“Fuck, Ken.”
He thrust through it, slower now, deeper, feeling every pulse of her orgasm squeeze him until his self-control shattered. When he finally came, he buried himself so deep his whole body shuddered as he cursed and groaned her name.
He collapsed beside her, both of them breathing hard.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Her leg thrown over his, his hand on her belly, both of them still shaking.
“Damn,” she finally managed.
“Yeah.” He pulled her closer. “I should’ve been doing that every day.”
“Every day?”
“Every day. Multiple times a day.” He kissed her shoulder. “You got a lot of missed orgasms to catch up on.”
She laughed, exhausted.
“The cookies are definitely burnt,” she said, reaching for her phone to kill the oven remotely. Her mama called the wi-fi stove feature lazy. Tonight, it was saving her life.
He laughed. “Fuck kinda cookies are better than the ones I just had?”
“I’m happy,” she blurted out, surprising herself. She was glad the lights were off so he couldn’t see the love-sick grin she wore on her face.
“Me too.”
She turned and touched his face. “I know I play cold, but I’m really a lover girl.” Her thumb brushed his cheek. “Tell me what you need. Let me be in your corner. You matter to us.”
“You going soft, baby doll.”
“Shut up.”
After thirty minutes, they’d showered together, washing away the sweat, and now they were in bed, propped up against the pillows, a plate of cookies resting on her belly, the first batch since the second had burnt to hell while they were otherwise occupied.
Kennedi took a bite of a cookie, her head resting on his shoulder, one leg thrown over his.
For the next twenty minutes, he laid it out: SLV expanding to a third location; Signature Rims launching a partnership to put his custom wheels on luxury cars from here to Atlanta; property all over Coupeville—including commercial spaces, residential buildings, and parking garages being converted to private collector storage; Idle Hands opening soon; and investments in Black-owned businesses across the city.
“I’m not just trying to get rich,” he said, reaching for a cookie. “I’m trying to build generational wealth. So when my kids growup, they won’t have to start from zero like I did. They’ll have a foundation.”
“She’d be proud of you,” Kennedi said softly, her fingers playing with the gold Herringbone necklace resting on his chest. She smiled, thinking about how old school he was and how she loved a classic man.
“I hope so.” His voice cracked slightly. “I think about her every day. I hope she knows I'm more than a thug, menace to society because of her.”
She set her cookie down. “Is that what you think people see?”
Rolani cleared his throat and tried to move, and she leaned into him more.
“I never thought that about you. Not once.” She turned to look at him. “You've been a gentleman, a man about his business, since the day I met you. Besides being fashionably late on the plane.” She smiled. “I hold you in high regard, Rolani. Even when you’re exposed.”
He didn't say anything. Just pulled her closer and turned off the lamp. She was asleep before she finished her prayers.
Chapter Eighteen
THREE WEEKS LATER
Kennedi bobbedher head to the soft music floating from her computer as she searched for a studio for TKL. She should’ve been editing footage from the session at the shop yesterday, but she’d gotten distracted when she realized how long it had been since she checked in on her lens family. She’d honestly been tired, still working on settling in.
She was loving being back home, but it was an adjustment.
