Monk Paletti: Commanding Love, page 10
And when Monk’s naked body got on that bed with Ashley’s naked body, he opened her legs so wide that they were straight across, and he got between those legs and began to love her with his mouth the way he loved her with his heart.
Ashley’s stomach was pushing in and out with every lick and suck Monk put on her. She was feeling even the ridges of his tongue as he did her. And her wetness was filling his mouth.
Until he knew he had to fill something else. He moved up her body, got on top of her, and began kissing her on her mouth with a passionate kiss. And his fully aroused penis entered her without guide. It guided itself into that special compartment that was now reserved solely for him. And he entered her slowly. He entered her as if he wanted to stay on that wonderful edge, to keep from cumming too soon.
But Monk controlled his body as good as any man Ashley had ever been with. He knew how to put it deep inside of her, and then pull it out just when those feelings were going to get the best of both of them. Those other men knew how to fuck Ashley. Monk knew how to make love to Ashley.
And they made long, lasting love in their special place. They didn’t have to rush anymore. They didn’t have to worry about how long she was going to be with him, or how long he was going to be with her. They made the kind of love that only two people bound together forevermore could make. No wham bams. No thank you ma’ams. Just long, sweet, passionate love.
Monk was on top of Ashley, with his arms wrapped tightly around her, and he was doing her with his eyes so hooded they looked closed. The feelings she instilled in him were unmatched. He’d never felt love the way he felt it with Ashley. He was so in love with her that it alarmed him as much as it comforted him. He believed he had struck gold when he found Ashley. Now he knew he had. And she was going to be his wife? This vibrant creature who made him laugh and enjoy the fullness of life, not just its responsibilities, was all his? She was going to carry his name? Just the thought of it caused his penis to move deeper inside of her, hitting her right where she needed to feel those sensations the most, and demonstrate that love.
For nearly forty minutes they made love to each other. For nearly forty minutes they were filling each other and just one moment away from cumming, time and time again. But Monk knew how to slow it back down. Ashley knew how to embrace that slowness. And they kept on making love.
Until Ashley lifted her knees, which gave his penis even more access, and his control broke.
“You did it now, babe,” Monk began saying as his gyrations increased until they were increasing to almost manic levels. “You did it now, babe!”
And Ashley knew it too. Because she felt it too. And her control broke within seconds of his control breaking and she was having an orgasm before he even came.
And then he came.
It was like fire unleashed. He lifted up on the palm of his hands as he poured into her. He leaned back down, wrapped her into his arms again, and kissed her with a hard, searing kiss as he continued pouring into her. She wrapped, not just her arms, but her legs around him, too, as they came.
It took several minutes, but they kept riding that tide of sensations until there was nothing left to ride.
Then they crashed from a wonderful trip. And he finally pulled out and rolled off of her, and they were both on their backs again.
They smiled. If that was what they had to look forward to day in and day out, they knew they were going to be just fine. The world might not be. But they would.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
While Monk fielded phone calls from his men about that incident at the dry cleaners, Ashley put on one of his big dress shirts, made her way downstairs, and made popcorn in his gourmet kitchen. She used to feel guilty for feeling like the lady of the house when she visited him the first time. But now she felt like the lady of the house and there was no guilt whatsoever. Because Monk said they would be married no matter what. Even over Big Daddy and Jenay’s objections, they were going to get married. They hadn’t discussed it beyond that point, but Ashley already knew Monk was a man of his word. He said he wanted a wife, not a roommate. He said he was going to treat Ashley as if she was the queen of the world. Time would tell. She knew that to be true too. But when he described her that way, and when he fought for her against her own family, he made her feel like a queen. He made her feel as if she was fifty-feet tall. Any woman would want a man like that, she decided. Why didn’t her family see it too?
But they were living their lives. She was going to live hers. They’d come around eventually, she knew. And if they didn’t? Ashley wasn’t going to think about that. “Think positive,” she said out loud as she grabbed the bowl of popcorn, and made her way back upstairs.
Monk ended his phone call when she made it upstairs. And together they ate popcorn and watched several movies. All of them were really old movies, like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers old, and there was a time Ashley would have laughed in Monk’s face if he put that shit on her television screen. Old white people dancing around in top hats and long coats like fools? And she was expected to watch that shit? Not her! But now that she truly wanted to get to know Monk better, and to see just what made him tick up close and personal, she wasn’t laughing at all. And, to her amazement, some of those movies weren’t all that bad. She settled down and enjoyed them too.
But by movie number three, this one so old it was before they invented movie sound and they had to write on the screen what the people were saying, even Ashley couldn’t hang. She was full blown asleep by the second frame.
Monk smiled. It was three am by then, and he knew she was tired, although he wasn’t sleepy at all. But he pulled her on top of him, and held her there. Then he turned off the television altogether, pressed the remote that turned on the soft music of his stereo, and watched her sleep.
His wonderful, sweet Ashley. How could he deserve such a kind, compassionate soul? A woman who wouldn’t harm a flea but had been harmed by so many men her whole life, was now his woman. Now his responsibility. She deserved so much better than him. Big Daddy was right about that. But he just couldn’t let her go.
He stared at her with stormy eyes. She was a woman any man would want. Those idiots in Jericho just didn’t realize what a gem they had. Those idiots in Jericho trampled over a precious diamond trying to get to a rock. Ashley was casting her pearls before swine. Boy could she do better than that!
Not that Monk saw himself as better. He wasn’t necessarily better than those boys of Jericho at all. But he was definitely different. He wouldn’t trample over her heart. He knew how precious she was. But there wasn’t a precious bone in his body. That was the problem.
He leaned his head back, his big eyes still staring down at his sleeping princess. And then their song came over the stereo. And he smiled. It was the only song in his collection of oldies but goodies that Ashley actually liked.
It was the Manhattans singing the Pike/Randazzo-penned A Million to One:
“I, fell in love with you the moment we met.
Never thought that it could happen and yet-
Here we are. Me and you. So in love.
Now, everybody that I know stops and stare.
Even now they can’t believe that you care.
They’re all say-ing-
You’re just wast-ing-
Just wasting your time instead of being bored.
A million to one.
That’s what they said-
would be my chances.
A million to one-
But I found love-
here in the warmth-
of your arms.
A million to one!”
Monk smiled as they kept on singing. A million to one chance at love he had. But he found Ashley. Against all odds, she wanted him.
His cell phone began ringing as he thought about the odds they were overcoming, and Ashley began waking up. But based on that particular ring, Monk immediately knew who it was. And his heart rammed against his chest. He was calling three in the morning? That couldn’t be good news. He turned off the stereo, and answered the call.
“Hello, Godfather,” he said over the phone, and Ashley, realizing too the oddity of Don Bonaducci calling this time of morning, sat up on Monk’s lap.
“Where the fuck you been?” the Don said so loud that Ashley could hear the conversation without Monk putting it on Speaker. “I heard you left town without going through proper channels.”
“I had to handle some personal business.”
“You let the family know where your ass is at all times, Frankie. We can’t be trying to figure out where our leader is. We need to know that shit at all times.”
Their leader? Ashley looked at Monk. Did he catch that too?
He caught it. But Monk knew how to keep his cards close to his vest. He didn’t show any difference in his eyes. “How can I help you?” he asked the Don.
“How can you help me? Do I look like a customer in a fucking Italian restaurant?”
“You’re in a bad mood.”
“These fucking hemorrhoids getting the best of me again. I’m on the toilet as we speak.”
Ashley made an ew face, and Monk smiled.
Then the Don exhaled. “My house. Noontime today. It’s high time we get this shit over with.”
Monk felt the weight as soon as the Don announced the meeting time. “Yes, sir,” he said. And then the Don ended the call.
Monk sat his phone back down too. And let out an exhale of his own.
Ashley was staring at him. “Does that mean what I think it means?” she asked him.
Monk nodded his head. “That’s what it means, yes.”
Ashley could see a change come over Monk’s face. A worried look came over his face. “How do you feel about it?” she asked him.
Monk let out another exhale. “A part of me hate it. I don’t want that shit on my plate. But another part of me, a small part, love it.”
Ashley smiled. She was hoping he’d embrace it.
Monk looked at her, smiling too. “I’m about to run this whole organization, Ash. I’m about to do this shit!”
“Are you ready for it?”
“Been ready for it my whole life. And it’s funny.”
“What’s funny?” Ashley asked.
“I thought I’d hate it with bitter hate when this day arrived. I thought every fiber of my being would despise it.”
“Something changed?”
Monk thought about it. “Yeah, it did.” Then he looked at her. “I have you now. That burden is going to be mine and mine alone to bear. That shit didn’t change. But when I come home, I won’t have to be alone here too. You’ll be here. Waiting for me. That’s what changed, Ashley. You came into my life. Now I can face anything. Now I can handle the family because that’s not going to be the whole of my life. You’re my life. When I leave that shit in the streets, I’m coming home to my life. To you.”
Then he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, Ashley,” he said with a smile on his face. “I can do this shit! I can actually do this shit!”
Ashley was over the moon happy too. “I knew you could all along,” she said. And she felt invested in Monk’s success. She felt as if she had a role to play too.
She had never felt this needed in her life before. And she loved it. She held him as tightly as he held her.
Then he pulled back from her. And looked her in her beautiful eyes. “You’re coming with me,” he said to her.
Ashley was at first shocked. Did he say what she thought he said? “Me?” she asked, unable to hide her surprise.
Monk mocked her. “No, that chair. Yes, you! You’re coming with me. We aren’t gonna start that separate shit. Where I go, you go. At least where there’s no danger. And whenever I’m invited to the Don’s house, they will understand from day one that no woman of mine will be waiting it out in the basement with their wives. Not you. I made that mistake the first time I brought you to his house. I won’t make that mistake again. If I’m up in that parlor, you’re going to be up in that parlor with me. As my partner. As my woman. And eventually, when we pick a date and get it done, as my wife.”
Ashley smiled. She had hoped he would see her worth in more ways than just the bedroom. And he did! “But you know I can become your wife before that ceremony. We can get a person of the cloth to--”
But Monk was already shaking his head. “No. No way,” he said. “You’ve always dreamed of a big, beautiful wedding. Tell me that ain’t true?”
Ashley had to admit it. She nodded. “It’s true.”
“And that’s exactly what you’re going to get. A big, beautiful, well-planned wedding. None of that thrown together shit. You’re going to be the belle of the ball for once in your life I don’t’ care if nobody shows up. I’ll be there. And you’ll be there. And that’ll be all that matters. But you will get your big day.”
Ashley kissed Monk. “Thanks, Frankie,” she said.
“There’s another reason,” he said.
Ashley looked at him dubiously. “There is?” she asked him. Please don’t let it be something bad, she inwardly prayed. “What is it?”
Monk gave her a stern look. “You need time to get to know me better,” he said. “Your parents, they’re right about that. I want you to see what it’s like first. I want you to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, and what life as the woman of a boss will be like. You haven’t experienced that before. And yeah, I know, your aunties experienced it and their advice is good enough for you, yada, yada, yada. But it’s not good enough for me. I want you to experience it for yourself.”
“In other words,” Ashley said, “you want me to see if I can take it?”
“Oh, I know your tough ass can take it,” Monk said, and Ashley laughed. Then Monk turned serious again. “I want you to be certain you wanna take it. And no auntie in this world can give you that certainty. You have to live that life to know for certain that you want that life. Because when we get married, it’s gonna be for life, Ash. I don’t play that divorce shit. It’s against everything I believe in.”
Ashley knew she had found a different dude when she and Monk hooked up. But the way he always thought about her best interest melted her heart. She’d never had anybody put her first not one day in her life. But Monk was putting her first every day. He was thinking about her and considering her feelings all the time.
Except when it came to decisions of safety and life and death. He wasn’t going to seek her counsel in those decisions, and she already knew that. But she also knew that could sound the death knell of their relationship if they weren’t careful. But everything else was on the table, which was ions above what any other man had ever offered her. She was going to take what she could get for now, and then figure out how to get him to include her in the rest of it later.
He extended his hand to her. “We got a deal?” he asked her. “We’re gonna give it a little time?”
“What if you don’t like being with me?” Ashley asked.
Monk smiled.
“Don’t laugh, Frankie,” Ashley said. “It could happen. Most people . . .”
Monk stared at her. “Most people what?” he asked her.
“I don’t wear well on people. Most people get tired of me after a while. Like my girlfriends. I’ve known Jane and Dee for years. We went to school together. But then I catch them in the ladies room calling me a tramp and saying what self-respecting man would want to be with me, and they’re good friends of mine.”
Monk’s jaw tightened. “Want me pay these so-called friends a visit?”
“No, Frankie! Of course not! Everything can’t be settled by intimidation. They felt how they felt. I can’t change that. I don’t want to change it. Maybe I was a tramp.”
“You weren’t!” Monk said forcefully. “Don’t you ever say that about yourself.”
“But it was true. I slung it around, okay? I made poor decision after poor decision. I was that girl. Let’s face facts. I was that girl!”
“But you aren’t that girl anymore,” Monk said. “Right?”
Ashley nodded. “Right,” she said. “But all I’m saying is that I don’t wear well on people.” She looked at him. “I may not wear well on you.”
But Monk pulled her into his arms again. “Not a chance,” he said.
Ashley smiled. “None?”
“None. Just by being your honest self wears well on me,” he added. “I’m not trying to marry no perfect girl. I just want to marry a good, decent, honest girl. And you pass that test in spades,” he said, and kissed her forehead.
“Oh, Monk,” she said, and snuggled against him.
But then terror gripped her. “Oh, no,” she said.
Monk heard it in her voice. He pulled back and looked at her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I have nothing to wear, Frankie.”
Monk couldn’t believe it. His heart was pounding, thinking she had remembered something horrific, and that was what she was worried about? He smiled. “You’re shitting me, right?”
“No!” she said, hitting him. “I’m serious. What am I going to wear?”
“You’re gonna wear your clothes, what are you nuts?”
“I can’t wear what I normally wear to something that monumental boy!”
“Why not? You dress perfectly fine.”
“Frankie, I dress like a party girl, okay? Everything I own is in either pink, orange, red or lime. One of the wives already calls me Crayola Girl. I don’t want that for you! When you become boss, I’m going to be the head of the wives, whether they approve of me or not. I’ve got to look the part. And trust me, they already do not approve. I’m not giving them more ammunition than what they already have on me.”
