There was a hesitance in Fumie’s voice when she answered Zori’s question about how her children were and whether they were safe. Eri is...well
enough. He didn’t like the sound of “well enough”, but Fumie didn’t go into detail about what that could’ve meant. She didn’t have
to. She was protecting her daughter, still protecting...giving Zori just enough information, even though what she’d given him worried him. He
couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been there when everything happened, when Shemar… Zori hoped she hadn’t. He knew what it was like to have to
watch a man put their hands on a woman that seemed invincible and break her like glass. It was frightening...because it let you know how powerless you
were, too.
Zori kept his thoughts to himself and nodded as she talked about Koi, how she didn’t know where he was and...he wasn’t taking her calls? Her son
wasn’t talking to her, her daughter was very doubtfully just “ok” and Shemar had put his hands on her...all in one night? What the hell happened
in that house? And how long had it been happening? Long enough that it’d been going on right under his nose? When he was training Fumie, joking with
her, flirting, even when he knew he shouldn’t have been? He didn’t know, but his stomach turned when he thought about just how long Shemar
could’ve been putting his hands on his family and Zori never saw it. He only saw how hard he needed to push her away and protect himself when he
should’ve been pulling her closer to protect her. Even if it wasn’t his place. Even though when he’d met her, he hadn’t signed up for any of
this.
His eyes shifted back to hers as she sighed, blinking away the tears that had been seconds from spilling over when Zori mentioned her children. He
hadn’t meant to make her cry again, not that he thought that anything that he said or did could keep her from tears. But it didn’t surprise him
how even though he thought she would crack, how any moment he expected the tears to stop and refuse to end, she stayed strong...even when she didn’t
need to. Because Zori would be that for her. As long as she needed him, he would. Out of all the promises he’d made, he intended to truly keep that
one.
“You probably need to keep that on your ch- Fumie...” Zori shook his head softly, backing up as Fumie put the ice pack on the desk and moved away
from where she leaned against it, ignoring his words. She walked towards him, but he didn’t move...because he hadn’t stuttered. She wasn’t
leaving. No matter how much she thought she was interrupting him...and no matter how much she-
I don’t want to talk anymore.
Zori had leaned into her light kiss before he’d thought about it, watching her lower herself and look up at him expectantly. She kissed him
again. In the middle of her anger and her fear, she opened herself up...and she’d kissed him again. No matter how he’d said that he
wouldn’t betray her trust again, that he wouldn’t betray her marriage again.
But he wasn’t the only one that had done that tonight, was he? Anger still echoed inside of him as his jaw clinched, lowering his head as he
returned her kiss, drawing back to look at her. His own words were talking to him as his hands wrapped around her waist, his lips touching hers again.
Nah, mama. I can’t.. His lips covered hers. I couldn’t do that to your kids. Their bodies pressed against each other, tongues
caressing each other with each kiss. I can’t disrespect you like that again. His hands left her waist and moved down, softly gripping her
ass.
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
She was so confused. Shemar had her emotions in overdrive and she seemed to be feeling everything at once. Anger, sadness, fear, worry, embarrassment,
and lust apparently. She’d kissed him again. In the middle of everything that was wrong, she did the only thing that felt right. Fumie
kissed him. Because as confused as she was about everything else in her life right now, the one thing she was still sure of was how much she wanted
Zori. She hadn’t come here to talk. She’d come to be held and Zori seemed willing to oblige, his lips meeting hers again as his hands rested on
her hips. Her hands cupped his face pulling him closer to her. She moaned into his mouth as his hands traveled her body, reaching around to grip her
ass as their tongues danced together.
She hadn’t really expected Zori to reciprocate her feelings. She remembered his words by the pool. How he wouldn’t disrespect her again. How he
couldn’t do “that” to her kids...There was nothing he could do that would be as bad as her relationship with Shemar was for her family. He
hadn’t known it then, but he only would have been doing she and her kids a favor by sticking around...Something that was probably becoming more
obvious to him the more he saw her and the crazier her life got...But she wasn’t thinking about that now. All she was thinking about at that point
in time was how soon she could get her jeans off. As their kiss continued, Fumie’s hands roamed as well, her fingers coming to the hem of his shirt and pushing it up. She wanted it
off and he was quick to help her with that, breaking the kiss momentarily to pull his shirt over his head. She took the opportunity to do the same,
her arms crossing in front of her to pull her shirt off tossing it away before their bodies returned to one another. It was all happening so fast. A
moment of passion that Fumie was tired of delaying. She wanted him right now and she’d waited long enough.
Another moan escaped her, her teeth catching his bottom lip and sucking at it. Fuck. He tasted like she remembered. Like a new beginning.
Like the last eighteen years of her life had been a nightmare and she was finally waking up. Her fantasies of Zori were quickly becoming reality and
nothing could have made her happier in that moment.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
There should’ve been...hesitation in the way he held Fumie, his body pressing against hers again, his shirt on the floor. There should’ve been...a
thought...any thought that would stop him in his tracks, that would make Zori see that what he was doing was…wrong. There wasn’t. There
was only her shirtless chest pressing against him, her moan filling his mouth...her suck at his bottom lip. His hands tightened their hold on her as
he picked her up, her legs wrapping around him. They were doing it again. Flowing. Talking without words, her body moving in sync with his as
he placed her on an empty spot on the side of his desk...which wasn’t saying much as the only thing on his desk was a lamp, a phone and his laptop.
He liked simplicity...which didn’t describe anything about what was happening he and Fumie. Because if they did what Zori was thinking they were
about to do? Nothing would be simple...ever again.
He couldn’t hear that reason, biting his lip as his forehead met hers, his eyes connecting with hers. His fingertips pulled at the button that
fastened her jeans, undoing it...and pulling down the zipper as their lips teased each other, meeting and separating, Fumie’s tongue twisting into
the kiss each time. He pushed at the side of her jeans, her hips lifting as she let him pull them down, her shoes joining her jeans as he watched her
kick them off. And...she was more undressed than she’d ever been in front of him… He couldn’t help the way his heart sped up even faster than it
was beating in anticipation. More bruises. On her stomach...and the thigh of her left leg.
Without speaking, he moved back between her thighs, his body pressing against her as his kiss lowered her back to the top of his desk. He should’ve
stopped. He knew that now. He should’ve told her to put her clothes back on when he saw the other places Shemar had hurt her. How he’d treated her
like a piece of property instead of his wife. How he’d tried to damage her beyond repair.
But something in him wanted to prove Shemar wrong.
His lips touched hers as he stood up, letting his hands travel up her thighs...his fingers holding the sides of her panties as he lowered them, his
eyes almost glazing over with lust as he uncovered her.
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
Fumie’s legs wrapped around him as Zori lifted her from the ground, taking her back to the first time they’d done this. There was no stopping this
time though. She wouldn’t let him come to his senses if she could help it...and she would. She could be his greatest distraction if he let her and
right now he was. Their kiss broke as he placed her on the desk, their foreheads still touching as he started undoing her jeans. Fumie grew impatient,
her lips continuing to tease him as she lifted her hips so he could get her pants off. She wasn’t sure where they landed, but they were finally off
and Fumie heard herself sigh in anticipation. She didn’t even think about what he might see with her clothes off. Marks from Shemars swift kicks
while she was down. She hadn’t thought about it before and she wasn’t dwelling on it now. Not with Zori between her thighs.
His kiss lead her to lay across his desk, her body writhing in anticipation as his hands trailed up her thighs and hooked under her panties. A whimper
left her and she bit her bottom lip, her legs opening to him as he tossed her draws away. One thing was missing...Fumie sat up on her forearms,
balancing herself so that she could reach out for him. Her fingers hooked into the waist of his jeans pulling him closer before she twisted at the
button of his jeans undoing and unzipping then in almost one swift motion. She sat up fully then, her arms falling around his shoulders as she licked
his lips before kissing him again. It didn’t last. She wanted something different.
“Fuck me-,” her breathy command was quick and she hoped it would be responded to even faster.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
It’d been years for him. Four years of keeping away from all the things that distracted him. Liquor, anger, women, drama...sex. Although he was sure
that two out of five wasn’t the best score as since he’d met Fumie, three of those things were back with a vengeance. The thing that should have
bothered him was how he wasn’t trying to keep them away. He wasn’t fighting. He was falling face forward into everything he’d spent four years
running from. And even though it’d been years, he didn’t have to hear her breathy request to know what came next when it came to sex. His blood
pulsed at the thought of it, feelings that had been asleep for so long waking up at the sight of her.
Fumie’s hands had been at his jeans, undoing them much quicker than he had hers. Her lips pulled at his, arms tight around his shoulders. She was
telling him everything he needed to hear. She was ready. And with four years of waiting, the wedding ring on her hand, her children, their
professional relationship...the bruises...Zori still didn’t hesitate, quickly pushing his jeans and his boxer briefs around his hips. Leaning
further into her, he let his body move her thighs open, his uncovered length pushing at her, opening her to him.
Her moans made him bite his lip, his slow, shallow strokes making her wetness grow. He lowered his face to hers again, his tongue slipping between her
lips, his kiss covering her mouth as he pushed fully into her. A moan that he hadn’t heard himself make in years escaped him. He closed his eyes as
he paused inside of her, trying to calm himself. His breath had quickened and he felt the familiar sensation that it was honestly too soon for.
Not yet… He’d just started…
He moaned again as he flattened himself against Fumie’s chest, his hands moving to her thighs as he closed them tighter around his sides. He pushed
inside of her again, his thrust hard to control with how amazing it was to feel her this way...and not feel regret. To not give a damn about a husband
who treated his treasure like trash. To take away everything Shemar had said or done to her that night, just by being inside of her. With every
stroke, Zori felt free.
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
Fumie’s hold on him tightened as he pushed into her, her moan filling the air around them. She’d waited too long for this and it was 100%
worth the fucking wait. A staccato of moans streamed from her lips in rhythm, his slow shallow strokes driving her to the edge much faster than she
should have been getting there. His lips covered hers, quieting her if only for a second. Zori’s stroke deepened and Fumie broke that kiss, her head
falling back as a loud moan escaped her. Fuckkkkkkkkk…Fumie had been with one man for 18 years, 2 months, and 13 days. Her husband was the
second man she’d ever been with (although he thought her first and only), and even before they stopped loving one another and the sex was good,
Fumie had never felt like this. A feeling that was only heightened when he moaned his pleasure. As if he knew exactly the spot he was hitting
Zori paused a second allowing her to adjust to him.
Fumie was delirious. Her night had gone from bad to worse to better than she had ever fucking felt before and she had just one person to thank for
it...And they hadn’t even really gotten started yet! If she had been able to form coherent thoughts, Fumie might have asked herself how she hadn’t
talked him into this sooner. She might have thought about the fit Shemar would pitch if he knew what she was doing right this very second. She might
have worried about Zo not wearing a rubber. But all of that shit was moot with his dick between her thighs. What she could do? Call his name and
God’s as he pulled out of her to push back in.
Her curse mingled with his next moan, his stroke starting again as he pulled her legs tighter around him. Her hips rolled, keeping time with his as
they quickly built a rhythm. It was like they’d done this before, her body simply responding to his...no. Not responding. Communicating. He
didn’t move first for her to follow. The two of them seemed to be in unison, his pull was her push and her push was her pull. They fit together,
better than Fumie ever thought two people could and if she was being two-hundred-percent real with herself, she could die one happy bitch as soon as
he finished her off.
Fuck.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Zori. His name mingled with moans met his ear, God slipping in there somewhere in between it all...and with every whispered moan and matching
thrust of her hips, Zori felt less and less concerned with anything around them. Everything was damn inconsequential. The fact that he had a married
woman on his desk. The fact that their bodies were more in sync that he'd believed they could possibly be, being the odd mix of strangers and friends
that they were. The fact that they were skin on skin, their bodies pressing together with barely anything between them. Because every second of them
together like this was the only thing on his mind.
She made beautiful sounds and almost equally beautiful expressions, his hands going back to her face, his thumbs gently stroking her cheeks as their
bodies kept a steady rhythm. He gazed at her, their bodies thudding as they met and separated, only to do the same thing over and over and... It felt
amazing. Four years of missing this and Zori couldn't help but be happy that...it was her underneath him. Taking nearly all of him with each stroke.
She felt like his...and Zori knew that was stupid considering that she would never be...but she did. And it was almost a little bittersweet knowing
that this was the closest Zori would ever come to knowing what it was like to have her. To taste her...
His thumb moved to her chin, his lips tracing a line to her neck, his lips kissing her softly as his rhythm changed...and she changed as quickly as he
did, her hands moving on his body. Part of him wanted to look at her...all of her. To remember the way she looked across his desk. But the friction
between them as his chest pressed against her, the way the light sweat on their bodies mingled, the way she pulled him to her. He didn't want her to
let go. He didn't want to let go... But he knew he would. He knew it would be over soon, his mind so caught up in her that it was hard to keep himself
from... He didn't want to let go.
His kisses left her neck as his thrust hardened, her body bouncing off of his slowly. He knew she was feeling all of him now...and he wondered,
somewhere between moving to her neck...biting there gently and whispering to her unrepeatable words that told her just how good she felt on him...was
he hurting her? He didn't want to hurt her. But damn it felt so good. And her body hugged his the way it did...every ripple of her caressing him
and...
His deep moan against her neck could be heard over the sounds of them , his hands moving quickly to her thighs, wrapping around them, pulling her down
harder on his thrusts.
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
Despite the heat between them, Fumie felt herself shiver in pleasure. That’s what Zori was to her. Pure pleasure. She’d dreamed of this moment
since their kiss at the gala and now that it was happening, it felt..surreal. There was a kind of beauty to it, her infidelity. Her act of visceral,
carnal rebellion against her husband and his treatment of her. The simple feel of Zori’s hands at her thighs set her aflame like Shemar’s tough
never had. And the way that he could be tender, his fingers stroking her face, and powerful, his stroke steady and strong, all at once...The more she
let herself think about it, the more she realized that Zori was not Shemar. That he was different. Better. And not even just sexually, although he was
absolutely on the way to knocking the bottom out of her shit. Zori was better for her emotionally. He talked to her, he listened when she talked, he
was supportive, and she never had to pretend with him. Zori was just better...what they had was real.
Fumie moaned, her back arching up as his lips trailed down her neck and the rhythm changed. Fumie’s hips fell in time with his almost instantly, as
if this were routine for the two of them. As if she were his and he was hers and this was what the two of them were supposed to be doing. It was
right. The energy that they hadn’t allowed themselves to explore fully before had carried over to this and everything about it was easy. The same
way they were whenever they met up. It was--Fumie’s thoughts halted, a gasp leaving her as he went even deeper, his thrust harder.
She cussed again, louder this time, moaning his name as her fingernails dug into his back. Fumie wouldn’t lie, she liked a little pain with her
pleasure. Zori was doing all of the right things and hitting all the right spots and it was the perfect mix of “fucking” and “love-making”.
That’s not to say they were in love just...she couldn’t focus on that. She was so close so soon and she wasn’t ready for it to end. But that
choice wasn’t really hers as Zori bit her neck. Her face fell into a soft grimace as they moaned together, her sound much louder than his as his
hands came back to her thighs pulling her harder into him. She couldn't hold back anymore. She came, her body tensing as she let the feeling take her.
Zori didn’t stop and she didn’t want him to.
Ever.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
His breath was slow. Slower than it had been seconds before. He bit his lip, his fingers loosening as he untangled them from Fumie's hair. He hoped he
hadn't hurt her...or surprised her. Shit, he was just as surprised as she might've been. He hadn't seen that coming. He hadn't seen any of
this happening...but that? He wasn't ready. He hadn't been anywhere near ready. It just...happened. He exhaled, his breath making him more and more
aware of his body against Fumie's. The heat of his flesh still pressed against hers as he lay between her legs.
He'd felt her come. The strength of it nearly pushing him out of her. She rippled around him as he pushed against it, his hands refusing to
leave her thighs, pulling her into him as the wet of her orgasm made his eyes nearly roll back in his head. And goddamn the sensation that they'd made
together. Her body pulsing around him...her fingernails digging into the skin of his back. Leaving her mark there. Her moan, streaming from the place
where Zori touched her the deepest. Their voices mixed together as they groaned their pleasure. And he knew it. He knew that all those damn years of
celibacy and discipline were going to get the best of him. Because his hips quickened against his will, her body thudding off of his as his hands left
her thighs. One moved to her hair and with the other, he held her tightly...his grimace deepening and he...
...and there he was. Body pressed against hers, a left over tremor leaving him as he lay on her. His body was probably crushing her underneath all his
damn, exhausted weight. And even though he felt bad about it...he couldn't move. And if he hadn't been so damn guilty about how...this had
just gone down, he would've relished in it. Because it'd been amazing...for him. It'd probably just been short for her. Short...and suffocating.
"Sorry..." He huffed, his body lifting from hers as he propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes immediately meeting hers. And he knew it when he'd
met her eyes...he couldn't look at her. For more than just how quick it'd been...how long he hadn't lasted...even though he wanted it to. Even though
he'd nearly felt the pleasure drain from when he'd pulled out of her. Even though he'd wanted to enter her again as soon as he'd come.
He pulled his body away from her at that thought, pulling up his boxers over him self, his body resisting as he felt himself going hard again on the
spot. Damn that. He'd already... He shook his head at the thought as he pulled his jeans up, his fingers fastening his belt.
"Don't move..." He told her, finding his shirt so she could wipe the clumsiness he'd left on the inside of her thigh like a fucking fifteen year old.
Shit...
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
Fumie heard herself sigh trying to steady her breathing after what she'd just experienced with Zori. She didn't know if it was the stress of the night
or the fact that she had finally fucked the man she'd been fantasizing about for so long, but she came. Hard. And faster than she probably ever had.
It was perfect. Quick and dirty to take the edge off what had been her most stressful night in a long while. Was her life still a mess? Maybe more so
seeing as she's just cheated on her husband, but had that soul shattering orgasm made things just a little better? Absolutely. She was
smiling for the first time since her ride home with Eri hours ago and with the way he thighs were still tingling, Fumie wasn't sure that smile was
going anywhere anytime... Soon? What was he doing?
Zori's apology brought her back to the present, the warmth of his flesh leaving hers. A confused pout settled over her features. Sorry? For what? He
came, she came. Seemed like what they meant to do. What was there to be sorry about? His eyes met hers and her fingers traced his jaw her smile
returning, however short lived with the way he was looking at her. What happened? They had been in such a good place! And now he was...Was he getting
dressed?!
Fumie propped herself on her forearms, her legs hanging lazily over his desk as they were no longer wrapped around his waist. “Zo, what’s the
problem?” Fumie’s brows furrowed as she watched him buckle his belt, the look on his face more troubling than anything else. He was...off. She
couldn’t tell what it was, but he was avoiding her eyes now and his words were quieter as he told her not to move. The guilt. It had to be
the guilt, hitting him now that his mind was clearer. Fumie was married (however unhappily) and she and Zori had just violated the sanctity of that
marriage. But there was no reason for him to fell any kind of way about this. Fumie was the one in the relationship. She was the one that had betrayed
Shemar...not that she could find any wrong in that seeing as Shemar had been fucking other women since the mid ‘90s.
Neither of them spoke as he found his shirt in the scattered mess of clothes they’d discarded when this began, but he didn’t put it on.
Instead...Fumie tried to stifle a giggle as Zori cleaned her up, wiping her thighs with his shirt. Was it bad that she wanted to “awww” at the
gesture? Hell, the most Shemar ever did after sex was slap her ass and roll over before taking his ass to sleep. Once again Zori was caing in a way
she didn’t expect and she couldn’t handle how cute it was.
“Zo-,” Fumie giggled a little, her hands finding his face as she focused his attention. “Babe please stop. Talk to me a second…” She needed
to know what he was thinking. How he felt after…this.
“We didn’t do anything wrong.”
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
He heard her call his name, Fumie’s warm palms pressing against his cheeks as she pulled his focus from her legs to her face. He could hear the
giggle in her voice as she spoke to him...and the airy, lightness of it made him want to pull away from her. Nothing was light about that moment.
Nothing between them should’ve been as gentle as the touch to his face, as warm as the way she looked at him...as carefree as the way was speaking
to him. Using words like “babe” with him. Words that were only used for lovers. Were they lovers now? Because friendship didn’t quite describe
the things they’d just done to each other...the things she’d let him do to her...
Zori gently pulled her hands from his face and looked away from her again, but his body didn’t move away. He was stuck there in here space, in the
weird “limbo” that the return of his damn brought him to. He knew it now, even if he couldn’t feel it when he was inside of her. What
they’d done was wrong. He was wrong. He’d made…goddamn it. He shook away the word before he could even process what he’d
just thought. They’d had sex. Right there in his office. On the top of his desk and the gym’s quarterly reports. He’d taken what wasn’t
his...in anger at Shemar...and in lust. He’d...he hadn’t kept his promise to her. To himself...and yet… There was this crazy warmth inside of
him as Fumie talked to him, urging him to forget Shemar, forget the guilt and just...be there...with her.
We didn’t do anything wrong…
Zori’s eyes returned to hers at her words, the confusion even deeper in them than before. How was what they’d done NOT wrong? What part of Zori
sleeping with a married, unavailable woman and Fumie letting a man that wasn’t her husband... what part of that wasn’t wrong?
“It...Fumie.” He exhaled deeply. “...how is this okay? You’re married...and not to me. And no amount of asshole that Shemar is changes
that...”
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
What she wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking in that moment. Fumie could imagine that some of his thoughts mirrored the ones she was pushing
away in an attempt to stay in this moment as long as possible. What did all of this mean? What did it make them? Where did they go from here?
Questions that she wasn’t asking herself? How could she have done this? What about her marriage? Fumie would admit, her emotions were a
mess. She was angry, and disappointed, and devastated with the thought of how her life with shemar was affecting her children. One thing she was not
feeling about anything that had happened since her arrival to his gym though was regret. She did not feel bad about anything that had happened here
and she didn’t think she ever would. Why? Shemar was her husband in title alone. A title she was becoming more and more serious about taking from
him by the day. That was why Fumie was so comfortable in telling Zori that neither of them had done anything wrong. Her marriage to Shemar was an
illusion. What she had here with Zori felt real and she wanted more than anything to see where it lead. Zori on the other hand…
Fumie’s smile faltered as he removed her hands from his face. She could tell he wanted to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She knew him well
enough to know exactly what this was. Guilt. Confusion. Disappointment in himself for not keeping his promise to her about respecting her marriage. He
thought this was wrong. And he voice that opinion, his words coming slowly as he tried to make her see this as “wrong” too. He couldn’t. Yes,
she was married to another man and he seemed very caught on that fact, but Zori didn’t understand! Fumie was not going to let her estranged husband
ruin this moment without even being here! He had ruined too much tonight already!
It was her turn to sigh as her hand met Zori’s chest, pushing him away so that she could get off of his desk. She spoke as she picked up her shirt,
“I should go, I think…-” She pulled it over her head, taking a few steps and finding her jeans next. Certainly not because she wanted to go, but
she could tell that he wanted her to. He regretted this. She was a...what they’d done here was a mistake to him and Fumie didn’t have the energy
to convince him otherwise tonight. But it was okay. She understood where he was coming from and if her night befor this hadn’t gone the way it had,
she might have come clean about her life and her marriage and explained why them sleeping together wasn’t such a big deal. But she just couldn’t.
All of that was far too real for her right now and she wanted to leave Zori riding the high he’d just provided.
“I get it. You think this was a mistake and I know from experience how hard it is to change your mind once you’ve made it up.” She jumped a
little wiggling into her jeans. She turned to face him again, looking at him for the first time since leaving his desk. “I can’t argue with you
tonight, Zo. I can’t. I don’t want to.” She really didn’t! Fumie would have loved for him to take her to his place and for the two of them to
continue what they’d started here. She would have loved to do very minimal talking and spend the rest of the night with him. But he was making it
very clear that wasn’t an option.
“I’m going to go and let you process-” Fumie paused pointing between herself and him, “...this...” She stepped closer to him again,
closing the distance between them so that she could make just one thing clear to him.
“Trust me when I say though, I don’t think this was a mistake. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
I should go, I think... And as much as Zori could have...should have agreed with her, he could've disagreed with her more. Confusion and
awkwardness clouded the air as he watched her start to get dressed. She shrugged into her shirt, covering the odd mix of marks on her skin...the
hateful, dark bruises from her husband's hands...the red, swollen passionate blemishes from him. Zori could barely place the moments when his teeth
and lips put those marks there, but he saw them now...the testament of what happened that night, a swirl of emotion filling him as he stared at them.
Regret. Fresh desire. He blinked away the swarm of feelings as Fumie spoke again, finding her jeans on the floor.
He didn't want to argue either. In some strange way, he understood her even if he didn't agree. He got the fact that she didn't regret it. He got the
fact that from the second they'd kissed each other at the gala, her mind didn't compute anything that happened between them as unwanted or dirty.
Wrong. He didn't know how she separated it...the things she felt for Zori and the truth of what her life really was. She was a wife...a
mother. She had a family that didn't in any way include Zori...and yet, she still wanted him. She'd let him inside of her...and she wouldn't regret
it. Refused to, even after hearing how wrong everything they'd done was from Zori's own lips. He got it...he just didn't agree.
But he couldn't make up her mind for her, just like she couldn't make up his for him. And the fact still remained...he felt like dirt. He knew her
husband. He knew Shemar. Zori had to start thinking his name, no matter how much he didn't want to. Because Shemar was real. Her family was
real. And no matter how much Shemar didn't deserve to place his feet on the same damn ground she walked on, he was still her husband. And no amount of
thinking or processing would change that fact.
Zori felt himself tense as she moved closer to him again, her warmth pulling at him as he looked away from her resist it. But her voice...that defiant
voice spoke to him again. He met her eyes and he just...stared. Stared into her beautiful face. Stared into her almond eyes and the mocha, sun-warmed
skin. And before he knew it, he'd pressed his palm against her cheek, his thumb caressing her skin.
He didn't speak, he only shook his head as his hand moved down to her neck, touching the bruises Shemar had left there.
"Don't go home tonight..." He finally said, his words coming out in a whisper. He smirked as he thought about the way they sounded...like an
invitation instead of a concerned warning.
"Shemar...he might...I don't want you to go home tonight. Not to him..." He lowered his eyes to the bruises that Shemar's choking hands had left on
her neck, hoping that she understood. Even if he needed to process and think...Zori didn't want Shemar's hands on. Not tonight. Not again...
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
All she needed to hear from him was one word. Stay. She didn't care about the reason, she didn't care if it meant more confusion between the
two of them. She wanted him to make her stay. But she knew that wasn't going to help anything. Zori needed time to himself to get...a hold on what
this was...whatever it was. If she was being fully honest, Fumie could probably use that time too. She'd come here so she wouldn't have to think, but
she knew she would have to eventually. She would need to slip back to reality and what she'd done here would probably complicate things...Did that
mean she regretted it? Still, no.
From the second they'd shared that passionate kiss at the gala, despite her many apologies, she regretted not one second of her time with him. Because
it'd all lead to this. Every moment they'd had together had been building up to what had just gone down in his office and it was everything she could
have hoped. While the rest of her life was definitely in shambles, the world that she'd carved out for she and Zori was perfect and she could never
regret it. Marriage be damned. They'd done nothing wrong. That didn't change the fact that he couldn't look at her.
His eyes seemed to search the floor as she spoke to him, telling him that what happened here wasn't a mistake to her. When he finally did look back at
her she felt relief wash over her completely. Because for the first time since he'd pulled out of her, Zori wasn't looking at her like the mistake he
made. His emotion had moved from guilt to...she smiled as his hand cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. She watched his features darken as
his eyes traveled down to her neck, Shemar's bruises coming back to the forefront of her mind.
Don't go home tonight...Fumie felt her brain stall at those words. What was he saying? Shemar...Oh. She smiled, a bit at how
foolishly she thought he was answering her prayers and inviting her back to his place to finish things and a bit at how much he cared for her despite
the confusion she'd caused.
"So do I come home with you?" her voice was but a whisper too. Did he really expect her to fight an invitation back to his place? With what they'd
done here? Sue her if she was interested in even the slightest chance that they could finish what they'd started.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
His house? In all honestly, Zori hadn't thought his comment out well enough to even have an alternative to where Fumie was going to end up for the
night. She couldn't stay at the gym. All Zori had to off her her there was a ratty, beat up couch that he'd meant to get reupholstered for his office
and promptly forgot about. He could've paid for a hotel room for her, but knowing Fumie, she could've done that for herself. And she wasn't going back
home...he meant that. There was no way that he would've felt at all like the man his momma had raised him to be if he'd sent her back home. Because
from the looks of the bruises on her neck, Shemar wasn't playing and Zori would be damned if he gave that...her husband the chance to finish what he'd
started. So, the only option?
"No..." He answered, speaking before his jumbled thoughts settled. "I mean...I'm not coming with you...not yet." He saw her confused expression as he
walked around the desk and pulled out a note pad and his keys. He scribbled his address onto the paper quickly, took his house key off the ring and
handed both to her.
"I've got a dog...Papa. He's big, but he's harmless. Take the bedroom. The sheets are clean." He explained to her, shaking his head as she fixed her
mouth to either argue him or urge him to come with her.
"I'll be right behind you. I'm gonna clean up...take a moment." He fully intended on following right behind her, but before he did, he had to get his
head right. He wouldn't leave her alone, but he couldn't walk into his house with her, fresh from...this and try and finish what they'd started.
"I promise."
"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances."
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