“You got that. I’ll hold you all night. You ready?” he asks before reluctantly releasing her.
“I am.”
They exit the car and he retrieves their luggage and bags from the trunk. He leads her into the beautiful lobby of the hotel.Their room has a wonderful view of the ocean from its private balcony, but tonight it won’t be appreciated by her. Shower, bed, and sleep are the only items on her agenda. The same for Akeem, along with a blunt. After clean kills, he always enjoys fye ass weed.
“Can you put mine on the table?” Sunjiya asks while nodding at her bag.
She’s standing in the suite’s spacious living room. When he complies, she opens her luggage and pulls out items needed for the bathroom. Then she removes her clothes and leaves them where they land. Under normal circumstances, she would be tidier, but not tonight. She’s anxious to shower and sleep as a completely free woman, something she hasn’t done in too damn long. Marcelin is fucking dead and she can finally get much-needed real sleep.
Trying to sleep thoroughly with the threat of Marcelin finding and killing her had been impossible. While she’s been able to sleep since around Akeem and his protective aura, she hasn’t experienced that good ass deep sleep in years.
Akeem’s eyes stay plastered on Sunjiya’s naked body as she journeys to the bathroom. While her entire body is a work of art, his eyes linger on her face the most. He’s trying to gauge her emotional state so he can move accordingly and simply be what she needs right now.
When she closes the bathroom door, he removes his hoodie, grabs his last blunt, then steps onto the private balcony. The night air is crisp and cool and the faint sound of small waves cresting in the huge ocean fills the air. Akeem takes it all in as he fires up his blunt and tries to push away the one thought that has plagued him since they left Marina Bay.
He failed.
Tanjaya is dead; he didn’t save her.
Marcelin is dead and he didn’t pull the fucking trigger.
He successfully infiltrated Marcelin’s estate and skillfully took out all of his men but was too late for Tanjaya. Marcelin snatched her life away before Akeem could take his. The plan wasn’t fully executed. Sunjiya made the kill instead of him. This shit fucks with him as heavy as the grief he knows Sunjiya is dealing with.
Hoping to push disappointment out of his mind, Akeem drops onto one of the balcony chairs and blazes. As the primo weed fills his lungs and courses through his veins, he focuses on the view. He’s killed half of the blunt when he hears the bathroom door open. Quickly, he ashes it and steps back into the suite.
Sunjiya sits on the edge of the king sized bed, moisturizing her legs and feet. One towel is wrapped around her damp hair and the other her body. She took full advantage of the shower’s jet stream without any regard for her hair. She’ll deal with it tomorrow. When Akeem gets closer, she can smell the remnants of his weed.
“Please say there’s some left,” she says.
“Some what?” he questions.
“The blunt. I could use it,” she admits.
“Yeah. I left it on the table out there. I’ll light it for you.”
“No. I got it. Is the lighter out there?”
“Yeah,” he says with a nod.
“Go shower. I got it. By the time you’re done, I should be right and ready to curl up with you in bed. I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. This is a lot,” she says and he steps a little closer. After placing his hands on the bed, he leans in and tenderly kisses her lips.
“A whole lot and I’m sorry,” he says and she nods.
“I know. I know,” she says, then exhales loudly. She pecks his lips then adds, “Go shower.”
Akeem nods then treks to the bathroom. When he closes the door, she moisturizes her arms, grabs her cell, and steps out on the balcony. Before lighting the blunt, she texts Aunt Pri to alleviate her worries.
Sunjiya: We made it and Tanjaya is safe. She’s finally free. Marcelin won’t hurt her again.
Aunt Pri: Praise God! Where is she?
Sunjiya: About to get much-needed rest. She’s going to call you once she’s settled but she wanted you to know she loves you.
Aunt Pri: I love her too. Thank you, baby.
Once she reads Aunt Pri’s response, Sunjiya erases the messages and hopefully all traces of Tanjaya. That painful part of her past is over and done. It died when Marcelin took his last painful breath. Only Sunjiya exists now and she is about to climb into bed with a wonderful man who has already proven he won’t hurt her. Although new, unplanned, and unexpected as hell, she likes things with Akeem and all the possibilities that accompany him. This, him, is the life she dreamed of when her reality was a nightmare on Marina Bay.
Anxious to be in his arms, she hits the blunt twice, thoroughly ashes it, then returns into the suite. Dropping her towels on top of her discarded clothes, she brushes her lightly damp hair into a ponytail then gets comfortable in bed. She’s under the duvet and sheets when he emerges from the bathroom with only a towel around his lower half. Beads of water litter his upper half and it’s a beautiful sight to behold. When he steps toward the closet to retrieve his bag and boxers, she stops him.
