Page 13

As much as I wanted to sleep in, there were some things I needed to investigate.

So I rose, brushed my teeth, oiled my skin, and dressed.

But I couldn’t leave her. Strolling to the bed, I grabbed one of the wingback chairs and positioned it next to her sleeping form.

Santari was stretched out with one leg peeking out the duvet, and the rest of her was snuggled under.

She was my beauty, and I was one of her beasts.

And I wondered if she knew I would always be there for her – even if the terms of our contract ended.

“All you had to do was ask,” she murmured. I smirked, and my thoughts took on a naughty visual of what she could be dreaming about. She shifted, drew her leg inside the cover, and lifted her eye to my side of the bed. The absence of my body made her turn, and we locked eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

Her smile elevated her entire face, and she tossed the covers off and crawled to me. I lifted her onto my lap and sat back, and she cuddled against my chest.

“Good morning, handsome. Why are you up?”

“Why?”

“Yes.”

“I need to head to the resort.”

Her head popped up, and our gazes reconnected. She studied me.

“What’s at the resort?”

“Business.”

She twisted her lips. “Already?”

“I thought I gave you what you came looking for.”

“And yet I still want you.”

We stared, and I grinned. “What do you want from me, girl?”

“Your presence.”

I licked my lips, wrapped my hands around her neck, and drew her mouth to mine. The second I tasted her tongue, I knew I shouldn’t have. I moaned as she purred, and she shifted on top of me.

“Santari.”

She unzipped my pants and freed my hard dick, pressing her folded legs onto my thighs as she lifted and rubbed her wet pussy back and forth against the head of my dick.

“Fuck, woman.” I gripped her thighs and dragged her back and forth, teasing her like she teased me, but I was weak, and she knew the power she had over me.

“What were you saying about the resort?”

A growl moved through me. “There is business I need to attend to.”

Her lips feathered my mouth. “Oh yeah?”

My hands left her hips and went to her neck. I bit her lips and spread her mouth with my tongue as she sat on my dick, spreading her pussy.

“Ah! — Fuck!”

I slapped her ass and gripped her bottom but let her fuck me at her own pace. Santari’s hair fell over my face, and I sank my mouth into her neck, bit down her flesh, and sucked in her nipples - one after the other.

“Ooooh…”

She bucked and dropped back and forth before going into a bouncing frenzy.

My grip on her ass tightened, and I lost my ability to leave control in her hands.

Lifting and dropping, banging her from below caused wet, heated friction between us that made us moan down each other’s throats as our tongues fought for dominating suckles.

My dick curved into her pussy, dragging against her walls and springing off her G-spot repeatedly.

“Ooh! Oooh, aaah!”

“Yes, lover, ride this dick. Bounce on it. Own it like it’s yours forever. Make me cum.”

“Aaah!” Her head fell back, and her legs quaked as she rode me while I slammed her against me.

“Shit!” She trembled. “Titan!”

“Give me that orgasm, baby.”

Hot cream slid down my dick, and I came right behind her.

“Oh! - Grrrgggh….”

We moaned, and I held her tight. Santari fell into my chest, our mouths crashed, divulging into hungry kisses.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered against my lips.

“And I can’t keep my eyes off you.”

“So you’ll stay?”

I growled. “No. You’re coming with me.”

Traffic was gridlocked on Ocean Avenue, and by the time we reached Primal Luxury Resort, the entranceway was no different.

Inside my Range Rover, Santari sat in the passenger seat, legs crossed in a two-piece bikini top and skirt - driving me wild with her mocha skin on display. Shades sat across her eyes, and her hand rested on my thigh. That slight touch was enough to calm and ignite me simultaneously.

Cars inched forward, and a black Mercedes S-Class was approached by the valet.

“You know, it was sexy as hell watching you burn down warehouse forty-nine.”

I turned my attention to Santari. “So, they did have cameras in the building – like all the others.”

“And they thought they would torment me by watching you fall.” Her lips spread into a sensual smile. “But you had other plans, and I was so proud of you.” She bit her bottom lip, but her red lipstick didn’t taint her white teeth.

“Proud, huh?” I reached over and pinched her chin.

“Proud, aroused, stirred. You awakened something inside me.” She squeezed my thigh. “And before you decide that’s not a good thing, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it’s authentic. Sometimes, violence is needed. Suppressing that for the sake of being a do-gooder is bullshit.”

I cracked a smile and took my gaze back to the Mercedes. “Don’t make my dick hard.”

She gripped my shit through my jeans. “Too late.”

Her laughter made my heart skip a beat, but the sight of a familiar face speaking to the valet made my gut tighten and my jaw clench.

Ron Valentine nodded and smiled at three men in designer suits – semi-younger replicas of him in different shades of brown.

The spike in my pulse was usually reserved for two things – violence or pleasure.

This feeling, however, was lodged in unfamiliar territory.

I felt neither violent nor desire but puzzled, curious, annoyed, and perhaps something else I didn’t want to tussle with – optimistic.

The thought of it put a bad taste in my mouth.

Fuck Ron and his sons. There was no reason to…

“Lover…”

I blinked and glanced at Santari, who was staring at me quizzically.

“Yes?”

“You went stiff. And not in the way I wanted you to. What’s wrong?” Her brows dipped.

“How exactly did you feel me go stiff?”

“Our souls are mixed. I feel everything you feel.”

I stared at her. She’d become my obsession in such a short time, but I never needed to question how that could’ve happened the way it did.

I was sure most things in life happened by design.

That was another reason I hated the optimism I felt seeing my estranged family stroll into my hotel.

Optimism for what? Questions I’d never ask?

If my life was meant to be different, it would be, and I was okay to live with that.

“Who are they?”

I glanced back at her to see that her attention had followed mine. I inhaled and released a deep breath.

“The one in the front with the salt and pepper beard is Ron Valentine.”

Her brows arched. “Your father?”

I locked my jaw, nostrils flaring. “Unfortunately.”

“And the others?”

“Appear to be successful men who’d grown up with everything I’d been denied.”

I was annoyed by the bitterness of those words, but they were true, nonetheless.

She gasped. “Your brothers.”

The valet moved the car, and we inched forward. When the attendants saw me, they sprinted to the Range and opened mine and Santari’s doors.

“Close her door.” I glared at the valet on her side, and he nodded and quickly shut Santari’s door. I glanced at her, left my position, strolled around the car, opened the door, and drew her close.

She giggled. “You didn’t have to scare the man.”

“He’s not scared.”

She glanced at him, and he stood back, waiting for us to clear the space.

“He’s scared shitless.”

I grunted, and we entered the lobby. Ron’s voice was loud, like an announcement speaker. He was a comedian, and I imagine he thought everything was a fuckin’ joke.

“Do you want to talk to him?”

“No.”

“I think you do.”

“Why? I’m merely shocked by his presence.”

“What do you think he’s doing here?”

“Probably on business or vacation. That’s why most people come here.”

She nodded. “Remember how you said you don’t believe in coincidences?”

“Is this the part where you throw my words back in my face?”

“What kind of soulmate would I be if I didn’t? Especially the good things.”

“That was about me and you reconnecting as friends and now lovers. It had nothing to do with anything else.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. You believe everything happens for a reason. You can’t lie to me, Mr. Valentine.”

“Don’t use that name here.”

She gawked. “The fuck? That’s your name, and this is your shit. You should boast about it. They are not the only ones who are rich and powerful, and I just knooow they’re not wielding no dick like that weapon between your legs.”

I guffawed and pulled her close. “Woman.”

“You know it’s true.”

“It could run in the family.”

She gazed at me closely. “You want to meet them? Your chance is now.”

“Fuck ‘em.”

We’d just about cleared the expansive lobby when I glanced back, and Ron’s eyes were on me. His brows dipped, curiosity etched in his features. I turned and kept walking, stopping only once we’d reached my private elevator.

I tapped in my code, the doors opened, and we moved inside, turning to face the closing doors.

Ding!

A hand shot through the crack, and the doors paused and opened, revealing my father.

He stared at me, and I stared at him, but neither one of us spoke. Beside me, Santari slipped her hand against mine. Our fingers linked, and she squeezed my fingers lightly.

“This is a private elevator,” I said.

I tapped in my sequence, and the doors began to close again.

“Wait!” Ron stuck his arm through and entered the crane, followed by his sons.

I locked my jaw and glared at him.

“I said, this is a private elevator. The public bank of elevators is down the hall on the left. When you exit, make two lefts, and you’ll be there.”

He stared at me in bewilderment, like he’d seen a fuckin’ ghost.

“What is your name?” His voice held notes of maturity and broken huskiness. With his question, his sons glanced from him to me and stared as they, one by one, became curious about our exchange.

Santari’s finger squeezing kept me balanced because, without it, I would’ve snapped by now.

“Can I help you with something?”

The tallest of the sons, who I knew was Christian Valentine from my research, spoke. “Father?”

Ron ignored him, unable to take his eyes off me. “You look exactly like your mother – Jidenna.”

The name hit me like a bullet to my chest, and I lost all my composure.

“Get the fuck off my elevator, Dad.”

Surprised reshaped the look in their eyes, but Ron wasn’t affected by my venom.

“What’s going on?” Xander asked.

“I’d like to know the same,” Elijah added.

“If you want answers, get them from your father. But none of you should ask me a motherfuckin’ thing.”

The elevator doors shut, and we ascended, moving between floors as they wrestled with confusion.

Xander grabbed Ron’s arm. “Dad, is there something you want to tell us?”

We reached the top floor in record time. The doors opened, and I pulled Santari in front of me as we exited.

“Titan.”

I froze. Hearing Ron call after me was shocking to my core. I turned back to him.

“You don’t get to address me.”

He left the elevator and stepped into the hallway followed by his sons.

“Titan, listen, we need to talk.”

“You don’t get to address me, fool!” My eyes went wild, and fury burned in my chest.

“I’m thirty-five years old! You’ve known about me since birth, and I know you have, so don’t lie!” I dropped Santari’s hand and balled my fists, but she cupped my right fist with her hands in an attempt to keep me tethered to sanity.

“If you never saw me here, you wouldn’t have wanted to talk! All these years that have gone by you haven’t wanted to talk. So what the fuck could you possibly have to say now?”

“I know, and I tried to reason with your mother, but?—”

“I don’t give a fuck about your excuses!” I shook my head. “Got damn it!”

I spun on my heels as rage boiled through me.

“But you need to know I wanted to be there for you.”

“When? Was it when Jidenna dropped me off at the nearest shelter’s doorstep because she’d decided she couldn’t raise a child alone?

Or maybe it was when I was shoved from foster care to foster care with people who only took me for a check and abused me instead?

Or perhaps it was when Nigerian authorities locked me away in a place you would hang yourself in because I was caught stealing food?

” I moved closer to him, my anger brimming in my veins.

“You’re a liar. You never gave a damn about me, and as far as I’m concerned, you can go to hell.

” My nostrils flared. “Now… get the fuck out of my hotel!”

His eyes widened, and Xander, Christian, and Elijah glanced at each other. Christian spoke to me.

“You’re our brother?”

“Don’t act like you didn’t know.”

“They didn’t,” Ron said. “Nobody knew but me.”

I shook my head. “Well… now your dirty little secret is out, Dad.” I turned back to Santari but spoke to them. “Fuck out of my hotel.”

“This is your hotel?”

I mocked him. “This is your hotel?” Glaring, I scoffed and tsked.

“Unlike you, I don’t hide myself. The name is scribed on every branded item in this motherfucker!” I pointed to a sign right beside the hotel door.

Your luxurious stay is complemented by Titan Valentine, owner and CEO of Primal Luxury Resort.

They were bewildered, their eyes wide as the truth settled in their souls. I walked off, ushering Santari before I exploded.

“We should talk!” Xander shouted at my back.

I slowed. “You’ve got fifteen seconds to get on the elevator and return to the first floor, or you’ll be stuck in the hallway.”

With that, I opened the door to the presidential suite and left them to their own devices.