Page 27 of The Devoted Husband

“I’ve been calling you,” Jones said. “Are you going to help me with Sade or not?”

“Do you think I give a damn about that? Sade killed two, maybe three, women. I’m not stopping until she’s behind bars. And since you won’t help me...Maybe I’ll make sure you end up there too.”

“Did you just threaten me? I should end your life right now!”

“You could, but then you’d have to explain to your superiors why you were outside this house.”

Standing upright, Dante eyed Jones for a few seconds before walking away, tossing, “Leave, Jones,” over his shoulder in the process.

“She’s going to prison. Since you won’t help me, I’ll handle this myself. And trust me, you won’t like what I do.”

Between the ominous threat and crisp tone, Dante’s feet stopped momentarily. As he continued to his car, he wondered what Jones had up his sleeve.

After Dante grabbed Ava and Barron fried catfish meals from the wing spot up the street, he asked Sade and the twins to join him for lunch. He wasn’t worried about things being weird between them. Even though they knew he wasn’t their father, they still loved him the same.

A part of Dante was hurt when they asked to stay with their great-grandparents, but he knew that was for the best. What was most important was that they be in a stable environment where they felt loved and safe, and he was sure they were getting that from their great-grandparents.

They ended up going to the twins and Imani’s favorite seafood restaurant.

Sade was cool with that because she enjoyed their wings.

It wasn’t that long of a wait before they got a table, which Dante was grateful for.

While he and Sade sat beside each other, the twins did the same.

They looked at Dante, then Sade, before bursting into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Dante asked with a smile of his own.

“It’s weird seeing you two together,” Nila answered.

“What do you mean?” Sade asked. “We’ve always been best friends.”

“Yeah, but . . . This is weird,” Mila said before covering her smile.

“Y’all like each other. That’s what Mama said,” Nila added.

“Oh, did she? When did she say that?” Sade asked.

“When we had to choose where we wanted to live. She said if we chose to live with Dante, you would probably be there too,” Mila explained.

“And she said if y’all got married, we can’t call you Auntie Mommy because she’s our only mommy.”

Though Sade chuckled, her leg bounced under the table until Dante placed his hand on it.

Dante asked, “Is that why you two decided to stay with your great-grandparents?”

The twins looked at each other before Nila spoke.

“Kind of. It would be too weird watching y’all be together and not you and Mommy. Plus, we get to do what we want with Nana and Papa. They don’t have as many rules.”

That caused both Dante and Sade to laugh.

“Very smart choice then,” Sade teased as the waiter came to take their order.

Dante was so grateful he was able to spend time with his girls. DNA or not, he’d always show up for the twins, and he prayed they never doubted that.

After getting the twins settled for the evening, Dante prepared to leave.

Sade’s pout made him want to stay. As he scanned her face, he confessed, “If I had known you planned to return to Memphis, I would have gotten a place here too. Already, I don’t like having to say goodbye instead of good night to you. ”

Sade smiled. “Yeah. I know you can’t stay, but I wish you could. It felt so good sleeping in your arms.”

“I could always get a room for the night. Just let me know what you want to do.”

“I’m kind of tired of hotels, but if the reward of going to one is sleeping in your arms, I’m down with that.”

“Cool, go pack a bag.”

The happy squeal she released made him smile. While waiting for her, he checked different hotels downtown, opting for a suite at the Peabody Hotel. If he had to take her to a hotel, at least he could afford to take her somewhere nice.

About thirty minutes later, they headed out. The goofy grin she wore, combined with her sleepy eyes, told Dante all he needed to know.

“You’re going to sleep as soon as we get here, aren’t you?”

“I’m glad you know,” she chuckled. “Unless you wanted to make love to me first.”

“I’ll never turn that down, but I will also let you rest. You’ve had a long couple of days.”

“That’s true, but everything’s always better with you. I hate how things started when you first got back, but I’m really glad you came home.”

“I’m glad I came home too.”

Silence found them briefly before they started singing and rapping along with the songs that came on.

When they reached the hotel, Dante got them checked in, and they headed to their suite.

They showered together and climbed into bed.

Even though Dante cut on the TV, it was more for the noise as they drifted off to sleep.

He pulled her into his arms, onto his chest, and felt immediate relief.

“I missed you so much, Smiley.”

“I missed you too.”

She kissed his bare chest—once...twice...before making her way up his frame. Their lips connected as his shaft hardened. Dante flipped her over, hovering over her frame.

So much for going straight to sleep.

His hands slipped under her gown. Her hand wrapped around his wrist, quickly pulling it away from her stomach.

Before he could break the kiss and question her, Sade was sliding it between her legs.

As he licked and sucked her nipples, quiet moans escaped her.

They grew louder when his mouth covered her clit.

“You’re s-so good at that,” she moaned, spreading her legs wider. “Just like that, Tay.”

He continued to apply pressure and licked her swollen bud, fingering her until she came. But he didn’t stop. Dante replaced his fingers with his tongue and continued to eat until she couldn’t take anymore. As she pulled him up her frame, he wiped his mouth.

He wanted to ask her if Atlas ate her pussy like that. If he made her come the way he did. If she told him that he was good at pleasing her too. Squeezing his eyes shut, he inhaled a shaky breath.

“Hey,” she called sweetly, cupping his cheek. “Where’d you go?”

Giving her a soft smile, Dante shook his head. “I’m right here, baby.”

He inched his way inside of her, loving the sight of her trembling chin as she tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. His strokes started slowly before shifting to a hard, medium pace

“You don’t have to be quiet here,” he said against her ear before licking it. “I want to hear how good I make you feel.”

The demand only seemed to intensify her pleasure. She leaked against him, moaning his name as she clawed his back. Her walls pulsed against him as he lengthened his stroke, willing himself not to come at the same time as her. For what he wanted to do to her body, it would take all night.