One good reason, p.18
One Good Reason, page 18
And maybe it was the Tito’s that I suggested they make my drink with, but my insides were begging me to ask what kind of shit he was speaking on. Since the night in the limo or better yet, the way he had my body pushed up against our hotel room door, I had been craving his touch.
For once, I wanted to let my resolve down and indulge in something that would have me shying away from him the next morning. I knew he wouldn’t make the first move, especially since I’d confessed the need to be in control. Hopefully if I baited him tonight, he would give in.
“What kind of shit?” I finally asked.
“The kind that’ll have you losing all common sense. Don’t tempt me Talitha because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
“Mrs. Jessie is spending the night with Gema. I have nothing but time.”
“Are you sure you want to cross that line?”
“The line was crossed in the back of your limo weeks ago.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re ready for it to be crossed again. I’m on your playing field. You expressed needing to be the one to lead so I have to be sure. I don’t want to unintentionally do something to trigger you.”
“I have control issues, Harvey, I’m not fragile and I know exactly what I’m saying right now.”
Tapping his fingers on the table, Law smirked. “Finish eating your food, Talitha. Something tells me you’re going to need your stamina.”
Before he could change his mind, I decided to eat a few more pieces of my steak before signaling for the waitress. Once the tab was cleared, Law ushered me out of the restaurant. I’d wanted this for weeks and tonight it was finally happening. I prayed that once we took it there it wouldn’t get in the way of our business.
CHAPTER 17
Lawton
“This is nice. I would’ve never guessed that you lived all the way out here,” Talitha gushed as she looked around my estate. When she mentioned wanting to come home with me for the night, I knew we would end up here instead of my condo in the city. That was the place I took the women who I randomly fucked.
Talitha wasn’t one of those women, and I wouldn’t disrespect her and take her there. Instead, I had Baker bring us to the house that I’d long vacated. I’d been here a few times since the incident but only enough to grab some shit and dip out.
After Dahlia fucked it up, I hired a team to come in and fix it along with removing any traces of her so I felt comfortable enough to bring Talitha.
“I have a condo in the city for when I want to be closer, but this is my primary residence.”
“The stack of the mail says otherwise.” She pointed to the pile sitting in the middle of the island.
“Let’s just say business has picked up and this is too far to travel to after a long day.”
Pulling back the drapery in the living room, she admired the outside. “I can’t believe you live right on the lake.”
“When I first moved down here, this was the first available house my real estate agent found. The asking price was a steal so I jumped right on it.”
“Lake Spivey,” she hummed and pulled open the back door. “I thought only celebrities lived out here.”
“Anybody who can afford it lives out here.” I shrugged. “The house up the street belongs to a cardiologist and his family.”
“You know what I mean, Law.”
“I do. Want something to drink?” I tossed over my shoulder while walking to the kitchen.
“Wine if you have it.”
Crouching down, I pulled a bottle of Cabernet out the wine fridge and sat it on the island while going into the cabinet to get me something a little stronger. While I was fixing drinks, I watched Talitha step out of her heels and exit through the opened doors. Once I had the drinks in hand, I followed her outside and took a seat in one of the chairs.
“How often do you sit out here?” she asked as she leaned over the railing.
“Not often.”
“If I lived here, I would live out here. This view is immaculate.”
“It is,” I agreed. “Mind if I smoke?”
Spinning around on the ball of her feet she asked, “Weed?”
“Talitha, do I look like I smoke weed?”
“Shit I don’t know.” She laughed. “You didn’t specify.”
Holding up the cigar, I twirled it in my hand. “This is the only thing I fill my lungs with and it’s not often that I do so.”
“Whatever your vice is.” She held her hand up.
“That’s yours.” I nodded toward the glass of red wine.
“Thank you.” She scooped it up and took a sip. Leaning with her back to the railing, her eyes roamed my body for a few seconds before settling back on my face. “Did your ex live here with you?”
While she stood there admiring me, I took my time cutting the tip of my cigar and firing it up. “She spent the night here a few times a week. She had her own spot and stayed there for the most part.”
“Cute.” She nodded.
“What’s cute about it?”
“Oh nothing,” she lied and took another sip.
The tan Milano de Rouge sports coat she wore for dinner had been removed and was laying on the sofa inside. Her white button up was tucked in her jeans during dinner but had somehow made its way out. She had gotten extremely comfortable while I was sitting here with my heart thundering in my chest. I knew what she wanted and was waiting on her to make the first move.
Hell, I wanted it just as much as she did, but I was leaving it all up to her. I didn’t need her shutting down on my ass again.
“Wanna hear something funny?”
Taking a pull from the lit cigar, I leaned back in the chair and crossed my leg. “What is it?”
“Gema thinks you like me.”
“What made her draw that conclusion?”
“She said she could tell by the way you look at me.”
“And what did you say in response?”
“I waved her off,” she tittered. “Old people read into everything.”
Looking at the lit end of my cigar, I asked, “What if she wasn’t reading into it?”
“You like me?”
“A little bit,” I verified.
“Why?”
“Because you have this wall up. And apparently, I’m attracted to complicated women.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s what I’ve been told.”
“I like you too,” she finally established what I already knew. “I didn’t want to like you, but I do. Liking you means putting myself out there. I don’t do that. I’m not that type of woman.”
“What type of woman is that?”
“The one that gets so tangled up in a man that she loses herself. I’m the type of woman who gets up and goes to work to make a difference in someone’s life. I don’t need saving, rescuing, or whatever. I keep my head down and handle my business. In short term, I’m not the damsel in distress type of woman.”
“You are,” I alleged. “You have a fear of being seen that way, but you are everything that you just swore you wasn’t.”
“I’m really not, Law,” she scoffed. “I don’t open my heart to anyone. I don’t fall in love. Hell, I think I’m incapable of loving someone other than Gema. I’m not the average girl. Life changed me.”
“If that’s the case Talitha, then what do you want from me.”
“I don’t know.” She crossed her arms in a huff. “I would say companionship, but I don’t think I desire that either.”
“You wanna fuck?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Leaning up, I rested my elbows on my knees. “For me, nawl, it’s not because I don’t want anything either. But you can’t just fuck me and dip out like a hard leg. Sex with me comes with requirements.”
“What are they?”
“Cuddling after sex, I like to have intelligent conversations. You don’t have to be my companion, but I do prefer dates. I like to wine and dine every now and then.”
“That’s companionship, Harvey.”
“It’s whatever we make it, Howard,” I tossed back. Any other time I was, Law. When she was pissed at me, she used my first and last name. I noticed in New York that she’d started calling me by my last name when I was annoying her. Those were a few signs that I’d picked up on and locked in my memory bank for a rainy day.
“I require anonymity. I don’t want to be another notch under your belt. I also don’t want anyone at the center to know what we have going on. I’ve never wanted to be known as the woman who slept her way to the top.”
“We haven’t slept together yet and your ass has been in my pockets so I would say you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I can give you whatever time I have left after work and taking care of Gema.”
“I’m willing to accept whatever.”
“No feelings, Law. I can’t get wrapped up in anything that could end in heartbreak. I’m holding myself up with tape. Any little thing can go wrong, and I will crumble.”
“No feelings Talitha. But my requests are my request. If you can’t handle that then you can’t handle me.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I want to try.”
“We can start off small. Date night once a week.”
“Once a week… just not on Thursdays. Mrs. Jessie plays bingo with her friends every Thursday night.”
“I’m fair. I’ll let you decide what night. The only thing with that is, that one night you have to stay here.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip before agreeing. “I don’t do office sex but if you want a lunch quicky, I can meet you at your condo,” she tittered.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Anything else?”
“These are your terms and conditions so ask yourself that question.”
“Sssss…” she hissed. “I think that’s it. Maybe we should sign a contract.”
“Fuck out of here!” I chortled. “We’re grown, Talitha. We don’t need a contract. You stated your request, and I did as well.”
“Then it’s solved. That was easier than I expected.”
“Why is that?”
“Don’t know. Kind of figured you wouldn’t agree to it.”
“I’m an easy man.”
“Good to know.” Tossing back the rest of her wine, Talitha sauntered toward me with her hand held out. “I only have a few hours before I need to go home.”
“Is that an invitation?”
“The best kind ever.” She winked. Looking down at her hand, I grabbed it and stood.
Towering over her tiny frame, I peered down at her. “Let me make you feel good before I send you back to Gema.”
“Law,” Talitha moaned and dipped her head to suck on my chest.
“Shit!” I groaned. After bringing her upstairs to my room, the two of us took a shower. Once we were clean, I dried her off and tossed her on the bed. We started out with her being on top and she wasn’t lying when she said she had to be in control. After riding me like a fucking horse, she finally gave me permission to take over.
Now I was on top of her circling my hips, feeding her inch by inch. “You feel so good.”
“Shit!” she breathed before tossing her head back. With her mouth gaped open, she reached down and cuffed my ass cheeks. That move almost made me pull back, but she was feeling too fucking good, and I couldn’t stop.
“Fuck me, Harvey,” she groaned into my ear, sending chills down my spine. Reaching back, I removed her hand and pinned them above her head. Increasing my speed, I stroked her insides at a rapid pace. Thrashing her head side to side, she chanted “yes” over and over again before yelling out that she was getting ready to cum.
“Cum for me baby,” I moaned and trailed kisses from her ear down to the side of her neck. “Wet me the fuck up, Talitha. Now!” I ordered. Sensing that I was on the verge of releasing myself, I dropped her hands and leaned back so I could grab her hips.
Stroking faster, I held onto her as an intense feeling rippled through my chest. Tossing my head back, I growled through my own release as Talitha’s body shook violently under me.
“Damn,” she breathed out after her body finished convulsing.
“Damn is right,” I muttered. Sliding out of her lightly, I adjusted my body and laid my head between her breast while trying to get my breathing under control.
“If I knew it was going to be like that, I would’ve let you fuck me that night,” Talitha finally uttered.
“You weren’t ready then,” I corrected.
“Shit… I don’t think I was ready tonight either,” she slurred.
“You okay?” I leaned up and asked.
“I am,” she expressed as a wide smile broke out on her face. “I gave my goodies up to thee Lawton Harvey.”
Yawning, I shook my head. “You did more than give up the goodies. It’s gon’ be hard for you to get rid of me now.”
“No, it’s not,” she disagreed. “We had a deal. One night a week.”
“No. You said date night once a week. You ain’t say shit about us having sex once a week. If my memory serves me correct, I think you said something along the lines of me being able to get it whenever and wherever,” I teased.
“You’re a liar.” She punched me in the shoulder.
“I’m fucking with you.” I placed a kiss between her breasts.
“Is this the part where we cuddle after sex?”
“Ummhmm,” I hummed before yawning. “The best fucking part.”
“If you say so,” she sassed and rubbed her hands down my back. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.”
“I have an obscured view when it comes to relationships, but you never said why you had one.”
Leaning up, I gazed into her eyes. “Are you prying?”
“If I gotta cuddle then surely you can talk.”
“You’re right.” Laying my head back down, I thought about it for a few seconds. “It wasn’t always like this. At one point, I wanted marriage and everything that came with it.”
“What changed?”
“Met a woman that I fell in love with. I mean so in love that I went against everything that I knew for her. The nature of our relationship was inappropriate as hell, but I didn’t care. I loved her enough to deal with whatever backlash we would face.”
“What you mean backlash?”
Skipping over the part about Adele’s age and her true identity I said, “She was married, and we were having an affair.”
“Lawton Harvey, you had an affair with a married woman?”
“For years. In my defense, her marriage was over with before we decided to fuck around. They were together on paper only.”
“That’s an excuse and you know it.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I was young and knew that when she finally got divorced, the two of us would be together. We had several conversations about what our life would look like when she was finally free.”
“She backed out?”
“Reversed her ass out of there.” I chuckled, lowly. “She got a taste of what single life was like and decided that she no longer wanted to be with me. She was cool with us still fucking and sneaking around but that was as far as she was willing to take it.”
“And you let that one thing turn you away from marriage?”
“Women are calculated. They give enough to keep you interested. When you start wanting more than they’re capable of giving, they pull back. That was the second time I’d ever had my heart broken at the hand of a woman. And I refused to let it happen a third time.”
“Second time. Who was the first?”
“My egg donor.”
“Oh wow.”
“Wow is right,” I assured.
“Your ex. Did you love her?”
Shifting my body, I finally pulled out of Talitha and laid beside her. Folding my hands behind my head, I stared up at the ceiling. “Loved. Thought I was in love, but I realized I wasn’t. I loved her because she was there, and I never felt abandoned or alone.”
“That’s deep.”
“Is it?” I questioned. “Or is it maniacal?”
“Could be a little bit of both,” Talitha offered.
“Exactly.”
“So, what was the final nail in the coffin for your ex? I know you said she wanted what you weren’t willing to give. But what made her finally walk?”
“Thanksgiving Day, we spent it with her family. Her little sister announced her engagement and pregnancy to the family. Her pops asked me when I was going to propose, and I told him never. I didn’t lie and Dahlia knew that. I guess that was the night she had a revelation. A few days later, I walk in on her destroying my house.”
“What house? This one?”
“That is correct.”
“Damn,” Talitha sighed.
“Who are you telling?” I chuckled. “Cost me a lot of fucking money to replace everything.”
“You hurt her and that was her way of repaying you.”
“I hurt her, but it was her decision to stay as long as she did. The option to leave was always on the table. She thought she could change my mind.”
“I feel sorry for her.”
Leaning over, I pecked her cheek. “Don’t.” Tossing the covers back, I sat on the side of the bed. “She thought she could change me and realized she was wrong. My limits were my limits and had been since the first time I entertained her.”
“Doesn’t mean she didn’t have a right to change her mind, Harvey.”
“She did. I never said she didn’t. And just like she had a right to change hers, I had a right to not change mine.”
“Back to your first heartbreak. What did your mother do to you?”
“Nothing. She did absolutely nothing. She didn’t want me, and it showed. She never gave me any type of affection. Never cared to spend time with me.”
“If anyone knows what that’s like, it’s me.”
“At least you got to be raised by someone who loved you. I lived in the house with my mother until I went off to college. She hated my Pops for making her have me and because he couldn’t be faithful. Her resentment towards him had her resenting me.”
“That wasn’t fair.”
