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“W hy are you still up, sir?” I asked, standing in the doorway of Cartier’s room. Glancing around at the poster boards and decor, it reminded me of just how much my baby brother has grown. He’s no longer a baby anymore.

“Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” My face scrunched up, wondering what stress an eleven-year-old may have. I stepped into his room, plopping down on his bed right next to him.

“What’s going on?” The worried expression plastered across his handsome face concerned me. He watched me for a moment before finally breaking the silence.

“I think I’m going to go live with Nana Shelley after the new year.” I may seem dramatic, but his words felt like a dagger being twisted through my heart. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe correctly. My emotions shut down my ability to think straight.

“W-where is this coming from?” Twice in one night felt like a setup.

“I overheard you talking with Nana earlier, and I agree with her.” My hands trembled, and my heart rate beat rapidly. How could this make sense to them when it felt like the end of me?

“Hear me out, Yani. You and Justice are young, and this is a new life for you. You’ve been taking care of Cayden and me since we were born. It’s time for you to take care of yourself now.” Tears sprang to my eyes as I listened to his reasoning. From my peripherals, I saw Cayden walk into the room. He took a seat on the edge of the bed.

“What are y’all in here talking about?” He inquired. At this point, I wanted to break down completely.

“I told Yani about what we were discussing earlier.” Another jab to my soul.

“Oh,” Cayden observed me without saying too much.

“We want you to be happy, Yani. We aren’t babies anymore; you don’t have to feel obligated to take care of us.” Now, my defenses were up.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Of course, raising two boys at fourteen wasn’t what I planned; however, those were the cards life dealt me. Not once have I ever complained about my life. I’m genuinely confused about why this topic kept coming up.

"Do you want to leave? Am I missing something?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. We love being here with you, but we also want you to live your life. We’ve been a burden to you our whole lives, and we’re trying to set you free. I already have my permit. By next year, I’ll be able to drive Cartier and me to school. Granny knows her way around the kitchen, so we’ll be eating good,” Cayden reasoned. I felt as if I’d been ambushed, and it tore my feelings apart.

I took a deep breath in order to get my emotions back in check. My heartbeat rapidly while I attempted to process their words.

“First off, raising the two of you has never been, nor will it ever be, a burden to me.” Cayden passed me some Kleenex. The tears were heavy because all of this came from left field. I thought after I shut Nana down, the conversation ended for good.

“I want to understand where you’re coming from, but it’s hard for me. My life has no meaning without you two in it.”

“Yooo! Why ain’t nobody tell me we were having a family meeting?” Justice joked, standing in the doorway. I tried to wipe my tears discreetly, but my man knew me better than most.

“Whoa, who died?” He stepped into the room. His eyes burned a hole through me while he waited for one of us to clue him in.

“Our nana offered for Cartier and me to move in with her once the two of you get married.” I sobbed even harder, hearing it again. I hated the way this made me feel. I knew eventually they’d leave me after they graduated from high school, but not anytime soon.

“I’m confused. Why are y’all trying to leave?” Justice’s tone held the same frustration as mine.

“Nana thinks it’s better for us to live with her so the two of you can live your lives carefree.” My head remained buried in my hands. My heart broke into so many pieces as I listened to Cayden speak.

“What does that have to do with y’all moving out? I’m not sure I’m understanding this correctly. Nothing about our lives will change outside of Yani carrying my last name and, eventually, our children. When have the two of you ever stopped us from living our lives?” Those are my sentiments exactly. It felt as though they were saying we’d somehow missed out on life with them being here, which simply wasn't true.

“The two of you are raising kids that aren’t yours. We aren’t your responsibil-”

“Let’s go ahead and dead this conversation now. When I met Ciyani, I knew the two of you were a major part of her life. When I asked her to be my woman, I understood I’d be taking on a major role in your lives. I agreed to it because it was what I wanted. I mean no disrespect to your nana at all but fuck all that shit. This is your home, and ain’t nobody leaving out of this mothafucka until you’re grown and ready.

"You may not be my children, but you are my family. My responsibility. We’ve been doing this thing called life together for years now, and the two of us getting married won’t change this. We are a family, regardless of what anyone else thinks. Do you have any idea how lost we’d be without the two of you? Hell, we’re already struggling with Cayden graduating in a couple of years. We’re going to hold on to however many years we have left. Ain’t no way you thought we’d agree to let you go. I’m sorry, but it’s not happening.” Justice voiced all of my feelings on the subject. I wasn’t trying to take their choices from them, but their reasoning made no sense to me.

“We weren’t trying to hurt your feelings, Yani. We just don’t want to hold you back,” Cayden expressed.

“We are a family, and family sticks together. You can never be a burden in a place that you will belong in. Do you understand me?” Both boys nodded, then got up to hug Justice. It broke my heart for them to even think for one second we wouldn’t want them to come on this journey with us.

“I love y’all.”

“We love you too, Bro,” Cayden and Cartier called out. My heart melted like ice cream on a hot summer day. They were my reason. My motivation for everything I’ve done right in life. There would never be a life without them in it.

After we finished talking with the boys and sending them off to bed, Justice and I walked into the kitchen for a late-night snack. We were both quiet for a while. I knew I was in my thoughts, and I’m sure he was too.

“What was that about?” he inquired. I wish I had an answer for him, but I’m still confused. Don’t get me wrong. I understand the sentiment, but I didn’t agree with it. Our family works the way it is, and there’s no reason to change it now.

“I don’t know, Justice. Cartier told me he overheard the conversation I had with Nana Shelley earlier while we were at her house. It honestly caught me off guard. I know she means well, but I’ve been doing this my whole life. I’m not about to pass them off to the next family member just because I’m getting married. I love you so much, but I could never choose you over my brothers.”

“As your man, I would never ask you to do anything like that. I know how much they mean to you, and they mean the same to me. We’re no longer two young people trying to figure it out anymore. We are a family.” The heart Justice has is unmatched, so I never worried for one second. He loved my brothers. He also loved me, so he never made me choose. I’m blessed to have a man who understands the love I have for my siblings. We’re all each other has ever had, and I’ll never give up on them.

Justice pulled me into his arms, where I found comfort. Today has been emotionally draining, and all I needed was his love to make me feel better.

“I love you. You know that, right?” I smiled up at him with my chin resting on his chest.

“You never let me forget it.” And he hadn’t. Every day, this man reminded me of his love for me and reaffirmed that I was made for him. We’ve been through ups and downs just like any other couple, but for one another, that would never be in question. Justice taught me what it means to love unconditionally. No matter how upset I made him or how frustrated he made me, the love remained the same.

“Damn right, I won’t. I’ll move heaven and earth to make you smile.” Leaning his head down, he captured my lips with his.

“I’ll do the same for you. I thank God every day for sending you to me, and I can’t wait to carry your last name and our future children.” I repeated the words he spoke earlier. Although children were not in the near future, I knew we would expand our family one day.

“Damn, I love the sound of that.”

"Did you eat? I made dinner, and I put your plate in the microwave for you.” Normally, he ate dinner with us, but he recently picked up more clientele, so he'd been working later hours than normal.

“Yeah, I’m hungry, but what I want isn’t in the microwave,” his declaration sent a chill down my spine. After the day I’d had, I wanted nothing more than to end my night tangled up with my man.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I purred. Justice scooped me up in arms and then headed to our room. Within minutes, he’d stripped us both naked, then laid me on the bed.

“Tell me what you need from me.” My honey dripped onto the comforter as Justice sauntered closer to me. His dick was swinging freely with every step.

“I need you to make love to me,” I made my request known.

“I can do that. I need you to do something for me, though.” I bit down on my bottom lip, admiring Justice’s body. Wise wasn’t playing about them working out constantly, and it paid off. I wanted to run my tongue down his six-pack.

“Ummm, what do you want me to do?” I peeled my eyes away to look into his face.

“Try not to scream too loud. Mrs. Anita thought you were hurt the other night. She called me this morning to check on you,” He grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth. I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.

“Oh, my! What did you tell her?” I shrieked. Mrs. Anita has been our neighbor for about a year now. She’s the sweetest lady I’ve ever met but also the nosiest. I never had to worry about missing anything because she may try to give me a full report whenever I come home. Our top-of-the-line security cameras had nothing on her.

“I told her the truth. I was doing some drilling, and I went too deep,” he chuckled while I sat there mortified.

“Now I don’t want to do it anymore. What if she hears me? She’s only going to take that lame excuse for so long. If she even believed you in the first place,” I retorted.

“I’m just messing with you. She asked us to tune it down a bit. I told her we’d try our best. She just caught us at a bad time. Plus, our windows were open.” His sexy smirk made me want to jump his bones right where he stood. Mrs. Anita might need to invest in some good headphones or learn to close her windows because we weren’t even that loud.

“I can’t make any promises.” Resting on my elbows, I opened my legs wide so he could see exactly what his presence did to me.

Damn,” Justice hissed, stroking his big rod in front of me. He swaggered over to the bed, dragging me to the center by my ankle. Once he had me positioned where he wanted me, he pushed my legs further apart.

You gon’ feed me, lil’ baby?” There was no response given before he was face-deep in my sex. Gripping the sheets, I tried my best to be mindful of my volume. The boys’ rooms were upstairs, so I never worried about them hearing us until now.

“No, don’t be quiet now. I want to hear all of it.”Justice buried his face back into my center. My vision blurred momentarily while my eyes rolled back.

“Ooh, gawd! Justice!!!” So much for being quiet. I’d apologize to Mrs. Anita in the morning because tonight, my man snatched my soul right from under me.

I thrashed in place from the orgasms ripping through my body. Looking towards the ceiling, I wanted to thank God for this man of mine but now might not have been the right time. Loud, slurping sounds reverberated through the room. The way Justice devoured my pussy should have been a crime. Each time I released, his tongue was right there to clean up every drop of my essence. On the outside, Justice appeared to be a kind-hearted, gentle, pretty boy, and he was all those things. However, in the bedroom, he became a completely different man. A bona fide freak. He’d turned me onto so many new toys and positions over the course of our relationship. I’d discovered new kinks and pleasure spots, thanks to him.

Justice sat up on his knees before me, his face saturated in my essence. I squirmed under the intensity of his gaze.

“Tell me what you need from me, baby,” he whispered, hovering over me. Instead of replying, I gripped the back of his head, bringing his face closer to mine. I sucked my juices from his lips and relished the taste. He smirked, and I felt his dick resting against my thigh. Reaching between us, I grabbed his tool, lining it up with my opening.

“I like that boss shit. Put it in,” he commanded. The pressure of him entering me stunned me for a moment. You’d think after all this time I’d be used to it. He rested inside of me, causing me to whine. My muscles involuntarily clenched around him, making me moan even louder. Sensual torture, that’s what I called this. Justice grinned, then pushed deeper inside of me.

“Ahhh!” My back arched from the bed. The sensation led to another orgasm. I’m convinced this man could look at me, and I’d cum instantly. He tightened his grip on me, delivering long, powerful strokes.

“Oh, baby! I missed you so much!” We’d been working and prepping for our wedding for months now, and time seemed to be the one thing we lacked. We were reduced to stolen moments when we finally got a moment alone.

“I missed you too, lil’ baby. Let me show you how much.” My legs were lifted in the crook of his arms. His strokes remained the same, only much deeper, given the position. My juice spilled down my crack, and the squishing sounds turned me on even more.

“Shit, this pussy’s about to drown my shit. Ahh, fuck!” I loved it when he groaned in ecstasy. He increased his speed, and I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. Two orgasms took a lot of energy, but three would have me fast asleep in a matter of seconds.

“Oh, baby! I’m about to cum,” Justice roared out. “Can I cum in my pussy, lil’ baby?”

“Cum in me, please!” My birth control hadn’t failed me yet. Plus, I'd promise him anything in the heat of the moment.

“Let it rain on my dick one more time, love.” My nails dug into his back before releasing everything left inside of me. My mouth hung open, and I swore I saw stars as I gave him what he asked for.

“Shit! Fuck! Mmmm, that’s it, baby. Give it all to me.” I squirted all over his pelvis and lower half. Moments later, his dick twitched inside of me. We laid there panting for air, both drenched in sweat.

“Damn,” Justice exclaimed. I got up to go to the bathroom to pee. I knew if I hadn’t moved right away, I’d fall asleep. After washing up and using the bathroom, I walked out to find my man passed out with no clothes on. His light snoring caused me to smirk. I thought I’d be the one who passed out, but he beat me to it. I cleaned him off with a warm soapy rag, then dried him off. He must have been exhausted because he barely moved.

I covered him up just in case one of the boys walked in here in the morning. None of the men in my home seemed to understand the concept of personal space where I was concerned.

I turned on my side to go to sleep. Before morning came, I knew I’d be wrapped in Justice’s arms because it’s how things usually worked.

“What are you doing?” I heard him speak in a groggy tone. Turning to face him, my eyebrows raised in confusion.

“You know I can’t sleep if you’re not on me. Stop playing with me, lil’ baby.” Only one of his eyes appeared open, but he’d made his request clear. I smiled and then laid my head on his chest.

“And you call me the spoiled one. Hmmpf.” Secretly, I loved the attention he gave me. I felt wanted and adored by him daily.

“Damn, right. I need to feel my heart next to me.” I snuggled into him, then slowly drifted off to sleep. Justice will always and forever be my safe space.