Page 11 of A Trial of the Heart
Our glasses touched, solidifying our agreement.
Chapter
Six
Shiloh:
“What’s the story there?” Rashad asked, looking down at me.
We were in his bed with his arm draped across my naked frame. We’d come back to his room after agreeing to be with each other for the duration of the cruise. We’d just had mind-blowing, unforgettable sex, and we were getting to know each other better. It wasn’t intentional, but multiple times during the conversation, I brought up Daniel. I wanted to keep him out of it, but it was hard because Daniel had been all I knew.
I sighed nervously, laughing. “It’s a long story that I really don’t want to tell.”
Rashad shifted a bit. “You may not want to tell it, but it seems like you need to.”
“You really aren’t the person who I should talk to about Daniel.” He’d just bodied me, giving me multiple orgasms, so mentioning my ex would have been out of pocket.
He chuckled.
“I may not be the ideal person in your eyes, but I’m here, and you seem to have a lot of built-up things you wanna speak about. No judgment from me… just listening and giving advice if youneed me to.” He was so calm. “Once you get it out, we don’t have to speak about it again. We only have a few days together, and I just want them to be ones neither of us will forget.”
It didn’t take long to understand why Rashad had the type of job he did. He hadn’t even said much, but the tone of his voice allowed me to feel comfortable to speak on what I didn’t want to.
“Daniel, my ex…” I started and wanted to stop instantly, but I’d already opened up with just a name.
I exhaled deeply. “Daniel was supposed to be on this cruise with me. He and I dated off and on for years. He was familiar, but truth be told, we had no business being associated. We were so different, but because he was all I knew, I stayed where I didn’t belong. When we were younger, we fit because the bad boy life was what I thought I wanted and needed.”
I paused a second because, as I spoke, the realization of how dumb I had been for years was clear.
“He was all I knew. I knew I deserved better, and we weren’t good for each other, but I couldn’t let go even after I became a lawyer.”
“Is there a reason he isn’t here?”
I sarcastically laughed. “Aside from the fact we were in chapter one of different books, his ass thought it was a good idea to fuck another female in my apartment.” I laughed again. This time, I was in disbelief. “The apartment was in my name. I paid all the bills, and the bed was mine. His ass didn’t even have enough respect for me to cheat on me outside the home I paid for.”
“Damn,” was all Rashad got out.
This time, when I laughed, it was more so in embarrassment. “Yeah, so that’s why he’s not here.”
Rashad adjusted under me, forcing me to do the same. He now glared into my eyes but spoke no words.
“What?”
He stroked my face, his fingertips feeling like a feather before he gripped my chin lightly, lifting so my lips were more accessible before he kissed them. The kiss felt innocent yet passionate. Just when I prepared to part my lips to welcome his tongue, Rashad pulled back.
“I’m not happy about the pain you have behind your ex, but I can’t lie and say that I’m not happy he’s not here.” He smiled slightly, prompting me to do the same.
“Him not being here is paving the way for you and I.” He winked.
I couldn’t prevent the growing smile. Rashad had a way with his words, and hell, hands too. Because as his hands roamed my body while staring at me, I was forgetting everything. Though Rashad seemed perfect, saying and doing all the right things, his eyes couldn’t lie. They were telling a story I wanted to read.
“What about you? What’s your backstory?” I asked, looking away a bit as that was the only way I could focus.
Rashad’s neat, bushy brows bunched in the middle of his forehead as his forehead wrinkled. “What you mean?”
I snickered. “Really? I just let you in, and you are really about to pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about? Don’t do that. Why is someone as fine as you, and seemingly so perfect, single?”
Pulling his arm from under me, Rashad sat up fully to rest his back against the headboard. I sat up too, bringing the sheet with me to shield my naked frame.
