As if one spoke of the devil, the doorbell rang. Bret sighed once again, kissed my forehead, and then opened the door.

  “Brother,” Bret greeted as I turned around to view what I thought might be a confrontation.

  “Brother,” he responded but pushed him and made a beeline for me. “I’m here to see your new girlfriend. All the hell you put me through. Hey, I’m Coy, and you are?”

  The man was looming over me to the point that I was looking at him with my back pressed against the counter. He looked just like Bret. They could have passed for twins, almost. Bret had shared with me that his mom and aunt were twins, but damn, the two of them looked just alike. The only difference was Bret looked broody, but Coy looked like a “coy.” Like he was up to no damn good.

  “I’m Raven.” I smiled with an eyebrow lift. “Damn, y’all look alike.”

  “I know,” a female voice carried with as much uncertainty than I expressed.

  Looking around the man, I saw a well-dressed black woman staring at Bret with the same intensity that I was with her man.

  “Y’all sure you aren’t twins?” I turned back to stare at Coy.

  “Positive!” he replied. “That fucker”—he threw his thumb over his shoulder—“has me by two years. See those gray hairs on the side.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Bret yelled back at his brother. “At least I don’t dye them.”

  “It’s called grooming!” Coy shouted.

  “No, it’s called an older man,” Bret shot back. “Are y’all using the blue pills yet, Yadira?”

  Oh shit.

  Yadira burst out laughing and said, “Not yet, but I welcome them.”

  “Oh, Coy, you bastard. She welcomes them, meaning you could use some now,” Bret taunted.

  “Baby? Now, why would you give this fucker ammunition? He’s going to be sending me blue pills in the mail.” Coy asked Yadira.

  Yadira and I burst out laughing at the brothers’ antics. I suspected she was laughing because she had probably heard the nonsense that both brothers engaged in the past. Jumping off my stool, I went to the woman wiping tears of laughter from my eyes and introduced myself, “I’m Raven, and you must be Yadira.”

  “Yes, it’s so nice to meet you. Coy has been chomping at the bit to get to know who’s occupying his older brother’s time.”

  “Chomping, huh?” Bret was looking at his brother.

  I thought they would continue to bicker some more, but they met halfway and gave each other a long hug, sharing manly pats and brotherly whispers that were met with smiles. That was so cool to watch. I didn’t have any siblings but always wanted them. Somewhere, I said that I wanted to have children so they would have the gift of siblings. Two rambunctious boys came to mind as I saw the two adult brothers bonding in their own way.

  Almost as if they said, “One, two, three, break,” they parted and came to stand by their prospective women. Like a choreographed music video or movie, the two of us looked up into the eyes of the man in our lives and smiled. Coy kissed Yadira, and Bret pulled me closer, resting his chin on my head. I was no longer concerned about what was going to happen with us or even the day. I was excited to be there with him.

  “Well, we just ate breakfast, but there is some left if you want it,” Bret informed the two.

  “Naw, we ate this morning,” Coy responded. “We are actually ready to fish. Dira hasn’t been fishing yet, so she’s nervous about putting the worm on the hook.”

  “Don’t worry,” I interjected. “I used to go fishing all the time. I can give you some tricks.”

  “Girl, thanks,” she sighed. “I’m a city girl. We don’t touch worms.”

  We laughed, and then she separated from her man and stood next to me.

  “Plus, these big-ass boots are hurting my chins. Do you have any bigger socks?” Yadira added.

  This caused me to laugh louder, but then I waved her toward me and said, “I got you.”

  The two men looked at us and laughed as we left them and went to the bedroom.

  “You’ve been fishing with Bret before?” she asked.

  “Nope, this is a first with him,” I shared. “I used to go all the time with my Pop Pop and his uncles. He was one of those men that wanted me to know how to fish, change a tire, kill a man . . . you know, the usual.”

  “Oh,” she coughed. “You gotta teach me that.”

  I nodded and asked, “Which? Changing a tire?”

  “No, girl. To kill a man.” She laughed, and I joined her.

  Thank goodness, she was cool. Yadira owned two shopping centers. When she met Coy, she had one that he just infiltrated himself into, and then he encouraged her to gain more and make her name in the industry for turning around communities by owning and building up communities by how they shopped. It was a perfect idea, and she blushed, saying, “Coy was good at that.”

  I told her that I was an actress, so she shared with me that her team was looking for people to do commercials for their new center, and I had the look for what they wanted to portray. I told her that I’d get my publicist on it and would be happy to do it. We eventually ended up on the lake where Yadira and I chatted on and on about our lives and sneaked in some things about our men. She thought that Bret didn’t like her but realized that he was just concerned about his younger brother. Apparently, their relationship went kind of fast, but I laughed because ours was quick too. I was sure that I had feelings for the man—so confident that I was even frightened to mention them.

  We ate lunch but not the fish that we caught. Coy had some food from their mom’s restaurant that was in some self-heating basin. We ate pretty good on the boat until we returned.

  Once dinner rolled around, we went into town, where a few of the people knew the brothers. We were introduced, ate our dinner, and then retreated to the cabin to play some board games. It turned out to be the women against the men, which ended in us winning and Coy chasing Yadira around the living room.

  When it was time for them to leave, hugs went around, and we made plans to meet up in the city very soon. Bret and I readied for bed, but he wasn’t geared toward having sex. Usually, the man was on me like a moth to a flame. The night before, nothing.

  “What’s up with you?” I asked him.

  “You’re going to need to explain what you’re talking about.” He was putting on his pajamas.

  Hell, I didn’t even know he had pajamas because we’d slept together naked every night we were together.

  “No sex?” I asked with my handheld out at him and those stupid-ass striped pajamas.

  Bret looked at me with a straight look, pulled the cover back, and said before sliding under the cover, “Listen, I’m feeling some kind of way. I need to know this relationship isn’t about sex and the only way to rule it out is by not having it.”

  What in the actual hell?

  “Are you fucking kidding?” I snapped.

  He shot me that stern do-not-give-one-fuck look and said, “As a heart attack.”

  Then he turned off his light and turned over.

  “Night, Princess,” he murmured.

  That was when I pulled the covers back and left the room.

  He had to be kidding me.

  7

  Bret Holden

  She was pissed.

  Thoroughly so. I woke up to find a cold bed. Not just cold, but freezing. I should have explained why I was doing this to Raven. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal because women didn’t want to have sex all the time. Some acted as if it was a hardship with a man in a long-term relationship. Was our relationship long term? Did she only want sex from me? She could have sex with anyone, so it couldn’t have been just that.

  When I went out to the living room, I saw her sleeping in front of the crackling fire under the covers. Even out of place, she looked beautiful. My cock was growing hard just watching her, but Coy was right. My feelings were all over the fucking place. I needed to nail them down and fast.

  Instead of waking her, I cooked breakfast and brewed coffee, which was the thing that woke her up. She took a shower and got dressed, and I saw her bag was packed.

  “Ready to leave?” I asked, knowing that she was still pissed.

  “Just getting ready,” she commented.

  “Think we should talk?” I coaxed her.

  “Not really, just wondering what’s on the agenda for today.” This was all she said.

  I didn’t like her tone, not one bit. So I moved into her space and said through gritted teeth, “Speak your peace, Princess, or forever hold it.”

  One of those perfectly arched eyebrows tipped up in defiance, and I knew she was going to test my spanking hand before it was all over. Just thinking about slapping that ass of hers got me hard.

  Fuck.

  “Nothing?” I coaxed.

  “What’s on the agenda?” she repeated herself.

  Fine.

  “Today was going to be a hike and then a spa session for you,” I shared.

  “Sounds good. I brought my boots,” Raven noted, but it wasn’t with her previous vigor.

  She was mad, and she wasn’t sharing with me about what.

  That evening, after we hiked a few with little words and she went to the spa, I drove us back, and the radio kept the silence from being too awkward.

  She opted to go home, which I did not object to, and instead of our regular meeting for lunch, she just left. I was kicking myself because I should have just told her rather than being an ass about it.

  I called Coy that night and shared what transpired. After he told me he liked her, he shared that I was an asshole and an idiot.

  “What did I do?” I asked.

  “It’s what you didn’t do, moron,” he started. “What the fuck? Are you just going to withhold sex from her, not say anything, and think she’s going to figure it out? She’s going to think you’re not interested in her anymore.”

  Damn.

  Triple damn.

  “That’s not the case,” I defended.

  “But she does not know that,” he countered. “You just stop fucking.”

  “Even pulled out the pajamas,” I clarified.

  “Damn, not the ones Auntie gave us,” Coy teased.

  “The very same.” I shook my head at my idiotic sense.

  Holy shit.

  “How do I fix it?” I asked him. “She’s mad. Been mad all day. Even slept on the couch last night and went home tonight.”

  He grunted like I was fucked. Then Coy replied, “Tell her why but also why you wanted to do it in the first place. She needs to know.”

  “It’s too soon,” I defended.

  “Man, what the fuck is with you and this notion of time and love? I keep telling you, love will grab you by the balls and turn your shit upside down. There is no time element. When you found the one, you better hold on to her and never let her go. Fuck time, Bret. Get out of your own way on this one, brother. You may not get another chance.”

  I felt like he was sharing something that he also had to grapple with. His words made sense, but that wasn’t what rang true. What had my heart doing somersaults was that I might be running out of time. With my focus on time, I could be missing the thing that makes it worth the time.

  We got off the phone, and I barely slept that night. The next morning, I texted her to meet for lunch and didn’t get anything back. Without thinking about it, I went to our normal spot, but she was not there and did not show at all. This left me canvassing the area to see where she was coming from, calling and texting like a mad man, and even neglecting my whole job, which was counterproductive.

  This left me no choice but to come to her house that evening. When I knocked the second time, she opened the door with music playing in the background and a wine glass in her hand.

  “Raven, where the fuck have you been? I’ve been calling and texting you all day,” I was snapping at the gate.

  “Oh,” she said with a smile. “I decided today I wouldn’t pay you any mind. See how the relationship goes from there.”

  Then her ass turned around and walked further into the apartment without so much of a look back.

  OH, FUCK THAT!

  I was on her like a cougar to a juicy steak. The white wine spilled out. I was sure it broke as I tossed her ass over my shoulder and took her to bed.

  As I undressed her, I spoke in robotic broken-up language.

  “Your ass needs a spanking, huh?” It wasn’t a question.

  “Need to be trained, is it?” I pulled her shirt apart.

  “Thought you could just act any way with no punishment?” I ripped her bra off.

  “Want Daddy to stuff your ass, don’t you?” I pulled down her skirt. “With my thick cock.” There was a moan, but I didn’t care.

  “But first, Daddy is going to spank that ass, because he doesn’t like sass.” I reminded her. “Then, I’m going to stuff my cock down your throat so you can choke on it.”

  That was moan number 2 that escaped her mouth.

  “You like to fuck with me?” I asked as I stripped off my clothes. “Like pushing me to the edge? Fine. I’m going to keep you on edge.”

  Then I turned her ass over, spanking it until her bottom was red, then face-fucked her as her head lay on the side of the bed. None of this would get her off. She would stay on the edge until I deemed her okay to cum.

  “Please, Bret,” Raven begged, but I spanked her ass.

  “Princesses don’t beg.”

  When I turned her over and pushed my cock in her wet pussy, careful not to rub her clit, she began to shudder but not cum. I fucked her hard but not sloppy.

  Raven begged me to bring her relief, but I refused to.

  “What did the princess learn through this session?” I asked after I came hard into her wet heat.

  Those fiery eyes met mine, but she murmured, “Don’t sass you.”

  “More than that”—I pinched her erect nipple—“don’t take anything away from me.”

  Twisting the dark-brown areola was so fucking erotic.

  “You want Daddy to make you cum?” I asked. “Cum hard?”

  “Yes,” she purred.

  My body climbed off her, and I buried my face into her wet snatch. There I ravished her until she was screaming and holding on to my head. My woman was moving up and down my face, taking everything I could give her.

  She was so fucking exquisite. I was ready to dive heart-first into whatever this thing was. I was prepared to commit. Fuck the test. Fuck the time. Fuck everything.

  Raven came on my face, hard, as she had strands of my hair between her claws. The quakes of her body slowly came to a tremor after she finished releasing, and then I was able to remove my face and clean her up.

  Once I cleaned up, I saw Raven in that familiar, with her body curled up in a ball, signaling that she was seconds from la-la land, but was trying waiting for me.

  “Are you staying?” she murmured in that haze of not really being awake.

  “Fuck yeah,” I replied. “So, I can spank your ass in the morning too.”

  “You’re so broody.” She lightly chuckled and curled into me once I slid under the covers. “Thanks for coming over.”

  Of course. Why wouldn’t I come over? Why did she do what she did? I knew why, but how could she not understand how I felt? How did she feel?

  None of those words escaped me, but I kissed my princess on the head and closed my eyes. I was tired as hell, and now that she was here, I could get some shut-eye.

  The next morning, instead of spanking her, she was on top of me, kissing my face.

  Before I could protest, she slid that slick pussy of hers on top of my dick and began to ride me like the cowgirl I knew she could be. Grabbing her hips, we began to fuck until we were sweaty and cumming at the same time.

  “Fuck, I love this,” she said before kissing me deeply.

  This was different. Raven’s kiss was different. Maybe it was the make-up sex or just the morning at her house. It felt damn good, though.

  Like always, she hopped in the shower as I made breakfast. We ate, chatted, and this time, agreed to meet at our usual lunchtime location.

  Since things were good, I should have known they would go wrong.

  *_*_*

  “Listen, I have news,” Raven interjected when I was about to share that I wanted to discuss something with her.

  “News?” The hair on my skin stood at attention because of the look on her face.

  “Remember that opportunity that came? The one where I could play the lead.”

  “Yes,” I nodded for her to continue.

  “Well . . .” She paused. “It’s in Los Angeles.”

  There was the other shoe. It just fell out of the fucking sky and right on my chest.

  “Los Angeles, California?” I clarified.

  “Yes,” she murmured with those long lashes of her batting eyes.

  “Is this a new development?” I asked, not really knowing why.

  “Not really.” She faced me again. “I was uncertain to tell you.”

  Fuck me.

  “Why?” I asked.

  She huffed and said, “Because this is more than I expected it to be. More than I anticipated. You and me. I have all of these thoughts and feelings, but I’m not sure what to do with that. So I guess . . .”

  Raven trailed off, but I was almost beyond words. I think I heard her say what I wanted to hear, but the woman was about to go to Cali-fucking-fornia, so it was now or never.

  “Princess. Raven, sweetheart,” I called and grabbed her hands. “I am falling for you. Harder than I thought. Faster than I could have imagined, and I have no regrets. I cannot explain it, but I want to be with you, in you, all the damn time. It’s crazy. I’ve been without a woman, anyone, for so long, and now I can’t get enough of you. Princess, only you. So do what you need to do. Go to Cali, but you make sure you bring your ass back here, do you hear me?”

  The tears that ran down her face were encouraging, but it was her leap out of the chair and running toward me that made my heart jump.

 

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