Chapter 14
Livia
I miss my man after he spent the weekend at my apartment, but we’re both busy professionals, so we don’t get to see much of each other during the workweek. Mondays are our busiest days, so I’m not surprised he didn’t call me. But I’ve been off work since five. It’s seven now and I still haven’t heard anything from him – not even a text, and that’s after I texted him earlier.
I glance at the clock and sigh. Maybe he’ll call a little later. I pick up the remote to change the channel when the doorbell rings. I smile instantly, thinking it’s him, but when I open the door, it’s not him at all. It’s his driver – Amos.
“Hey, Amos. What are you doing here?”
“Khenji told me to pick you up.”
“He did?” I ask frowning after clearly hearing what he said. I follow up with another question, asking, “Why would he do that? It’s a workweek—you know what, let me just call him. I don’t know why he sent you over here. I’m sorry. One sec. Do you want to come in?”
“No. I’ll wait out here,” he says and holds his left wrist with his right hand in front of him while looking around like he’s building security.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
I walk to the coffee table to get my cell and dial Khenji’s number.
He answers immediately. “Good evening, Livia.”
“Um…why is Amos here?”
“I said good evening.”
“Oh. Right. Good evening. Why is Amos here?”
“I told him to pick you up and bring you to me.”
“Why didn’t you mention anything to me about this beforehand?”
“I’m mentioning it now, angel. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.”
“Well, I have to work in the morning.”
“So do I. What does that have to do with my need to suck your tongue into my mouth and taste you, sweetheart?”
“Uh…” I’m speechless. He never talks to me this way, but something is unraveling inside of him in order for this straightforward version of him to emerge. Ever since I told him I loved him, he’s been more…open, shall we say.
I ask, “Why are you talking to me like this?”
“Why are you asking me questions instead of packing?”
Oh, he’s serious-serious…
He says, “Pack a bag and let Amos bring you to me. Or, do I need to come get you myself?”
“Wow. Okay, um…I’ll pack right now,” I say, confused and excited at the same time. I don’t want to keep him waiting, especially if he gon’ kiss me like he’s claiming.
“I love you, Livia.”
I smile. It’s the first time I’ve heard him say that he loves me over the phone. His voice makes me weak in my freakin’ knees. This man has infiltrated my heart and taken control of my senses. And I’m enjoying every second of it.
I say, “I love you, too, Khenji.”
“Thank you, now please, hurry and get to me.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”
I return to the front door and tell Amos I have to pack.
He smirks and says, “Take your time, Madam Livia.”
“Madam Livia,” I repeat. “I’ve been upgraded from ma’am.”
“I figure it’s appropriate being that my boss holds you in the highest of regards. Besides, I think you’re going to be around for a very long time.”
“I hope so.”
“You don’t need hope. You will be.”
I smile and say, “I’ll be right back.”
I jog to my bedroom, grab my overnight bag from the closet, and throw some clothes inside. I take a work outfit for tomorrow, shoes, a nightgown and undergarments. I grab my toothbrush, toothpaste, hair comb and brush, cosmetic bag, his favorite lotion and perfume. Before I leave the bathroom, I finger-comb my hair. I just got off work a couple of hours ago, so I still have on makeup and I’d changed into a gray loungewear pant set. I slide into some white sandals and with my purse and overnight bag, I’m out the door.
Amos takes my bag and puts it in the trunk, then he opens the back door for me to get inside the car.
When he starts driving, I say, “Hey, Amos, I’m curious about something.”
“What’s that, madam?”
“Why did you say I didn’t need hope when I said I hope I’m around for a long time?”
He grins and responds, “You know why.”
“Tell me. You’ve known Khenji longer than I have. Give me the inside scoop into his inner thoughts.”
“Here’s what I can tell you. Khenji is a very complicated man—yet he’s simple. And he’s in love with you.”
I smile and say, “I know.”
He adds, “He’s never been in love before.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve been his driver for nearly a decade. I know everything there is to know about him.”
I think about that and still find it shocking that a man like Khenji has never experienced love. He’s everything any woman would want.
As if he knows that’s my current train of thought, Amos says, “Let me put it this way—he’s never sent me to pick up a woman before. Only you. I’ve never seen him with a woman other than you. He’s never talked about women with me. He’s usually all work and no play. That’s it. I’m happy to see that he’s breaking his own rigid rules to finally let someone in. And trust me when I say this, madam—you are special if you were able to break down his walls. Special indeed.”
I don’t say anything more. I just sit in the backseat with a nervous stomach. I don’t even know why I’m nervous to see Khenji. We were together yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. We love each other. But this visit feels different. He’s never sent for me without telling me in advance. It makes me think he’s up to something and I’m clueless as to his next move, although he did say something about tasting my tongue.
The thought makes me shiver.
When I arrive, Amos puts in a code to clear the gate and then, after he parks, he gets my bag and brings it up the long row of stairs that leads to the front entrance. He opens the door, places the bag in the foyer and says, “Have a good night, Madam Livia.”
“You, too, Amos.” I look around for Khenji. He’s nowhere in sight. And it’s dark up in here. The only lights are the dim wall sconces. What the heck?
“Khenji? Where are you?”
I keep on walking and see the doors that lead to the courtyard by the pool are wide open.
I take a few steps there before I feel his hand wrap and squeeze around my neck from behind, stopping me in my tracks. I gasp. I close my eyes, pull in air, and release it slowly. I smell him. Oh, he’s so freakin’ intoxicating. Altogether, his presence is beguiling, and I love every aspect of his personality.
I nibble my lip and breathe, staying in this position as he holds me hostage. He pulls me close and squeezes my neck tighter, but not too tight that I can’t breathe. I hear him breathing. He gasps for breath, as if he’s struggling to resist urges. He probably is. And as for me – I’m liking this a little bit too much.
“Khenji.”
“Shh,” he says, loosening his grip on my neck and sliding his index finger into my mouth. He’s being adventurous, so I suck his finger to see if he’s really about that life. He doesn’t try to pull it out of my mouth. I think I’ve unlocked a new level.
He steps in front of me, his dark, sable eyes bearing down on me like heat lamps. I’m instantly fever-stricken while watching the flames erupt in his eyes. This low, dark yellow light highlights his dark skin with shades of gold. He’s radiant. He’s an anomaly.
I’m thoroughly enchanted by him.
He removes his finger and lowers his mouth to mine briefly. His lips brush against mine like he’s teasing me. Then he touches my nose with the tip of his and drags it across my cheek like he’s committing my scent to memory. He plants a kiss on the center of my forehead and trawls his top lip down the bridge of my nose. When he gets to my mouth, he swipes his tongue across my lips. Shivers crawl up my spine. He kisses my chin and returns to my mouth with a vengeance. His tongue slides into my mouth like it belongs there, and I willingly accept it.
My body shudders as our tongues intertwine. As we kiss hungrily and recklessly, like we never have before. This is maddening. It’s overwhelming. It’s torturous the way he’s using his tongue to kiss me with expert precision, like he’s the creator of the French kiss is mind-blowing. He turns his head at angles to reach every corner of my mouth and whips my tongue with his. Every time I moan, he goes deeper, seeking to consume even those. He’s relentless. Focused. Determined. Determined to bathe my mouth until my knees buckle. Until I completely seize and yield to his control. So, that’s what I do. I let him have whatever he wants. The power is his.
He continues kissing me, his hand resting on both sides of my face as he drives this kiss in whatever direction he wants it. And when he finally pulls his mouth away from mine, he drags his tongue down to my chin and back up to my lips again, taking more kisses. He can’t get enough. He kisses his way to my ear, wraps his arms tight around me, and rasps, “You’re mine now, and you always will be.”
“And you’re mine,” I say.
“And I always will be,” he tells me with dilated pupils and even darker eyes as he stares like he could bite me. I low-key want him to.
Now that we’re not trying to swallow each other, I see he’s dressed in a black suit, looking fine as fine can be. My goodness, he’s a beautiful man. It fills me with pride that he’s mine.
He takes me by the hand and leads me to the courtyard where I see a round table set up with red rose petals surrounding it. There are candles. Food. Wine. The outdoor firepit is lit. This has to be the most romantic setting I’ve ever seen at somebody’s house.
“Khenji, what’s all of this?”
“Dinner for my queen.”
I smile.
He smiles.
He pulls out a chair for me and when I sit down, he stands behind me and angles my head upward, taking an upside-down kiss. A wet one. A sloppy one. One that has me fidgeting in my seat.
Freakin’ amazing.
I don’t know how he went from being afraid to touch me to this, but I’m loving every tongue-tangling, lip-sucking minute of it.
He sits down and looks at me. He doesn’t say a word. Just stares, glancing at my lips and back up to my eyes again. His lips part, but he closes them again. A slow smile builds on his face.
“Eat,” he says.
I lift the cover from my plate to reveal a beautiful plate of lamb chops with brussel sprouts and macaroni and cheese with crab meat.
“This looks really good.”
“Eat,” Khenji tells me again.
I look up at him, catching the longing in his eyes. I begin eating and then he starts on his meal.
“I have to ask you something,” he says.
“Okay.”
“If you had to make a decision right now if you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me, what would your answer be?”
“That’s an easy question,” I respond. “My answer would be yes—a definite yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
I notice his Adam’s apple bobble as he swallows deeply. Then he asks, “Why are you in love with me, Livia?”
“Really, Khenji?”
He raises his brows. “That’s not an answer, babygirl.”
Beaming, I say, “You are the epitome of the man I always dreamed I’d be with. I like your ways, your mannerisms. I like the way you talk to me. I like the way I feel when I’m with you. You care for me. You love me. You move me to want to be a better person. You’re my other half. My soulmate. You’re heaven sent. I know in my heart that we belong together.”
He brings his hand to his mustache and takes a contemplative swipe.
“Are you going to eat?” I ask him.
“I was, but now I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
Standing, he says, “Because there’s something else I need to do.”
“Wait—where are you going?”
“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I’m just standing up.”
“Yeah, but why?”
He removes a black box from his pocket.
My heart sinks to my ankles. Is that…is that what I think it is?
“Oh my God,” is all I can say after I determine that it is what I think it is. My entire body shakes. My hands are trembling. “Khenji,” I say, short of breath.
He lowers to one knee beside my chair before turning my body toward him.
Tears spill out of my eyes. I’m all-out crying now. Shaking and crying. Hyperventilating.
“Livia, my girl,” he begins. “My life has changed so much since meeting you and I don’t want to go back to the way I was. I want us to be happy—to start a life together and be each other’s peace. I want you to be my forever, Livia. Will you marry me?”
I’m panting and dabbing my nose while trying to wipe tears away at the same time. I slide out of my chair and fall right into his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and cry.
He allows me to do so. He doesn’t try to hurry me along. He just lets me cry. When I can finally get some sort of handle on my feelings, I pull back and look at him. With shaky hands, I touch his face and ask, “You want to marry me?”
He wipes my tears and says, “Yes. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Then make me the happiest man in the world. Marry me, Livia.”
I nod and say, “Yes, I will marry you,” And then I’m back to crying profusely on his shoulder again.
I wake up in the middle of his Khenji’s bed, surrounded by his manly scent that’s embedded in these covers. I don’t remember how I got here. I must’ve cried myself to sleep.
I sit up, immediately looking around for Khenji when I hear him say, “Hey, beautiful.”
He’s behind me. I don’t know if I woke him or if he was just lying there. He has on his shirt and pants, lying on top of the covers.
I ask, “Did you ask me to marry you or was I dreaming?”
“It was no dream, sweetheart. I asked you to marry me. You said yes and then cried yourself to sleep. And I’ve been right here for an hour, watching you.”
I look at my left hand and see the rock he slid on there. I’m getting married to the man of my wildest dreams and I have never in life been as happy as I am right now.
He moves closer, kisses me and says, “Starting now, you live here. No more leaving me. I want to wake up every morning and see your face. Understood?”
“Yes,” I say, staring into his eyes.
“Is that what you want?”
“More than anything.”
He kisses my lips again and then tells me, “We’re getting married this weekend. In France. I made the arrangements last week, and we’ll be there for two full weeks.”
I smile since that tells me he already knew I would say yes to his proposal. Ain’t nothing sexier than a chocolate, confident man.
“Do you foresee any issues with that?” he inquires.
Yeah, I foresee issues. I have clients booked for the next two weeks. Am I going to worry about that right now? Nope! I’m going to go get my life and come back to the States Khenji Halifax’s wife. Everything else can wait.
“No, I don’t foresee any issues.”
“Is this what you want?”
“Yes, more than anything.”
“You have a passport, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Good. By the way, your new car is being delivered in the morning. Your name will be on the deed to this house and all my vacation homes. I’m making you the beneficiary on all of my accounts and life insurance policies. You’ll have a new iPhone in the morning and you already know the key code to the house.”
I grimace. He picks up on it right away and asks, “Why are you frowning?”
“It seems like a bit much.”
“What does?”
“Everything. I already have a car—”
“You do, but not one that a billionaire’s wife drives.”
“I get that, but all I want is you, Khenji. I don’t need all this extra stuff,” I tell him, speaking from my heart and the depth of love I have for this man.
He takes my hand, leaves a kiss on the back of it, and says, “I know you do, but certain perks come with a man like me, angel. I have to give you the world, even if you don’t want it.”
He kisses me and says, “Get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning. I need you well rested right now.”
I move close to him and lay my head on his chest. He closes his arms around me. This peace is unmatched. I’m in the arms of the man I love. It shouldn’t get any better than this, but I know it will. This weekend, he’ll be my husband.