Vows of Deception: Something old, new, borrowed, and BLUE... (10 page)

“Where the hell have you been?” Danni was startled to hear Lamont’s angry voice boom as soon as she stepped into the house. The lights were off so she assumed he was asleep or caught a ride to continue with his dirt.

“Minding my own damn business.” Danni snapped back. She was in no mood for his antics.

“You are my wife. I have every right to know where the hell you have been. I have been by your parents’ house. You weren’t there. I went to your sisters you weren’t there. She said she hadn’t heard from you.”

“The problem of me being your wife will soon be rectified, you just hang on for a bit. As far as you checking up on me, you shouldn’t have. Trust me, I am the least bit flattered.” Danni rolled her eyes, turning to walk away.

“You wait just a got damn minute. I want to know where the fuck you have been, right damn now. You strut in here past midnight wearing this slutty getup. Have you resulted to hooking now?”

“No that’s your bitch ass mistress that’s the hooker. Either one of them, take your pick. They are the ones fucking for trips. Not I said the cat.”

“You are walking around in too little clothes to get attention from men, Danielle. Is this what you really want to do? Look like a slut? You reek of cigarette smoke and… Another man’s cologne?” Lamont had inched closer and closer to Danni with her refusing to cower away from him. He was so close she could smell the liquor on his breath. Obviously drunk out of his mind for him to think he had room to question anything she did. “Who the fuck have you been with?”

“A better man than you.” She said with all seriousness. Even though she hadn’t technically been with Mark, they just shared a hug but she wouldn’t clarify that to him. Turning on her heels having grown tired of their conversation she went to walk away with a smirk.

“I’m not done with you.” Lamont had grabbed her arm so hard snatching her back to stand in front of him that she stumbled on her heels falling.

Danni didn’t have time to stable herself enough to try and gain her own footing again before she was roughly thrown into the wall. Lamont was roughly groping and grabbing different parts of her body. Accusing her of being a good for nothing whore, among other hateful things. She felt degraded to the fullest extent as he banged her against the wall several times as she tried to fight him off. In all the years they had been together he had never laid a finger on her and now he was steadily proving himself to be someone she didn’t know.

From the feel of his boner that was sticking her she realized instantly that he was going to possibly rape her if she didn’t get out of this position. Seeing a small opening she kneed him with all her might in his precious balls sending him thrashing to the floor. He yelped a series of curse words threatening to make her pay for that assault. She didn’t stand around long enough to see what would happen now. Hightailing it up the stairs hearing him trying to gain an upright position to catch her. Making it to her room just in time to see him top the stairs. Locking the door she slid down waiting to see what was going to happen next.

Banging, screaming, cursing, and threats were passed through the door to her as she tried to figure out where she went wrong. He was like a crazed animal after a meal or maybe even a possessed demon out of blood. Either way he had scared the shit out of her. Too afraid to step away from the door even though he had quieted down the commotion, she fell asleep right where she slid to. Hearing the garage door open the next day caused her to stir and look around disoriented. Remembering everything that happened earlier she made up her mind to accept the help Mark offered.

Packing as fast as humanly possible, she loaded up her car as best she could. Danni was too afraid to take a shower for she didn’t know how long he would be gone. Locking her bedroom door after making sure she had all of her important things she dipped out. Pulling out the address Mark gave her she plugged it into her GPS and followed the directions he gave her. Hoping like hell she wasn’t going too early, knowing he was at the club for a while. The further she drove she started to wonder just where the apartment was. Pulling into a gated community, she realized this must be wrong.

“May I help you ma’am?” A guard stepped out of the small building.

“I’m not sure but I think I may be lost.” Danni stuttered.

“What address are you looking for maybe I can help you?” She recited it the way Mark wrote it.

“You’re in the right place. Your name?”

“Danielle Hunter.”

“Could you hold just a moment please?”

“Uh sure.” Danni was really confused now looking around at the expensive homes up ahead. Well the parts of the homes she could see.

“You are cleared to pass ma’am. Up ahead, take a right and then a left. The house is the last one on the block. Have a nice day.” He walked away hitting a button allowing her access.

“I must be dreaming.” She said to herself. There was no way in hell she was in the right place. Upon pulling into the huge circular drive, she was awestruck at the massive structure. It was a mini-mansion in her eyes. The brick structure has to be around six-thousand square feet if not more.

“Are you going to stand out here all morning?” She heard Mark question jokingly. Obviously she had stood there staring too long. “Come in Danni.”

“Is this your house?”

“Yep, that would explain me answering the door in my basketball shorts.” He chuckled.

“Your house is gorgeous. And huge.”

“Thank you. It was custom built. As you can see the design kind of got out of control but I wanted what I wanted.”

“Wow, I’ll say.”

“Let me give you a tour and then show you the apartment.” Mark touched her back softly but she cringed anyway. He jumped back as if she had burned him. “What’s wrong?” He looked her over.

“It’s nothing.” She shyly averted her eyes. “You were saying. The tour?”

“Oh yeah right. How about I show you the apartment first? That way you can get yourself settled. I noticed you had your stuff in the car.”

“Boy aren’t you observant.”

“It came in handy where I’m from. Follow me.”

“I wasn’t aware that the apartment was actually in your home.”

“Don’t worry I won’t disturb you or invade your privacy. The apartment is in the finished basement as you can tell. The only time I will be down here is to shoot pool occasionally. You have your own private entrance if you prefer to use it versus coming upstairs. You can use anything in the kitchen if you want. Whenever you want.”

Mark showed her the downstairs area. The living room was furnished with a huge sectional made of the softest leather she had ever touched. A large wall unit held a nice size television with all the extra’s that went with it for entertainment. On the other side of the room, there was a large pool table with a khaki top and clear balls. Down the long hall there were two doors. Inside the first one there was a decent sized powder room that he explained was for guests. The other door was a spacious bedroom with a king sized poster bed with a canopy covering. The soft beige color draperies made the room feel so warm and comforting.

The oversized furniture was quite intimidating for Danni wasn’t used to such nice things. Everything in the room seemed huge and expensive. Rich colors of gold, wine, and various shades of brown gave the room a royal feel. Inside the bathroom was a garden tub, stall shower, and toilet behind a divider wall. A walk-in closet was in the far corner big enough to fit all of her stuff plus any extras she could possibly dream of obtaining. Single vanity with a beveled mirror hung on the wall. Danni was in love with the overall scheme of the whole place.

“So what do you think?”

“I love it. Have you ever rented it out before?”

“Honestly no. I originally just set it up as a guest suite.”

“So why now?”

“Just a feeling.”

“Mark…” Before Danni could say anything they heard Niecee yelling his name.

“Daddy!”

“There’s your girl.” Mark said teasingly. “Down here Niecee.”

“Daddy, whose car is…?” Niecee said stopping mid-sentence. “Miss Danni!”

“Hey Niecee.”

“I’m so happy to see you. Are you going to be living in the apartment?”

“It seems that way.” Danni looked over at a smirking Mark before answering.

“AWESOME!”

“I’m glad you approve.”

“Of course I approve. Now I get to see you whenever I want.”

“Uh, no ma’am. You will not be traipsing down these stairs whenever you feel like it. Only if invited. Miss Danni deserves her privacy just as if she was someone you didn’t know.”

“Yes sir.”

“Mark its fine. I understand what you are saying and I don’t want to step on your parenting toes but its fine. I love being around Niecee. If I had a daughter, she would be an exact replica.” Both Mark and Niecee gave her indescribable looks before anyone spoke again. Niecee had a smile on her face that showcased extreme giddiness and Mark had a thoughtful expression as if he were in deep thought.

“Uhm…Let’s grab your things from the car. What do you say?” Mark asked after he cleared his throat.

“Alright.” Danni agreed as they made their way upstairs. Between the three of them all of her clothes, shoes, and other luggage containing her personal belongings were settled into her new bedroom. Niecee was already upstairs rambling about them having breakfast together.

“I will let you get settled in for the most part. I know you probably want to get comfortable so you don’t have to come up if you’re not feeling up to it. It looks like you have had a long night.”

“Why do you say that?” Danni asked confused.

“One your shirt looks as if someone jacked you up. Two you are still in your clothes from last night and three you have bruises on your upper arms. When I touched your back you near about jumped out of your skin so assume your back is sore as well.” Mark stated all of his observations of her appearance down to a science and all Danni could do was stand there feeling ashamed.

“Mark…”

“It’s none of my business but for the record I am glad you are safe. Get cleaned up and come up stairs, breakfast will be ready by the time you get done.” Mark turned to leave with one last look.

Surprisingly it wasn’t a look of pity or anything like that. It was something that Danni swore she mirrored but it had to be an illusion. Interest. She had to be just seeking attention from the male species and was soaking it up. Mark was a mystery to her. Danni didn’t know a thing about him and he her for that matter. Either way she didn’t think she was his type. ‘But what was his type,’ she asked herself. ‘Hell what was her type?’ The answer was not going to come easy because she wasn’t planning on going there with anyone anytime soon. The fact remained that Mark was extremely attractive and as she earlier thought, attentive. Wondering curiosity had her questioning if he was an attentive lover as well. If only…

Danni had been going through the motions for so long that it felt odd to not have to walk around with a fake smile. At times she found herself feeling sorry for herself but after interacting with Mark and Niecee, the feeling soon goes away. Grateful couldn’t even begin to explain how she felt towards Mark. He opened his home to her at an extremely difficult time. Having only heard just the tip of the iceberg where her troubles stemmed from, he still didn’t pry for more information. Taking what she had to say at face value. There weren’t many men like that in the world that was for sure.

After she had moved in they chilled out around the table in the kitchen after eating breakfast. Danni made sure she wore a long sleeved shirt and some yoga pants. There weren’t any marks on her legs but she didn’t want to disrespect anyone else’s home walking around scantily dressed. Once they had laughed about nothing and everything at the same time, Niecee offered to help her unpack her things. Since she enjoyed spending time with her she took her up on the additional help. In return for such an awesome welcome, she offered to fix Sunday dinner.

Mark assured her that everything she would need was in the freezer in the garage, fridge, and the pantry. Deciding on a simple meal consisting of Cajun rotisserie chicken, asparagus, yellow rice, and crescent rolls she got busy. Danni hadn’t cooked a home cooked meal in a while where people actually appreciated her efforts. Niecee had offered to assist in the kitchen while Mark said he had important business in his office he had to attend to. Leaving the two girls to bond further, dinner was ready in no time. They sat down to dinner together giving Danni plenty of praises for a job well done. Mark and Niecee officially nominated her to be the primary dinner preparer if she was up for the challenge.

Although she had gone through hell and had yet to emerge the victor, her situation was looking better. Just from the small step she made in getting away from the bastard she had wasted years on. Living with Mark and Niecee had posed to be quite a fulfilling experience. If time permitted they would share breakfast and dinner. Mark had gone above and beyond his Christian duty as Danni always joked with him about. Even though they were only joking it was true in a sense. He had offered her a place to rent when the money was scarce. The only thing he asked in return was that she looked after Niecee from time to time. While also sticking with the counseling plan of sorts.

Mark had explained that he had lots of business dealings that needed his attention sometimes into the night. Instead of uprooting her from his mother’s house during the late hours, he preferred her to be home. Understandably not alone, so he could focus on his work instead of whether she was safe or not. The atmosphere was so nice and calming. It had such a homey feel. Considering the fact that she was only a live-in Nanny, she couldn’t complain one bit. Anything was better than that mess she was forced to live in.

Lamont had actually tried to call her in which she blocked his number. The phone app actually picks the call up and then hangs it up after four seconds. Knowing full well he has probably heard her actually having fun before the line was disconnected. Good for him, she never wanted to play the ‘let’s make him jealous roll’ but it did feel good to know he was stressing about her whereabouts. Danni knew it was serious when her parents and god sister called her inquiring about where she has been. She felt bad immediately because she hadn’t informed them that she had moved out of the house.

“Hey mama.”

“Hey baby, where have you been?” She asked hugging her when she walked into the house.

“Girl, what’s really going on? I was worried sick about you.” Nat exclaimed walking towards her. They hadn’t communicated like they used to. For the life of her Danni couldn’t put her finger on why that was.

“So much has happened but I can’t go into that right now.” Danni said gesturing towards Niecee who stood behind her quiet as a church mouse.

“Who do we have here?” Lena asked smiling her way. Niecee returned the smile.

“This is Shaniece. Baby girl this is my mom Lena, and my god sister Natalie.”

“Nice to meet you sweetie. You are too pretty.” Lena gushed. “Wait Shaniece. As in Niecee? I have heard so much about you from Danni.”

“She is pretty. Where did you find her Danni?” Nat asked skeptically.

“Thank you.” Niecee said shyly.

“Her father asked me to watch after his prized possession and I couldn’t turn down such an awesome responsibility. Plus I get to do the whole girly bonding things with someone since I don’t have my own.”

“Speaking of having their own…” Nat said letting the sentence hang to be dramatic. “You may not have your own but you will have a little niece or nephew soon. And you Mama Lena are going to be a grandmother finally.” She said excitedly. Through everything going on Danni really wanted to be happy for her but she just couldn’t shake the jealously bug from killing her slowly.

“Congratulations!” Lena shouted hugging her.

“Thank you.”

“Congrats Sis. I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you. And I want you to be the god mother.”

“Really?”

“Yes really.”

“What does the father think? Shouldn’t he have a say so in the choosing of god mother?” Danni hated that she didn’t really feel up to the challenge of such a high honor. Mainly because she thought she would be the first one to give her mother a grandchild not Natalie. After all she was the one that had been married for years but what did she know.

“He will be okay with it. Trust me.”

“Well alright then. I would love to.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“So… I wasn’t aware you were serious with anyone after Thomas. I know you were saying he was old news. What’s been going on with you?”

“Girl it was something that just happened during the heat of the moment. You know how that…” Nat stopped like something just dawned on her. “Never mind, it’s not important.”

“So when do we get to meet this mystery person?” Lena asked.

“Actually you all are the first to know. I plan to tell him tonight.” Nat checked her ringing phone and then excused herself to answer it.

“So, how is my baby doing?”

“I’m fine mom. I found an apartment. Doing okay for now. I got a call from a hotel downtown. I start there next week. Working during the day.”

“That’s wonderful honey, I knew you would bounce back.”

“Who bounced back? What did I miss?” Nat asked walking back into the room.

“I was just telling mom, I found an apartment and a temporary job.”

“Oh really. That’s good. Why haven’t you come to me about what’s been going on? You know I would have had your back.”

“I know. I needed to do things on my own without a biased ear. Things are working in its own time and that’s fine.”

“I can’t believe he would be so…”

“I really don’t want to discuss any of that right now. He is what he is and doing what he pleases.” Danni cut off anything else she was going to say. She didn’t want to always talk about the negative in her life. When she wanted to talk to Nat she didn’t have time now she wanted to rant and rave but Danni wasn’t going for it. Especially not in front of Niecee.

“My bad...” She held her hands up in surrender. “I gotta go see a man about a dog. I will talk to you good people later.”

“Alright girl. Take care.”

“You too. Call me if you need me.”

“Will do.”

“So Miss Shaniece, tell me about yourself.” Lena engaged Niecee into conversation to take Danni’s mind away from everything. For that she was grateful. Hearing that Nat was pregnant kind of dampened her spirits a bit but this too shall pass.

****

After leaving her parents’ house she was to drop Niecee off with Miss Rita to spend the night with her. Mark favored his mother quite a bit now that she got to see her after meeting him. She was so nice and insisted that she stick around for bit. However when leaving she couldn’t help but feel so lonely. Going back to the even bigger house she noticed it wasn’t cold comparing it to her own house. Maybe she should have taken Miss Rita up on her offer to spend some more time with them. She wasn’t expecting the woman to be so open and inviting with her.

While married to Lamont his mother was never the loving type. She was boogie, kind of self-reserved. It was evident she snubbed her nose at Danni and sometimes she would catch pity glances. However she thought it was all in her head and maybe she just didn’t like her. That was the reason for her never to engage her warmly. Lamont always stated that was just her nature it was nothing personal. Now that she thought about it, his father was probably the same way. That had to be the reason Lamont was so hell bent on it being ‘a thing’ men do and it was no big deal.

Danni thought it would be cool to have a spa zone for herself. She started by giving herself a pedicure and manicure. Next she applied an avocado mask with cucumber eye pieces for the puffiness she knew she accrued over the past month or so. Her legs, armpits, and private areas were completely hairless. It had been a while since she had rid herself of such hindrances. Not having anyone to pay attention to those parts caused her to become careless. Tonight was different, the wine was making her fidgety and quite horny. Just the feel of her soft, smooth skin in the sudsy bath water was turning her up a notch.

Just rubbing her thighs in a slow lazy motion was causing her womb to clench with eagerness. The thought of touching herself intimately was damn near orgasmic. Since she didn’t have the affection of a partner, the thought of making love to herself sounded damn good. While one hand massaged the smooth hairless triangle, the other hand worked her heavy breast. Taking her time to give each one equal attention, pinching her nipples every so often. The first brush of her middle digit against her hardened clit almost did it for her. She hadn’t realized how neglected her body had been.

Clinching her inner walls she swirled her middle finger and ring finger around in a circular motion over her pearl. Not wanting to undo the anticipation so quick she dipped the two fingers into her waiting center, pumping slowly while letting her mind wander to parts unknown. Her entire body was hot with need. Her heart was beating a mile a second as if it wanted to burst out of her chest to sooth the ache. Laying her hand flat as she continued to glide in and out of her box, the palm of her hand grazed her protruding clit with every movement.

So bad she wanted to stop to collect herself as to prolong her release but her hand had a mind of its own. Soon she was chasing the release with each pant, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling, face contorted like she was in pain. Then she saw stars as her body lifted off sending her soaring through the skies from a powerful release. What scared her to shit was the face she saw in her mind and the name she whispered. Shaking and pumping harder, faster to reach the goal line. Lifting a leg as if it were being held by the once faceless person, she triggered another. Riding her wave until it was nothing but a mere memory.

“Mark.” The realization of whose name she sighed was too much for her to handle. Sitting there in a daze for an unknown amount of time, she tried to come to terms of what it all meant.

The temperature her body had compared to the water was like night and day. Letting the water out, Danni dried off, and moisturized her body. Standing in front of the full length mirror she admired her body from top to bottom. In her opinion she wasn’t a bad looking woman. Although full-figured she was well proportioned. Donning on a pair of pajama shorts, a tank with a built in bra, and an oversized t-shirt. Her long locs were in a high pony-tail and footie socks with the little ball were on her feet.

Straightening up her bathroom while still listening to her music that was hooked up to her Bluetooth speaker, she was in her own little world. Thoughts of why the hell she called out Mark’s name of all the men she has ever been acquainted with was heavy on her mind. It was weird and very dangerous. Technically what she was experiencing was ‘captain save a hoe’ syndrome. Mark had swooped in saving her at her worst and she was fantasizing about the hero versus the dud for a change. That had to be it. It was an attractive male that didn’t treat her like an object, possession, or a child.

“SHIT!” Danni jumped ten feet in the air hearing the pool balls crack when she walked into the den area. She had absently walked down the hall not aware that she wasn’t alone anymore. The music could be heard clearly from her room so it was no wonder she didn’t hear anything.

“My bad baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Mark chuckled at her reaction. Danni was still trying to get control of her breathing.

“I didn’t know you were here.”

“Sorry. I thought you may have been in for the night. I was chilling listening to music.” Just then she realized her music was clashing with his that was playing lowly.

“Oh damn, I’m sorry. Let me turn that down.”

“Nah, you cool. When the door is closed you can’t hear anything. It’s a soundproof room.” Danni breathed a sigh of relief because he could have heard her intimate moment with herself if he had been there the whole time. Thank God for soundproofing. “I should have checked with you to let you know I was down here.”

“This is your house. Don’t be silly. You can be wherever you like.” ‘Even between my thighs’ Danni thought to herself. She scolded herself for thinking like that.