“Goddesses got power,” I said. “Real power. The kind that brings kings to their knees. The kind that makes warriors lay down their swords. The kind that can build empires or burn them to the ground.”
She blinked, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“You the only person who ever made me feel vulnerable. Soft.” I squeezed her thighs. “Human. And I don’t do vulnerable. I don’t do soft. I built walls around myself so high I thought wasn’t nobody ever getting over them. Then you came along and just… walked right through. Like they wasn’t even there. Like I’d been waiting my whole life to let you in and didn’t even know it.”
“Prime—”
“You got power over me I ain’t even know was possible for somebody to have. That’s goddess shit, ma. You brought me to my knees without even trying.”
She was full-on crying now. Tears streaming down her face, chest heaving, trying to keep quiet so she didn’t wake up Yusef.
“I disposed a whole body for you,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Cleaned up a crime scene. Been ready to go to war with anybody who even looks at you or Yusef wrong. You really thought your truth was gonna run me off? You thought yourbaggage was too heavy for me to carry? Nah.” I shook my head. “I’ve carried heavier. And I’d do it again. For you.”
She tried to say something but couldn’t get the words out through the tears.
“I’m still mad,” I admitted. “I ain’t gonna front like I’m not. The lies hurt. The secrets hurt. But you not being worth it?” I leaned forward, cupped her face in my hands, wiped her tears with my thumbs. “You worth everything. You hear me? Everything. I’d move heaven and earth for you. Tear this whole city apart brick by brick. Whatever you need. Whenever you need it. That’s on my life.”
“I hear you,” she whispered.
“Then stop running from me. Stop hiding. Stop trying to protect me from the truth like I’m some lil bitch who can’t handle it.”
She nodded, more tears falling, and I pulled her forward into a kiss.
It started gentle. Soft. I could taste the salt on her lips, feel her body trembling against mine. But then something shifted between us. The gentleness burned away, replaced by something deeper. Hungrier. All that anger and hurt I’d been carrying started transforming into something else entirely.
I pulled back just enough to look at her face. Her eyes was dark now. Wanting.
“Finish my hair.”
“What?” She blinked, confused.
“You heard me. Finish what you started.”
She stared at me for a beat, then nodded. I turned back around, settling between her legs again, and her fingers went back to my locs.
But everything was different now. The air was charged. Electric. Every touch of her fingertips against my scalp sent heatstraight down my spine. Every accidental brush of her thigh against my shoulder made my blood pump harder.
She worked faster. Still precise, still careful, but with an urgency that matched the energy building between us.
Finally, she twisted the last loc into place.
“Done,” she breathed.
I stood up and turned around. She was looking up at me from the couch, eyes wide, chest rising and falling with quick breaths.
“Come here.”
She rose slowly. Carefully. Like she wasn’t sure what was about to happen.
I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against me. Let her feel exactly what she did to me. She gasped softly, her hands landing on my chest.
I didn’t say nothing. Just looked at her. Let the tension build. Let her squirm under my gaze.
Then I kissed her. Hard. My hands found the hem of that t-shirt she was wearing—my shirt—and I yanked it up over her head.
Nothing underneath. Just her. All that smooth brown skin on display for me.
“Upstairs,” I growled against her mouth. “Now.”
