No One in the World (24 page)

“Don't be,” she said, softly. “I would be hurt if you didn't have that response.” Her lips were inches from his. This was the time, he told himself, but pulled out of the embrace. “I really think I should go, before I do something I regret.”

B
lac lay next to Cobi till the man's heartbeat started to slow and his body began to relax against the bed.

“That was amazing,” Cobi breathed, his eyes half open, an extremely content half smile on his face. “I so needed that.”

After leaving Cutty's empty-handed, Blac had been worried for his life, still not certain how things would go with Cobi. But lying there next to Cobi, Blac felt hopeful again. All he needed to do was continue to execute his plan to perfection.

“I'm glad I was able to help you, baby,” Blac said. He scooted over to Cobi and gave him a soft kiss. Blac knew he couldn't just come out and ask him for $150,000 just for laying the pipe, no matter how good it was. He would have to ease Cobi into the idea of giving him money. It would be a small amount at first. Blac would continue to give him the best sex he ever had, making himself more valuable in Cobi's eyes. Then each time Blac asked for money, the amount would increase and so would the intensity of the fucking.

In a week, Blac would tell him he needed the amount required, just in time to pay Cutty off. Cobi would probably hesitate at first. Blac would threaten to leave, take away all the good sex Cobi had grown accustomed to, then Cobi would break down and give up the money. Why wouldn't he? Money like 150K was nothing to Cobi.

Blac suddenly jumped out of bed and walked naked over to a window. He heard movement in the bed behind him, knew Cobi had probably lifted up and was staring at his ass. That was fine with Blac.

He pulled back one of the sheer curtains and looked out at the lake. “This room ain't no joke.” He turned around to face Cobi, who was sitting up in bed. “It must be nice living like you do.”

Cobi grinned but didn't say anything.

Blac walked back over to the bed and gave Cobi a kiss good-bye. “I really gotta be taking off.” Blac grabbed his jeans and slid into them. “The tow truck guy said—”

“Hold it. Tow truck? What are you talking about?” Cobi said, throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

“My damn car stopped a block from here. I called a tow truck to take it in and get it repaired, but I really wanted to see you, so I told them to come in a couple of hours.” Blac looked down at his watch. “I really should be going.” He made his way toward the door.

A moment later, Cobi was behind him, grabbing him by the arm. “Hold on. Are you going to be all right? Will the repairs be expensive?”

“I don't know,” Blac said. “It's something with the transmission, so I don't know. Nine hundred, maybe more. Why?”

Cobi reached into his suit jacket pocket. He opened his checkbook, jotted something on one of the checks, tore it out, and handed it to Blac. “Get it fixed. That should be enough, but let me know if it's not.”

Blac glanced down and saw that it was made out for $3,000. “I can't take this,” Blac said. “We just made love, and it makes me feel like you're paying me off or something.”

“Stop it. It's nothing like that. You need something, and I'm in the position to provide it. Is that so bad?”

“No. I guess not.”

“Good. Now you get out of here before you miss that tow. And like I said, don't hesitate if you need anything else.”

E
ntering the house, I heard the TV on in the family room, so I walked in that direction, hoping Eric was in there.

I was surprised to see Austen on the sofa, watching an episode of
American Idol
she had recorded.

She looked over her shoulder, then stood, as if having to formally greet me. “Hey, Cobi, I was just—”

“Sit down, sit down,” I said. “Sorry to interrupt your show.”

“No interruption,” Austen said, sitting again. “Just watching these kids sing for their lives, you know. You ever watch?”

“No. You ready for the fund-raiser tomorrow?” I said. I didn't really want to engage in a long conversation with her, which seemed wrong, considering I'd be married to her in just a week.

“Sure am. I love stuff like that.”

“Good.” I walked over to the sofa and sat down beside her.

She looked surprised.

“I need an honest answer, okay?”

Austen nodded her head.

“Are you okay with what's going on? This feels cruel to me, like we're abusing you in some way, but my sister seems to think that we're benefiting equally. This is the last time I'll ask, so now is the time to say something.
If you don't see yourself getting something out of this, I promise, I'll do my best to call this whole thing off.”

Austen looked at me, her eyes filled with both gratitude and sympathy. “Your sister's right. We're all coming out ahead. Let's just make the best of it, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

I stood outside Eric's door, wondering if this situation really was as simple as Austen saw it. Maybe it was. Hopefully it was. Time would tell, I told myself as I knocked on the door.

“Yeah,” I heard Eric say.

I stepped in. He was in bed, fully clothed, his shoes on, sitting up, two pillows behind his back. His legs were crossed and his hands were folded in his lap. He didn't appear to have been doing anything more than just sitting there, staring at the walls.

“I wanted to let you know I called Jessica's attorney, and he still hasn't gotten back to me.”

“Yeah, okay,” Eric said, not seeming to care.

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that. I'm going to bed.” I turned toward the door and was about to walk out.

“Cobi.”

“Yeah.”

“Who is the woman down the hall? And why haven't you let me meet her?”

“Oh, her name is Austen Greer. Sorry I haven't had a chance to mention her. It's a long story and—”

“It's okay. That stuff is probably none of my business anyway, right? I mean, why would I expect to know every little thing about you? This is your house, and you can do whatever you want in it.”

I knew that Eric was taking a shot at me for forcing him to tell me about his conviction. He felt he was being treated unfairly. But he was right about what he just said, and the situation was what it was.

“That's right,” I said, turned off by his ungrateful attitude. “This is my house, and you shouldn't expect to know everything about me or what goes on here.”

E
ric stood in the hallway outside Austen's door. He told himself it was wrong what he was about to do, but he knocked softly, keeping his eyes on Cobi's door.

The door opened, and Austen stood there wearing a sheer nightgown. Through the thin material Eric could plainly see the dark circles on her breasts, her nipples, standing plump and erect, and he could see the neatly cropped triangle of hair pointing to the place he wanted to be.

She stood in plain sight, not trying to hide behind the door or use her hands to cover herself. She confidently watched as Eric's eyes surveyed her body.

Pulling his gaze up from her beautifully manicured bare feet, he felt short of breath, knowing why he was there.

“What do you want, Eric?” Austen asked, as if she already knew.

“I don't know,” Eric said, all of a sudden at a loss.

“Yes, you do. Tell me.”

“Can I touch you?” Eric's eyes locked on Austen's. He saw her swallow hard, saw her chest inflate with a huge breath.

“Yes.”

He reached out, softly touched her face with the tips of his fingers. Her skin was so soft. He stepped closer to her, raised her face by her chin,
and stared wantonly at her full lips. They parted slightly, Austen biting down gently on the lower one.

“Can I kiss you?” Eric asked.

Austen nodded and slowly closed her eyes.

He leaned in, pressed his mouth to hers, carefully at first, but when he felt her tongue slip between his lips, he kissed her deeper.

She pressed her body into his, her hips grinding against his, as Eric pulled up Austen's gown, grabbed her firm, round, bare ass, then pulled out of the kiss. He baby-kissed her on her cheeks, her lips, and her neck, till he felt her pulse there speeding and pounding.

“Come into my room, before we get caught,” Austen said, breathless.

They stumbled inside. It had been years since Eric touched a woman in a sexual way. Now, this beautiful thing was standing in front of him, fumbling with the buckle of his belt with one hand, rubbing him through his jeans with the other. She undid the button, unzipped his pants, and took him out, her hand tightly around him, stroking him. It felt so wonderful, he thought he would explode that moment.

Lightheaded, he leaned away from her, took the bottom of her nightgown, and began to raise it.

Austen lifted her hands up, let Eric pull the gown up and over her head. She stood before him naked, her breasts full and round, her belly flat, her hips wide and curved.

It took every ounce of restraint for him to just stand there the few seconds he did without attacking her. Finally, he threw himself into her, his arm around her waist, lifting her off the floor, and kissing her deeply again. He carried her over to the king-size bed, lay her on the edge of it, threw her knees up, kneeled himself, then buried his face between her legs and lapped her juices.

Austen whipped her head from side to side, bit down on the knuckle of her fist to keep herself quiet, while pressing Eric's face further into her pussy.

She tasted as sweet as Eric imagined, and he knew what he was doing. Her clit was fat, and very sensitive, and Eric held it between his lips, sucked it gently while applying constant pressure to it with the tip of his tongue.

She moaned loudly, clawed at the back of his head, and then he felt her come.

“I want you,” he heard Austen say.

“I don't have a condom.”

“I do.”

Austen was up off the bed, and back, pressing the tiny package in his hand.

Eric quickly undressed, climbed on the bed, and kneeled between Austen's thighs, wearing the condom. He lowered himself onto her and carefully inserted himself into her warm, wet crease. He slid all the way in and knew, just fucking knew, he would not last.

Austen began to whisper in his ear, “Fuck me, fuck me, baby, fuck me.”

It was too much, and it felt too good.

She grabbed him, softly urging him deeper. He had never felt so hard, and sex had never felt so good. He tried pulling out. He was on the verge of losing himself. But she pulled him in further, clamped down around him, and slipped her wet tongue into his ear. He shut his eyes, grabbed hold tightly, and exploded.

B
lac snuck quietly into Theresa's dark house and closed the front door. He started toward the bedroom, when the light suddenly snapped on.

Startled, Blac saw Theresa standing before him with her hand on the switch. She wore a nightgown and a scarf around her hair.

“Where you been?”

“Working.”

“Working, doing what?”

Blac didn't want to lie to her, but she didn't have to know every move he made. “There are some really important things I gotta take care of, okay?”

“Like what?”

“Like whatever I say, okay? I say I'm working, all you gotta know is I'm doing that. Understand?”

Theresa stared right back at him but didn't respond.

“Do you understand?” Black said again.

“The talk we had the other night, that didn't mean nothing to you?”

Blac looked at Theresa as though she had only the sense of a child. “I ain't got time for this. I'm going to bed.”

A
fter work, Eric drove south down Lake Shore Drive toward Blac's house.

Going to a job, he felt like he'd never felt before—confident, responsible, and good about himself. Eric also knew that having that job would help him look better in the eyes of the judge who would decide whether or not he would keep his rights to see his little girl, and that made him feel even better.

But there was something pressing on his mind—last night. And that's why he needed to talk to Blac.

Neither of them had eaten, so after Eric picked him up, he treated them to some sliders at White Castle on Thirty-fifth Street. The two men walked leisurely down King Drive, pulling small burgers from a paper sack as they talked.

“I gotta kick Theresa to the curb,” Blac said. “I know we been together for years, and I'm livin' in her crib, driving her car, and all that shit, but if she think she gonna be crackin' the whip—”

“You love her?”

“What?” Blac asked, as though that possibility never crossed his mind.

“I said, do you love her?”

“Well . . . she cool, but . . .” Blac slid one of the burgers out of its cardboard box and took a bite, gesturing with it. “I mean, sometimes she can be all right. I guess you might could say I love her sometimes.”

“She met you when you got out of prison, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“She be setting out that ass, too, don't she?”

“Yeah, Theresa don't have no problem putting out,” Blac said, wiping mustard from the corner of his mouth.

“And what she asking for in return?”

“Dude, last night she was askin' me where I been, and she talkin' about one day she wanna get married, and I should be doing more around the house and—”

At a red light intersection, Eric stopped walking. “So you sayin', because you don't wanna tell her where you going, you gonna kick your girl to the curb?”

Blac tried to reach for another burger, but Eric snatched the bag back and crumpled the top together in his fists. “Answer the question first, Blac.”