Jaheim
Harmony’s been quiet the whole drive back to my house in Ontario. I know she don't agree with what I did, but it had to be done. Carisse just made it easier for me.
It ain't like I don't appreciate everything Evette’s done for me, and if she decides to reach out to me again in the future then I might consider it, but Carisse?
No.
I'll talk to Von and he can do what I need him to, and then I'm done.
I’m still livid. If Harmony hadn't grabbed me when she did, I dunno what I would’ve done. I wanted to kill her, physically kill her, and if I’d laid my hands on her then I would’ve.
Who the fuck does she think she is?
I drop our bags in the hall and then corner Harmony in the kitchen while she’s running a glass of water.
“Talk to me. I hate it when you're this quiet.”
She sighs. “What you want me to say, Boo? You cut off your family.”
“Technically they ain't my—”
“Don't start. They are. They have been for the past twenty years. Carisse is just hurt and angry.”
“No, she ain't. She used to talk shit about you before I knew who you were to me. She was never your friend, so don't defend her.”
She hides her surprise well. “I know what she thinks about me. It was my fault for being so open with her.”
“Fuck that. She ain't no Saint. She was fucking around with different men before Davonyé came along. She can play the Virgin Mary all she wants, but she ain't.”
She blinks and then she laughs. “You did not just say the Virgin Mary.”
“I fucking did.”
She rolls her beautiful eyes.
I reach under her sweater to feel her skin and she inhales deeply. “Look, it was coming; they just made it easier for me. You heard Clarence, we ain't getting any older. What you expect me to do? Wear a fucking disguise like Eddie Murphy does?”
She laughs again. “Stop, okay. I get it. I just don't want you cutting everyone off in my honour.”
I rip her tights and free them from her legs in record time. I leave her knee-high boots on, though, and groan at the sight of her in just those and her white sweater. “I fucking will.”
“Baby—”
“Don't baby me.”
“Or what?”
I growl. “You know what.”
She flutters her lashes. “Baby…”
I free my dick, and after picking her up and pushing her G-string to the side, I wet the head in her essence so I can bury myself halfway inside her.
“Fuck,” she breathes, and so do I.
She holds me around my neck and I lower my face to her shoulder. I feel a million times better already, I always do. As soon as I’m inside her, it’s as if the whole world fades away and she’s all there is.
Her and me.
I inhale her scent like a drug, rolling my hips slowly, exploring her depths inch by inch with each thrust, feeling her heels digging into the back of my thighs. Fuck. This woman makes my knees weak with how she makes me feel.
She tightens and I surge a little deeper, making her gasp, but she does it again and I hit her with the same. Her thighs quake around my hips and her nails dig into the back of my neck, making me insane with need for her.
She has no idea how hard, how fucking hard it is not to sink myself inside her to the hilt and ruin her body.
She arches her back, pressing her body against mine, and so I pick up the speed of my strokes. She whispers my name and I almost lose it.
But I resist.
Instead, I tilt my hips to hit her walls until she’s gasping and I’m growling with how close we are.
“You’re my heartbeat, Princess. I’d do anything for you, you know that, right?”
“Yes,” she whimpers.
“Cum for me,” I demand, scraping my canines over her neck. “Cum on my dick.” I’ve lost all control when it comes to her. I used to make women beg to cum, now I beg her to.
Only her.
She weaves her fingers into my hair and then I feel the first clench of her pussy as she peaks. “Jaheim,” she screams.
I press my fingers into her thighs and fire off with her, as deep as I can get, my thighs tightening as I empty everything I have into her.
There’s only one person I need in my life, and it’s her.
***
Harmony slept in, but I used the time to tie up shit here in Ontario. I informed Janelle of my intentions to relocate my offices to Montréal in a few months, and to notify the employees of my plans. I’ll give everyone the option to relocate if they want to, offering them a start-up package if they do. I’ve found a High-Rise block in the outskirts of the city that they can move into. I’ll either rent out or sell the rest of the apartments.
I looked into the move while we were in New York. There’s no way around it, cuz I’m not leaving Harmony anywhere. Her life is in Montréal and mine is with her. I’d never make her move away from her family, at least not until she’s changed. After that, we can go anywhere she wants.
We get back to Montréal early evening, and after unpacking all our things, we order takeout and chill on the couch. I watch her instead of the TV until I pull her onto my lap and hold her for the longest time.
“You okay, Boo?”
I nod, slowly lifting my head. “Could you ask your cousin if Von's free? I need to talk to him.”
I wanna get this shit over and done with so I can move on with my life. As good as Harmony is at distracting me from any stresses, what I really want is there not to be any.
She reaches for her cell on the coffee table, but it starts ringing.
“Ella?” she answers.
“We can come over now if you want? Saves you driving all the way out here.”
She looks at me and I nod.
“Yeah, that's cool,” she says into the phone, sliding off my lap to sit beside me.
“Okay.” The line goes dead and then Von and Ariella appear in front of us, beside the coffee table. I study Von cuz he’s different. His eyes are jet black and his scent is a lot stronger than it was the last time I saw him. More masculine, dominant even. He's bigger, too, more built.
He gives me a look and I feel like he’s seeing me in a new light, too, now he knows what I am.
Ariella smiles. “Jaheim, Davonyé can hear most of my thoughts. I just thought I should tell you that.”
“He hears your thoughts?” Harmony and I both ask.
“Yeah.”
Harmony narrows her eyes at her. “So he knows everything you know?”
“Not quite.” She gives me a look and I feel like she’s saying more with those two words.
I return my attention to Von.
He tilts his head. “Jah.”
“Von.”
“Har, wanna get a drink somewhere? Leave the men to it?”
Harmony gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before she jumps up from the couch. “I actually wanna buy a car.”
“An escalade like Jaheim's but in amber?”
“Yeah.”
“I'll change it for you. I'll even give you his and hers plates. Come on.” They disappear and I wait for Von to say something.
“Ari told me what you said. What you want me to say to her?”
I sigh and get up. “You want a drink?”
He follows me to the kitchen. “What you got?”
“Some of Quis’ homebrew.”
“Yeah, I'll get some of that. Thanks.”
I pour us both a drink and then we sit at the table facing each other. I can tell he’s apprehensive, but so am I.
“First things first, like I told Ariella, I don't feel any way towards her, and when it comes to you, well, now I know what I am and who Harmony is to me, I understand. You couldn't help it, but you could’ve handled it a hell of a lot better than how you did.”
He rests his glass down on the table. “How? You know what that shit’s like. I wasn't even gonna tell her about there being anyone else, but she kept pushing and pushing. Damn, I told her it was me.”
“Okay, so why embarrass her at school? Why intentionally hurt her that way? You know how much she loved you.”
He sips his drink. “We didn’t want to, but we didn’t have a choice.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean?”
His eyes narrow. “That had to happen to bring you back for Harm. She was a mess without you, Bruh. You must've seen how bad she took you leaving.”
I remember how bad Harmony looked when I saw her again and feel physically sick. They did that for her?
“Ari sees the future; she knew it would make Carisse leave Montréal and go home. Evette was busy and you had to come. It was all a part of it. She looks out for all of us, you included. Yeah, Harm is her cousin, but she cares about you, too. Her and Aura care about all wares.”
“So she did that for us?”
He nods. “Yeah... All this is new for me, too. I only know so much because of who Ari is. Trust me, no one was ever against Carisse, she just ended up being in the middle of everything because of who you and I are.”
I knock back my drink and feel the burn in my throat. “This whole shit is fucked up.”
“Look, I'll call her, aight? I'll apologise again and tell her I'm the bad guy, again. Let her hear what she wants. I never wanted to hurt her. I did care when we were together.”
“Yeah…” I feel defeated. When all this shit happened, I was pissed with him, but now I don’t feel anything but a damn headache.
“The James’ are close, man. I ain't tryna be the one who fucks that up or makes things awkward, Jah. I've always respected you and nothing will change that, unless you want it to.”
“No.” Fuck that. I can't cause a rift in Harmony's family. That ain't fair. I wanna keep her happy, not make her sad again. And I know how close she is with her cousin. “I don’t want that.”
“Aight. I’ll sort it.”
I nod my head once. “I’d appreciate it. Then she can move on with her life and so can I. We all can.”
He frowns.
“She talked shit to Harmony when she found out about us.”
His eyes widen. “Damn.”
I retrieve the bottle of homebrew so I can refill our glasses. “Yeah, and when we got up there, Carisse lied and Evette fell for it like usual and took her side.”
“Same shit, different day,” he mutters.
“Well, I told them I didn't want anything more to do with them.”
He don’t even look surprised. “Carr should be lucky she’s still standing, cuz shit, if anyone disrespected Ari, I know for damn sure I'd struggle to keep my hands to myself.”
“Ironically, if it weren't for Harmony then she wouldn’t be.” I try not to shatter the glass in my hand. “I wanted to rip her throat out, and that’s my sister.”
“For real. These mates make you crazy. I've never felt so protective over anyone before. Nigga’s ready to kill for mines.”
“You know.” I keep telling Harmony I’d do anything for her, but I mean it. Nothing would ever be too much for her.
“I still can’t get over you being a ware, man. You hid that so good.”
“I had to.”
He nods thoughtfully. “Yeah… How you feeling now you know there are so many more?”
“Relieved, mainly.”
“Yeah. The James’ are cool as fuck, too. I heard you met Clarence.”
“I did, and Harmony’s parents. They’ve all been cool so far. What about you, though? You like your new life?”
“As crazy as all this is, I actually wouldn't change a thing. I was shocked as shit when I found out, but now, you couldn’t pay me to go back.”
Good for him.
“Clarence is helping me set up my clothing line, too, y’know? It's launching in a couple months.”
“Shit, really?”
“Yeah. This family is hella different. Considering what they are, they ain't really vicious unless they're protecting their kind.” He seems thoughtful. “Clarence and I kinda got into it when he trained me, but after that, things have been all good. And Abriya, well, she's incredible. You'll love her. Everyone does. She’s kinda like a mother figure to everyone. She’s really supportive.”
“Yeah, from what Harmony’s said about her, she sounds it. To tell the truth, I never even liked being like this, not till I met Harmony.”
“Yo, when Ari found out about you, I was shocked. I felt for you, y’know? Living all that time not knowing.”
I suddenly feel defensive. “What else you know?” Has Ariella told him about my lifestyle?
“Only a couple things I've heard from Ari’s thoughts, like you having a sister and grandma. She keeps most things private. Why, what you think I know?”
“Nothing.” I study his eyes to see if he's trying to hide shit from me.
‘He doesn't know anything about what you're thinking, Jaheim.’
I frown. ‘Ariella?’
‘Yeah. Don't worry. That won't go any further than me.’
I’m relieved. ‘Alright. Thanks.’
‘Are you two done now? Mom and Dad are having a cookout. Are you and Harmony coming?’
‘Yeah, sure.’
‘Good.’
Ariella and Harmony appear in the kitchen and Harmony rushes over to me. “You need to see my car. It's sick.” She drags me up to look out the window. Her escalade is now the same model as mine and the exact same colour as my eyes. Our plates have changed, too.
King J and Queen H.
I laugh. “Who chose the plates?”
“I did.” She looks nervous. “Do you like them?”
“Yeah.” I’d prefer Mr and Mrs King, though.
I wonder if it’s too soon to ask her to marry me?
Damn, she’s got me fucked up, but the thought of her being Misses King makes me feel all kinds of good.
“I'll change them after.”
I turn to face Ariella. Does that mean she’s gonna say yes?
“Change what?” Harmony asks.
I pull her into my arms and kiss the top of her head. “Nothing that concerns you.”
“So you two both good now?”
“Yeah,” Von and I answer.
“Good. Let's go. My Mom's been looking forward to meeting you, Jaheim.”
“Let us get changed quick,” Harmony says, pulling out of my arms. She asks if everything’s okay with her eyes, and I nod.
“I’ll change you both,” Ariella says. “What do you wanna wear?”