Chasing Bliss (25 page)

“You still up, Bliss?”

Her smile widened into a grin because she knew what his problem was.

He kissed her neck and ran his thumb over her nipple. “Bliss, wake up.” He pressed himself
against her, and Bliss giggled.

“I’m up, Chase.” She laughed. “You are
so
horny!”

He laughed, too, but he moved her leg forward with his and pushed his chest into her back,
moving her onto her stomach. Bliss went willingly, and Chase planted a knee on either side of her.
“I’m not horny. I’m in love with you. Let me in, and I’ll show you.”

Bliss parted her thighs for him, and he slid in and curled his fingers around hers.

“Close your legs, Bliss.”

She did, and she thought she would die. She loved him, and he loved her—and he was showing
her, filling her body and heart with every thrust.

Chase started talking to her. “You comin’ with me to Atlanta, Bliss?”

She arched her back, and he went all the way in. “God, yes, Chase. I’d follow you anywhere.”

He laughed softly in her ear. “You can’t follow me unless you marry me. You gonna marry
me, Bliss? Say yes. I need you. Please…say yes,” he begged, never stopping what he was doing,
plunging into her with his magnificent long stroke.

Bliss started throbbing so hard it brought tears to her eyes. “Yes! Yes, Chase! I will! I
promise!”

He kissed her cheek. “Good…and while you’re at it, I want you to have my baby, too, Bliss.”
His breath caught, and he growled real sexy.

Bliss could feel his release when he let go, and it made her happy. She’d known from the
moment Chase had lifted his helmet and looked at her with his incredible cognac eyes that she
belonged to him. She and Chase were inevitable, and they both knew it. She’d go wherever he
went because she couldn’t live without him. She rocked with him until he had nothing left to give
her, and then he turned over with her in his arms. She loved him so much she felt like crying. She
was his.

Chapter 14

“I
still don’t believe I had to damn near make a fuckin’ appointment to see my own brother.
This is some very insulting shit, Corey,” Cyrus said, walking into his brand new club.

Corey looked at him apologetically. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that, Cyrus. Don’t take it
so personal. Chase has been pretty busy. Cut him some slack.”

Cyrus looked around.
Yeah, he’s been busy, all right.
The club was beautiful and completely ready
for the opening the next day. Everything was pristine, polished, and fresh. The bar was stocked
with a staggering array of mid-to top-shelf liquor, and the dance floor gleamed. Cyrus nodded his
head in pride and satisfaction. “That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. This joint is tight.”

Corey looked at him sideways. “Yeah, thanks to Chase. You could give him a compliment once
in a while instead of your ass to kiss. Maybe if you showed him a little love from time to time,
things wouldn’t be as fucked up between y’all as they are.”

Cyrus nodded and scratched his goatee. “Yeah, maybe. Unfortunately, that’s not why I’m here.
I need to let Smoke know he ain’t handling his business like he promised.”

Corey frowned. “Fuck you talkin’ ‘bout, Cyrus? The club opens tomorrow, and he did what he
promised.”

Cyrus had arrived at the club in a Suburban with three big, burly, dudes protecting his ass. He
was constantly looking over his shoulder, and he could barely stand the paranoia anymore. He
blamed Chase that he had to be so careful. “I’m afraid he didn’t, young buck. Wolf is still eatin’,
shittin’, and changin’ his clothes, and I got a problem with that ‘cause I told Chase to put an end his
ass. Wolf shoulda stopped bein’ a problem for me
weeks
ago. Meanwhile, he’s pickin’ my people
off one by one. Shit, he even tried to take
me
out. I need to know why this nigga Smoke is draggin’
his heels.”

Corey looked at him as they reached the office. “I know you’re pissed, but be nice, Cyrus.”

Cyrus frowned.
This nigga’s gotta be kidding.
“Nice? I ain’t the crazy, temperamental motherfucker,
always flyin’ off the handle.
That
would be Smoke, with his razor-wielding ass. You tell
that
nigga
to be nice. That boy got a split personality or somethin’.”

Corey looked at the floor. “Don’t talk about Chase like that. He’s our brother, and that ain’t
right.”

Cyrus stared at Corey for a second. “I sure hope you take up for me like that.”

Corey shook his head sadly. “Y’all are givin’ me a fuckin’ ulcer,” he said and knocked on the
door, rubbing his stomach.

Cyrus deeply resented the fact that he had to knock on the office door at his own club.
That nigga
Smoke think he’s all that? I’ll fuckin’ show him,
he thought, knowing he was gonna bend his fingers
back.

“Come in.”

Corey swung the door open. Chase was seated at the desk going over a floor plan, with Bliss
peering over his shoulder. She was dressed down in jeans and a light blue T-shirt, but she was still
one helluva nice piece of ass.

She looked startled to see Cyrus and took a step closer to Chase. “Mr. Brown. Hi.”

Cyrus smiled at her. “Ms. Riley.”

Chase stood up and rolled the floor plans into a tube. “‘Sup, Cyrus?” He handed the tube to
Bliss. “Could you give us a minute?”

Bliss seemed to be purposely avoiding eye contact. She took the plans and picked up another
set of papers. “Call me when you need me,” she said and walked out.

“Have a seat, Cyrus. What can I do for you?” Chase said, eyeing him coolly.

Fuck sitting down
. Cyrus walked around to Chase’s side of the desk. “I think you know what you
can do for me.”

Chase started smiling, but it wasn’t a happy smile. “Don’t roll up on me, Cyrus. Sit your ass
down like I said,” Chase ordered.

Cyrus frowned and made a fist. “What?”

Chase looked at his fist and laughed. “I’m tellin’ you, Cyrus, don’t come at me like that. If you
put your hands on me, I’m gonna defend myself.”

Corey stepped between them with his back to Chase. “Just sit down, Cyrus, and stop this crazy
shit. Please.” He turned his head to Chase. “Calm down, Chase.”

Chase looked Corey in the eye. “I am calm, Corey.”

But even Cyrus could see he wasn’t. He could see the pulse beating in his neck, and there was
that wild little light in the corners of his eyes. To make matters worse, he couldn’t stop smiling.
Cyrus felt a cold chill at the base of his neck. He’d seen that wild little sparkle in his brother’s eyes
before, accompanied by that ferocious little grin.
Oh shit. Damn.
He took a step back, unconsciously
keeping his hands where Chase could see them. Cyrus was mortified that his heart was suddenly
slamming in his chest. He narrowed his eyes at Chase. “You look like you want to hurt me,
Smoke.”

To his credit, Chase took a step back too. “I ain’t gonna rule it out. I’m warnin’ you, Cyrus, I’m
not gonna have you comin’ at me like that—grabbin’ my collar and shit like you used to and puttin’
your hands on me. I told you before, and you need to listen, Cyrus. If you want to talk to me, have
a seat and be respectful.” Chase sat down in his own chair like it was a throne.

Cyrus sat in the chair across the desk from him, albeit resentfully. He could feel his fury rising,
and his fingers itched to choke the shit out of Chase’s insolent ass.

Chase threw gas on the fire when he laughed. “Boy, you’re mad as hell now, ain’t ya, Cyrus?”

Corey shook his head and sat down on the corner of the desk. “Stop, Chase. That’s not cool.”

But Chase clearly had no intention of stopping. He leaned back in his chair and turned to Cyrus.
“What’s the matter, Cy? Cat got your tongue? You came in here like you had somethin’ to say, so
say it.”

Cyrus glared at the ungrateful son of a bitch. He wanted to hit him until his hand hurt. He
wanted to say some foul shit back to him, but he couldn’t seem to get enough spit in his mouth to
talk. The reality was that it was time to admit to himself that he was afraid of his little brother. It
was that crazy light in his eyes that had his balls shriveling. Maybe he was showing out before
,
but
Cyrus knew better than to push the envelope with Chase’s unstable ass when he had that glittery,
smiley look about him—the one he always got before he opened a nigga’s throat up.

“Go ahead and talk, Cyrus. Stop sitting there looking like you’re scared of me, ‘cause
that could
never be true.
Right, Cyrus?”

“Chase—” Corey said from his perch on the desk.

“I’m not doin’ anything, Corey. I’m just waitin’ for Cyrus to ask me about Wolf, that’s all. Go
on, Cyrus. Ask me.”

Cyrus cleared his throat. “You can’t blame me for askin’. You promised me a long time ago that you would
take care of him, and so far you ain’t kept your word, ‘cause he’s still breathin’, far as I know.”

“Maybe not, but I’ve done other stuff for you, Cyrus. What about Mooch and Post? They won’t
be shootin’ anybody else.”

Cyrus shook his head. “All that shit did was piss Wolf off .”

Chase laughed a fucked-up little laugh. “It did? My bad.”

“You think this shit is funny? ‘Cause it ain’t.”

Chase stopped smiling. “No, Cyrus, I don’t think it’s funny. I think this shit is tired. Hell, I
think
you’re
tired. Don’t you have anybody in your goon squad who can grease Wolf for you? How
you gonna do the things you do and not have some people lined up for shit like this? Some people
to calm shit down when it gets too hot? I ain’t seen you with no serious executioners since Herc
Mercer.”

Cyrus stared at him. Chase was playing games with him, and he didn’t appreciate it. It wasn’t in
Cyrus’s nature to take shit off of people, and despite the danger of fucking with Chase, he refused
to take it now. “Well, I
had
an executioner—Herc, like you said—but some-damn-body went and
executed
his ass.”

Chase returned his stare. “He got what he deserved, Cyrus. He pulled his .45 on me and Corey,
aiming to kill us both. Even if he had no murderous intent, he knew he was gonna die when he
pulled his gun.
Nobody
pulls a gun on me, Cyrus. I don’t play that shit, and everybody knows it.”

They stared at each other, and Cyrus could tell by the look in Chase’s eye that he was going to
have to sing a different song if he wanted Chase to cooperate. “If I let anybody else handle this, it
ain’t goin’ down right. You killed my best boy years ago.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “Well, I didn’t do it because I wanted his damn job.”

“You’re the only one who can do this job, Smoke, and you’ll do it better than he ever could.
You don’t leave a trace.”

Chase looked at him for a long time. “I’m not gonna do it, Cyrus.”

Cyrus frowned.
What the fuck is this?
“You have to…you said you would.”

Chase shook his head slowly. “Negative. I don’t
have
to do shit. I changed my mind, Cyrus. I’m
done.”

Cyrus nodded.
Sure
. He’d heard it all before, and it was nothing but a rehash. He decided to do
some rehashing of his own. He looked at Chase, then let his eyes slide, pointedly, toward Corey.

Chase smiled his regular grin, not the one laden with danger. “That’s not gonna work this time, Cyrus. Don’t
even think ‘bout threatenin’ me with that shit.”

Cyrus rubbed his elbow, which was still in a sling. He thought threatening Chase with Corey
would ultimately work, but he had to drop it for a moment, because he didn’t think Corey would
react too well if he
knew
he was a pawn in this game. He had to catch him when he was unsuspecting
and thought Cyrus was desperate. The thing was, Cyrus
was
damn close to desperation and Chase—
that arrogant fuck—wasn’t playing ball. Cyrus changed tactics. “You gotta do somethin’, Smoke.
Wolf is actin’ like Maceo. He’s poppin’ people at random, tryina get me and Khalid. I’m havin’
trouble walkin’ down the street.”