“What’s the one thing you want most right now? Not just tonight—I mean like in general.”
I smirk, rolling onto my side to face him. “Besides you?” I tease, raising a brow.
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Yes, besides me baby girl.”
“Honestly? I want peace. I just want to feel… full. Like I don’t have to keep fighting something—or for something—all the time.” I sigh.
His grin softens, and for a moment his eyes search mine. “Well while I’m here, I’ll make sure you get all the peacefulness you need.”
I clear my throat, shifting the mood back. “Okay, my turn. What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done for a girl?”
He shakes his head, almost amused with himself. “I rearranged my whole life around her. Friends, work, sleep—everything. Didn’t even realize the real me disappeared until she left.”
A part of me softens. This whole time, I’ve been labeling him—overbearing, too much, overprotective—but lying here, watching the way his eyes darken even as he jokes, I see something else underneath it. He doesn’t look proud. He looks bruised. Like love hit him hard and never bothered to apologize.
I don’t think he wants me to notice it, but I can’t help but feel for him. I cup his face and I kiss his cheek. “I know that had to hurt,” I whisper. “But you don’t have to play tough with me—just like I don’t have to act shy around you.” My thumb brushes his jaw. “Sounds like she didn’t know how good she had it.”
I hold his gaze, honest. “But, I’m not sorry she didn’t stick around. Because if she had… you wouldn’t be here with me.”
He looks at me like I caught him off guard—like he wasn’t expecting me to get serious when he was clearly trying to joke his way through these questions.
But for someone whose love is always misunderstood and taken for granted, I recognize those cracks anywhere. And I can’t help but understand them.
“You’re right, baby girl,” he says finally, softer now. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.” He pauses, his voice shifting. “But seriously—thank you for that. No one’s ever said anything like that to me.”
He clears his throat, the air shifting between us. “Alright. Last one.” His gaze holds mine. “What scares you the most?”
My throat tightens, and for a moment I almost dodge it. But the way he opened up to me has me wanting to do the same.
“Losing myself,” I whisper. “Giving so much of myself away to someone else that I don’t have anything left.”
His hand slides up to cup my breast, thumb brushing softly over my nipple. “Don’t worry, baby girl,” he says quietly. “We can get lost in each other.”
I bite my lip, my smile small but real. “That actually sounds kind of nice.”
The movie murmurs softly in the background, my heart still thumping in my chest. My eyelids grow heavy as I curl into him, the steady rise and fall of Cairo’s chest settling me into a rhythm I never want to lose. His touch seeps into me, gentle and grounding, making it impossible to fight sleep—no matter how badly I want to stay awake and hold on to this moment.
His hand moves in slow circles across my back, his lips brushing over the crown of my damp hair. “Go on, baby girl,” he whispers, his voice softer than I’ve ever heard it. “I’m gonna eat your pretty little pussy as you fall asleep, so I can wake up with you on my lips—I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
The last thing I feel is his lips on mine underneath the covers, his massive hands wrapped around my thighs,tugging me closer as he devours me. He tongue gently slides over my clit, before sleep finally claims me in the safety of his warmth.
I can definitely fall asleep like this more often.
Chapter Forty Two
The Pull
M
y body pulls me out of sleep on its own, despite how badly I want more of it. For a second, I think I’m waking up alone, until I feel Cairo’s heavy arm draped across my waist, holding me against his chest, his morning wood pressed against my ass.
I shift slightly, feeling the slickness between my thighs, a reminder from last night. I barely remember falling asleep, but my body remembers everything—from the bull tossing my ass to the floor, to Saint fucking me against the tree, then Cairo’s massive dick stretching open all over again in the shower, just to have me soaking wet all over again as I fell asleep. My mouth, mylegs, my back, and my pussy are screaming at me. Everything hurts, but the ache between my thighs remains the strongest.
And yet somehow, even like this, I still crave more.
His breathing shifts, and I feel him stir behind me. A low hum rumbles from his chest before his voice slips out, still thick with sleep.
“I ain’t even gonna lie baby girl,” he murmurs, tightening his hold around me. “I slept so good holding you.”
