Cupid's Queue

Chapter 6

It was Hannah's turn to visibly flinch as Tariq asked about who hurt her.

She had to give him credit, the man was intrepid. Surprisingly, no one had ever thought to ask her that before. The men usually took her rejection as a personal attack against them. They never once considered that her decision was based on something from a past experience.

If she was being honest with herself, the first few months after Oscar, Hannah tried to fuck him out of her system. It was from those one-night stand experiences that she decided that this way made the most sense. She could satisfy her body's cravings without the pain and culpability of being in a relationship.

Tariq watched as Hannah seemed to have an internal monologue with herself. When he realised that she was not going to say anything, he queried again.

"Who hurt you?" he asked.

Hannah tried making light of the situation, "You mean besides my own expectations?"

His hazel eyes continued to stare at her as he nodded, no smile on his face. There was genuine concern in his eyes.

With a sigh she questioned, "Does it matter?"

"It does," Tariq replied.

Closing her eyes momentarily she took a few deep breaths before reopening them, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Of course not, a beautiful woman such as yourself does not shut herself off emotionally without a good reason," he said.

Hannah's lip twitched as a smile threatened to form, "Gods, your even more stubborn than Mikayla. I really don't need a testosterone-fuelled version of her."

"Why not? You seemed to like it Friday," he teased as he rubbed himself against her again, his erection a reminder of his arousal for her.

"Pfft, don't flatter yourself, been there, done that already, remember?" she retorted even as she pressed herself back into him once more.

"As if that little quickie was anything at all. I've yet to properly take you, Hannah. That is why I wanted to go back to either your place or mine after the park, to continue what we started," he simply stated.

Tariq angled his head, so that his lips could gently suck on the same spot on her neck that he had previously marked. A soft moan escaped her lips before she could contain it. Her nipples hardened even further. She tried to break her hands free of his grip, wanting to get away before the last of her control faded. However, Tariq's hold was firm, he was not about to let her escape as he kept her trapped against the kitchen island counter.

"Nice try on trying to change the subject though," he stopped kissing her neck, his eyes locking with hers, "what happened Hannah? Who caused you to shut yourself off?"

"Not that it's going to change anything, but to cut a long story short; I was eighteen and he was thirty-seven. Turns out he was only with me to try to get into business with my father. He used me and broke my heart. I got over it, men can be pigs, the end!" she said.

Tariq nodded slightly, now having a much better understanding of her decision. With a smile, he replied, "Yes, men can be pigs. But for the right woman we usual turn into a Prince."

"Ugh! Isn't it usually a frog that turns into a Prince?" she asked.

He smiled cheekily and was about to say something when she shook her head and continued speaking.

"It doesn't matter though because I'm not looking for a Prince. I'm a Queen and I'm quite happy with my current situation thank you very much," she tried pulling away from him once again.