Page 31 of That Fire

“You were turned on your other side, so you didn’t see me leave. I went and made you some instant maple syrup and cinnamon oatmeal. I know you’ve been on that kick lately. I did some cinnamon swirl toast on the side with butter.”

I sat up, allowing the sheet to fall off me. “Royal . . . wow. Thank you so much.”

“Of course, baby. I made you some chamomile tea also.”

He set the tray across my lap, then kissed my lips. My eyes were full, and I ended up crying. “I’m sorry. I just feel so overwhelmed. What did I do to deserve you?”

“Well, for starters, you slid that hot, tight ass pussy on my dick and had a nigga mesmerized. By the second encounter, a nigga was straight sprung. I had to have you at least twice a week, girl. Then as I got to know you better and we talked more, I fell in love with the beautiful woman you are on the inside. Your outer beauty is captivating. Those slanted, brown eyes, light freckles across the bridge of your nose, these perfect cheek bones,” he said as he slid his fingers across it.

He slid his hand down my neck and continued. “This perfect ass neck that had to be made for my lips, and theseperfect double D-cup titties that deserve every lap my tongue makes around them. Then there’s these abs that hold your core muscles. I’m grateful for that shit, because you put in as much work as I do, fucking a nigga up.”

He gripped my hip, being careful not to knock over my tea. “Then there’s one of my favorite parts of you. These tiger striped hips. Maaaaan, that shit is my weakness.”

I giggled as he kissed my neck. “These caramel stilts of perfection, when they are wrapped around me, lets me know you don’t ever want to let me go. I love everything about you Aaliyah, and every part of you, from your beautiful hair to your long second toe, deserves to be loved . . . so loved until it overwhelms you. Your heart is beautiful, and it was so beautiful it made me want to get to know your soul. You are so perfect for me, baby.”

He kissed my ear, then lowered his hand to my belly and rubbed it. “Although y’all are killing your mama’s abs, I love y’all more than I even thought possible. Liyah, you made me realize that I was ready to be a man and love one woman with all my might. I never thought about having a family until I fell for you.”

My tears were uncontained. I loved how passionate Royal could be. I wanted to just slide down his dick after all this, but my body was sore as hell. “I love you so much, Royal. Who knew the nasty ass nigga I met could be so passionate and romantic?”

He smiled. “Eat your breakfast before it gets cold. I love you too, baby. More than I’ve ever loved anybody.”

I smiled, then lowered my head to thank God for the food and the man He blessed me to keep and be able to cater to, just like he catered to me. When I lifted it, Royal had a spoonful of oatmeal in front of me. He extended it to my mouth and said, “Let me know if it needs to be warmed. You got me started on talking about you and everything I loved about you, then I couldn’t stop, girl. For the record, I could have kept going.”

I giggled and took the oatmeal from the spoon, slowly. “It’s still warm.”

“Mm-hmm. You fucking with me though. I know your pussy needs a break after yesterday, but you threatening to be outta commission for the rest of the week. You not finna have my babies pissed at me. We need to figure out names though. I need to be able to address them properly,” he said as he fed me more oatmeal.

“Right. I’ve had a few names that start with A and R floating through my head.”

“Let me hear ’em.”

He fed me some toast. As I chewed, I said, “Rio and Rya. Ravi and Rasha, Abir and Armani.”

“Hmph. Honestly, I like all of those, but I need to think about which I like more.”

“Yeah. I wanted to get unique names like you have.”

He rolled his eyes. “Them niggas ain’t slick. They named me after alcohol. Whenever I go into the liquor store, my dad calls me Crown Royal.”

I fell out laughing, nearly knocking my tea in the bed. “Ain’t no way Missus Chas was going for that.”

“I don’t know. Them niggas be full of shit sometimes.” He chuckled. “I think I like Ravi and Rasha more.”

“Yeah, me too.”

He kissed my head and gave me more oatmeal.

“Royal, I can feed myself. Go do what your sexy ass needs to do to get ready for work.”

He bit his bottom lip, then kissed my lips. “Yeah. I don’t wanna hear nobody mouth. You still going to lunch with Kambel?”

“Yeah. I think Treasure and Cachet are gonna join us.”

“That’s cool. So you going to Liberty. I’ma see if Chad can follow you. If not, one of them will catch up with you in Liberty. Let me go call Ali.”

I smiled. He was so thoughtful. However, him making sure I had protection worried me. Surely, I wasn’t on anyone’s radar, nor Royal for that matter. Besides Kingsley, he was one of the most low-key Henderson men. They minded the business that paid them and stayed out of the way. Hopefully, that would benefit us.

Chapter 11