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by
K.C. Mills
Read between
September 16 - September 16, 2025
“It must be exhausting being the solution to everyone’s problems.” “At times yes but that’s who I am. It’s what I am.” “Because you don’t trust anyone else to do it.” “I trust you.” “Why?” “Because you want me to and anything you want will be yours. Even the things I’ve never been comfortable relinquishing to anyone else.” “You make this feel easy and possible. I believe it can be, which is a little scary.” “Because what we both want is very much possible. The reason you feel conflicted is because you’re processing with your head not your heart. It’s perfectly okay to accept what you feel and
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I want simple. I want you.”
on me. “What you consider riddles is a family protecting each other. We have learned from the sins of our past. There’s meaning in everything we say but we’re cautious about what we share and with who.” “I can understand that, and to answer your question, being here is temporary for me. So you don’t have to protect your family from me for much longer.”
my brother wants you here and I want whatever makes my brother happy. He was really unhappy for a long fucking time. Some of which was because of me.”
“Cress is an optimist. I prefer to be more of a realist when it comes to the people I love. If you’re not here for the right reasons, leave. I will hurt anyone that hurts him. I don’t care who it is. My brother has a conscience with shit like this, I don’t. Not when it comes to the people I care about.” His eyes fastened with mine and this time there wasn’t a threat living there. It was a promise. Just as quickly as it surfaced he buried it beneath a cool demeanor. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“Oh hell. He got you, didn’t he?” “Got me, what do you mean?” Nope, she didn’t miss it. “Ezekiel. I’m going to murder him. I told him to keep things strictly business…” “He has. We have.”
“Girl, relax. I’m not going to fire you. Hell, I probably want to promote you at this point. You’re not just sleeping with Ez, you said relationship. That’s an accomplishment within itself. Do you know how many women have tried to lock that man down since his divorce was finalized? Hell even before then and he wasn’t interested in one of them. I personally know a few who made him offers he should not have refused, but he did. You deserve a bonus.”
Not that I think you’ll mind the alternative since you two seem to be partnering well.” Better than well. In and out the bedroom. “See that right there. I can see how well you’re partnering just from that dreamy eyed look.” “I like him, a lot.” “I’m not surprised. Ez is a different caliber of man. How he functions in business and his personal life is proof. Also, let's be honest, he’s fine as hell so I can’t really be mad that you fell for him.”
“Why are we here?” “This is where it all started but that night we had different expectations.” “You can’t erase the past, Ezekiel.” “I don’t intend to, but I would like to adjust the terms we agreed upon that night.” “Hmm…” “You object?” “Nope, not at all.” “Good. I would have been extremely disappointed if you weren’t agreeable to our first date as a couple.” “This is a date?” I grinned. “It is. The first of many, so I decided to put a little extra on it. I hope it meets your approval.” He extended a hand and I glanced around the open space. The suite was decorated with candles and about a
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“I’m sure you’re already aware of the intended goal for oysters so I won’t explain but fennel is known in Ancient Egypt as an agent that boosts the libido.”
“The mustard stimulates sexual glands, the heat from the garlic enhances sexual desires, and basil boosts fertility.”
“I want a monogamous relationship with you. I want us to take our time learning all the important shit….” I pushed two fingers into her pussy at the same time my tongue dipped into her mouth again. When I pulled back and lowered my eyes to hers, she grinned. “This isn’t taking our time.” “I don’t mean with sex. Too late for that. I want all of this and you.” I hooked my fingers and circled them. “I rather enjoy making you cum. There’s no slowing that down. What I mean is taking our time with all the small details that make you, you and I plan on offering the same in return.”
I pushed in deeper, picking up the pace while I watched her watching me pleasure her. “You permanently move in with me…” She tensed and I added. “You will still have your independence, Jhorie. I don’t want you to give up any parts of your life for me….” I paused. “Well, except for one thing.” “What’s that?” “Your ability to sleep with other men. I’m all you get but I assure you will not be lacking.” She grinned. “I can agree to that.” “That’s a yes, then?” I thrusted my fingers deeper and faster. The muscles in her thighs tightened and her pussy clenched. “Yes.” “To the orgasm or to moving in
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“Do you really think asking me to be your girlfriend while you were making me cum was a fair exchange?” I chuckled and dragged her dress up her body. She lifted her arms to assist with its removal. After I tossed the material aside, I lowered my head, landing my mouth a breath away from hers. “I wasn’t asking you to be my girlfriend, Jhorie. I’m too fucking grown for that. I’m asking you to be my wife.”
“I’m not most men but you already know this. I’ve never been one to second guess my gut feelings and everything in me says you’re what I need. I’ve wanted you from the minute you sat down next to me at that bar, but my want for you has now become a need. I see no point in wasting valuable time. I’m fully prepared to close the deal.”
“I don’t want a business deal. I want a marriage. A real one.” “I’m offering you that. How we get there is simply a minor detail. Tell me you can’t see a future with me and I’ll drop the subject.” “I can.” “Then I’m asking you to be my wife. I’ll marry you right here, right now if you say yes. If you need time, I’ll give you time. Not much…” I smirked. “But I’m open to a short period of reflection.” “Do I have to answer you now?” “No, right now I’m going to fuck you—very fast, very hard—then I’ll take my time with you.”
What’s mine is yours and yours is mine.”
“Diet is important for people with bipolar disorder. A healthy diet, that is, staying away from processed foods with a lot of sugar and carbs. They’re associated with anxiety and depression. Cress makes sure Elias avoids all of those things as much as possible.
“You should if you plan on having kids with me. We don’t know who in our family passed it down but Elias is my brother. We share the same parents.”
“What you’ve seen of him is the balance. When he’s not balanced, things can get ugly but he’s still my brother, her husband, and their father. He’s a person we all love and deal with the rest as it comes.” “What other way is there? He’s your family.”
“Do you think about it?” “About what?” “That your kids might end up like Elias.” “No,” I stated firmly. “Regardless, they’ll be mine. My flesh and blood, of my heart, and I’ll love them as they are. I’ve seen the other side and I will never be that parent. Not like they were to him.” “You mean how your parents were with your brother.” She frowned and I nodded.
“It is but I needed your stubborn ass to admit you’re agreeing to the offer of being my wife. Claiming the things that are ours as mine just forced you to do so. See how that works?”
“Mrs. Jhorie Omari. I think I can get used to that.” “Me t…” Before she finished my tongue was in her mouth. Maybe I was a little impractical and crazy too because I felt completely at peace with the idea of making Jhorie my wife.
“You don’t need to worry about Elias or what he thinks. If it eases your mind, he and I have already discussed you. He had no objections to me wanting to explore a relationship.” “When did you talk to him about me?” “After we returned from LA.” “Hmm, and what did you discuss?” He grinned charmingly, tossing his napkin on his plate. After he stood and rounded the table, he leaned over, kissed my cheek, and extended to his full height. “That I found someone who made me happy and I was fully invested in expending everything I had available to me to ensure I returned the favor. We need to get
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“I know you hate me.” She moved closer and so did Cress who was a few feet away from their exchange. “And you probably should. But one thing you know for sure is I’ve never lied to you. Mostly because I don’t care enough to waste the words. The truth is you are, and have always been, a disappointment. Since your brother no longer wants to pay for my silence, I might as well give you the truth.
“You’re unbelievable. I have never in my life met someone so vile and uncaring. Elias, let’s go. There’s nothing she can tell you worth listening to.” Cress placed her hand on her husband’s arm.
“Not only did your father think you were damaged goods and not capable of upholding your responsibilities within our family but your brother believed the same.” She pointed to Ezekiel. “When your name was tossed in the hat to marry Sasha, your brother begged your father not to make you do it. His exact words were he’s not strong enough to do this. He’ll fail and you know it.”
“Your father agreed and guess who was next in line? Lucas. Your father needed Ezekiel to be his puppet. Marriage meant commitments that would get in the way of his control over your brother. They both decided that unlike you, Lucas was strong enough, very much capable to do what needed to be done. Lucas was going to marry Sasha, not Ezekiel.” Everyone’s eyes swung to Ezekiel and the look of defeat on his face was proof of what she was saying was true.
“Fair enough.” She shrugged. “What your father and brother didn’t know was that Cole Devereaux was in love with Sasha. Even if she had never once given him a second thought he wanted her. Sasha’s family didn’t want him. Not for their daughter. Cole was a fuck up and a cokehead. No one ever told you what Lucas and Cole argued about that night, did they? Cole threatened your brother. Told him that he needed to stay the fuck away from Sasha. Lucas, however, needed to make your father and brother proud. He died because of it.”
“There was a club full of people, Elias. Your father found one willing to talk before he shelled out a lot of money to shut the rest of them up. The right price can keep the ugliest secrets buried. Your father caring more about his image and his decision to push Lucas toward Sasha is what ended your brother’s life. He made sure you never knew, so he could put that blame on you. I also believed he was fearful of what you would do to him.” She shrugged as if unbothered. “Your father knew everything about that night, didn’t he, Ezekiel?”
“Ask him, sweetheart. Ask him who was responsible for what happened to Lucas. It wasn’t you…” She smiled smugly. “Your father and brother put him in an impossible position. All these years he let you believe it was your fault. You were there, you should have protected Lucas. Not once did he tell you the real burden laid on his shoulders. I blame both of you, but you more than him because Lucas shouldn’t have died that night. I lost the only son I loved and look what I was left with.”
“Elias, let her go.” Ezekiel took a step forward. I could feel the panic pulsing from him but Cress was the voice of reason. “Elias, you’re not doing this. If you hurt your mother, you hurt me and our kids. We might lose you. Let her go, please.” She spoke calmly and softly from beside him. It took a minute but he listened.
“Elias…” “Don’t, not now. The truth is in there. He knows she’s only using you to hurt him but you have to let him get there on his own. You know how his mind works. You can’t force this. Because you’re aware of what happens if you try. Let me take care of him.” “She’s twisting this shit.” “I know and he does too. Regardless, he’s going to need time to process. I’ve got him.” With a tight nod, Ezekiel allowed Cress to walk away but not before she slapped their mother so hard I was impressed the lady managed to remain standing. “I owe you so much more for the way you hurt my husband all these
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“What the fuck is wrong with you? After all these years, and the damage you’ve done to him, you still don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself. He. Is. Your. Son.”
“You just told the story you wanted him to believe. The only reason I said he would fail was because he would never live up to our father’s standards or yours. It had nothing to do with Elias not being capable. It was never my decision for Lucas to marry Sasha. I argued against it but your husband manipulated him into believing he had to.” “Good luck convincing him of that.” “You’re un-fucking-believable,” Ezekiel growled down at her. “But this time is your last. I promise you’re going to feel this one.”
“You’re a fucking disgrace.” I shoved her as hard as I could and Ezekiel stepped between us. “Jhorie, let’s go,” he stated as calmly as he could, given the situation. I leaned around him and pushed a finger into her forehead. “Get the fuck off our property.” Her eyes narrowed. “Our…” She smiled. “Oh you poor dear. You’re just as fucking insane as they are.” Before I could stop myself I reached around Ezekiel and punched her as hard as I could.
“Are you ending things with me?” I rolled my shoulders back and he released a harsh breath. “No, that’s not an option for me.” The way his intense stare bore into mine I understood what he wasn’t communicating. He needed me, but wouldn’t beg me to stay. Ezekiel was too prideful and had already received a blow to his ego by way of his mother. “I had no expectations other than us navigating whatever this was between us together. If I leave, we can’t. I’m not afraid of what it means to be a part of your family, Ezekiel. I welcome the challenge.”
“You’re apologizing because you think you have to. Because of her. I’m sorry that of all the mothers in the world, she’s yours. That has nothing to do with you and everything to do with her. That woman is a horrible person.”
