Page 33

RIOT

I had no idea what the hell was really going on with my mother. Why she had it out for Allure the way she did. It wasn’t just skepticism or a side-eye, it was venom. Full-blown hostility. And it didn’t make a damn bit of sense.

Allure had been locked away for a decade. Stripped of her freedom. Forced to survive in silence. She hadn’t done a thing to anybody. So how did she manage to trigger my mother like this? Why was her presence enough to make Ma’s eyes go cold and her voice sharpen like a blade?

I tried to make sense of it, but nothing tracked.

So I had to chalk it up to her condition.

That slow, creeping unraveling that was pulling her mind apart thread by thread.

Mama wasn’t well. She was slipping. And Creed and I had to face the truth, we needed to get her help.

Serious help. Not just prayer and denial.

Not just good intentions. Real treatment.

Real doctors. Something to slow the decay if it wasn’t already too late.

The woman who raised us, who held it together while our father ripped it all apart was vanishing in front of us. And I hated how helpless it made me feel. But she wasn’t alone. Not in this.

She had people. She had a village. Madeira, her sister, had always been ride-or-die, and that hadn’t changed. Creed and I were here too, whether she liked it or not. And then there was Abra… the real MVP.

Abra had stepped into Mama’s shadow and filled every inch of it without hesitation.

She’d been her assistant, her scheduler, her buffer between the world and the firestorm that was our family.

But when Mama started to decline, Abra didn’t run.

She doubled down. She became her mouthpiece, her eyes and ears. Hell, sometimes her spine.

I respected the hell out of that.

Once the open house at King’s Vine was over, I was going to make sure she got that raise. She earned it ten times over. Loyalty like that didn’t come around often. Especially in this business.

As I cruised back home, the city blurring past me through the tinted glass, my phone lit up. Shari.

I rolled my eyes and hit ignore without hesitation.

There wasn’t shit left to say. That chapter was closed, sealed, and burned.

I got what I needed from her, and I wasn’t proud of that, but it was what it was.

I’d moved on. I was building something different now.

Something that didn’t require manipulation or games or late-night calls full of fake tears and empty promises.

Allure had me thinking long-term.

And yeah, I was still a man. Still had blood pumping through my dick same way it did my heart. And it had been a minute since I’d touched a woman—really touched her. But Allure made me want to slow down. Made me want to earn it. Made me want to be worthy.

So I was learning restraint. Patience. Shit I’d never been good at.

My phone lit up again. I thought it was Shari again.

This time the rage rolled in fast. What the fuck didn’t she understand aboutus being done? How many times did I have to ignore a bitch before she got the message?

But it wasn’t her.

It was Rollo.

I exhaled and answered. “Yo.”

“Wsup. Just heard from Irina,” he said, voice tight with urgency. “Boaz and his crew made bail. All of them.”

I sat up straighter, tension slicing clean through my shoulders. “That was fast.”

“Yeah. Irina said she saw them walk out with smug-ass faces. She went back to him.”

My jaw clenched. “Do you think you can trust her?”

“Yeah, I do.” Rollo said. “But she’s scared. And she knows he gotta be handled. I told her to keep me posted on his location, movements, all that. She said she would.”

“You think she’ll hold the line?”

“I think she’s too afraid not to.”

“Good,” I muttered, eyes narrowing on the road ahead. “Keep me in the loop. I’ll start lining things up on my end.”

“Bet.”

I hung up, grip tightening around the steering wheel.

So that was it.

The wolves were out of the cage.

Now the real work began.

And this time, I wasn’t just fighting for vengeance or legacy.

I was fighting for Allure.

For peace.

For whatever future might still be possible when the blood stopped spilling.

After I arrived back home I let myself in, the familiar creak of the door grounding me more than I expected. I tossed my keys in the tray near the front and shrugged off my jacket. My mind was still turning over what Rollo told me. Boaz was out. That meant the countdown had started.

But for now, I was home.

I cracked open a bottle of wine, poured a single glass, and sank into the couch.

The leather was cool against my back, the weight of the day pulling at me like gravity.

I’d earned a few quiet minutes before everything ramped up again.

I closed my eyes and let my mind drift… only to hear the soft click of the front door unlocking.

Allure stepped inside. She looked so damn fine, but she looked fine every day.

"Hey," she greeted.

I stood up, met her halfway, and pulled her in without a second thought. My hands rested on her hips, hers found their way around my neck. I kissed her slowly, our tongues melting into one another. Her kiss made me forget all about the shit with my mother today. But not about the danger ahead.

When we pulled back, I studied her face. She looked so serene and I hated that I was about to break that for her.

"Boaz made bail today," I announced.

She stiffened just slightly, but I kept my hands on her, grounding her. "He’s out, but I got eyes everywhere. I’ll handle it. He’s not gonna touch you. Not again. Not ever."

“Wow. I knew it was going to happen but I didn’t know it would make me feel like this.”

“How do you feel?” I asked her.

“Hearing that brought me back to that compound. Those girls in the basement. It’s all too much,” she said.

“It’ll be over soon. In the near future he won’t be more than a thought.”

“I believe you. But in some other news, I saw my brother today. “

“How was that?”

“It was okay. I also spoke to my mother. My brother seemed a little preoccupied but our reunion was sweet. However, he wants me to stay with him."

I didn’t flinch, but I felt something shift in my chest. “You want that?”

She shook her head. “No. I want to be here. With you.”

There was something about the way she looked tonight that made her irresistible. I wanted her. I wanted to taste her for the first time. This was about her pleasure although I would be fulfilled by pleasuring her.

I smiled and pulled her close, capturing her lips in a deep, hungry kiss. My hands slid down her back, gripping her hips as I pressed against her. I could feel the heat building between us, electric and undeniable.

Without breaking the kiss, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to the bedroom. I laid her down gently on the bed, hovering over her. My eyes locked on hers as I slowly undressed her, savoring each inch of smooth brown skin as it was revealed.

Once she was fully bare before me, I took a moment to drink in her beauty. She was a vision, all soft curves and feminine perfection. I placed tender kisses along her neck and collarbone before moving lower. I lavished attention on her full breasts, swirling my tongue around each hardened peak.

Allure arched into my touch, soft moans escaping her lips.

Encouraged, I continued my sensual journey down her body until I was settled between her thighs.

Her scent was intoxicating, luring me closer.

I placed a reverent kiss on her most intimate flesh before parting her slick folds with my tongue.

She gasped as I began to devour her, licking and sucking at her sensitive pearl. I groaned against her, the vibrations making her hips buck. She tasted like sin and salvation all at once. I couldn't get enough. My tongue delved deep, thrusting in and out as I feasted on her nectar.

"Riot," she panted, tangling her fingers in my hair. "Oh god..."

I doubled my efforts, determined to make her shatter. I licked my finger and brought it to her clit, circling and flicking until her thighs began to quake. I heard her cry out and she came undone, flooding my mouth with her release.

Her hands fisted in the sheets, her back arched, a cry breaking free from her lips as she trembled under my mouth.

She tried to keep quiet at first, but the pleasure caught her off guard, wild, raw, real.

Her legs shook around me, her moans turned breathless, then quiet sobs as her first orgasm took her.

I worked her through the aftershocks before kissing my way back up her trembling body.

I claimed her mouth, letting her taste herself on my tongue.

She wrapped herself around me, clinging tightly as the last waves of pleasure ebbed.

Tears slipped down her cheeks, soft, unrestrained, full of release.

“I didn’t know…” she whispered, voice cracked and full of wonder. “I didn’t know it could feel like this…”

I kissed her slow. “You ain’t felt nothin’ yet.”

She smiled, watery and full of something beautiful.

Then she pulled me closer, her voice hoarse, lips against my neck. “I want you. Now.”

I looked her in the eyes, my hand cupping her jaw.

“Not yet,” I said, steady.

She nodded, breath catching, but didn’t argue. Just kissed me again, holding me like she was afraid I’d disappear.

We stayed there, tangled and quiet, her head on my chest, my arm around her waist. I felt like I was home with her.