Page 16 of Cause When You Love Someone

Ishmael

C all You Rose

From the right side of my bed, I watched Clarke as she slept.

She rested her head on her forearm, leaving a dab of drool to balance on her lips.

The night before, her hair hung down her back, but now, her thick mane shriveled up to her shoulders.

Even together, for only twelve hours, I got a preview of scars makeup couldn’t conceal, and I listened to night murmurs that only subsided once I tightened my hold on her.

Though Clarke’s light snore pierced the air, a smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. I never thought I could experience chaos and serenity in the same night, but after breaking up Clarke’s fight, then falling asleep with her pussy juice on my lips, I was a believer.

“Stalker.” Clarke’s hoarse voice spread a sneer across my lips.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t front. I felt you watching me.”

“Call it what you want. You’re beautiful. I like looking at you.”

She snuggled up to me, pressing her naked breasts against my chest. “Usually, that would bother me, but when you say it, it makes me feel like . . . you’re looking at more than what’s on the outside. That look is what got me into trouble last night.”

With a handful of her hair, I pulled Clarke’s head back, then ran my tongue from the base of her neck up to her chin. “You damn right about that. You let me into your body with no protection more times than I can count.”

“I’m more worried that I let you into my mind. My heart.”

I cringed, hearing she was unsure of what we were doing. Clarke never seemed bold enough to be transparent with her mom or her friends, but with me, she said exactly what came to mind.

“I’m sorry for intruding on your space, especially after showing my ass at the event.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I like having you in my bed. If you’re here, I know you’re safe.”

“That’s why I’m never leaving,” she declared before shimmying her body further under the covers.

“I would never put you out. Everything in me wants to keep you locked in my house, eating wings and kicking yo’ ass in every card game I own. But you can’t run away forever, love. Your reputation will last longer than your toxic relationship.”

“Hm. You say you’re not kicking me out, but it kind of feels that way.”

I pulled the covers back, giving myself a view of the frown lines between her eyes. “Never. I checked the calendar this morning. Your schedule is clear for the next two days. You’re staying with me.”

A flush of red flashed over her cheeks as she wrapped her arm around me. “Yes, daddy. Maybe we can add a dance class on our bucket list?”

“Our?” I quizzed, hoping she would serenade me with plans for the future for a second time.

“You heard what I said. Was that too much too soon?”

I pulled her close, trapping the apprehensive woman in my arms.

“Never too much. I don’t want space. I want to breathe with you—laugh, sleep, learn—all of that.” I pecked the dimple in her chin. “I also understand I may have to give you time to heal and figure out your next move.”

A bewildered expression widened her slanted eyes. “Are you breaking up with me already?”

“No, Clarke. I just want you to think beyond the moment. Things are good when you’re with me, but what happens when you return to the real world?”

“You come with me, or we build a world of our own,” she proposed. “Whether you believe it or not, my relationship was over long before we called it quits. I haven’t slept with Chaz in a couple of months, and I never made it a secret that I didn’t want to be his wife.”

“Seriously? You whispered about your dream wedding while I ate your pussy last night.”

Her shoulders crowded around her ears. “Different man, different dreams.”

Visions of the night before made my mouth water. Pussy had never been hard to come by, but good pussy was priceless. In one night, Clarke coaxed me into being a patient lover, holding back just long enough to make sure her pussy soaked my dick.

“Mm,” I moaned.

“What are you over there thinking about?”

“Let me show you.”

Clarke squealed when I sat her ass on my chest and her pussy near my mouth. Soft kisses on the inside of her thighs drew out murmurs I could barely make out.

“Don’t be shy, baby. Let me hear you,” I demanded.

“I swear you make me forget monsters exist,” she muttered. “I was so worried?—”

My tongue ran over her clit, cutting off her sentence. “Worried about what, love? The way you fell asleep with ease, I don’t think the word worried is appropriate.”

She reached down and massaged the top of my head. “What’s more befitting?”

“Safe. Optimistic. In heat.” I moaned when she scooted forward and rubbed her clit against my lips. “Pussy taste so fucking good.”

“Mm. Let me ride your tongue,” she declared right as my doorbell went off.

Like mannequins, our bodies went stiff, only moving when the disturbance returned.

“Who is that?” Clarke sat back on my chest. “Don’t tell me you have a girlfriend or baby?—”

I flipped her over so she was lying on her back. “Stop talking. I’m a fucking man. I wouldn’t lie about having a woman or a baby. You shouldn’t be in my bed if you think I would.”

Ding Dong!

Clarke sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest. “Stop fussing at me and go see who it is.”

Right as the doorbell went off for the third time, I made it to the front of the house. All the insults I prepared dissolved on my tongue when I saw Izzy on my porch.

“About time you answered the door. I was two seconds from climbing through your window.” She shoved me to the side and stepped down the hallway. “I’ve been holding my pee for almost an hour!”

I breathed a sigh of relief seeing it was my sister, but the squeal that echoed through my house after she arrived put me back on alert.

“Why the hell are y’all yelling?” I quizzed, busting into the room. “What are you doing in here? I thought you needed to use the bathroom.”

“It went away!” She bounced on her tippy toes. “Oh my God! I can’t believe the tea pages were right!”

“What did they say?” Clarke asked in a low voice.

“That you two ran off and got married.”

Isabella’s response made heat touch my cheeks. “And you think that’s true?”

“At first, I didn’t.” She pointed to Clarke in my bed. “Now, I do.”

As if boundaries didn’t exist, Isabella leaped on the mattress next to Clarke.

She studied the brown beauty like she was an artifact while she stroked her hair.

“I can’t believe you’re here. I need you to help me find a dress for a dance I’m attending soon.

Can I go to set with you one day? Can we take a selfie? ”

“All right. That’s enough, Izzy.”

Clarke gave me a sweet smile. “She’s fine.”

“Not acting like a groupie, she isn’t. Izzy, go wait for me in the living room.”

She slammed her palms into the bed and sprang to her feet. “Whatever. Clarke, don’t leave before we get our picture.”

I stepped to the side and let the spoiled brat pass me before I walked in Clarke’s direction. The need to inhale her scent triggered me to place one hand at each of her sides and lean down until we exchanged the same breath.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be right here until you come for me. After what you started this morning, I don’t want to be anywhere else unless it’s with you.”

I kissed her nose, then dropped one foot back. “That’s good to know since I was hoping you would come with me to the brunch Blaze is having for Church.”

“Oh. She’s a girl that likes to celebrate her man’s birthday all month. I love that for them.” Her brows leaped up her forehead. “Wait. I don’t have anything to wear. I don’t want to call any of my people.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You’ll take care of it,” she repeated with a hint of doubt packing her tone.

“I’m going to teach you to stop doubting me.”

She leaned back and crossed her legs. “I don’t mind being a student when my teacher knows what he’s talking about.”

I swiped my phone from the nightstand on my way out of the room.

Although I would have to deal with questions about Clarke, I knew O’Cyrus’s wife, Stony, could have a rack of designer pieces delivered in an hour.

Though the retired paparazzi was now a sports photographer, she owned a photography studio used by some of the biggest designers in the world.

The sound of TikTok music led me to the kitchen, where Isabella sat with a bowl of cereal.

“Why were you playing at the door instead of using your key?”

“I forgot it at home.”

Her lack of eye contact made me sit in the chair bedside her. “How did you get over here?”

“I took the train. I started to Uber, but it was too expensive.”

“It would’ve been free had you called me to pick you up.”

She shook her head. “If Mama would’ve seen you pick me up, she would’ve started begging.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s why I left. The landlord came over complaining about unpaid rent. When I refused to give her my stash, she started swinging.”

I rubbed my back teeth together to keep from swiping everything off the table.

“The rent is only four hundred and fifty dollars, and every month she has a problem paying it, even when she gets a check from the county.” Isabella sulked. “As much as I don’t want to leave, I may take you up on that offer.”

With every word she spoke, I could see the weight of our mother’s reckless behavior constrict her shoulders. Isabella was too young to be stressed, and Mariah was too old to have the same struggle after so many years.

“Instead of worrying about rent, how about you hang out with me and Clarke?”

Her lips twisted to the side. “Clarke. That’s what you call her?”

“That’s her name,” I proposed, though I knew what she was getting at. “I’m going to ask Stony to send over a few pieces from her studio. I’ll make sure they add a few moo-moos in the mix for you.”

“I would rather wear a trash bag!” She rolled her eyes. “Is Clarke your girlfriend?”

“Not yet, but soon.”

She giggled. “Cocky much.”

“I’m confident, baby. Not cocky.”