Page 14 of Sun Kissed Moments

“Yes,” I croaked truthfully. Meanwhile, I squirmed as he placed my leg back down but rested his hand over my thigh. His fingers trickled up my abdomen between my breasts, up past my lips, and to my forehead to brush my bangs off my forehead.

He chuckled sexily. “Open ya eyes, Justina.”

Reluctantly, I peeled my eyes open to find him staring at me with the corner of his bottom lip tucked between his teeth. His fingertips stroked one cheek and traveled to the next to do the same.

“You can’t run from me,” he said. “You can’t hide from me. You can’t even smile without me feelin’ like I’m the reason you did it.”

The tension between us intensified as we stared at each other. Dane’s eyes transformed in the sun, making them lighter even though the energy seeping through them was dark as hell. Then he cracked a smile that warmed everything inside me.

“Yesterday, I asked you about marriage,” he stated. “Let’s talk about it.”

“You really wanna talk about marriage?”

“I do,” he answered.

Sighing, I reflected on what my heart wanted. Wanted was such a frivolous word. My heart desired to be loved and cherished by someone. The type of man whose arms I could fall asleep in while embroiled in a shootout. That was the type of safety he provided me. He wasn’t just safe with my heart. He was safe with my body, my mind, and my soul.

“Marriage should be a union that protects every interest of your partner,” I finally uttered.

He smirked and replied, “I like that answer, Justina.”

Smiling at the cloudless sky, I said, “Tell me more about your mama.”

As Dane fell into an easy rhythm of talking about his mama, whom he loved without shame, I watched every emotion his face portrayed. I decided that I could never get tired of listening to him talk about the woman who gave him life. With my legs resting across his thick, muscled thighs, I wanted to stay here forever. There could be someone off in the distance recording everything Dane and I were doing, but I didn’t give a damn. I was lost in the moments with him.

As the sun set, Dane ate that fruit off my belly button. Then, as if his lips against my skin meant nothing to him, he delivered me back to my suite like he didn’t create a need so deeply inside me that I wanted to chase him, cuff him to the bed, and warn him about teasing me.

I slept fitfully last night, tossing and turning, wishing I was tossing and flipping Justina’s ass all up and through this suite. I had to chill, though. Thinking with my dick wasn’t going to get her to stay long-term. I needed her to fall hard enough to trust me more than she trusted anyone in her life. Her belief in me had to be stronger than anything she’d ever known. And my time with her was already dwindling. Before I did anything, I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Justina.

I crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom to get my day underway. Justina’s birthday was tomorrow, and I had to be ready to shower her with gifts that would make her see me on a deeper level. Kissing her was heavily on my mind. Nothing would’ve been better than rolling over and finding her next to me, just so I could plant a nasty ass kiss on her lips. Surely, she’d had a fitful night of sleeping too. The way I kissed her should have her ass yearning for me.

Shit, I was yearning for her too. With that thought in mind, I hurried and got myself together, then left my suite to make some moves. I took the elevator to the secure parking garage where my Ghost waited. I chucked my head at security and the two men who followed me everywhere I went. They were discreet but two of the deadliest niggas I knew.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at a custom jewelry boutique. I walked into the boutique and dapped my nigga Chains.

“You got that for me?” I questioned.

“It’s ready,” he said as he moved to a different case. He bent down to access the safe he had stashed back there. Chains was two times my size and wore a vest at all times. Plus, he kept the place so heavily guarded a muthafucka would have to be stupid to run through here. Attempting to rob Chains was a one-way ticket up outta here.

“Whoever this is for, she gon’ love this shit,” he stated. Seconds later, he placed the custom necklace, bracelet, and ring on the counter. They were each housed in their own cases and sparkled like only the best-cut diamonds could.

Pleased, I dapped Chains again. “You outdid ya’self, bruh.”

He chuckled. “Had to. When shawty puts this shit on, it’s gon’ get too much attention. I had to up the ante.”

“Absolutely.” I picked the ring up and studied it, knowing damn well it was going to look good as hell on Justina’s finger. Yep, I knew her size. I knew her size in everything. “The money has been deposited. It’s good workin’ wit’ ya, bruh.”

Chains packed up my items, and I was out of there in ten minutes flat. My next stop was to a few designer stores. I had the city shut down until I was done shopping. It was probably overkill, but I had shit to do. It was bad enough that I was sure the opps were lurking, taking photos of me and shit. Shit like that came with the territory. It didn’t bother me as much as it used to. By nightfall, social media would be spinning narratives about what the hell I was up to. I had to move swiftly because I was sure Claire knew where her daughter was. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist for her to guess what the hell I had going on.

Once I was done shopping, I hopped back in my ride. As soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, Hannah called. I knew her call was coming, so I answered on the first ring.

“Not only did you not tell me you were going to OCR, but this is the first year I’m spending Mom’s birthday without you. It better be for a damn good reason,” she fussed.

“What if I told you the reason happens to be five-foot-six-inches tall, with the sexiest brown eyes, killer smile, and—”

“Wait. You ditched Mom’s birthday for a woman. Oh, hell no, bro!”

“Chill, baby.” I chuckled because I could practically see Hannah’s face turning red. “Trust and believe me, this was a hard decision. I had to seize the moment while I could, though.”