Page 18 of Stripping Keys
I meant what I told her when it comes to her being mine. I see past the shields she keeps in place. To have that, when it comes to her and me being in here together, she drops it. I want the woman I know her to be. I want the secrets that she hides.
That right there might make me a hypocrite to want something I won’t give in return. My secrets are something noone will know. I’ll keep them until the day they put my ass in the ground. No one will learn the truth of my past.
It’s the last thing I need. If those around me learned it, they’d look at me differently. That’s not a chance I’ll take when it comes to my past. No one is to know what I did to survive living in that house.
Without much talk between Marla and me, we both consumed our meals from the diner. She polished off all of her food without any coaxing. Gotta admit it’s good to have a woman who doesn’t care about eating in front of me, and it's not a salad or only eat half and say she’s full.
Once we finished eating, I left her to watch TV for a while as I sat at my computer and worked. I’m surprised she hasn’t asked to see West or to leave the room yet. I’m sure she’s either pissed and not talking to him or she’s planning her escape.
I doubt the latter, though. I saw the look in her eyes when I told her what was happening between us.
My cock twitches in my jeans at the thought of having her. I’ve wanted her for months. Hell, her voice haunted me for years. I’d fuck women and think of her voice while doing so. I didn’t have to see her face for her to consume my head. After seeing her, though, that’s what fucked with my head more than anything. I couldn’t get off without envisioning it was her I was fucking.
There’s no denying the fact I wanted her, but I also have never been a choir boy. Sex was like second nature to me. I need it to focus just as much as I need to eat and sleep. Fucked up as it sounds, it’s what I need. Doesn’t matter how I get the release, as long as I get it.
“Are you going to work the rest of the day?” Marla’s question breaks through my thoughts before I could go down that train of thought. It’s the last place I need to head for thinking-wise.
Spinning my chair to face her, I lean forward and brace my elbows on my knees. “You got somewhere you need to be?”
“No,” she snaps and narrows her gaze on me. “I’m just not one for being couped up all day.”
I cock a brow, knowing she’s full of shit. I remember her telling me that her favorite thing to do after she finishes working on something is to relax and binge-watch one of the shows she loves. Woman was obsessed with older shows likeBaywatch,MacGyver, and others like that.
“I also want to see West,” she admits, blowing out a breath.
“I’ll text him and tell him to come in here and hang with you. I’ve got to go meet with my brothers again.”
“And I can’t hang out with West somewhere besides this room, why?”
“Until I know you’re not gonna up and try to run, your sweet ass is in here.” Standing, I cross the short distance to where she’s stretched out on the bed and climb over her. I brace myself up on my arms, not wanting to give her my full weight, but I give her just enough for her to feel me.
“You should still let me out of this room,” she fusses.
“And I will,” I tell her, dipping my head down ‘til I’m a hair's breadth away from her lips. “When I’m done with church, I’ll let you out of the room for a little while. But so, you know, your parents are here. They’ve been here and refuse to leave until they see you. Same as Marshall and Marley.”
“Great,” she grumbles, her body tensing underneath me. “They won’t leave until they get what they want.”
“You don’t gotta tell them shit if you don’t want to.” Though she should give them something, it’s only right to fill her family in on something so they’re not stressing over what their child/sibling is up to.
I’ve seen what the three of them are like when they’re all in the same room together. Marshall, Marley, and Marla might allbe like oil and water when together, but they all love each other. It’s just the way they are with each other.
“You’re right about that.” Marla scoffs. “I won’t be telling them a thing about what I do.”
“Baby, you might not want to tell them any of it, but I’d suggest giving them something. Your mom’s been worried sick about you.” Anna was a good woman, from what I can tell. If anyone deserves answers, that woman surely does.
Marla seems to lose some of the hostility in her body at the mention of her mom. “I’ll think about talking to my mom,” she grits out.
“Good.” I brush my lips across hers, and she opens her lips on a gasp.
I want nothing more than to take advantage of her opening to me, but I don’t have time. I’ve got to get to church.
Marla is a temptation all of her own. She could breathe, and I want her. Giving in to kissing her would be the easiestthing I could do. Fighting the need for her is the hardest.
Earlier, when she’d been dressing, I fought myself to keep from taking her then and there. I’m sure she’d enjoy the tease of being in nothing but a towel while she slipped those panties of hers on over her legs. The very fact she wasn’t wearing a bra made my hands itch to jerk the top of her tank top down and wrap my lips around one of those little hard pebbles she calls nipples. Through the tank top she’d put on, I could see the outline of the nipple rings. It was something I hadn’t known about her, and it makes me wonder what else she’s got pierced. It’s something I look forward to finding out.
“Behave for me, baby,” I murmur against Marla’s lips and pull away, getting off the bed and looking down at her. “I shouldn’t be long.”
Instead of giving me words, Marla huffs and rolls her eyes.
