13

B ully

I studied the way my father loved my mother. A few things thing he took very seriously were listening to her, being thoughtful and considerate, and taking care of her wants and needs. Before I left, I’d made it my mission to be so in tune with Innvy that I could pick up on her wants and needs before she even expressed them.

Last night, after hearing about her not going out much without me, I made the mental note to clear a day out of every weekend to take her on a date. I also ordered the limited edition Clase Azul Pink since it was her favorite kind of tequila. I didn’t mind paying three thousand for it because I knew she’d keep the pink bottle forever.

Now, we were looking at new timepieces because I noticed the solar one she had had a tighter fit than it should’ve, so she didn’t wear it for long periods of time. She’d been saying she would go and get more links added since I’d been back, but Innvy hardly ever took the time to do stuff for herself unless it was really important. So I decided to replace it altogether.

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking up at me with innocent eyes.

Chuckling, I nodded as I gripped her waist. “Yeah, baby. Is this the one you want?”

She looked down at the glass case where the Lady-Datejust Rolex rested. The oyster, 28 mm, yellow gold timepiece had diamonds and was just under $155,000, so I could understand why she wanted to confirm she could get it. That was a hell of a lot of money for a watch, but there was a method behind my madness.

“Yes, but I can get a vintage one that’s far less expensive,” she reasoned. “There’s one for like five K at—”

“You remember the first time we talked about watches?”

A slow smile spread her lips as she nodded. “I do. I was telling you about how I wanted to go to Osaka, Japan to get a vintage Rolex to add to my collection and that I wanted to get certain pieces of jewelry, including pearls and watches, that I could pass down to my children.”

“So this will be the first, and you can give it to Innah. We’ll still take that trip to Japan so you can get one or two there too. How’s that sound?”

Tugging her lip between her teeth, she sniffled and nodded as she blinked back tears.

“I think it sounds just like you—perfect.”

* * *

One extra day turned into three. It felt irresponsible as hell, but we needed this time to ourselves. Though Bianca and Hamilton said they were cool with it, I still had my mama go get Innah Monday. I felt like Bianca still didn’t trust me and was giving Innvy a hard time when we called to check in on my princess. So I made the decision to have my parents keep her so Mama B could stop stewing. I didn’t want her around my baby girl with that negative energy toward me.

Innvy and I enjoyed every minute of our time here. We spent the rest of the days doing interactive dates instead of the standard dinner and a movie. We went to an adult arcade, a fluid art store, an interactive sports arena, and a cowboy bar that was wild as fuck with some strong drinks and good ass hot dogs. I’d never put Dallas on my list of places to visit often but it was officially on my list.

Since we were flying private, we were chilling in the lounge for about thirty minutes before it was time for our short flight. It was never over an hour and a half, and since it was just us, it would probably only be an hour and five minutes. I checked emails from my business manager while Innvy had a virtual meeting with her staff in preparation for her return.

When she ended the meeting she told me, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Wassup?” I asked, setting my phone down and giving her my full attention.

“I’ve been looking into it. When we get back home, let’s do a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form. Your name needs to be on Innah’s birth certificate, and I want to change her last name to yours.”

I won’t lie and say it didn’t hurt my heart when I found out she’d given Innah her last name but I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t there and she didn’t know if or when I would be. Unintentionally, I’d put her in a position to be a temporary single mother. It killed me not to reach out to her when I knew her due date had passed, but I also knew if I talked to her, I would immediately return home, and I had to finish that shit for Rocco so he could never call upon me again.

“You sure, baby?” I checked, taking her hand into mine. “I want that… but only if you want me to have it.”

“You deserve it. She does too. I want to do this for the both of you.”

I used her hand to lift her from her seat and put her on my lap. Cupping her chin, I kissed her tenderly.

“Did I tell you I love you today?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, but you can tell me again.”

After kissing her quickly yet sweetly, I told her, “I love you.”

Innvy wrapped her arms around my neck. “Mm… I love you too.”

* * *

Back Home

The moment Innvy’s arms wrapped around me from behind, I felt peace. I felt secure. I felt like I was home. That’s what she’d always been to me. That’s what we’d been to each other. Home. From our first night together, there had always been this inexplicable connection between us. We never felt like strangers—always felt like soul mates. And after our crazy return home, her embrace was exactly what I needed.

We underestimated baby girl’s attachment to us—especially Innvy. We assumed since she’d be with people that she was familiar with that Innah wouldn’t miss us too bad. While she was her normal self while we were gone, as soon as she saw us, she had a fit . Baby girl wailed, hard and loud, in Innvy’s arms for like an hour straight. And it wasn’t a normal cry; it was an angry cry. She did not want to let Innvy go. She literally clung to her, and that made me feel like shit.

We didn’t even leave my parents’ home immediately because we couldn’t tear them away from each other. After a little over an hour, Innah finally settled down. We headed home, and by that point, she wanted me. Her little eyes rolled and fists were balled as I apologized for staying away so long. Eventually, she went from just sitting in my lap with my shirt balled in her fist to actually babbling and interacting with me like she normally did.

Innvy and I did her food and nighttime routine together. After I read her a few books and put her to sleep, I went to my bedroom to shower. I wasn’t sure where Innvy had been… more than likely in the theater or game room.

As she moaned, she brushed her nose against my back then kissed it. “You always smell so good,” she complimented.

“Mm.” I turned to wrap my arms around her and face her. After giving her a kiss, I told her, “And you always look and taste good,” before kissing her again.

Innvy released a content sigh as she kissed me back. My hands lowered to her ass, and I pulled her close.

“Sweetheart, we can’t ever do that again,” I said sadly against her lips.

“I know,” she agreed, exhaling a shaky breath. “Not like that at least.”

Hand in hand, we walked over to my bed and climbed in. “I thought she’d be okay since she was with her grandparents. Princess was really mad at us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby that mad.”

“I wonder where she gets her temper from,” Innvy teased, getting comfortable on my chest. “But seriously, I wasn’t expecting that either. She has a thing about strangers and doesn’t want to be away from me when they are around, but I didn’t think she’d respond to our absence like that.”

“So… next time we take a trip, we have to bring her,” I decided, lifting her hand to kiss. “Maybe we can find a travel nanny or pay one of our mothers to do it. That way when we want alone time, they can have her and we can focus on each other.”

“I like that idea, because we definitely can’t stay away for that long again until she’s much older. The max has proven to be a three day weekend. She can’t go any longer without seeing us right now.”

“Are you going to have a busier week?”

Innvy groaned. “Yes. I had all my appointments for the last few days pushed back, so I’ll be working closer to fourteen to sixteen hours instead of my usual ten to twelve.”

Kissing the top of her head, I carefully considered my words. I didn’t want to make it seem like I wanted to come back home and change things for her, but her long days weren’t going to work.

“I’m going to say something, and I want you to hear exactly what I’m saying. Don’t add to it or take away,” I warned.

“Uh oh.” Her grip around me tightened, causing me to chuckle. “Okay. What is it?”

“I’m proud of the success you’ve achieved, but when you launch your skincare line, won’t you be even busier come this fall? Your days are already packed, Innvy. I’ll be starting back up with my responsibilities soon, but I don’t want to feel like I never see you and Princess. Is it possible for you to work less hours and we align our schedules so we work at the same time? When I get done with mentoring and the stores, I want my girls.”

Innvy sat up and leaned against the headboard, so I did the same.

“Admittedly, I started working such long hours because I was avoiding home. Avoiding not having you. All I did was work and have the baby, with an occasional pop out on the weekend when Neo and the guys forced me. Work is my passion, but it’s also been a distraction. I can cut back some now.”

Pushing her hair off her shoulder, I kissed it. “I’m sor—”

“Mm mm,” she interrupted before giving me a quick kiss. “Stop apologizing. That was my choice on how to handle your absence. While I don’t regret it, I knew it wasn’t the best.”

“So how will that look for you? If you start working lighter days, will that cut into your weekends?”

“Not really. I’ve been thinking about bringing another esthetician on. I can niche down and do only what I want instead of offering so much. She can do the things I don’t want to do, and I’ll still keep my core clients and weekends off.”

“That’s sounds good, Angel. I don’t mentor daily, and you know their breaks are mine, so I’ll have summers off completely at the schools. With the stores, I can pop in whenever. Asylum’s safehouses are what usually take up the most of my time, but now that we’ve all had babies, he’s brought in a second team, so we won’t have to have those long days anymore.”

“We all need to get together soon. We haven’t done so since you’ve been back. You need to see the way Marz is like the little protector of all the babies. He isn’t like that with just his little sister Merci. It’s the cutest little thing. They all follow him around, even if they have to crawl. Innah rolls on her belly trying to keep up.”

That visual made me chuckle. Marz got that honest from Merc. We all were protectors of whoever was in need, but Merc had always been the one to intentionally step up in any and all situations to lead. I couldn’t wait to watch our children grow up and see who and what they were going to be.

“I’ll set that up,” I agreed, “but for now…” I used her ankle to pull her back down onto the bed. “I want my dick to get together with your pussy.”

“Ooh, I love the sound of that, daddy.”

“Un uh. Don’t start that shit unless you want me to test how loud we can get. Princess has had an emotional day. You better behave so we won’t wake her up.”

Her giggle was like music to my ears, and it only increased when I started licking and kissing her neck. Those giggles turned into moans when I moved down to her nipples. And those moans turned into panting when I made my way between her legs. Keeping them spread, I lapped up her wetness like a cat with a bowl of milk.

Innvy’s chest heaved, and she took short breaths as I slurped her clit into my mouth and moaned. Her legs trembled and head flung back as she gripped my head. I watched her unravel—ragged breathing, eyes closed, mouth open, head flung back. Pleasing her always pleased me. My dick throbbed as her clit throbbed in my mouth.

When she whimpered and tugged her bottom lip into her mouth, I knew she was close.

“Moan for me,” I commanded, before licking from her asshole to the top of her clit, paying special attention to her opening.

“Ahh, yes, Bully,” she moaned, holding my neck to keep me in place.

“That’s right, baby. Let go. You deserve to cum.”

I focused my attention on the top of her clit, and only a few seconds passed before her whimpers returned. I lifted, wanting to see her walls pulse and her pussy leak. She had the gushiest pussy I’d ever experienced. I watched in awe as her cum slipped out of her before lowering myself to lick up every drop.

“Oh shit, bae.” Innvy panted and clawed at my shoulders as I sucked her clit and swirled my tongue around it at the same time. Her hums and moans always motivated me to give her more—and now was no different. I continued until she came again, and the only reason I lifted myself and wiped my mouth was because my dick wanted to feel the wet mess we’d created.

Using her ankle, I flipped her onto her hands and knees. Innvy had always been sentimental, so her favorite positions were those that allowed us to look in each other’s eyes. However, when I hit it from the back, I could make her cum quickly and repeatedly. As soon as I slipped into her wet walls, I arched her back and tightened my grip. She released a sizzling breath as I moaned and bit down on my bottom lip.

Innvy looked back at me briefly before burying her head in the pillow. I took a handful of her hair and pulled, lifting her head up. The connection of my body against hers, inside of hers, always felt like heaven on earth. Nothing could be higher than this—than my oneness with her. I had to make her my wife officially… soon.