“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 printedwith 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 morethan 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 beento 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.