“But then Jeannie changed,” I say. “She started kiting checks, gambling, and hiding her debt too. I didn’t even know it was happening until the whole thing blew up spectacularly, and as you probably already know, my name was on some of those checks. So I filed for divorce, and we went our separate ways. It was tough, but it was for the better.”
Cleo nods.
“But you know Jeannie never stopped even after the divorce. In fact, she gambled even more, and yeah … it was bad.”
I nod and neither of us says anything for a few minutes. After all, what is there to say? Her mom sits in prison now doing hard time, and it is what it is. But then I squeeze her hand again, sending Cleo a small smile.
“At least there’s a happy ending to the story.”
“There is?” the sweet girl asks while furrowing her brows.
“There is,” I nod. “The two of us got to know each other, and we stayed in touch, even after your mom and I went our separate ways.Youare the one good thing that came out of that marriage, and I’ll always take care of you, Cleo. Do you understand?”
The curvy girl seems to tremble as tears come to her eyes, but then she smiles, bright and genuine.
“Yes Brody,” she breathes. “I believe you. I know.”
A feeling of possession spreads through my chest and I fix her with intense blue eyes.
“Good, because I want you to feel safe and secure, knowing that you belong to me. Now, no more talk about depressing shit. Let’s enjoy this meal, okay?”
With that, Cleo squeezes my hand once more before letting go to bite into her tuna melt, and I watch with avid pleasure as she swallows with bliss, enjoying the savory fish mixed in with melted cheddar. After all, everything I said is true. This woman’s happiness means more to me than the world, and I’ll do anything in my power to make sure Cleo lives a life full of joy and contentment.
6
CLEO
I’m walking to my dorm the next morning—more like limping, wincing with every step I take. After our date at the diner last night, Brody took me back to his hotel and we ended up making love until the early hours of this morning.
It was planned because of course, we missed each other desperately. So when a sex scene came on during the movie, one thing led to another. I was sitting on his lap. I felt him getting hard and then … well, let’s just say the limping seems to be the least of it. My bottom’s sore, my pussy’s achy, and even my back feels like it’s been thrown out a bit from all the positions Brody put me in.
Yet I love it because Brody makes me feel so secure and cherished, even as he’s ravishing my body.
“Your curves are absolutely beautiful,”he whispered in my ear after our first round. I was panting with my face buried in the mattress, unable to move. His seed was leaking from my bottom, but I loved feeling the hot trail of slime edge down my thigh. Even more, Brody’s a dirty asshole, and he gently pressed a kiss to my bottom hole before wiggling his tongue in that dirty space.
“Brody!” I squealed. “OMG, what are you doing?”
He grinned devilishly.
“Just tasting your ass musk. It’s got a coating of seed on it, so it’s particularly good right now.”
I gasped, eyes wide.
“But that’s your own seed,” I whispered. “Do you like it?”
My man shrugged, so confident about himself.
“You’re right. Eating seed isn’t exactly the most alpha thing ever, but I don’t really care if it’s dripping from one of your sweet holes, baby. Again, it has your special ass tang to it,” he smirked wickedly.
I gasped again with shock, but then dissolved into a puddle of utter warmth because this man and I are on the same wavelength, meaning that our minds are always in the gutter. It’s a perfect match, if I do say so myself, and I giggle again while letting myself into my dorm suite. Neither Morgan nor Katrina are home, thank god, so the space is blessedly silent as I head to my room.
But my giddy laughter is cut short the second I unlock my room door because my room has been completely ransacked! My curtains have been torn to shreds and lie on the ground like scraps of used Kleenex. My white bedding now has all kinds of disgusting brown stains on it, and I seriously wonder if it’s shit, given the powerful odor. Plus, my desk has been upended, the legs sticking in the air like a beetle on its back, and my clothes are on the ground in messy heaps. I’m paralyzed with shock, but I wouldn’t be surprised if all of my outfits have been cut to ribbons so that they’re unwearable.
“What?” I gasp. “Who did this?”
But that’s when I see the writing on the wall. Someone’s literally scrawled the word “SLUT’ in big bold letters on the wall behind my desk. It looks like it’s done in lipstick too, and sure enough, when I lean in to smell it, there’s the scent of cherries. Doesn’t Morgan use a special scented lipstick from some fancy brand? She definitely goes for a red lip at least three days a week.
I don’t even know how to react as I stare at my destroyed room, shaking with shock as tears begin sliding down my cheeks. In my heart, I know that it had to be Morgan and Katrina. There’s literally no one else who would bother or care, come to think of it. Plus, those two have always had it out for me although I’m not sure why.