Say You’ll Stay

Chapter 16 – West

Chapter Sixteen

WEST

“ W hat’s Ware doing here?” Griffin scowls.

Ware ignores him and takes a seat in one of the metal chairs near the ring.

“He’s Gideon Franklin’s guardian, and since the kid is underage, his guardian gets to watch.”

“You told him the kid has no chance against Mick, right?”

Mick is Griffin’s brother-in-law, a nineteen-year-old boxing phenom. We didn’t know he was a phenom until a few months ago when Griffin took one look at Mick’s sister and decided he was going to marry her. The brother and Griffin had a rocky start, but Griffin gave him a job at the gym, the kid stepped into the boxing ring, and the rest is history. And by history, I mean this kid is going to make history in the future. Today, though, he’s going to knock some sense into another kid, and then we’re going to see if that kid is salvageable. I don’t think he is, but we have to try for Vasey and Jasmine’s sake.

“I told him. I don’t think he cares much.”

Griff looks confused. “Isn’t that his kid?”

“No. It’s his wife’s kid, and before you ask, I don’t think he cares much for her either.”

“Then why—” He cuts himself off. “Never mind. You don’t have any answers.”

I shrug. “How long do you think this kid can last?”

“Against Mick? Ten seconds.”

“Can we extend that to at least a minute?”

“Do you want him to just stand there?”

“Yes?”

Griff sighs. “I could be home with the wife. Instead, I’m here watching my teen pummel your teen into the mat.”

“Not my teen.”

“Semantics. Can’t you just kidnap Vasey and take her to a secluded island until this kid is eighteen and goes off to college?”

Both our eyes land on Ware, still sitting in his metal chair doing nothing but staring at the ring.

“Did I tell you Ware and I are neighbors now?”

“No, but if it’s because you want to be close to Vasey, I get it. If you can’t be in the same house, that’s the next best thing.”

Before his marriage, Griff would not have understood this. He didn’t understand me buying The Academy because what was the point of an expensive gift to a woman you couldn’t have? Now he gets it. He’d do anything for his woman which, prior to his marriage, was getting his hair cut weekly since that was what his woman does for a living.

I give him a chin nod and go over and greet Ware. “Griff told me that Gideon wouldn’t last ten seconds against Mick, so we can call it off right now before anyone is hurt.”

“He’s been plucking the legs off frogs, snapping birds’ necks, and leaving rats with their entrails wrapped around their necks? I think ten seconds is a gift.”

He must have talked to his daughter.

“What are you going to do about it? Him getting beat up by Mick isn’t going to change him.”

“Then, why did you give him a card to come here to your gym?”

“Because he’s a minor, and I can’t do much about that but get someone else to put the fear of God into him.”

“Seems reasonable. I’m divorcing Roberta. What happens to Gideon will depend on how much fear gets pounded into him. How long can Mick make this last?”

“A long time, and by that, I mean, maybe a minute.”

It’s not even a minute. Mick hits him once, and Gideon collapses. Ware heaves a deep sigh and pushes to his feet. He walks over to the boxing ring and peers down to see if Gideon is conscious. “I’m divorcing your mother. You two will be out of the house by the morning.”

Without another word, he turns and walks to the exit. At the door, he stops. “Vasey will still be living with me until Jasmine goes to college. Especially since you robbed Jasmine of her mother.”

“That’s all on you, man. You married the wrong woman and put your daughter in danger. Try being a father so that you don’t have to rely on a stranger to parent your kid. Vasey will continue to care for your daughter because she loves that girl, but she’ll be living with me because she loves me.”

Ware clenches his jaw.

I tilt my head toward the ring. “I’m happy to go a couple of rounds with you. Best man wins all sorts of things.”

Ware snorts. “I’m the richest man in the city because I know what battles to fight and what ones to walk away from.” The door opens and closes behind him silently.

When I get home, Vasey is in the bedroom, unpacking a suitcase. I lean against the door frame and just watch her for a while as she pushes my underwear to the side to make room for her lacy panties and bras, replaces another drawer full of white T-shirts with a colorful collection of graphic tees and sweatshirts. It’s homey and mundane, but I could watch this show for hours and never tire of it.

“You should be helping me instead of just standing there.”

“Your tits jiggle when you bend over. If I move, I won’t be able to see that.”

Vasey slaps her hand against her chest. “Are you admitting to spying on me?”

“You could try being less hot. I’d like to watch you sit on the bed and finger yourself. Remember you did that once when we were driving? I almost crashed into a tree. I jerked off to that memory of you more times than is healthy.”

“Yes, well, hmmm,” she sputters.

I laugh and take two strides until she’s in my arms.

“I’m not done!” she squeals.

“Think of it as a break.” I place her on the bed and then go and grab a chair.

She gives me an uncertain look. I unzip and pull out my cock. “Let me see you touch yourself.”

Uncertainty gives way to greed at the sight of my shaft. I squeeze the base so I don’t shoot off my wad while she’s staring at me.

“I want a taste.” She starts to climb off the bed.

“No,” I order sharply.

She stills, pushing her lower lip out. “But, West, you’re supposed to give me what I want.”

“Slip off your panties and spread your legs. Let me see what’s mine.” It’s a battle now, mostly between me and my own desires but for her heart, too. She needs to see that her pleasure is the most important thing in the world. That she comes first in my heart. Everything I do is for her, including this. I don’t want her to go another minute with her thinking I don’t want her, don’t lust after her, don’t spend every second of every day with her at the very front of my mind.

Her sex is a dusky rose and wet. I can see her juice glisten like expensive diamonds under the candlelight. She hovers her fingers over her mound. I bite my tongue until I taste blood. I’m not going to last.

“Lower, Vasey. You’re off your mark by about six inches.”

“This is embarrassing, West,” she hisses.

“How can it be? It’s just me, your lover, holding his own cock in his hand ready to come at any second, wanting to see you touch your pretty cunt. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

She slides her fingers lower until they rest at the entrance of her sex. I exhale heavily, probably looking like an angry bull with my nostrils flaring and my teeth bared but she’s so damned sexy I want to explode.

Her eyes flutter closed when she pushes past the slight resistance of her cunt. It’s unused to activity, and despite our lovemaking last night, even two slender fingers inside is tight. The memory of the sensation of being wrapped in her sheath grips me by the throat and cuts off my airway.

“Tell me what it feels like.”

She licks her bottom lip. “Warm. Squishy. Tight.”

She begins to fuck herself slowly. Her fingers don’t penetrate far. Her hands are too small, her fingers too short. She gnaws on her lip, searching for a release that dangles just outside her reach. I rub my cock tighter and faster, imagining that it’s her mouth, her hand, her soft, wet, squishy cunt surrounding me.

“Do you remember when I touched you there for the first time? It was on the Morris Farm. We finished our chores. I was mucking the stables, and you were feeding the goats and chickens. We were both hot and sweaty.”

“You had hay in your hair.”

“Shit on my boots.”

“I sprayed you down with the hose.”

“And stared at me like you’d never seen me before.”

“Your T-shirt was white and thin.” She pauses.

“Don’t stop.” I want to hear about all her lustful thoughts.

“Very thin.” Her tongue peeks between her teeth. She’s so hot.

“It wasn’t the first time I kissed you, but it was the first time I kissed you there.” I look toward her cunt where her fingers are shuttling in and out.

“You were hard. I could see it through your jeans.”

“Wet denim is a bitch to pull off. I tore your panties by accident.”

“Accident?” She huffs out a disbelieving laugh.

“Hard to say now. My fingers were rough and calloused and when I touched you, I was afraid I’d hurt you.”

“It felt so good.”

“Are you imagining that it’s my fingers inside you right now?”

She nods.

“I want it too, babe, just like back then, but I couldn’t stop with touching you. I had to taste you. You came on my tongue, and it was so sweet and tangy. We would’ve gone further, but the Morrises called us in for supper.”

“I had to go without underwear.” Her eyes are half-lidded as she remembers that night at dinner.

“Your cunt rubbed against the seam of your jeans.”

“I kept shifting, and Mrs. Morris asked me if I had to go to the bathroom.”

“And you said yes and went to the bathroom to touch yourself.”

“I had to,” she cries.

I sat at the dinner table an extra-long time because my hard-on was too obvious to stand up. “I kept thinking about how my cock would feel inside you because my tongue, my fingers, weren’t enough. Just like your fingers aren’t enough for you now.” I stand to my feet and strip off my jeans. In one stride, I’m on top of her. I take myself in hand and thrust inside her wet heat. She gasps and rakes her fingernails down my back.

I had been trying to teach her a lesson, but I’m the one that got taught. I don’t have any control when it comes to her; I’m nothing but a mass of desperate need. I devour her mouth, plunging into her again and again until her cum drips over my shaft and I flood her with my seed. We doze off and when I wake again, I’m still inside of her, hard and ready. I roll her over and take her from behind, pushing her up on her knees and taking her so hard the bed skitters across the floor.

“I love you, Vasey. I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you, too, West. It’s been too long.”

“Never again.” I keep working her until we’re both spent.

She moans when I touch her hip. “I can’t take another round. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.”

“I’ll carry you,” I say confidently despite my own knees feeling like Jell-O.

She laughs and pushes at my hand.

I grab a blanket and cover us both.

I’m not sure what wakes me a few hours later. Intuition? Some leftover Army instinct? I get to my feet and grab my phone. On the security app, I see a dark figure climb the fence just to the left of the gate to Ware’s estate. I put a camera facing his driveway so I could check Vasey’s comings and goings. Or maybe I’d put it there just for this. Gideon would want revenge after getting kicked out. Whether he was going to take it out on Ware or his daughter, I’m not sure. I could leave this up to Ware, but if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

I throw some clothes on and stuff my Beretta into the back of my jeans. I climb over at the same spot Gideon did and follow the soft depressions in the grass he made. The trail leads me to the staff entrance where the numbskull is fumbling with the lock and cursing loudly. A red light from the security camera overhead blinks quietly. Gideon didn’t notice it. Ware is probably inside watching with amusement.

“I thought you didn’t live here anymore.”

He whirls around at the sound of my voice. There’s a knife in his hand. I remove my gun and point it at him. “What are you doing with that toy?”

“You gonna shoot me?” he jeers, but there’s a quaver of fear in his voice.

“I’d like to, but since that’d probably put me behind bars, I opt for a different plan.” I toss the gun to the side. It lands exactly where I wanted it to, closer to him than me. “Let’s fight, then. You’ve got age on me.”

“Sure.” He dives for the gun, and when he brings it up, he shoots. I dive to the right and feel the blow in my shoulder.

In dramatic fashion, I fall to the ground, clutching the wound. “You shot me,” I gasp.

The side door opens, and Ware steps out. “I watched it all on camera. Attempted murder.” He shakes his head.

“What? No!” Gideon protests. The gun falls out of his hand to the ground. “I was defending myself.”

“The entire interaction is on video.” Ware points to the security cam. “Evers threw down his gun. You grabbed it and shot an unarmed man who was trying to stop a robbery.”

“Robbery with a firearm is an aggravated felony,” I add helpfully.

“Does The Academy have law classes?” Ware asks.

“Just a little tidbit I picked up.”

“You planned this,” Gideon shrieks, but his protestations are drowned out by police sirens.

“I gave them a call when I saw Gideon in the security camera,” Ware explains.

“Nice.”

“Your acting is top-tier.” He hands me a towel.

I press it against my wound. “I was shot for real.”

“You stepped into the bullet,” he says quietly. “That kid has never shot a gun before and would have missed you even from point-blank distance.”

“You can’t prove it.” Not even the camera footage would reveal that.

“No, but it’s a good plan. Gideon will be put away for several years, and my family will be safe. I owe you one.”

“Great. I’m calling in the favor. Hire a new nanny. Vasey will always be there for Jasmine, but you need a new caretaker for your girl.”

Ware sighs. “I honor my debts.”

The ambulance squad brings over the backboard. I refuse it but agree to ride to the emergency room to get stitched up. When I get back home, the sun is peeking through the clouds. Vasey’s on the steps looking unhappy.

I grin. “Honey, I’m home.”