Captive of My Heart | Ch 2

“Hey, girl,” Cassius murmured, having been greeted at the door by his Doberman. He wasn’t attached to many things but held Nova close to his heart. She stayed briefly, soaking in the love and rubs while scoping the scene to ensure everything was intact, then scampered off, leaving him alone.

Having finally exited the Torrisi estate after the disastrous meeting, Cassius stormed through the doors of his home, trying to sort out the night’s events. One minute, he’d been sitting in a restaurant with one of the women he entertained frequently, and the next, he’d been summoned by Armond to discuss the mechanics of an arranged marriage between him and Aella.

If that hadn’t been bad enough, Aella’s reluctance to tie herself to him rattled his pride. He was Cassius fuckin’ Farina. Women literally begged for the opportunity just to be seen with him, and Aella Torrisi had barely spared him a look.

And when she did look at him, the lust, admiration, or desire he was used to was non-existent. Instead, her russet eyes held contempt and hate, as if he was somehow responsible for her life’s current events.

“Like this shit won’t fuck my life up just as much as it will hers,” he muttered to himself, heading straight for the bar cart in his immense living room to pour a drink. “She and that fuckin’ attitude can figure her shit out since she knows so much.”

“Damn, nigga, you a’ight?” The voice of his best friend, Mars, reached his ears just as the first drop of whiskey hit the glass. Cassius had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he’d completely forgotten he’d requested Mars to meet him at his house.

“Hell no.”

“I figured as much when you were being secretive about why you suddenly wanted to meet up,” Mars stepped fully into the room, placing the controller in hand on an end table. “What’s up?”

Downing his drink, Cassius poured himself another before giving his friend the details of the night.

“Damn,” Mars dragged a hand down his face. “That’s …a lot.”

“Tell me about it. And the craziest part is Shorty was pissed off with me as if all this was my idea.”

“I mean, that’s normal though. She did have her life flipped upside down out of the blue.”

“And so did I, but you don’t see me walking around with a fuckin’ attitude toward her about it.”

“You mad that she had an attitude, or are you mad because she’s one of the few women in existence who isn’t willing to stroke your ego?”

Cassius ignored his friend’s question. “The point is that I wasn’t checking for her. Nor do I want to marry her.”

“So why are you so mad that she doesn’t want to marry you?”

“Mars,” He replied through gritted teeth.

“A’ight, a’ight, a’ight,” though his eyes glinted with mischief, Mars changed the subject. “Let’s get back to what’s important. Did someone really put a contract out on her?”

“Unfortunately,” Cassius replied, now on his fourth drink. “It was for a pretty penny, too.”

“Niggas don’t have a code anymore. Women and kids are forever supposed to be off limits.”

“I know,” Cassius dropped onto the couch, swirling the brown liquid in his glass. “And Severo has kept his daughters so far off the grid that I’m unsure if she knows just how serious this is. Baby Girl is living in a fantasy world if she thinks this is a one-off situation. If someone were dumb enough to try once, they’d do it again. Next time, they might up it from kidnapping to murder.”

Sinking onto the leather arm of the loveseat, Mars smirked. “Let me find out you care.”

“Me not wanting to marry Aella doesn’t equate to me being heartless enough not to care if something bad happens to her.”

Mars shrugged. “I never said it didn’t. But the fact that you didn’t hesitate to agree to marry her says a lot. Either this family merger is lucrative, or she’s fine as hell.”

Cassius sat back as Aella’s image materialized in his mind. Despite how she’d barked at everyone in the room, her presence radiated power. A touch of majesty about her captivated him from the moment he walked through the door.

From the glow of her sienna skin, she took pride in self-care, something Cassius loved about a woman. But her mouth? That was another story entirely.

“She’s straight,” Cassius shrugged, sipping from his glass. “Not fine enough for me to beg for her. That’s for damn sure. We gave her the offer; she didn’t want to take it. Whatever happens beyond this point ain’t got shit to do with me.”

“I wouldn’t be your brother if I didn’t point out the flaw in your logic, Cass. From where I’m standing, it sounds like Aella is thinking about the bigger picture, and you aren’t.” Mars pointed out. “Don’t get me wrong, I know things with your Pops businesswise have been on a decline, and this agreement is beneficial, but marriage ain’t a game, bro. Whether for love or otherwise. All the women, parties, and other wild shit you get into ain’t flying once you bring her into your world. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

He wasn’t.

Cassius didn’t even have to think about it. His freedom was one of the things he loved most about his life. The idea of giving it up for one woman gave him a headache.

“It doesn’t matter at this point. Aella isn’t with it. And unless she somehow finds her way to my door and says otherwise, which from the little time I spent with her stubborn ass tonight, I know isn’t happening, there’s nothing for me to worry about.” he murmured, draining the rest of the contents of his glass, before sitting it on the coffee table.

Mars smirked, standing. “Whatever you say, bro. I’m out. Save my progress for me before you turn off the game.”

“I got you,” Cassius nodded as Mars left, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the sting of Aella’s refusal of him. It gnawed at his gut to the point where he instinctively reached for his phone to make a call.

“Hello?” Zelina’s voice flowed through the receiver like silk.

“What’s up?”

“You tell me, “She huffed. “You were the one who skipped out on dinner earlier. Without an explanation.”

“My bad. I had some emergency family business to handle,” Cassius explained before lowering his tone. “You gon let me make it up to you?”

“Cass,” Zelina’s whine was almost enough to make him change his mind about the evening. “I’m not a booty call you can summon to your house whenever you feel like it.”

“I never said you were, Z,” he pointed out. “I just asked a question. If the answer is no, that’s cool. I’ll get at you later.”

“I never said no,” she quickly switched gears. “Give me a few, and I’ll be right over. Make sure that damn mutt is up.”

“Watch it,” he warned. “And—”

Zelina ended the call before Cassius could finish speaking and reveal that he had no intentions of her coming to him. At such a later hour, he would have rather gone to her home versus having her out alone so late at night. Yet, he’d be a liar if he said it was unusual. Cassius sometimes ran across women so desperate for money, status, attention, or even sex that they were willing to do whatever they could to get it.

It was one of the reasons why he couldn’t fall into a relationship easily. Though he had no intentions of settling down soon, if and when he did, Cassius desired a resilient woman. One whose fire matched his. A docile woman willing to bend to his every whim would never work for him. Unfortunately, his lifestyle had only allowed him to cross paths with a specific type. The women in his world were bred to be seen and not heard. For the most part, they usually were.

Except Aella.

Thoughts of her haunted him until Zelina’s arrival. After ensuring Nova was put safely away and using his phone to open the gate to allow Zelina access to his property, he sat back, awaiting her entrance. Because he’d dated her the longest, albeit on and off, Cassius allowed her a four-digit code to the door. Everyone’s code was different, and he always knew who was at the door at any time.

“Hey,” she purred, strutting into the living room.

Cassius was happy to see everything on her body was easy to remove, and they wouldn’t have to suffer through the headache of pretending the end of their night was anything more than what it was.

Lounging on the couch, he eyed Zelina hungrily as she slowly unlatched her short black coat, revealing the lingerie underneath. Her butterscotch skin was smooth, buttery, and glistening, begging for his touch. Her breasts nearly spilled over the top of the bra, and her thick thighs quaked with each step toward him.

Gripping his hardened center, Cassius licked his lips. “What’s up?”

Zelina’s full lips curved into a smirk as she sauntered forward, straddling his lap and circling her arms around his neck. “You tell me.”

“Ain’t nothing else to talk about,” Cassius murmured, capturing her mouth.

Even with such an erotic distraction as Zelina plastered across his lap, Aella was somewhere in the back of his mind. For some reason, he’d taken her reaction to him personally. His pride wouldn’t allow him to leave well enough alone. The fire had been lit, and there was no extinguishing it.

Therefore, despite all the shit he talked to Mars, Cassius was on a mission to change Aella’s mind.