Zahirah Chapter 16

The past several days had flown by. After my night at the club party and my declaration that Twisted was all mine, I felt better about the women. That wasn't to say I was totally okay with having him see them or them being able to approach him and make offers, but my worries lessened. We spent all day Sunday there and not just in his house. We were in and out of the clubhouse and exploring the compound. I didn't spot any of the women.

Arif and Aliya had been beyond thrilled to meet Vixen, Cara's dog. She was a huge rottweiler, which initially made me very leery of her, but she turned out to be a sweetheart. She was gentle with the kids, even the fragile babies, and was the ultimate protection for everyone, but especially Cara and the kids. Twisted explained how they came to get her.

My two had been wanting a dog for years, but I didn't know what to get or if I should go for a small dog or a big one that might be added protection. After meeting Vixen, I was leaning toward one who would be a protection dog, too. I refrained from saying anything to Aliya and Arif, but I knew they'd renew their pleas. If we moved here, we'd be lucky if they ever left Knight's house.

We spent a lot more time at the compound after school and work each day after the weekend. I saw, despite my fears, there weren't random women or bunnies running amok. I was much closer to agreeing to us moving in with Twisted, although I hadn't told him this yet.

Today, I had a virtual meeting online with the boss of the jewelry distributor, with whom I did the majority of my work. He emailed me asking if we could have it this week, stating it was urgent. I had no clue what could be so pressing, as I was well ahead on all of my deadlines.

I was doing the video chat while the kids were still at school, and Twisted was working at the Depot. Since it was the middle of the day, there was no need to have one of the prospects sitting outside. They'd stopped coming at night because Twisted stayed every night with us. There had been no more incidents of late-night visitors, nor had those boys approached Aliya again at school or while walking to the car.

I was hopeful it meant they'd been scared off, but Twisted insisted even if it were the case, he wasn't letting them get away with what they'd done, any of it. He was counting the days until each one turned eighteen. I tried to tell him it wouldn't be fair for a grown man with his experience to beat their asses, but he was stubborn. Billy better hope my man changed his mind before his birthday in two weeks.

The chime of my laptop alerting me to my video call made me jump. I laughed at myself. I'd put on my armor, although it was just a video chat. Taking a deep breath, I plastered on a smile and pressed the button to connect us. I always disliked having a conversation with my boss there. He made me uneasy. I think a big part of it was that I knew he thought I was beneath him.

As his face filled the screen, I tried not to let his displeased expression put me off. "Good afternoon, Mr. Arnold. I hope you're having a good day. It's been a while since we've had a chance to speak personally. I'm glad we're getting a chance to catch up. I've been meaning to ask how you liked the last designs I sent you?" I went for cheerful and nice.

"Ms. Hussain, I'm not here for idle chitchat. I'm a very busy man, and I have some very important things to discuss with you. The last designs were adequate," was his short, snappish reply.

Like hell, they were merely adequate. I wasn't overinflating my ego by knowing they were great designs. He was probably afraid that if he said so, I'd demand more money for them. The desire to be able to branch out and design for my own label and make the pieces myself was growing. After the talk with Micah the other night, I was even more eager to do it. Maybe I'd have to think about using some of our investment money to do it on a small scale soon and then grow it after the kids were through college.

"I assure you, it wasn't merely idle chitchat, and I'm very busy myself. Shall we get started then?" I asked briskly. The sooner we were done, the better.

He scowled at my dismissal of his importance. I didn't care today. Maybe Twisted was rubbing off on me, but the urge to tell Mr. Arnold to go to hell and find another designer was growing.

"Hmm, yes, let's. First, I want to address a very disturbing rumor I've heard. I'm hoping it isn't the case," he paused to let his implied displeasure sink in. Maybe he thought I'd gasp and fall all over myself, asking what. I didn't. I raised a brow and waited for him to continue. When he realized I wasn't going to ask, his scowl got worse, and he puffed up.

"I've been told you're selling your designs to other jewelry houses and, in some cases, making pieces yourself, which you then sell. I hope this is a lie, Ms. Hussain."

"Mr. Arnold, when I began to work with you years ago, you may recall I told you I wouldn't give you exclusive rights to all my work. The designs are mine, not yours or your company's. Under our contract, I allow you to make pieces from my designs and sell them, for which I get a cut on top of the designs themselves. I have not given anyone else the right to produce the exact same designs as I've given you, but I do create others, and yes, at times, I make them myself and sell them. That hasn't changed."

"Well, I'm sorry, but it just won't do. I can't have designs similar to ours out there. People expect Midnight Dreams' designs to only come from my company. You'll have to stop creating them for others, and you most certainly cannot make your own. That brings us to another thing. We need to revisit your contract, discuss your rates, and put that exclusivity clause in there. In fact, I have a new one here with me. I'll send it to you directly, and we can get it out of the way," he said pompously as he typed on his keyboard.

Fury filled me. How dare he think he was allowed to dictate my business to me? As my email chimed with the incoming mail, I knew I'd have no choice but to play hardball with him, and he would learn I wasn't backing down. I was the one in control, not him.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be reading your contract."

"Why not?" he exclaimed.

"Because I have no intention of signing it. I will not cut my rates. In fact, if anything, I deserve more money. In addition, there will never be an exclusivity clause. Midnight Dreams' designs, in fact, the whole company, are mine. Now, shall we talk about my pay?"

"Y-you're joking. You can't be serious," he sputtered slightly, and his face grew red.

"I'm completely serious. If you want to remain able to make and sell my designs, it will cost you more, and I'll sell them to whomever I please."

"If you think you can get away with this, you're mistaken. You'll hear from my lawyer," he bellowed.

"And I'll have my lawyer respond. The contract you signed clearly spells out what you may or may not do with those designs, as well as what I can do. It also said I would maintain my prices as they were for two years. It's been well past that. Also, if you recall, there's a clause that states that with ninety days' notice, I can revoke the contract at my discretion. Now, do you want to talk about a new contract that will mutually benefit us both?"

"There's no way I'll pay you more money! Who do you think you are? You're a nobody. You should be grateful I use your designs."

"If that were the case, why do you want me to be exclusive? You're talking nonsense, and we both know it. I've made you a lot of money over the years. My reputation has grown. I have more people asking for my designs than ever. Since you don't appear willing to be reasonable, and since I don't like your attempt to strong-arm me, you'll receive official notification in writing of my intention to revoke my agreement to allow you to use any of my designs. If you have already created pieces, you can either have them broken down, or we can see if I may want to buy them at cost to sell myself at the end of the term. Don't forget, during the ninety-day notice period, you may not significantly discount the items nor make more. What you have is what you get." It had been clearly stated in the original contract, so none of this was news to him.

"I'll ruin you! By the time I'm done with you, no one will buy your stupid designs. You'll be hearing from my lawyer!"

"I look forward to it, but I assure you, there's nothing you can do. A very crafty lawyer was the one to draw up the contract from the start. You may just think I'm a stupid woman, but I'm not. I don't believe I have anything else to say, and since I'm such a busy woman, I'll say goodbye."

I didn't bother to wait for him to say anything else before I ended the video. As soon as the screen went dark, I sagged in my chair. Oh my God, I was stunned at what I'd just done. Sure, I'd dreamed of having such a conversation with him for years, but I never imagined I'd actually do it. Fear of being without a job had held me back. However, I hadn't lied about the number of people and companies who contacted me wanting to work with me.

Ahlam Montsef Ellil, which meant Midnight Dreams in Arabic and was the actual name of my company, had been gaining a reputation. The only reason I didn't use the official name was that Mr. Arnold had convinced me no one would buy my work under such a name. Well, I had news for him: From now on, they would. I was over trying to hide my heritage. If that was enough to turn people off, then I didn't want to work with them anyway.

After regaining my composure, I got curious and had to open the email to see what he actually had thought I'd agree to. As I read it, my fury reignited. He'd honestly thought not only would I agree to exclusivity without an option to rescind for a period of fifteen years, but he wanted to cut my design fee by thirty percent and my cut on the pieces sold by fifty percent. It was outrageous. As if that wasn't enough, he added a clause that stated I wouldn't be able to ask for a change in my rates for that same fifteen years. The man was delusional and a thief. If others were agreeing to this, then they were crazy.

Not wanting to waste time, I printed out the revocation notice. A lawyer who was friends with Faheem's father had created the contract and drafted the revocation in case I ever needed it. He retired a couple of years later. I missed him. He was truly a great lawyer and a wonderful person. He believed in being an advocate for people, not just out for money.

Wanting to make it all legal and get the notice to Mr. Arnold immediately, I packed it up and went off to town. I needed to have a notary sign it, so I was sending it via certified mail to Mr. Arnold's offices in Raleigh. By the day after tomorrow at the latest, he'd have it in hand, which reminded me that I needed to find a new lawyer—something else to put on my to-do list.

An hour later, I was done and back at the house. My next task was to do some preliminary research into lawyers. I wanted to find the right kind—one who was not only versed in business law but, even more importantly, one I would be able to work with well.

I was deep into it when there was a knock at the door. It had to be the postman dropping off the package I'd ordered. It was a surprise for Twisted. I'd gotten online and received the notice that it was to be delivered today. Checking the time, I was relieved I hadn't forgotten to get the kids at school. I still had thirty minutes before I had to leave to get there in time. Hurrying to the door, I enthusiastically opened it. My excitement vanished, and I wanted to kick myself for not checking first. It wasn't my delivery. It was Faheem. Wasn't it enough that I had to put up with Mr. Arnold today? Why two flaming assholes? I folded my arms and stared at him.

"Well, are you just going to stand there and leave me on the porch? I have to say, your manners have certainly become lacking. You should be ashamed of leaving a guest standing outside," were his first words when I didn't say anything or welcome him inside.

I didn't move. "My manners are perfectly wonderful when someone is an actual welcome guest. However, since you are neither, I don't see the need to pretend. I thought you learned your lesson and knew not to come here again, Faheem."

"I refuse to have a conversation with you where everyone can see and hear us! You're becoming ridiculous. If Zafir or your ab were alive or mine, they'd be so ashamed of you. You're letting these Westerners influence you. It's not good for you or the children. That's one of the things I came here to discuss with you."

"Faheem, these Westerners, as you call them, have done nothing but allow me to be myself. As for Ab and my ach , they would be proud of me, and so would your ab . The children and I are more than fine. This is the last time I expect to see you. Don't come again."

" Keef tajaru ola al-tahdath elly ragel bahadheh altreqah? How dare you speak to a man in such a way?" he raged at me.

"I'll speak to you or any man anyway I want! This isn't the Dark Ages. We're not in Qatar, and you're not the boss of me. If all you came to do is scream and belittle me, then you can leave."

"See if you're so high and mighty when you can't pay your bills and those filthy mongrels who were here are gone."

"Why would I not be able to pay my bills? And for your information, those mongrels, as you call them, are nothing of the sort, and they're going nowhere."

"You're playing a dangerous game with Mr. Arnold, and if you keep it up, he'll ruin you. As for those bikers, they'll grow bored and leave after shaming you. You let them make you into an ahra !"

I stiffened. Calling me a whore wasn't new, but the only way he could know about what happened with Arnold was if he told him, and as far as I knew, they didn't know each other.

"How do you know Mr. Arnold and what happened?"

He got a momentary look of apprehension, and then it was gone. "I've made it my business to look out for you even if you didn't want me to. You're to be my wife. Selling your work to others and putting your income at risk is stupid. You will sign the new contract and stop spending time with those men. I demand it. You and the children will pack your things and move to my home. We'll be married within the week. I'll undo the damage done by this country and these people," he said piously.

"You can go fuck yourself. I'm not doing a damn thing you say. And I will never marry you. As for moving, we are in fact. We're moving in with Twisted. He and I are together, and it's permanent. Now, get off my lawn, and if you step a toe on it again, I'll have you arrested," I hissed.

His face turned purple as I responded. When I was done, he lunged at me. Lucky for me, I was prepared. As he came toward me, I lashed out with my foot, kicking him in the stomach, which knocked him backward. He teetered on the top step before tumbling head over ass down them to the sidewalk. He landed in an undignified heap. I shouldn't have done it, but I laughed. As he came scrambling to his feet, I heard the roar of a motorcycle. One I knew well. I was now able to recognize Twisted's from his brothers' bikes. Oh lord, he would lose it when he saw Faheem.

"You'd better run before Twisted gets a hold of you."

My taunt made him swing around to face the street. He didn't move, and it allowed time for Twisted to pull into the driveway. As Faheem went trotting down the sidewalk, I followed. I didn't want my man to get in trouble. Otherwise, I'd be happy to watch him punch Faheem's sorry excuse of a face. Twisted came off his bike. He tore off his helmet, dropped it on the seat, and then lowered his sunglasses. The anger I saw there made me shiver.

I hurried past Faheem to Twisted. I put a calming hand on his chest. " Aziz , he's leaving."

"What the fuck is he doing here in the first place? I thought I made myself clear. You're to stay away from Zari and my kids," he snarled. Having him refer to them as his kids made me weak. Faheem should've kept his mouth shut and gotten in his car. He didn't.

" Aziz ? Zari? Your kids? I won't stand for it. Zahirah, you'll do what I ordered you to do. You'll honor your family's wishes."

"I guess you need me to kick you again to make my choice register," I threatened.

"Kick? Why the hell did you kick him? What did he do?" Twisted growled menacingly.

"Never mind. He's leaving, and if he knows what's good for him, he won't come back. However, it won't do him much good soon. I informed him we're moving to live with you. I doubt he'll be able to get through the gate of the compound," I said with a smirk.

"Damn right, he won't. Is he here to spout more of his crap, or was there another reason? And I still want to know why you kicked him."

"It's none of your business! I'm not afraid of you, mongrel, or your friends. Over my dead body, they'll move in with you. She might not care about her reputation or family honor, but I do. Be ready next week," Faheem remarked before he took off for his car. For someone not afraid, he was sure moving fast.

A loud growl came tumbling out of Twisted. I had to grab and hang onto him to keep him from going after him. I knew if he really wanted to, there was no way I would've stopped him. He watched Faheem drive off through narrowed eyes. When he was out of sight, he looked down at me.

"Inside. We need to talk. What the hell? I leave you alone for a few hours, and you're fighting with a man. What else did you do?"

I knew evasion wouldn't work. Sighing, I took his hand, and we went into the house. Closing the door, he took off his boots, and then we went to the living room. Over the next several minutes or so, I told him about my day. He was noticeably upset and got vocal, in the form of swearing, more than once. When he found out Faheem had lunged at me, I had to sit on him to keep him from storming out the door to go find him. When I was done, he was livid.

"If you don't give me that fucker's address, I'm having Wire find it. I'm paying him a visit. One he won't forget."

"You can't do that. He'll have you arrested."

"Not if he's dead, he can't. He can disappear."

"If being a misogynistic asshole is enough to earn him death, then you'll have to kill a majority of the men I've met. There's Mr. Arnold, Principal Pecardi, Jenner. Should I go on?"

"So? I can do it. May have to find more ways to get rid of the bodies, but that's not a big deal."

The disgruntled look on his face made me giggle, and he narrowed his eyes at me. "Oh, you think that's funny, do you? Well, how about I punish you for being so improper?" Just as he finished making his threat, he captured my lips with his. He kissed me aggressively, but I didn't mind a bit. I returned the kiss.

His hands slid up under my blouse, and he tugged my bra cups away so he was able to enclose my bare breasts. I moaned as his thumbs caressed back and forth over my stiff nipples. It broke our kiss, but only so he was able to stand with me in his arms. He swiftly moved us through the downstairs to the stairs and then into my bedroom. He pushed the door shut and then freed a hand to lock the door before taking me to the bed.

He placed me on it, then stood up and shrugged off his cut. He put it on the foot of the bed before going for his shirt. "Take off your clothes, now."

Wanting to tease him, I sat up and unbuttoned it slowly.

"Zari, if you don't want me to tear the buttons off that one, you'd better get naked. I've been thinking of you all day and then coming home and finding you being all defiant. I can't wait."

He had his shirt and pants off and was shoving his briefs down. I knew he was on edge, so I quickened to save my top but not the rest. I barely got my shirt off before he was on me and was stripping away the remainder of my clothing. I rejoiced in his fervor. I loved it when he was insane with desire for me, just the way I was for him.

Only he surprised me when he didn't immediately sink his cock inside of me, although as red and precum coated as it was, I knew he was more than ready to do it. Instead, he got on the bed on his back and yanked me up and over him until I was straddling him.

"I want to eat that pussy, but it'll have to wait. Right now, I need you to ride me, Storm. Show me what you can do. Fuck your man," he muttered.

He didn't need to say more. I reached between us and held his rigid cock upright then I sank down on it. He groaned as I did. I whimpered as he stretched and filled me so full. Nothing felt as good inside of me as he did. I tried to take it slow, but it was impossible. Only a couple of slides had me changing to a punishing pace. I bounced up and down on his cock like it was a pogo stick. He worked my breasts with both hands as I did. Our panting got louder as we hurdled closer to an orgasm. Wanting to make him beg, I slowed down, although it almost killed me, and I circled my hips and then squeezed my inner muscles. He moaned.

"Fuck, don't. I'll blow," he confessed.

"I want you to blow. Give me all that delicious cum. I want you to scream," I confessed.

He gnashed his teeth, and then his hands were on my hips. As I came down on him, he thrust his hips up hard and jerked mine down. It caused jolts of fire to race through me as we slammed together. I held onto his pecs and kept up my flexing and circling as we did it over and over. As I fell over the edge into a mind-blowing orgasm not long afterward, he let out a hoarse, strangled cry and then flooded my pussy with his hot cum. I writhed and whimpered as he ground his pelvis into me. By the time I stopped coming, I fell senseless on his sweaty chest. He held me tight against him.

He was breathing hard in my ear as he whispered. "That was fucking fantastic. You drained me."

"Well, you made me see stars. I need a nap."

He chuckled, which made him wiggle inside of me. I moaned. I was stifling a yawn when I heard a door downstairs slam. I shot upright in alarm.

" Ima , we're home! Are you here?" Arif called loudly.

That's when I realized I'd forgotten to pick them up from school. I gave Twisted a horrified stare. He burst out laughing, the idiot. I smacked his chest and tried to shush him, which made him laugh louder. A knock at the bedroom door had me trying to burrow under the covers. He stopped me.

"We're here. Go get a snack, and we'll be down in a couple of minutes."

I heard whispering, then a giggle before Aliya said, "Alright," and then they were gone. I buried my heated face in his chest. How would I ever face them? They weren't stupid. They had to know what we'd been doing. I was an awful aunt.

I jumped when he smacked my ass. "Come on, woman, let's get cleaned up so you can explain to the kids how you seduced me and forgot them."

As I gasped in outrage, he smirked and laughed again. I swore I'd get him back for this.