him. She’d been at it for a while now, but after about two minutes of listening to her ranting, Daniel unconsciously tuned her out. Now, her voice sounded more like Charlie Brown’s mother instead of the melodic Sudanese tone he was so used to. He figured after getting her to do so many freaky and outlandish things last night, having a conversation concerning their status wouldn’t go over too well today. But he didn’t think he would go from being “baby,” to “Dr. Bennett,” to “Dr. Dumbass,” and finally, to “Muthafucka.” Actually, after briefly thinking about it, Daniel couldn’t recall ever being called a muthafucka so many times in under ten minutes.
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  He should’ve been concerned with how she reacted to what he considered a series of important questions and observations about their relationship. Surprisingly, he wasn’t bothered . . . not one bit, but his cold reaction to her outburst did bother him. He felt that he was reverting to the zombie he used to be, and although he’d grown accustomed to being cold and uncaring, the few weeks of emotional freedom he shared with Ayana made it difficult for him to consider going back. After lying on the bed a few minutes longer watching Ayana “spaz” out, he decided to put an end to her tirade.

  Enough already. She’s acting like I told her I had a wife or a baby mama.

  “Hey, okay, I get it. You’re upset. I ruined the moment by attempting to label things. But why are you so upset? I would think you would want to be more than my live-in fuck buddy.”

  Hearing his voice stopped Ayana in her tracks. She stood with her back toward him with her arms raised above her head, frozen in the last position she was standing in while she released all her anger. She just stood there for about ten seconds, not saying a word or moving one inch. Daniel slowly raised his head from the pillow, looking genuinely concerned at this new reaction from her.

  Ayana stood there with her eyes closed, breathing deeply. She was desperately trying to contain herself and not act out of character any more than she already had, but the doctor was a master “nerves” surgeon. He’d cut deep into her self-control, allowing all her anger and pain to spill out into the world. It was typical “man foolery” for him to think what he said to her wasn’t that serious.

  Why am I upset? That asshole tells me he thinks we are going about the relationship the wrong way. That things are just sexual, and soon, we’ll have nothing left unless we agree about what we are or what we are not. That my purpose here is lost in sex, and I need time to grieve. Time to grieve? He assumes too much, and he’s made an ass of himself and a joke about my feelings for him. He absolutely downplayed everything I did for him. I slaved in that kitchen for hours for his stupid ass. I shaved and waxed my most sensitive parts and oiled myself down like a swimsuit model for him. I deep throated him until it felt like my vocal cords needed stitches. I made him come so hard that he ripped up two pillows on the bed, tossing feathers all over the room. After doing all of that and other things I dare not share with another soul on this planet, he has the fucking nerve to tell me it’s all just sex?