Page 11 of Mafia Kings & Wedding Rings

Thunder rumbled as the clouds shifted and became gray.

Even more reason for me to haul ass so I didn’t get caught up in a damn monsoon.

It was that time of year when it would rain for days, then stop, then start all over again.

You had to take advantage of the sunshine when you could.

I arrived in front of the Marek building with seven minutes to spare.

Tossing my keys to the valet, I let him park since I didn’t have time and stepped inside like I owned that bitch. Technically, I did.

“You said he knew what time—” Staten sounded irritated talking to Ivo when I strolled into the conference room.

“I’m here,” I grumbled, mouth full of an apple Danish I grabbed outside the door, along with a cup of coffee.

Both of my brothers appeared annoyed with me as they lined up on one side.

“A nigga was hungry. I still got five minutes.” I held up my icy Richard Mille in their faces with the Danish hanging out my mouth for dear life.

“Let’s get this shit over with. I got shit to do,” Staten grumbled, tugging on the tie around his neck.

“You all spiffed up. I see you,” I teased, reaching out and pretending to wipe some dirt off his shoulder. “Looking just like Pops, even got that grumpy ass expression down. Does this mean you are staying? I mean, you here.”

Staten swatted my hand away and continued to mug the shit out of me, which only made the shit funnier as Ivo cracked a small smile.

“Fuck you,” Staten growled.

“The hell wrong with you? You need some pussy?” I queried, only half joking.

The nigga was tight as hell and needed to relax.

“What I need is for you muhfuckas to stay the fuck out my business. Ma doing enough. Between her, the kids, and Cyra?—”

“What that bitch do?” Ivo questioned.

“I sent her ass back to Chicago. She was on bullshit and not doing what the fuck she was brought here to do, which is help take care of these fucking kids. Got the house a mess, they looking a mess, and she just want to sit around like she some damn pampered princess or some shit.” This was the most I’d heard my brother speak consecutively since arriving back home.

He usually had one or two-word responses and a lot of grunts and mumbling. He even acted like Justus when he was in a mood. A fucking grouch.

“So what Ma got to do with this, and what you doing with the kids?” Ivo pried.

“She had Sol submit a request to some freelance website. She’s looking for a nanny to help with the kids while I work. So yeah, I guess that means we sticking around.”

“Shit, sounds cool to me.” I shrugged. “What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know this person for them to be around my kids like that,” Staten objected.

“Yeah, but the house is on the property, and you know damn well somebody gon’ be checking on them kids,” Ivo reasoned. “Marcella still rules with an iron fist and don’t shit move around there without her knowing.”

“And to be honest, they bad as fuck. The nanny the muhfucka you need to worry about.” I took another bite of my Danish.

Ivo chuckled, but Staten looked like he wanted to lay my ass out.

His glower slowly morphed into a hint of simper he couldn’t contain, and the nigga miraculously laughed.

Shit shocked the fuck out of me and Ivo.

I hadn’t seen him drop the tension in his shoulders since he’d been here, so him being amused was unexpected.

“Ivo, check his pulse and shit, make sure the nigga ain’t having a stroke.” I motioned with the Danish in my hand.

Staten swiped his beard and shook his head.

“Nah. You right. I’m just thinking about that grocery store run last night.”

“You took all four of them to the store? The hell wrong with you? Oh, I forgot you are a glutton for punishment,” Ivo jested.

“Shit was like trying to wrangle a bunch of animals at the zoo.” Staten leaned against the long conference table.

“You probably need one of them old ass granny types. Not Marcella though. She crazy and abusive,” I pointed out.

“Nah, you was just bad as hell,” Ivo recalled.

“Either way, I got an interview lined up already for today, so we need to wrap this shit up so I can get to it,” Staten voiced.

“Before we do that, here.” Ivo dug into his pocket and produced a brand-new iPhone 16 and held it out.

“The fuck is that?” he sneered, looking at that shit like a foreign object.

Throwing my head back, I chortled because I knew he was going to have something to say.

“Your phone. You ain’t in the trap, nigga. I got everybody programmed in there and you on the family plan,” Ivo explained.

“The fuck, you getting me a phone like I’m yo’ side bitch or something.”

“Just take it, fool!” Ivo shoved it into his chest, and Staten snatched the device from him.

Armon shot a few texts to me as we watched other board members pile into the room together.

Ivo stepped up and introduced or reintroduced Staten to certain members, basically inaugurating him as the new CEO of Marek Industries.

A man of few words, Staten greeted everyone and stepped back.

He’d never been much of a talker anyway.

Ivo was still running the show; Staten just had to play the background, but at the same time let his presence be known and felt in other ways if that shit made sense.

I’d watched my father and grandfather in this position through the course of my life and had no doubt my big brother could carry the torch.

I sensed some of them were skeptical, and I noticed Staten clocking their expressions as well.

One thing you could never label bro was a fool though.

He peeped everything and didn’t speak on it until necessary.

By the time Ivo was done explaining the open-door policy and how things weren’t changing but improving, we were slapping hands and laughing it up with our investors until they piled out of the room one by one.

I knew most of them were just trying to check our temps after losing Justus.

The point of this entire meeting was to show them that we were still a force, with or without his leadership.

Muhfuckas were damn sure going to test us though, which meant we had to get ready and stay ready on all fronts.

All this extra shit had me needing to let one off, so I hit my sneaky link on my way out.

I told my brothers I would catch up to them later.

By the time I got to the car, Bella, my lil’ fine shit, was hitting me back with the drip emoji, and I knew she was with the shit.

Grinning, I jumped into my car and immediately started her up.

Our usual honeycomb hideout was on the route to check on my mama at work, so I would make perfect timing when I slid up on her.

“Brick, that you?” Bella’s soft octave poured through the small studio apartment space.

“It’s like eight thirty in the morning, mama. Who you think it is?” I closed the door behind me and locked it.

This space was set up just for our liking.

Bella was a freak, and baby had like ten years on me.

She was also married with a whole husband out here.

She owned and ran Glo Works with said husband.

I know, shit sounds crazy, but we’d been fucking around since she slid into my DMs asking me to endorse her product.

Since doing so, her sales had skyrocketed and were now a household brand that other people swore by.

Every chance she got to express her gratitude, she sure as hell did.

Emerging from the hall where the large bathroom was, she tiptoed out in black heels with the fur on them, a lace nightie, and a silk robe left open, leaving none of her assets to the imagination.

Bella was also a mother of three, but she was fine as hell.

I didn’t mind stretch marks and some cellulite.

Shit let me know you was born a woman. I didn’t have time to be guessing and playing games.

The minute a muhfucka tried to play me on that tranny shit, it was lights out for they ass.

You had to be used to not getting pussy if you couldn’t spot a man when you saw ’em.

Don’t get me wrong, these bitches were fine and could pull off being a woman, but to the trained eye, you had to know better.

“Damn, you did all this for a nigga with the sun still out?” I flirted, watching her saunter over to me like she was on a catwalk.

“Nah, fuck that. Get on your knees and crawl.” Ripping my suit jacket off, I dropped into a black leather chair near the windows overlooking the city and eased back.

My dick was harder than concrete watching her get on all fours and creep toward me.

When she pressed a hand against my thighs one at a time, I saw nothing but lust bouncing around those captivating orbs.

Gently, she stroked my man, never taking her eyes off me as her fingers did the work to unbuckle my pants for me.

“You must miss me. I don’t get this type of treatment this early in the day,” I tittered, throwing my head back and letting her mouth wrap around my dick. “Fuck,” I groaned, immediately caught up in the pleasure as all the bullshit I’d been dealing with slowly drained out of me.

Bella hummed along my shit, bobbing and weaving like she was trying to suck the anecdote to some shit out of me.

Digging my nails into the arms of the chair, my ass cheeks tightened in my seat.

When all the blood rushed from my head and feet, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I erupted.

Finally managing to peel my eyes open, I caught her eyes dancing with amusement at how twisted up she had me.

Bitch literally had me in the palm of her fucking hands, and there was nothing I could do about it.

When she did that suction shit, it was a wrap.

My nut spilled out of me like running lava into her mouth and down her fucking throat.

She already had kids, so she damn sure wasn’t trying to have more.

Bella didn’t give me a chance to catch my breath before she was working me back into an erect state so I could murder that pussy.

My baby might have been older, but that pussy was still eighteen with a fire ass grip.

She eased her tight ass walls down my shit and bucked like a cowgirl.

At this point, she was fucking me, and I didn’t have no qualms about the shit.

I let her do her thing, fucking shit up until she was jumping off my dick and swallowing the second nut she’d pulled out of me.

“Fuck, girl. It’s too early for you to be trying to put a nigga to sleep and shit. I gotta go see my mama.” Huffing and puffing with sweat making my shirt stick against my chest, I rolled my head against the back of the chair.

“Mmm, tell her thank you for carrying you and all that dick,” Bella joked, wiping the corners of her mouth and hovering over me victoriously.

I wasn’t even ashamed that I was her little young nigga sneaky link.

This relationship was beneficial to us both.

Bella didn’t want us in the public eye any more than I did, which is why the shit worked.

She had an image to maintain, just like me.

The sex was lit, and when we were done, we could go about our shit. That’s what I liked most.

“You wild.” I chuckled and sat up to adjust myself.

“I sent you tickets to this event coming up. Well, I sent them to Armon, and he should get them today or tomorrow. We got a red carpet; all of the press is going to be there. I’m launching a new line, and I thought you might want to come out and support.”

“Word? That’s what’s up. What’s this one for?”

“Oh, it’s this oil for pregnant women to help reduce stretch marks. I know everybody and they mama has one now, but not like this, and I have results and testimonies that are going to show why it’s not like that other shit.” I liked that Bella was about her business and confident in that shit.

In most aspects, she was the perfect woman, but I damn sure couldn’t bring her home to my mama and granny. Them two would curse me right into a grave right beside my pops and grandpops. I ain’t have time for that shit.

“No doubt. Bet. I’ll show up and make an appearance.”

“And a date?” Bella checked with me, pulling her robe around her waist and tying it.

I don’t know why she acted brand new when she got that nut off. I knew she was far from innocent.

“Say what?”

“You need to have a date, Brick. There can’t be any indicator of anything between us. It just looks crazy if you don’t show up. Raphael is the one who told me to make sure I had you on the guest list.”

“Good ol’ Raphael.” I snickered at the mention of her weak ass husband.

“I’m serious,” she pouted, stomping her foot to emphasize her point.

“Chill, mama. I got you. I ain’t gon’ make a scene either.

I got some shit in the works anyway. I can’t talk about it right now, but an announcement is coming.

You’ll know it when everybody else does.

” I stood and made sure my pants were straight before grabbing my suit jacket and slipping back into it.

“Thank you.” A satisfied grin swept over her lips and she moved closer. “And thanks for the nut too,” she purred.

“Be easy, mama. I’ll see you later.” I leaned in to kiss her cheek.

I tried not to give women false hope. I found that being honest and open with them got you a lot farther.

Bella couldn’t get mad for what wasn’t between us when she had her own shit going on.

Would another woman understand or tolerate the situation?

That was hard to say. If the relationship was established as fake from jump though, I saw no reason why either of us couldn’t do what the fuck we wanted, as long as that shit was kept lowkey.

On the drive over to Guardian Lodge, I let my thoughts get the best of me.

I wanted to fulfill my pops’ dying request more than anything, at the same time, I was a little resentful of him putting all this shit on me from the grave.

Shit didn’t seem fair, but if I wanted what belonged to me, it would come with a sacrifice.