The Guilty Innocent

by D N Simmons

  “Do you have anything that you want to do for tonight?” he asked, I nodded.

  “Yes, I would like to go to the wake at Annette's parents home. After that, I just want to go home and relax,” I looked up at both him and Xavier. “Do you want to come with me?” I asked, blushing as I did so. Darian raised his eyebrows and nodded, his boyish grin spreading across his face. Xavier lowered his head as he chuckled quietly, then nodded. “Oh, great! It's settled then.”

  I turned around to face Elise, Warren, Adrian and Matthew. I noticed that Adrian was standing very close to Warren, almost possessive in his stance. I wondered why, then I looked at Matthew and guessed that Adrian might have a spark of jealousy towards Matthew due to Warren and Matthew's strong bond. Warren strode over to me and gave me a hug and kissed me on my cheek.

  “I'm sorry for your loss, you have my condolences,” he said sweetly as he hugged me.

  “Thank you Warren,” I released him and he stepped back, Matthew walked over now and hugged me. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support and concern I was getting, it made me feel complete.

  “My condolences.” Matthew whispered, he released me. “Are you going to be alright?”

  I nodded and Matthew stepped back. One by one, all of them embraced me, even the few of Elise's Pride that I did not recognize. This was turning out to be a joyous night. It was not the night that we mourned the loss of Annette, it was the night we celebrated her homegoing. Elise and her Pride left, Warren, Adrian and Matthew said their farewells and left. Adrian and Warren climbed into Warren's Diamondback truck and Matthew climbed into his sports car. Xavier took my hand to lead me to Darian's car, I stopped when I entered the parking lot.

  “I drove my car here,” I said.

  “That's not a problem, I'll drive my car and you'll drive yours.” Darian said as he walked towards his car, then he turned and looked at Xavier. “You ride with her, I'll follow.”

  Darian disappeared into the car and closed the door. I climbed into the driver's seat, Xavier climbed in beside me. We drove to Annette's parents home. Cars were lined along the street and both Darian and I found it difficult to locate parking spaces, but we did. Darian had to park three blocks down, but he still beat me to Annette's parents home. Must be really nice to have superhuman speed. Xavier held my door open for me as I climbed out of my car.

  I rung the doorbell, Annette's cousin, Beverly opened the door. She gave me a sad smile as we hugged lightly before she stepped to the side to allow us entry. Darian and Xavier followed me, giving their condolences as they passed by Annette's family members and friends as did I. We made our way into the kitchen where Annette's mother was laying out the platters of food. I distinctly caught the scent of fried chicken...country fried chicken, that is. A most heavenly scent. I walked around the table and hugged Mrs. Balfour. I felt her pain as she held on tightly to me. Though she had three strapping sons, Annette was her only daughter and I couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling. I was aware that no loving parent ever wanted to have to bury their children. She struggled to keep from crying as she nodded her head as I gave her my most sincere condolences.

  “Annette loved you very much, Natasha. She would have wanted you to have this.” Mrs. Balfour said to me as she left the kitchen, heading towards her bedroom.

  I looked at Darian and Xavier, they remained quiet as we waited for Mrs. Balfour to return. She came back into the kitchen carrying a red jewelry box, which she handed to me, I opened it. Inside was a beautiful gold locket with intricate carvings of vines and roses. I looked up at Mrs. Balfour, speechless.

  “It was a locket she was going to give her first born daughter. She loved you like you were her sister and I have always been fond of you myself, Natasha. So not only would Annette have wanted you to have it, but I want you to have it as well.” Mrs. Balfour dabbed her eyes with a white handkerchief. She gave me a small smile then hugged me once more. I could say nothing but “thank you” and I placed the red jewelry box inside my purse. Darian and Xavier walked over to Mrs. Balfour and Darian took her hand into his as he told her how sorry he was for her loss, Xavier did the same. I looked at them. “Oh! Where are my manners? I'm so sorry, Mrs. Balfour, these two gentlemen were Annette's employers. This is Darian Alexander,” I pointed lo Darian. “And Xavier Richards.” I was so taken by the moment, I had forgotten common etiquette.

  Mrs. Balfour smiled at both Darian and Xavier. “I want to thank you for being such wonderful employers to my daughter. She loved her job and never complained about having a hard day at work,” she said with a chuckle.

  “She was a pleasure to know, Mrs. Balfour.” Xavier kissed Mrs. Balfour on the back of her hand. Ever the gentleman.

  After a few minutes, I felt it was time to go and we said our goodbyes before leaving. I drove my car home, with Darian following close behind me until we reached my apartment and parked on the street. Darian had to park a little further down the block once again. We climbed the stairs to my third floor apartment, Darian closed the door behind us as I turned on all the lights. Darian and Xavier removed their coats and hung them in the closet.

  “Are you hungry? You can order something, I'll pay for it,” Xavier offered.

  “Thank you, I am hungry.” I said, regretting that I did not remember to bring the dinner plate that Mrs. Balfour had prepared for me. Oh! To have tasted one of those delicious smelling chicken wings! I reached for the menu to my favorite Chinese restaurant. I scanned through their menu list and settled on spicy combination fried rice, small beef pepper steak and a shrimp egg roll. I dialed the restaurant and told them what I wanted. They gave me the price and time of delivery.

  “It's going to be twenty-three dollars, they said it will be here in about thirty minutes.” Both Darian and Xavier reached into their pockets for their wallets and I giggled. They looked at me and smiled before putting their wallets back into their pockets.

  “You guys can turn on the television, I'm going to go and change into something more comfortable,” I said.

  I went to my bedroom and dressed quickly in a pair of pajama bottoms with dolphins on them and an old t-shirt from my high school gym uniform. I took the red jewel box out of my purse and opened it. The gold locket sparkled on it's thin gold chain. I removed the locket and opened it. It was empty, Annette was saving the space for a very special picture. I was very honored that her mother had given me Annette's treasure. I closed the locket, placing it back into the red box, putting the box into my dresser. When I emerged from the bedroom, Darian and Xavier were watching television. Darian's long, powerful figure was sprawled on the sofa and Xavier was lounging in the chair, his long muscular legs stretched out before him. They both looked so ravishing, so mouth-watering. When I approached, Darian sat up on the sofa, making room for me.

  “No, don't bother, I'm going to sit here.” I said gesturing to the other chair opposite Xavier's. Darian nodded and laid back down. I could tell he was a man that enjoyed comfort and luxuries. There was nothing wrong with that, who didn't?

  “Turn to the news, I want to see what's going on in the world,” I said.

  Xavier clicked the remote to the ten o'clock news. We watched, finding out about the weather for the next five days, it would appear that the temperatures would be picking up. There were more car crashes that happened throughout the city, thankfully, none of them were deadly. A few minutes later, the door bell rung, both Darian and Xavier rose. Darian looked at Xavier and smiled.

  “I will handle this tab.” Darian chuckled, Xavier nodded and sat back down into the chair.

  Darian opened the door and took the bag from the delivery man and handed him several bills. The delivery man appeared to be very happy with his tip, he thanked Darian repeatedly as the door closed. Darian gave me the brown bag then returned to his position on the sofa. I thanked him as I opened the food containers spreading them out on the cocktail table before me. I started digging into the fried rice first. As we continued to watch the news, the anchorwoman annou
nced they had a special report just in:

  Apparently... “The bodies of alleged Russian mafia boss Eremei Andreev and mafia member Lidiya Belyakov were found dead in a car near O'Lare Airport. And another suspected member who S.U.I.T. officials believe was tied to the case, Filipp Yaroslav was discovered dead in a hotel room in Chicago's downtown district. It was reported that Filipp had ties with the Russian mafia, he was later identified as the assassin who attacked the S.U.I.T. division a week ago, killing two S.U.I.T. officers and injuring others.” The reporter said that: “The killings were done execution style. It was speculated that the victims had been dead for two days, before police found them. There is no information yet on the two undercover officers that had been escorting Eremei and Lidiya to the airport. The officers are said to be hospitalized and their condition is unknown at this time.

  The anchorwoman continued. “Eremei Andreev and Lidiya Belyakov were the two suspects in the murder of Annette Balfour. Both had confessed to the murder, but do to previous outstanding warrants in Moscow, the two were being extradited to Russia. Police have no leads in this case.” The reporter stated then moved on to others issues. I looked at Darian and Xavier, both seemed unfazed by the news.

  Each looked at me. “What is the matter?” Xavier asked, nonchalantly.

  “You know what I'm thinking about! Did you kill them?” I asked shocked and curious at the same time.

  “Well, yes and no,” Xavier replied calmly.

  “I killed Filipp Yaroslav, he was the hitman assigned to assassinate me while I was in the holding cell.” Darian confessed without a hint of emotion.

  “And I killed Eremei, but Tony killed Lidiya,” Xavier said. I couldn't believe my ears, I did not know whether to be happy that they did not get away with Annette's murder, or frightened by the realization that these two gorgeous men in my presence actually did the murders. I decided to be both.

  “Does this bother you?” Darian asked softly as he sat up on the sofa.

  “I'm not sure. I mean...I'm glad that they did not get away with it, but it was cold-blooded murder,” I said apprehensively.

  “It was, there is no way we can dress up that fact. However, it was necessary. There are now a few less murdering thieves in the world,” Darian stated.

  I pondered the new information and decided to let it go. I believe this is what John meant when he said Xavier wouldn't let them go free. What was done was done and in a strange way, justice was served. Besides, Eremei said that he would go free. Who's to say that he wouldn't try to extract revenge?

  “I suppose you are right,” I said nodding my head slowly. Darian settled back into the cushions, crossing one leg over the other as he peered at me. He had an expression on his face that told me he was studying me.

  I stared at him. “What?”

  “You are such a remarkable creature that I never know what is on your mind. I find that to be extremely alluring. When I am around you, I feel this strange excitement just wondering what you will say or do next,” Darian confessed passionately. It made me blush, I could feel my cheeks flaming.

  Xavier chuckled. “Now you know why I love her, but there is so much more to her, my love...so much more,” he gazed at me lovingly.

  My stomach began to flutter, my lips parted in a wide grin, tightening my cheeks. I looked at the both of them, here they were, in my home. Their beauty was overwhelming and I began to remember all the times I've seen them together and the chemistry they shared. I realized it was a bond that would probably never break. If I was going to dip the tip of my toe into this relationship, I was going to have to accept that fact. I decided to ask a very bold question, I hoped they would not be insulted.

  I looked at the two men as they gazed at me. “Darian, Xavier, may I ask a very personal favor of you?”

  “Of course, ask of us anything that you want.” Darian responded kindly.

  “This is very difficult for me to ask you, but I'm going to ask you anyway because I feel that it is necessary.” I began, knowing that I must overcome my shyness. I took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. They were watching me silently, waiting for me to continue. “Would you two mind, you know...doing it...so I can see?” I asked softly, blushing intensely.

  At this point my entire face felt hot underneath the skin. Darian's eyebrows were raised, he had a comical expression on his face that let me know he was surprised at my request. Xavier's was one of shock, but then his expression changed into a smile.

  “Are you sure that you want this?” Darian asked me, he leaned forward to study me better, I nodded.

  “I never would have guess that would have been your request.” Xavier said, still in shock.

  “Her unpredictability is what I adore!” Darian declared, laughing outright.

  “Will you do it?” I asked nervously.

  Darian calmed down his laughter and looked at me. He turned to face Xavier and both men nodded. I felt a hint of relief when they agreed.

  “We can go to my bedroom,” I said. “So soon?” Xavier asked.

  I rose from my chair and looked at him. “Yes, if we don't do it now, I fear that I will never gain the courage to ask you again.”

  Both men looked at each other and rose from the sofa instantaneously. Darian and Xavier followed me into my bedroom, Xavier closed the door behind us. I sat in my little wooden chair against the wall and drew my legs up so that I could peek at them over my knees.

  Darian turned to Xavier and whispered something to him, Xavier chuckled and nodded. Darian stepped smoothly behind Xavier, he wrapped his arms around Xavier's chest. Darian's hands began to message Xavier's pecs through his shirt, his fingers began to loosen Xavier's tie then moving to unbutton Xavier's shirt very slowly one button at a time. Xavier watched me from across the room as he allowed Darian to remove his tie and shirt. Darian tossed the shirt and tie to the floor, he began to kiss along the nape of Xavier's neck, lightly pecking his way to his shoulders. Xavier turned to face Darian and their lips met in a passion-filled kiss. Darian's strong hands caressed Xavier's arms, then slowly moved to undo his pants. Xavier broke the kiss then turned towards me, smiling flirtatiously as Darian slid his slacks down slowly. Once again, Xavier did not wear underwear and he sprung up when his pants were removed. Looking at him fully erect made me squeal like a virgin nun! Both men chuckled but continued. Xavier stepped out of his shoes then turned around, giving me a wonderful view of his perfect backside. I practically drooled as my eyes trailed down Xavier's spine to his firm buttocks. Darian remained still as Xavier began to undress him. Xavier took his time, slowly removing Darian's shirt, tie and pants in the same fashion Darian removed his. I began to realize that they were teasing me by putting on a show for my benefit. I was thankful that my lecherous grin was hidden behind my drawn-up knees.

  Xavier climbed onto the bed first in one smooth movement. Darian covered Xavier's body with his own as he began kissing, nibbling and licking his way further down to Xavier's nether region. I locked my fingers together around my legs tightly as I watched them from across the room. When Darian took Xavier into his mouth, I fought the urge to squeal again. I just decided to hold my breath as I watched Xavier wither on the bed in pleasure as Darian's head bobbed slowly up and down in long strokes over Xavier's erection. I watched for several minutes before Xavier arched on the bed, belting out a loud moan, before collapsing back onto the sheets.

  Darian pulled away. “No...not yet,” he whispered seductively (but loud enough for me to hear) to Xavier, who panted, but said nothing. Darian continued to work Xavier over, Xavier's fingers found Darian's silky locks, he played with Darian's hair as he squirmed underneath his skillful mouth. Several minutes past before Darian shifted his body so that his manhood was poised in front of Xavier's mouth. Xavier's right hand reached up and took hold of Darian's impressive, uncircumcised manhood. He began to stroke it lightly before teasing the mushroom-shaped head with the tip of his tongue. Darian groaned in pleasure as Xavier tasted him. After the tease, Xav
ier opened his mouth wide, taking all of Darian inside. I watched in amazement as they serviced each other right there in front of me.

  “Oh, my god!” I whispered to myself as I witnessed their love-making at my request. Darian moved away from Xavier pulling himself from his lips, he rolled Xavier onto his stomach and gently began to kiss, lick and suckle his way further down to the rise of Xavier's buttocks, then his face disappeared behind the firm mounds. Xavier's eyes fluttered close as he released a long shuddering moan, his hands gripping the sheets tightly. This time, I did squeal and my fingers tightened around each other. There was an expression of pure ecstasy on Xavier's face as he panted on the bed, every once in a while, biting his luscious bottom lip. His breathing increased and then his body began to convulse and he cried out again and again until he fell limp onto the sheets. Darian's head reappeared, he slid up, covering Xavier's body with his own. Xavier twitched and groaned as Darian entered him. My eyes grew as huge as saucers as I watched Darian slide into Xavier.

  Xavier began to push back slowly as Darian pushed forward. Both men groaned in pleasure as they made love. I marveled at Darian's body and began to feel my own lust for him. I watched his muscles work under his moist skin and I could feel my breathing increase. I looked at the expression of pure rapture spreading across his face as he pushed deeper into Xavier. Then he did something that I was not expecting, he opened his eyes and looked at me and smiled. I didn't think it was possible for me to blush any further, but I could feel the heat rise to my face and sweat began to seep from my pores. Darian's fangs began to extend, he reared his head back, his left hand gripped Xavier's chin and slightly tilted his head backwards. Darian plunged his fangs deep into Xavier's dark purple vein causing him to jerked and gasped, his fingers gripped the sheets tighter pulling them free from the mattress. After a few more minutes, Xavier began to cry out again, his body convulsed and twitched as his climax ripped through him. Darian began to increase his speed as he reached his own pinnacle. Both men moaned and groaned out loud, only Darian's moans of ecstasy were muffled by Xavier's skin as he continued to feed from him. Xavier let lose one last convulsion then his body collapsed on the bed and Darian slowly withdrew. His lips were bloody, but his tongue quickly licked the blood clean. A tremor ran through him and then he rolled away. I sat in the chair, completely transfixed by what I'd seen. I looked at Darian's body, his impressive manhood was beginning to soften and his sculptured muscles twitched slightly as his breathing returned to normal.