by A'zayler
“I wanted us to be alone with no distractions.”
Danna nodded and was gathering her things to get out of the car, but stopped and spun around to face him.
“Distractions? What kind of distractions would we have at your house?”
Don huffed and got out of the car. He already knew what she was getting at. “Come on now, Danna, damn. I’m trying.”
“Whatever. You just don’t want Totiana showing up there acting a fool.”
Don stopped in front of the truck so that they were facing each other. “That’s exactly why. Now, can we go inside?”
Defiance was in every step she took toward the hotel, but as long as she was with him, he could handle the rest. He could see right then what she needed, and he’d been waiting to give it to her. Being that he’d already checked in and gotten his key for the room, they were on the elevator and headed for their room as soon as they entered.
“You should have told me we were coming to a hotel, I could have grabbed me some clothes or something.”
“You don’t need clothes.” Don walked up to her and pulled her to him. “Take these off.” Don pulled at the shirt and pants she was wearing.
“No. I don’t know where your dick been. You probably fucked Tot before you came and got me. You need to go take a shower before you touch me.”
Don’s head fell back in laughter as he listened to her talk to him like she was bad. Her stance was combative and she was scowling. Clearly, she knew she ran shit, because nobody else in their right mind would talk to him as crazy as she always did.
When he was finally able to stop laughing, Don smiled and pulled his shirt over his head. Danna’s eyes went straight to his bare chest. The lust for him was all over her face as she stood back on one of her legs with her arms crossed over her chest. Her gaze hadn’t left his body yet, and had recently traveled to his growing erection.
“You want it, don’t you?” he asked her while holding his dick in his hand.
Danna licked her lips and smiled seductively. “Not with it dirty like that.” She winked before walking away from him and making herself comfortable on the bed. “Clean it, first.”
“I got you.” Don stripped out of the rest of his clothes.
Danna’s eyes hadn’t left his body again until he walked into the bathroom. He hit the shower water and made sure it was extra hot before stepping in. He’d been waiting to be back with his baby, and it was finally happening. With a smile on his face, Don cleaned himself the best he could with the hotel soap and washcloth. He washed a couple of times to make sure he was clean before just relaxing beneath the water.
He needed to get his mind together for the night he had planned. He was going to need all the energy he could muster before getting it started.
“Ahhh,” he exhaled as he thought about finally ending Echo’s life.
He was positive that he wouldn’t be going back to Vonetta’s house since he’d seen him there the night before. That would be something a fool would do, and in the profession Echo was in, he couldn’t afford to be that, but neither could Don. Which was why he’d camped outside of Vonetta’s house until he’d snuck out of her window in the wee hours of the morning. Don had followed him directly to the hotel they were at right then, and would be making his way up the stairs the moment he put Danna to sleep.
Don smiled. His troubles were finally about to be over. He had his freedom and his girl, he’d figure the rest of the shit out once it hit the fan.
20
The hood’s finest hour
Why am I here with this nigga? Danna lay on her back staring up at the ceiling. She had been asking herself the same question for the past ten minutes since he’d been in the shower. It was a fact that she loved Don, but she’d never played the fool for any man, and didn’t plan to start with him. He’d caught her slipping a few times because she hadn’t known what was going on, but now she did.
Staying with him after knowing he was dogging her out was a totally different level of stupid, and she didn’t like it. The more she thought about it, the madder she got. Before long, she was sitting up and grabbing her things. He was taking her home when he got finished showering. He was probably going to be through the roof angry, but she didn’t care. He’d get over it.
Her vibrating phone drew her out of her thoughts. When she saw the same number that Quay always called from, she silenced it. She couldn’t talk to him right then. Quay was too domineering. After getting on to her about screening his calls, he would surely give her a hard time when it was time to hang up, and she couldn’t chance that with Don being around her.
She’d just opened her social media account when her phone vibrated again. He was calling back. Danna sighed because she wanted to talk to him too. She stared at the screen for a few seconds before going against her better judgement and answering.
“Yooo, Danna, what’s good, baby? Why you ignoring me?” his tone was calm as usual, totally surprising her.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just been trying to get back to me, ya know?”
“I guess,” He paused. “Aye, Dan, where you at?”
What in the world? Did he know?
Danna’s eyebrows scrunched up as she tried to think about whether or not she needed to lie. Quay was in jail, so he couldn’t possibly know where she was right then or who she was with, but why else would he ask that?
“Out, why what’s up? You need something?” She made her dismissal sound as sweet as possible.
“Yeah, I do actually.”
Danna looked over her shoulder when she heard the shower cutting off. “What you need?”
“I need you to come outside. Don’t make a scene, just come out here.”
Danna pressed her phone further into her ear. “Huh?”
“I’m in the parking lot next to Don’s rental truck. Come get in this red car with me.”
“What the fuck?” Danna asked more to herself than anything.
“Now, Danna. You have to come now, baby.”
Danna’s head was spinning as she ran to the window to see if she could actually see him. When she saw the red car, her heart nearly stopped. What in the hell was going on?
“What are you doing here?”
“Danna, bring your ass out of the hotel room right now. I’m not telling you again.”
“Quay?” She asked skeptically.
“Fucking now, Danna!” His voice raised and got her moving. “You have to.” His tone went down a notch and he sighed. “Come now, baby. Please.”
Danna waited no more. With her purse still hanging from her shoulder, and no other belongings, Danna hurried out of the room and to the elevators. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she looked between the hotel room and the blinking lights above the elevator. The moment it dinged, she heard the locks to Don’s room click. Danna hopped onto the elevator pressing the buttons frantically. When the doors closed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Danna, you good?” Quay’s calm voice reminded her he was on the phone.
“I’m scared. What’s going on?”
“You don’t have to be scared, baby. I’ll protect you. Just come to me.”
Danna nodded her head as she ran out of the lobby doors. When she got outside, she spotted Quay instantly. He’d pulled to the front of the building so she could hop into the car. As soon as she was in, he peeled out of the parking lot. Danna looked from him to the road, waiting for him to explain what was going on.
“Quay?”
“Just chill, I’ll tell you in a minute. Just put your seatbelt on.”
Danna sat back and did as she was told, but as soon as it was on, she was back to her questions. “How’d you know I was here?”
“I got connections.” Quay looked at her with his nose turned up. “Your ass ain’t have no business over here, no fucking way.”
Out of her normal element, Danna didn’t know what to say to Quay. Normally, she would have had something smart to fire back at him, but right then her mind was
all over the place. Though the situation wasn’t an extremely messy one, it wasn’t normal, and she had no idea what to make of it. She’d been waiting for him to say something to her regarding what was happening, but he still hadn’t yet and she was getting more and more anxious by the second.
“Did you follow me?” Danna looked from the road to Quay. “And when did you get out of jail?” She asked as if she’d just noticed. “Why you ain’t call and tell me you were out?”
Danna sat back in her seat and allowed her attitude to take control. “I guess that’s what all of y’all do, huh? Lay up in your cells and tell me lies, but the moment they let you out, you go running to your real girlfriend.” Danna shook her head in dismay. “I’m tired of this shit. I’m done playing second for you niggas. Just take me to my house. Forget you and Don.”
Danna was seething with anger as she continued to let her thoughts get the best of her. Quay still hadn’t said anything to appease her, and it was driving her crazy. He needed to at least deny her accusations, and he wasn’t. He’d been driving as if she hadn’t said a word.
“I thought you were different than Don, and you’re not. You don’t give a fuck about me just like he doesn’t. You could have just left me there with him. You’re not better.”
Quay’s hair moved across his shoulders when he looked over at her. The slits of his eyes showed as he side-eyed her with his face balled up.
“I wish you would say some stupid shit like that to me again.”
“What makes you different?” Danna could feel herself getting emotional as she looked at him.
Quay was supposed to be different. He had been different, and now her hopes were crushed. Why couldn’t she just get one person that wanted to treat her right? She’d acted hard long enough. She wanted to love and be loved the way a woman deserved, and she continued to get inconsiderate men.
“I don’t know what you sitting over there looking sad for. You talking all that shit, but I’ve been calling you for weeks and you’ve been dodging every one. Then I get a call and find out you’re over here laid up in a hotel with this dude.” Quay turned his nose up at her and sucked his teeth.
“I just told you I’ve been trying to get myself together,” Danna yelled in her defense.
“Let me guess, being with Don was going to help you do that?” Quay looked at her before looking back at the road. “I see you ain’t been running away from that nigga.”
Danna sat quietly playing with one of her locs. “He just popped up on me. I wasn’t talking to him either. He’s just persistent.”
“No, that muthafucka is just crazy.”
“At least he cares enough to keep trying!” Danna screamed exasperatedly. “You call two or three times and just give up on me. I swear I’m tired of y’all using me.”
“What?” Quay yelled before sitting back in his seat and pushing some of his hair from his face. He took a few deep breaths before saying anything else. “You think I gave up on you? Ain’t no fuckin way, Danna. Ain’t no fucking way. Just like you’ve had shit going on, so did I. Your crazy ass man being one of them.”
“Did he do something to you?” She hurried to ask.
“Hell nah, that nigga can’t do nothing that I don’t let him do, so don’t worry about that.”
“Well, what’s wrong? Why you rolling up on me like this?” she looked at him and waited for an answer.
“It’s a lot of stuff that I just can’t explain to you right now, but believe me when I tell you, I didn’t give up on you.” Quay grabbed her hand and held it. “I’ve been doing everything but that.”
Danna’s smile showcased before she could stop it. To receive affection from Quay was indescribable, and had been since the she’d started getting it.
“It’s about to be a lot of stuff happening, and it’s going to happen fast, but I’ma keep you with me until I have time to explain everything. I don’t want you freaking out and running off to get yourself together again.”
Danna’s head dropped down so that she was looking into her lap. The same smile that had been there earlier was fighting hard to surface and she didn’t want it to. She had her mouth open to ask him a question when his phone rang. Her eyes went to it at the same time as his did.
“Elijah.”
Elijah? Who is that? Danna watched him, hoping to gather some insight from his conversation, but that one word was all he said before ending the call.
“Elijah? Who is that?”
Quay ran his hand over his mouth and pulled at his bottom lip. “Me, that’s my last name.”
Danna nodded, but said nothing.
“Who lives here?” Danna eyed the small brick house with the dark blue shutters.
It was a cute little house with well-groomed grass and even a small garden on one side. The tall wooden fence surrounding the property encased the driveway and rounded the back of the property. Danna sat wide-eyed, observing the dark blue motorcycle parked along the side of the house beneath a shed. It was so pretty and looked like it would be fun to ride if she knew how.
“Don’t worry about it. Get out.”
Danna looked his way but kept her mouth closed and got out. She switched around the front of the car and stopped once she was in front of him. Quay’s tall frame bent slightly as he looked down at her. His eyes went from her face down her body and back up to her face before he held his hand out toward her. Danna took it and followed him up the driveway.
He pulled the small set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. As soon as Danna stepped inside of the home, the coolness relaxed her. The atmosphere was cozy and it smelled amazing. There was a dark blue furniture set in the middle of the living room, while a light-colored wooden table occupied the space near the kitchen.
Danna had just released his hand to walk over to the pictures decorating the large entertainment center, but Quay stopped her when he grabbed her from behind. His arms circled her waist and spun her around so that she was facing him. The pad of his thumb rubbed along the side of her face as he stared at her.
“You know I’ve been trying to think of a reason not to like you. Anything, it didn’t have to be big or small, just something that would give me a reason to keep my personal and business life separate but every time you’re around me I can never find one.”
Danna’s hands came up and circled his back. “Why would you do that? What’s wrong with liking me?”
Quay’s forehead pressed against hers as he closed his eyes. “It’ll be too much like mixing business with pleasure and I don’t do that.”
“You don’t have to worry about my daddy. I can handle him.”
“It’s not your dad.”
“Well, what is it?”
Quay pulled away from her and smiled. The gold in his mouth shining in her face. “It’s you Danna. It’s fucking you.” His laughter alarmed her because she wasn’t exactly sure how’d he’d flipped from being serious so fast. “I can’t have you being my girlfriend in the middle of the situation we’re in right now.”
Fed up with trying to piece together his statements, Danna removed her purse and threw it onto the sofa before sitting down as well.
“Tell me what is up, because you’re talking in circles. First you follow me, kidnap me, and now you’re talking about mixing business with pleasure. I’m lost. If you don’t want me with Don, then cool, because I don’t want me with him either, but you need to be a little more direct than what you’re being. I can’t take all this back and forth stuff. If you can’t be stra—”
Quay removed his shirt, stopping her mid-sentence. He’d been sexy as hell ever since she’d known him, but that body was sick. He was so ripped up with muscles and she hadn’t had any sex in so long, she could barely sit still. Her legs started jumping and everything.
“Don’t stop, keep talking all that noise.” Quay taunted her with that million-dollar smile.
The moment he opened his mouth her mind went back to the night they’d had phone sex. Danna could hardly breat
he. Quay had literally taken her breath away. She’d sat back and closed her eyes and everything. She was busy trying to take some deep breaths when she felt the bottom half of her body being pulled from the sofa. Danna’s eyes popped open and landed directly on Quay.
He was kneeling between her legs, shirtless. His shoulder length locs swayed around his face as his head bent slightly. With intent focus, he unfastened the buttons on her jean shorts.
“You’ll know what I want you to know.” Quay lifted the bottom of her body and pulled her shorts off. “Until then, you just do what I say.” Quay leaned over and pulled her shirt from her head. “See, your problem is you think you run everything when you don’t. I do.” Quay leaned over and kissed up the front of her exposed stomach.
Danna shivered the moment his lips touched her skin.
“It’s not your fault though, all the men in your life let you boss them around, but I’m not them. I’m a grown man, and you’re going to respect me.” More kisses were placed on her stomach as his fingers found the band of her panties. “As a matter of fact, stand up.”
Quay sat back on the floor and leaned against the sofa. Danna didn’t know why she felt so shy all of a sudden, but it took her forever to pull herself from the sofa and stand in front of him. With her love directly in his face, Quay gripped the back of her thighs and pulled her closer to his face.
“You got some big sexy ass legs, Danna. Damn.” He sighed as he placed kisses up the front of her thighs. “You know how in love I am with your thickness? It’s my favorite.”
A bashful smile covered her face as she ran her hands through his hair.
“I’m for real. I love this shit,” He squeezed her legs again. “Sit right here.” He pulled her down onto his lap.
Danna lowered herself until she was straddling him. Her arms found their way around his neck the moment she was comfortable. Face to face with him once again, Danna smiled. Quay did as well, but his was followed by kisses. He kissed away every single thought and apprehension Danna had. With slow, precise strokes of his tongue, he warmed her mouth and neck with affectionate tongue play.
