Chapter 8
Ilooked from one tombstone to the other. Cordova’s mother and aunt were buried in the middle next to each other, and their husbands were on the sides of them. As fucked up as it was that she’d lost them all, I was glad she had unconditional love from them, even if it was for just a little while.
“Since I can’t ask for y’all permission to be with Cordova, I just…
wanted to come and pledge my allegiance to her.
I’ve always loved and protected her, and it won’t be any different now that we’re taking things to the next level.
Actually, it will be different. It’ll be better.
I promise to love, care for, protect, cherish, and provide…
for the rest of our lives. She won’t want for nothing with me, and she’ll always be safe.
I won’t suggest that I’m this… spotless, perfect man, but I’ll be the best man for her.
” I paused before telling them, “She will always be safe with me. Respected. Prioritized. She will always be safe with me.”
I stood there for a while before leaving and heading out.
It was a little after seven, so stores were still open.
I didn’t want to start this new phase between us empty-handed.
She loved makeup, candles, reading, movies, puzzles, and coloring.
She was also a homebody that loved to cook.
I stopped by the mall and got her a gift card for Sephora, Ulta, and Barnes and Noble, then I went to a Black-owned bookstore and got a few coloring books and puzzles for her.
My last stop was Domino’s, to get her favorite pizzas, before I headed back to her place.
Since I was going to let myself in, I called her when I was pulling back up.
I put all the gift cards in the bags with her coloring books and puzzles so I didn’t have to make two trips.
Her eyes widened, and she gasped before clapping and shimmying from one foot to the other.
She was so happy about the pizza she didn’t even notice anything else.
“My faves from my fave. Thank you, pooh.”
“You’re welcome. Figured I owed you a meal since I stole you from your date.”
She laughed and took the boxes from me. My eyes lowered to her ass as she walked away. It wasn’t super big, but it fit her petite frame.
“Here,” I said before she went into the bathroom to wash her hands.
“Oh. Thank you!”
She set the pizzas down and accepted the other bags.
Her excitement grew with each item she pulled out.
By the time she was done, her smile was so wide her eyes were damn near sealed shut.
That was my favorite sight. My personal masterpiece.
My Mona Lisa. I couldn’t stop myself from telling her that.
“You’re a work of art. My masterpiece.”
Cordova bashfully covered her face. “I have to get used to you talking to me like this.”
“Get used to saying my name too. That’s what I want you to moan when I’m inside of you.”
Gasping, she covered her mouth in the cutest way. “Him!”
“Yeah… You’ll be yelling it like that too.”
“Oh my God. This is crazy. My best friend is talking about having sex with me, and I… I actually can’t wait.”
Now that made me laugh. “I think friendship is the best foundation for marriage anyway. We’re already off to a great start.”
“You wanna marry me?” she asked sweetly.
“I do. I wanna marry you and spend the rest of my life loving you.”
“You gonna give me babies?”
“I’m gonna give you all the babies. We’ll have the family we never got—the one we deserve.”
Her eyes watered, but she blinked her tears away. Extending her arms for me to pick her up, Cordova said, “Don’t play with me, pooh. You promise me this is real?”
I waited until I picked her up and wrapped her legs around me to reply. “Ain’t nothing realer, boo. I promise.”
She cupped my cheeks, and our eyes remained locked until our lips locked for a kiss.
This time, there was no confusion in whether this kiss was friendly or romantic.
Our tongues swirled around each other as she melted against me.
The soft moan she released went straight to my dick.
I held her close as I sucked her tongue before raveling it around mine and nibbling her bottom lip.
“Whoa,” she pulled away to say. “That’s what I’ve been missing out on all this time?”
With a cocky chuckle, I set her on her feet. “Don’t worry. We have the rest of our lives to make up for lost time.”
She giggled then yelped when I smacked her ass as we went to the bathroom to wash our hands.
After that, we found something quick to watch while we ate.
When she asked me to spend the night, I didn’t hesitate to agree.
Since I was no longer in the streets, my nights were always available.
I had a staff running the arcade, so I didn’t have to go unless it was for a meeting to check in.
Most times, I went to play games and enjoy myself.
I’d set it up to where I had a VIP level that could be rented out for private events.
There was a small dance floor, stage, and deejay booth. I spent most of my time there.
Cordova and I showered separately before returning to her bed, and for the first time, I allowed my hands to roam her entire body. My intention was to familiarize myself with her in a different way, but when I noticed the shift in her breathing, the mood changed.
“What’s mine?” I asked against her ear, running my hand over her stomach before gripping her breast. She moaned and pressed her ass against me. “Tell me what belongs to me.”
“What do you want?”
“I want it all. All of you.”
“Then that’s what you have.”
“I wanna hear you say it,” I commanded. “Tell me all of you belongs to me.”
She turned so that we were facing each other, and I wasted no time wrapping my hand around her neck. Her eyes lowered as she bit down on her bottom lip.
“All of me belongs to you. You’re Him. You can have whatever you want and need.” A moan escaped me before I covered her lips with mine, but she pushed me away. “Give me that back.”
Smiling, I told her, “All of me has always belonged to you, but now, you have my body too.”
“Every part,” she confirmed before I kissed her.
“Every…” I kissed her again. “Fucking…” And again. “Part.” And again.
Her soft sigh made my dick hard, and when she grabbed it, it throbbed.
At that point, I didn’t give a fuck about talking.
I held her jaw and fed her my tongue to make sure she didn’t try to say anything else, though I realized she was on the same page as me when she spread her legs and cupped her pussy with my free hand.
She was hot,… wet. I wasn’t expecting things to move this fast between us.
I did want to earn her, but I also wouldn’t deny her of pleasure.
“It’s big, pooh,” she whispered against my lips, stroking my dick.
“You can take it. Tell me you can take it.”
“Mm,… I can take it,” she declared as I pushed her panties to the side. Before I touched her, I pulled away.
“I wanna watch you please yourself. Show me what you like. Show me what makes this pussy talk.”
Shyness covered her face briefly before she showed me just how comfortable she was with us and where things were going between us.
She pushed her shorts and panties down, then I pulled them off.
Her legs spread just a bit, letting me know she was still a little nervous.
Still, she did what I asked and caressed her clit.
As I caressed and stroked her cheek, neck, and breasts, she relaxed more, and her legs spread wider.
Her breathing grew ragged, mouth parted slightly.
I noticed her movements—how she alternated between stroking her clit and fingering herself. How she started slow and built up her tempo. How she edged herself, speeding up and releasing whimpers but stopping just before she came.
She was wet, and it was loud and creamy and sexy as fuck.
When her hand wrapped around her neck, I cursed under my breath.
Her eyes closed as she choked herself, circled her clit, and fingered her pussy until she came. I lifted her hand by her wrist, then licked and sucked her fingers dry. She watched, bottom lip tugged between her teeth.
Yeah.
She was mine.
I lowered myself to her lips, allowing her to taste herself.
As much as I wanted to fuck her, I willed my dick to behave. She must have sensed that because she said, “I want you to be satisfied too.”
“You being satisfied satisfies me, boo.”
“Are you sure?” she asked as I climbed out of bed to get her a wet towel.
“Positive. There will be time for that. Let me earn it. Earn you.”
Cordova didn’t respond, but I found her smiling and looking satiated when I returned.
I took my time cleaning between her legs, making sure I told her she had the prettiest pussy.
I placed a reverent kiss on her bottom set of lips before putting her panties and shorts back on.
After setting the towel on the nightstand, I got back in bed with her. She cuddled up against me.
As I wrapped my arm around her, I told her, “Rub my belly.”
Cordova laughed. “Don’t I always?”
“Mhm.”
My body relaxed instantly as she rubbed my belly. My fingers made their way into her hair, and her body grew heavier as she relaxed under my touch. I was confident we’d get to this point, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen this soon. Now that it had, I was never going to let her go.