CHAPTER NINETEEN

By the time Charles got out of the shower and was drying off as he made his way back into his bedroom, he was pleased to see that his children had gone. And that Jenay, though laying down now, was still awake. The music was still playing, but the noise was gone: you could hear the sound of music now.

What he also could see was that Jenay had removed her gown and tossed it on a nearby chair. When he saw that, his entire body came to life. He tossed his towel on the floor and got in bed behind her. He placed his arms around her, spooning her. When she felt his fully aroused penis against her, she let out a guttural exhale. “Welcome back,” she said to him.

“Good to be back,” he said to her.

“The Gabrinis said their goodbyes and left. They left after you and Mick took off.”

Charles nodded. “I know. We promised to keep them posted.”

“Good.”

But his concern for her trumped everything, including his libido. “I need you to promise me something too.”

“Your wish is my command.”

“I need you to promise me that you’ll get your proper rest, Jenay. I know you and the children have a lot to catch up on, but there’s time for that. You don’t have to do it all in a day.”

“They’re just happy to see me, Charlie. And you’ll never know how happy I am to see them, especially after I learned how long I’ve been away from them and what they thought had happened.”

“I’ll never forgive Hammer for doing that to us.”

“Why would you do that?” Jenay almost turned to look at him, but she remained where she was. “He was looking out for us. For me. I know it was a hurting thing, but . . .”

“See? Even you can’t justify it. He was looking out for those billionaires that keep him in power. That’s who he was looking out for.”

“How did it go?”

“How did what go?”

“Whatever you and Mick went to do.”

“It went.”

She turned around and faced him. Her face looked so sincere to Charles, even as his penis quickly missed being against her. But he began fingering her. “Was anybody hurt?” she asked him as his finger massages were arousing her too.

“Nobody was hurt.” He had forgotten about his boot-to-mouth kicks that injured Parker Fourtaine, or how they nearly died in those woods.

“Did it lead to a lead?”

“Yeah maybe. We’re going to go check it out in the morning.”

Jenay hated to hear that, but she knew they had to get to the bottom of it. They weren’t going to trust Hammer to do so. “Be careful.”

“It’s not a dangerous mission, Nay. Just a visit to an old friend.”

“Who may be involved?”

“Yeah, but we doubt it. Just don’t worry about that.”

“There is one thing,” Jenay said, and Charles looked at her.

“What?”

“It’s no big deal, but did my folks come to my funeral?” She said it and looked at him as if it was a very big deal to her.

“Yes, I later found out they did show up. But they didn’t stick around to speak to anyone. They came and left.” Then Charles looked at her. “You haven’t called them yet?”

“No. Maybe once I’m back on my feet and I can deal with the criticism that’s sure to come, and once we find out who’s behind all of this, then yes. I’ll go see them.”

Charles smiled and nodded. “I’ll leave that up to you.”

Jenay smiled. That was what she loved most about Charles: he fully understood her.

Then a song came on that made Charles smile even grander. He was fingering her even harder as they laid there, but he opened his hooded eyes and looked at her when he heard that song. “I was listening to all of your playlists while you were gone. That song was never on any of them.”

“I added it today,” she said. “It makes me smile. Like it’s making you smile now,” she added, and Charles nodded his head. But when he started singing with The Turtles in the Bonner/Gordon-penned Happy Together , Jenay laughed. Charles was NOT a singer!

“Imagine me and you, I do.

I think about you day and night.

It’s only right.

To think about the girl you love -

and hold her tight.

So happy together…

I can’t see me loving nobody but you,

for all my life.

When you’re with me, baby, the skies will be blue,

for all my life.

Me and you, and you and me.

No matter how they tossed the dice,

it had to be.

The only one for me is you.

And you for me.

So happy together!”

Jenay laughed. “An Italian who can’t sing,” she said. “Go figure!” And Charles laughed at that.

And then Jenay placed her hand on the side of his face and kissed him. Mainly to shut him up, but as soon as she touched him Charles’s face turned grimly serious. He wanted more.

He moved closer, kissing her so desperately that it ignited passion within her that she knew was growing every time she laid eyes on him, but didn’t think it would come so fast and all at once. But it had. It was here.

Charles wrapped her in his arms as they continued to kiss passionately. He could hardly believe it was true. A part of him still thought it was a dream that he was going to wake up from, but tasting her again knew it couldn’t be a dream. She tasted too good. And he had to have her.

But she could feel his reluctancy even after he fingered her and prepared her.

“I want you inside of me,” she said to Charles as they kissed. “Don’t worry. I can take it. I want to take it.”

It was all Charles needed. And when he finally entered her for the first time in such a long time, it felt as if it was their very first time all over again. Which ignited them both.

They made love so slowly and wonderfully that it felt as if they could go on for hours. They were kissing as he did her. They were hugging. They were moaning and groaning and enjoying every second of their union. It was the longest fuck they’d ever had.

And when they finally came, it was so magnificent to both of them that they seemed to keep cumming and cumming. They couldn’t stop themselves from experiencing every second of it.

Until there was nothing left.

And they collapsed.