Hey, book bae!
Strumming My Pain goes live July 2nd… next week! Here’s an unedited sample for your reading pleasure ♥️ And if you want to preorder it, here’s the link!
Izeah spent so much time on the roof that he’d built a wooden table with two benches on top of it. As he ushered the sun to begin to rise, he prayed within himself and waited for God to meet him there. Elise did first. His eyes were trained on her as she slowly walked over to where he stood. Her hair was wild, sitting on top of her shoulders and pushed in front of her eyes. She was dressed in a black bodysuit that left nothing to his imagination.
Izeah’s mouth dried, and he licked his lips as he took her in from head to toe. Her right leg was covered in a tattoo sleeve and so was her right arm. The red lipstick that stained her lips was almost too appetizing to deny. But he would. Because right now… she needed a friend.
“Can I join you?” she asked, unrolling her yoga mat in front of him.
His eyes lowered to her exposed ass cheeks. Afraid his voice would crack, Izeah only nodded.
When he began to play, she began to move. Stretching first, then making yoga look like the most erotic thing he’d ever seen in his life. It was hard as fuck for him to maintain focus, but the more he watched, the more in sync they became. As her body bent and curved and slithered and rolled and caved, he felt his dick growing harder and harder. And by the time the sun rose, his entire body was jerking as he came. So did she.
Her body convulsed as she rested on her hands and knees. Toes curling, she released a shaky breath and quiet whimper as her hair covered her face. With her lips parted, she inhaled a deep breath.
Rolling her neck, Elise pushed her hair out of her face and looked up at him with a breathless smile.
Setting his guitar on the table, Izeah was convinced… Elise was dangerous… and she needed to be avoided at all costs.
“Good morning, Moses.”
“This is the shit I’m not about to do with you,” he rejected, standing from the table.
Her laugh was innocent as she stood in front of him. “What are you talking about?”
“Why do you call me Moses?”
Elise’s smile wavered. “It’s your last name.”
“Don’t lie to me. You can’t. You’ve told me the truth, even when I didn’t want you to. I need you to now. Why do you call me Moses?”
Her mouth twisted to the side as she sighed. Squeezing each of her fingers, she pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin slightly higher.
“Because Moses… he led God’s people out of their bondage. He set aside his needs for theirs. I know I have to heal myself of this grief, and I would never expect you to, but you do inspire me to come out of my bondage.”
His stance relaxed as he leaned against the table.
“Good morning, Sunshine.”
She smiled. “Why do you call me Sunshine?”
Izeah shrugged. “God told me to. Do you care to tell me why?”
Tugging a piece of her hair, Elise absently took a step closer to him. “My sister sings ‘You Are My Sunshine’ when I need to be calmed down. It grounds me. She’d just finished singing it before you popped up last night.”
“I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“No.” Her head shook as she smiled softly. “It wasn’t you at all. It was me. I was conflicted over what I was feeling in that moment. But it wasn’t your fault, Izeah.”
Unable to resist, Izeah wrapped his palm around her hair. He used it to pull her closer, removing all space between them. Though her lips parted slightly as she looked up at him through lowered eyes, Izeah knew she wasn’t ready—even if she wanted to be.
“I’m gonna go. Create a great day, Elise, a’ight?”
She nodded, gripping his wrist tightly. Not releasing it until she was ready for him to walk away, Elise stepped back and turned her back to him. Her eyes remained on the sky as he left, but Izeah was unable to ignore her looking toward him as he walked through the door.
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Are you ready for more??