TTW 3 ( Thicker Than Water 3 )

by Takerra, Allen

  He shot one final assuring look at Jayde and then made his way out.

  Ree meant to thank him but ended up doing so in his head as he pressed the bottle back to his lips.

  Jayde looked around the room, taking in the mood. The music was still playing and now Otis was singing about how strong his love was for someone, about how he’d be the ocean, deep and wide to catch all the tears his love cried, and Jayde gritted her teeth slightly wondering if that was how Ree felt for Tatum. The window was cracked open and a summer breeze crept in and added a tantalizing chill to the room. And even with Ree a bit more laxed and incoherent than usual due to the alcohol, leaning back in his chair, legs opened in a laid-back fashion, half of the buttons on his shirt undone, Jayde couldn’t help but to feel spellbound by him.

  “I told you to sit…yet you’re still standing. That’s what I don’t like about you,” he admitted truthfully as he eyed her. “You’re difficult.”

  Jayde chuckled, smiling wide. She knew the liquor probably had him more verbal than normal. He usually had very few words for her.

  “You’re right…I’m not easy. But you shouldn’t hold it against me.” She walked closer. “But for you… I’ll sit.”

  She perched herself up on his desk, her legs crossed not too many inches from his face.

  Ree looked up at her and frowned.

  “Four other chairs in the room, Jayde. Pick one.”

  Jayde smiled seductively at his rejection.

  “Uncomfortable?” She posed.

  “Unmoved.”

  She pursed her lips at that one but still did not move, hoping he didn’t push the issue. He didn’t.

  “It went okay,” she started, filling him in on business. “Everyone is still on board even though they say it’s real unfortunate what happened with Chauncey. But physically, I don’t know if it’s going to be possible. We were pushing it with only me and Chauncey. But now…just me? I hate to say it, but I need you. You don’t think you can stick around longer? A boss always has to be ready to step up, right?”

  She looked him right in the eyes and prayed that things were playing her way. She just knew getting Ree to partner up with her for good, in and out of business would be easy; especially after having the hotel burned so he could not even have that business in Jamaica.

  She knew if he really wanted to he could build a new one, but why would he do that? It’d be easier to just stay here and stay in business with her, especially with Tatum and her nagging him to quit, out of the picture. The whole thing with Chauncey had just been a bonus, luck playing on Jayde’s part.

  He chuckled at her juvenile logic and attempt at reverse psychology. The problem with Jayde was that she thought she was smarter than everyone.

  “I’m not your boss, Jayde. And you don’t need me…I served my purpose.” Ree had formed the trinity, kind of like the pyramid scheme. He started it but was no longer crucial. As soon as all was done, he’d collect his fee for his brilliance and be on his way.

  Jayde sighed, feigning defeat. He’d give in, she just needed to work a little harder.

  “Okay…well, plan B. I told you…I know someone. I mean, I don’t really know him. But Mickel can vouch for him. He worked Jersey, like yourself. Ju-”

  “Julez Payne,” Ree spoke, cutting her off as he picked up a pair of Feng Shui balls. “Central Jersey, Southern Jersey, down to Philly… pushed dope, coke, bud, X… was onto that Oxy shit back before anybody knew it was money in that. Had the suburban white boys strung out and selling his shit on the Princeton campus. Made a few mil in his ten year run but his prime was like eh, '05 to '07. Retired in ’08. Runs PMF Enterprises now... I know.”

  Jayde was impressed.

  “You know him?”

  “I tried to recruit him. Almost did…but a lot of shit went down,” Ree’s voice drifted off thinking of the whole demise of his Jersey operation with Chris as a key to it. Ree knew that was a big reason Julez had retired. They were on the brink of doing business, and when shit started unraveling, every major dealer in Jersey started feeling the heat. Julez has gotten out at the right time. The game was changed. And if you weren’t in the top 5 percentile of money makers, you were a fool to still be doing it.

  Jayde pursed her lips.

  “I can see how that could have been profitable. Although from what I heard, he was a bit flashy. You would’ve had to tone him like you did Chauncey,” she giggled, re-crossing her legs and letting him know she knew history as well. “I hear he’s pretty arrogant, too.”

  Ree lifted an eyebrow at her only halfway amused.

  “You? Call arrogance? Besides…you shouldn’t speak that way about your brother,” Ree quipped.

  Jayde’s face became serious as she rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t have brothers, or sisters, or any of that bullshit. I don’t know what Mickel was doing, trying to create the Godfather themed Brady Brunch, but I’m not for it. I’m his daughter, that’s all I know. But Julez…if convinced…may be a business asset to us.”

  Ree sighed in annoyance as he threw down the balls and they hit his cherry wood desk with a thud.

  “Us? Again, stop with the us shit Jayde! To you,” he pointed at her aggressively. “And that’s a maybe...if the nigga even wants to step back into this shit. But do that shit after I take my cut and walk the fuck away. Don’t bring anybody new into the equation while I’m still here, I directly forbid it and it will most definitely be consequences if you go against that. After I’m gone, you do what you do, but don’t speak my name.” Fuck saying his name five times like Candyman, if Jayde or anyone even spoke his name one time after he was gone, he’d leave them where they stood, and he wouldn’t need a hook.

  “So you don’t trust him? He’s Mickel’s son.”

  “I trust Mickel,” Ree spoke immediately and sternly. “I can’t speak on his offspring.”

  Jayde knew that included her. She watched as Ree took another swig of the liquor. He was nearly bottomed out so she knew he had drunk a good amount. Her eyes lowered to the seat of his chair and she could see the imprint of his package lying against his right thigh. My god it wasn’t even hard but it was still a creation of massiveness. Jayde licked her lips subtly as if eyeing a lemonade stand on a 98 degree summer day.

  “I hope you will be able to take your cut on schedule, Ree. I really do. Hopefully the Segovias and the Gonzales family trust me enough to let this go through my hands. I must remind you this is why Mickel needed you in the first place, I could not do it.”

  Ree closed his eyes and leaned his head back, not worried about that. He had met with them, which was his purpose of being there. He had provided the funds. He was still there and available as insurance for this first run.

  “I’m still here, Jayde. It’s already in progress. Everything is coming in and going out on schedule. All you have to do is worry about how you’re gonna run this after I’m gone with C out of the picture. And there’s no need to discuss that with me so this conversation should’ve been over.”

  Ree let the empty bottle slip out of his hand onto the floor and the thick glass clattered against the wood but didn’t break. There was another full bottle that sat on his desk and he contemplated breaking it open.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb, eyes still closed, and reflected on the situation with Chauncey.

  After all that had happened with Tatum he hardly could think about Chauncey getting himself into trouble…again. Ree now saw how love crippled a man’s mind, blocking out all that was equally as crucial and important. Ree wanted to steer Chauncey to what he had been, what he had become. He knew he had it in him. However this last stunt, Ree couldn’t save him from. Not even Jayde’s big judge and police friends could do much. The officers that had responded were straight cops, the body was there, and his gun was dirty. No matter what, Chauncey would have to do some time. At least with Ree’s case, they were able to pull the technicalities with the warrant as a way to dismiss all. There
were no loopholes for Chauncey.

  “You seem like you have a lot on your mind?” She visibly noted, knowing it was Tatum. “Maybe you should pick up your balls.”

  Ree’s eyes shot open and he glared at her sensing an insult. Jayde smirked.

  “These balls.” She picked up the Feng Shui balls which barely both fit comfortably in her dainty hand. “So these things really relieve stress?”

  Ree stared at her a moment longer before looking away snidely.

  “So you just rub these balls around in your hand and they take all the stress away,” she continued with a giggle. “Why not just rub on your own? …Or get someone to do it for you?”

  Ree stared at the girl, really stared at her. All of her witty talking and slick moving, grinning and chuckling, and her sexy body and attractive features, it may have worked on the average nigga, but he saw right through it. He rubbed his goatee and looked toward the door. It was closed.

  “What do you want, Jayde?”

  She pursed her lips and straightened her back.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know exactly what I mean. Why are you still here? The past fifteen minutes… the past weeks… the past months, you’ve been tap dancing on me with your passive-aggressive attempts bordering seduction and aggravation… for what? You claim you’ve heard enough about me, you must know the last thing I find intriguing is bullshit. You want me to be your big brother, you look up to me, you want to be my partner, you wanna rub my balls. I can’t keep up. So again I ask. What…do…you…want?”

  Jayde took in a deep and shaky breath. Not shaky out of fear, but because she had just been turned on in a way she wasn’t sure was humanly possible for her. She was positive that if Ree just touched her, anywhere, she would orgasm at instant.

  “No bullshit, huh?” She finally spoke. “I like that.”

  “Do you?”

  “I do. And I’ll be real.” If she was to really be real she would reveal all she had done to try to play Ree into her hands. But she had to admit at this moment, he was far from the average guy. She wondered if her games, while clever and played in a way that even the smartest of men such as Ree could not detect the most sinister of her actions, were still not enough to reel in a fish as big as Ree. Sure, she had come in and upswept his world from the sidelines like a vicious tornado and it had all seemed like things that could only occur by fate. She purposely had moved in a way that even the biggest skeptics would have to ask, but how could she have been responsible for that? But still, he and his foundation had remained grounded as if deep rooted in the soil of his universe. Would honesty be the best policy, or at least half-truths? Maybe she’d give it a shot.

  “You, be real?” He seemed amused.

  “Yes…Okay, I do want you. And I’ve never wanted a man before.”

  Ree stared at her unblinkingly.

  “You’ve wanted a woman?”

  “I’ve never wanted anyone. But you…” She shrugged. “I want you. That’s all.”

  “What do you want from me…to be with me? To be what…my girl? My wife?” There were small doses of laughter in his question as if it were comical.

  “You don’t need a wife Respect. The only flaw I found in you is that even while recognizing your unordinary presence…your overpowering effect on people…your almost…God like qualities…” Ree chuckled at her over-dramatization of himself as she continued.

  “Even as you recognize these things in yourself. You still try to live by the conformities of regular mortals? I don’t get it. You know you needed a wife like I needed a hole in my head.”

  Ree narrowed his eyes, reflecting on her thinking and the possible truth in her statement. If she were accurate then she had just contradicted herself. Because if anyone needed a hole in their head, it was Jayde. Ree didn’t know her full capabilities or what she had done, but he knew she was poison to the earth. And if she wasn’t Mickel’s daughter, he would have killed her back in Chauncey’s basement when she revealed her snake-like character. He tuned her back in as she continued her declaration.

  “All you need,” she spoke seductively while subtly beginning to rub on her own thigh. “…Is a woman who will be whatever you need her to be, whenever you need her to be it. Your partner. Your ally. Your soldier. And your lover. You need a woman that will bring you someone’s head and then bless you with some head in return. And then may go out and get another bitch and bring her home to bless you with some more head,” she tittered. “You don’t need structure…rules…monogamy. I can tell you’re too much man for one person. I wouldn’t do that to you. I would only want my share.”

  Ree scratched along his jawline and made bold eye contact.

  “So a fuck. You just want a fuck?”

  “If that’s all you took from what I said, then I guess that’s what I wa-”

  “Yeah, that’s all I took from what you said.”

  He stood up and stared in her sparkling green eyes and he could see her chest began to heave up and down. Her breathing changed, she was nervous, anxious, one or both. He walked the few inches up to her that closed the space between them and studied Jayde. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it.

  Ree stared at her face and then allowed his eyes to travel down to her long, slender neck, down to her cleavage, and then along the rest of her body as he grazed her shoulders and down her arms with the tips of his fingers.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me, baby?” He spoke in a low voice while he eyed her thighs.

  “I was…” Jayde could barely speak as she felt a gush of liquid burst from her canal to the seat of her thong immediately. “I was…playing…” His fingers felt like the tips of a million feathers singing on her nerve endings. “I wanted…I wanted…ooh!”

  She yelped in excitement as he yanked her legs open, roughly grabbing her knees and separating them with one forceful push.

  “Yeah…I know what you wanted…” Ree brought his hands up the outsides of her thighs and under her dress. “All of that shit, right? Tatum and that punk ass lawyer. I know you wanted me to catch them in some shit.” Jayde’s eyes lowered in lust as he palmed her ass.

  “You bring up that shit with Chris, knowing Tatum was here. Yeah…I asked you. But you hoped she’d hear it, didn’t you?” Jayde was lucky to still be breathing for that one. Even though Ree was the one at fault, half of him believed Jayde intentionally wanted Tatum to hear that. If she wasn’t Mickel’s daughter…

  “No,” she whispered heavily as he pulled her head back by her hair roughly. “I swear…I didn’t want to say it. You…you asked me. You made me say it.” Being so close to him was better than any sex she’d ever had.

  “You know I wanted to kill you, right?”

  “I know,” she admitted, bringing her hands to his muscular arms and rubbing them. “I’m sorry…I swear I didn’t mean to, ooh Ree please…fuck me. Fuck me, please.”

  “Yeah? What about your sister?”

  “My sister?”

  Jayde’s heart dropped but she didn’t show it. He knew?

  “Yeah. Sasha. Tatum’s her best friend…you have no loyalty to her?” He questioned lowly as he looked her in the eye.

  Jayde stared back at him and reached below, beginning to unbuckle his pants.

  “No,” she answered flatly. “Fuck me. I’m too hot for you right now, Ree. I can’t take it.”

  Ree chuckled.

  “Yea, you hot. I know you hot, Jayde.” She went to reach for his dreads but he grabbed her wrists and pinned her back against the desk roughly in one swift motion, laying her whole body flat with it unable to move. Jayde had never been dominated like that before and he was so strong, her emotions danced between lust and fear. The fear of him actually added to the attraction and sexual tension.

  Oh my god, finally, Jayde thought. Jesus Christ he is so fucking beautiful, I want to suck the blood out of his dick.

  Ree reached under her dress and ripped her panties off with one forceful tug.

&nb
sp; “You hot?”

  “Yes!” She replied, humping the air like a sex fiend anticipating that dick crack.

  Ree pulled out his dick with one hand, while the other held her wrists against the desk. Jayde lifted up anxious to see it but Ree let go of her wrist and in a nanosecond later, had her pinned back down with his hand around her neck.