Chapter 9
My eyes opened slowly. The room was dimly lit as I groaned from the pain of my injuries.
“Baby.” Sunni’s voice greeted me.
She sat next to me with her back pressed against the headboard. When our eyes met, she cried. She sobbed into her hands. I tried to move, but my body ached severely.
“Sunni,” I called out. I turned onto my side and wrapped my arm around her.
“Noble. I missed you so much. I thought . . . I thought you were . . .”
“I’m fine, baby. Things got tougher than I thought, but I did what I had to do for you.”
The last two months had been strenuous, hard, and a test of my love for Sunni.
I’d massacred an entire lineage. The blood on my hands in the last two months was more than my entire career.
I was glad the mafia was only middle level.
If they had more reach than they already possessed, I would have died.
During my time away from Sunni, I realized how serious my feelings for her truly were. Our love was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, and it kept me going when shit got hard in the trenches of the mafia world.
“Why didn’t you check in? How could you go so long without speaking to me? I didn’t know what was going on? I was so scared, Noble.” She wiped her eyes and scooted down to lay her head on my chest.
“I couldn’t risk putting you in danger or losing focus. You’re my strength, but you’re also my weakness. I lose myself when I’m with you, in the best way—which could be a liability. I was deep into the mission and couldn’t afford the distractions.”
“I don’t want to ever go that long without talking to you again. I mean it.”
I nodded slightly. “And we won’t ever go another day without talking to each other.”
“You scared me last night. You passed out, and I had to carry your big ass to the couch. First of all, you are solid as hell with all these muscles.”
“I need to get you into the gym, then.”
“No. You need to make sure you’re not attacked like that again.”
I chuckled, which turned into a hard grimace. “Fuck. I’m in a lot of pain.”
“You need to go to the doctor and get a full checkup.”
I shook my head. “Nah. I don’t do doctors.”
“Noble.”
“What?”
She sat up and peered at me with a look of genuine concern. “Don’t piss me off.”
“I’m not trying to piss you off. My injuries will heal.”
“They’ll heal a lot faster with proper care and treatment. Matter of fact . . .” Sunni scooted out of bed and grabbed her phone. She dialed a number and placed the phone up to her ear. She paced the floor as she spoke to someone.
“Hey, it’s Sunni Stone . . . Yes, it’s been a long time. I’m good. How are y’all doing?” She went back and forth with whoever was on the other line for a few minutes.
“I’m actually calling to see if you could do me a huge favor. My boyfriend has a few injuries I want taken care of privately. Can you do that for me?”
This woman was something else.
“Yay! When can you fit us into your schedule? Today? That’s actually perfect. We’ll head out soon. Send the invoice to my daddy.” She ended the call shortly after.
“Why did you waste your time like that? I’m not getting out of this bed, Sunni.”
“Noble Nash. I swear on everything I love, please don’t piss me off. You were gone two fuckin’ months. You don’t get to call any fuckin’ shots right now. I’m not gon’ threaten to beat your ass, because somebody has already done that, so puh-lease just follow directions.”
The smile was too strong to fight as I rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed. “Fine. I’m just not going to take any opioids. I can handle the pain while I heal. I don’t want to get addicted to anything while I recover.”
“I can respect that. Come on and let’s get you ready for your appointment.” Sunni disappeared into the bathroom to get the shower ready for us.
“You know I really love you, right? Let me heal, and you can meet me at the altar.”
She returned to my side and acted as my anchor as she led me into the bathroom. “I know. I feel the same way, baby. Once you’re healed, I’m going to show you parts of the world you’ve never seen before.”
I licked my lips and instantly regret aggravating the swollen flesh. Sunni had a way of making me feel things I’d never felt before.
This woman was something special.
A few weeks later
“This view is . . . breathtaking,” Sunni announced as she pressed her back into my chest. We had a picnic on a private beach. The waves hit the shore, and the sound was relaxing as I held her in my arms.
My bruises had faded. My body had recovered enough to enjoy some fun on the beach. When Sunni proposed we’d go to the beach, I assumed she meant the one forty-five minutes away in Cade’s Cove—hell, Galveston had also come to mind. Sunni had other ideas.
We traveled to Costa Rica. We flew on Mr. Stone’s private jet to a small airport, where we drove about an hour to the beach house she rented for our weeklong bae-cation.
We spent our first day here recovering from the jetlag. Today we’d enjoyed the culture and cuisines and had a nice picnic on a private beach.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Sunni suggested.
“Whatever you want, my love.”
She stood and stretched her arms above her head.
I perused her frame in awe. Over the last couple of days, I’d noticed a lot of changes in Sunni’s physical appearance.
Her hips were wider, her thighs thicker, and her face was rounder.
Not to mention the growth in her titties.
They’d become tender as hell when I’d suck on them.
I stood and made sure I had my phone, keys, and wallet before we began our stroll on the beach. The sun set in the distance as the water crashed into our feet, washing away our footprints.
“We’re crazy, huh?” Sunni asked.
I glanced down at her. “What do you mean?”
“To fall in love and feel so strongly for each other so fast. We’re crazy. That’s the only explanation for what we’re doing.”
“I’ll be crazy then. I wouldn’t change a thing. Our journey is unique and special to us.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Are you having second thoughts about being with me?” I asked.
Sunni’s steps halted. “Excuse me?”
“You’re talking like you regret what we’ve built.”
“There are no regrets at all. I’m just saying, when I think about it from the outside looking in, it’s a crazy ass love story.”
“I don’t care what it looks like to anybody other than us. My only concern is making sure you’re happy and taken care of.”
“I am.”
“Good.” I reached behind her and gave her ass a firm smack.
She let out a yelp. “Noble!”
“What?”
“I should smack yours back.”
A laugh escaped my mouth. “Don’t do no shit like that, bae.”
The mischievous smirk on her face made me put some distance between us. Her crazy ass plotted on my ass, but I would not let her get the chance.
“I will not touch your butt. I promise,” she sang. She cupped her hands and fell a couple of steps behind me.
“Man, watch out!” I chuckled as I jogged forward, trying to keep her away from me.
This went on for what felt like hours but was really only a few minutes before her clumsy ass tripped over some sticks in the sand.
“Ow!” she cried out.
“Damn it, Sunni. Are you okay?” I asked as I turned on my heels and made my way over to her.
She poked out her bottom lip. “I hurt myself.”
“Let me see.” I held my hand out for her. Instead of letting me help her up, she pulled me into the sand. She grinned and grabbed a handful of my ass.
“Fun’s over. We’re going home,” I said in the most monotone voice I could muster.
Sunni didn’t care. She had doubled over and held her stomach as she laughed like she was front row at a Kings of Comedy show.
“You think this funny, huh?”
“Yeah. Whew, that was hilarious, actually. I almost peed on myself.” She let out an amused breath as she sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Pissy ass.”
“Shut up, loser.” She stood and wiggled her light purple toes in the sand.
“You know what I want to do before we head back to the beach house?”
“Hmm?”
“I want to formally ask you to be my girl.”
She turned to look at me with curious eyes. “I’m already your girlfriend.”
“Yeah, but we kind of just did the shit. I didn’t do a grand gesture, so let me do that real quick.”
“Go for it.”
I stood and dusted the sand off my shorts before I guided her to the shoreline. The waves hit our feet again as the sun continued to set. The orange and purple colors blended into dark blues as night quickly approached.
“Sunni Stone, will you be my girlfriend today and my wife soon?” I asked as I held her in my arms and whispered into her ear.
“Yes, Noble Nash. I will be your girlfriend, fiancée, and wife.”
“Promise you’re mine forever?”
She nodded. “I promise.”
I turned her around and sealed it with a kiss. I slid my hand down the curve of her back and gave her ass a firm grip. She moaned into my mouth.
“We’re not about to have sex on the beach. Sand is already annoying as hell, and I’ll be damned if I get any near my most sensitive parts.”
I chuckled. “Understood.”
“Ah!” Sunni yelped and clung to me.
“What happened?”
“Something touched my foot!”
I took out my cell phone and turned on the flashlight. Glistening below us were two tiny sea turtles.
She gasped. “Oh my goodness! Noble, look how beautiful these babies are.”
Sunni got down on her knees and lifted the turtles into her hand. She rubbed their shells and looked into their eyes. Her eyes twinkled under the light of my phone as she forgot about me and gave her attention to the sea animals.
“What are y’all doing near the shore?” she asked in a tiny baby voice.
I stood there, watching her nearly cry as the tiny turtles moved their flippers against her hand.
“When we get home, I’ll get you a freshwater tank for your own turtles, bae. You gotta send these babies back to the water.”
Sunni looked up at me with teary eyes. “You want to tear me away from these precious creatures? You’re a supervillain. You hate me!” She held the animals close to her and kissed their heads softly.
“I don’t hate you, bae.”
“Prove it. Kiss their heads.”
“Sunni, I’m not about to kiss these things with my lips.”
“Kiss them.”
I smacked my lips and kneeled down beside her. I leaned down and kissed both of the tiny turtles on their heads. Sunni’s smile made my frown deepen. She said goodbye to them and let them swim away in the water.
“This is the best day I’ve had in a long time, Noble. Thank you for being a good sport and sharing this moment with me.”
“Anything for you, my love.” I shook my head and stood. I helped her get back onto her feet.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a soft kiss.
“We bet not get sick after this little stunt.”
“Hush and bask in the moment.”
Sunni was the only person who would ever get away with talking to me the way she did. I was too in love to care. I was exactly where I wanted to be.