by B. Love
And he wasted no time.
As soon as her orgasm was over, Ransom lifted her onto her hands and knees fully. Her walls hadn’t even released him before he was arching her back and digging into her at a medium pace. In this position, she was able to fuck him back better. She was able to maintain some type of control. But that didn’t keep her nectar from continuing to pour and fill the puddle underneath her.
One of Ransom’s hands wrapped around her ponytail while the other wrapped around her chin and neck. Sticking his pointer finger inside of her mouth, Ransom drilled her into silence. Into whimpers and heavy breathing. Into her eyes sealing shut after rolling into the back of her head. Into her body locking and toes curling. Into her entire body shaking as she fell onto the bed from another orgasm.
But he continued to stroke her as she alternated between moaning and chuckling. His lips placed kisses on her neck. Nibbled on her chin. Whispered how good she felt in her ear.
Wrapping his arm around her, Ransom began to circle his finger around her clit. He had her trapped, unable to move from this position. As the entire weight of his body rested on hers, Leigh surrendered to his command of her submission. Of her acceptance. Acceptance of the fact that when it came to Ransom Castillo… she was not in control. No… Leigh only maintained the control he allowed her to have.
She may have been a beast in the streets… but she was a little pussy cat when it came to him. She may not have wanted to fall in love with him… but there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it. And finally, Leigh had no desire to fight that.
His strokes sped up and became sporadic, signaling that his release was soon to come.
Turning her head to the left, she looked into his eyes for a few seconds before licking his lips and tugging the bottom one between her lips. After sucking it into her mouth, she opened his with her tongue and connected it with his. Ransom kissed her back deeply until he abruptly pulled out of her, and Leigh wasted no time taking him into her mouth and sucking until his seeds slid down her throat.
It was always a powerful thing to watch such a powerful man be so helpless and under her control. As he groaned and cursed and jerked… Leigh’s eyes watched on with fascination. And admiration. And love.
Ransom tried to push her away, but Leigh held onto him until his body grew still and his breathing returned to normal. When it did, she released him and sat on the edge of the bed. He headed towards the bathroom, cutting the shower on. She started to follow behind, but he closed the door, which was something he never did. Grabbing her clothes, Leigh went to the guest bathroom to freshen up, thankful she’d included her mini pussy packet in her bag.
The entire time she showered, she couldn’t help but smile and hum. She knew it would probably take a little more work, but this was a good start. Things were finally about to get back to normal between her and Ransom. She would have to give Ronica a raise for her advice.
“One big grand gesture like in books and movies.”
Leigh chuckled and shook her head.
After her shower, she went back into Ransom’s room. He was still in the bathroom, putting cocoa butter all over his body. Taking some of it into her hand, Leigh asked, “Are you hungry?” as she coated her left leg with it. “I was thinking I could cook, and we could talk about where we go from here. Unless you want to go out. It’s going to be super crowded everywhere at this point, though.”
Ransom released a long exhale as he avoided her eyes. “I’m going out, Leigh.”
Her hands paused as she considered his words. Placing her right foot on the floor, she put the left one on the edge of the tub and applied the cocoa butter onto it.
“Okay. With who? You mean, like a date?”
“Yea. Exactly like a date.”
She chuckled and shook her head, unsure of why she didn’t consider the fact that he would be going out for Valentine’s day.
“So we just made up and had sex and you’re still going out with someone else?”
Ransom’s face twisted up with confusion. “We didn’t makeup. We fucked, that’s it.”
“Since when do we only fuck, Ransom?”
“Since you made it clear that sex don’t mean shit to you and you can do it with literally anyone.”
His voice had raised. This was not the direction she wanted their conversation or night to take. Instead of replying immediately in anger, Leigh waited and thought over what she wanted to say. She continued to moisturize her body, waiting until she was done and back in her clothes to speak.
“I assumed that since we had sex, that was your way of forgiving me.”
Ransom’s head shook as he pulled a pair of socks and boxers out of his drawer. “You assumed incorrectly. I told you I was done with you, Leigh, and I meant that shit.”
Mouth slack, Leigh looked away. Completely loss for words. Her stomach clenched as she inhaled small spurts of breath.
“But… I told you I love you.”
“And? I’ve been telling you I love you and want to be with you for years. It didn’t change anything for you. Why does tonight have to change anything for me?”
“How can you treat me this way if you say you love me?”
Ransom chuckled. “You’ve got some fuckin’ nerve in you, woman. Everything I’ve done and dealt with for the past few years is because I love you. But fuck, Leigh! I’ve been waiting on your ass to love me, too. And if you doubt that, that just shows how little you really know about love.”
“But I do love you! I’ve always loved you! You’ve said that, too!”
Ransom’s head shook as he headed for his closet. “Yea, but I needed you to actually show me that love, Leigh. You showed me the opposite with that stunt you pulled. And I’m sorry, but I can’t let that slide. I’ve forgiven you for the hurt it caused, but I can’t take you back.”
Her head began to spin. Resting her elbows on her thighs, Leigh covered her face with her palms. She remained in that position until Ransom returned with his outfit for the evening. When she looked down at what he’d chosen to wear, reality set in even further. The man she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with was getting ready to go out with another woman.
And she couldn’t blame him.
Ransom had been nothing but good and patient with her. Even though they weren’t in a committed relationship, he treated her like she was his. And goddammit, he was hers. But not anymore.
Standing, Leigh scratched her ear as she stared at the outfit. Licking her lips, she tugged the bottom one into her mouth. Ransom released a soft sigh and covered his face as his head shook.
“I’m sorry, Leigh. It’s just too late.”
She nodded, even though he wasn’t looking her way.
“It’s okay,” she assured him, though that wasn’t the truth. The truth was, the moment she made it outside, she would break.
Closing the space between them, Leigh inhaled a deep breath as she pulled his hands from over his face. She wanted to smile and show him that she was okay, but she didn’t want her cheeks lifting to cause her tears to fall.
“I understand. And I want you to have the life and love you deserve. So you don’t have to worry about me ever reaching out to you again, okay?”
Ransom’s head tilted as he stared into her eyes. His watered, but she knew he would not let a tear fall over her. Cupping her neck with both of his hands, Ransom pulled her into his chest. She gripped his wrists as her eyes closed. He kissed her forehead. Temples. Nose. Cheeks. The corners of her mouth. And finally her lips.
Soft, and gently.
Hard, and tender.
Slowly, Ransom slipped his tongue inside of her mouth. And she savored the feel of his circling hers for as long as she could, knowing this was the end. Pecking her lips, Ransom released a shaky breath. He rested his forehead on hers as he pulled her hair gently.
“You don’t know how fuckin’ angry I am with you,” he gritted softly, and the shakiness of his quiet voice made her tears fall. “Why did you tak
e so long?”
Her mouth opened, but nothing would come out. All she could do was wrap her arms around his neck and hug him. Hold him. For as long as he would allow her to. Leigh didn’t know how long they remained in each other’s arms… but they didn’t pull away until his phone began to vibrate. Ransom released her, shoulders caved as he headed for his dresser to grab his phone.
She assumed it was his date for the evening when he cursed under his breath.
“Yea?” he answered, taking another step away from her. “Happy Valentine’s day to you, too, beautiful.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Leigh covered her ears as her head shook. She took a few steps backwards before turning and running out of his room. After grabbing all of her belongings, Leigh rushed out of his home as quickly as she could. Her body was weak by the time she made it outside, signaling to her that she needed to breathe.
That she needed to live.
That she needed to be…
Without Ransom.
A couple of weeks had passed since Maria’s birthday, and what she expected to happen, happened. The moment she was alone, her thoughts consumed her. She thought of every way possible things could go left with Jax before deciding to fall back. All she could think about was being with another street nigga that would be taken away from her.
Jax said he understood, but she could also sense his disappointment. They had maybe seen each other once since that day, but he gave her her space. She thought that would be the same case today, but as Jax made his way over to where Maria was shooting dice, she realized it wouldn’t.
Maria didn’t want to smile at the sight of him, but she was happy as hell to see him. Though it was hard to deny him and herself of her desire for him, it felt necessary. Losing Malibu was a loss that she wouldn’t subject herself to again — ever.
Gripping her arm, Jax pulled her away from the game and backed her into a corner.
“Fuck is you doing? I was up.”
“You walked clear past me and didn’t say shit. How long did you think I was gon’ let that slide?”
With a roll of her eyes, Maria tried to jerk herself out of his grip unsuccessfully. “That ain’t nothing new.”
“It need to be! Hell. You was just tryna get the dick, now you back on this bullshit?”
She smiled softly as she looked around, hoping no one was paying attention to their conversation. “We discussed this. I told you I would need time.”
“And I told you I was cool with that, but this ain’t taking time. This is reverting back. I ain’t playing this game with you.” She tried to walk away, but he pressed her back into the wall. “If you want time, then you need to try. But if you plan on playing this game, I won’t be playing it with you.”
Maria’s stubborn spirit wouldn’t allow her to fold. Even if she wanted to try, Jax giving her an ultimatum only made her want to do the opposite of what he wanted.
“If you think you can pressure me into moving how you want me to move, we can stop this now. I move at my own pace and my own way.”
“Say less.”
Releasing her, Jax returned to his spades game and Maria went back to where she was playing dice. As she waited for a new game to start, Maria couldn’t help but allow her eyes to trail over to Jax. He seemed unbothered, laughing and playing as if they hadn’t just had a semi argument. With a huff, she squatted down and tossed a small stack of cash into the pile. At this point, she was ready to leave, but she wanted to at least win back what she’d lost so she would come out even.
She shot three more times before taking her winnings and heading out. Before she could make it to the door, Vincent was stepping directly in front of her. Up until then, Jax hadn’t bothered to look in her direction. The moment Vincent stepped in front of her, he did. Setting his cards down, he watched her interact with him until his partner nudged him in the side.
Vincent was a man who hung around Ransom more than anyone else. He sometimes popped up around Jax, but not often. They had one of those associations where they would speak and converse if they were in the same place, but they never actually planned to be in the same place. Vincent was attractive, but he didn’t have anything on Jax, nor was he really her type. He was always loud and in the center of attention; Maria preferred the laidback type.
“Leaving already?”
With a curt nod, Maria wrapped her arms across her chest. “I am. What’s it to you?”
“I was just trying to see if I could finally get a moment of your time. I been tryna get close to you for years now, but you always brushing me off.”
She smiled softly as her eyes went in Jax’s direction. Sure enough, his were back on her. A part of her wanted to give Vincent a chance just to get a reaction out of Jax, but would that have been like playing with fire?
“I’m not the dating type.”
“Then what type are you? Because whatever it is, I’m tryna be that, too.”
Her eyes rolled as she shook her head and told him, “Just walk me to my car, playboy.”
As they headed towards the door, Jax stood. Biting back her smile, Maria slowed down to give him time to make it to them. Jax ignored the complaints of those he was playing cards with as he kept his in his hand.
He waited until he stood directly in front of her and was peering down at her to say, “You really trying my patience, you know that?”
She chuckled before she could keep it from slipping out. “What are you referring to exactly?”
Jax licked his lips and stepped closer, forcing her to tilt her head to look at him. “If you leave with this nigga, that’s it, Maria.”
Her heart told her not to say it. To shut the hell up. To stop being so damn stubborn and difficult. To stop being so fucking logical and preparing for the worst instead of trying to achieve the best. To stop stifling how she felt. But instead of listening to any of that, she said, “I thought we had already established that when you hemmed me up?”
“You’re playing a dangerous game with your heart. I hope you know what you doing.”
Truthfully, she didn’t. She wouldn’t tell him that, though. Jax didn’t give her a chance to, either. He walked away and returned to his game, not bothering to look her way as she and Vincent left. When Vincent asked her to grab a bite to eat, her first thought was to say no. But if she wanted Jax to really believe she was done with him, she would have to make sure Vincent didn’t return immediately. Maria agreed, suggesting they go to Pressure’s soul food restaurant that was only a few blocks away.
It was a small, hole-in-the-wall spot that wasn’t much to look at, but the food was good as hell, and they were always packed. When they arrived, they had to wait for a table, so Maria went to the back in search of Pressure while Vincent stood outside and talked shit with a few people he knew.
Maria knocked on the door, chuckling at the sound of the bass in Pressure’s voice as he asked who it was.
“It’s me,” she replied, knowing he would soon be looking at the security camera anyway.
“Maria-ia-ia,” he called.
“Yep! Let me in!”
A few seconds passed before Pressure was opening the door and pulling her into his arms.
“What’s up, booboo?”
“Shit. ’Bout to get a free meal outta this nigga real quick.”
Pressure chuckled as he released her. They went into his office, and he locked the door. She was surprised to see him scaling product at his legal establishment but didn’t bother asking him about it. All she could do was pray he wasn’t about to start selling in Memphis, because that would for sure start a war with Money.
“Y’all got a table?”
“Not yet. The girl at the register said it would probably be like ten minutes.”
“Cool. What’s been up wit’ you?”
Maria shrugged and stared at her phone, hoping Jax would have called or texted her.
“The usual.”
“Heard you ain’t done any more hits since that shit with Rico.” Maria
nodded. That was no surprise. She hadn’t fully gotten over that yet, but she was slowly getting back to herself. “I got word about a big-ass hit that I was going to talk to Nash about, but I wanted to run it by you first.”
“Word? What’s up?”
“There’s a young nigga in Memphis, trying to move weight. He’s ambitious but green. As a solid to his uncle, I agreed to give him some weight to move…” Pressure moved his hand around the marijuana that was on his desk. “But it’s a one-time thing. In exchange, his uncle is going to give me the value of this in pills. I’m gon’ push those here.”
Maria shook her head and released a long exhale. “Y’all got a good thing going, Pressure. Are you sure you want to add a target to your back by moving this shit in Memphis?”
“That’s already done. I’m committed to this new market.”
Maria crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in her seat. “So what does this have to do with me?”
“I’ve been looking into it, and I got word on when McKensin Medical does their new shipments. Once a week, their trucks deliver thousands of pills with millions in street value. If you and Nash can take that shit, we can easily make two million off each truck.”
“What would be our split?”
Pressure didn’t answer her right away, even though she knew he’d thought over this before he even approached her with it.
“Ten percent.”
Her head shook as she sat up in her seat. “Nah. This will be an armored truck, right? It’ll more than likely have three to five guards like money trucks do, and we haven’t even done one of those yet. We will have to either bring on two more men or there’s three times the risk. I need at least five hundred.”
“Five hundred thousand?” Pressure yelled. “Booboo, that’s twenty-five percent.”
“If we make this a continuous thing with different companies in different cities, we can go down to ten percent each, but for now, I gots to get that dough.”
Sitting back in his seat, Pressure ran his hands over his face, then down the back of his head. His head shook as he gritted his teeth and drummed his fingers on top of his chair.
