But it was.
It was Deon. It was his arms wrapped around me. It was his lips on my skin, connected to me in the most intimate way we could be. The fuse that had lit the second I crawled across to him finally reached the bomb it was burning toward.
“Deon!” I yelled out as an orgasm gripped me at my core and tried to drag me in several different directions.
“Ah! Fuck!” He stuttered below me in short, jolted movements, and I could feel the warmth of his seed filling me up. “Fuck,” he hissed. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “I’m on birth control,” I managed to get out between breaths.
He buried his head against my chest. “Thank god. We have no room for that problem on our lists right now.”
I started to laugh, and he joined me. It felt like the weight of ten million planets had been lifted off of my shoulders.
30
Deon
How many times had I dreamed of holding a naked Cherri in my arms? Her head on my chest, my fingers in her hair. Basking in the afterglow of passionate lovemaking that was even better than I ever dreamed it would be?
A million times, at least.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Cherri said quietly, kicking her feet up on the dashboard of the car.
“Uh, sorry for what?” I asked, concerned.
“Our first time wasn’t supposed to be in a car,” she grumbled.
I laughed. “You know, it’s funny. I always kind of thought it would be.”
She tilted her head back so she could look up at me. “Really?”
“Yeah. We both lived in such small houses with other people in them. Your parents would never let you into my house when my mom wasn’t home, so I guess I just assumed, when we were ready, we’d be one of those cliche makeout-point couples.”
She smiled. “Huh. I guess I never really thought about it, but it’s true.” Then she kissed my chin. “Did you think about this stuff a lot when you were locked up?”
“You are literally all I thought about. Getting back to you. Dating. Fucking. Traveling. Fucking some more.”
“Yes, good,” Cherri said.
“I thought about how I’d propose to you and where we’d live. Pets. Kids. Everything.”
Cherri’s smile got even bigger. “I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.”
I hugged her even closer to me. “I know. Me too.” Suddenly, I wished I could talk to Venom. I wanted to tell him that I’d done it. I’d made it back to my girl. “You know, I actually let the guys inside think that we were a little more than we were. So I’m not a liar anymore.”
“Fantastic,” Cherri replied. “Glad to be of service.” She rubbed her hands along my stomach, and even such a simple touch lit me on fire. “Can you tell me more about your life there? Was it awful?”
“I mean, prison isn’t great, but all things considered, I did okay. Believe it or not, I had a better go of it at the adult prison than in juvie. Juvie was a little bit nicer, and when my mom came to visit, we could actually hug and talk and stuff. At the adult prison, I could only talk to her through glass.”
Cherri sighed. “Maybe it is better that I didn’t know. I can’t imagine being able to see you and not touch you.”
For a minute, I imagined how things might have been if Cherri did know. Part of me felt like it might have been easier seeing her from time to time, but the rest of me wouldn’t have forgiven myself for dragging her into that dark world. Even if she was just viewing it from the outside, I knew from the way my mom’s eyes got wearier and wearier with each visit that having to talk to someone you loved from the other side of a divider eventually wears on you. She still wasn’t righted, and I’d been out for almost four months now.
“It’s better,” I said. “Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved seeing you, but I wouldn’t have liked knowing I was exposing you to that.”
“I’m not some fragile fucking princess,” she growled, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s just good to know that the more time we spend together, the more you’re returning to your old, sailor-mouth, one-of-the-boys self.”
She snickered. “I guess I have gotten a little prim and proper since you left.”
“A little?”
She gave my stomach a little punch. “Are you saying there’s a problem?”
I thought about some of the outfits I’d seen Cherri in already that I don’t know if she ever would have worn were it not for the influence of The Royal Court. “Nope. I just like knowing that you haven’t really changed, not that it matters. I love all versions of you.”
“Don’t you forget it,” Cherri quipped. “What else?”
I spent the next hour talking to Cherri about how my life was behind bars. I didn’t realize it until I was explaining it to her, but a lot of that stuff still weighed pretty heavily on me. The food was disgusting, the guards were corrupt, and the cells were small and uncomfortable. Eventually, though, I got to talking about Venom, and his goofy smile splashed across my brain again. He was the only person who really looked out
