Page 49 of Welcome to the Table

I got in my car and drove straight to my penthouse.

No stops. I parked underground and made my way to the elevator.

Instead of going to the top, I pressed eight and got off on Raven’s floor.

I needed the feel of a woman. Not just any woman, but Raven’s touch.

I needed her touch, scent, just her presence to calm my adrenaline.

I walked to her floor, not giving a fuck if the nigga was there or not.

She was coming with me. I stood at her door, about to knock, when it swung open.

“Ahhhhh!” she screamed.

“Stop that fucking screaming before neighbors start to think you in danger,” I told her, using my fingers to pinch her lips together.

She smacked my hand away from her mouth.

“What the fuck are you doing at my door, Hellcat?!” she all but fucking screamed.

I rubbed my temples and pulled my dreads to the back to stop myself from snapping her neck.

“Where the fuck you think you going with this shit on?” I pulled at her barely there dress.

I gave her a twice-over, and it looked like she was about to go out with friends. The pink dress she had on was a little loose-fitting, but one wrong move, and her entire ass would be out. It was thin strapped. I knew she didn’t have on a bra because her hard nipples looked like missiles.

She straightened her dress and looked at me. “That’s not your business. I’m not your business. And leave me the fuck alone,” she said, trying to walk past me, but I put my hand on the door to stop her.

“Wrong answer, so I suggest you choose wisely this time. I don’t believe in second chances, so consider yourself lucky, or I’ll snap your pretty little neck,” I told her, and she didn’t flinch.

Raven was just what I needed. She rolled her neck and looked up at me.

“Young Jeezy got a concert tonight, and I’m going.” She gave attitude.

“With whom and where?” I could tell I was on her nerves.

“I’m going by myself. I don’t fuck with females.”

She could have been telling the truth, but I didn’t believe her.

“Cancel that shit and take off this fucking dress,” I commanded.

She looked at me like I was a dragon. Then she laughed and tried to push me, but I pushed her inside and kicked the door closed behind me.

I grabbed her face. She tried to move, but I gripped her cheeks tighter.

Her hands clawed at my hands, but she was no match for my strength.

Her bright face turned red as she tried to remove my hands. I let her go, and she stumbled back.

“Move the fuck out my way so I can go!” She was calm, but her tone was deadly.

“You think you the big bad wolf because you using profanity? You changed yo’ voice a little and think I’m supposed to be scared.” She smirked at me before coming closer.

“I use profanity all the time, but I am not falling for your antics. I am walking out that door. Why did you come here anyway?” she asked.

My stubbornness wouldn’t let me answer her.

I stared her down. I needed her, but wouldn’t let the words come out of my mouth.

I ran my hand across my head, casting my eyes down.

She tried to move past me, and this time I let her.

I couldn’t make a grown ass woman do what I wanted her to do.

Raven was different. I knew that when I first saw her.

Her walk, the way she talked, and even the way she displayed that she wasn’t scared of me.

She wasn’t the average bitch from the hood and couldn’t be controlled, but that was an easy fix.

I heard her keys and knew I had to speak up before she walked out the door.

“I need you with me tonight.” I couldn’t believe the words as they left my mouth. “I want you with me tonight. Shit crazy, and I just…” The words didn’t continue.

“Shhhhhhh.” Keys dropped, and she turned to me. “I don’t need to hear any more. I’ll change, and we can go to your penthouse.” Her voice was calm, and the shit scared me.

Raven walked beside me, leaning slightly and kissing my cheek.

She smiled before walking to the back of her condo.

I stood there listening to her shuffle around until she came back up front with her fuzzy slippers and a tight nightgown with thin straps.

Her body was in every stitch of her thin gown.

I licked my lips as she walked past me. She bent over to pick up her keys and looked back at me, licking her lips.

“Come on,” she said, and I walked behind her and out the door.

We stepped on the elevator, and I stood behind her.

She smelled like lavender mixed with Johnson’s baby lotion.

I wanted to grab her and kiss her, but I didn’t know the temperature.

She was tempting the fuck out of me, but I kept my hands to myself.

I didn’t know who dude was, and until I did, she wasn’t mine.

I watched her side profile and noticed she was smiling.

“You are so predictable,” she said, never turning around.

I didn’t respond, so she kept talking.

“You want me to initiate everything. Just like you thought I would tell you about the nigga who was in my house. All you have to do is ask and not be mean all the time, and you would get more out of me,” she said, and I smiled on the inside.

Raven stepped off the elevator, and I was behind her. She walked in like she owned it and went straight to my bar. She started making drinks like she was a bartender.

“Well, make yourself at home while I shower,” I told her, and headed to my room.

“Already have.” She moved around my bar like she knew what she was doing.

It felt good to have her here with me. I knew the nigga was probably somewhere lurking, but I had knives for that nigga.

I hopped out of the shower and dried my body, then put on a pair of Polo joggers and a wife-beater.

That was my attire for the rest of the evening.

I slid on my socks and Nike slippers and sat on my bed.

Then, I pulled my thick bag of weed out of the nightstand along with my Swisher Sweets and busted two gars down.

I rolled two, put my bag back, and headed to the living area.

I was shocked to see Raven sitting on my sofa with some type of colorful concoction that was filled to the rim of a glass with a smile on her lips.

On the table was a short glass of brown liquid for me.

I walked over to the sofa and sat in the middle with her to my left. She sipped her drink as I lit my blunt.

“You smoke?” I asked her, and she crawled over to me.

Shit was sexy as fuck as the weed took effect. I felt my eyes get low and lazy as she made her way to my lap. She turned on her back and put her head in my lap. Raven was so fucking pretty.

“I can smoke with you.” She was so fucking smooth that it scared me. “Put it to my lips.”

The way she said that shit made my dick jump.

I knew she felt it. She shifted her head and smiled.

I put the blunt to her lips, and she inhaled the smoke, letting it flow from her lips and into her nose, then blowing the smoke in the air.

She toked two more times before shaking her head for me to take it from her.

I reached over to grab my drink from the table.

It was quiet for a minute until she broke the ice.

“Why were you mad? And don’t say you weren’t. I was about to go out, but the look on your face changed my mind before your actions did. What’s up? Talk to me and don’t lie,” she said, looking in my eyes.

I was gone and didn’t even get the pussy yet. I tried to look away, but she reached up and grabbed my beard.

“No. Look at me and tell me what’s wrong?” she asked me, and that’s where I fucked up.

“I’ll tell you after you tell me who the fuck that nigga is who was all on you.” If she wanted me to tell her anything, I needed her trust.

Raven took a deep breath and rolled her eyes before speaking. “That’s my brother. It’s a long story.”

She must’ve thought I was going to brush the shit off, but I wasn’t.

“I got time to listen,” I told her.

Her eyes were red as fuck, and she was moving slow, so I knew she was high as hell.

“I been on my own since I was a teenager. My family tried to run my life and make me a part of something I didn’t want to be a part of. When I graduated from high school, I left and never looked back. I made a life for myself, and he found me,” she said.

I was confused. “What were you running from? And a part of what? A cult or some shit? Was it that bad that you had to run?” I asked her, and she sat up.

She straddled my lap reverse cowgirl style, arching her back until she was looking at me upside down.

The top of her head touched my chest. She was trying to distract me when she rolled her hips a little, but it wouldn’t work.

I wanted to know what the fuck had her running.

My hands rubbed her sides down to her hips and gave them a quick squeeze.

I grabbed the front of her neck and turned her to me.

My hand slid down the front of her body. I lifted her nightgown and grabbed her mound. I was surprised that she didn’t have any panties on. My middle finger slid between her wet lips, and she moaned.

“Nah, this ain’t for fun. Finish your story,” I whispered in her ear as my finger grazed her slit.

“How can I, when your finger is rubbing my clit?” She grabbed my dreads from behind, spreading them all over her face.

I circled her clit, and her hips bucked. She tried to raise her head, but I pulled it back down.

“I’m running this show. Continue talking.

What were you running from, and what made you run to New Orleans?

” I was trying to control my dick because her silky pussy had my shit screaming to be free, but I needed information first. My gut told me I wouldn’t like her answer, but I needed to know if she or her brother posed a threat.

“Fuck, Hellcat.” She rotated her hips to meet my fingers. I slowed them down but didn’t stop.