I was no longer startled at how easily he could sneak up on me. I glanced behind me and then up almost craning my neck from the place at the table where we’d eaten dinner. I’d come here to regroup after the time I’d spent with Jada. My mother was heavy on my mind and the realization that this would be me before the end of the year, causing my need to retreat. Leave it to Ori to invade that solace but I didn’t want to immediately send him away. Funny, the one who got me into this mess being my only ally.
Seeing that he looked hopeful I gave him a smile which seemed to ease whatever worry he had about how I was feeling. “I’m not miserable. Is that the same thing?”
His nod was curt before he averted his eyes to the couples dancing. “Close enough. Want to dance?”
I watched him watching them and couldn’t believe he was asking me this. “You’re asking me that?”
Instantly my brain traveled back to Nev’s words of Ori’s voice sounding like he spoke from his dick. Her words were spot on and I squirmed slightly thinking about what that dick could and would do.
He bent down his face coming over my shoulder so that he could speak in my ear. He was so close I swear I could feel his dick pressing against the back of my arm. My mind reasonedthat it couldn’t be that long but my pussy was remembering the depths he reached and happily refuted it.
“Yeah. It’s a wedding. Eyes are on us because ours is next—”
“Speaking of which, when is this supposed to happen?” The way Jada was being pushy there felt like an unspoken urgency I hadn’t been privy to. It felt like this collective was deciding on my life and I was supposed to simply go with what they wanted without protest.
“Before the year ends.”
“You say that so casually as though it’s not already May.” That left little time to plan a wedding or for me to wrap my head around what was actually going on.
“Timeframes don’t really matter with us. We solidify a date and everyone makes sure it works.” He spoke like a man who was used to having things fall into place and had the money to ensure they did. I didn’t doubt that to be true and having watched my father work similarly I wasn’t unfamiliar with it. But I wasn’t exposed to living that way on a daily basis. Not anymore. My life had been quiet and despite the opulence I lived in and the spending power that ensured I never had to think about money, my life was relatively quiet.
“That’s a lot of pressure on everyone just because we decided to get married on short notice.” I wasn’t stalling because it was clear that this was happening no matter what I said but I couldn’t just gently agree to whatever he said. My spirit wouldn’t allow me to be so biddable.
That pained smirk crossed his face as he stood fully and put his hand on the back of my chair. “Maybe, but they’re well compensated for it.”
I rolled my eyes at his assumption that money would ease all ills.Capitalist. “That doesn’t make up for stress.”
“Trust me, they’ll make us pay well for the privilege of their talents.” His fingers were caressing my back almost mindlessly the motion sending chills through me.
“If you say so.”
“I do. So the dance? Will you?”
“Yes.”
I took his hand and he helped me up from the table and toward the dance floor. I’d been observing the room and lost sight of him when apparently he’d been watching me.
When Ori led me to the floor I could tell that eyes were on us. I wasn’t sure if they were eager to see us together or hoping that we’d fall but I was going to ignore all the looks and focus on the moment.
When I looked up I met the eyes of Jasmine as she danced with her husband. It was odd to see them together. They were a stunningly beautiful couple but she was so tiny compared to him. Yacouba and Ori were the same height and Jasmine along with both of her sisters couldn’t have been more than five and a half feet. Even with heels, she barely reached her husband's mid-chest. Neither of them cared much about the difference and judging by the way he held her close to him he didn’t care at all. She gave me a wink as he picked her up by her ass, sliding her up his body and giving her a kiss.
Okay, that was sexy as fuck.
Ori led us to a spot on the floor and pulled me closer into his arms, like we’d done it a million times before. His hands slid down the planes of my body resting on my hips and I couldn’t help but inhale deeply. Ori’s scent was so uniquely him and I had never smelled the combination of notes on anyone else. Or if I had, it hadn’t smelled as intoxicating on them as it did with him. There was something so perfect about how the different combinations of scents mixed in with his pheromones that I hadto wonder if the attraction between us would’ve been this intense even if he wasn’t as masculinely beautiful as he was.
You’ve truly got to stop complimenting this man.
“Are you good?”
Yep. Straight from his dick.
“Yes.”
“I’m glad you came.”
“I didn’t think there was much of a choice in all of this.”
His shoulders lifted beneath the side of my face as he shrugged, and I laughed at his indifference. “Some choice, but not a lot. It would be better for you to see how all of this is supposed to go so that you’re not overwhelmed with our day.”
