by Linda Verji
“I doubt it,” Eli grumbled as he unlocked the door. He didn’t grumble too loudly though, especially when the next level of ice in their relationship broke. Chryssa didn’t protest when instead of driving to Neon City Hotel, he drove to his house.
His triumph was short lived.
The moment he turned at his driveway, he saw an austere older black man leaning against a black Mercedes Benz.
Eli’s brow furrowed in confusion. What was he doing here?
“Who’s that?” Chryssa asked curiously looking at the man who straightened up when he saw Eli’s car.
Sighing deeply, Eli said, “That’s my father.”
Immediately Chryssa tensed and her eyes took on a panicked look. She snatched the car keys from the ignition, saying “Get out.”
“What?”
“Get out of the car.” Chryssa tapped his shoulder as she knelt on her own seat facing him.
“What are you doing?” Eli was confused over what was happening, but he opened the driver’s door anyway. Chryssa practically shoved him out before she took his seat then closed the door on him. Without even a by your leave, she peeled off. Her exit was so abrupt Eli swore he saw smoke come off from the wheels of his car as she sped away.
He was left staring in shock at her. What the hell?
He barely noticed his father come and stand next to him. Harold said, “I see you still have a way with women.”
CHAPTER 14
Chryssa was shaking so badly she was surprised she’d even made it to her place without crashing Eli’s car or hitting someone. She parked his Discovery with trembling hands before she cut off the ignition. For a moment she just sat at the driver’s seat with her forehead on the steering wheel as she took deep breaths.
His father.
This was exactly why she should’ve retreated before now. This is how it all started one minute you were just playing games and then the next moment you were meeting fathers, mothers and other relatives. She’d gotten in too deep.
She should’ve listened to her head when it told her not to go to the theater with Eli. She should’ve listened to her head when it told her that he could choose his own damn dishes. She should’ve listened when her head told her that she should just pay full price at the gym and stop looking for ways to see Eli again without actually dating him. But of course her heart guided her head.
Stupid heart!
The incessant ringing coming from her handbag interrupted her panicked thoughts. Heart still beating wildly and brain running at a hundred miles a minute, Chryssa grabbed her bag from the passenger seat rummaging through it to come up with her phone. Eli’s name blinked repeatedly on her phone. She pressed on the button that sent him direct to voicemail.
Her breath was now coming in fast gasps. She needed help. Her first instinct was to call her brother, but just in time remembered that he didn’t even know what was going on with her and Eli. So she did the next best thing; she dialed her doctor’s number.
He picked up on the third ring, “Hello?”
“Doc?” she asked trying to hide the panic in her voice. “It’s Chryssa Williams.”
“Chryssa?” Dr. Stiles must’ve heard it anyway because his next words were, “What’s the matter?”
“I think…I think I messed up.” Chryssa stumbled over her own words.
“Are you seated?”
“Y..yes.”
“Good. Now take deep breaths for me,” Dr. Stiles soothed. At his behest, she took deep in and out breaths. He kept speaking to her in soothing tones until finally her breathing slowed down and she couldn’t hear her heart beating in her ear anymore. “Okay Chryssa, what happened?”
Finally able to speak, Chryssa explained, “I met Eli’s father today.”
“Did he do something to you?”
“No. I didn’t even speak to him.”
“I don’t understand.” There was confusion in Dr. Stiles voice.
“I. Met. Eli’s. Father. Today,” she repeated, pronouncing each word clearly so he would get it.
“Chryssa we’ve always known there was a possibility of you meeting one of his family members, especially when you’re spending so much time with him.” His tone was gently reproving because like her brain he’d told her that she was playing with fire. His opinion was that she needed to decide whether she was in or out. Sighing deeply into the phone he asked, “What did you do?”
“Umm…” She hesitated.
“I’m not going to like it, am I?”
Dr. Stiles was the only person who could make Chryssa feel like an adult and a child at the same time especially when she didn’t take his advice. Chryssa bit on her thumbnail as she muttered, “Probably not.”
“Just rip the band aid off and tell me,” Dr. Stiles insisted. “What did you do?”
She said the words so fast they came out as one sentence, “IstoleEli’scarandranaway.”
“Huh?”
“I stole Eli’s car and ran away,” she repeated this time slower.
“That’s actually not as bad as I thought you’d react.” Was that relief in Dr. Stiles tone and even a hint of amusement? He added, “I thought for sure you’d done something violent like broken something or knocked someone out.”
“I can’t believe you would say that.” Chryssa faked a hurt tone. “I am the most non-violent, rational patient you have ever had. To think you…”
By the time she finished her phone call with Dr. Stiles she was feeling much better. Meeting Eli’s father wasn’t so bad. Sure she’d overreacted just a little bit by stealing Eli’s car, but a simple apology would get things back on track – whatever things those were.
After making an appointment with Dr. Stiles for the next day so they could discuss the issue, she ended the phone-call then got out of the car. She even managed a conversation with elevator Walt before she got to her own apartment.
Once inside her own house, she placed her bag on the trolley next to the door, switched off her phone and kicked off her shoes. She made her way to the kitchen and filled a glass with water before going to her bedroom. It was still light outside but Chryssa was tired of this day. She didn’t want to deal with it anymore. After taking the day’s meds, she stripped down to her bikini panties and after panties. After pulling down the shades, she slid into bed.
It took her a while to go to sleep, but finally her meds kicked in and her brain slowed down. It could’ve been minutes, it could’ve been hours; Chryssa couldn’t really tell how long she’d been asleep. Only that she was yanked out of it by incessant buzzing.
There was someone at the door.
It was a struggle just to open her eyes, let alone to kick the covers off of her bed. Wrapping a towel around her body, she stumbled out of her bedroom and towards the door. She’d already started unsnapping the locks before she remembered she was a woman living alone. It could be a serial killer.
She checked through the peep-hole. Eli.
If she’d been at full working capacity she would’ve marched back to her bedroom the moment she saw his face through her peep-hole. But she wasn’t and her slowness gave Eli time to yell through the door, “Chryssa I know you’re there. I heard the locks snap. Open the door.”
What is he doing here? How did he know where I live? Oh! Who cares?
She unsnapped the locks. Even before he was in the house, she was already walking back to her bedroom.
“Chryssa?” he called but sleep was calling louder, and she ignored him. The snapping of the locks back in place punctuated the eerie silence of her house followed by the patter of his feet as he followed her. She entered the dark bedroom and he was right behind her.
Dropping the towel, she climbed back into her bed, curling into fetal position, ready to go back to sleep. His voice penetrated the room’s stillness as he asked, “So we’re not going to talk about how you rushed off in my car looking like you just saw the devil?”
Chryssa didn’t speak. There was brief pregnant pause then she heard the bedroo
m door close softly. He’s gone. Finally - silence. She was already drifting off when she felt a gush of cold air as the covers were lifted. The bed dipped slightly before the naked warmth of his chest crowded against her back.
“Go away,” she mumbled as she kicked his naked knee with the heel of her foot. It probably would have been more effective if she had bothered to turn.
“No.”Eli whispered as he wrapped his arm around her upper tummy and spooned her. The thin hairs on his arm slightly teased her nipples but she was too far gone to enjoy the feelings. Kissing her shoulder, he added, “I was worried about you.”
“Shut up.” She went to sleep.
***
Eli woke up to the most amazing dream.
There was a warm heavy weight atop him but that wasn’t what had him smiling in his sleep. It was the lips that were moving on the side of his neck. It was the naked breasts pressing into his chest and the tight pebbles of her desire teasing his skin. It was the tight warmth clasping and unclasping over his length.
He didn’t need to think to know who was starring in this dream. Chryssa. And as usual she had complete control over him. Everything felt so real, from the taste of her lips against him to the sweet scent of her tickling his nose. From the feel of her naked body against his to her palms moving over his forearms in smooth slow strokes in tune to the rhythm of her pussy rocking over him.
He lowered one hand down her naked back to her ass only to meet fabric. She’d been so desperate for him that she’d simply pushed the gusset aside and taken him into her. He didn’t blame her. Right now she had him so desperate he hiked her higher up his body, widened his stance so he could help her control their rhythm.
So sweet! So warm! So tight!
His hands caressed her ass, lifting her up and down in slow smooth motions as she continued to pleasure him. The feeling of her fluids coating him as their lovemaking continued only made him swell more. His balls began tingling and because he was half asleep he let nature take its course.
It was that gush of his seed into her and the hard contractions of her pussy as she too came that woke him up completely.
That had felt too real to be a dream!
A bit disoriented he opened his eyes but the room was much too dark for him to see anything other than the shadowy roof. His first reaction was confusion because he didn’t see the alarm clock that usually characterized his room. Where am I?
Then she shifted slightly over him. Her head was tucked in the crook of his shoulders, her breath whispering against the skin of his neck in an even rhythm like she was still asleep. And it all came to him.
He was in Chryssa’s house, in her room, in her bed.
His first feeling was triumph. Finally.
When she’d scrambled off, he’d been left suspended in temporary shock before it was replaced by panic. Not because he was worried about his car but worried about what her hasty retreat meant for them. Obviously meeting his father was not a commitment she was willing to make. Knowing Chryssa this might just be the straw to break the camel’s back.
He wanted to follow her immediately and tell her this didn’t mean anything, but his father was in his house. Evidently his mother really wanted him to go and visit her because she’d sent Harold as an emissary. After assuring his father that he’d make a point to see Nadine before the end of the week he’d chased down Chryssa – just to make sure she was okay.
He hadn’t expected Chryssa to let him into her house. In fact he was fully prepared to be kicked out and to never show his face around her again. But she’d let him in, and he was here; in her bed and inside her. Inside her. Damn!
No wonder this had felt so much better. He was inside her raw.
Chryssa grumbled in her sleep as he slowly pulled out of her, her walls clasping and unclasping softly over his shaft before she let him go. She didn’t protest when he shifted her off him and back on the bed; just turned away from him and went to sleep.
For a moment Eli just lay in the darkness on his back, thinking but not really thinking. His seed was inside her. Of course as a doctor he knew that didn’t mean she was pregnant, but already his mind was conjuring images of a pregnant Chryssa with his ring on her finger. It didn’t frighten him half as much as it should.
However, he knew it was a pipe-dream.
She would never ever let it happen.
Chryssa would be livid in the morning. Like him she must’ve at least known part of what was going on. She was the one who was anal about protection. She was the one who had started it. She should’ve stopped them. But Eli knew…he just knew…she was going to find a way to pin this on him.
He slipped his feet off the bed and to the floor, his feet coming in contact with his boxers. Either she had removed them or he had kicked them off. After a lot of blind touching in the dark, he found the door to the connecting bathroom. Its light hit his eyes with glaring brilliance. After peeing and washing his hands, he took a face-towel from the rail next to the sink and wetted it.
Using the light coming from the bathroom as a guide, Eli made his way back to the bed. Chryssa didn’t awaken when he turned her to her back or even when, because the position was just too delicious to waste, he flicked a tongue over her nipple.
She didn’t even wake when he used the moist towel to wipe off the evidence of his seed and her wetness from the inside of her thighs and her pussy before fixing her underwear. It wouldn’t stop her from being angry at him, but maybe he would get some points for at least taking his time to clean her up.
Once done, he took the towel back to the bathroom, washed it and hung it to dry before coming back to the room. After putting his boxers back on, he flicked off the bedside light. Eli sighed deeply in the darkness as he settled into the bed beside her.
He was going to hate tomorrow, wasn’t he?
CHAPTER 15
Mmhmm! Every woman needed to wake up this way.
The morning birds chirping at her window, her brain well rested and her limbs languid from a night of good rest. Her head resting on the firm muscles of his chest, her palm on his heart measuring his steady heart beat. His soft breath whispering over the strands of her hair; his hand around her waist holding her tight to him…
Wait? What?
Chryssa eyes snapped open.
Her first sight was that of a naked chest moving up and down in a soft rhythm, the tanned skin a stark contrast to her chocolate toned fingers. No boobs. Yup! A man.
Oh God! What did I do?
His hands fell smoothly away from her as she sat up on the bed swiftly. Her panicked gaze focused on the sleeping man in her bed.
Eli!
She let out a deep breath of relief. He was lying on his back, breathing even and covers bunched at his waist. She should’ve been worried about how he’d gotten here in the first place but she was more relieved that it was him rather than a stranger in her bed. She scrunched her nose trying to remember when or how he’d gotten here.
Her meds usually had such a kick to them that anything she did while on them was just a fuzzy memory. Right now the only image she could conjure was that of Eli’s face through the door’s peep-hole.
The cold morning air bit into her body. Shivering she lifted her hands to rub some warmth into her arms only to come in contact with skin. Lots and lots of naked skin. Oh God! I’m naked.
No. Wait. Wait. Wait. Calm down people. I still have my underwear on. Which wasn’t saying much considering he was naked from the waist up too. Oh Lord!
Chryssa took deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart, her eyes on Eli. She gave herself a mental shake. If she was going to go into full panic mode she needed to first confirm that it was worth it, Chryssa used her fingertips to tentatively lift the covers off his waist. She tilted her head to look underneath them.
First sight was his morning wood; poking and large – not that she’d expected anything less. But mercy of mercies it was tucked safely underneath navy boxers. Hallelujah! Chryssa actually smiled as the rel
ief coursed through her veins in happy waves. Of course Eli being here was bad, but it could’ve been worse.
She wanted to be angry with him for coming to her house but she didn’t have the heart. She would’ve done the same thing or worse if he’d carjacked her. Besides waking up to his arms around her had been…kind of okay.
The clock on her side of the bed was blinking five a.m. Though it was a Sunday, Chryssa wasn’t about to abandon her exercise schedule. For a woman with her issues there was no such thing as a cheat day. Clambering over the peacefully sleeping Eli, she walked over to the closet and changed into her gear. After placing an extra toothbrush and towel on the bedside table beside him, she quietly exited the room.
Almost an hour and a half later, Chryssa was done with the home exercise video. She stood in the kitchen, fresh out the shower and a baby yellow towel wrapped around her preparing breakfast. She didn’t even hear the bedroom door creak open or Eli’s footsteps over the buzzing of the blender. She only noticed him standing by the door watching her when she turned to check on the boiling eggs.
Even unshaved and wearing yesterday’s clothes, Eli was still sexy. Right now however his strong masculine features were screwed into a mask of wariness as he watched her. Even his gruff voice was questioning when he said, “Morning?”
Poor guy! He probably thought she was going to go off her rocker because he’d broken one of their rules. Just to reassure him, she turned off the blender then walked over to him. Chryssa’s brow furrowed when he took a slight step back. Was she really that bad yesterday? But she kept coming.
“Morning,” she said once she was close enough to him that her breasts were lightly brushing against the planes of his chest. He flinched slightly when she moved her arm, but he didn’t move away. However when she looped said arm around his neck, lifted to her toes and pressed her lips against his, the wariness was replaced by shock.
For a moment he watched her move her lips over his, his eyes wide open with surprise. That quickly changed when she flicked her tongue against the seam of his lips. Whatever doubts he had about her disappeared and he gathered her close to him with hands on her waist.
