Chapter 86

I smile in victory as I stare at the pregnancy test in my hand. Negative. Oh mercies. I can’t believe Mia wants me to be pregnant. I mean she’s got Kennedy for now and I’m not ready for one. I’m too young for that and plus Gray doesn’t even want a baby. I get rid of the two pt which I used just to be sure as I wash my hands.

Maybe I’m just getting the flu or the food doesn’t match my stomach. I look at my reflection and walk back to the gathering. People are already dancing and Gray is having a conversation with Damon. Both of them glaring at each other as they talk. I see Mia with Antonio as they dance. Samara is talking with a friend. She had to scowl at me when Mia went to collect PT from her. She got those in her bag. So weird. Gray looks my way and walks out on Damon. Damon raises his glass of wine to his lips and looks at me.

” You’re okay?”

” Yeah.”

” My mom gave you a PT.”

I sigh and roll my eyes. Gray wraps his arms around my waist and walks me out of the gathering and to a room. It’s a bedroom. It looks like the one Mia took me to the first time but it’s quite different. My feet ache so I step out of my shoes.

” Are you pregnant?” He asks and shuts the door.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms.

” I’m not. Maybe I’m stressed or the food. It was negative.”

He lets out a deep breath of relief and pulls me to himself.

” Tinkerbell…” he says softly as he looks down at me. His grey eyes lock with mine as it falls to my lips. His arms stay around my waist as he rubs small circles on the small half of my back.

” We don’t want a baby now.” He states. I also don’t want a baby now , but hearing it from Gray makes me feel a tinge of sadness.

What if I accidentally get pregnant? Is he gonna ask me to get rid of it?

” I know.” I say, trying to sound calm.

He sighs and smiles.” I wanna walk you down the aisle first before we should think about getting a baby. Don’t see it the bad way. I want a baby with you, a son and a daughter. But it can’t be now.” He says.

I had hope all of a sudden. He wants a baby with me. But not now. He wants us to get married first. I don’t even know about marriage. I know he doesn’t know about marriage either. Getting pregnant now is gonna be a distraction. For Christ’s sake he’s in the mob. One of the reasons I can’t get pregnant. I nod once and look up at him. He takes my lip by surprise as he kisses me. He kisses my bottom lip with so much passion and I kiss back. I wrap my arms around his waist and let my eyes flutter shut on their own. His hands grips around my waist and he lifts me off the ground so my legs are wrapped around his waist.

He turns around so that I’m leaning against the door. I run my hand through his hair and let our tongues glide against each other. I moan in his mouth as his lips claim mine. He tastes like champagne and I like it. Gray’s right hand seduces my thighs as he caresses my thighs right to my hip. He loop his finger around the lacey panties as he proceeds to take it down my thighs. He stops and opens his eyes to stare into mine.

” There’s a party out there. If you don’t mind.”

I chuckle and shake my head. Mia won’t mind right? But it’s her birthday. He drops me on my feet with his hands still around my waist. He tucks my hair behind my ear and kisses me again. His left hand cup my cheek as we kiss. We stop and pull away to look into each other’s eyes. His forehead leans against mine as he looks right into my eyes.

” I love you, you should never forget that.” He mutters.

” And I love you too.” I tell him.

He smiles and kisses my forehead as we walk out of the room.

” Are we going back today?”

” No. Till dawn. That’s why it’s a yacht party and right now this ship is moving. We’re in the middle of nowhere.” He says.

” No way.”

He chuckles and walks me to the deck. The outside is cold and he’s right. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Blue dark waters surround the environment since it’s already nightfall. I lean my arms on the railing as I stare at the dark night. I’d like to take a tour before going back to New York. Gray looks deep in thoughts as he stares afar.

” Why did you have to fight with Damon?” I ask him.

I hear the faint sound of music from down the deck. Gray sighs as he looks at me.

” He’s a dick and really annoying sometimes. He always likes to blame me I was the reason he went to rehab.”

” But that wasn’t really your fault.”

He shrugs.” Maybe I’m partly at fault. I mean dad’s a mob boss’s right hand man. He smuggled drugs and his younger son likes the job. And then his older son wanted to try some and he ended up as an addict. Thank God for rehab.”

” That’s still not your fault. He liked it and wanted to try it.” I say and look back at the waters.

“Are you happy he’s back?”

” Yeah. Mom is happy , I have to be happy that she’s happy. Nobody enjoys the loss of a family. So…” he shrugs again.” I’m happy.” He looks back at me as our eyes meet.

” Are you cold?” He motions to my dress.

” I’m fine. Thanks.”

” What’s up with Samara?” I ask him.

He scoffs.” We attended the same high school. Never knew my mom was ever gonna marry her dad.”

” And you had sex with her?” I ask. I hate to think he slept with Samara too. I’ve seen too much of his ex’s slash sluts.

” No. She had a crush on me and Damon too. I think they had sex. Don’t even care. Don’t forget she’s a blondie. That’s like a total turn off for me.”

I laugh. That’s kinda funny. He’s one of the few people I have seen who likes girls for their hair color.

” What’s with you and Blondie’s?”

He looks at me and bites his bottom lip. Damn that’s always kinda cute.

” I don’t know. It’s like a trait. My dad doesn’t like blonde’s either. They barely attract me.” He says. ” Just like when most girls don’t like short guys. It’s the same thing as the hair stuff.”

I chuckle and nod. I tap my fingers on the railing.

” Do you think your mom would be worried about us?”

” Nah. She’s got Damon. She will be fine.”

I nod and sigh. My mind drifted to the day Gray gave me a promise ring. That scares me each time I remember his words.

” Why did you give me that promise ring, Gray?”

He stays quiet for seconds and even minutes before looking my way. His grey eyes sparkle at night. One thing I loved about those eyes of his.

” For a man who’s got snipers pointing at his head 24/7, I think his girlfriend needs a promise ring. To always remember that no matter what happened, he’s gonna come for her. And death can’t take her away from him.”

Damn that got my heart.

He’s gonna leave me one day. The thoughts of him leaving or even getting shot churns my stomach and I hate to think about it. I can’t lose him. He made me realize I can be loved. He treats me like a Queen. And the way he looks at me , I can trade the world for him to never stop looking at me like that. If he leaves me , then I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. I don’t say a word but swallow. I can’t look at him or I’m gonna rain down my pending tears.

I feel his arms around my waist as he leans his head on my shoulder. I feel him smile against my neck and he bites my earlobe. He’s trying to get me out of my moody situation.

” I’m not gonna die, if that’s what you’re thinking. No one’s gonna take you away from me.” He says and kisses my neck.

” I’m just thinking about what you’re gonna look like with a tattoo on your neck.” He says.

I giggle and look at him from my shoulder.

” Maybe I’m gonna think about that too.” I say and we laugh.

He rests his chin on my head and secure his arms around my waist.

” You always look beautiful.” He says. ” And I badly wanna take this dress off of you.”

I blush and bite my bottom lip. He’s making me hotter in every corner and I can’t wait anymore. He kisses my temple to my neck as I moan. I turn around to face him and he kisses me at once. I kiss back and grip to his suit jacket.

” Let’s take this off.” He says in between the kiss tugging at the hem of my dress.

” Aye aye captain.”

***

We hastily shut the door without our lips separating from our desperate make out. I struggle with his jacket and shrug it out of his body. I fondle with the buttons of his dress shirt as we kiss. He runs his fingers up my thighs to the inside of my dress. He grips my booty and I moan in his mouth. I’m still stuck with the second button since we aren’t breaking out from our intense make out.

He helps me with his buttons as he uncuffs the buttons on his wrist. I quickly help him out of his shirt as we go back to kissing. My hands roam his body as I feel each muscles and abs. Damn, who made this man. I run my fingers down his body as I remove his belt and toss it away. He grips my zipper and zips it down. He stops kissing as his eyes watch mine. He slides the strap down my shoulders and I let it fall to the ground. I step out of my dress as he looks down at my body. I’m braless just with panties. Thong for that matter.

He kisses me again and cups my boob in one hand. I moan in his mouth when his hands slide down my spine to grope my butt. He kisses my neck to my shoulder blade and down my chest. He looks up at me as he circles his lips around my already hard nipple. I moan out his name and run my fingers through his hair. He loops his fingers around the waistline of my panties and pulls it down my hips. He kisses my other boob and slides his tongue on my nipple.

He kisses my cleavage down my stomach as I watch him squat to my lower self still holding my panties. He pulls it down my ankle and I step out of it. His arms settle around my hips as he kisses me all over. He stands up to tower over me and lifts me off the ground. His hands grips to my butt as we walk to the bed. He kisses me and lie me on the bed. He holds my thighs and pulls me to the edge of the bed so that he’s kneeling in between my legs.

He kisses my inner thigh, a slow treacherous pace that made me more wetter. He kisses my other inner thigh close to my entrance as I grip to the sheets anticipating the feeling. His tongue slides up my slit and I curse. This feels too good. He reaches to grab my boob as he eats me out. I squirm and moan as I throw my head back on the sheets. I lean on my elbows and squirm against his mouth while my fingers run through his hair.

” Oh god…” I moan and bite my bottom lip.

He licks my walls and lets his thumb rub circles around my nerves. My fingers tug on his hair as I throw my head back and await my orgasm. I moan and cuss till my stomach twitches and I cum undone. Gray stands on his feet and unbutton his pants. I help him with the zipper and he tugs it down. He undresses himself and lay me back down on the bed. My legs parts to welcome him and he leans down to kiss me again.

I wrap my arms around his neck as he penetrates me. I feel my walls stretch to accommodate him and I moan in his mouth.

” Fuck…” he cusses in between the kiss.

He pulls back again and ram back inside me. We break from the kiss as he locks eyes with me. I moan and cuss and moan his name at each strokes he takes. He kisses my neck again making sure to leave love bites on my skin. My hands wander his body as he thrusts in and out of me. I run my fingers down his back as he looks at me. Every feeling I feel about him makes me hotter.

Gray moans my name at each thrust and he increases his pace. He kisses me one last time till we both climax. I catch my breath as he smiles at me. He breathes in and out as he stays still inside me. He finally pulls out and crashes next to me. He covers our body with the comforter and pulls me to him. I lay on my side and watch him. He rubs circles on my back and kisses my forehead.

” I love you so much.” He tells me.

I wrap my arms around his torso and raise my head to kiss his lips.

” I love you.” I tell him back.

I snuggle into his arms around my waist and close my eyes. He caresses my hair as I listen to his heartbeat. I breathe and start to drift off to sleep before I hear him mutter.

” Even if Sinclair turns out to be your father and he doesn’t want us to be together. Then I don’t mind hurting him again to keep you…”

Chapter 87

I blink my eyes and look down at this tatted arm around my waist. I look at my side and Gray’s innocent face sleeps next to me. He holds me like I am gonna fall off or probably get kidnapped by some kidnappers. I turn to lay on my side as Gray’s hand absently slides down my waist and stops right on my butt.

My head lay on his other arm like a pillow and my leg is in between his. We’re both still bare , barely covered by the white covers. I can’t believe we sneak out of Mia’s party to come have sex. I run my hand down Gray’s bed hair as he squirms. I kiss his forehead and carefully unwrap his arms around me. I need a bath and I need to brush my teeth.

I carefully slip my foot from between Gray’s. I turn to get out of the bed but a strong tatted arm pulls me back as I let out a loud giggle. Gray presses a light kiss at my nape and then my shoulder.

” Sneaking out?” He asks and kisses my neck again.

” No. I wanna take a bath and brush my teeth. And plus you’re getting a hard-on.”

He chuckles against my skin and purposely pulls me closer to his front to feel him properly.

” Like that?” He taunts seductively and bites my shoulder blade.

” Gray, it’s early.” I whine and try to pry his arms off of me.

He turns me around so I’m facing him and run his other hand through my hair. His other hand lay on my hips as he slides it down to my butt.

” Good morning?”

I smile.” Good morning.”

I feel his fingers run through my body as he kisses me. He bites my bottom lip when I don’t kiss back. I giggle in his mouth and kiss him back. He grabs my waist and lays on his back so I’m straddling him. His hands curl around my waist as we kiss. He groans between the kiss when I absently grind on his erection. I chuckle and peck his lips before climbing off the bed.

” What am I gonna wear? It’s morning?” I ask, looking at our clothes on the floor.

” Wear mine.” He says covering his body with the covers.

I smile and chuckle deeply as I walk to the bathroom. I shut the door and take a deep breath. I look around the sink for a toothbrush that hasn’t been used. I see one inside it’s pack as I tear it out. I spread toothpaste on the brush and look up at my reflection.

” Gray…” I smile at my reflection on the mirror. Hickeys around my neck and collarbone and it’s so obvious. I don’t even have a makeup bag or whatever to cover this. My eyes roam down my stomach at my bullet injury that’s already healing.

I rinse off my toothbrush and take a bath. I walk out of the shower and clean my wet self. I keep back the towel and go back to the cabin. Gray’s still tucked in bed with the duvet covering just his lower self. I smile and run my fingers down my damp hair. I put on my panties and pick up his black dress shirt. I button the dress and it drops almost close to my knees. So much for being petite. I roll up the sleeves and walk out through the door.

If I had known we’re staying till dawn, I should have packed and prepared for it. I look around the boat and it seems everyone’s sleeping because no one’s around. I decide to check on Mia and apologize for sneaking out of her party with her son to have sex. And she’s not even aware I’m negative.

” Ooh, look who’s awake.” Mia’s voice speaks from behind me.

I turn around and she’s holding two mugs of coffee with steam fuming all over.

” I made this for you.” She says, giving me one.

” Thanks.” I take it and smile at her.

She looks down at the dress I’m wearing and chuckles.

” That looks good on you.” She says and begins walking and motions for me to follow her.

I chuckle at her hilarious compliment. I know I look weird wearing Gray’s dress shirt with no shoes or slippers.

” Is he awake?”

” Still sleeping.”

” Oh. Pretty great job you did on him.” She smirks as we walk up the deck.

Oh God. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop me from smiling.

” It’s fine. I looked around and my son and his girlfriend were missing. I knew you might need privacy.” We walk up the deck as the sea breeze blows my hair. I tuck my hair behind my ear and bite my bottom lip.

I smile and look around as I gulp the coffee. We’re close to the port because I can see it from here.

” Are your guests gone?” I ask and sip the coffee again till it’s almost done.

” Yeah.”

” Thought we were in the middle of nowhere.” I say.

She chuckles and nods.

” Most of them lived in Canada here and we dropped them off. Decide to float a little while longer before going back to shore again. How did you sleep? Good?” She asks.

I nod with a smile.

” I totally forgot I was in a boat.” I chuckle and she chuckles too.

I look back at the waters and consume my entire coffee.

” So how did you find out he was in the mob?” Mia asks out of the blue.

My breath almost caught up against my throat. I sigh and tuck my strands of hair behind my ear as we lean our elbows on the railing of the ship.

” It was… uh, I got kidnapped by a Russian drug kingpin. He wanted me as bait to get at Gray. He told me Gray was in the mafia.”

” Did you believe him at that instant?” Mia asks. I nod.

” I’ve seen him pull out a gun before.” I tell her.

She sighs and looks back at the water.

” I…” she starts and sighs again.” It’s a dangerous world my dear. I was also like you too. Naive, young and full of life. I found out through Damon. He was taking drugs and I was shocked. We don’t have a druggie in our family and I was kinda surprised how he ended up taking drugs. I confronted Vince and he decided to explain things to me. I threatened to leave him. Did you do the same?”

I chuckle sadly and nod.” We went apart for a week.”

” A weak? You’re a really good girl. I left for almost three months. That was after i sent Damon to rehab. I thought I was gonna lose my son. I came back to him three months later after I realized I can’t leave without him.” She sighs deeply.” The mob is deadly , you know that right?”

I nod again.

” And you can’t walk out of it. You’re just gonna end up dying useless. I thought Gray was gonna be a doctor. Things changed when he started getting into fights.” She laughs and I chuckle. That’s kinda funny.

” He told you he got kicked out of school right?” Mia asks and I chuckle.

” Yeah. Multiple times. He was really stubborn I think.”

” Very. He was like his father and they were a great pair.” She stays silent and stares at the water. I think she just thought about how Mr Carter died.

” He was shot. Right on the head. I was scared and confused and I really didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t even catch the killer. I even suspected Sinclair too. They were all deadly men. I thought Gray would use that opportunity and focus on life and school, he left the city to focus more on the mob. Something I didn’t want for him.”

” I’m really sorry Mia.”

She chuckles sadly and wipes her tears.” It’s fine. I shouldn’t bore you with sad stories. I just want you to be careful. He might be my son but I want you to be careful and be watchful. The game is really dangerous.”

I smile and nod.

Yeah , I’m in love and I don’t even know what I’m gonna do to myself if Gray isn’t part of my life.

It’s kinda sad, she didn’t know her son killed her husband.

That’s really absurd and sad.

” Enough of sad stories. How many months?” she asks giddily.

How many months?

Months like what.. wait , she thinks I’m pregnant. I widen my eyes and she smiles widely. No way.

” Mia , I’m not pregnant.”

Her smile falters as she blinks her eyes.

” You’re not!”

” It was negative. Plus , Gray and I don’t want a baby.”

She crosses her arms and looks at me like I’m a statue.

” No way. I thought something was coming. A baby would have made Gray serious with his life. You should give him one.”

” Mia, I wish I could. I’m in college and I can’t really handle one right now.”

She smiles and nods.

” I understand. You’re probably too young to have a baby. I’m already imagining you with a baby bump.”

I laugh and shake my head. Hell no. A stewardess walks up the deck and we give her the mug.

” Hey Mom.” Damon walks in and hugs Mia with one hand and he kisses her hair. Mia smiles and taps her son’s back. He’s wearing just his white dress shirt and pants.

” Good morning son.”

Damon turns to look at me as he looks me down. I get it bro , I look hilarious with an oversized dress shirt. I should have tied it.

” Hi.” I greet him with a smile.

He nods. ” Hi. Gray is still sleeping?”

” Yeah.” I reply him.

” What? You miss me already?” I hear Gray’s voice ask.

We dart our head to the end of the railing and there he is, lighting a stick. He pulls it out after inhaling it as he puffs out the smoke before looking at us. He’s shirtless, and his tattoed body is so irresistible.

” Really son. You don’t have to smoke now. How come you haven’t ended up with lung cancer before.” Mia scolds Gray.

” Really mom. I’m fine and nothing’s wrong with me.” He sighs and turns to look at me.

” Hey babe.” He winks at me with the cigarette between his lips.

I chuckle.

Damon scoffs and walks back inside the ship.

” Gray, toss the stick away, please.” Mia says.

” But why should I do that?” Gray asks.

” Gray, toss it away. A day without smoking won’t kill you.” I smirk and cross my arms.

He holds out the stick and looks between me and Mia. He huffs and tosses it inside the water.

” That’s the son I gave birth to.” Mia smiles and leaves.

Gray looks down at me as I shift from one foot to another. I tuck my hair and look up at him. He’s making me shy.

” Come on , babe. I won’t eat you.” He smirks and I walk to him.

He holds the hem of his shirt I’m wearing and chuckles.

” Are you this tiny?” He asks, still chuckling as he pulls me to him with the hem of his shirt.

He wraps one hand around my waist and runs his other hand on my hair.

” Were you gonna throw it away? The cigarette?”

” No.”

” Then why did you?” I ask him as I look up at him.

” My mom and those eyes of yours. I feel like falling over the rails.”

I bite my bottom lip and chuckle.

” I have a surprise for you once we leave the country.”

” Really?”

He nods and leads me back inside the ship.

” I’m starving and I know you’re starving too.” He says as we walk inside.

***

We had breakfast with the family as we talked. Samara was always flirting with Damon. I mean she kinda forgets the fact that Damon is like her half brother. We got dressed and Mia won’t stop hugging me and telling me to always take care of Gray. Of course I will. He’s like my little baby.

We bade them goodbye and entered the already awaiting car. Damon didn’t leave. Probably he’s got something to settle and he needs to bond with his mom.

” Can we tour?” I ask Gray on our way to his private jet.

” We’ll come back another time. I promise.” He curls one hand around my waist and pulls me to him and presses a kiss on my forehead.

” Have you ever thought about moving out of your apartment?” He asks as he turns to look at me.

Yeah. Especially those days when Leslie would bully me and make me feel less of myself. I really want an apartment of my own or a space of my own.

” Yeah. Kinda. Wait! You want me to move in with you?” I ask him and turn to look at him on my seat.

” Something wrong with that?”

I chuckle deeply and cross my arms. I look out the window and bite my bottom lip. I am not trying to risk that. Gray laughs and shakes his head.

” What?” I chuckle and turn to look at him.

” Nothing.” He assures me and intertwine our hands together.

” We’re gonna come back here soon I promise.” He says. I smile and nod.

I rest my head on his shoulder and shut my eyes.

****

After the long jet trip we arrived in New York. I ask Gray to drop me off at my apartment because I need to change my clothes. And plus he said he had a surprise for me. I shut the door once I’m inside and look around the house. Leslie walks out of her room to the living room. She smiles when she sees me.

” Hey. Heard you visited Canada.” Leslie says.

I smile.” Yeah. Just got back. I’m really tired. How have you been?” I ask her and look down at her baby bump that’s pretty obvious on her baggy t-shirt.

” I’m great.” She sighs and rubs her belly.

” Have you been feeding great?” She walks round the couch and sits down.

” Thanks , Ariel. I’m pretty great myself. I’ve just been thinking too much lately. The rent, and yoga money. I don’t even have a job. I need to start buying things. I just hate myself.”

I sigh and sit next to her. Talking about jobs, I owe Theodore Sterling an explanation. He won’t get angry that much considering the fact he owes Gray over 50 million. That’s a whole lot of money. I rub my hand down Leslie’s ponytail and hug her carefully because of her baby bump.

” You’re gonna be fine, I promise you okay. You have to be strong for her. She needs you the most and you also need you the most.” I pull away from the hug and pat her cheek. She nods and chews on her lip.

” You should forget about the rent. I’ll handle that.” Considering the fact Gray owns this place, and it’s really expensive, I’m definitely gonna talk him into letting Leslie stay here and not pay a dime.

Leslie pulls me to a hug after telling her I would handle the rent. She cries in my arms as I pat her hair.

” It’s okay , Les. We’re sisters , we’re supposed to look out for each other.” I smile as we disengage from the hug.

” Thank you very much.”

” It’s okay. You used the money I sent you, right?”

She nods and smiles.” Thank you for that. It went a long way.”

” I’m barely with cash, so I’ll transfer another. You need it.”

She hugs me again as I breathe out.

” Thank you very much , Ariel. I can’t stop thanking you. I’m really grateful.” She mumbles as we pull away.

” It’s okay. Heard from Mom?”

She sighs and shakes her head. I nod and flash her a small smile as I pick up my bag.

” I need to freshen up and change my clothes.” I say to Leslie as I stand up.

” Sure. You’re hungry? I wanna make something.”

” Okay.” I giggle and walk down the hallway to my room.

Leslie needs a family and a friend. And moving out is gonna make her more lonely and depressed. I drop my bag on my bed and strip. I head to the bathroom and take a bath. It’s almost evening and I’m really tired. I get out of the bathroom after cleaning myself. I put on a t-shirt and cotton shorts as I pick up my phone to text Gray that I’m fine and also tell Alexa, Brandon and Piper that I’m back.

I go back to the living room to assist Leslie in the kitchen. The doorbell chimes loudly as I huff.

” Don’t worry Les, I’ll get it.” I shout and walk to the door.

I twist the doorknob and open the door for my guest. I narrow my eyes at the visitor. I never expect her to show up anytime soon. Considering the fact that Leslie is pregnant and she despises her after cutting her off the family’s name. Her face holds no emotions as she stares back at me.

” Mom.”

” We need to talk.”

Chapter 88

” We need to talk…”

I blink my eyes at her as she walks in.

” Ariel, who’s at the door?” Leslie asks and peeks her head out to the living room. She freezes when she sees mom.

” Mom.” Leslie mutters.

My mom sighs and looks around our house.

” Ariel, where’s your room?” She asks.

” Everything okay?”

” No. Now where’s your room?” She asks and stalks down the hallway.

I follow behind her and point to my room. She opens it and we enter. I shut the door behind her and lean against it as I cross my arms.

” I’ve been calling you for over a week now. You didn’t respond to any of my calls.” Mom starts.

” Probably because I didn’t see any calls.”

” Where did you go? I came here almost a week ago to check on you guys and Leslie told me you went on a trip. What type of trip?”

I sigh.” Mom, I went on a trip to Hawaii with Gray that week. And this past weekend we visited Canada for Mia’s birthday. Why are you here mom?”

” Mia’s birthday? You’ve seen Mia?”

” Yeah. And she’s extremely nice and not judgemental despite the fact that she dated dad. I told her about it and she didn’t even freak out.” I snarl at mom.

” Why did you choose to follow Gray?”

She’s beginning to piss me off.” Maybe because we’re in a relationship and I see nothing wrong in accompanying my partner to see his mom.”

” Ariel, you need to quit this.”

” And why should I do that?”

” Maybe because he’s too dangerous and you’re gonna get hurt. Can’t you think?”

I chuckle deeply and glare at her.” Oh so you know he’s in the mob right?” I question, as she widens her eyes.

She looks at me with surprise as she finds it hard to speak.

” Mom, who told you? Why didn’t you even tell me? Why do you even want me to quit my relationship with Gray just to please you?”

” Ariel, you’re gonna get hurt. I didn’t know he was part of a mob. I found out through someone.”

” Who’s that someone?”

” Mia told your father the reason she left her husband was because he was a mobster. Eventually he died. She told your dad.”

” If you don’t get out of it , they are gonna kill you. And you’re weak Ariel. You can’t fight for yourself and you’re just gonna end up as a burden to your so-called lover. I won’t stand and watch the son of a woman who destroyed my marriage to destroy your life in the name of love. Why don’t you walk out when you have the chance. The mob isn’t something you try to live with. Mia couldn’t. Nobody can, I can’t watch them take away your life like it’s a toy. Why don’t you do what’s right and make a good decision for once.” Mom says calmly. She should be yelling by now.

” I can’t.”

” Of course you can and you will.”

” Mom, don’t tell me what to do.”

” I’m not telling you what to do. I’m telling you what a real parent is definitely gonna tell their kid who thought it’s nice to start sleeping with someone in the Mafia. They are gonna start using you as bait to hurt Gray. You might be lucky because you didn’t get hurt , but you know the ugly truth , you won’t be lucky all the days of your life.”

I stay quiet and bite my bottom lip. If I should look at the bright side , mom’s right. Sinclair even lost his wife slash mistress because of a crazy fight. Gray’s mom was just extremely lucky. Maybe she even traveled out of the country. But I’m already way past that bridge, and I can’t come back to start thinking about a decision that I’ve already decided on. I can’t leave Gray. We’ve already gone far with this and I’m not turning back.

” Mom, it’s already too late. I’m already deep in this. Leaving him is not a choice. Almost every single Mafiosos knows me as Gray’s girlfriend. Leaving him will change nothing. They are still gonna come after me if they want to.”

” No honey , they won’t. Don’t be stupid because of love. If you even care about your parents , you shouldn’t have thought about being in a relationship with Gray despite their family’s bad reputation.”

” Mom, stop okay. I get it , I understand everything, but I’m not leaving Gray.”

She narrows her eyes at me as she walks toward me. She stops in front of me and smirks.

” These are one of the reasons I wanted you to be a sister in church. Falling in love with some crackhead and living wayward. Why can’t my kids show good examples for once. Look at Leslie, pregnant for her stupid professor and she’s already dropping out of college cause she’s fuckin pregnant. And you , I thought you would be different, make us proud and live better , hell no. You decided to date a tatted drug dealer and a crackhead. What’s wrong with you both? What happened to the ‘you’ who wants to be a nun. The ‘you’ who would never sleep with a drug dealer and smuggler.”

I bite my bottom lip to keep me from crying as I take one step so we’re looking at each other eye to eye.

” You broke that ‘you’ mom. You looked down on that ‘you’ and treated her like she was a piece of garbage. You bullied me as a parent. You know what you did. My decisions don’t ever matter. Each time I tell the truth, you always don’t wanna believe me. You were busy comparing me to Leslie. Reminding me each day how she’s better than me. Now what? Your precious Leslie got pregnant and you’re here trying to make me look bad because I’m in love with someone who never judged me. Who loved me like I’m the only girl in the world. I should leave him because of your selfish reasons? You know I won’t. Stop wasting your breath.” I tell her.

She doesn’t say a word but just stares.

” Who’s Sinclair mom?”

She freezes and suddenly she turns pale.

” Who told you about Sinclair?” She asks.

” Maybe because I’ve met him too. There are rumors going around that I’m his daughter. What do you have to say about that?” I ask and cross my arms.

” I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She says in a rush.

” Mom, you know what I’m talking about. If I find out he’s related to me in one way or another I will never forgive you.”

I open my room door and walk out leaving her behind.

***

” So Leslie, how’s it – being a mom?” Mom asks Leslie.

Leslie looks down and avoids my mother’s gaze.

” I can tell it’s terrible considering your lack of voice. I hope you learn your lessons and teach them to your baby.” Mom looks my way as she walks to me.

” I might not be a great mom but i made sure I did my best. You know Gray isn’t good for you and he’s just gonna hurt you.” She whispers and opens the front door and leaves.

” You’re okay?” Leslie asks.

” Yeah. I should be asking you that too. Are you okay?”

She nods.” Yeah. I’m good.”

I sigh.

She smiles and stands up.” Come on, let’s go eat.” She says and I smile.

Who knew she could be sweet like this?

~GRAY~

” Maybe you should shut up and let me teach you how to aim. You’re the worst shooter I’ve ever seen.” Manny tells Nick as he aims at the targets.

I chuckle and lean on the rails of my balcony and look down at the guys. I light a cigarette and rub my temple as I inhale the stick. My phone rings.

” Speak.”

” Gray.”

” Yes?”

” I’ve seen one. It’s pretty and well designed. She might like it.”

” Hmm…”

” Distance from her school? Is it that far?”

” Not really. And it’s kinda expensive.” Kinda expensive. Nothing should be kinda expensive for her. She deserves it. And I’m willing to get her anything within my power to make her happy.

” How much.”

” Fifteen million.”

” Mmm…” I pull out the stick and puff out the smoke.

” Send a picture of it to me. We’ll come check it out later.”

” Sure thing boss.”

I hang up and keep back my phone inside my pocket.

” Nick , what the fuck!” I yell at Nick who finds it hard to make a perfect target. I can’t believe he can’t shoot real good.

” I’m sorry boss.”

” I thought you shot really well? Who recruited you in the first place?”

” Damn. You did. I can shoot , just not good with far range. Manny is just exaggerating things.” He mutters.

I roll my eyes and watch them.  Nick reloads the gun and aims at the plastic cans. He pulls the trigger and shoots them out but misses one. Ariel wasn’t even that terrible.

” Gray.” I turn around to see Reid. He leans against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. I raise my brows at him.

” Damon’s here.”

What the fuck. I thought he wasn’t coming back from Canada anytime soon.

” Isn’t he supposed to be dead? Dude went MIA right?” He asks.

” Yeah, yeah. He’s back. Showed up at my mom’s birthday like he was Jesus. Where the fuck is he?”

” Downstairs.”

I drop the half smoked stick on the ashtray and walk out of my room. I climb down stairs and he’s right there. Standing and observing my house like a goddamn CIA. He looks at the boys in every corner , most of them with guns. Spencer and Drake thought it’s nice to sniff coke in my house.

” What the fuck Is all of this?” Damon asks once I get down the last stairs.

Spencer raises his coke face to look at Damon like he’s just seeing my lost older brother.

” Take that shit out of here. Why would you fuckin do that in my fuckin house?” I ask Spencer and Drake.

” Sorry boss.”

He’s high as fuck. They pick up the other packet and the dollar bill as they saunter away. I motion for Damon to follow me and we walk out of the living room to the backyard where Nick had been giving terrible aiming and wasting my bullets.

” Hi Damon.” Reid greets him and walk past us.

” You’re still in this?” He asks like he’s a fuckin saint.

” What’s your shit old man? Are you here to ask me if I’m still in the mob?”

” Gray coke. Those crackheads of yours were sniffing coke.”

” Am i supposed to give a fuck? Why are you here Damon?”

” How come the cops aren’t on your tail yet?”

I chuckle and shake my head. Of course they won’t dare. Except they don’t value their jobs anymore.

” Why are you still doing this? Wealth? I thought you graduated from college? How did you even do that?”  He asks and looks around my property.

” Damon what the fuck do you want?”

” You shouldn’t talk to me like that, Gray. You’re just acting like a sick fuck right now.”

I bite my bottom lip and chuckle quietly.

” I’m here because of Kennedy.”

” I don’t have her, you of all people should know that.”

” Does she normally come here?”

” Yeah. Two weeks in, two weeks out.”

” And she sees all of this? The drugs, the guns, and you smoke in front of her too?”

” Bro, we don’t do coke here and yes she has seen me smoking and shooting a fuckin’ gun. What?”

” Why would you do that in the presence of my daughter? Gray, she’s young and knows nothing. You had to rub your bad habit on her. What the fuck is wrong with you Gray? Because she’s not yours?” What!

” Seriously Damon. What is your shit! Because she saw me smoke or see my men shoot a gun? This a fuckin’ Mafia house for fuck’s sake. I paid your daughter’s fees, you idiot. I took her as mine and I looked after her when you weren’t even there. Now you’re trying to go all hulk and get angry because of guns? What the fuck is your problem? Maybe I should break it to you , she even wants to shoot a damn gun.”

Manny and Nick stop shooting as they stare at us. Reid included.

” Get the fuck out of here. Both of you.” I point to Manny and Nick.

They nod and walk out one after the other. Reid walks to stand in between the two of us.

” Calm down , Dame. You’re taking this far. Gray was a good dad even when her mother was a bitch. Forget the gun part , it’s in her blood. She liked it. And also you shoot guns too. You were a soldier and in the army.” Reid says.

Damon glares at me and looks away.

” You’re taking me to Jhene. I need to see her.”

” Is that like an order?” I ask Damon.

” Gray, you’re gonna take me to her. I need to see Kennedy.”

” I won’t. Except if you drop your big brother act, and talk like a normal person.”

Reid rolls his eyes.

” Really Gray?”

” Yes. And i will be inside when you’re ready. And one more thing.” I stop and turn to look at him.

” Don’t think about going against me to talk shit about my business to anyone. I will kill you Damon and I won’t even blink.” I tell him and walk inside.

***

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Driving this fucker in the form of my brother. He’s always annoying. Controlling and annoying again. How dare he judge me after everything I did for him? So ungrateful. I can’t even imagine Kennedy’s reaction when she sees him. She doesn’t even know what her daddy looks like. I bet she sees me as her daddy despite calling me by my name.

” Was that a threat?” Damon asks as I ignore him. He’s always talking and he’s trying to piss me the fuck up.

” I wasn’t threatening you Damon. I would fuckin kill you if you try to act good citizen. Fucker.”

I took my father out because he was a rat and Damon is trying to test me. He knows I would do it and I won’t even care as much as blink. I put so much effort to get to the point I am today. And a crazy fuck called a brother won’t take that away from me.

” The fact that you’re rich doesn’t give you a right to threaten people.”

I chuckle and stop for a red light. I turn to look at Damon and smirk.

” I wouldn’t go back to the military if I were you. Cause you suck. Quit talking about my business and mind yours. That’s if you have any.” I scoff and resume driving.

I park my car in the parking lot and get out. Jhene lives in a penthouse in Buffalo. That’s like a long drive for me. We enter the elevator once it arrives. I lean against the transparent walls of the elevator and i was grateful Damon didn’t start a conversation.

” So , did you continue your fling with Jhene when I left?” He’s annoying. He would never stop talking.

I ignore him and internally pray for the elevator to reach the top floor. I’m getting bored of this ride. Finally we arrive at the top as the elevator slides open. I step into the hallway and ring Jhene’s doorbell. The door opens as Jhene looks down at me. She didn’t see Damon because he stays at the other side of the wall. Don’t even know why?

” Gray. What do I owe this visit? It’s been a long time since you checked on me.”

I roll my eyes and huff.” Come outside fucker.”

Damon peeks his head out as Jhene freezes. Yeah. Long time memories. Can’t believe Damon fell in love with her. She’s a psycho.

” Oh my God.” She flings her arms around Damon, almost knocking me out. Fuckin bitch!

” I can’t believe you’re real.” She begins to sniffle. I bet those are fake. Or maybe she’s been single for a long time and she needs love. Or maybe she hadn’t had an orgasm for a long time and she’s acting all emotional. Fuck her!

” Where’s she?” Damon asks and disengages from the hug. Damn there’s still that chemistry there.

” Kennedy?”

” Yeah.” Jhene smiles and hurriedly walks inside her house.

I sigh and watch Damon enter.

” Are you coming in or not?” Damon asks and turns to look at me.

” Yes, dad.” I glare at him and walk in. I shut the door and look around her living room. There are so many whites and peach colors here. Ladies.

” Jamal…” Kennedy calls out as she runs to me.

“Whoa.” I squat to her height and lift her off the ground.

” You’ve added a lot of weight..” I tell her and she giggles. She didn’t even look at Damon.

Damon watches us as different emotions flashes through his face. Defeat? I drop Kennedy on the floor and hold her hand. She turns to look at Damon as the smile on her face falls.

” Um… Kennedy , this is uh..” Jhene stutters.

” That’s your dad, Kenny.” I tell her and ruffle her hair.

She doesn’t say a word or make a sound. She looks at Damon and looks down at him. Yeah, she’s weird.

” Can you take me out to buy me ice cream, Gray? I don’t wanna be here.”

Chapter 89

I can’t believe I’d sit in a park eating ice cream because of any reason. How do people feel comfortable eating this? Kennedy made me come to the park after she dismissed her father’s arrival. I bought her ice cream and she forced me to buy it for myself because she doesn’t wanna be the only person eating ice cream.

Fuck me.

I frown and force myself to eat my ice cream as we sit in silence. She’s been awkwardly quiet as she eats her ice cream.

” Why the park Kenny?” I ask her.

” It’s pretty.”

I sigh and nod.

” Am I expected to finish this?” I ask, referring to my ice cream. I haven’t taken a lot. Just a little.

” Yes. Let’s be sad together.” She smiles at me and looks away.

I serve the ice cream and let it stay on my tongue before swallowing. How do people eat this?

” You’re gonna get ugly if you keep on frowning like that.” She tells me.

I roll my eyes and try to smile. This taste like shit. And it has to be strawberry ice cream. I can’t take this anymore.

” You know, I got into a fight at school.” She states.

” Did you beat him or her up?”

” Yeah. Almost broke her nose. And she was blonde.” She says. I turn to look at her and smirk.

At least I wasn’t a terrible uncle. I did a great job in bringing her up.

” Fist bump.”

” Fist bump…” she smiles as we fist bump.

” So tell me, what did she do?”

” She called me a bitch. And then i told her to quit cursing, she didn’t listen. I punched her.”

” Damn. That was fuckin crazy.” I mutter.

” Five dollars , Jamal.”

I swiftly turn to look at her. Five dollars for swearing again. I thought she gave up that shit. I pull out a ten dollar note from my jacket pocket and give it to her. She takes it.

” Can I throw away the ice cream now?” I ask nicely.

She cackles with an evil grin.” No. Don’t waste it.”

Good God. We sit in silence as I battle with my ice cream. I think someone needs to sue whoever thinks it’s nice to make ice cream. This is fuckin terrible. I just feel like falling off a bridge right now.

” You know… your dad is a great dad.” I say. She didn’t bother to look at me so I decided to continue.

” He was in the military and something happened. He was in a coma for a long time. He also battled PTSD. I don’t really know if you know what that means.”

” Post traumatic stress disorder. Of course I know what that means.”

I look down at her. How old is she again? ” Has anyone told you you act eighteen?”

She rolls her eyes and pulls her knees to her chest. She rests her small body against me as I wrap an arm around her shoulder. I take that opportunity and toss the ice cream in the trashcan.

” I saw that.” She mutters.

” I know and I’m sorry.”

She giggles silently and nods.

” He missed you. He got back yesterday and he madly wanted to see you. He wants you back.”

” You know , my mom didn’t tell me that. She said he traveled. For work.” She says.

” You’re too young to know the truth though.”

She chuckles and nods again.

” What if you had the opportunity to adopt me , would you?” She asks and looks up at me.

” Of course. Who wouldn’t.”

Yeah. And Damon’s gonna freak out.

She chuckles.” Gray , you don’t even like children.”

” Who told you that?”

” I know a lot of things about you that you didn’t even know.”

How did she even know that? It’s not like I behave weird around them. They are cute when they are older. But infants , they are annoying as fuck. Their cries, their whining, their wailing, their screaming. It’s fuckin annoying. The annoying part is , they take the mom away from you. She won’t even care about you that much except for the wailing child. She won’t give you that attention she always gives you because of the child. It’s so annoying. And sex , I don’t wanna go there.

” So are you gonna forgive him now?”

” What if he’s not like you?”

Damn. Of course Damon can’t be like me. He doesn’t smoke weed and he curses with caution. Who does that? He’s not a mobster but a law abiding citizen, except for the rehab part.

” Does it really matter?”

” I’ve grown up to get used to you. What if he doesn’t swear? How will I get five dollars?”

I raise my brows and chuckle. Five dollars? Really?

” You’re still gonna come over to my place if you’re worried about making five dollars. Lucifer swears a lot. Drake too and even Reid. Manny and Spencer and a lot more of them. So the five dollar case is settled.” I tell her and she smiles widely.

” Thanks Jamal. You’re good. Are you gonna get married to Ariel?”

What the!

When did we switch from talking about her daddy to marriage? I’m scared of that , I don’t even know why.

” It’s getting late, Kennedy. Let’s take you back.”

” You just dodged my question. I will remind you though.” She gets up from the bench and starts walking. I smile and look down at her as I shove my hands in my jacket pocket and follow her tiny little steps.

••••

” Really Damon ?”

I shut the door to Jhene’s apartment as they turn to look at us. Her face looks flush like someone who just recovered from a hot make out session. Oh, I get it. They were making out. Damon is such a bad fucker.

” Did we interrupt something?” I ask and lean against the door. Kennedy stands close to me.

” Not really.” Damon replies and clears his throat. He looks at me and then Kennedy. She looks nervous.

Imagine not having a dad for a long time and a man showed up later and announced himself as your dad. It’s gonna be weird calling him dad when you didn’t grow up with him.

” Hi Kennedy.” Damon says.

I chuckle and look around Jhene’s penthouse.

” Gray said you’re my Dad.”

I look back at Damon and he nods.

” I’m really sorry that I left.” He tells her as he walks to her.

This is so annoyingly emotional and I’m getting bored.

” Where’s your alcohol Jhene?”

Jhene glares at me and points to her bar. I walk out of their reunion and sit on her kitchen stool with a glass of alcohol in my hand. I throw back my head and chug down the content.

” Are you okay?” Jhene asks.

I look at her and she leans herself against the door jam.

” You shouldn’t be here. Your baby daddy just arrived , you should be part of that reunion not standing here.”

She smiles and walks to the counter. She stands on the opposite side and smirks at me.

” You look pretty hot yourself.” She mumbles and snatches the glass from me as she gulps the alcohol and sits back the glass.

” Don’t try to flirt with me. You got Damon now.”

” He doesn’t want me. He wants Kennedy and he wants to take custody of her.”

” And what exactly do you want?”

” I want my man back. And I’m not giving him my daughter back if he wants to break up or whatever.”

” You guys never dated.” I remind her.

” Really? You left me because you were this sick fuck who can’t keep a pussy. Your brother wanted a relationship. Gray, we were in a relationship.”

” To him, yes. But to you, you were just having fun. You wanted to get back at me and make me jealous for dumping your dumb ass. I told you we never dated. We just fucked each other. Move on , Damon doesn’t want you cause you’re sick as fuck.”

” You won’t insult me in my house.”

I huff and shake my head. She’s crazy. I grab the bottle of drink to pour more into the glass but she snatches it away from me.

” That’s enough for a day. You don’t have to waste my alcohol.” She says.

I chuckle and nod.

” Damon , can I leave? You can just call an Uber when you’re ready to leave.” I shout.

” No. You’re gonna wait for me.” He responds.

” Fuck…” I mutter and run my fingers through my hair.

” Okay. Since Damon wants me to wait for him , can I get a little privacy in your house? Don’t try to bug me please.” I tell Jhene and walk out of the kitchen.

I go to her balcony and watch the city below as I lean my elbows on the railings. I pull out my phone and call Ariel. She picks up after the first ring.

” Hey, Tinkerbell…”

She chuckles on the phone and I hear another laughter from someone else as she clears her throat.

” Where are you?” I ask.

” At home.”

” What’s making you all juicy?”

” Mmm… well I’m having a sister time with my older sister. We are playing a game. It’s been a long we did things together….” She sighs.” That’s if we ever did things.” She mutters and I hear it.

” Where are you?”

” Went out with Damon to see Kennedy.”

” Wow. What was her reaction. Did she freak out? Cry? Run or she might even snub him by the way.”

” Maybe she snubbed him. Asked me to get her ice cream and I talked to the kid.”

” Did she ask you to get yourself ice cream?” She asks and chuckles. I can’t forget what Kennedy did. Made me eat ice cream. God!

” Maybe she did.”

” Oh my God…” she laughs on the phone.

” That’s hilarious. Wish I could see your face when she bought you one.” She giggles.” You would have been adorable. You know that right?”

I roll my eyes.

” Stop mocking me. I looked like shit and worst of all , I can’t imagine people eating ice cream.”

” Jamal , ice cream tastes good. You’re just acting like a grumpy baby right now.”

I chuckle and smile.” I miss you.”

” Really?”

Fuck of course. I don’t mind if she moves in with me just for me to wake up with her every morning. Look at that pretty face of hers every single day.

” Yeah.”

She stays silent for a second before replying.” I miss you too. You owe me a surprise. Don’t forget that.”

” I didn’t. When I return we’re gonna go check it out. I just hope you’re gonna like it.”

” Hmm. Is it a gift?”

” You don’t want me to snitch about my surprise to you right? Cause if I’m right , you know I won’t tell you a thing.”

She giggles.” Sure thing boss.”

” My mom was here by the way. She wanted me to leave you because you’re in the Mafia.”

” And who told her that?”

” Your mom told my dad when they were dating each other.” She says and I chuckle.

” You know she’s lying right? About my mom telling your dad I’m a criminal.”

” Maybe. I just told her a piece of my mind. I really do miss you though.” She says and the sound of her voice telling me she missed makes me hard.

” Okay you’re filling my mind with so many bad things I wish I could do to you right now.” I tell her. She breathes out on the phone and I can feel her biting her bottom lip.

” You need to go to church. You owe the priest your confession. And I’ll be escorting you to church too , to make mine.”

I chuckle. ” Alright. I’m gonna think about that.”

” Gray…” I turn around and see Damon holding Kennedy’s hand. She looks less nervous.

” I’m gonna call you back, Tink.” I hang up and turn to face them.

” I want him to take me out and you’re driving us since daddy doesn’t have a car.” Kennedy says. Hell no. I’m not a fuckin driver.

” No way. I need to be at home and I have business to handle.”

” Business?” Damon asks.

I glare at him. What’s his problem exactly? ” Yes, business.”

” We can’t call an Uber.”

” But why not?” I ask them.

” Because my daughter won’t ride in an Uber when she has an Uncle who owns a car and a mother who owns a goddamn car too. I’m sorry honey…” Jhene says as she brings out a five dollar note and gives it to Kennedy. Damon stares at her as Kennedy takes the money.

” She doesn’t like it when people swear. If you do, you’re paying five dollars for it.” I tell Damon who breathes out and nods.

” Scared to curse daddy?” Kennedy asks.

” Not really, I won’t even try.” Damon says and she smiles.

I need to be with Ariel. I can’t drive them around because they are trying to bond over their father-daughter relationship.

” I give up.” I give Damon my car key. He looks at it and raises his brows asking me what he should do with it.

” You can take my car and go wherever she wants to go.”

” Are you gonna take the Uber?” Kennedy asks with a grin.

” No way.” I scoff and pull out my phone to call Nick.

” I’m at Jhene’s and stranded. Come pick me up.” I say once he picks up.

” Sure thing.” I hang up and look at them.

” What?” I ask.

” Thanks.” Damon says.

” Who taught you that?” I ask him.

” Shut up. Thank you for this.” He raises the key up and turns to leave with Kennedy.

” See ya Jamal.” Kennedy waves at me.

” I thought that name died.” Damon mutters as he leaves with her.

” I resurrected it though.” Kennedy replies to her daddy.

” That’s really good of you.”

I turn to look at Jhene. She glares at me and leaves too. Thank God.

*****

” Why are we here again?” Ariel asks as she unfastens her seatbelt.

” I wanna show you something.” I tell her and get out of the car.

I walk to the side of her door and open the door for her. She holds my hand and steps out of the car. I close the door as she looks up at the building.

” Wow. This is beautiful.”

I smile and wrap my arm around her waist as we walk into the lobby. We enter the elevator and I press the top floor button.

” The penthouse?” She asks and turns to look at me.

” Yup. Just wanna show you something. Since we’re alone here…” I look round the elevator and kiss her neck.

” Why don’t I just show you how you make me feel.” I tease her and kiss her earlobe.

” You’re gonna ride my face today baby.” I whisper against her neck.

She breathes out as I kiss down her neck. I slip my hand inside the back of her hoodie and trail my hand up and down her back. I kiss her cheek and then her nose. She opens her eyes as we stare at each other. She wraps her arms around my neck and stands on her toes to kiss me at once. My arms curl around her waist as I lift her off the floor. I press her against the wall of the elevator as we kiss. Her hands tug on my hair as our lips move against each other.

The elevator dings and slides open. With her in my arms and legs around my waist , I walk us out of the elevator and open the penthouse door. I walk in with her and shut the door. She looks around the house and widens her eyes. She hops out of my grasp and glances at every single thing.

” Wow.” She mutters as she walks to the kitchen.

” You bought a new penthouse? Why would you do that?”

I shrug and watch her ogle at every furniture.

” This is so beautiful and expensive.” She says and walks to the hallway. She opens each door and enters the last door. I follow her behind as she looks around the bedroom.

She pushes aside the drapes of the floor to ceiling transparent window and she giggles.

” So what’s gonna happen to your other penthouse?” She asks and opens the door to the balcony.

” You like it?” I ask her.

She turns around and looks at me with a big smile.

” Yes. I love it.” She giggles and looks around the bedroom again.

” Then it’s yours.”

She pauses her stares and darts her head to me.

” You say what?”

” The penthouse is yours.”

Chapter 90

” No way. Jamal. This is too much.” I tell him and look around. I can’t believe he bought me a house. I mean it’s beautiful and obviously expensive. He has done a lot and I really can’t take it.

” Nothing is too much for you, baby.” He kisses my temple and wraps his arms around my waist.

” But Gray, this is expensive. A penthouse?”

” If you don’t want it , you can just move in with me. You want that?” He asks and turns me around so that I’m looking at him.

” No way. You know I can’t move in with you.”

” Exactly. Reasons I bought you this apartment. You’ve always wanted space and your own apartment. I had to make that wish come true. You have your own place now.”

I smile and wrap my arms around his torso and I hug him. His right hand rubs up and down my back as he kisses my temple.

” Thank you so much for everything. I don’t really know how to thank you.”

Gray chuckles.” It’s nothing. You deserve all of this. You’re mine and I’m yours.” He whispers.

Wow , he’s mine huh?

I pull my head away from his chest and look up at him.

” Talking about yours, I got you something.”

His eyes brighten as he smiles.  I push him gently to sit on the white couch behind him as I sit on his lap. I pull out a silver chain from my hoodie pockets and raise it up at his beautiful face. He smiles and bites his bottom lip.

” I’ve been thinking your neck is quite empty sometimes. Since I’m your Tinkerbell , and you’re my Jamal. You deserve this. I know it’s little compared to…” I roll my eyes around the penthouse.”… this. Actually it cost you millions, I know… and…” He cut me short as he kisses me with one arm around my waist.

I am dumbfounded and speechless as I kiss back. We pull apart to stare at each other as he looks down at the necklace in my hand. He holds the chain and smiles at it. It’s customized and Jamal is written on it and it’s really tiny.

” You like it?” I ask him.

” Fuck me , yeah. It’s beautiful. I never actually thought of wearing one.” He says and looks up at me.

” If you feel uncomfortable with it , then maybe you shouldn’t…”

” Shut up.” He smiles and kisses my cheek. ” Now I want you to wear me.”

I take a deep breath and nod. I unhook the loop and wear it around Gray. I hold the chain around his neck and smile. I feel accomplished right now cause he liked it. He holds the chain too and raises my hand up that’s still holding it and he plants a soft kiss on my hand.

” Thank you.”

” Don’t ever take it out. Please.” I tell him.

” I won’t.” He sighs and wraps his arms around me to kiss me.

I smile against the kiss and let my hand run down his hair.

” Thanks a lot for this Jamal. Thank you.”

He chuckles and nods.

” It’s okay. You deserved it and stop calling me Jamal.”

I smile and hug him. I caress his hair with my forefinger as I lean against him.

” What about Kennedy? Settled with her dad?” I ask him as I run my fingers through his hair.

” Yes, they settled. Finally she’s got a dad. Damon wants to keep custody of the child. Jhene wasn’t in support of it.” He says.

” Of course she won’t let it. No mom will allow their baby daddy to take custody of their kid.”

He nods in my arms.” True. I still didn’t like the idea too. Kennedy fits right with her mom. You won’t believe she asked me if I would love to adopt her.”

I pull back and laugh. I didn’t expect she’d say that.

” What did you tell her?” I ask him.

” Yes. She’s pretty smart and will be a badass mobster.”

” No way. Is that your plan for her? Gray you can’t just involve everyone around you with the mob. Kennedy’s too young.”

” But you won’t believe she knows I’m a criminal.”

” No way.”

” Yes way. She knows. She’s a freak and too smart.”

” And Jhene? Is she aware you’re a mob boss?”

” She knows. Afterall, her step sister once worked for me. Enough about others…” he says and pulls me to his chest and plants a soft kiss on my neck.

” Let’s talk about what I would love to do to you…” he mutters and plants another soft kiss on my neck.

He grips the hem of my hoodie and pulls it above my head. I squirm and giggle as he drops it on the couch.

” Gray , not…”

” Breathe. I’m not fucking you right away. Let’s keep the house holy.” He says and kisses my chest.

” Holy huh? When did you start to care about holiness?” I tease him.

He chuckles and kisses my boobies. My arms are around his neck as I run my fingers through his hair.

” I care a lot if you care to know.” He says and nods.

He kisses my boobies up to my chest and then my neck. He kisses my earlobe to my cheek as he look me in the eyes. I tug on his hair and kiss him at once.

” Thank you.”

•••••

” Whoa…” The guys squeal loudly as they enter my new house.

” What the fuck…” Alexa shouts.

” Wow…” Piper and Leslie speak at the same time.

They look around every single room , kitchen, the balcony and Alexa won’t stop giggling. She pulls out her phone and connects it to the stereo system in the living room.

” We’re getting high and drunk for this beautiful gift Gray Carter gave to you.”

” Oh my God. This is fancy and expensive. How are you gonna stay here alone?” Brandon asks as Alexa goes through her playlist.

” She will be fine because I’m staying here with her. Thank God I brought booze.” Alexa says and finally plays one song. I don’t really know who sang that but it’s kinda a rap song.

The loud music blast through the walls and for once I’m scared Alexa is gonna fall off the walls.

” Come on. I brought shots. There are no shot glasses here.” Alexa says as she looks through the kitchen.

” Gray knows I don’t drink and there’s no need for those.”

” Aww. This house is big enough when he comes over for sex. Don’t hold back , moan aloud for Daddy to get him harder.” Alexa teases and winks at me.

” Shut up.” I mutter as the guys chuckle.

” That was gross by the way.” Leslie says and Alexa scoffs.

” Are you gonna drink? Considering the fact that , you know…” Alexa asks, motioning to her baby.

” Nah it’s fine. I’m just gonna take one shot. Don’t wanna stress the baby out.”

” That means you won’t be needing one shot then. Where’s the water.” Alexa says and opens the fridge. She brought out a bottle of water and gives one to Leslie as she closes the fridge.

She arranges the glass on the counter and fills each glass with Jack. What type of alcohol is that?

” Wait. I’ve never drank this before.” I mutter.

” Yeah. New gifts need new drinks. I don’t even know where I heard that from.” Alexa mutters and closes the drink.

” I drank this once and I couldn’t feel my feet.” Brandon says as he scrunches his nose.

” Me too.” Piper says.

” Don’t worry. Today is for Ariel. We gon’ party like tomorrow doesn’t exist. Booze up…” Alexa says as we raise our glasses. Leslie raises her water.

” To Ariel’s new house.” Alexa utters.

” To Ariel’s new house…” they squeals as we throw our heads back to chug down the alcohol.

The drink was pretty hot when I swallowed it. Alexa refills the glasses as we drink. We dance to the loud music as Alexa shouts the lyrics really loud.

♪He like e’m freaky. He like e’m nasty♪

Alexa slurs out the lyrics.

In a blink of an eye, my new house turns into a nightclub. Since Leslie is pregnant she couldn’t dance much. She dances for a little while and sits down. I stopped taking that Jack drink when I lost count. I’m already tipsy and I don’t wanna get drunk.

” Oh my God…” We mutter as we crash on the couches.

” This is too beautiful, man. Where the fuck is Damon Carter.” Piper asks.

” Breathe sister , what makes you think he can buy you a fuckin penthouse?” Alexa asks and I chuckle.

” Although he’s back though.” I say.

” No fuckin way.” They all mutter except Leslie.

” Yeah. He’s in New York and I’ve seen him. He showed up at Mia’s birthday party in Canada.”

” Oh my God.” Alexa mumbles.

” What’s he like? Is he still cute? Hot? What the fuck does he look like?” They ask.

Oh God. Why did I say he’s back in the first place?

” Calm down ladies and gentleman. He’s cute, really cute. He looks like Gray , just the older version with really nice stubble.”

” Aww… ”

” Jeez.” I bat my lashes at them and shake my head.

I lay flat on my couch and look up at the ceiling. I can’t believe I own a house now. This is too hard to believe. I’ll be staying alone except Alexa meant what she said , hanging here always. I will appreciate that too.

” Damn. Damon’s back. I just hope the military gives him back his personal property.” Alexa says.

” They seized his property?” I ask.

” I think they did.” Alexa says.

I take in a deep breath as Alexa reduces the volume of the song and I’m forever grateful.

•••

I groan a little at my headache as I get up from the couch. Everyone’s passed out on the couch except Alexa. Where the hell is she? I go to the kitchen and she’s not there.

I see her back at the balcony and I open the door that leads to the balcony.

” Wow.” I mutter and shut the door.

” You should come check this out. This is so beautiful.” Alexa says as she turns to look at me.

I look around the balcony and I wonder how come i didn’t check this place. I climb down the steps and look at the two love seats here. Alexa leans on the railing holding two coffees. She gives me one cup and I take it.

” This is really beautiful. Gray’s like a fuckin God. Congrats again.” She tells me.

” Thank you.” I smile at her and drink the coffee.

” The ball is tomorrow. You know that right?” She asks.

” God. I forgot. And Gray didn’t even remind me.”

She chuckles.” Yeah, yeah , and we’re gonna need new clothes. Shopping?”

” Shopping.”

That morning we drove the guys to their houses as Alexa drove us to the store. My car is still at Gray’s and I haven’t taken it yet. I pull out my phone and call Gray.

” Hey, babe.”

” Gray, why didn’t you tell me tomorrow was the ball.”

He sighs. ” I don’t really know. Maybe I forgot. What are you doing?”

” Are you gonna be there?”

” Yeah , I have to go. If I’m allowed , I don’t want you to come.”

” Is that why you didn’t tell me? Alexa told me about it and we’re on our way to the store to buy clothes.”

” What! Why the actual fuck will she do that?” Gray asks and I roll my eyes.

” I wanna be there for you , with you and I won’t let you be there alone , except you’re planning to take a slut with you.” I tell him. He chuckles and I can feel him nod.

” Alright. Don’t go too hot or people will start an auction for you.”

” An auction for you?”

” Yeah. The highest bidder gets to dance with you. It’s like a fuckin game.”

” Hmm. And I like it.” I chuckle on the phone.

” Tinkerbell really? You know I won’t let it , or I don’t mind being the highest bidder than to let one of these horny mobsters touch you in the name of dancing.”

” And what’s the fun there?” I ask him and he scoffs.

” Already told you. Don’t go all hottie.”

” Yes boss. I will try.” I kiss him on the phone and hang up.

” Damn. He told you about that stupid game. The girl’s boyfriend always makes a lot from it if she’s hot as fuck.” Alexa says.

” Wow. That’s crazy.”

” Yeah.” Alexa looks at her ringing phone on the dashboard as she picks it and puts it on the loudspeaker since she’s driving.

” Alexa speaking.”

” Shut up bitch.” A voice speaks up as we both turn to look at each other.  She looks at the dialer and it’s not in her contact.

” Who’s speaking?”

” So bad you can’t recognize the voice.”

” Reid…” We mutter at the same time.

” How the fuck did you get my number?”

I giggle and rest my hand on the window sill.

” Be appreciative that I called you.” He says.

” And I’m gonna hang up if you don’t tell me how you got my number and why the fuck you’re calling me.”

He huffs.” I want you to be my date for the ball.”

What the hell? No way!

Alexa looks at me and I chuckle quietly.

” I’m sorry what? I didn’t hear you.”

” Are you fucking serious? You want me to repeat that? What’s your shit?” Reid rambles on the phone.

Alexa rolls her eyes and chuckles.

” I want you to be my date at tomorrow’s Mafia ball.” He says and mutters ” fuckin’ bitch.”

” I heard that, dick. Is that like a proposal or what?” She scoffs.

” I’m just gonna think about it and pity your sorry ass.” She hangs up. Oh! I didn’t see that coming.