Page 8

KAIRO

C ash's phone had been vibrating all morning.

She was laying her thick ass next to me, sleeping peacefully and snoring every so often like she drove trucks.

Her laying in my arms was the only thing that stopped me from getting up to see who the fuck had been blowing her up.

She could talk until she was blue in the face about me being jealous or possessive and how she didn't like it.

But I told her don't activate my demons, and I'll be damn if she didn't hit the kill switch.

Rubbing her butt as she laid with her ass toward me, my dick got bricked up again.

She wasn't going to sleep too much longer because I needed that; I was already addicted.

Then she rolled over, freeing my arm as her phone vibrated again.

I slid out of the bed and walked over to grab it.

It was an unknown number, so I answered it.

"What's up?" I said into the phone like I owned it.

"Um, I was looking for Cashmere." It was a nigga, with a thick accent that I couldn't put my finger on.

"Who is this?" I shot back as I leaned against her dresser and waited for a response.

"This is her husband." He said back, and my blood instantly started boiling.

"She's right here. Hold on," I said as I put the phone on speaker and slid back into bed.

Climbing between her legs, I placed the phone on the pillow and kissed her cheek and the side of her neck.

"Cash, wake up," I said between kisses.

I don't know how the fuck she was able to sleep through me talking on the phone, but she was still snoring. Dick was better than Nyquil.

"Hmmm," she finally stirred.

"Your husband is on the phone, Ma." I chuckled as her eyes shot open, realizing what I had just said—a look of confusion washed over her face.

Using my knee to push hers apart and get between her legs, I rubbed her clit.

My dick hardened at the sight of her pussy in the natural light of the sun.

It was fat, pretty, and freshly waxed. I leaned down to kiss her.

She was hesitant at first, but she eventually fell into my kiss and let out a moan.

Looking down at the screen, this nigga was waiting on the phone patiently. But he didn't know he was about to get exactly what he was waiting for.

"Baby, tell him to stop calling you," I said as I replaced my finger with my dick and ran it up and down her slit. She moaned, but she didn't speak. I took that as a challenge; she was playing with me.

"You not gone tell him?" I said as I slid back into her with a vengeance.

"Fuckkkkk, stop calling me." She said as I pinched her nipples, and she hissed. I stroked her, and in seconds, her pussy was soaked for me.

"Tell this nigga whose pussy this is Cashmere." I barked, looking her in her eyes. Eyes that couldn't stay focused and kept rolling in the back of her head.

"Yours, Kairo, my pussy is yours." She cried. The nigga hung up, and I continued to fuck her into the mattress. She shook through another orgasm and then dragged herself to the edge of the bed.

She stared at me with those innocent eyes and that one dimple as I leaned over and kissed her.

"Don't even think about going back to sleep. I want to take you out today." I offered as I looked over her naked body. Her eyes went from lust to confusion.

"Take me out? Take me out where Kairo?" She asked as she looked at me like I had just violated her.

"We can figure it out when we get there. My folks are having a welcome home gathering for me, and I want you to come with me, too." I laid back against the headboard as I waited for her response. She said nothing, so I pressed her.

"What's good, Cashmere?" I gritted. The way she was looking was lowkey agitating me.

"Ro, do you think that it's wise that we're out and about in the free word four days after I just got you out of a double homicide charge?

If someone were to see us together, every case I've ever tried would be called into question.

Thank you, but no thank you. This is still my profession. " She snapped as she exhaled.

I chuckled. "So what you saying is, you can fuck me, but it's nothing else? Bet." I snapped back at her. I gave her too many opportunities to change her mind, and now she was really about to wake up some shit she didn't want to.

"That's not what I'm saying." She tried to reason as she reached out to touch my arm.

"I know, baby, so get dressed. You're going to meet your family." I kissed her forehead. She scoffed before she slid to the edge of the bed, picked out clothes and headed to shower.

3 YEARS LATER

Getting off the private jet, I was just glad to have my feet on the ground. The turbulence made me sick as hell, and I couldn't wait to land. As soon as the three of us got off, we all started pouring sweat. The heat in Puerto Rico was set to hell, and if I could get any blacker, I would be.

I had agreed to a family vacation for my mother's birthday, and I knew it would be a hell of a weekend.

My siblings, Kaira, Kaino, Kaire, and Kaice, had already touched down and were waiting for us at the house.

They had brought their spouses with them, as well as my nieces and nephews.

It was the first time that all of us had been in the same place since a nigga came home, and we were about twenty deep on the island.

But any chance I got to make up for lost time was always welcomed.

"Mama, where you going?" I questioned as my mother walked in the direction of a street vendor instead of going to the black truck that I had booked to transport us. A closer look made me chuckle because she was going to buy a daiquiri.

I waited on her outside the door as she reached into her bag, gave the vendor a twenty-dollar bill, and swayed back in the direction of the truck. Helping her inside, I got in behind her and closed the door.

"It's my birthday weekend. I'm on vacation, and I got my babies and grandbabies in the same place.

What could be better than that?" She asked as she twisted open the top and took a sip.

I looked at her and smiled before I turned away and looked out the window as we rode down the street.

Passing the stores, markets, and food stands on every block, I took in the scene around me.

I was no stranger to traveling; I had been to many different countries and places, but I was always there for business.

It was rare that I got the chance to chill, so this was different for me.

"Ayo, stop!" I barked at the chauffeur as I widened my eyes to make sure that they were working. He hit the brakes hard. The horns of the cars honked from behind us. That didn't matter to me.

I jumped out of the car and made my way through the rows of the shop, never taking my eyes off the woman I hadn't seen in three years, but I would know from anywhere.

Cashmere Savage. After I was released, we dated for six months.

She had my head gone, and I had never seen forever with any woman the way I saw it with her.

I respected that she wanted to keep her career, so I wasn't pressuring her to be public about us.

But shit ended, and I had nobody to blame for that but myself.

Going to Cash's contact, I called her phone for the fifth time.

We hadn't spoken since she left to go to the office this morning, and she hadn't responded to any of my messages asking if she wanted me to bring her lunch.

As it went to voicemail again, I hit a U-turn in the street and headed toward her office.

Truthfully, my mind started thinking the worst because she always made sure that she hit me back.

She had never gone hours without at least sending a nigga a message.

With her career, I know that for every person who loves her, two hate her.

She called me back as I neared the building, easing my thoughts.

"You good baby?" I asked as soon as it connected.

She didn't respond, and I could hear a commotion in the background.

"Thank you for letting me take you on a date," the voice in the background said.

"A date? You think this is a date? This is a business meeting." She said as she giggled. I didn't need to hear anything else because the laughing already had me on a million. Cause what the fuck was so funny.

"A man could only wish, right?" He said back as she laughed again. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I thought about the fact that she had shared her location with me a while back. I checked to see if it was still turned on, and it was. I made my way to the restaurant where they were.

I passed by the side of the restaurant and saw her sitting outside on the patio with a drink in her hand, still amused. She was too busy entertaining this nigga to even notice my truck.

Throwing it in park, I walked into the restaurant and went straight to the door that led to the tables outside. As soon as I rounded the corner, she looked at me, and her eyes bulged.

I took a seat beside her and faced the nigga she was talking to as I sat my gun on the table.

"Since he's a comedian, I want to know every joke this nigga just told, and if I don't laugh, I'm going to air this bitch out."

He sat back in his chair and threw his hands in the air.

"Ro, this is a business meeting, please." She said in a harsh whisper, and I could see the embarrassment all over her face, but I didn't give a fuck.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked. As soon as he said it, I picked up the gun and hit him in the face with the butt of it. She screamed as I went around the table and hit him a couple more times. The patrons of the restaurant were running and screaming for someone to call the police.

"You need to go." She said as she tried to push me away and kneeled to tend to the nigga on the ground.

I can still hear her crying when I called her that night.

"I'm done with this shit Kairo! You're a liability to me. How you act is not normal! How could you say you love me and do something like this? I'm lying to the police for you! Thank God those cameras weren't working outside. Just keep your distance. It's over."

Cash held true to her word. She never forgave me for that shit.

She blocked me from her phone, changed her gate code, and kept her mouth closed every time I showed up to talk to her.

I ended up spending three months in the county for that shit at the restaurant, and when I got out, she was gone.

Her firm was being run by someone else, her phone was disconnected, and she no longer lived at her place.

Holding my breath as I got closer to the woman, the tattoo of the "K" on her wrist as she flipped through dresses confirmed that it was really her. It matched the "C" on mine.

"You not tired of running from me, Cashmere?" I leaned down into her ear. She jumped and faced me quickly before she stood frozen, the look of terror all over her face. It wasn't normal, almost like she was afraid of me. Before I could address it, we were interrupted by a kid running up to her.

"This one, Mommy, I want this one." He said as he held a toy up in her direction, and she dragged her eyes from him back up to me as my nostrils flared.

In front of me was a child whose midnight shade of brown was a complete contrast to hers but a replica of mine.

His eyes and smile as he ran up to her and held the toy in the air were familiar.

The frustration as he threw it on the ground when she ignored him—was all me.

I kneeled as her breathing hitched. I came face to face with the little brown boy with the freshly done braids that fell down his back. He was well put together, not a wrinkle or speck of dirt in sight.

"What's up, man? I'll get that for you." I said as his smile returned. He handed it to me.

"What's your name, buddy?" As soon as I asked, she brought him closer to her.

"Kash"

"Okay, Kash, that's a cool name. What's your last name?" I questioned.

"That's enough, Kairo… he's a child." I gave her a look that silenced her immediately.

"Carter," he said as I sucked in a sharp breath. Slowly, I rose to face her; she was like a deer caught in headlights.