Princess
A Week Later
The ocean didn’tcare who you used to be. It didn’t know about polished lives built on sacrificed happiness, arranged marriages, crooked fathers, or kidnappings, or the kind of pain that lived deep in your chest long after the tears stopped.
It didn’t ask questions or offer judgment. It just rolled and breathed, smooth and steady, as peace personified. That’s what I stared at. The waves. Their strength. A week on Saint Ashwa had been a little sliver of paradise barely on the map. I’d needed the quiet.
I sat out on the back patio of our villa, legs curled underneath me on the lounge chair, my curls damp from theshower and my skin still warm from the sun. The view stretched wide to endless blue touching the sky, white sand blending into palm shadows, and nothing but island wind brushing my collarbone.
Mora was somewhere on the other side of the island, caught up in whatever Crook had her doing. She kept calling him “Bay Bay,” but I was pretty sure that I’d finally learned that his real name was Calvin.
I exhaled and closed my eyes for a moment, letting myself be still. Then I felt his lips brush my neck, slow and unhurried, and his voice sent chills down my spine. “You smell like mango and coconut,” he mumbled against my skin.
I smiled. “That’s specific.”
“That’s what you always smell like out here.”
Nyce moved around the chair, settled onto the cushion beside me, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, gently pulling me toward him. He looked good while healing. The bandage would be gone soon, and the tension in his shoulders had eased. He was off the grid in the best way.
“You’ve been quiet,” he said, his voice low and steady.
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
I hesitated, staring out at the water. Guilt and relief tangled in my chest. “Everything and nothing.” He nodded, and his quiet understanding squeezed something inside me.
We hadn’t said much about what happened since I got the call that he was alive, although wounded. It took a few days forhim to fly out to join me on the island, but he did as he promised. We fucked slowly all damn night and laid up the next day as he filled me in on need-to-know details.
My father was still alive, too, but barely. Nyce left him paralyzed from the waist down, then let him live. That was more mercy than most men would have gotten. It was intentional. He didn't want my father dead because of me; he wanted him broken.
Word got around that he skipped town in shame, left the city behind, and disappeared somewhere down south with one of his other women. I wasn’t surprised. I think deep down I always knew about the others. I was okay, though. I wasn’t interested in fixing things with a man who’d never tried to protect me. I didn’t want his sorry ass apologies. I didn’t need closure. He could keep that. I had peace now… and Nyce.
“Wish we could wake up to this view every day,” he said, his voice breaking my thoughts again.
“We can,” I murmured.
“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “Business can’t wait forever. Been laying low, but I got people to check, moves to make, and money to get to. I give it another couple days and then we gotta touch back down.” I didn’t say anything. He stood, grabbed my hand, and gently tugged me up from the chair. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
I followed him barefoot across the back patio, through the garden path lined with banana leaves, until we reached thecabanas outside our villa. The sun had begun to dip low, painting the sky in orange and gold streaks and casting shadows across the open-air canopy. Nyce led me into the cabana and sat me down on the cushioned bench. The breeze moved the curtains, light and gentle, as he sat across from me, elbows on his knees.
“Been thinking,” he started, and I waited. “My world doesn’t come with guarantees. It comes with rules, sacrifices, and protection. But the time we been out here? I ain’t never had peace like this before.”
My chest tightened, but I stayed quiet.
“You make me feel like I could walk away from it all, Princess. Like I could build something real that doesn’t revolve around blood. And I never thought I’d want that shit. Not for real. But now... I’m starting to want different.”
His eyes found mine. “What does that look like for you?” I asked softly.
“I don’t know yet,” he admitted. “But if you’re with me, I’ll figure it out. That’s the only part I know for sure. I want you with me.”
I reached across the table and took his hand. It was rough, calloused, and warm. “I’m here,” I said. “But I’m not gonna lose myself trying to survive in your war. So if this is where we start, ithasto bring something new. Something that makes room for both of us.”
He nodded slowly. “Say less.”
Then he stood, walked around the table, and crouched down in front of me. His eyes stayed locked onto mine,unwavering. I sensed the air shifting between us before he even touched me. His hand lifted, fingers sliding gently around my neck. I leaned into his touch, tilting my head just enough for his lips to find mine. The kiss was deep, steady, and consuming. Nyce pressed closer, gripping the back of my thigh and pulling me onto his lap.
When he finally pulled back, his lips hovered over mine. “You really got me gone.”
We stood up and he scooped me into his arms and led us to the water. For once, I wasn’t waiting or running from anything. I just was. It felt damn good. I had everything I needed right here.
