Chapter 9

Zora

“You. Owe. Me. Some. Fucking. Details.” Justine walked into my office with the whisper and yell at the same time.

Hell, I knew this would be a thing. Blown way out of proportion because nobody knew anything about my relationships. Mainly because I had none. However, even if I did, that meant, they definitely wouldn’t know. Except now.

“Girl, I thought you were in the closet. Maybe even bi. Wait, you are bi right? If you are, Lauren owes me fifty bucks.” Justine carries on as if she wasn’t actually asking me questions. 

“Justine,” I say.

“Yeah, girl? I’m just saying, you and freaking Harvey? That’s the jackpot. He’s hot and has that WWF wrestler look to him. Straight pound a bitch.” She laughed at her own analogy. “I totally see that, except he’s demanding. You know those alpha types. You an alpha yourself. How y’all work that shit out?”

Yeah, the woman was asking questions for the sake of asking. She did not want a real answer. So, I sat back and let her keep talking.

“So, at the bar that day. Y’all weren’t together like that were you? Wait, did it start then?” She continued to ask. “Hell, it don’t even matter. I’m just glad you’re getting some. I knew it was something. You’re all sweet and shit.”

I held out my arm, pointing my finger to the door, “Out!” I yelled. “Get out.”

Justine burst out laughing and said, “Don’t act like a bitch now. The cat’s out the bag. On the fucking red carpet and in a goddamn, gorgeous ass dress. Swear if me and Lauren weren’t thinking about marriage, honey you were hot enough to eat last night.”

My hand came to my forehead as I shook it with the craziness of the comments.

“Justine,” I said in an exasperated tone.

“Aight, Girl. I’ll leave you be but believe me this isn’t over.” She finished as she left.

That woman was crazy as hell, but always had my back and knew the game. Sasha was sure to come next, and I knew the ladies would start with their commentary when practice started. What I didn’t know or expect was the owner, barging into my office.

“What were you thinking,” Pete hissed as he slammed the door shortly after Justine left.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“What. Were. You thinking?” He was standing over top of my desk, glaring at me. “Fucking Harvey Black. The man’s a whore at best and at worse, he’ll be done with you before the season has officially started. Hopefully by then, you won’t have given him all of our trade secrets during pillow talk.”

What in the actual fuck?

“Excuse me,” I asked again but standing so we could be at the same level. “Please tell me you did not just come into my office and speak to me like I’m one of your friends and not your employee. That you just didn’t come in here to question my relationship and professionalism. Please Pete, my capable and confident employer, did not just come into this office with this shit.”

I folded my arms over my chest as I stared at him.

“Yes, I fucking did. Because when who you’re fucking impacts this organization, it is my fucking business. Please know that I thought Harvey was a damn fool to fire his head coach before the season was over but now, I see why someone might do that.”

My heart sank but my spine became steel.

I came around the corner of the desk, grabbed my whistle and clipboard and said to him.

“I also see why coaches go to the media about disputes with their owner,” I retorted.

He scoffed and said, “Well, you’re fucking one of them. So…”

“Pete, I’m going to pretend this conversation never happened because any more words will ruin a really great friendship.” I opened and closed the door and went to practice.

The nerve of that fucking asshole. He could not be believed. Who does that? Who did that?

More importantly, what the fuck?

As I figured, the team gave me shit about it, but I couldn’t find the humor anymore. Justine and Sasha picked up my mood and took over. Afterward, I left early and scheduled a mini spa day with me, myself and I.

Hair, nails, feet, wax and a massage were all on the menu. Nothing hard or complicated to think about. I turned my phone off and let the oils do their magic.

The goal was to rid myself of the anxiety but that’s all I had when it was Saturday evening and I didn’t want to turn on my phone or go home. I wasn’t sure how to face the reality that I may lose my damn job. All because of what?

Therefore, I chose the punk move and reserved a hotel room for one night. Ordered the biggest steak they had on the menu, broccoli, chocolate mousse cake and a bottle of wine. I would eat, drink and be merry as I binge watched the Walking Dead.

That was my plan, and I was sticking to it.

At least until it was time for me to check out on Sunday.

Needless to say, Sunday came with a massive headache, a full bladder and that sunken feeling that happens when you escape life. Though my bits were waxed, hair was tight, nails were polished, I felt like shit and knew that when I turned back on my phone. Shit would be worse than I thought.

My chest was beating faster than normal, palms were sweaty and the not-so-good tingling session was coursing throughout my body. Everything seemed move slower even though my heart couldn’t take too much too quickly. What did not go slow were the notifications to my phone. Several voice messages from Justine, Sasha, Pete, a reporter and Harvey. There were several texts as well, but the only ones I read was from Mr. Black, himself.

Harvey: Where are you?

Harvey: Pick up the phone

Harvey: I’m outside your door

Harvey: No one has seen you

Harvey: Zora, talk to me

Harvey: Not that easy, sweetheart

Damn.

My heart dropped because I knew that he was right. Not that it wasn’t that easy for him but just life. It wasn’t going to be that easy to just tap out.

I called him first, and he answered on the first ring, “Are you okay? Where the fuck are you?”

“Harvey, calm down,” I said. “I’m fine.”

“Where are you?” the man was growling at this point.

“I’m downtown and on my way home.” I started.

“I’m on my way,” Harvey interjected before I could finish.

“Wait, Harvey. I just need some space right now, okay. That’s why I didn’t reach out to you yesterday. A lot was happening, and I just needed some time to think.” I rushed.

“Well, you had your time to think, yesterday. Now, it’s today and I’ll see you at your place in twenty minutes,” Harvey said with a measured tone and then the line went dead.

No, he did not.

Dread and anxiety etched through me as I nabbed a taxi to go across town. I text as many people back as I could but mostly it was to clear those damn numbers from the app icons on my phone. It still said ten unheard voicemails, and I didn’t want to hear any of them.

Especially Pete.

As the taxi drove near my place, I saw the hulking figure I’ve come to know as Harvey pacing in front of my driveway. My heart was racing, but this confrontation needed to happen one way or another. We’d been good and Harvey had done nothing wrong but that shit Pete spewed, sent me into a whirlwind and I did not want to deal.

Harvey went into his pocket, pulled out some bills, opened my door, so I could get out and paid the driver. Ignoring the bills I had in my hand, I pushed them back in my purse and waited for the cab to drive away. In front of me stood Harvey, with a face set as hard as granite and eyes trained on me.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Can we at least go in the house.” I did not ask and pushed past him to go inside.

My neighbors did not need to see me and my lover going at it outside.

Once we were inside, I dropped my stuff on the table near the door and walked to the kitchen to get some water. I could feel Harvey on my heels and then his voice booming through the not-so-small room.

“What the fuck happened?” He was on edge.

His face was hard, eyes trained on me, and his body was tight. If he were a cartoon figure, there would have been steam coming from his ears and head.

“Harvey, I needed some space. Therefore, I stayed at a hotel last night, drank a whole damn bottle of wine and right about now, I feel like shit.” I raised my hands up as if I was surrendering. “I’m tired, hungover and my head hurts. I do not need you screaming like a maniac or losing your fucking mind. Okay?”

The man took one menacing step toward me and I swear, I considered running.

“I have been up all fucking night, worried sick about you. Where you were? What could have happened? Called your coaches, family, stalked your social media sites and nothing. Worried sick. Why?” he asked with a condescending tone. “Because I thought you were woman enough to talk through your shit. Not up and disappear like there are people that do not care or worry about you. There are!”

“Woman enough?” I asked by matching his menacing step with my own. “Woman enough. I needed a goddamn break, okay. I don’t have to answer to anyone to take a break because I am a grown fucking woman and I will do what I want when I damn well please. On my time and my agenda because I am woman enough to handle my own shit. I don’t need to apologize, expect or inform anyone of my whereabouts. So, the next time you feel like you have the right to question me, think again.”

“Come again,” Harvey hissed almost so low, I couldn’t hear him.

“What?” I said loudly.

“Come again!” He roared in my face. “Say what!”

He closed the distance between us and we were toe-to-toe. I was looking up into his blazing eyes and his was boring down into me.

“You dare sit here and say I don’t have a right to question you, when my chest is beating a hundred miles per hour because I thought I lost the only thing that makes sense to me. My reward, my saving grace. You gonna stand here and tell me you don’t need to inform me, when we’ve spent the past three weeks together, almost every fucking day, if not at least talking. You change up and tell me I shouldn’t expect it.” He shook his head back and forth. “Fuck that. You’re going to apologize, you’ll inform and you will pick up the goddamn phone when I call you because I deserve more than that. I do have the fucking right and if I need to spank your ass red, to remind you of that. I will.”

Heat flooded my face as his words hit their intended targets. My heart and my pussy.

I opened my mouth to say something but then I closed it because I wasn’t sure what to say anymore. Harvey took the wind out of my sails with that last statement.

“Right,” he nodded in that knowing way.

The next thing I saw was the backside of his jeans-covered butt as he was taking me upstairs.

“Harvey,” I hit him on the back of his thigh. “Put me down.”

The brute didn’t answer but kept walking up the stairs and rounded the corner until we hit my bedroom. There he began to undress me, article by article, then he disappeared into the bathroom where I heard the shower turn on. Harvey returned, led me to the porcelain bath and scooted me inside. The man didn’t say one word.

Then it came rushing back to me, what he was doing.

Fuck.

I had robbed him from taking care of me, like the time I took care of him on one of his worst days.

Shit.

When Harvey returned to the bathroom, his clothes were gone, and he entered the shower. Before he could make it all the way in, I wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered, “I’m sorry. I fucked up. I should have given you the opportunity to comfort me and I neglected to see that. Please forgive me.”

Harvey’s body went tight as he stared at me. The anger and disappointment were gone from his features, but it was replaced with an awareness. He hadn’t responded, so I kissed the side of his mouth and repeated, “I’m sorry, okay. Don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry.”

My mouth was on his neck, when I finally heard him say, “I was worried, sweetheart. Worried sick, something had happened to you and I couldn’t bear to even fathom that.”

“I’m sorry.” I began to kiss down his collarbone.

“Don’t do that shit again. You have a bad day, come to my office, my house, or something. You don’t just leave,” he emphasized.

“Okay,” I answered.

“Don’t leave me again,” he said in a lower voice that meant more than just booking a hotel for the night.

The man meant more than that, but I didn’t want to explore his meaning, but more of what he could do for me physically at that moment. I reached for his pulsing cock, and I began to pump hard. Harvey was having none of that shit. His one hand gathered both of my wrists, holding them above my head.

“It’s my turn,” he growled. “Turn around, hands on the wall and spread your legs.”

My core pulsed at the command and I quickly obeyed knowing he’d make it good for me. Seconds passed before I felt fingers sliding over my ass and playing at the entrance of my pussy. I was hot and wet. Harvey lighting the fire only made it worse. Then I felt a sting across the right ass cheek.
He spanked me, then he spanked the other cheek again.

“That’s two for not calling.” His hand came down on my ass two more times, then he said, “that’s for staying overnight.

Harvey repeated this three more times by given me two slaps of my ass on each cheek with a reason. I forgot about the damn rationale and focused on the pulse straight to my pussy. At that point, without washing or anything Harvey extracted me out of the shower and led me to the bedroom, after toweling me off.

He climbed on the bed and demanded, “Want you on my face.”

Holy shit.

Without a backwards glance, I climbed over Harvey’s face and position my wet snatch hovering over his mouth. There was no need for me to get adjusted because Harvey, pulled me down directly over him and began to lick me like I was his favorite creamsicle on a hot summer day. It was mind-blowing but also breathtaking since I was ready to come within seconds of his mouth devouring my dripping pussy.

“Harvey,” I moaned. “I’m coming.”

He flicked his tongue against my hardened nub and I began to ride his face with earnest. Harvey sucked the life out of me; afterward I was nothing but blubber. After the third orgasm the man was not done. In fact, he pulled me down his body, entered me and slowly rocked me until my orgasmic screams overpowered his grunts and the bite to my neck felt more like a branding of sorts.

I loved it.

Harvey was claiming me and ensuring I had no damn reason to leave. The man drove me absolutely crazy, but it was a good crazy. A dreamy crazy that I hoped I never wake up to. More importantly, I hoped was real.

I fell asleep in the crook of Harvey’s neck but his light snores beat me to the punch. He was tired and hadn’t slept all night. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember a man ever caring that much about my whereabouts.

I liked it.

Shit, who was I kidding.

I loved it.