"I can't do this" I groaned breathlessly.

"Come on, just one finger." Tanika whispers behind me.

Leaning my head back to swallow the breath I was going to breath out erotically "Please don't make me" I managed to whisper.

In she leans closer into my ear, bubble gum breath fanning my face "I could help you if it's too much to handle".

"Oh God, please don't do this."

The heat of Tanika's body blanketed me from behind, her hand traced my arm until it connects with the back of my palm, from across the room the dark look from Rowans eyes from the couch set my body ablaze, was he amused by this?

"Tanika, w-what are you-"

"Shhh, let me help you." she teases, from the corner I watch her eyes glide towards rowan who unbuttons three buttons from his shirt, Strong legs spread wide, with his arm hanging lazily from the armchair.

Feeling me melt to the sight of the man in front of me, "Look at him while you do it, it'll encourage you more," she whisper. Indeed, it does, for the sight of Rowan helped my body relax, the dark purple dress shirt clung on to his muscles nearly morphing into his skin, Dark blue orbs seizes my body slowly head to toe while the pink tongue glides out licking the bottom of his lips, God he is a masterpiece, without even touching me, I surrendered under his dominance.

"Almost there," Tanika whispers.

My head involuntarily falls to her shoulder, "Oh, hurry please I can't take any more". My arm stretching to the max, her fingers tangle in mine, this is it.

"Relax your finger for me, I need your whole body to relax."

Breathing in the smoothness of her voice "Yes."

Any and All questions and concerns diminish partly, right when my head cleared, a cold sensation traveled through my blood stream freezing up my blood cells when my index finger finally comes down on the app button 'Publish'.

"There you did it." Tanika breathes moving away from behind me to clap.

Tumbling down to my feet, though no one could see it, my chest heaved wildly. I finally did it, I published those chapters, all that's left now is to leave it up to my readers. The room unsuspectingly fell quiet, I feel everyone's eyes on me, "Hey, were here for you, you might not see it now, but just think of the readers that have probably walked the same shoes as you."

Those words finally made their way through my anxiety, -soaking in every word. on one hand she is right, I could be helping a lot of people right now, but on the other hand what if I'm not? And just by coincidence those girls just happen to be at the restaurant, but did any of them have a Wattpad account? My head still lays low, my whole body supported on my folded legs, this is really happening, what's in store for me if things don't work out? Could detective Jambalaya really protect me the way he says.

I have the sudden longing to be isolated, my anxiety finally breaks through the surface making my chest heave up and down violently before causing me to shudder, I want to black out from this fear, was it too late to take it back? Everything indeed happens for a reason, who knows how long those chapters would have sat there waiting for them to be published, hell I would have talked myself into deleting them later in the future, I would have chickened out by then.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I hated hearing those words, yes, they are comforting and a sign that someone has your best interest at heart, yet they make me want to cry more feeling like I'm being coddled.

"Jane?" Tanika's voice grew softer, I could hear the concern, I can't decide on an emotion to feel, Anger? Overwhelmed? Or was this the feeling once a burden has been lifted? The battle within makes me want to scream, I'm at a loss of words ready to fall apart from the swirling of anxiety when the sight of black dress shoes come into my vision, a scent that I've come to love travels freely through my nasal stream, a body heat blankets me from above, wow I was freezing.

"Jane?" my name is spewed again, a masculine deep voice this time, it won me over, unconsciously my head rises slowly drinking up his crouched down position, God this man's strong sculpture of a body does things to me, my worries seem to have evaporated into thin air looking into his eyes, they have become my favorite not only for the deep blue color but for every time I looked into them I knew everything was going to be alright.

"Look at me"

He didn't even have to say it, he was all I wanted to wake up to just to see every day, he was all my mind reminded me of, he was the reason for these excessive heartbeats. I hadn't noticed I was crying until his thumb swipes my cheeks, "Smile for me" and that's when I felt like I could wrestle a whale.

Damn his English got good, I thought his native tongue was hot, but the broken English takes the crown, and accent coated at the same time? oh lawd have mercy.

From the corner of my eyes Tanika gives me a devious look wiggling her eyebrows up and down, remember when the Grinch was smiling in the cartoon? Yea good movie.

"Should I give the lovely couple some privacy"

As much as I would love nothing more than to have the jungle man go ape on me again, ha get it? All my focus was on the mere fact that I could possibly be living with a mark on my back. "I'm just ready to collapse" was all I could muster softly.

"Speak up," she says darkly "never let your voice go soft"

My eyes glanced towards her, "I just said I'm ready to collapse was all"

I heard her grunt? "Why?"

"I literally explained everything to you what do you mean why?"

"True you did but all I kept hearing was 'I'm a pushover' 'I will gladly swallow the bullying if it means my bestie will be happy' and 'the man I love will have to hide forever because I'm too weak to fight aside him'," her voice squeamish with the coated mockery.

Uh what? Was this mockery? My eyes moved away from the delicious man and deadpanned on Tanika, Like a puffer fish my mouth inflates and deflates "Excuse me? First of all that is not how I sound, Second of all you don't exactly know who we are dealing with".

Sassily cocking her head to the side looking for an audience "Are they Gods?"

"What? No."

"Are they species?"

"Well I- wait no!"

"Than enlighten me, what are they?"

"Three grown men that-"

"Exactly, Human fucking beings, they are human beings, you let a person that breaths the same oxygen as you control you this way? Your no better than the pawns they control behind the media."

From my peripheral vision Rowan than finally looks back at her, "I am no pawn"

"Your Justine's pawn"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"This is what's wrong with me, this pushover act and the fact that you can't be honest with yourself ", her hands dig into her pocket fishing out her phone. "Just accepting to live your life in hiding? Your right I don't know what the future holds but what I do know is your not going down for it alone, if it all goes south."

My brows furrowed "what are you -?"

"When your uncle is one of the heads of the supreme councils having a couple of charges removed on someone is nothing, Phillip wanted you out of the way, I don't get my hands dirty, Kevin still had some unfinished business with you, are you smart enough to put the math together?" A familiar voice picks up the silence.

Th-that voice, It sounds like C-Cameron? This was that day he showed up at my shop? "How - how did you - A vision than plays back, we are back at the store, Cameron in front of me, Tanika rounded away from Cameron to the middle of the aisle, I took one glance at her but ... didn't notice her phone camera faced upwards towards Cameron. She was recording the entire time.

"You - you wh- What? How did -"

"I have done my own research, this guy is a billionaire, other than that he is nothing, he uses money to get what he wants, just like any other billionaire on the planet that only leaches off the parents."

"Why do research on Cameron? I thought it was Kevin that hurt your sister?"

"How else do you think the charges got dropped?"

Gravity seems to have failed me, on instinct Rowan turns towards me on time, though his strong hands wrapped around me is something I'll never get tired of, but him being near me will make it worse, and it did. His close proximity with his lips nearly pecking mine made my legs weak. I don't even know why it still shocks me, he has seen me naked and done things to me in bed that'll make women feel sorry for my vagina, but each day is a new day with him, like seeing him again for the first time.

"Your telling me Cameron? Cameron dropped the charges against Kevin?" So they go back that far?

Nodding her head in agreement, I could see her holding back tears. Her dough eyes gloss while her button nose turned pink against her light brown skin.

"Kevin's dad is - is "

"Nothing, all he does is put up the act, Cameron's uncle pulls the strings, it's all apart of the puppet show, but they are the puppet masters".

I know it's a serious moment, but her looking at me seriously like that, with some action background music would be super cool, alright I'll shut up.

Another memory fills my head "Cameron is the strongest link in that group, it's his family that supplies and makes way for the rest, it's like an ant pile, the army knows what to do, but destroying the ant pile, the ants will scatter not knowing what to do, but they will look for something or someone to blame and attack. Camerons empire, destroy that empire and watch the rest fall out of line."

He wasn't on meth, detective Jamaica genuinely wants to put them away, there was more to the story? "Why me, all of this because of Philip."

Rowan's eyes got dark turning towards me.

"I don't know who that one is, I'm guessing that's your girls boyfriend? This is all happening because you left the door wide open for them, just because someone has more money than you, should not diminish you as a human being."

"And I'm going to be honest, if this is truly because your besties boyfriend wants you out of the picture, he could just leave, it seems either Justine is a puppet to him, or he is more infatuated by you than I think."

"What?"

"You just said all of this because of Philip right?"

Gliding my eyes to the right "yes?"

"And wasn't he one of the three musketeers on your misery?"

"Yes?"

"He doesn't like you, yet he is constantly in your way, even sometimes coming to the same house as the one you reside in, I don't know, if I don't like someone, they won't ever see me come around the home, even if I'm dating someone they are close with."

What's she getting at?

Rowan lifts me bridal style placing me on the couch, before heading to the kitchen and coming back with a glass of water, Tanika watched the whole action.

My phone vibrates resoundingly, moving my phone around in the process, Tanika and I glance at it, almost Eighty comments on the new chapters, hadn't it been for Rowan massaging my feet the anxiety would have returned, instead I breath in and out a sigh "I guess this is really it, thank you for giving me some sense."

"I can't stay too mad at you, it was a group effort".

Gulping down the water "What do you mean, I nearly backed out of it".

"Yet you didn't,"

"I mean yes, I kind of didn't have a choice" I laughed, "You are strong and seductive".

"But you didn't have call me over, you didn't even have to speak on the subject any further with me, and most importantly you didn't have to actually call and meet up with me the next day to listen, there is something driving you forward wanting to take the next step." Her eyes glide down at the delicious man crouched below me rubbing my leg.

My gaze follows her, Rowan? If Only she knew what he does to me alone.

"What are you saying?"

"You have been bullied by them for a while, yet now you want to take initiative?"

"The book it - it -"

"It wouldn't have been published Hadn't it been for the injury of the man you love, the man that saved You so many times and the man that stands by you even today ."

I need to stop writing every damn sequence of my life. My Eyes widened to a thought, how does she know? Was This book a dead give away? My Phone vibrates again but longer indicating a message, reading the text of the person I was just thinking about I felt scrambled, if Tanika figured out everything quickly, then it's a sure fate sealed with this individual, it was time to face the music.

Justine: Hey I landed, I'll be home tomorrow! Too tired to do any more movements! Love you.

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