Her Man: An Interracial Romance (The Bentini Brothers Book 2) (17 page)

     “Here’s another question for you, Mr. Bentini.” 
Mya sneers getting to her feet, eyes filled with righteous indignation.  “How
does your family feel about you dating a black girl?”  Staring Antonio straight
in the eyes; daring him to tell this table of black mothers the truth about
his
mother.

     “Mya don’t…please.  You promised!”  I implore
her.

     “I know I promised, Ti.  But this is too
important.”

     “It’s okay, Tiressa.” Antonio assures me.  Then
looks at everyone, including Mya.  “My mother is having trouble accepting our relationship.” 
Overlooking the mumblings, scowls and pursed lips, Antonio continues.  “But
we’ll work it out.  My mother does not get to decide who I fall in love with.”  He
leans down and gently caress my lips in a feathery kiss.  Antonio’s declaration
of love seems to ease most of the family’s trepidation.  But Mya isn’t buying
it.  Before any of them could take up with the interrogation again, Georgie,
Ray and my other cousin Ricky saunters up to us.  Georgie kisses grandma’s
cheek and says.  “Sorry, grandma but we need Antonio, we’re about to play
ball.”  He raises his brows in question to Antonio, who is glad to have an
out.  “Yes.”  He says getting to his feet.  “Ladies, I promised to play; please
excuse me.  As interrogations go, this one went pretty-well.”  He says, smiling
at everyone around the table, before giving me a quick peck and walking away
with the cousins teasing him.

     “Ti?”  Mya looks at me,
now
with some
regret in her voice.

     “Excuse me.”  I stand up and kiss my
grandmother’s cheek.  “I’m going to get something to drink.”  I walk away and
into the house –not knowing that Mya is following me.   “I’m sorry if you’re
mad at me.  But I was doing the right thing.  The family should know how his
family feel about you…how they treated you.”

     “You embarrassed me Mya!  The family doesn’t
have to know everything!  And it’s not ‘they’…it was his mother.  Besides, we
don’t know how things are going to turn out!  So, you see, it wasn’t necessary
for you to tell them anything.  I don’t want the family disliking Antonio
because of his mother’s actions.  Is that fair, Mya?  Is it fair that he be
judge because of the things his mother said and did?”

     “No, I suppose not.”  Mya grudgingly concedes. 
“I’m sorry, I guess you’re right.  It’s just that…I can’t bear the thought of
you being mistreated by anyone.”

     “I know, Mya.  I realize I’m taking a big
chance with Antonio.  I don’t know if this thing between us will work out, but
I love him and I want to try.  So please, let up on him.”

     “Okay, lil sis…for you.”

     “Thanks.  I love you big sis.”

     “Love you too.”  We hug for a few seconds, then
Mya makes a great suggestion. “Let’s go watch my husband and your man play ball.” 
We go back out to the yard and walk over to the basketball court, where the men
are warming up and already starting to trash talk.  A group of us sit at one of
the umbrella benches, set up several feet from the edge of the court.  I’m so
proud of my guy, he fits in well with my family; they accept him.  I wish his family
was more diverse, then maybe his mom wouldn’t have such a hard time accepting
me.

***

     The sound of my bedroom door slowly creaking
open startles me out of a fitful sleep.  I don’t relax until I see the familiar
silhouette of Antonio.  “What are you doing in here?”

     “I can’t sleep in the same house with you and
not share your bed.”  Antonio says as he is getting under the covers.

     “Did anyone see you?”

     “No.  I was careful.”  He says sliding his
arms around me.  “Come here Baby…it’s been too damn long since I’ve held you.”

     “We’re not making love in my aunt’s home,
Antonio.”

     “Why not?”  He asks as he rolls me onto my
back and braces himself over me.  Before I can answer, he nibbles my chin, then
my lips, and then takes my mouth in a long mind-numbing, passion-filled kiss. 
All I can hear is our moaning and panting until I finally pull away.  “That’s
why not Antonio…we are way too loud.  They will know because everyone,
including the neighbors, will hear us.”

     “I don’t care.” He retorts as he quietly
wrestles me out of my nightgown and toss it to the floor.  Cradling my breast, he
roughly sucks a plump nipple into his warm wet mouth causing it to instantly bead.
 “Umm…”  I squirm, already I can feel my panties becoming wet.  “No Tony!  I
mean it.”  I whisper fiercely pushing his head back until he releases me.  I
hurry to cover my breasts and turn onto my side, away from him.  “You may not
care, but I do.  This is my family and you are trying to make me embarrass
myself and my parents.”  Although he can easily overpower me and take what he
wants, I’m relieved when he doesn’t.

     “Okay Baby, you’re right.” He says hugging me
from behind.  “I’m sorry.  It’s just that I’ve missed you so much.  I need you
so much.”

     “Antonio, I miss you too.”  I whisper
honestly.  “I want you too, but we have to wait…not here.  Okay?”  I try to
pacify him, rubbing his solid muscular arms.  “Okay Tiressa, but I’m hard as
hell and I don’t know how long it will take for it to go down, so don’t freak
out if you feel my erection against your warm ass at five in the morning.”  He
capitulates, snuggling closer and kissing my neck.  “Baby, this will only work
if you cradle me between your thighs.”

     “No Antonio.”

     “It has to go somewhere Tiressa…you
choose…pressed against your luscious ass, or between your soft thighs.”

     “Neither.  Press it into the mattress,
Antonio.”

     “No.”

     “Why not?”

     “Because I want to hold you Tiressa.  I need
to hold you.” 

Antonio

     Damn.  Two hours later and I’m still hard and
horny.  I can’t sleep like this and I’ll be damned if I take a cold shower at
three in the morning.  With my erection nestled at the junction of Tiressa’s
hot thighs, all I have to do is open her up a little, pull my hips back,
position my shaft at just the right angle, and slowly ease up inside Tiressa’s
sweet warm core.  Oh gawd, it feels good to be inside her tight heat again.  I
can’t suppress a throaty groan as I gently pump my hips, inching my way in.  Tiressa
instantly awakens and tries to move away from me, but I stop her with a strong
hand on her belly and the other on her thigh, keeping her open as I continue
stroking into her.  

     “No Antonio…”  She lightly pants with a
quivering voice. 

     “Tiressa, I promise to be quiet.” 

     “No, Antonio.  Stop.”  She whispers softly. 

     “I’m not stopping Tiressa.  You may be saying
no, but your body is saying yes.” 

     Ummm.  He’s right.  He feels so good inside me. 
I’m gonna have to bite my pillow.  “Okay Tony…”  I moan softly, pressing down
and rotating my hips in a circular motion.  Now he’s groaning quietly as he
lifts my leg higher and slowly drives his deeper into my body, stretching my
walls.  Oh gawd, I’m ready to explode.  Antonio bends low and suckles one of my
chocolate-tipped nipples, while his fingers gently roll the other’s hardened
peak.  I grab my pillow and press my face into its softness, moaning a little
louder. 

     “Ummm.”  Antonio groans thrusting slow and
deep.  “Oh gawd Baby, I’m not going to last much longer.”  He growls into my
neck.  Holding me to him, he begins to pump his hips faster, his thrusts becoming
rougher until I reach my climax and then he explodes,
releases two weeks of pent up anxiety and passion.  “I love you,
Ti.”  He says, holding me close.  “I love you, Antonio.”  I give the words back
to him, and I’m asleep within two minutes.

Chapter 24

     “Everyone is glad that you and Antonio stayed
for a couple of days after the rest of the family left.  It’s given us time to
get to know him a little better, although I already think he’s a cool dude and
I know Ray likes him a lot.”  My cousin Danny and I are sitting on the swing on
the front porch talking.  Antonio and I will be heading back home in a few
hours and I’m really going to miss being here with my family.  “You and Ray
have to come visit more often.”

     “Oh yeah, who’s place will we be staying at,
yours or Antonio’s?” 

     “You’re such a smart-ass.”  I laugh, swatting
at him.  “Nah cuz, I don’t mind visiting you, but I want to hang out with Antonio
too.  I know he knows where the hotties are.”

     “You are such a dog, Danny.”  I try to sock
him in his rock hard stomach.  “You’re not dragging my man all around the city
looking for women.”

     “She’s the only beautiful woman I’m allowed to
look at.”  Antonio jokes coming out onto the porch with Ray.  They had been
playing some kind of football game on the Xbox.  “But I have brothers.”  He
smiles at Danny and Ray.  “When you come to town, they’ll be more than happy to
show you a good time.”

     “Alright…that’s what I’m talkin’ bout…I knew
you had the hook up.”  Danny, Ray and Antonio do their macho fist bumps and
make plans for a future visit.  The only time I’ve seen Antonio this relaxed is
when he’s with his brothers.  He really is a man’s man.

***

     “I really enjoyed meeting your family.” 
Antonio glances over at me for a second before putting his eyes back on the
road.  “I’m glad.  They like you too.”  I’m glad we live less than two hours
away from my Aunt Helena and Uncle Joe’s home.  I’m tired and anxious…I just
want to get home to my babies.  “I miss my babies, and I can’t wait to see them.” 
Antonio told me that he thought about asking Angela to keep the pups while he
was out of town, but he didn’t want the kids becoming too attached to them, so
he put them in one of those pet hotel places.  It had better be the best one in
town and they better be taking real good care of my babies!  “How soon can we
pick them up from that place?” 

     “Don’t sound like that, that
place
is
top-notch, Mrs. Fuller wouldn’t have found some shabby dump to place them in…you
know how thorough she is.”

     “I’m sure you’re right…it’s just that I regret
leaving them.”

     “But you don’t regret leaving me?!”  He
demands, incredulously.

     “Antonio, you know that’s not the same?”

     “No hell I don’t know.” He growls back.  “You
left me Ti!  How could you do that?  You left me without a word.”

     “I asked Kathy to—”

     “I didn’t want a damn message.  I wanted to
see you…talk to you, face to face.”

     “You’re right.  It was wrong of me to take off
like that.  I just wanted a few days to myself to think things over…without you
influencing me.”

     “What the hell does that mean?”

     “Your mom said some really foul shit to me.  I
needed to go someplace where I could lick my wounds and just think.”

     “What did she say to you?”  Antonio’s voice is
solemn, as if he doesn’t really want to know, but have to know. “What did she
say Tiressa?”

     I don’t feel like hedging, but I don’t want to
repeat all the awful things Mrs. Bentini said to me.  “She basically told me
that you gave me the money as a payoff …like you do with all your women…you pay
them off when you’re finished with them…I just got my money up front.”

     “Damn.”  He mutters under his break.  “That’s
not true, Ti.  I’ve never
paid
any woman off.”

     “I believe you Antonio.”

     “What else?  What else did she say?”  Exhaling
a slow breath, I tell him the rest.  “She said some stuff and then she offered
me money to get out of your life.”

     “Damn!”  His reaction is much more explosive
this time. “Antonio, calm down, stop beating on the steering wheel.  I didn’t
take the money…not for one second did I think about it.”

     “Damnit Tiressa!  I know you wouldn’t have
done that!”

     “Then why are you mad at me?”

     “I’m not mad at you.  I’m mad at my mother.  How
dare she do this to me again?”  He says the last part in a furious whisper.

     “So, your mom makes a habit of offering your
undesirable girlfriends a lot of money to dump you?”  His fingers tighten
around the steering wheel.  “Something like that.”

     “Antonio… Why didn’t you tell me you were
married before?”  I had intended to wait until we got home to ask, but this has
been eating me up for days, and I need to know.  He glances over at me before
returning his attention back to the road.  “Yeah, I guess now is as good a time
as any to tell you about that…but before I do, let me give you some background
information.”  Glancing over at me with a smirk, he says, “Please keep in mind
that this all happened years ago…I was very young back then.”  At my nod, he
continues.  “
I’ve been intrigued by black culture since I was a
kid.  I don’t know why, but for some reason how black people talk...dress...look…dance…and
well, just
are
…has always been fascinating to me…maybe back then it was
because it was all so very different from my life and Italian culture.  While
the other members of my family were watching what they would deem ‘normal’ TV
shows, I was drawn to black television shows and movies…and man, especially the
music.  In my teens, I loved hip-hop and rap.  It drove my parents crazy.”  He
chuckles at the memory.  “When I got a little older, I developed a real
appreciation for R&B and BET.”