Heart So Reckless Read online

  Heart So Reckless

  A Complete Standalone

  KC Mills

  © 2019

  Published by Supreme Works Publications

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or print, including photocopying, recording or by information storage retrieval system, without the written permission from the publisher, writer, except brief quotes used in reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

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  The Introduction.

  Redmon Stokes.

  “Just meet me. We can have a few drinks before I have to hit these streets.”

  I lifted my drink and placed it to my lips while I waited for my girl to respond. I was heated. So much so that I seriously considered traveling across the room and snatching her up by the expensive ass weave that I knew I had shed a few grand for.

  “No, Red. I’m not going to do that. I’m with my girls who feel like my time is more valuable than you do. You said fuck Valentine’s Day, so that’s the shit I’m on right now. Fuck Valentine’s Day, baby. I’m just going to have a few drinks with my girls and then hit the club. Maybe I’ll find a man who will make me a priority.”

  Swallowing the smooth, sweet, brown liquor that filled my glass, I looked across the room to where my girl was sitting with some weak ass nigga who had his hand on her thigh. He looked impatient, and she seemed annoyed. Likely because she had to waste their time by lying to me about what her plans were for the evening while trying to justify it with the fact that making money was more important than me sitting around with my head up her ass.

  “Your girls, huh?” I questioned while intently watching her face to see the lie as she told it.

  I knew Sasha like the back of my hand. Every expression her face could mold into from the one she was making right now, the lie being told, to the one when I was hitting that spot just right, and she was unraveling with me between her thighs. One of those I favored way more than the other, but shit, right now I didn’t have a choice in what she was offering me. Well, at least without her really knowing that I was privy to the bullshit she was shooting me.

  “Yes, Redmon.” There she goes with that shit. Calling me by my entire name in an attempt to prove a point. She’s pissed. “My girls. They have my back more than you since your first bitch seems to always come before me.”

  “My first bitch?” I chuckled and pulled my eyes away from her then focused on the drink that was in my hand. She and I had this conversation on repeat twenty-four muthafuckin’ seven. It was the main reason why I declined anything serious with her from the jump, but she kept pushing the issue, so here we were. “You don’t have a problem with her coming before you when she’s paying for all that expensive shit you like. You in that Mercedes tonight that she paid for?”

  The streets were truly my priority, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t fucking trying or compensating in one way or another. I was there tonight, doing just that. Trying to show her that she mattered.

  “You know what? I’m not about to do this with you. Go make money, that’s what you love the most, right? Hit the streets and get your hands on every dollar you can. I’ll see you when you find time for me.”

  Sasha hung up, and I chuckled.

  Nah, baby, that’s a wrap. There will be no more time for you, but I will indeed hit the streets tonight and get that money. Fuck love, and fuck women who don’t appreciate you trying to build something for them, I thought as I downed the rest of my drink and then signaled for the bartender. I decided to have one more before I headed out.

  I guess God was trying to tell me something by putting me there tonight. He laid that shit out for me in a way that was clear a fuck. There was no way the world was that small that the one night I tried to do the right thing and set up something special for Sasha, I should have caught her spending time with another dude.

  I had planned dinner for her at this overpriced hotel just because she kept throwing it out there that she wanted to come. I was hoping to spend a little time and then jet while I paid for Sasha to hit up their spa. She seemed to love shit like that. However, my plans changed the moment that I walked in and was slapped in the face with the reality that she didn’t give a fuck about me. There she was, sitting with some dude all cozy in the corner and likely spending my got damn money. Money that she was always complaining about me hustling to secure. Nah, the world wasn’t that small; this had to be God, and you know what? I was got damn listening.

  “Yes, sir?” The bartender approached cautiously.

  I could tell I made him nervous, but I was used to that. Hell, it wasn’t intentional; just a vibe, I suppose. I rocked with it so well in the streets that it was hard to shed when I needed to be low key. I wasn’t complaining. It kept people out of my face for fear of how I would react.

  “Let me get one more, and then you can close out my tab.”

  I leaned back, balancing on the stool to remove cash from my pocket. I fucked with credit just because I knew I needed it, but I was old school, so cash was my first option. The streets taught me that. Cash was harder to trace, and I made a point of sticking to covert spending. I didn’t, however, plan to be in the streets for the rest of my life, so I kept it balanced. I made a few purchases here and there with my cards but mostly left that up to Sasha. I guess I was gonna have to handle that from now on. Her privileges were revoked.

  She had no issue running through my money, no matter if it was paper or plastic that she was using to pay. Making a mental note to cut her ass off, I placed a hundred down on the bar to cover two fifteen dollar, overpriced, watered down drinks.

  Nodding at it, I then looked up at the bartender. “That should cover it. Keep the change.”

  The amount softened his ass up a little because he offered me a smile that was too broad for him to be delivering to another man, but I ignored him and canvassed my surroundings. That’s when I laid eyes on the woman who had me appreciating the fact that I was there, and that Sasha was no longer a concern of mine. All I could think as I watched her cross the room was Damn!

  She was dressed in a strapless, red bodysuit that accented everything that men loved about women. Hips, breasts, ass, and thighs. All of them perfectly proportioned on her.

  I was already in the process of deciding which zone on her perfect, warm brown skin I would explore first with my tongue when my eyes landed between her thick thighs. Oh yeah, that’s the beginning point. Shit! Whoever was lucky enough to be ending or beginning their night with the devil in red was truly a blessed man.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she neared my end of the bar. In fact, all I could do was shake my head at the fact that she was so damn sexy. God was my nigga for life for creating such a beauty, even if it was just for me to admire from afar.

  Today of all days was not one that a woman like that was in search of anything other than the man who already loved and appreciated her perfection. Fuck Valentine’s Day and fuck the nigga she was about to spend it with. However, the second she slipped onto the stool next to me, everything suddenly changed.

  Peyson Cross.

  “What do you mean you’re not coming?”

  I felt my chest constrict as tears pooled in my eyes. Refusing to release them, I sucked in a deep breath to regain my composure as I moved
through the restaurant. For a week straight, I had been envisioning how tonight would go. Linus promised me. He fucking promised.

  “I said I’m not going to be able to make it. My flight was delayed, and I can’t get another out until in the morning. I was only flying home to be with you tonight and then flying back out tomorrow night to head to New York for business, so it’s kind of a waste.”

  “A waste?” I stopped at the bar and angled my head to the side as I waited for him to clean that shit up. He couldn’t have meant it like I was receiving it, right?

  “Spending time with you isn’t a waste, just the fact that I can’t spend the time with you that I planned, baby.”

  “If that’s the case, then just catch a flight in the morning, and we can celebrate then. Truthfully, I don’t care about Valentine’s Day. I just miss you. You travel all the time, which means that I barely see you as it is, so every minute counts. It may only be just a few hours for you, but it’s a lifetime for me because I haven’t been getting much of anything from you in the past few months.”

  I was whining, and I hated that. I was a grown ass, successful woman who had it all except a man who was around to show me love. Linus was supposed to be the man I needed. He made all types of promises about it, but after a year of him hustling to build his business, I was left alone, and he was… not here!

  “Baby, it’s absurd and utterly pointless. I would only be there for a few hours, and then I would have to fly right out. I’ll be home next weekend, and then I don’t have to travel for two weeks. I assure you that I will make it up to you.”

  “How many times have I heard that same thing on repeat? You know what? Fuck it. I guess I’ll see you next weekend.”

  “Pee, don’t be childish. The reservation is paid for. I left my card with the restaurant, so enjoy your meal, have a few drinks, and call me when you get home. I also sent you something. They’ll bring it to the table.”

  “You sent me something, and you left your card?” I frowned as I ran that through my head.

  “Yes, the second I found out I couldn’t make it, I handled everything so that your night would be perfect. I called the restaurant and made sure they would take care of you. I wanted you to have a special night, even if I couldn’t be there.”

  “If you’re not here then my night won’t be special. Dinner and a gift can’t fix that or compete with spending time with you.”

  “Pee…”

  “Never mind, I have to go.”

  “Pee...”

  I heard him calling my name as I ended the call, but I didn’t care. I was frustrated and disappointed.

  “What does your nigga look like?”

  The deep, sultry voice that sounded from beside me made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was sexy, alluring, warm, and full of something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on… but I wasn’t interested.

  “Excuse me?”

  When I turned to face the man who had spoken, my breath hitched. It was literally caught in my throat as I instantly fell in love. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but damn if this man wasn’t God in human form.

  “I said, what does your nigga look like?” he repeated with dark, mysterious eyes on me that looked intense and deadly at the same time.

  “Why would you ask me that? Were you listening to my call?”

  He smirked, and my world ended. I was six feet under with my mother and sister standing over my grave crying their eyes out. Yes, he murdered me with that damn delicious smile of his.

  “Because I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t that weak ass dude over there.” He nodded across the restaurant at a couple who were snuggled in the corner, laughing and smiling. They looked to be very much in love and very sexually connected by the way they were all over each other.

  “No.” I gritted and rolled my eyes.

  Handsome next to me chuckled and then lifted a large hand that was covered in colorful artwork. He raked it down his beautiful face before he blessed me with those eyes again.

  “I was just wondering if the world was really that small. I guess it’s not. Your dude is lying, by the way.”

  “Lying about what?”

  “Why he isn’t here.” His eyes moved from my face, down my neck, to my chest, and then the apex of my thighs in what felt like slow motion. It was sexy and damn near erotic. “You look good as fuck, you’re beautiful, that body. Shit, I’d fuck you right here on this bar if you would let me. I wouldn’t care if everybody in here was watching either.” Half of that damn smile was back. “There is no way he’s not here unless he has something equally pleasing that has his attention. And, on top of that, he paid for your dinner and sent you a gift.” Handsome chuckled again and then lifted his drink. “He isn’t here because he has another option somewhere else. I have no got damn clue why he would be that fucking stupid, but it’s facts, baby. Take it from a man who knows. The same way I know my ex is with that weak ass nigga because she wants to be not because she thinks I spend too much time in the streets.”

  It made perfect sense. Everything about this man screamed thug. He was dressed simply in black jeans and a black Henley. On his feet were black Gucci high tops, and he had on a very expensive watch. It wasn’t flashy with diamonds or anything overdone, but it was a Patek Philippe. One similar to the kind I purchased for Linus last year on his birthday, but the one on handsome’s wrist was priced at three times what I spent.

  Aside from his face, there were tattoos on all the exposed skin that I could see, neck included. Hanging around his neck was a string of diamonds held together by a platinum setting. His necklace was like the tennis bracelet that circled my wrist but far more expensive because it had at least three times the diamonds.

  “You think he’s cheating on me?”

  “You don’t?” His tone was teasing. Handsome found this funny. Asshole!

  I opened and closed my mouth to really think about it. Truthfully, I did have that feeling from time to time but look at me. I was beautiful, sexy, and had my shit together. I didn’t nag, and I was patient. Extremely patient. Linus had his ass all over the country trying to build his business, and I was riding with him on that. Translation, supporting us.

  “That’s your girlfriend—”

  “Ex-girlfriend.”

  His answer was firm and held a finality that I didn’t need to question. I guess she pissed him off. I was sure the man who was slipping his hand up her dress was to blame for that.

  “Ex, since when? Since you showed up here and found her with that man?” I narrowed my eyes at him, and he shrugged.

  “Yeah.”

  “So, your girlfriend is here all cozy with another man, and you’re giving me relationship advice?” I laughed, but it wasn’t amusing. “I’ll pass.”

  He looked at me in that way that had my panties soaked while I considered clutching the mace I kept in my purse at the same time.

  “I’m not giving you advice. I’m telling you that if your nigga planned enough to make reservations, paid for your dinner, and had a gift sent to make up for him not being here, then he never planned to be here. Me giving you advice would be me telling you to say, fuck him. Spend the night with me, and give him a reason not to play with a woman as beautiful as you are ever again.”

  My mouth opened and closed to speak a second time, but this time not because I was thinking. I was stunned. Did he just tell me to spend the night with him? And was my foolish ass actually considering it? I didn’t know this man, and he looked and felt dangerous, not just to my wellbeing but to my heart.

  “I… you… did I hear you correctly?” The last part came out low, almost a whisper with no confidence behind it.

  Handsome lifted his glass again and then offered me a look that confirmed.

  “My night is fucked up, and apparently, so is yours. Why not make the most of it? If you want to go back to your dude in the morning, cool, ’cause the way I’m feeling, I’m not in the market to give another woman my time. That shit is n
ot worth it, and y’all don’t appreciate it. I’m offering to make up for what he’s not here to provide.” He smirked and looked me over again. “Not that I believe he even knows what to do with a woman like you, but my point is, I’m willing to offer one night. That’s all I have for you.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Don’t think.”

  His mouth covered mine in such a soft, delicate way that didn’t seem possible coming from a man like him. His lips were perfectly delicious, and I could taste the mint mixed with liquor on his tongue as it tangled with mine. All my senses heightened, and my body warmed to a dangerous level, but just as quickly as he gave me that pleasure, he took it away.

  My breathing was labored, and my mouth hung slightly ajar until I caught it and pursed my lips seconds later. Handsome smirked. It was devious and cocky mixed with a little seduction.

  “Don’t think. Just answer.”

  I pulled my teeth between my lips and nodded slowly, but that wasn’t good enough, which he quickly made clear.

  “Say yes, or it’s not happening. I need to be sure that this is consensual on both sides.”

  “Yes. Just tonight? And I need you to know that…”

  Again, he smiled, halting my ability to speak. “No need. There’s no judgment from this point moving forward. All I need is for you to promise to be open and that you will be willing to let me make this night better than you imagined it would be. Anything goes.”

  This time, I bit back my smile and nodded before verbally offering confirmation with a simple, “Okay.”

  I had no idea what I was agreeing to, but I was already committed. That only ignited the nervous feeling that was brewing in my stomach, but it was too late. Handsome was on his feet and extending a hand to me.

  “Wait, what’s your name?” I waited anxiously to find out who I had just promised to hand my soul over to.

  “Red.” With a comfortable smile, he paused and then finished. “Stokes.”