“I can do that, you know?” I asked.
“You got two legs. Obviously, I know that,” he said as he threw the containers away.
“You got a smart-ass mouth, you know that?” I challenged with my brow arched.
Before I could blink, he stood between my legs and tilted my head up, so I looked into his eyes. “Tell me more about my mouth. What else it do?” A chill ran through me, and suddenly, I had no thoughts or words to give. He smirked and then leaned down to peck my lips. “Cat got ya tongue?” I nodded absentmindedly. “That’s too bad. I was lookin’ forward to hearin’ what you had to say. You think you can find enough words to tell me which room you want to start in?”
“Uh . . . you don’t have to help?—”
“That ain’t what I asked.”
He stared down at me with those piercing eyes. I averted my gaze, not because I was intimidated, but because I felt like I could get lost within him. Like the depths of him would capture me and never let me go. Then, my gaze snapped back to his, because I realized that I yearned for that. I wanted his soul to hold mine for an eternity in an ironclad embrace.
“We can start in here.” The kitchen was a disaster, and I wanted to get it functional so I could make some coffee and cook.Kareem didn’t need to keep getting us outside food. I could cook for us if he planned to stick around, which he pretty much made clear that he did.
As if reading my mind, he joked, “You don’t know how to cook no way.”
“Who don’t?” I asked with my brows damn near to my hairline.
“Let me find out you know how to feed a nigga.” His expression mirrored mine as his brows rose.
I giggled. “Definitely can feed myself and a nigga.”
In an instant, his face morphed into a frown. “What niggas you been feeding? Matter of fact, don’t answer that. I’ll kill a nigga ’bout you.”
This wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that. My mind flashed to the first time we had sex back at the resort. His crazy ass had threatened to send out some damn anthrax. I giggled, and his brow arched as he peered at me.
“How ’bout this? I promise not to cook for no nigga ever again since you seem to be putting a claim on me.”
He grunted. “Good answer.”
He pulled me out of my seat and slapped my ass. I laughed like a damn schoolgirl as he kissed my neck, before I pushed him away slightly and insisted we get to work. Just because his fine ass was here didn’t mean I should ignore my goals for the next few days. I had to get this apartment livable, and I was happy as hell I wouldn’t have to do it alone.
chapter 8
KAREEM
Mermaid and I had been working for seven hours straight. I knew her little ass had to be tired as I watched her sitting in the middle of her walk-in closet surrounded by clothes.
“Why do yo’ little ass have so many clothes, anyway? Where the hell you be goin’?” I asked. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me, but I was ready to spazz the fuck out about the smallest things when it came to her. She thought I was playing this morning when I asked who she had cooked for. The thought of her cooking for another nigga had me ready to go shoot a block up—any block. Someone had to die behind the thought alone.
I knew I needed to get my crazy ass emotions under control when it came to her.
“I really don’t go anywhere. Mariah and Sloane might drag me to brunch sometimes, but for the most part, I go to work and come home. I don’t even know why I have all these clothes.”
She looked sad, but I already had a solution for that. I checked the time on my phone before putting it back into my pocket and saying, “Pick out one of those cute ass outfits and get ready. We got somewhere to be.”
“Wait, what?” she asked, and then her eyes bounced all around the closet at the clothes all over the floor.
“Mama, we already got the kitchen and the bathrooms and the living room together. We can call it quits tonight and tackle everything else tomorrow.”
She stood up slowly and stretched. “That’s fine, but where do we have to go? I’m ready to get my ass in bed.” She yawned as if to emphasize her point.
“Pull some energy out of yo’ ass for me, please. You need help getting dressed?” My eyes swept down her body. She had on some black shorts and an oversized yellow shirt, and she looked the fuck good. My dick twitched like it was being woken up after a slumber.
I could tell she knew what the look in my eyes meant. She bit her lip as her gaze landed on the print in my gray sweats.
“As much as I would love to say yes, I’m curious about where we have to go, so I’m good.”
