Delaney felt like everything that I needed in life and all I had been waiting on for a long time. I was so glad that nigga Clayton had fucked up because I was never letting her go. The sleepiness that had been claiming her a half hour before was nowhere to be found. I fucked it up out of her as she screamed, bucked, and rode my dick.
We sweated as we rode each other hard and long. Her hair was plastered to her head, and sweat dribbled down both of our chests and all between her creases. She struggled to breathe, slapping her hand against the headboard, and biting the mattress at various points, depending on the position I had her in.
I had waited too long to get in the pussy to give up a quick nut. I was enjoying the hell out of copulating with her and making her know that I meant business. She was mine. When we were exhausted, she dropped face down on the mattress, with her arm hanging over the side. Sleepily, Delaney muttered, “I love you, Naijhel.”
Although I gripped her and pulled her closer, something inside of my chest froze. It was as if my heart squeezed tight and stopped beating for a moment. Did she truly mean those words? Was it all the things that I had done for her thus far, or was it the after-sex haze that had her saying those words?
It had only been a year since her divorce, and I wanted to be careful with her heart. There were still some things that she didn’t know, things I didn’t think she was ready to know. Was I pushing her too fast?
13
NAIJHEL
TWO WEEKS LATER
Ihadn’t spent as much time with Delaney as I had before. Rather than seeing each other five times a week, I cut back to three times a week because of a high-profile case my firm was handling.
But after working so late and enduring the pressure that was upon us, I decided that it was time for some play. I invited Delaney to go away with me to Sorrel Island for a four-day getaway. Unfortunately, it was her parents’ anniversary weekend, and they were supposed to be having a family dinner with them one night.
With that in mind, I came up with the idea to invite her parents on our trip to celebrate their anniversary. That led to inviting Aria and her boyfriend, Courtland, and Maurice and Damaris.
“Man, you gotta understand how we’re looking at this. I mean, one minute you representing that no-good nigga and taking my daughter for everything she’s worth, and the nextminute you’re kee-keeing all in her face,” Solomon Synclair explained.
“That was the reason I invited you all on this getaway with us. This is the perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other. Mr. Synclair, I know Clayton took Delaney through a lot, but I’m not him. I was doing a job that wasn’t in her best interests, but at the end of the day, it was just a job. I didn’t know your daughter, but I have gotten to know her, and I care a lot about her. I am who I say I am.”
“People say a lot about you on the streets. Are the rumors true?”
I sniffed and stroked my beard. “It depends on what you’ve heard. Some are, some aren’t.”
“That’s a bit cryptic.”
“It won’t impact Del.”
“I’m worried about if someone comes after her because of those rumors.”
My eyes and tone darkened. “I’ll protect that woman with my life. Anyone who learns of our connection will know not to make the mistake of looking at her, let alone touching her.”
“I hope so, son.”
“Mr. Synclair, no one wants the problems of fucking with Naijhel King’s woman. There are no depths that I will not go to, to make sure that she’s protected. Besides protecting her physical being, I’m about protecting her mental well-being and her heart. She means a lot to me.”
“Naijhel, Daddy, why are you two looking so serious? The water is warm. Let’s go,” Delaney declared, grabbing my hand.
We stood from the table where we had finished her parents’ anniversary brunch. I spared no expense for this getaway to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Not because I was trying to impress or buy their approval, but because I wantednobody to worry about anything. I wanted us to relax, have fun, and truly get to know each other.
Her father and I followed her, but her father got distracted by her mama walking toward the bar in her little bathing suit. “I’ve got some business to handle. I’ll see y’all later,” he declared.
“That’s what I grew up seeing. It’s what I thought that I would have,” Delaney explained.
I held her hand as we walked toward the water’s edge. “Who says that you won’t have it?”
“I don’t know. Dating you is nice, Naijhel, but I have no idea what the future holds for me. I had my life mapped out. I married at the age that I expected to, my career progressed according to my plans, and I was supposed to have my first kid by the time I was thirty, God willing. Look at me now, divorced, not pregnant, and no prospects of starting a family on the horizon. I never expected that I would be single at thirty.”
“That was just one chapter in your life. We go through so many phases of our life that are constantly changing us. All that single stuff, you can throw that in this water, like I’m about to throw you,” I announced, scooping her up into my arms and running into the water with her.
“Naijhel! Put me down, Naijhel!” she screamed.
“Not gonna do it.”
