In Love with My Enemy

Genres: African American Urban; African American Women's Fiction

Synopsis

Don’t count on forever . . .
Beautiful and educated, with just enough Atlanta street smarts to give her a sexy edge, hood princess Danna Mendoza has a dream life. Her temporary bodyguard-turned-undercover lover Don makes it complete. As her father’s best friend and longtime drug partner, Don’s devoted to keeping her safe. But Don’s underlying vendetta against her father is one danger Danna never saw coming . . .
 
Never say never . . .
Cannon Collier has finally found her way in the world—as the newfound love interest of handsome basketball superstar on the rise, Ezra Mendoza. But Ezra doesn’t plan on falling for her. And he doesn’t plan on her becoming a casualty of his father’s game. Yet things don’t always go as planned. And soon, all hell will break loose, loyalties will be torn, and the tension between love, desire, and a thirst for revenge will converge at a fateful crossroads . . .
 
PRAISE FOR A’ZAYLER
 
“A’zayler’s Heart of the Hustle is filled with heart, warmth and compelling storytelling that will leave you breathless.”
—Keisha Ervin, bestselling author
 
“A’zayler weaves a web of dramatic secrets and surprise twists.”
 —Booklist on Passion of the Streets
 

Release date: August 27, 2019

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 320

Sample

Eight Years later . . .

2Pac’s “Thug Passion” blared though the massive living room as people crowded in and out of her best friend Katara’s house. The bass from the speakers was so loud that it vibrated the walls, the ceilings, and the floors. Guests packed the room from left to right as they danced, smoked, drank, and interacted with each other.

The potent smell of weed floated throughout the room as Danna passed through it trying to make her way to Katara’s room. It was both Danna and Katara’s mothers’ birthdays and they’d brought the hood out to celebrate. Not only were Eva and Vonetta mothers and wives, but they were the queens of their hoods and their households as well. Eva, Katara’s mother, was the bootleg lady, and Danna’s mother Vonetta was the heart of it all. Everybody and their mama knew Vonetta, which was probably why Katara’s house looked like an overcrowded bootleg house. Food, partiers, and liquor were everywhere.

Twenty-three-year-old Danna Mendoza, the daughter of old school drug dealer, Echo Mendoza, was a young hood princess with more attitude than people knew how to deal with. Hood but not ghetto, Danna knew all the ins and outs of the streets. Her father’s only daughter, and her mother’s youngest one, Danna was spoiled to the max. Vonetta spoiled all her children to be for real, but she really doted on Danna and Ezra. They were the youngest of her four children, and the only two that didn’t drive her crazy with foolishness every day. Well, at least Ezra didn’t. Danna had her days where she cut the fool and got cussed out like her older siblings, but those days were few and far apart.

Danna would rather spend most of her time spending money and playing with the hood niggas. At average height with long thick legs and wide hips, Danna kept the street niggas going crazy. A flat stomach, with glowing slanted eyes and a smile to kill, pushed Danna to a totally different level than most of her friends. She was a different type of pretty.

She didn’t have the long hair or light skin that most men cherished. She was on the totally opposite end of the spectrum. A sexy li’l chocolate drop with killer style and a crazy yet funny personality. Danna was the bourgeois ghetto girl with the long locs and loud mouth. The one that was too good for the corner boys in the hood, but gave her heart to the kingpin that supplied them all. She was different; she was rare.

Though she was envied by a lot of girls her age for being one of the hottest in the city, she remained humble and nothing like people assumed she was. In everybody’s mind she was street smart, and probably just as heavy as her father and mother, but she wasn’t. Echo was halfway a daddy, and Vonetta didn’t even deal in drugs, so that was most definitely a theory that needed to be proved wrong.

Much like her mother, Danna had no interest in involving herself in the street life. Too much came with it, and all she wanted to do was live life free, and happy. Her father would take care of everything else, when he felt like it, and Vonetta had it handled when he didn’t, so for now, she was fine with hanging with people her age, getting her money, and admiring all the sexy men she encountered daily. Even though the majority of them were off limits, thanks to Echo’s hating ass, she still admired from a distance.

Her mother’s party had been on her mind all week because she knew it would be flooded with the men she watched day in and day out, but what she didn’t expect were all the other people that would come along with them. The house was packed to the max, and it was becoming harder and harder to maneuver around. Katara’s mother was always entertaining, but never had it been as packed as it was then.

“Excuse me,” She pushed through the throng of men crowding the door. “Damn, I said move.” She yelled in frustration when they didn’t bother to acknowledge her request.

The tall man closest to her turned around so that he was facing her. His face had been frowning at first, but once he realized it was her, the glare was replaced with a small smile. Danna felt warm on the inside as she smiled back. It was Quay. He was one of her favorite corner boys, and the current crush of her life.

“Who you cussing at like that?” His gold grill shined through his plump lips.

Danna stood back on one of her legs and batted her long lashes at him. “I said it nicely the first time, but y’all were acting deaf, so I took a stronger approach.”

Quay nodded his head slowly while smiling at her. “Where you trying to get to anyway? I know you ain’t leaving your own party?”

“It’s my mama’s party, not mine, but yeah I’m kind of leaving. I was about to go upstairs.” She looked around the room with her nose turned up. “This ain’t my crowd. Too many of y’all dope boys in here.”

Danna’s eye circled the room for emphasis.

“I feel you, it ain’t really mine either, but I had to show your mom some love. You know that’s my baby.”

Danna nodded at him. “Word? Vonetta your baby? Cool.” She smiled and proceeded to squeeze her way through the men, but was stopped when Quay grabbed her arm.

She looked over her shoulder, and he was smiling. Danna raised her eyebrows at him just as he leaned down so that his mouth was near her ear.

“Stop acting like that and dance with me. You know you my baby too.”

Danna wasn’t completely sure how her father would feel about her interacting with his help, but since he was never around anyway, there was no way she was about to turn Quay down. She had been crushing on him for almost two years, and he hadn’t begun paying her any attention until recently.

Without saying anything else, Danna slid in front of Quay, pressing her body against his. She made sure her butt was right on the hardness resting in his jeans before bending over in front of him. The way her body moved against his was like magic. Danna was tall, but Quay was taller, so that worked in her favor as she pulled him deeper into her space when she stood up and wrapped one of her arms around the back of his neck. With her hand above and behind her head, resting on his neck, Quay’s hands slid possessively around her waist.

Danna could live and die in the way his arms felt on her. So strong, so protective, and so greedy. Quay was such a fucking vibe that she could literally get high off him, all day every day. He too had locs, but they were a lot shorter than hers, resting on his shoulders, but falling into her face right then. He’d leaned his head down and was whispering in her ear how much he’d been wanting her.

“I’m for real, I’ve been watching your sexy ass for a minute now.”

Danna was blushing so hard she could hardly focus on dancing as his fingertips stroked her stomach.

“I know you be coming on my block so I can see you.”

Danna giggled, and a light chuckle came from him as well.

“You ain’t got to tell me I’m right. I already know. Why you don’t stop and talk to me for a minute?”

Danna shrugged, because she honestly didn’t know why she didn’t stop and talk to him. She was far from shy when it came to men, but it was just something about Quay that kept her at a distance. Maybe it was his reputation, maybe it was the way he watched her; she didn’t know. What she did know was the cat and mouse game they’d been playing gave her butterflies, and she wasn’t quite ready for them to disappear just yet.

“Next time, stop.”

Danna looked at him over her shoulder. “And do what?”

Quay’s gold teeth could be seen through the small gap between his juicy lips. “Give me some sugar.”

Oh Lord, get this country thug away from me.

Danna’s stomach squeezed as her eyes focused on the shape of his mouth. His lips were so juicy she wanted to grab them with her mouth right then and suck on ’em until he made her stop.

“I can give you some now.”

Quay smiled before raising his head to look around the room before looking back down at her. “Give me some then.”

Quay’s hands squeezed her waist tighter, pulling her further into his chest. The smell of his cologne wafted up her nose as she moved smoothly against him.

“I need to turn around.”

Quay shook his head once while grabbing her chin, making the gold bracelet on his wrist shake. Though it looked a lot like a charm bracelet, it was still cute in a manly way and it caught Danna’s eye every time she was in his presence.

“No, you don’t. Lean your head back.”

Danna moved her eyes from his wrist to his face as she stopped dancing and leaned her head back so that she was leaning to the side so that she could kiss his mouth comfortably. Quay wasted no time covering her lips with his. Though Danna had never died, she was sure it felt something like this. The way her soul had just left her body had to be a minor prerequisite of what it would feel like when it was time to go to Heaven.

Three soft pecks, followed by him sliding his tongue into her mouth, had Danna’s body feeling foreign to her. She didn’t recognize the tingles and shivers that took over her every time his tongue touched hers. The way her stomach mimicked the feeling of being on a rollercoaster was the only thing she could use to compare to the feeling she felt while kissing Quay. Danna wanted so badly to turn around and wrap her arms around him, but the grip he had on her waist wouldn’t allow it.

“Nah, not here. Not like this.” He whispered to her mouth. “Save it for me. I’ll get it when it’s time.” Quay’s words were so confident that it gave Danna hope. Hope that it would be more. More time, more kissing, more them, so she pulled away and smiled up at him.

“Vonetta gon’ kill you. I know she’s somewhere watching us.”

Quay’s handsome face got even cuter when he smiled as if he was nervous.

Danna waved him off. “Ain’t nobody thinking about my mama. She gon’ be alright. I’m grown.”

Quay’s eyes were back on hers. “What make you so grown?”

“Get to know me and see.”

“I plan to.” Quay held her closer to him again, and she went back to dancing.

Danna was busy twirling the bottom half of her body in a circular motion when she looked up and looked right into Don’s face. He was standing across the room near her father’s other friends watching her. For a minute, Danna stopped dancing because she didn’t want to get into any arguments with her father if one of his people saw her, but she really liked Quay and didn’t want to pass up on this opportunity to connect with him.

Don was one of her father’s friends that came around sporadically, and had been in charge of “looking out” for her and family whenever her father was away. He’d been brought in by one of her father’s other trusted friends, so they accepted him. Echo normally introduced them to all his people, but since he was becoming a pro at hide-and-seek and they rarely saw him anymore, they just went with the flow.

Being that he was around the same age as her father, Danna had never really liked him popping up where she was, and still didn’t, depending on the day. Her parents had done their best to keep her and her siblings out of the streets as much as they could, but it was what it was. Some things in life just couldn’t be avoided, and meeting her father’s people was one. Whether she wanted one or not, she had her own personal bodyguards. Since they were always around, she knew them, but not on a personal level. Don excluded. Initially, they’d spoken and conversed only when necessary, but one day, that all changed and things hadn’t been the same since. Don was no longer “off limits” or daddy’s worker, he was now boo, bae, and whatever else Danna felt like calling him. All the pretend uncle and second daddy type shit had disappeared immediately.

So, for him to see her all cozied up with Quay in the corner was just the same as her father seeing it, maybe even worse. Don was something like her man and his possessiveness tended to float to a fatal attraction level occasionally, but that was only in private. He normally controlled himself in public, and when she involved herself with men her own age. Her entertaining other men wasn’t something he was fond of, but since they weren’t able to have a real relationship, he tolerated little stuff here and there.

After watching him glare at her for a few seconds, her heartbeat had sped up but slowed seconds later. Instead of continuing to frown as she’d thought he would, he smiled. Nothing too friendly, because Don wasn’t friendly, but he did the best he could do around other people.

Danna smiled back before looking away. She and Quay danced a few more songs, and every time she looked up, Don was still looking at her. At first Danna did her best to look away, but after catching his eye for the fifth time she decided to play the little staring game he was obviously interested in playing.

The H-Town song that was playing in the background had her winding her hips slower and deeper into Quay, while staring at Don across the room. Danna wasn’t sure if it was the lyrics or the aura in the room that had her feeling like a temptress, but she did.

With Quay’s arms around her, and Don’s eyes on her, she danced sexily doing her best to entertain them both. The longer Don stared at her and the tighter Quay held her, the sexier she felt. Danna didn’t know what had gotten into her but by the time the song changed to a faster one, she was worn out and needed to get to her room ASAP. The feeling the men had given her was too much for her inexperience.

“Save your number,” Quay handed her his phone. “I need to holla at you about something.” His smile had Danna’s own personal butterflies flying around tickling her insides.

She was on cloud nine as she programmed her number into his phone before pushing her way through the crowd once again. The further away she got, the better she felt. The air on the stairs felt a lot cooler than it had in the living room, probably from the lack of people occupying that area.

That was one thing Danna was thankful for. Katara’s mother might have entertained regularly, but they didn’t allow anyone past the bottom floor. There were only a select few that were allowed on the second floor of their home, and she could count all of them on one hand without using all five fingers.

Danna was quite familiar with that protocol because it was the exact same way at her house. Echo took his family’s safety seriously when he felt like playing daddy, and did everything he could to maintain it. The only problem with that was he didn’t always feel like it, so his workers also spent a lot of time looking out for the women of their family. Her father was a business man and a heavy hitter in the streets, but he liked to party. Along with partying, came other women, disappearing acts, and a lack of self-discipline to be the man for the family he’d created.

When she finally reached Katara’s room, she grabbed a change of clothes from her bag and headed to take a shower. She showered quickly before wrapping her hair up and going back into Katara’s room. Danna grabbed the remote to her TV, flipped the light off, and slid beneath the covers. She’d just flipped her movie on when she heard a soft knock at the door. Her face frowned momentarily before she fixed it and yelled for whoever it was to come in. Danna was inwardly hoping it was Quay even though it was probably Ezra’s overprotective ass.

She wanted to pretend that Don was the last person she expected to see, but that would be a lie. After she kissed Quay, she kind of already knew he would be finding her sooner rather than later. Don dapped in coolly before closing the door behind himself and leaning on the edge of the dresser.

His tall muscular frame was maxed out with muscles. Bulges were everywhere, straining the fabric of his clothing. His brown skin was pretty, but edgy and scruffy from years of life. His thick black beard covered the bottom half of his face as his fresh haircut lined his forehead and jawline. He stood confidently, unaffected by his presence in the room. Like he belonged there.

Don was quiet, never really saying anything to anybody, but you would never miss his presence. He was so overpowering but in a relaxed way. It didn’t ask for attention, but his appearance didn’t make room for him to be ignored. An OG in the streets, with rough hands, and an even rougher demeanor, Don was the embodiment of intimidation. He never seemed angry, upset, or anything other than relaxed which made him easy to be around.

He was mad cool, and didn’t bother Danna for the most part. He knew what they were and kept it at that. However, right then didn’t appear like one of those times, and she was hoping he wouldn’t do too much. She was sleepy and ready to get some rest, so she sat quietly, not sure what he was going to say, but more than positive it had a lot to do with the little staring contest they’d indulged in. Now that she was in a different atmosphere and not feeling as confident as she’d been feeling downstairs, she couldn’t maintain eye contact. Hell, she could barely look at him straight, let alone stare at him.

“You feeling okay?” He broke the silence.

“Yeah, I’m cool. Just kind of tired. You?”

He took a sip from the beer he was drinking. “I’m always good, you know that.”

Danna looked away with nothing to say.

“Danna, you do know I’m a grown ass man, right?”

Damn!

She cursed inwardly as she felt her stomach flip. She wasn’t ready for where she could feel this conversation going.

“Yeah I know. I’m grown too.” She spoke defiantly.

He looked at her with a smirk on her face. “I know you are, but you aren’t grown as me.”

“Grown is grown. You know Vonetta ain’t raising no babies, we’ve all been grown for a long time.” Danna laughed at her own shot at her mom’s parenting.

Danna had been grown for as long as she could remember. Due to the lifestyle her parents led, she and her siblings had no other choice but to be. They’d been learning the streets and all the ins and outs of life since they’d been old enough to know better, so she may have been joking, but it was the truth. Danna cooked, cleaned, and made sure all the bills were paid. Vonetta made sure she was ready for the world when it was time. Her younger brother Ezra had just as many responsibilities as her, while her older brother and sister did their own thing. Their time with Vonetta and Echo had come and gone, now it was Ezra and Danna’s turn.

“You right,” Don drank from his beer again. “Downstairs . . . what was that about?”

Danna’s stomach flipped again. She and Don had talked plenty of times in the past about her hanging out with other men, but right then it wasn’t the same. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was that made all their other interactions differ from this one, but they did.

“What you mean?” She asked him as she sat up in her bed.

The covers fell from her body showing her sprightly young breasts through her top. She wasn’t wearing a bra, never did when it was time for bed, so when his eyes drifted from her face she was pretty sure she knew where they’d gone.

“Your daddy know you fucking with Quay?” His eyes left her breasts and went back to her face.

She shrugged. Who was he really asking for? Him or her father?

“You plan on telling him?” Another swallow of beer.

“It’s not that deep, you know that. This is the first time I’ve ever really talked to him.”

She could tell by the look on Don’s face that he didn’t believe her. “Word? That dancing looked pretty familiar to me.” More beer followed.

Danna blushed as she watched him sip his beer continuously. It would be an empty bottle of fizz if he kept up that pace.

“You dance like you know what to do with that body.”

There it was. He wanted sex. Danna held her head down for a moment before allowing her eyes to drift from the fresh sneakers on his feet up to the designer clothing he was wearing. Don was her father’s age which made him a little over twenty years older than her, but his style was still hard to ignore. He was always dressed to death and smelling heavenly. He hadn’t even been in her room long, and he had already smelled it up with his scent. He knew what he was doing. Danna smirked.

“I was just having fun. Nothing major.”

“The way you were looking at me,” More beer . . . almost gone . . . it was empty. “Was that just fun too? Or was it your idea of foreplay?”

Danna looked from the empty beer bottle and found his eyes and held them with hers. Her words were caught in her throat, but she felt them in her chest. She wanted to tell him something that would make sense of the way she was feeling right then, but she couldn’t. Her words were failing her right then, and she couldn’t think of anything witty to save herself.

“I didn’t think so. Don’t do it again.” Don sat his beer bottle on her dresser and ran his hands over his face before sticking one of them in his pocket. “Come here.”

Danna was out of the bed and going to him before she had time to think about it. When she was in front of him, he touched the side of her exposed leg, using it to pull her closer to his body. His nose went to her neck as his hand went further up, and palmed her butt.

“Go lock the door.”

Danna took off with no hesitation. This was new to her, and she didn’t have any idea what she was about to do, but she wanted it. Never had he ever initiated something like this in public, but right then it was exciting and welcomed. When she stopped back in front of him, both of his hands went to her body. He snatched her to him roughly before placing his mouth on hers.

Danna kissed him back eagerly, almost too eager for her liking, so she pulled back some. Obviously, Don felt her hesitation because he broke their kiss.

“You don’t have to be worried. The door is locked, and nobody saw me come up here.”

Danna nodded her head as her breathing increased.

His lips were back on hers immediately exploring the depths of her mouth. His thick tongue sliding in and over hers methodically. Danna had kissed a lot of men in her past, but the way Don kissed her topped them all. Well, almost. There was nothing in the world like Quay. His style, his touch, his kiss, everything was in a league of its own. Don was a close second though. He tongued her down like only a grown man could.

Her body was going crazy with need in ways she could barely explain. When she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore, she broke their kiss and looked at him.

“Are we going to have sex here?” Her voice sounded immature and her question showed her inexperience, but it was too late, it had already come out.

Don’s small eyes squinted as his tongue slid out over his bottom lip. “Is that what you want?”

Her eyes darted to the side as she nodded her head slowly.

“You know I don’t like all that silent shit. Look at me, open your mouth, and say what’s on your mind.”

“I want you to give it to me here.” She made herself look at him as she toyed with the idea of him teaching her things to show Quay.

As she listened to herself talking, she liked the way it sounded, and found a little more confidence than she’d possessed before. She grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed his waiting mouth again.

“Right now.”

“You don’t care about anybody finding you with me?”

Danna shook her head.

He smiled at her lazily before palming her butt with both hands and grabbing her bottom lip with his teeth. She pulled away gently and he let her go before sticking his tongue back into her mouth. Danna’s hands went to his body. She touched and rubbed everywhere comfortably until he separated them long enough for him to pull his shirt over his head.

After he dropped it to the floor he picked her up and walked to the side of Katara’s bed and lay her down. Danna looked up at him, watching him kick his shoes off before removing his jeans and boxers. For Don to be as old as he was, he was fine as hell. He definitely had the body of a young man, minus all the scars and the indentations she knew to be healed gunshot wounds.

When his dick finally came into view her eyes bulged. Never in her life had she seen something that big. It was so big, she second-guessed her choice to have sex right then. He would surely have her screaming, as always. Don had shown her time and time again, that grown man dick came with grown man sex. Unfortunately, Don didn’t look to be considering her fate. His hands were on her waist pulling her pajama shorts down. When her bottom was free, he removed her shirt as well. Her naked body was on display, and he marveled at every inch of it.

“You’re so young and perfect.” He leaned over and pecked her lips. “Nothing like these old raggedy-body bitches with cellulite and stretchmarks everywhere.”

Danna giggled as she basked in his appreciation for her body.

“You mind letting me get a little taste before I put it in?”

She shook her head quickly.

“Try to control your fucking self.” He smiled. “I know you love to get loud, but right now ain’t the time for all of that.”

Danna smiled wildly. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise you anything.”

“I feel you, but try for me.” Don placed an open palm over her stomach. “Relax and enjoy it.”

Danna’s mind went to the way she felt right then. She’d just gotten out of Quay’s face and now she was in the sam. . .