Muffin’s ass would stop the bullshit about dragging Chanel’s name, or she would regret the fuck out of it. My ex-wife was no longer under my umbrella of protection, but Chanel was. I wasn’t about to stand back and watch Muffin fuck over hereither. She chose to step out of my protection by fucking other niggas.
I never looked the other way. The minute I would learn about what she was doing, I rolled up on them niggas and beat the fuck out of ’em. My rage had me leaving niggas for dead. But I was foolish enough, time after time, to take Muffin back, and now she was ruining my life in a different way. That shit was about to stop.
I headed back upstairs, making a mental note to restock my mini fridge in my room with water. There was only juice in there now, and I only wanted water in the middle of the night. As I walked back to the top of the stairs, I thought I heard something.
I froze in the middle of the hallway. Straining my ears, I tried to detect where the noise was coming from, and I realized that it was Titan. He was whimpering about something. I headed across the hall from my room to Chanel’s door. She still slept with it partially open.
Sticking my head inside, I saw my dog sitting at the side of her bed, nudging her hand, which hung over the side of the bed. He was whining. I walked inside and patted his head. “Go to sleep, boy.”
He lay back down, and I headed to the door. Just as I was about to close the door, I heard another sound. Turning around, I saw Chanel wiggling in bed, and she was whimpering. I realized that Titan had been mimicking the sound he heard from her.
I rushed to Chanel’s side. “Chanel,” I called gently. After calling her name two more times, I touched her hand. She still didn’t wake up, but she kept whimpering. I hated seeing her like that. I wanted to fuck up the world for her sake, and I knew that wasn’t good. I was falling for this woman, and I didn’t need that. I couldn’t take another heartbreak on the heels of coming off one. Worse than that, I worried that I might be the one to hurt her while I was trying to protect my heart.
“Chanel, sweetheart, wake up.” I shook her a little, and her eyes flew open.
“Hey, it’s just me. You were having a bad dream,” I explained as she looked warily at me.
Chanel sat up and grabbed me. She held me tight, and I could feel the moisture seeping from her eyes as she cried. I rubbed her back and shushed her. “I’m here, and I swear nothing will get to you.”
“I can’t take too much more of this, Ashton.”
“You ain’t gotta worry about that,” I replied in a gruff voice before clearing my throat. It bothered me that she was crying like she was. Chanel was a strong woman, and she worked her ass off to prove herself in a male-dominated industry. I had never seen her weak or down before until this stalker shit started.
“But I do until this situation is resolved. It’s starting to get to me and bringing up bad memories, Ash.”
“I’ve got your back, no matter what. You hear me? That protection that I be talking about, . . . you’re under that shit now. The way I’m gonna be about you and all over you, your li’l ass won’t be able to breathe.”
She clutched my T-shirt and stared into my eyes. “Don’t let me breathe, Ash,” she whispered.
All the restraint I had been holding onto for the last few weeks, I threw that shit out the window. I gripped the back of her neck and covered her mouth with mine. Her tongue was warm, and the faint taste of toothpaste and mouthwash clung to her mouth when she opened it for me. I licked around inside of her mouth.
Chanel moved onto my lap and straddled me as she wrapped her arms around my neck. My hands slid underneath her satin nightshirt and tugged it up higher, until I could rub my hands up and down the smooth skin on her back.
“Ash, I want you. I’ve been wanting you for so long now,” she whispered against my lips as her fingers tugged at my hair. I had been meaning to get it braided again for the last couple of days, but I had been wearing it in a ponytail. My usual routine had been thrown off after Chanel’s car and apartment were vandalized.
“I know.”
“Do you want me?”
“I don’t just want you, Chanel. I fucking need you like I need my heart to beat.”
“The dog,” she whispered.
I turned and looked over my shoulder at Titan staring at us. “Titan. Out.”
He barked, jumped up, and ran out of the bedroom. I stood with Chanel wrapped around my body. Her legs clung to me and her arms tightened around my neck. Her lips were glued to mine as I walked to the door and kicked it closed.
We returned to the bed, and I laid her down. She reached for me and balled my T-shirt in her hand. “You’re gonna rip it.”
“It’s in my way. I need to touch every part of you, Ash.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. Chanel placed her hands against my chest, and her gaze lifted to mine. She pressed the palms of her hands hard against my chest as if she needed every surface of her hand to touch me.
Slowly, she slid them up to cup my face, dragged them down my shoulders and arms before she clasped my hands. I kissed her again, slow and deep, but intoxicatingly sweet. The way that she squirmed underneath me and pressed up against me, I knew she wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
She reached down again and slid her hands over my abs, swirling her fingers through the silken hair that lay there. My chest tightened, and I held my breath the lower her fingersdipped. When she slid past my basketball shorts and found that I wore no underwear, her heated, surprised gaze met mine.
She gripped my dick and stroked. My head dropped back against the headboard, and I sucked in a breath. It had been a whole damn year since I’d been with a woman. As tempted as I had been to be with someone, I wouldn’t fuck around on my wife—and I damn sure wouldn’t fuck my wife.
