There will just be drama and a man looking at me like I ruined his life.
3
TARIQ “REEK” HORTON
My first thought when I stepped into that baby shower and saw all the expensive shit hanging from ceilings, decorated tables, and flowers everywhere was that my man, Saint, had spent a bag.
And he looked happy to do it.
Zahra was glowing. Saint stayed glued to her side, touching her belly, fixing her dress, bringing her whatever she needed before she could even ask.
I should’ve been focused on that or on the fact that Sienna was beside me looking good as hell in an outfit that hugged her body right, on anything but the one woman across the room who had no business knocking me this far off my square.
Once I saw Ava, that was it for me. Every damn thing else faded into the background.
She stood in a dress that did exactly what it needed to do. Her hair framed her face. Her lips were perfectly glossed. Her skin was glowing. She was pretty enough to make a nigga stop thinking straight.
Thailand had done something to her. She looked good before she left, but now there was something else there. She was softer in the right places.
My eyes ran over her before I could stop them, and that pissed me off immediately. I hated how fast my self-control disappeared the second she was back in front of me.
I took a sip of my drink and looked anyway.
I hated that she could still make me feel like some other nigga shouldn’t even be breathing too close to her, that I wanted all eyes off her but mine when I had no business wanting anything serious with anybody, hated that now all I could think about was Ava under me.
I wanted her on her back with her legs spread for me, looking at me while I took my time with that pussy. Missionary had to be the position because she was too pretty not to watch.
The thought hit so hard I had to exhale through my nose and shift my stance. The room suddenly felt too warm.
Sienna touched my arm. “You okay?”
I looked down at her like I had forgotten she was there. “Yeah.”
But I wasn’t. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t join any conversation for real. I couldn’t listen to Icon and Big A clown each other. My mind kept snapping back to Ava, the way she looked, the way distance hadn’t fixed shit.
It had only made it worse.
Whatever this feeling was felt foreign and too close to something I didn’t like naming. So I did the only thing that would take my mind off of her, even if only for a few minutes.
I set my glass down, took Sienna’s hand, and started walking.
She stumbled a little in her heels, laughing softly. “Where are we going?”
I didn’t answer.
“Reek,” she said, more confused now than amused. “Where are we going?”
I took her down the hall, past one of the guest rooms and a couple framed photos, then straight into the bathroom.
I shut the door behind us and locked it.
Sienna turned to face me fully then, brows lifted. “What—”
I grabbed her face and kissed her before she could finish. My fingers dug into her cheeks hard enough to leave marks. I shoved my tongue into her mouth with a force that made her gasp against my lips. But she gave in, kissing me back. Her body arched into mine as she moaned into the rough invasion. Her hands slid up my arms, and her nails scraped against my skin through my shirt, urging me on. Mine dropped to her waist, yanking her hips forward so her ass hit the edge of the vanity with a thud. Her skirt rode up, giving me access to shove her thighs apart and grind my hard dick against her through her panties.
This was the distraction I needed.
But even while I had her pinned back against the vanity, even while her fingers clawed at my shirt and she whimpered my name against my mouth, it still wasn’t hitting the way I needed it to. Because the wrong woman was in my head. Ava ruined me without even trying.
