Chapter 7
Kincaid.
My eyes shot open at the sound of something crashing in the kitchen.
I sat up on the sofa in my office and bent forward over my knees, pressing my elbows into them.
After a few moments of resting my face in my palms, I exhaled a cleansing breath.
I had suffered a long night of uncomfortable sleep and the need to be near my wife.
I’d grown accustomed to having her body wrapped around mine, creating a position of peace.
This battle with Nari had me at my wits’ end.
I struggled to prove that she was safe with me.
I only wanted what was best and sometimes that meant being ahead of things.
What she saw as control was my way of ensuring that she remained untouched.
My world was new, as were my overprotective feelings for my wife.
I was attempting to find balance in navigating through this adjustment like she did.
Exhaling through my frustration, I reached for my phone, which buzzed with the notification of a call the second I had it in hand.
“Yeah?”
“You sound like shit. Rough night?”
“What do you want, Dee?”
Darius chuckled. His voice was light and crisp, meaning he’d been up for a while. The flight home was quiet. He spoke to his wife then slept. I was up working through the struggle in my mind about how to handle my wife, and still, I came up empty.
“We still meeting today?”
“Yeah. I’m about to get moving. I’ll hit you back when I’m heading your way. There are a few stops I need to make first.”
“A’ight.” Darius wouldn’t question me. If it were something he needed to know, I would tell him. After ending my call, I tossed the phone on the sofa and stretched, allowing my eyes to mindlessly roam my surroundings.
I slept in my fucking office, but I could see now that the only way to make my point was to show better than to tell.
Before Nari was up, I showered, dressed, and made my way out of the house, only stopping because I crossed paths with Endia once I reached the bottom of the stairs.
She smiled politely before assessing my attire.
“You arrived late and you’re leaving early.” It wasn’t a question, more of an observation.
I nodded, taking her in. She was fully dressed in sweats, a T-shirt, and running shoes. Her shirt was lightly misted with sweat.
“You worked out?”
Her cheeks hiked, broadening her smile, reminding me of Nari.
“Figured I’d do something to bide my time. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. This is your daughter’s home, which also makes it yours.”
“And yours?” She arched her brow and I nodded. “She up?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh.” I could see her mind spinning. “Do you mind if I share something with you?”
“Not at all.”
“You’re a strong spirit. Confident in a way that makes others refuse to challenge your authority. It’s a force that takes time to understand and get used to.”
“I love your daughter,” I made clear. Endia was always quiet, watching and observing, but she didn’t say much, at least not to me.
I wasn’t sure if she understood my position as well as she needed to because a part of me didn’t truly care.
I had never been the type of man to explain myself to anyone nor did I apologize for my decisions.
One of those decisions was claiming her daughter.
She was mine. Mine to love, mine to protect, and mine to handle how I saw fit.
Endia’s approval wasn’t anything I required or that would change the course of things between my Nari and me.
“Oh, I know you do.” A teasing smile danced behind her eyes while her lips curled slightly. “But what you don’t do is see your world through her eyes.”
“I do . . .”
Her head gently motioned side to side, pausing my thoughts. “No, you don’t. You see the world you want her to accept and feel safe in. You know your intentions, and as strongly as she feels that she’s safe with you, there’s always that small bit of uncertainty that makes her question.”
“I will never hurt Nari, ever.”
“Intentionally, no.” My eyes turned hard and she smiled brighter.
“You push because you know what’s best and understandably so.
Your experience far outweighs hers. You’re stubborn by nature and are used to being in charge.
This . . .” She paused, allowing her eyes to roam.
“She doesn’t care about any of it, and that’s a good thing because money doesn’t make your problems disappear.
No matter how much you give her access to, she still has to grow into her own and find security in you as a man and as her husband.
Her heart longs for a connection; to have people she can depend on. ”
“I give her that.”
“I agree, but on your terms. You also make clear that she will only ever have you.”
I snorted, feeling the tension in my shoulders. “Your family and her father will never be a part of her life,” I warned, being clear that there was no room for negotiating.
“They don’t deserve to be, but you must understand that all she sees and feels is you pushing.
You have good reason, but it creates the illusion that she doesn’t have a voice, that she’s simply here in your world, living by your rules.
Let her find her footing. Give her time to make decisions about her life because she knows what’s best and not because you forced her hand.
She will make the right decisions if you allow her space to do so. She’s your wife, not your child.”
My eyes narrowed because I wanted to argue that I wasn’t treating her as such, but I understood. My control took away hers. We had to meet somewhere in the middle.
As if she sensed my revelation, Endia’s face brightened with another smile, and her hand rested on my arm, offering a gentle squeeze.
“Find the balance between the two of you. Sometimes, that’s the hardest part.
Compromise. You both struggle with it. She’s more like you than you give her credit for. ”
Endia took the stairs and I watched her for a minute before I snorted at the thought of being put in place. My first thought was, who the hell was she to tell me a damn thing, but it was quickly clarified by the reality of things . . .
My mother-in-law!
When I stepped into the building, I did a quick sweep. The crowd was slim, but that made sense, considering the time of the morning. Yet, there was still a need for places such as this to function around the clock.
As I moved through the dimly lit space, I felt eyes on me.
I stood out for two reasons: one, I exuded the look of money, and two, I didn’t belong with the crowd sprinkled about.
It was also why the women watched versus approaching right away.
They wanted to see if I would give the reason for my appearance in their seedy establishment.
Either I had money to waste and wanted to remain under the radar or I had a specific person I intended to spend time with.
I damn sure wasn’t about to spend my money on any of the women who were currently on shift.
My focus remained on the stage. She watched me with eager eyes and a subtle grin.
One, I assumed, she thought was seductive.
When I stood next to the stage, she began performing.
That only annoyed me because, as nice as her body was, she didn’t have a clue what to do with it—a complete waste.
My mind drifted to Nari and the way she yielded to me when my dick was deep, but even the simplest actions from her, like the softness of her smile or the whisper of her voice, made my dick hard.
This woman, who had her entire body on display, only wearing a gold G-string while gyrating to whatever song was playing, hadn’t so much as caused my dick to twitch.
When she realized her best efforts weren’t prompting a reaction, she moved to the side of the stage, taking the stairs until she reached me.
“My cousin know you’re here?”
Of course not. She doesn’t have a clue I even know who the hell you are.
“No.”
“You don’t need to come throwing your weight around. I didn’t tell her that you and I have our little thing.”
A grin eased in place as she reached for me, but I caught her wrist, my fingers tightening to the point I knew it was painful, but her smile only stretched wider.
“Unlike Nari, I like it rough, and you look like the type that’s into kinky shit.” Her tongue pushed through her heavy-coated, gold-glitter lips and swiped them slowly. I laughed under my breath, releasing her.
“We don’t have a damn thing other than me warning you to stay away from my wife. You don’t seem to understand the severity of crossing me.”
Those big-ass eyes of hers rolled. I squinted a bit, attempting to see any of Nari’s features on her face. There weren’t any. This woman likely took after her father.
“You might have her trained, but I’m not the type to jump on command. However, the offer still stands if your money’s right.”
She attempted to walk away, but I caught her arm with a little more force, bringing her closer but not close enough to get her smell on me.
“As does mine. Stay the fuck away from my wife and you get to exist.”
Her eyes went wild for a minute before she tried her hand at pretending that she wasn’t afraid.
“I know who you are, but that don’t mean shit to me. You can’t just go around—”
“Take a minute to think before you finish that sentence,” I warned.
My smile eased in place but there was nothing pleasant behind it, which she quickly picked up on because she swallowed hard. After finding Nari’s family, I kept tabs on them. Still did, in fact, but I never approached any of them other than Shayla and hadn’t planned to unless I deemed it necessary.