Page 18

Once he approached his mother, Priest cut into the conversation she was having, seething as his dark eyes bore into her. "The shit you just pulled is gonna fucking cost you," he gritted at his mother.

Sylvia chuckled senselessly as she eyed Priest. "Cost me what, Priest? You aren't giving me shit anyway," she crudely spat.

His dark eyes bore into Sylvia. If they weren't in public, he would have punctured her heart with the things he wanted to say to her. Looking toward his right, he could see one of his men on his security detail posted up surveying the area. It didn't take much for Priest to flag down his head security guard, Cyro. He waded his way over, arms folded across his iron-built chest.

"What's up, Mr. Justice?" Cyro asked Priest, awaiting immediate orders.

Priest pointed over to his mother. "Get her in her car and make sure she gets home and not one of them crack houses she like to pass through." Although his orders were being given to Cyro, his eyes never left his mother's.

Sylvia decided to bow out gracefully, even though she wanted to drag the entire event down with her. After she was escorted to her car and followed home by Cyro, the event propelled just as Priest wanted it to. By the end of the day, Priest and his people successfully cleaned up the park and packed up.

Priest was tired and drained. He had a great time, but now his body was craving a long hot shower and some sleep. He already made arrangements to spend his night at Britain's place, so he drove in the direction of her apartment. He had texted her far before he left the park, so she was aware that he was on his way.

Once he arrived at her place, Priest's brows furrowed a bit once he noticed a vehicle was parked in the usual parking space he often took for himself. The black-on-black Lexus was parked backward, right next to Britain's vehicle. Parking his car a few cars down in an empty space, Priest called Britain. It didn't take long for her to answer, and when she did, he could tell she was in the middle of laughter.

"Hey, where are you?" she breathed out, still trying to calm her laughter down a bit.

"I'm here. You got company?" Priest wasn't too fond of new faces, so he just wanted a heads up. He liked knowing what he was walking into and who to expect. He hoped Britain understood.

"Uh, I do, but they were just leaving," she informed him.

Priest chuckled lightly. He could tell his presence had put an end to Britain's time with her guest. That wasn't his intention, though. "My bad," he apologized to her.

"You're fine. They really were just leaving," she assured him. "Come in when you're ready."

Priest nodded his head. "Heard’ju." Their phone call ended with goodbyes before Priest waited it out in his vehicle to see who would be coming out of Britain's apartment. After a moment, he could see a woman share a final hug with Britain before she waded from the apartment building and toward her car.

Priest realized it was Kaymen's wife, Jadey, who ironically happened to be Britain's best friend. He waited until she left before he reclaimed his usual parking spot next to Britain's car. Getting out of his vehicle, he shuffled his way to the door where he opted out of knocking and just entered. Upon entrance, Priest could see Britain in the kitchen retrieving herself a pint of ice cream. Her sweet tooth was crazy.

"Hey, Mr. New York Times by day, Incognito by night," Britain teased with a smile on her face.

Locking up after himself, Priest laughed a bit. "You got jokes?" He raised a brow at her while ridding his being of his gun since she had expressed that it made her a tad bit uncomfortable whenever she felt the gun when they shared an embrace. It didn't help that he placed it on the counter in plain sight for her to see, but they were taking it one step at a time.

"I'm kidding," Britain assured him. "Have you checked the news, though?" she questioned him as she dipped her spoon into the creaminess of her caramel gelato ice cream.

A yawn escaped Priest’s lips as he inched his way closer to her. He shook his head in response to her question. "Didn't get the chance to. What's going on, though?" He wrapped his arms around her waist while she stood before him with her ice cream in one hand and her spoon in the other.

Britain sighed before looking up at Priest. "They think your event was just a gimmick," she informed him. When she saw the news refer to Priest's great deed as just a little gimmick, even she got a little mad. This man singlehandedly provided food for 350 less fortunate families during the holiday season, and all they could equate it to was some ploy they assumed he was using so he wouldn't be viewed in such a dark light.

Britain could spot the frustration and annoyance on Priest's face. "Hey, don't let that bother you," she comforted him. "You know your intentions, and so do I," she assured him with a light smile on her face.

"You and I, that's all that matters." Priest bore his dark eyes into Britain's soft feline-like ones. He could see her tense, unsure what to say, and this amused him. "This is where you nod your head yes." He chuckled as Britain obliged to his request and simply nodded.

Priest craned down, applying his lips onto hers. He was able to taste the smooth gelato on her plump lips. As they pulled away from the kiss, Britain marveled at the sight of Priest licking his lips slowly. The sight brought back memories from their illicit affair a few days before. Priest owned her that night. Britain shook her head free of the memories of the nasty sex they had. A light smirk embedded on both of their faces. It was evident to Priest what Britain was thinking. She was nibbling on her bottom lip, resisting the temptation of letting Priest bend her over her kitchen counters and have his sinful way with her.

"Sorry for not sticking it out with you today." Britain finally pulled herself from her obscene thoughts and came back to earth.

Priest heaved a sigh. He understood why Britain had to leave. He was sure if he had been disrespected by Remy or her mother like she had been by his mother, he would have done the same. Sometimes, it was better to just extract yourself from the situation completely.

"It's not your fault," he assured. "She came at you from left field, and you handled yourself accordingly."

"Priest, impressing your mother won't be something I bend over backward for," Britain clarified. She’d had enough fake mothers-in-law in her day to know better than to try to overly sell herself. Of course, no one wanted drama between themselves and their partner's mother, but Britain wasn't going to jump through hoops just to impress a woman who may have been fully aware that her son was doing her wrong. Britain wasn't assuming that would be the case with Priest and Sylvia, but she was preparing herself if it was.

Priest chuckled while nodding his head. "Heard’ju," he said before stealing the spoon of ice cream she was about to use to indulge in her ice cream. Britain shot him a stale face, causing his chuckle to progress into laughter.

Eventually, they resigned their spot in the kitchen and made their way to their new familiar spot in Britain's apartment, her bedroom. "Really?" Britain pointed down to Priest's gun that was now placed on the nightstand closest to him.

Priest nodded with a smirk. "Britain, you're just gonna have to get used it."

"I don't think I can get used to a gun on my nightstand." Britain shook her head as she got comfortable in bed. She had undressed from the nicely fitted white dress she wore to the park and was now wearing a pair of cotton shorts along with a tube top. As she laid in bed, Priest peered his dark orbs at her. He graced them over her body slowly, causing Britain to turn away from him.

"Staring that hard should be a crime," she uttered in a low voice.

A smooth chuckle filtered out of Priest. "Let’s talk for a minute." Craning down, he took up a spot on Britain’s bed, claiming his usual pillows underneath him.

She sighed lightly before rotating herself to lie on her side facing him. "Talk about what?” Britain locked eyes with him.

"You. How you fixed yourself so well?" Priest had grabbed ahold of her leg and draped it over his waist to bring them even closer. He always had to be touching Britain in some type of way. Whether they were holding hands or cuddling, he had to have her in close proximity. He had a hard time expressing his sincere emotions, so his actions and ways of affection were his last resort, and he made good use of them.

Britain furrowed her brows, shooting him a questioning look. "Fixed myself?" She eased out a chuckle. "Priest, what are you talking about?"

Priest gently placed his hand on her face, caressing it slightly. "You mask everything so well. I'm fucked up, but everyone knows I'm fucked up. You… shit, just different," Priest shrugged.

"You think it's different because I'm not opening up the same way you are," Britain claimed. "You want me to reciprocate the same level of confidence you have in me with you, but that's hard." Britain read him from cover to cover. When he initially jumped into this situation, Priest really had no intention of investing himself into Britain, but it happened. He wasn’t saying that he trusted her or loved her quiet yet, but he just had a different level of comfort with her. Although Britain had just given him her body, he wasn’t pressed over it the way he was pressed about gaining some sign of certitude and trust from Britain.

Priest released a sigh. He thought he was too straightforward. "I'm pressuring you, ain't I?"

Britain gave him a close-lipped smile. "No, you're just looking out for yourself. For all you know, I could be a psychopath." She nodded her head slowly, the same smile etched on her face.

Priest couldn't help but release a small laugh. "For all you know, I could be a psychopath," he hinted to her, mirroring the same smile she had on hers. "Two crazy mothafucka's in each other's heads." He shrugged, taking it lightly.

Britain smirked. His words gave her a level of confidence, as odd as it sounded. She was playing her game smarter than she had before. She knew if she had continued her old love habits, she would have opened up to Priest completely by now. He would have known her strengths, her weaknesses, what made her cry, what angered her. She didn't want that quite yet. Whenever she had given someone the privilege, they manipulated her and used the secrets she had let them in on against her. Britain had vowed to be in defense mode since Cameron. She wasn't going to let her tough guard down for Priest yet, even though he had done so for her. It was unfair, but this was Britain's way of playing smart.

"I'm in your head?" she asked.

Priest released a defeated sigh. He wished he would have worded that a little differently. He knew Britain would somehow find a way to flip the conversation so he would be the topic of conversation instead of her.

"This about you, Gioia," Priest attempted to revert the conversation.

Britain sat up, glancing down at Priest. A small smile displayed on her face. It was cute to see how interested he was in her. "Ask me anything," she suggested. Priest raised a questioning brow at her approach, but he wasn't going to miss his chance. He stared off for a moment, attempting to rake his mind of what he could possibly ask her. It was almost as if his mind went blank before touching base on something they discussed at their outing at La Lealtà.

"Remember at dinner one night you said you were sure everyone had steps to make them fall in love?" Priest attempted to refresh her memory.

It took nothing more to remind her of the conversation. "Yeah, I'm pretty good at sifting out people’s steps." She smirked confidently.

Priest sat upright alongside her. "Bet. Tell me what you think my steps are," Priest requested. Britain let out a laugh. Out of all the questions Priest could have possibly asked her, he chose this one.

“Your steps I would need to take for you to fall in love, right?" she asked for clarification.

Priest nodded, indicating she was correct. "What'chu think?"

"To make you fall in love with me," Britain let out a light breath. Priest could see the slightly frazzled look on her face, which satisfied him. Reaching out for her, he grabbed her by her sides and placed her on his lap. Britain’s face instantly heated, causing Priest to chuckle a bit.

"Step number one, I have to accept your family, which isn't a traditional family. It consists of J'Ru, Kaymen, and Jazzy," Britain eased out.

Priest nodded his head again. "What else?"

"Uh," Britain tapped her chin as if she was thinking deeply. "You should never have to question my loyalty," Britian added.

"Aight, you two out of seven," Priest hyped her. Britain laughed as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Six!" She exclaimed. "That’s not fair! I had five steps in mind!"

"Well, I got one more. Spill ‘em, Gioia," he teased.

"Okay," Britain nodded. "Things have to be unconditional — the love, the passion, the trust… everything," she listed.

Priest nodded in a satisfied manner. "You’re three-and-o now." He lifted three fingers, encouraging Britain to continue.

Britain chuckled, feeling the motivation from him, so she continued. "I should be able to separate the Priest you show me from the Priest you show the world."

"This wild. It’s like you in a nigga head or something." Priest laughed, finding Britain slightly astonishing.

Cockily, Britian brushed her shoulders off. "Next, you value honesty, even if the truth pains you.”

Priest licked his lips as he offered her a nod. She was hitting every point.

"Number five is to never lose faith in you. I've listened to you long enough to know how much you hate it when people give up on you. I won't," Britain stared her feline-like eyes into Priest's dark orbs as she assured him. The smile that had been etched across Priest's face slowly began to fade.

His tender hands reached up and caressed Britain's face. Slowly, he leaned in, applying his lips to hers. Britain immediately melted in his strong arms, which he secured around her petite frame. Priest slipped his tongue into her mouth, intensifying the kiss. Britain could feel her body instantly react to Priest and the way he was handling her. One of his hands held the crook of her neck, positioning her head the way he preferred. The other hand gripped the inner portion of her thigh, inching its way up to her core. A soft moan fluttered out of Britain. She was trying her best to contain herself since she wasn't sure whether this would lead to a night of passion or simply night of cuddling.

The questions that spiraled through her mind were soon answered by Priest's actions. He flipped them over to hover over her. Like last time, his thick jewelry graced her soft skin, causing a shudder to snake up her spine. His path to her pussy had finally reached an end when she felt him palm her pussy, massaging it slowly. A moan quivered out of Britain once more, causing Priest to part his lips from hers.

"What's the last step?" Britain breathed out with a light voice.

Priest gazed into her eyes. The look he gave her was unrecognizable. She had never seen Priest give her the look. Priest was starting to care. "Don't switch up on me. Just stay down," Priest enlightened her, which resulted in her nodding her head in response.

All for the love of Priest .