Page 16 of Certified Pressure 3 (Certified Pressure #3)

Trill-Land, Jungle Estate

The following day…

It was past midnight and I was up, diggin’ deep inside Kashmere while she dug her nails into my back.

Her moans was spillin’ out loud, her legs wrapped tight around my waist like she ain’t want me goin’ nowhere.

Sweat slid down my temple and dropped on her chest as I leaned in, kissin’ down her neck, suckin’ her soft skin until I left marks she was gon’ see tomorrow.

She was archin’ up under me, gaspin’ every time I pushed my dick in slow then sped up, hittin’ that deep spot that made her claw my back harder.

I grabbed her wrists, pinned ‘em down against the pillow, and leaned back just enough to watch her face twist up. Her lip trembled, and I couldn’t help but laugh low in my throat while I ground down slow, lettin’ her feel every inch.

My mouth slid from her lips down to her chest, and I sucked her nipple into my mouth, flickin’ my tongue against it ‘til she cried out and bucked up into me. I switched sides, bitin’ just enough to make her gasp, then went back to kissin’ her neck while I pumped harder, feelin’ her legs shake around me.

“Damn, girl,” I muttered against her skin, “this pussy wet as fuck tonight. You like when I fuck you like this?”

She whimpered my name and nodded, and that’s all I needed. I held her hips tight, thrustin’ deeper, harder, watchin’ her back arch off the bed while her eyes rolled. Her body locked up, and I felt her walls clutchin’ around my dick, pullin’ me deeper and beggin’ me not to stop.

I growled, slidin’ my hand up her throat, squeezin’ hard, lettin’ her feel my dick pulse inside her. Her eyes locked on mine, and I saw that mix of comfort and need that always made me go harder.

Her body jerked, and she came loud under me, her nails scratchin’ down my arms. I grunted, slammin’ into her one last time before I pulled out slow, spillin’ all over her stomach. She laid back breathin’ heavy, her chest risin’ and fallin’ like she just finished runnin’ a race.

I collapsed beside her for a second, my chest heavin’, sweat rollin’ down my back. I kissed her collarbone one last time before slidin’ out the bed, grabbin’ a rag off the dresser. My legs felt heavy, but I made my way to the bathroom, the cold tile hittin’ my feet as soon as I stepped in.

I flicked on the light, squintin’ a lil’ and leaned over the sink.

I splashed water across my face. It was cool and sharp, runnin’ down my chin as I stared at my reflection.

My waves was still tight, glistenin’ from the sweat, and my chest and back was marked up from Kash’s nails.

I let the water sit there for a second before grabbin’ a towel and wipin’ myself down slow.

After a couple minutes, I cut the light off and headed back out with a new rag to wipe Kash up.

The sheets was twisted round her body like she was tryna hold on to the heat I left behind.

I unravel the sheets, wiped her stomach and dropped the rag on the floor.

She then shifted, watchin’ me as I sat on the edge of the bed again with my phone in my hand.

Her hair was wild and lashes low, but her eyes was sharp when she finally spoke.

“You tell your parents yet?” she asked, her voice soft but holdin’ weight. “You keep puttin’ it off.”

I ain’t even look up from my phone. “I talked to my mama earlier,” I told her. “I’mma go see ‘em tomorrow. They just got back yesterday from some convention out the country.”

“Tomorrow?” she repeated, her tone sharp like she ain’t believe me. “Pressure, we been engaged over three weeks now. You really mean to tell me you ain’t had no time to go see them before now? They wasn’t gone that long.”

I sighed and set my phone down on the dresser, rubbin’ my head with my palm slow.

“You actin’ like I been avoidin’ somethin’,” I said.

“I ain’t puttin’ nothin’ off. I’mma tell ‘em tomorrow, like I said. I told you they just got back yesterday from some convention, so don’t make it seem like I been playin’ you. ”

She sat up, holdin’ the sheet across her chest. “I’m not saying you playing me, but it do feel like you catering to everything else but me. You real quick to make sure everybody know Pluto pregnant, but when it come to us, it’s like you dragging your feet.”

My jaw flexed, but I ain’t raise my voice.

I already checked her before ‘bout bringin’ my child into arguments, and she knew not to cross that line again.

I leaned back against the headboard, meetin’ her eyes calm.

“Ain’t nobody say I wasn’t gon’ tell ‘em about you, but I also gotta tell ‘em Pluto havin’ my baby. Both things gotta get said, and I can’t pick one over the other.

You not a secret, Kash. When we get married, everybody gon’ know you my wife.

Just ‘cause I ain’t movin’ on your timeline don’t mean I’m tryna hide you. ”

She bit her lip, still lookin’ like she wasn’t satisfied. “Then why I can’t come with you? If you serious about me being your wife, why I can’t be right there when you tell them?”

“‘Cause I need to handle that part on my own,” I said, my voice even but firm. “I gotta sit with my mama and let her know about my baby with Pluto, and I don’t need no extra tension in that moment. That ain’t me tryna keep you out. That’s me bein’ real about what’s gon’ come up when I bring it up.

Her eyes narrowed. “So what, you think your mama gon’ say you shouldn’t marry me because of Pluto?”

I finally turned my head and looked dead at her, my eyes holdin’ hers until she shifted under the weight of it. I leaned in closer, dropped my voice low, lettin’ it come out smooth but sharp enough to cut. “Chill.”

That one word sank in. I ain’t have to repeat myself, and she ain’t have nothin’ else to say. She pulled the sheet tighter round her chest and looked away, breathin’ slower now.

I could feel the tension gettin’ worse, so I stood up and slid on some shorts. “I’mma go downstairs for a minute,” I muttered, grabbin’ my phone again, and ain’t argue. She just laid back against the pillows, watchin’ me leave.

The house was quiet as I made my way to the elevator and down to the first floor, the cool marble under my feet remindin’ me just how late it was.

I wasn’t expectin’ to hear nothin’, but when I hit the hallway, a sound drifted from the kitchen.

It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make me pause.

A chair slid across the floor, or maybe it was somethin’ movin’ against the counter. Either way, it had me on edge.

I walked through the dark, my eyes adjustin’ as I got closer. My hand brushed the wall until I found the switch, and when I flipped the light on, I stopped in my tracks.

Standin’ here in the middle of my kitchen with a bright red wig on her head was Toni Roc.

I blinked once, thinkin’ my mind was playin’ tricks on me, but when she turned and gave me that look that told me she had been caught in some shit, I knew I wasn’t trippin’.

“What the fuck you doin’ here?” I asked, eyes buck as hell.

She looked straight at me, wide-eyed, just as shocked as I was to see her, and for a few long seconds neither one of us said a word.

The only sound was the fridge and the faint tick of the clock over the stove while we just stared at each other across the kitchen, both tryna figure out what the fuck was goin’ on.

“Toni, what the fuck you doin’ in my kitchen, bro?” I asked, my voice sharp.

She was frozen right where she stood, a cup in one hand and some snacks in the other.

That bright red wig damn near glowed under the kitchen lights, and for a split second I wondered if this girl been hidin’ out in my crib the whole damn time.

I knew that ain’t really make sense, but nothin’ about seein’ Toni Roc in my kitchen in the middle of the night made sense.

Before she could even get a word out, her phone started ringin’. She fumbled with it, tryin’ to balance the cup, and when I saw her glance at the screen her lips parted like she ain’t know what to do.

“Kay’Lo,” she said under her breath, and I swear that shit made my chest tighten.

Then she had the nerve to put the phone up to her ear. “Yeah, you need to get in the kitchen,” she said, her voice quick, her eyes dartin’ at me. “Pressure is here.”

“Nah, fuck that,” I cut in, steppin’ closer. “You wild as fuck if you think you gon’ talk to anybody about me while I’m standin’ right here.”

I snatched the phone right out her hand and looked at the screen. Kay’Lo’s name stared back at me bold as hell. For a second I thought I was readin’ it wrong, but I wasn’t.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, then put the phone to my ear. “Nigga, what the hell goin’ on?”

All I heard was Kay’Lo’s sigh before the line cut. I stared at the phone, tossed it on the counter, and looked back at Toni. She still ain’t said shit, her eyes wide like she was prayin’ for Kay’Lo to pop up fast.

And the nigga did.

Footsteps came quick down the hall, and then Kay’Lo appeared in the doorway, shirtless and lookin’ like he just rolled out of bed.

My eyes moved from him to Toni and back again at him, and the puzzle started puttin’ itself together whether I wanted it to or not.

Kay’Lo had been gone for weeks, then he slid back home a few days ago with no real explanation.

Now I was standin’ in my own fuckin’ kitchen lookin’ at him and Toni Roc like they was caught.

I raised my eyebrows, already on defense. “So this what the fuck it is?”

Kay’Lo sighed, rubbin’ a hand over his head, then walked right over and stood next to Toni like he was plantin’ his flag. “I was gon’ tell you,” he said. “I was gon’ let you know about me and Toni, but it wasn’t time yet.”

My whole body heated up. I took a step closer, my chest heavy. “Nigga, you behind my back fuckin’ with one of my women? That’s what you on?”

Kay’Lo didn’t flinch. He looked me dead in the eye. “Yo’ woman? Nigga that’s not yo’ woman. She mine, and you ain’t even want her, cuz. You let her walk away. Don’t act like this some big betrayal when you wasn’t checkin’ for her like that.”

I shook my head slow, laughin’ without humor. “That don’t fuckin’ matter. You know how this look? It’s lookin’ real shady my nigga.”

“I ain’t one of your women no more,” Toni finally spoke, her voice small but firm. “Pressure, you know it wasn’t like that between us. You was stuck on—“

I cut my eyes at her quick. “I ain’t talkin’ to you, girl.”

That made Kay’Lo step up, his whole vibe shiftin’ like he was ready for smoke. “Nigga, watch how you talk to her.”

I leaned in, close enough to his ass to feel the heat rollin’ between us, my voice droppin’ low but sharp enough to cut glass. “I wish you would want it, nigga!”

The space was steamin’ with tension. Kay’Lo squared up, and for a second I thought we was gon’ really see who wanted it more, but before fists could fly, Renza came rushin’ in. He damn near slid across the floor tryna get between us.

“Aye, the fuck y’all got goin’ on?” Renza barked, throwin’ his arms out to keep us apart. “Cuz, y’all supposed to be better than this.”

Me and Kay’Lo kept starin’ at each other, both breathin’ hard, neither one backin’ down. Toni stepped in quick, her voice raisin’. “Stop! This ain’t worth it. I’m not comin’ between y’all, I swear I’m not. Just stop!”

But I ain’t look at her. My focus stayed locked on Kay’Lo. “You wild as hell for this,” I said. “Of all the women out here, you go for her?”

“She ain’t just some woman,” Kay’Lo shot back. “She mean somethin’ to me, Pressure, and I ain’t backin’ off her. It is what the fuck it is, my nigga.”

That hit me hard but I couldn’t let it show. My chest was burnin’ and my pride was twisted up in knots, but I stood tall. “You could’ve had the fuckin’ decency to step to me like a man and tell me what it was.

Renza pushed us further apart, frustration clear in his face. “Man, y’all gon’ tear this family apart over a female? Y’all cousins. Remember who the fuck y’all niggas is before y’all do somethin’ y’all can’t take back.”

Before I could respond, Toni snatched her phone back off the counter and dialed quick. She put it to her ear and her voice shook. “Kashmere, you need to come get yo’ nigga... Right now.”

I glared at her. “You really callin’ my girl into this?”

“Pressure, you need to chill.”

Minutes later, Kashmere came stormin’ into the kitchen, her robe tied loose, her hair a mess from me fuckin’ her a few minutes ago. “Pressure, what the hell?” she asked, walkin’ right up to me and touchin’ my chest. “Calm down, it ain’t that serious.”

I looked at her, then back at Kay’Lo, then at Toni standin’ behind him. My fists clenched, and all I wanted to do was kick both they asses out my mansion right then. But… Kay’Lo was my blood, and no matter how twisted this shit was, I knew I couldn’t erase that.

Renza’s voice came low but strong. “Y’all gotta remember what it mean to be family. This ain’t the way to go. Pressure you got Kash and Kay’Lo got Toni. Woopty Doo niggas.”

I shook my head, my voice rough. “I ain’t lettin’ this slide like it don’t matter.”

Kay’Lo didn’t flinch. He just wrapped an arm round Toni’s shoulders, pullin’ her close, lettin’ me know where he stood.

Kashmere rubbed my arm soft, whisperin’, “Baby, please, leave them alone.”

I stepped back finally, my chest still heavin’ and my head spinnin’ from the betrayal. I knew right then it was gon’ take me a minute to process this shit. Kay’Lo, my own blood, done crossed that line, and Toni Roc—one of my old Diamonds—stood right there lettin’ it be known she was his now.

No matter what they said, and no matter how they tried to explain this shit, that sting wasn’t leavin’ me no time soon.