Word of Honor, Book 2 (20 page)

Their spirits danced and their bodies simply followed the beautiful beat, riding shotgun to a spiritual connection that could not be stopped or altered. Neither said anything for several seconds, until he recalled the children were there, in need of care. Reluctantly, he released her and she pulled a balled up tissue from her black pants pocket. She dabbed at her eyes and took the little black girl’s hand as they made their way up the hall.

Aaron lingered behind, giving space, room, and talking himself down from an emotional cliff. He held back, stayed several feet away and then, simply paused. The woman he loved held the little black girl’s hand in hers, and in her other hand was the little white boy’s, the one with the darkness and the light vying to have their way within him. They were mere children… trusting, and loving as a source of comfort, the woman who stood between them. They had no hatred, only love. They had not been tainted by the nasty world as of yet. They were pure and clean, untarnished.

Who soils the children? Spreads their emotional and psychological diseases to the youth? Perhaps the Devil? Maybe that’s too easy, an excuse of sorts.

…Or possibly it’s the Devil in the details…

The mental treaties we sign and declare to be a solid, hardcore belief, based on things we’d seen, felt, and knew as a child – those are real. A child’s vision is clear, but skewed at the same time. Everything looks larger than life at that age, so how can it be truly trusted?

He stared at Mia, getting smaller and smaller as she continued to go up the hall. Grasping the material of his collar and bringing it to his nose, he sniffed it.

“Mmmm…smells soooo good…”

He moaned as he relished her scent.

Slowly closing his eyes, he inhaled again and again. Yes, she smelled like childhood optimism and liberation. Mia reminded him of springtime and growth, renewal and home-brewed peach tea.

Mia smelled like hope. Mia was faith in the unseen, love in the midst of putrid hatred. Mia, was everything, for Mia was his personal angel, delivering the most important gift of all…

Redemption…

Chapter Nine

T
HE ROOM SMELLED
like that damn prison soap…

She’d never smell it on him again after today.

She watched him pluck construction project paperwork from the desk, assigning himself as her personal housekeeper. Smiling inside and out, she placed her pencils neatly back inside her desk drawer and went about her chores. Every now and again, the man would pause, pick something off the ground and toss it away, take a look at her, then continue on. She’d cleared off her desk, then made her way to the bins, sorting the folders of each student and placing them back in alphabetical order.

“I don’t understand why you insisted on helping me clean up my classroom.”

“This school is all year round, right?” He kept going, busying himself.

“Yes, we have a two week summer vacation and then the children return…don’t want them out of school too long.”

He nodded in understanding, then pulled out a small mp3 player with an attached speaker, and turned it on as he continued to work. Suddenly she was hearing Daughter’s ‘Medicine.’

“We can get ready to leave now,” she stated as she removed her purse from the coat hook. “The janitor will finish the rest, honey.” She grabbed her keys and began to walk towards the door of her room only to find the man cut her off at the pass. He made his way to the doorknob, turned it until it clicked shut. Locked. Facing her, he stood there for a moment or two, then tugged at his pants.

“Aaron… what are you doing?” Her low heels clicked against the floor, echoing as she moved in reverse, backing away, stumbling about.

He said nothing.

A ray of sunlight caught the silver of his heavy belt buckle as he slicked the thing out of his jeans and cast it onto the floor with a mighty crash. As if his words had been stolen, he simply communicated with his body until he was flush against her, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her close. He forced her back into the desk.

“Sit down.”

She quickly tossed a glance over her shoulder, then back at him. The man’s lips lifted in a devilish smirk. Sitting on the desk surface as he’d instructed, she undid the top button of her pants, and pulled down the zipper. Her pants hit the floor, her sheer baby blue panties now in full view. Reaching out, she ran her hands up and down his hard chest, bunching the black fabric of his T-shirt. For a split second, the man seemed to lose composure at her touch.

He gripped the back of her shirt in his powerful fist, pulled her roughly to him and wedged himself between her legs. With his pants puddled around his ankles, he nestled his lips in the crook of her neck and delivered fast, frantic kisses up and down her jawbone and shoulder blade.

“Mmmmm!” They both moaned as she caressed his scalp. In a fit of lust, she caught his face and cradled it between her palms. Gaze locked on his, she pressed her lips to his, over and over again. Meanwhile, he squeezed her breasts hard through her bra, then released them as he bumped his pelvis into her zone. Unable to take a second more of that teasing, she reached behind herself and undid the clasp of her light blue bra, letting it fall off her shoulders. He slowed, looked down at her mounds and back into her eyes before initiating a slow, sensual kiss…

“Ahhh…” she breathed out as he laid her down on the desk and pushed his dark boxers down his legs, exposing a gorgeous cock to fill her need. Sliding her tongue slowly across her upper lip, she waited in sweet anticipation. She scooted back and pulled him close, feeling his taut flesh against hers. After yanking her panties down, he leaned forward, covering her with his inked flesh. Those symbols were not the same now – a reminder of the old Aaron that was no more. They didn’t bother her, except that they served as a reminder of all the pain he had to go through as a boy growing up in a deep vat of hate. Whatever story those ink designs told though, they pertained to his past. Today—right now—he was simply, solely, her man. Her one true mate who’d been reborn in love, just for her.

Suddenly, he paused. “I bought some condoms, hold on…”

“Aaron…”

“Yeah, baby?” He slowed down, all ears.

“I started taking birth control. I didn’t know when you were coming home, but I wanted to be ready…”

Grinning wide, he lowered himself back on top of her, knocking her legs further apart as he sluggishly ran his fingers through her hair.

“I love you so much, Mia.”

The simple, earnest words heated her body impossibly further, filled her heart with a flood of penetrating, passionate emotions.

“I love you too, Aaron… so glad you’re home…ahh…” Riding a ghost of a whimper, her eyes widened then closed in ecstasy as he entered her. He thrust deep and slow, held her close, nurtured her with his perfectly timed, beautiful movements. They simply stared at one another, smiling, speaking with silent words. Gradually, he sped up, making her coo and wrap her legs tightly around his waist.

…Don’t go…stay right here inside of me…

“Deeper…” Pulling him down by the neck, she touched her lips to his.

He did as she ordered and she came undone as his groans resonated within her body.

“Faster…faster!” She wiggled her pelvis and pushed it firmly against his own, grinding harder and harder.

“Uhhh!” He crashed into her, gritting his teeth, and he rocked her hard against the shaking desk.

“Mmmm, yes!” Her eyes flew wide open, her back arched. She felt dizzy, lightheaded and calm all at once.

I’m flying…

The room spun in slow motion as the white ceiling, pocked with tiny holes, reminded her suddenly of some reverse universe…

“Let me take your mind somewhere else… your body, it’s my blessing! I wanna make you feel so damn good, honey…so damn good!” He kissed all over her face, ravishing her. Her hair sprawled across the desk in all different directions. She whimpered and bit into her lower lip as her orgasm crept from her core, grabbed her fleshy, swollen zone, and her pelvis went into a series of uncontrollable spasms. And, too, she lost her breath. The slight hum from a box fan seemed to become louder as her ears picked up the tiniest of things – like his labored breathing, the way he swallowed as he observed her… hovered above her like some eagle watching over its baby.

“This is your world, Mia… I just live in it.” He placed a soft kiss against the tip of her nose and gracefully caressed her cheek.

“You’re the ambassador to my palace, and my palace is my heart…”

She reached up and pulled him close once again… and then, he shook, he gasped; his eyes filled with pools of lustrous release… Her core was flooded with a rush of warmth.

There he goes…

He shuddered within her again and again… his essence pouring out, filling her up. His nails dug harshly into her hips, dragging roughly across her skin as he lay down on her breasts, gasped for air, then disappeared against her heart. He settled after a while, throbbing within her, but clung to her so tightly, it was as if his very life depended on it. Inside, she exploded with pain and release! She was a healer, and she’d taken his pain away, treating it as her own.

It hurt! Such sadness, such despair…

She looked lazily over at a window, the blinds half pulled down, blocking their view and hiding them from the world. Still, a crack of light allowed them to see the bright blue, cloudless sky and the tips of the flourishing, lush, green trees…

Trees.

Growth from roots up to the heavens…

One day, Aaron, I’ll tell you about that tree in my grandmother’s yard…yeah, the one I was afraid of. The one with twisted, dry, knotted bark, gnarled limbs and grooves that made it appear alive, yet dead at the same time. I didn’t tell you the other half of that story, Aaron, and now is not the time. But I will… I will tell you how my grandmother refused to cut down that tree, because her great grandfather was hung from that tree…

… but the rope broke, and his life was spared in that instant. They’d tried several more times, the white men in their anger, waving their fists, shouting and carrying on, but each and every time, the rope broke, no matter who tied it, Aaron… so they took him out to the river and drowned him. The river took him away, but that tree refused. So you see, Aaron… she couldn’t cut that tree down, not for me, not for nobody, because it understood my ancestors, and it refused to let their blood be shed upon its branches. It refused to take life, only give it…

So that’s why the flowers, still, to this day, bloom at its base…and that’s why birds rest on its broken and cracked boughs…and that’s why, Aaron, I can forgive you…

’Cause you were afraid of me… you saw life in me, but constant fear is just another form of death. You ain’t know no better; it was my duty to teach you… and now you know better…

She ran her hand over his beautiful face.

‘Yeah, now you do…’

…The next day

T
HE LOUD SUCTION
sound of the fizzy cola flowing through the white straw continued. Mia was certain it sufficed to cause him to want to bust a gut at her antics. She’d tried to cool her nerves with the beverage, calm her excitement down, but it only ended in her chewing the tip of the straw so badly, it barely allowed her to partake in the final sips of melted ice. She was making a fool of herself, but she simply couldn’t help it. Happy times such as this gave her the exultant jitters. She became clumsy, uncouth, and a bit off key. He, on the other hand, looked quite comfortable, dressed in a light blue button down shirt, a nice pair of black slacks, and an easy smile as they sat in the crowded Chick-fil-A. She plucked a warm fry from her plate and swirled it around in a dollop of ketchup before popping it inside of her mouth.