Motown Breakdown (Motown Down #4) (10 page)

“Luna,” he growls before taking my mouth. “Coat me,” he begs. “Soak me, mama.”

When the tingle spread throughout my entire body and just before I actually exploded, I screamed
his
name. Not stopping, if anything going deeper, I came again screaming his name a second time. Jumping off of me, he straddles my stomach and I watch him work his dick fiercely. Not wanting to miss it, I balance on my elbows memorizing his manly grunts, the sweat rolling off of him and his beauty. It was insane I ever thought him to be anything other than perfect. Because now, to me, he was the most beautiful man in the world. “Come in my mouth,” I blurt. Catching him off guard, I could tell he didn’t follow. Sitting up, I phrase it differently. “Let me have part of you.”

Scooting up, he continues working it when I open my mouth ready to take it. If this was all I’d have to remember him by, I was selfish enough to swallow it. “Fuck,” he moans when I suck. “Gonna…come,” he yells just before whispering, “Mama.” Then it happened and like a starved kitten, I took it. I wasn’t greedy about it either, I swallowed slowly continuing to suck while he finished. Coating my throat, I absorbed it and didn’t let go until he pulled away. When his body jerked and his head fell forward, I lifted it up and kissed his soft mouth.

“You screamed my name,” he grates out. “Twice.”

“Yeah.” I mean I did, there was no denying it.

“Tell me to go,” he says closing his eyes.

“Stay.”

“Mama, I need you to tell me to go now.”

“No.”

“I’m begging you. Tell me to get the fuck out, Luna.”

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll never leave.”

Pulling him next to me, I snuggle into his side and tell him the truth. “For one night,” I whisper. “Let me belong to you.”

“What happens when one night isn’t enough?”

“What happens when it has to be?”

Pulling me tighter, I fought so hard not to cry. “You don’t love him,” he says in my ear. “If you did, you wouldn’t have just given me
all of you
.” Letting a few fall, I ordered the rest to go away. “Sleep,” he says gently and against my better judgment I did. But I knew I should have stayed awake, at least then I could have said goodbye when he left.

Leaving her wasn’t easy but I managed it. But in the hours since, I’ve thought about nothing but going back. I could still smell her on my skin. Last night was… She was… dammit it was the best, most intimate night of my life. It would have been easier had she kicked me out, only she didn’t. She asked to belong to me, for one night she asked to be mine. That’s why I left.

Luna came alive last night, once she realized she could be herself, she all but glowed. Now there was a woman who could fuck when given free range. But she was also a woman used to taking orders. By letting her have a choice she didn’t just get into it, she finally
gave
into it. Watching her come, you’d think she didn’t get off that often. Like she was shocked by it, almost as if she was afraid of it. But then she got off with me, twice. Luna was tight, so fucking tight it as obvious she hadn’t been sexually active long. My God, she didn’t even know what foreplay was… and she snored when she slept. There was nothing about her that didn’t do it for me. The mix of innocence and sin only she could pull off. One night would never cut it for me and I knew that but dove in anyway.

Staying across the hall wasn’t going to work. I needed to head back to my house and wait it out there. Temptation was a door knob away and I wasn’t strong enough not to turn the handle. I’d go to work, bank what I could and try to be patient until she was able to help.

But Jesus Christ, I left her. I needed to explain it to her, make sure she understood I wasn’t trying to hurt her, without mentioning I was protecting myself. Pacing the room unsure what to do, the knock on the door scared the shit out of me but was one of two people; Luna or Shade. If it was her, I’d feel like an asshole. If it was him, I’d be too dead to feel anything.

Opening it to Luna standing there in her robe with bare feet had the feelings rushing in. I wasn’t just an asshole; I was a guilty asshole that wanted inside of her again. “Can I come in?”

“Look,” I start. “Last night – ”

“Was fun,” she says pushing her way in anyway. “But that’s done and we have more important things to discuss.”

Being dismissed pissed me off but she was right, it was done and there was no point in bringing it up. Except that, I wanted to. “Mind if I sit?” she asks jumping up on the kitchen counter and wastes no time catching me up. “We have a method of classifying the girls. The first is the crescent moon,” she says pushing her sleeve up and turning her wrist to face me. “The moon essentially means that you are property of either one male or, the head of a family unit. Any girl with a moon tattoo cannot be sold or traded to another male or family, ever. She was either born or adopted into it and it’s a permanent station outside of treason. Which, of course, is silly because you’d just be dead but whatever.” She says this so easily that it was obvious she’d resigned herself to it. “The star is second which means you
chose
to become property and that girl could belong to one male or multiple males depending on her owner. The third is the sun, if she’s a sun at best, I can find out if she’s alive. Suns are castaways, scraps I guess. These are the girls picked up off the streets. They are the unruly ones, most use drugs, are mistreated and that’s if they survive the auction.”

“Luna…”

“
If
I can convince Shade to find her for you, at best you’ll receive a phone call but don’t expect to be granted visitation. You should know any sort of familial interaction is approved by her owner assuming she’s a star. Based on what you’ve told me, it’s the most logical choice.”

“She wouldn’t choose that life,” I argue but I heard the doubt in my own voice.

“You’d be surprised,” she says jumping down. “If she did, in fact, walk in the front door like you said she did, then your Evie chose to.”

“Bullshit!”

“It serves me no purpose to lie to you, Crews. You asked for my help, here it is. For your sake, pray she’s a star.”

“Why the fuck are you just now telling me this?”

Before walking out the door, she narrows her eyes and says, “Watch your tone, Crews. You’re lucky I told you at all. I just committed an act punishable by death so, you’re welcome.” Closing it behind her, I fell into the wall going over what I just heard. Minutes went by and my head was too fucking scrambled to process it. She went in through the front door, if that made her a star…No fucking chance she’d choose that life. To leave and not fucking tell me? I gave her as much of the world as I could. She wouldn’t fucking leave me to suffer like this!

I couldn’t think about Evie or stars, any of it. And you know what? I was sick of her leaving shit out. Throwing my door open, I don’t even knock on hers, I just charged right the fuck in.

Twenty bucks says Crews was over there stewing.  I even left my door unlocked so when he realized I didn’t give him full-disclosure, he didn’t have to knock. Some people can’t handle the truth when it comes to the skin business. Hell, I was raised with it and still can’t handle it. I just pretended to.

Crews loves Evie.

I can’t even imagine what it’s like to love someone then lose them.

Especially to skin peddlers.

I was pretty certain she was a star, which meant she went through the process
willingly
. Another twenty says he’s fucked up about that, the possibility his Evie left him
on purpose
. Yeah, that’s a kick in the nuts for sure.  When my door flew open and Crews stormed in, I braced myself for the explosion but oddly enough I didn’t get one. What I did get was a whole lot worse. Crews was close to falling apart.

“She wouldn’t choose it,” he says hugging the back of his neck. Letting out a deep breath he looks at me and whispers, “Tell me she wouldn’t choose it.” Saying nothing, I simply wrap my arms around his middle. “I loved her, provided for her best I could. She wouldn’t just
leave
.” Letting his arms drop he tightens them around me. My words would cause more harm than good, so I shut up and let him work it out. “If she’s a star, did she know what it meant?” Again, silence because the answer was yes, she did. “Evie,” he chokes out. “She was fragile, you know? She couldn’t handle anything… Fuck,” he whispers. “Tell me this isn’t real, Luna.”

“Crews,” I say moving away so I could see his face. “It’s very real and you need to understand that some have happy endings but most… do not.”

“You’ve seen it,” he moans. “How in the fuck are you normal?”

“I’m not,” I promise him. “If you think anything about me is normal then you need to have your eyes checked.”

“You’re engaged to a guy you don’t love, but you’re willingly going back. It doesn’t make sense.”

Well, no time like the present. “I’m stalling,” I shrug. “Putting off the inevitable.”

“Marrying Shade,” he mumbles.

“Yes and no,” I hedge. “When I return, Marco will demand a formal announcement. The fact is we have to marry, no getting around that. But Marco plans to kill me before I ever make it to the wedding. So, Shade bought me some time until other arrangements can be made.”

“Your father plans to kill you?”

“He is
not
my father.”

“Fine, Marco plans to kill you?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“By marrying Shade I’m given a voice. Plus, I would be equal in rank to Marco. Killing me sends a message. No doubt when I was gone, Shade would be next to die. Both of them carry a lot of weight in the business so each are hesitant to kill each other until they have their shit on lock. I may not want to marry him, but I also don’t want him to die either. I’m working those kinks out though…”

“Luna,” he groans taking a seat. “I’m begging you, start from the beginning. Just tell me the whole story so I can attempt to understand this.”

Taking the seat across from him, I tuck my legs under me and clear my throat. If I didn’t vomit during story time I’d treat myself to an ice cream, mint chocolate chip. It was one of the few sweets my stomach could handle. “Marco has always been a thug but about twenty-three years ago he was still small time. Per his boss’s orders he went to an auction to pick up a girl that was bought. That girl was my mother. Marco fell for her and bartered with his boss to keep her, right? He finds out she’d been held for months, mistreated, that she was raped and then finds out she’s pregnant. Marco loses his shit and wipes out the nest responsible with his boss’s blessing. His boss sees an opportunity, takes it and makes Marco his partner in crime. Fast forward to me...”

This was the hard part and Crews sensing that, takes my hand and holds it. “He loved her, you know. I don’t remember her very much but I do remember that. She loved him too, was grateful he saved her and had herself branded so the world would know she belonged to him. My name means beautiful moon and to make sure our enemies knew who I belonged to, he tattooed my wrist to match. It was her idea to categorize the girls, to have a system. Anything to make Marco happy.” 

“How old were you?”