“Too late for that. It’s one big parking lot out here.”
“Well, the good news is Kimberly would like to reschedule her nine o’clock appointment for two this afternoon.”
“That’s fine because with this traffic jam, I was going to have to reschedule her anyway. Thanks, Megan. Bye.”
Ciara refused to lose her momentum. Driving in the right emergency lane, Ciara exited off the freeway and drove until she parked in Darius’s driveway. Leaving the keys in the ignition, Ciara stood at Darius’s door with a raised fist.
Bam! Bam! Bam! There was no answer. Since Darius had delegated his responsibilities, his office hours had decreased significantly. Ciara sensed Darius hadn’t left for work. Ciara glanced at her watch. Nine o’clock. Fortunately Kimberly had canceled her morning appointment.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
“Forget this.” Ciara turned away took three steps when she heard a squeaking sound.
“Ciara? Is that you? Why are you knocking on our door so hard?” Ashlee stood in the doorway wearing a long lavender silk nightgown and matching robe.
Ciara bypassed Ashlee and entered the house. “Why are you here?”
“I live here. Well, at least until I find a place. But Darius isn’t here. I don’t know where he is.”
The traffic jam was airing on the morning breaking news on Darius’s flat wide-screen television. Moving closer to the living area, Ciara mumbled, “That’s worse than I thought.” Looking back at Ashlee, Ciara said, “Don’t lie to me.” Ciara stormed into Darius’s bedroom and froze.
“Ow, baby mama’s cumming,” a woman’s voice muffled from underneath a pillowcase. The woman’s hands pulled Darius’s face closer to her pussy, then she rotated her hips. As Ciara watched in disbelief, Darius’s face rose from between two chocolate thighs. His mouth looked like he’d been lapping in a bowl of milk.
Wiping his mouth with the sheet, Darius said, “What the hell are you doing coming to my house?”
The woman sighed, “Uhhh,” then disappeared into the bathroom.
“That’s right. Get your shit and get out.” The woman’s body was tight. Shapely. Perfect. Ciara rolled her eyes at Darius. Ciara wanted to punch Darius as hard and for as long as she could until her arms felt numb like her heart. How could she have fallen for Darius? Just like with Solomon. The dick. In that moment, Ciara was glad she hadn’t ended her relationship with Solomon.
Why did she keep choosing the wrong man? Lord, please! Was there a right man? Anywhere? Most men weren’t faithful. Especially rich, young, black, arrogant men like Darius who had women throwing pussy at him all the time.
Darius retrieved his robe from the foot of the bed. “Ciara. You care to tell me what this is all about?”
Ciara was so mad she’d almost forgotten the real reason she was there. Ciara’s eyebrows drew closer. No she did not hear the shower running. She looked toward the bathroom, then back at Darius who was now stretched across his solid black cum-stained comforter.
“She’ll leave as soon as she gets dressed.” Darius propped several pillows behind his head. “I’m waiting.”
Darius was luckier than Solomon. Ciara recalled the night she’d seen Solomon out with another woman. Solomon stood on the curb and pretended not to see her sitting at the red light in her Benz. Hell, the top was down and she intentionally blasted the music; how could Solomon have not noticed? Maybe because he was laughing with and hugging the other woman so hard Ciara could hardly breathe. Solomon’s mistake was crossing the street in front of Ciara’s car. Ciara didn’t want to hit them but she definitely scared the shit out of Solomon when she zoomed by so close they fell to the ground. Ciara screamed out, “Laugh at the mutherfucka!” She made Solomon beg for a month before letting him back into her life.
Ciara rolled her eyes again at Darius and sighed. Her personal relationship with Darius was over but she needed clarification on his business decision. “Why did you remove Terrell Morgan from our casting list?”
“It’s simple. I had to.”
“You had to? Without consulting me! You had to?”
“Ciara, you know nobody in the movie industry thinks highly of Terrell Morgan. Everybody knows and loves Morris. If Terrell had gotten the part, I would’ve lost money. Besides, my financial backers won’t support the film if Terrell has the leading role.”
“Your financial backers. This is my damn company! Monroe, Jones and Company! Not Jones, Monroe and Company!”
“Just like before, when you stop yelling, you’ll see it my way.”
Ciara already knew Darius was right. But she’d given Candice her word that Terrell would have the lead. Ciara was more frustrated because Darius hadn’t consulted her on the decision. But if he had, she wouldn’t have agreed.
Ciara pointed toward the bathroom. “Who’s the bitch in there taking a Hollywood shower?”
“Kimberly Stokes. There. Satisfied?” Darius walked over to embrace Ciara and whispered, “She’s auditioning for the lead. That’s all.”
“Liar! Don’t touch me! You bastard! Don’t you ever touch me again!”
Darius fell backward. His dick flapped as his body bounced on the bed. “Look, I’ll call you from the office. Let’s do lunch.”
“Unless it’s business, don’t bother calling me again. Ever! And why is that bitch out there lying for you. Saying you weren’t home when she knew you were.”
“Ashlee wasn’t lying. She didn’t know. I came in late. And don’t call my sister a bitch.”
“Sister? Yeah, right. You’re one mentally ill individual.” Ciara grabbed the doorknob.
“Ciara, don’t slam it,” Darius said, hurrying out of bed.
The weight of her anger slammed his bedroom door and created a miniature earthquake throughout his house.
Ciara marched into the living room and stood in front of Ashlee. “Are you—”
The breaking news interrupted Ciara’s thoughts. “The two confirmed casualties in this morning’s accident were Melvin Stunner of Santa Anna and Solomon Davis of Long Beach.”
“What?” Ciara stared at Solomon’s picture displayed on the television. “Noooo!” Ciara yelled from the pit of her stomach.
Darius rushed into the living room with Kimberly trailing a short distance behind. Ciara’s body collapsed onto Ashlee’s lap, then fell to the floor.
CHAPTER 22
Darius had to escape Ciara’s depression and was pleased Ashlee had accompanied him on another trip to San Francisco. Ciara had been breaking up with Solomon, so why was she acting like she’d lost the love of her life when Darius was trying to fill her life with love? Or something like that. The new office furniture had arrived earlier than scheduled, giving him a reason to celebrate his upcoming grand opening.
Darius nudged Ashlee. “Let’s go hang out in the city.”
“No, thanks. I’m tired. I think I’m just going to stay here and relax. Go ahead without me.”
Darius sensed Ashlee’s feelings for him were dwindling. Maybe having her live with him wasn’t a good idea. The late nights. Ciara catching Kimberly in his bed. Fortunately Ciara had blanked out and, with the exception of Solomon’s death, didn’t remember any of the events, including Terrell losing the leading part. Ashlee had witnessed his other women. She wasn’t supposed to experience those situations until after they were married. Darius dabbed on his most expensive cologne and drove to the city.
Darius parked on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean and walked inside his favorite private club in San Francisco. The hallways were dimly lit, with muscular men in dark suits and sunglasses standing at each of the three doors.
Darius flashed a small gold key and the man in the suit stepped aside. When the door opened, another one opened, then a third double-automatic sliding glass door parted.
“It’s on,” Darius said, heading straight for the platinum room. When the entrance doors parted, Darius was in paradise. He walked over to the bar and greeted the finest woman in the room. Hopefully she h
ad more going for her than her honeydew-melon breasts, a flat stomach, and an apple-bottom ass. There was no need to offer her a drink because all drinks were included with membership.
Standing in her three feet of space, Darius said, “Hi, I’m Darius Jones.”
Sucking on an ice cube, she seductively replied, “I know exactly who you are.”
“Well, I’m at a disadvantage.”
She exhaled cool air in his ear then whispered, “Call me Desire.”
Damn. She had that right. “Are you from this area?”
“Me and my girls,” she nodded toward the opposite end of the bar, “we’re from London.”
With her accent, he’d guessed some part of England. “I’d love to show you the town,” Darius offered.
“I don’t travel without my girls. They’re down for whatever I do.” Then she repeated, “Whatever I do.”
“Cool. Then let me show you and your girls my town.”
“Give us a moment to talk it over. Come back in about thirty minutes.”
“Peace.” Darius decided to see who was in the main lounge. The first person he’d noticed was Fancy. Darius spotted Byron, walked up behind him, and said, “What’s up? Where you been?”
“Man, where’ve you been?” Byron replied.
“Brazil. Okinawa. Amsterdam. Paris. Spain. Trinidad. London,” Darius lied to impress Fancy. Darius was looking to get with a new woman. The truth was Darius had grown tired of visiting Ciara. Monica was family. That was her job. And Ciara’s parents’ responsibility. Darius had two-plus companies to run.
“Speaking of London, man, did you see that?” Darius shook his head then continued, “That all-star, all-pro, first-round draft honey from England in the platinum lounge?”
All the men nodded as Byron shook his head. Fancy frowned then smiled when she noticed Darius watching her.
Darius said, “She’s freaky, man. Her girlfriends look okay, but they’re willing to tag. I could use some help on this one.” Darius’s eyebrows shifted upward. As he smiled, all but two of the men left the room.
“Give me a minute,” Byron said. “Don’t go anywhere. Let me take this call.”
“Hurry up, man,” Darius said, winking at Fancy while Byron wasn’t looking.
“Hello.” Byron paused. He nodded and said, “Yeah, okay. I’m on my way.”
Byron kissed Fancy and said, “Sorry, baby. I’ve gotta go.” Then he asked Darius, “How long you in town?”
“Until tomorrow. But I’ll be here for a minute.”
Byron nodded upward which let Darius know not to leave with the ladies until he returned from dropping off Fancy.
Darius re-entered the platinum room to find the fellas smothering the women at the bar. He took a seat and had the waitress send a message to Desire. Darius watched Desire ease from her chair then seductively stroll over to him. She sat so close she was almost in his lap.
Desire whispered, “We’re ready.”
“I need a few more minutes. One of my boyz had to leave but he’ll be back in a minute.”
She whispered in his ear, “Desire loses her desire when she has to wait.”
Darius stood. Desire winked at her friends. They all rose in unison and followed Darius and Desire to the parking lot. Darius’s first choice was to take them to his mansion but damn, Ashlee was there.
Darius made a phone call to K’Nine. Thankfully he was out of town and agreed to let Darius use his place. Lucky Byron had pulled up just as they were driving off so Darius had signaled for Byron to follow him. Darius drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, as the entourage caravanned into Sausalito.
Darius motioned for everyone to enter the huge wrought-iron gate and park in the cobblestone circular driveway. Once inside Darius turned on K’Nine’s surround sound to KKSF smooth jazz, then headed upstairs to the master bedroom with Desire.
Desire washed every part of his body, then asked him to watch her masturbate. Desire made love to herself in the shower. Slugger stood straight out when Desire motioned for Darius to join her. Desire gave him the best brain-sucking his dick had had since his first oral orgasm. Then she led him to the bedroom, dripping wet, and licked him dry.
Desire was patient. She took her time. Her tongue traveled from his feet, caressing his toes, to his lips.
“Turn over.” Desire’s fingernails lightly traveled along his back and onto his cheeks. “Desire wants you to get on your knees.”
Darius hoisted his butt in the air.
“Right there, baby. Desire wants you to stay right there. Don’t move.”
Darius felt Desire’s tongue circling the perimeter of his rectum. Then her luscious lips kissed him square on his asshole. Desire circled. Then kissed. Circled. Kissed. Her tongue slowly traveled downward and French kissed the spot between his balls and rectum. While kissing him, Desire stroked his dick. Then she eased his balls—both balls—into her mouth at the same time. She continued stroking. Darius felt his head slip into her mouth. Desire stroked his shaft. Sucked his head. Then the tip of her finger penetrated his ass.
Damn, this freak was a keeper.
Just when Darius was about to cum, Desire stopped and said, “Turn over. Desire wants to ride this big dick, daddy.”
When Darius rolled over, Desire squatted, then bounced her booty on top of his dick. Where was the video? Because Ciara had followed the same script.
“Desire wants you to cum, baby. But not until my pussy tells you.”
Desire gave him the best dick massage he’d ever had. Her pussy squeezed harder. Then softer. Tighter. Darius opened his eyes. Desire rubbed her clit. “It’s showtime daddy. You ready to cum for mama?”
Darius nodded at her beautiful breasts.
Desire’s lower vaginal muscles suctioned the cum from his balls. Her middle muscles moved his cum up higher and her upper muscles sucked the cum right out of his dick. She repeated the motion until Darius’s balls were drained and his dick was limp.
Desire whispered, “Next round Desire wants you to get on top.”
Those were the last words Darius heard before dozing off. When Darius awoke, the next morning, everyone was gone. Including Desire. Had he used a condom? Darius ripped the sheets off of K’Nine’s bed. No prophylactic. Darius checked the bedside for an empty wrapper. None. He searched the trash can in the bathroom.
“Fuck!”
CHAPTER 23
Darius wasn’t as impressive as Kevin had initially thought. Darius, the spoiled rich kid, didn’t know what it was like to fight for anything. His life. His rights. His beliefs. To keep his lunch money in his pocket. Girls. His reputation. Darius’s assault on Ashlee’s dad had been a punk way to deal with his emotions. From what Ashlee told Kevin, Lawrence could’ve hit Darius one time and killed Darius instantly. Darius’s concept of survival was spelled m-a-m-a may I have a million dollars to replace the million I just fucked up, and most of the time Darius didn’t respect his mom or any other woman—not even Ashlee, whom he claimed to care for. Kevin wondered about the root of Darius’s problems. Darius underappreciated Wellington. And Kevin’s conclusive opinion was formed when Darius abandoned Ciara after promising to accompany her to Solomon’s funeral. Kevin despised watching Darius prey on Ciara’s mental incapacitation and vowed to avenge all of Darius’s victims.
What goes around comes around, Kevin thought as he sat in his small office on the second floor. Darius deserved to have someone mutilate his perfect world. With the majority of the staff on the second floor, outside of casual greetings, Kevin restricted his socializing to Darius, Ashlee, and occasionally Angel. Darius had denied Kevin’s request to trade offices with Angel. Why did a secretary need a plush private office? Darius was probably fucking Angel. Ashlee wasn’t one of Darius’s sex objects because she was Darius’s stepsister. Otherwise, Kevin was certain Darius would’ve done Ashlee. Kevin trotted up the staircase through the third-floor fire exit, walked into Ashlee’s office, and closed the door.
“So when are you moving out
of his house?”
Ashlee stopped reviewing the bills and stared at Kevin. “Why are you questioning me about something like that this early? I told you. When the time is right.”
“Well, I guess you’ll tell him we’re dating,” Kevin mimicked Ashlee, “when the time is right.”
“Dating? No, we went out on a date. You refused to take me to your place afterward. You said you’d like to date me more. I didn’t agree but I didn’t disagree.”
Kevin sat on the corner of Ashlee’s desk and crossed his ankles. “So what? Now you’re changing your mind about us. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were fucking him.”
Ashlee stood and opened the door. “I have work to do. I don’t have time for this conversation right now. Let’s discuss this some other time.”
“Dinner. Tonight. I’ll pick you up from the office at seven.”
“I’m working past seven and I’ll be tired when I leave here. Let’s just wait until the weekend, okay?” Ashlee poked Kevin’s hip. “Move. Please. You’re wrinkling my statements.”
“Okay. Friday at seven.” Kevin walked out.
Darius wasn’t slick, putting Ashlee’s office on his floor and everyone else’s on the first and second floors. Kevin returned to his desk, closed his door, and dialed his dad’s number.
“What’s up, old man?”
“Livin’. How’s the job working out?”
“You ask me that same question every day. It’s all good. But the great news is ... I’ve started my own company. NyVek.”
“Nivac?”
“No.” Kevin spelled the name of his company.
“So, what exactly are you doing?” Darryl asked.
“Nothing, yet. Just created the fictitious business name. Opened the bank account. I’m going to wait to register with the state. Don’t want these honeys tracking me online you know and seeing my name attached to a business.”
“Did Darius help you start this business?”
“Hell, no.”
“Does he know you’ve started this NyVek business?”
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