He Who Is a Protector (Sadik Book 3)

by Love Belvin

  Sounds of the door effectively broke my trance. David had returned to collect the plates.

  “The movie is ready when you guys are,” he informed us before exiting out with the rolling tray table.

  Sadik stood and reached for my hand. “Let’s see how your favorite R&B artist flexes his acting skills in a drama.”

  I sat in the seat, scooting back. “You say it as though he’s my crush or something.” That was my way of denying something that was somewhat true.

  Out of all the R&B artists over the past ten years, Raj had been the only one keeping my attention. There was something wholesome about his aura and his musical talent was out of this world soulful. It was no surprise to me he could act years ago when I watched the first major motion film he was featured in. This was his second lead in a dramatic film. So far, the movie critics had been mixed, nothing too bad. But those of us who championed the passion Ragee exuded in every aspect of art he pursued had high hopes for this venture. The previews had been compelling.

  Sadik lifted my foot and unbuckled the strap to my sandal. “I would never say something untrue, baby. Ragee can’t possibly be your crush when it’s me, alone, crushing your ass on a regular.” He shook his head, hard eyes on me. “I’m your one and only. Those rings solidify it, sweetheart—”

  I issued a swift kick to his leg that was caught mid-air. Sadik chuckled at my brazen act before removing my other sandal. Suddenly, I was irritated, sex pulsing. Sexual frustration could do that to you. Maybe it was the pregnancy, but my body, mind, and soul craved him. Sitting through a movie with my favorite artist, or not, couldn’t cure the ache in my core and the longing in my heart to be one with him again.

  Sadik settled in the theater seat beside me, causing a pang of loneliness far worse than what I felt when he was in Georgia. The lights dimmed for the start of the main attraction. Ten minutes into the film, I was crawling aside him, wrapping my arms around his tapered waist. His body heat warmed me, his scent thrilled me, and the feel of his skin against mine tortured me well into the movie.

  My hands moved around him subconsciously. I started beneath his shirt with just my hand resting on his abdomen. That led to a light caress from side to side, enjoying the hilliness of it. Midway through, Sadik ran out to get us candy from the concession stand. When he returned, he fed me Raisinets and Mike and Ikes. At some point, my hand returned beneath his t-shirt, brushing north, feeling the wiry hairs of his chest.

  When the movie was over, and the credits ran, I was left with a miscellany of feelings. Sadik hit a button on a remote and muted the room.

  “So,” he pulled in a deep breath, his eyes low from exhaustion. “what do you think?”

  “About his performance?” I turned to him. “Raj did well. I knew he’d be able to pull this one off.”

  “No. About the state of my skin,” Sadik quipped. I didn’t get it. “Your damn hands have been examining me the whole movie.”

  I glanced down and my hand stilled at the same time I realized my thumb was circling around his peaked nipple. When my eyes reached his again, Sadik’s brows shot up. He was effortlessly gorgeous, impossibly cursed with exotic features. And he was mine, the father of my children. My spouse. Without a second thought, I reached for the side of his face and pulled him toward me. I pecked his lips reverentially before leaning in again, swiping my tongue in his mouth.

  I tasted his candy almost as much as I did his powerful countenance. I had to remind myself frequently how Sadik wasn’t an average man. He didn’t carry a fair amount of responsibilities; he had that over several men. He didn’t earn like the average man, didn’t stress like the average man. And I could guess he didn’t make love like a common man either.

  “Sadik,” I whispered, desperately needing him inside of me.

  His eyes were low and groan feral, “It was my plan to complete this date before taking you back to our suite and ridding you of this dress.”

  My dress. Thankfully, the Ellises had a dress code for family dinners. Hard bottom shoes were preferred. Today, I decided on an asymmetrical midi wrap dress. One shoulder of the satin piece was exposed as well as a thigh. I found the hook at the side of my waist and detached the fabric, exposing myself to him. Those irises darkened to a green as his regard swept me from my chest down to my crossed feet. I lifted a leg to perverse the visual.

  Sadik’s eyes rolled to the back of his head on a squeeze as he inhaled deeply. “Shit,” he swore. “The scent of your pussy will haunt me well into a senile mind. I’ve missed how pretty it is.”

  My eyes rolled around the theater, noting the closed doors.

  Sadik pushed a button to lower the footrest. As he slipped to the floor, he murmured, “I can’t wait until we get back to the suite.”

  With a few tugs and me lifting my hips, my panties were being pulled down my leg. Without much prompting, my thighs opened to him, releasing my feminine odor into the air. Sadik’s face drew to my sex and he pulled in a deep breath, causing my hips to flex. His soft lips met my own and my lungs shuddered. The deep rise and falls of my full breasts in lace obstructed the view of his shiny golden head.

  Warmth cradled my body from the strokes of his magical tongue. Against the lightning zaps flashing in my feet and back, I widened to him, wanting nothing discouraging this closeness I now craved with Sadik: my husband, my lover. My spine bowed at the sounds of his nimble tongue battering my clit. He sucked, licked, teased, and kissed in a sequence to control the speed of my orgasm.

  The build began and I pushed into it, holding onto his smooth scalp, harnessing the control center of my pleasure. My suppressed breasts felt heavy in my bra. So badly, I wished I was completely naked for him, had the caress of his hands everywhere. Almost as though he’d read my mind, his big hands pushed up my hips and planted on my curved belly. The sight of them there was so damn erotic to me.

  A quickening began in my core. So overtaken by sensations heightening in nearly each corner of my body, I couldn’t decide where to focus and eased into the growing pleasure. I didn’t want it to end. I was so wet, I could hear it. Feel it. Sadik’s mastering of my body felt like total world peace. It was happening too fast. I wanted to savor the bliss of his return.

  I scooted back, hands gripping the armrests aside me to break his cadence and relieve the tipping pleasure. Sadik growled, roughly yanking my hips to his face. His mouth was on me again, tough—firmer hands plastered over my round abdomen. My resistance waned and I knew my orgasm was imminent.

  Slouching even more with helplessness, my lazy eyes began to float above my lover’s shiny head and landed on a large set of dark curls. In a haze, I blinked once then twice before I recognized Tiffany’s aghast expression. But it was too late. I felt the thin capsule of bliss break and my orgasm flooded my groin fury. My hands shot to his head again, orchestrating his efforts, yet my eyes never closed. They locked onto her, heightening my ascension until a cry ripped from my lungs and I screamed out my husband’s name in helpless pleasure.

  “One more,” his command was graveled as he repositioned himself before me.

  Sadik lifted my legs even higher above his shoulders. When his mouth hit me again, I understood why. From this angle, I felt new sensations, his swipes reached lower, sparking crackles of decadent pleasure. He didn’t caress my swollen clitoris right away, but when he did, it didn’t take long at all before my second orgasm began to brew in my groin. The lewd sounds of his tireless lapping pushed me over the edge and I came again. This time, my husband’s former lover and bastardized relative was nowhere in sight. It made my second orgasm no less ravishing.

  When I was done, pelvis still shaking, Sadik lowered my legs and pulled me to the edge of the seat, wrapping my legs around his waist. He stood with me clung to his upper torso. I felt him unbuckle his pants beneath me as I toured his mouth with my hungry tongue. So lost to him orally, I didn’t feel being turned around and lowered into the seat until I was straddling him. Sadik hit the remote to the seat to recline
his body. Then from behind me, I felt his smooth bulbous head swiping along my slit. So sensitive at the nub, I leaped. I didn’t need the preamble. Lifting, I reached between my thighs for his thick, heavy appendage and pulled it to my opening where I immediately sat on him.

  “Oh,” I squealed, emptying my lungs.

  Sadik was dense, hot, and throbbing inside of me. I bit my bottom lip as I peered down on him.

  “Go slow,” he could barely speak, his head thrown back and cords on his throat protruding.

  His breaths were harsh, teeth pushing through his tight lips. I began to move, slowly reacquainting with his size. Sadik’s hands lifted to the top of my dress, pushing the one shoulder down. Next was my bra being unclipped, releasing my heavy globular breasts I didn’t recognize.

  Gosh…

  The sight of them in the same frame as Sadik’s lazy eyes sparkling with unadulterated excitement had my head tossing back. My hips strained, taking him all the way in from the thick root. Sadik overwhelmed, in the literal and figurative manner, my mental and physical senses. If enduring his absence for a couple of days would be rewarded with rabid pleasure like this, perhaps the tradeoff was fair.

  Sadik was a physical wonder; experiencing him beneath me was something I didn’t want to miss a moment of. Seeing him mist at the forehead. His rolling abs moving from under his t-shirt that was flipped up at some point. The entire scene so intoxicating, my groin imploded again. I managed my cries through tightened lips and wide nostrils. My torso jerked dangerously as I rode out my orgasm, my walls clutching his throbbing stiffness.

  When I was able to see again, Sadik’s eyes were dark and the muscles around them strained. “Come here, Nalib.”

  I reached over, capturing his mouth, enjoying the aftershocks from my explosion. Sadik grabbed my hips, manipulating my strokes. My clit was stimulated at this angle, maintaining my excitement. Just when I thought I couldn’t sustain more pleasure, Sadik’s thrusts into me from below grew rocky, his clasp on my hips would bruise me for days from his intensity.

  “Fuck, Bilan!” he groaned unabashed while slamming into me with ferocity.

  That sequence of movement and pressure against my clit caused my third orgasm to barrel through. I mewled helplessly, grasping his shoulders.

  So good…

  Those two words carouseled in my mind until our desperate movements slowed to a stop.

  “My belly,” I grunted urgently.

  Too weak to hold myself at a distance to his chest, I needed to be pushed up. Quickly, Sadik pushed the button on the chair and we inclined.

  “Better?” he breathed roughly.

  With closed eyes, I nodded, trying to catch my breath, too.

  I was in love. Helplessly. Who maintained all of this combustible energy in a relationship, much less a marriage? My blessing. Bishop Carmichael was right: Sadik was my fortune. He’s given me more than a life of worldly spoils. Sadik’s given me an identity in life.

  I kissed his soft lips, nibbling as my fingertips massaged his head. The moment was perfect and just for us. I felt so sheltered in his arms. So protected and adorned. That was confirmed when he reached up and swiped his thumb beneath my left eye.

  “How do you feel?” His tight eyes beamed.

  A sheepish grin lifted on my face. “Like a kept woman.”

  He snorted a chortle. “You’re my woman. You’ll always be kept, Nalib.”

  My eyes rolled to the side as I thought. “Then I feel…nasty.” I wiggled over his cock that was still hard. “Real nasty and so good.”

  He nodded, tracing the contour of my face with his thumb. I melted into his touch. My lashes fluttered as I leaned into him. “I’ve missed you.”

  After a beat, he murmured, “Oh, yeah?” I nodded, biting my bottom lip to hide my beam.

  God, just a few hours ago, when we pulled up to the theater, I felt an unnamed tension between us, working against the euphoria I was now feeling. It amazed me how much Sadik influenced my mood.

  “Yeah.”

  “So how did you pass the time while I was away?” My body tensed unfairly, eyes rolled to the right. Sucking in a deep breath, Sadik lifted to nuzzle the side of his face to mine. “And before you decide on which truth to share, just know I’ve been aware of your arrangement with Robert.”

  Air vacuumed into my lungs. I leaned away from him, capturing his eyes. Sadik rested back against the seat again. My heart began to beat out of my chest, limbs trembling.

  “I…”

  “You just had to go to that church in Harlem, didn’t you?”

  Swallowing hard, I blinked several times. “I— Well, you know I’ve been…”

  “And my family’s church couldn’t do until I returned home?”

  I didn’t know if I should feel relieved or afraid of being found out. “What’s the difference?” I asked confused. “Why would you going with me be any better? I’m not a child.”

  With lifted brows, his head shifted back. “What would be the difference?” he echoed. “Do you understand the security risk you and Robert took by going there?”

  “I didn’t go alone. Robert isn’t just a driver: he’s security, too. He’s armed and trained.”

  “One trained security,” he spat from his belly. “One armed man in a facility housing nearly eight thousand people.”

  “But nothing happened. I’m fine. I’m here!” I argued, reminded of Sadik’s swift and severe mood swings.

  “You’re here by the grace of God. But you also put all those people at risk for someone wanting to hurt my father and this family by killing you. It was a stupid and goddamn foolish call. How fuckin’ reckless could you be?”

  I shuffled off of him with a quickness I never had to employ. Frantically, I searched for the top of my dress to slip back into, no longer wanting to be bared to him.

  “I’m sorry I’m not well versed with the Mafioso manuscript of this family.”

  Sadik scoffed, standing to his feet to retrieve his pants from the floor. “Please tell me you at least know if cornered by law enforcement, unless read your Miranda rights, you’re free to go.”

  “Fuck you!” I turned to leave.

  The minute I grabbed my sandals from the floor, I felt his hand at my arm. Sadik pulled me into his chest, my face against his hardness. I hated breathing in the mixture of his natural scent, cologne, and our sex in that moment.

  “You forgot something,” his velvety alto murmured over my head.

  “What?” I cried, the barrage of pending tears heated my cheeks.

  “That this thing is forever. We can fight, but we don’t run from each other, Nalib. Not ever.”

  “And you can’t be rude to me.”

  “I adore you,” he countered.

  “Not with that tone, you don’t.” I backed away from him, chin in the air and lips trembling. God, I wouldn’t have felt so raw if wasn’t for the love we’d just made. It completely obliterated my defenses. How did I have a chance to defend myself if he led with sex and not what had been on his mind? “I’m not your employee!”

  Sadik stepped forward and pulled me into his chest again. He kissed the top of my head. “You’re the love of my life. The mother of my children. My world.” With my face buried into his white t-shirt, I trembled from tears. “I’m sorry, Nalib. We’ll get better at this.”

  The battery on my iPad would soon die. I told myself then was when I’d call it a night—or a morning. I’d just finished going over the latest cannabis regulations and moved on to Julius’ approval predictions for meeting the mark on his proposed policies. It was still early in his mayoral seat, but I wanted to stay connected to his constituency.

  My focus faded while reading and I used my other hand to rub it away until I heard one of my phones vibrate near me. The clock next to them on the nightstand read one-fifty-three in the morning. After picking up both phones to see which one vibrated, I saw the alert of a text message from Sofia.

  S. Cruz: Please excuse my lack of formality
, but where was your ass tonight? You said you’d be back today and I’ve been left alone to sort through the talking points for the land trust pamphlets.

  She ended it with the crying emoji face icon. I chuckled.

  Me: I did return tonight. Had a pressing matter to attend. We’ll settle those in the morning.

  I placed the iPad on the nightstand, officially calling it a night.

  The phone vibrated again.

  S. Cruz: There’s no time like the present. Hop on your jet and head over to P-town. We can knock it out tonight and have tomorrow off.

  My head rolled over the pillow and I scoffed softly.

  Me: As much as I would love to have tomorrow off I no longer have the lifestyle to avail myself to work engagements at crazy hours.

  S. Cruz: Oh! Disculpe, hombre de familia. I have to remember moving forward. Night.

  I questioned whether my explanation was harsh. It wasn’t my intent to shit on old friends because of my new life. I wasn’t that type of guy. I also didn’t want to set the wrong expectations of my availability.

  After placing the phone down, I gazed down my chest to Sadik’s chubby face. His long lashes curled and little lips parted, breaths so soft I could hardly hear them. I lifted my head looking farther down on my belly where his mother’s head rested. Her face was now washed of running mascara and sculpted cheeks peppered with cinnamon as she slept like an angel on me. She had one hand on his small foot and the other splayed on my thigh.

  As I reached over to turn off the lamp, I thought more of my new world. This was it. I fell asleep feeling like a king, and woke up each morning with the mentality of a hunter. I had a family. Responsibility to cover. Having my wife creep around beneath my nose spoke more to my irresponsibility rather than her disobedience. I had to do better at balancing the blessing.

  ∞20∞

  I was over the bathroom sink shaving my head in the mirror when Rory’s face craned inside.

  “Yo…”

  I met her eyes in the mirror. “You guys haven’t left yet?”