Love In the Red Zone (Connecticut Kings Book 1) Read online

  My eyes crossed the room in humility and I nodded.

  About an hour later, we were all seated at the table. Kyree and I were freshly showered while Jade had only changed into tights and one of my gold Connecticut Kings t-shirts she had to tie into a big knot against her back to not have it swallow her. The royal blue socks she slipped on were a cute match.

  We’d just sat down and the smell of the food had my stomach doing somersaults in anticipation. Kyree was quiet and I knew why. Dude was bushed. No way he’d make it through this meal. We were all there expectantly, but no one moved for food. In fact, all the dishes were nicely laid out on the island, organized according to pan type. I tossed a glance over to Jade for instruction. She widened her eyes and nodded toward the table. My forehead wrinkled.

  Jade cleared her throat, her lashes fluttered. “Isn’t this where you say grace?”

  Oh…

  I wasn’t expecting to make a big deal out of it. I offered my hands to both Kyree and his mother; we bowed our heads and I blessed the food. Once I was done, my eyes focused in on her across the table. Jade nodded and grabbed my and Kyree’s plate.

  “Wanna little bit everything?”

  “I don’t want no white salad, Mommy,” Kyree spoke even louder.

  “I know what you will be getting and won’t be getting.” She threw him a nasty glare; one I’d become used to.

  Then she looked at me again, waiting on my answer. I felt that “checked” spirit she just put on Kyree. I nodded quickly, not wanting to get on her bad side. Jade went over and loaded my plate with turkey, macaroni and cheese, greens, butter beans, potato salad, yams, stuffing, cabbage, and gravy. I still didn’t know how she pulled this off yesterday without me knowing. Once the plate landed in front of me, I tossed curiosity out the window and went in. The table grew silent right away. My mouth, tongue, and throat smacking, giving away my hunger—and Jade’s skills in the kitchen. Everything was flavored with the skill of a seasoned woman. This Jade was becoming more intriguing every day.

  The first time my eyes came up they roved over to find Kyree pouting, his plate half finished.

  “What’s good, man?” I asked, not believing he’d be opposed to anything on his plate.

  The food was banging!

  “I don’t like white salad,” he hissed, eyes down at the table.

  “Dude, look at you. You’re acting like a brat over food,” I snorted, teasing him. “You need to man up and eat the little she put on your plate. Real men don’t let their women cook and complain about what they put on the table.” I smiled as I spoke to him. “Man up. Act like a big boy, Ky,” I tried.

  “Man up? You the one wit’ a crush on a lady, but too scared to tell her!”

  I froze in place at the table, totally not expecting that. Ky had just ratted me out and out of the blue. Suddenly, I felt like a kid, embarrassed from being outted in front of a girl. Then I glanced over at Jade to find her eyes on me anxiously.

  “What?” I asked with a mouth full of food.

  Those lashes fluttered again. “What do you think?”

  “About what?” I considered that for a few seconds, wondering if she wanted me to expound on Ky’s snitching. Then it dawned on me. “Oh!” shot from my curled lips. “The food is great! It’s always great. You know that.” A smile broke out on her pretty face. “But this one is special because it’s your Thanksgiving spread. It’s delicious. Tastes special.” I shut the hell up, thinking I was overdoing it, trying to cover Ky’s slip.

  I didn’t say anything untrue. I didn’t want to appear ungrateful. She leaned back in her chair, her arms extended on the table astride her plate as she nodded. I thought it meant she believed me. I hoped she did. I went back into my plate, avoiding her eyes.

  “I’m going to put him down. Finish up.” She stood. “I have pecan and sweet potato pie if you have room.”

  I watched her reach for Kyree’s dead weight in his chair and I jumped to my feet. I couldn’t believe he fell out that fast; he’d just ratted me out seconds ago. Jade said Ky could get cranky when sleepy. I guess tonight was my first encounter with it.

  “Oh, I got him.”

  She shooed me off with a wave. “I’ve been carrying this boy for six years. I know my days are numbered, but I still have a few more to go before I’ll need help.” On a grunt, her little frame went into a squat and positioned him on her torso before lifting. She turned away from the table, but before taking off, she tossed a glance over the unoccupied shoulder. “I’ll take the elevator. Besides, I like watching you eat and the idea of you eating my food.” Her eyes slanted at that and then she winked. “I’ll be back.”

  Jade was back less than twenty minutes later and we finished dinner, quietly kicking it about the events of the day. She recalled some people I hadn’t; there had been so many. I was just grateful she didn’t bring up Ky’s claim. She was determined to cut me a piece of pie. I went with the sweet potato pie, promising to try all of her desserts tomorrow. She warmed it up for me and served it with a fluff of whip cream. It was just as delicious as dinner.

  Once my belly was full, we took to the steps for the second floor. The tour to the bedroom area was strange. It felt weird because it was now normal. Jade and Kyree had been here for two months and trekking up these stairs with either one of them had that quickly turned into normal. I was afraid to consider what exactly that meant. It was definitely something I should probably kick around with Ezra.

  We split when Jade hit Kyree’s room. She didn’t have any parting words, and although it was blatant, I knew why. I stayed the path to my room, going straight into the bathroom. I stripped, took off for the bathroom for a leak. I didn’t spend much time in there, so ready to hit the damn sack. My mind rolled over the need to thank Jade for what she did today. Not only did she volunteer with her son at my event, she stayed the entire day, and had a home-cooked meal waiting for us here at the house. I fought against those distrusting feelings. Jade made it clear they’d be leaving as soon as she found a place suitable for Kyree. Therefore, I knew she wasn’t trying to insert herself domestically into my crib. Making quick work of drying my hands, I left for the bedroom. The moment I neared it, I threw my heavy body into the bed after swiping all the decorative pillows to the floor and pulling down the comforter. I sighed the moment my back was settled on the cool mattress. My lids closed and arms and legs stretched wide.

  “You really could have taken the time to put these in the hamper,” her little voice scolded.

  A lid opened and caught when the bathroom door closed. I snorted, realizing I was getting used to her fussing, too. My eyes closed again. I couldn’t help it, listening to the shower run and imagining her naked body in there. Now, my chest twisted from her subconscious seduction. She’d come in here to shower knowing damn well the one in Kyree’s room was available. It had become glaringly clear she’d been feeling me like that, too, but it was hard for me to just let go. What made the situation more frustrating was that I needed a sufficient way to show my gratitude for what she did tonight. A woman looking out for you like that should be thanked properly with kisses and orgasms. It would be a method of branding and reaffirming her role in a man’s world. The only problem was Jade wasn’t mine; not even her pussy.

  “You heard what I said,” I heard her hiss.

  I lifted a lid again then both my damn eyes ballooned.

  “What the hell are you wearing?”

  From the foot of the bed, Jade glanced down at her half nude body, playing coy.

  She shrugged in the dim recessed lights. “My pajamas.”

  “I ain’t never seen those pajamas before.” My throat went dry as I lifted just my head from the bed.

  “You told me to start wearing my own pajamas to bed, so”—she glanced down again—“I am.”

  She wore a short grey tank shirt with thin straps that hung loose on her. Only in the breast region, I could make out about forty percent of her tits…and her stoned nipples. The contour of that p
ortion of her anatomy had me growing in my shorts immediately. I flipped to my side, my back now to her. I pulled the blanket up.

  “Yo, Jade, you wait all this time to show me you only have that as pajamas?”

  “It’s only been what…eight weeks? I have a lot of clothes you haven’t seen.” Her tone was so damn cavalier.

  I rolled my eyes in the dark. “You sleeping in here tonight?”

  No sooner than that, I felt her on the side of the mattress, soft tugs on the other end of the comforter.

  “Sure am.” There was a bit of merriment in her damn tone.

  Jade let out a sigh of comfort the moment she settled in the sheets.

  “Just stay on your side of the bed.” I was still hot.

  Hard as hell and hot.

  She giggled, for some crazy reason, delighted. “I always do.”

  December rolled around and I was in the swing of things with training. Eli would stop in the weight room and on the field when I was scheduled to run plays. He’d walk past the film room a time or two when I was in there viewing my old plays, comparing them to my new evaluations and numbers. He didn’t speak, just observed. I was cool with it; knew I was still a fish in a bowl being watched closely. My teammates—the old ones still on the Kings roster—were supportive of my pseudo return. They’d come check me when we were on the premises at the same time. I didn’t hang out in the locker room. I wasn’t ready for that, not feeling like a real Kings man. But I reported my obligated five days a week, and tried for the best attitude, although it hurt.

  Jade still hadn’t found an apartment, but it didn’t bother me one bit. My crib had changed. It was no longer a barricade from the vultures that came for me at the lowest point of my life. It was now a protective palace that came with new discoveries by the week. They were Jade’s domesticated touches like fresh flowers in fancy vases in the kitchen, on the table and island. The house was scented from something she’d set up in all the rooms we used. She’d done all of that while working later hours, something I didn’t like, but knew I couldn’t interfere with. Jade still had to bank for her own place and I knew that was reasonable. But I missed her late night conversations. Lately, I woke up in the middle of the night to painful erections and her cuddled next to me, having come in at some point after I passed out. She did keep her word though. Jade made no blatant passes at me, but she couldn’t hide her reaction to me when we’d pass each other or when her hazels lit up when I walked into a room. She and Ky attended church with me when Jade didn’t have private gigs on Sundays.

  By the second week of December, the entire house had been scrubbed clean, even rooms I forgot I had. Kyree brought a special kind of life to the place. He’d hide all over and force us to look for him. He stayed with games and called my TV room our man cave, barring his mother from cleaning in there. It was just…fun. My home didn’t feel like mine after two short months.

  Kyree made it known one night after dinner that Jade’s birthday was the week before Christmas. It was probably from missing her, but I went out on a whim and bought her a black lingerie slip from Agent Provocateur. It was all lace and short sleeved, making my dick hard imagining Jade’s honeydew tits and rounded peach in it, but it was supposed to be an alternative to her sleeping in my Kings t-shirts.

  The night of her birthday, Jade worked late. I sat in the TV room, halfway into the sports channel when I heard them coming up the stairs. It was almost nine and nearing Ky’s bedtime. I felt some kind of way about the late hour, but knew it was because Jade worked late, which meant Ky had dinner somewhere else. I leaned back when I sensed they were closer.

  “Hey, Trent!” I turned to the door behind and saw Kyree waving, still holding his book bag in his hand.

  “Whaddup, my dude?” I smiled.

  He rubbed his eyes. “Nothing. I’m tired. I was by cousin Lashawn’s.”

  I gave a reverse nod. “I figured so. Cool. You had a good day, chief?”

  “Yeah, I got all my letters right on my test.” He cracked a grin.

  “That’s what’s up. Proud of you. Told you, you’d win.”

  “Yeah!” His smile was full blown now.

  “C’mon, Ky!” Jade yelled from up the stairs.

  “I gotta go take my shower. But Mommy liked her birthday gift,” he whispered.

  I gave him the thumbs up and motioned with my hands to zip his lips. I’d given him the money to buy her jewelry from a catalog sale his school was having. That shit wasn’t cheap or a price affordable for elementary schoolers, but Ky picked out a nice necklace and earrings, so I had to hook him up.

  “Night, Ky.”

  “Night.” He waved again and was out.

  I sat back on the couch and grabbed the football next to me, tossed it around while going back to sports. By the time the nightly news hit, I saw her shadow in my peripheral before fully turning. Because it was dark, only the big screen was lighting the room. The ball dropped from my hands when Jade sashayed in front of me baring all her goodies.

  Damn.

  I wasn’t expecting her to wear the lingerie tonight. I don’t even know if I was expecting to see it ever. I was more looking forward to her reaction to it, knowing how cheap I was. But now… Seeing her in it…

  “Shit, Jade…” my words spit out huskily; I couldn’t think past that.

  She angled her head and fluttered her lashes when her vocals trickled, “Happy birthday doesn’t compare to that. I’ll take it.” She fingered her long hair over her shoulder. Her right foot rested on her left showing her manicured toes, a rosy color that matched her fingers. Jade was bad. Not only was her head tight, and her body lit, but she knew how to work that frame to turn a man on.

  Her expression changed. Those hazels dimmed in the dark room. Her head straightened and pink glossed lips parted. She stepped closer, still on her toes, her hands clasped together behind her back. Instinctively, my spine straightened and I scooted up until my lips were inches away from her heaving stomach. Jade trembled at our nearness. I could smell her personal aroma, something I’d gotten hints of when she’d creep in my bed at night. Her signature musk was mixed with the faint scent of berries. I felt dizzy with need, drunk from her heat and scent floating all around me.

  “Can I touch you?” I whispered at her belly-level.

  With her bottom lip sucked in her mouth and her tits rising and falling, Jade nodded.

  I grazed the stringy material with my fingertips at her waist. When I moved to the back, my full palms were on her and she moaned. The slip pulled up in the back as she turned giving me a 180-degree view where I could see the string swallowed by her swollen ass cheeks. I pushed the slip up, curious about the full view. Her peach was decorated with stretch marks and discoloration, but was soft. I palmed both and squeezed them gently. I salivated with the desire to taste her there, so I teased myself with placing a soft kiss on both of them. She dropped her head back and I felt prickles from the ends of her cascading hair on top of my head. More of her scent driving me crazy.

  I nudged her to turn back and I swear, I was going to sit back until I saw the front of the fitted slip was up above where her panty line began. The perfect black, satin v-shaped cloth was too enticing to ignore. I found myself pushing the slip over her belly. My lips led my mind to her soft skin that I kissed, then slowly stroked with my tongue. Jade let out another moan and her whole body shivered. I swear I was prepared to end it. It would be abrupt and awkward, but I would send her out to end it all. But when her hands pushed astride my head, gripping my skull to hold me in place, a familiar excitement blossomed in my groin and I pushed my mouth lower, reaching inside her panties.

  Jade sucked in air over my head and I could feel her firm boobs shake on top of my head. She cried so vulnerably, trembled in my arms like a novice. That reminded me that ol’ boy ain’t never explored this area with his mouth, which was a shame because she smelled so fucking edible and felt so easy in my arms.

  Fuck it. It’s her birthday…

 
; Jade wasn’t very hairy and I could feel her skin through the fine hairs. My hands reached behind her, pulling her to me by her soft peach. I pushed my tongue in her slit and Jade’s spine jerked back and her pelvis pushed forward. The faint noises her mouth produced when she was aroused out of her mind spurred my need to explore her. I reached as far as I could with my tongue until I felt the top of her clit and rolled my tongue over it. When she bounced in my arms I grabbed her thigh in the air and placed her foot next to me on the couch, opening her to me. Then I swiped my tongue over the thin cloth of her panties. In no time, it was wet from her excitement and my tongue. I beat on it to a rhythm that had her nails digging into my neck painfully.

  “You’re stabbing me.” I chuckled quietly and knew Jade was too lost to join me.

  To fix that, I arranged her left thigh the same and had her standing over me. I sat back on the couch and clasped hands with her, her fingers laced with mine, her palm on top of mine while her cunt was in my face. I started licking her through her panties again, feeling the contour of her clit more and more. I licked so firm and fast the cloth shifted and I could feel her skin. She gripped my hands so I couldn’t use them to push it to the side. I tried a combination of my nose and tongue until I was able to meet my swollen target and lick as wild as I wanted. Jade tasted so damn good it made me feel some kind of way to know this flavor of cream was in my bed every night. I got lost with her as she plopped out of rhythm on my face.

  Again, novice.

  But it didn’t matter in the moment. I enjoyed feeling like for once, I was on top of Jade instead of her being ahead of me with her head games.

  Oh…my…god!

  I’d never felt anything like this before. I’d only had one guy go down on me and that was in ninth grade when Charlie Keeton didn’t have a damn clue of what he was doing. This… This was something altogether different. Trent was so strong and his tongue was practiced as it rolled firm and fast over my aching nub. I was shuddering like an invalid over him. And on his face…