Ryland #2
Her brows pinched before a soft smile eased onto her face. “Right, I forgot.”
Yeah, her ass was tipsy.
“Is the food this good?”
“Some of it, yeah. Not everybody gets it right. You have to come up outta the French Quarter loop to get the good stuff. I know a few spots, but honestly, this…” I motioned to the table. “Is just as good or even better.”
“You have something to compare it to. I don’t.” She shrugged and lifted the mug, sampling what was left of her drink.
“You never been?”
Somee’s head shook slowly. “You were my first, remember?”
I grinned and arched a brow and she added, “First flight.”
“There are other ways to get places.”
“There are but I’ve never traveled anywhere but here to Crescent Falls.”
“We’re gonna fix that then. Where do you want to go first?”
“You’re going to take me somewhere?”
“I’m going to take you everywhere.”
Her smile was beautiful and that damn smile was and would always be my motivation.
“Everywhere?”
I nodded, standing firm in my decision, and she scrunched her nose and shrugged.
“Then you can take me everywhere.”
“No argument.”
“You can afford it, so no. And where I go, my Rylee Bear goes. She deserves to see the world.”
“You don’t?” I questioned. Somee was simple but that didn’t negate from the fact that she had confidence out the ass.
There wasn’t anything about this woman that questioned her value.
Yet another reason Sovoya didn’t have to worry about me fucking up.
If I didn’t step to Somee as a man who knew her worth, she wouldn’t give me her time.
She didn’t have to say the words, I felt them in her energy.
“I do.”
“Then where are we going?”
“I’ll make a list and send it to you.” A goofy grin eased onto her face.
“Should I be worried about how long that list is going to be?”
Somee’s smile expanded. “A little bit.”
I chuckled and tossed my chin. “That’s cool. The longer the list, the better.”
“You think that’s a good thing? My first flight was on a private jet, I’m not a cheap date. I have standards now.”
“Your standards ain’t shit compared to what I’m willing to introduce you to. So yeah, it’s a good thing, and the longer the list, the more time I have to convince you that we’re locked in.”
“Locks have keys,” she teased.
“They do but I threw that shit away the minute I tasted your pussy. This is for life, baby.”
“Shouldn’t I get a say in what my future looks like?”
“Absolutely. Tell me what you want, I’ll make it happen.”
“So you’re the captain of the all things Somee ship?”
“I damn sure hope so?”
“You’re attaching yourself to my future.” She slowly arched a brow and my eyes locked on hers with a fierceness I needed her to feel.
“I’m not attaching to shit. That’s the natural order of things. Nothing about us is logical but we make sense. This shit is Karmic and never ending. This lifetime and the next. Blame it on the universe. We’re meant to be.”
She grinned and rolled her eyes. “I’ll let you have your philosophical moment. I’m too full to debate any of what you’re saying at the moment. I need a nap.”
Somee moved her hands over her stomach and huffed.
“We need to discuss a few things before I put you to sleep.”
“Put me to sleep?” Her brow crawled up slowly and her full lips tilted.
I would get sidetracked with all the plans I had for her pussy after we left here. The focus needed to be on the future she hadn’t fully agreed to.
“I want you to stay here in Crescent Falls with me and Rylee. At my house, in our lives, and not just on some temporary shit.”
“So you’ve said,” she signed.
“I have but you haven’t confirmed that’s what you want.”
“I want to stay…” She frowned.
“But…” No matter what her but would be, I had a resolution for the conflict. This woman had no chance in hell of escaping me but I would pretend to unbiasedly hear her out.
“Is it really that easy?”
“For me, yes. For Rylee, hell yes,” I confirmed because I was more than positive my sister hadn’t considered Somee leaving.
In her mind, our arrangement was permanent.
The three of us were officially a family.
I mirrored my Rylee’s sentiment, but that wouldn’t work unless Somee was willing to accept her place in our lives.
Somee smiled warmly at the mention of my sister like always.
Seeing how invested she was with Rylee tugged at my heart.
Her love and care were genuine when it came to both myself and my sister.
Somee didn’t give a damn about who I was, the privilege attached to my world, or my name and what having access to both would mean for her.
Her intentions were pure, but that also didn’t mean she wouldn’t take full advantage of whatever I willingly allowed her access to.
Hence the very long wish list of travel expectations I could expect and the way she accepted the credit and debit cards I’d handed over after I had them printed with her name.
She was about to have my Sky Miles tripled for sure, but my wealth wasn’t the goal.
“Rylee can’t lose anyone else. That’s not fair to her.”
“Then don’t leave.”
“What if you get to the point where you want me to go?”
“Men, or rather real men, know what serves them and what doesn’t.
We know when we’ll stay or leave. It’s never a choice that lacks clarity when it’s the right one.
Your father knew he wouldn’t stay. You believe his absence is about you and I’m sure your mother feels like it’s about her, but it’s not.
That shit is all on him. He knew he wouldn’t stay before he asked for trust he didn’t deserve.
I’m staying. The only way this works is if you decide to leave, and I promise on everything real, my sole mission in life from this point forward is to give you more than enough reasons to never want to.
So it’s really that simple. If you want me, I’m yours. ”
“I do.”
“’Bout damn time you stopped pretending I’m not your man.”
She smiled and those pretty browns rolled.
“You want me to talk to Rylee or you want us to do it together? Because you’re officially in my bed now. Every fucking night.”
Somee frowned a little before her hands were moving. “I don’t think we should make a big deal out of things. If she finds me in your room, let her. If she brings it up or has questions, we can answer them, but most kids adjust with very little disruption while adults overthink.”
“I’m cool with that because telling her I want you in my bed every night so I can roll over into that pussy at random feels like overkill.”
Somee burst out laughing and I winked.
“I will be handling the conversation if she has questions.”
There was no need to argue anything different because kid logic and understanding was more her lane and expertise.
I got the server’s attention and requested the bill.
Once our total was covered with a generous tip, we were on our way out with me running through my plans of how to officially welcome Somee as a permanent part of my life.
My goal had been to put Somee to sleep, but if I was being real, I was the one down for the count after I pulled out of her pussy.
I was man enough to admit that she tested every bit of restraint I had with ease, depleting all of my energy.
That very revelation was why whoever was blowing up my phone better have a damn good reason for hitting my line back to back or there would be consequences.
“Yeah,” I mumbled after I had the device in hand, bypassing a glance at the screen and swiping to answer without focusing on who was calling.
“Mr. Parks, this is Nicolette Regents from…”
Chandler…
My mind fully came to life and I jerked away from Somee, tossing my legs over the side of the bed.
“What’s wrong? Is Rylee okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. Perfectly fine.” Her tone was easy and prompted me to relax, but only briefly based on what followed. “We have a bit of an issue here at the school. One we might need some assistance with.”
I frowned and glanced beside me when I noticed Somee climb out of the bed and take the spot next to me. She searched my face before her hands were moving.
“Everything okay?”
I balanced the phone between my face and shoulder long enough to let her know who was calling. “Rylee’s school. She’s fine.”
I smirked when her expression tensed and her eyes narrowed like she needed more assurance. She didn’t play about Rylee.
“What’s going on?” I asked, needing to focus on the reason for the call.
“There’s a bit of chaos here today with an onslaught of media.
Things like this can’t always be helped considering your status.
The staff was well aware prior to accepting Rylee as a student about the potential of having your name attached to Chandler.
I assure you it’s not a problem, but if at all possible, I was wondering if you could make some calls to have them cleared out.
I would like to avoid any disruption to the other parents and students if we could.
But if not, we completely understand and will pivot to make this work.
As I’ve stated, we considered this possibility.
The gate keeps them off the property, but they are clustering around the entrance and—”
“Media?” I repeated. Everything she said rushed through my mind but that one thing stuck because why would the media be at Rylee’s school?
“Yes, several media outlets, reporters, and news stations. I’m assuming you haven’t been notified about what’s going on.”
What the fuck?
“No, I haven’t.”
“Oh, um, it appears someone leaked details of your custody situation with your sister and—”
Shit.
“I’ll make some calls. I apologize,” I rushed out, needing to get her off my line so I could see what she was talking about.
If reporters were at the school, I had no power to have them moved unless they were on private property.
Since they were outside the gate, the only recourse was making sure the crowd was controlled.