by C. L. Donley
Kim furrowed her brow as if confused and offended.
“Girl, I am classy as fuuuuu…”
Kim let it go on and on until the girls were compelled to laugh.
“…uuuuuck. Around here. Y’all ain’t never seen me in court.”
“We tried, you wouldn’t let us come!”
“I know, cuz y’all would get me kicked out. I’m just sayin’. It’s not like that all the time, just when I have to go to the palace. And everyone talks like that to me, so you know. You get caught up. Bel ain’t never seen me like that either, so I know when he gets back, I’mma get it.”
“So you like it there?”
“Girl honestly, I love it. I mean…it’s crazy. There’s just no other word to describe it. But like…it’s only been a week and I can barely remember what living in Nashville was like. And that was my entire life.”
Suddenly she saw Bel in her peripheral appear on the balcony above her.
“I gotta go, y’all.”
“Aight, queen.”
“Yas, queen!”
She’d already sent her attendants away and gave her son to Bel’s mother. She’d timed it perfectly so that Queen Alya would be the last thing Jabari saw before he went to sleep. He’d be out for the rest of the night, aside from his one early morning feeding. Kim was going to need the king all to herself tonight after their little interlude in the throne room earlier that day.
But when she locked eyes with him he had that same look on his face as he’d had in her apartment, the day he’d found out the former king had died.
He eventually cracked a smile, but he simply turned and walked back inside, looking defeated. She got the impression he wasn’t on his way down to her.
She wrapped herself in her bright blue sarong and retreated back inside.
She made her way around the whole house until she finally found him in a random guest room on the floor in front of the canopy bed, his hands folded in front of him while he stared at the ceiling. She stood in the doorway completely quiet. When he didn’t acknowledge her presence she began.
“What’s wrong, boo,” she began.
His eyes widened a bit then went back down as he sighed.
“King shit, what else.”
“Were they talkin’ shit about me after I left?”
Bel shook his head as Kim elicited yet another laugh from him that he wasn’t in the mood to give up.
“Something else happened.”
Since he was rather cryptic about it, she assumed it was unpleasant and probably involved his brother who was still at large. And probably some death.
“My brother and his batshit crazy mother were found at the border,” Bel finally said. “There was a shootout. No one survived, so. It’s over. For now. I guess that means I win?”
“What do you mean ‘for now?’”
Bel shrugged as well as he could lying on the floor. “I mean… a king’s job never ends.”
Kim laid down next to him and forced his attention to her gaze. He breathed in and out, stopping to look back at her, to center himself. He closed his eyes.
“I just don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” Bel confessed.
Kim couldn’t believe her ears.
“Look, I can’t even begin to know what you’re going through right now, but you, Belkacem al Malawi of Ghassan, are a damn king.”
Bel smiled.
“It’s al Malwali,” he corrected her in his perfect accent. “Malawi is a country in Africa.”
“Whatever the fuck.”
“It’s your name too.”
“You were… a force. In there. Do you know that?” she confessed to him. He softened.
“So were you,” he said.
“I’m just trying to step my game up. I’m new at this, just like you.”
“Well for only being queen for a week, you’re doing… unbelievably fucking well.”
“Ditto. And it helps to have a badass mother-in-law.”
“I’ll bet,” he grinned.
“I can’t imagine not having… someone. Here to guide you.”
Bel returned his gaze to the ceiling, his eyes glistening with tears.
“There was never going to be a ‘king internship’ program anyway. His death was the only way I get this job.”
“I know, but still.”
“I just wish… I understand now. Why he did certain things. I hate that I never got the chance to forgive him.”
“It’s never too late, babe. Forgiveness is for you, anyway.”
He sighed, sat up against the box bench butted up against the bed with his arm outstretched and resting on one hiked up knee.
“Would the king like for the queen to… make him feel… better?” Kim shyly asked as she turned to face him from the floor.
Bel’s cock stirred and his pulse quickened at the sound of her royal bedroom voice. He had an idea what she was referring to.
“Is it my birthday already?” Bel smoothly asked.
The first time Bel asked Kim to go down on him she’d answered by saying, “Is it your birthday? Then no.” Not because she didn’t like to give it, but because it was extraordinary. It was her only go-to for years, after all. She’d put in her 10,000 hours.
“No it isn’t but… you seem like you could use it.”
Dammit. He was exactly like his father, he thought, as Kim slowly crawled to his lap.
“I tried to keep the dress on for you, but. That shit was too hot,” Kim divulged.
Bel laughed.
“Yes, it was. I would like to see it again. Soon.”
“I’m not sure I can re-wear a look like that, come to think of it.”
“I didn’t mean publicly.”
Kim grinned wickedly.
“You wanted to remove the queen’s hoop skirt?” Kim playfully asked, undoing his belt.
“Fuck that. I wanna go camping under that motherfucker.”
Kim laughed. “I knew you were giving me eyes from way over there.”
“I can’t believe I found you. Right when I needed you. You are a blessing.”
Kim was speechless for once as she smiled, her damp wavy hair framing her touched expression. She didn’t shift her gaze as she reached down to unzip his trousers, surprised at her own eagerness, when he spoke again.
“Sooo… since you’re already a pro at all this, how do you feel about… having more duties?” he proposed, the sound of his belt unbuckling causing his rising heart rate.
“Like, what kind of duties?”
“Like…legal ones.”
“Hmm…”
Kim tried to hide her excitement. She didn’t want Bel to be disappointed in case he was expecting her to do some boring paperwork nonsense.
Kim liked contract law, but only because she understood law intrinsically, and it was the one place that she could enact it without much resistance. She couldn’t do criminal court or family law because she knew it would only make her murderous. Corporations, on the other hand, pay good money for the laws to be enacted and when they are in breach, she was obliged to do her worst. She liked being in a field where her sense of justice could be unencumbered and, unfortunately, she only found that in the private sector.
But here in Ghassan, being married to a king, here she had real power.
“I’ve just got a lot on my plate,” he continued, “a lot of things get adjudicated before they’re brought to me, and it’s still too many. I got this fuckin’… crime syndicate or whatever the fuck I gotta…” Bel shook his head as if not wanting to give the notion any more air. “I don’t need another advisor, I need someone who’s gonna handle the shit.”
“Someone like me?”
“Someone like you.”
“So…what would I do?”
“You would be a step below me. Another liaison before matters get to me.”
“And… everyone’s okay with this?”
“Not that it matters, but no one knows about it yet.”
Kim was silent f
or a moment as she pondered his proposal. Her wet hair tumbled in front of her shoulders.
“It might be best to put me on the ground level. If that’s the source of the hot mess, I’d rather be the first to get it, smooth it out and send it up, instead of inheriting hot messes and just sending you the hottest of the hot messes.”
“That sounds…like a better plan,” Bel conceded, smiling. He began unbuttoning his shirt. He probably wanted to have sex then, right there on the floor. She felt her bikini top getting tight at the sight of his undressing.
“Plus, I think the swinging dicks in the palace would have a better time with it,” she added.
“Look at you, being all diplomatic.”
“Your mother is teaching me some things. Subversion. She’s like… a beast with it.”
“She’s no joke.”
“Them pictures though?” Kim continued wide-eyed and expressive, “like no offense, but… your daddy could get it.”
“None taken.”
“And you mom was like… that chick.”
“My dad had her husband killed so that he could marry her.”
“Hot ass, gangster, shit,” Kim replied. Queen Alya had told her the story.
“And then he cheated on her left and right. That poor man died because my father had more power than him. And all so that my father could treat her like dirt.”
“Well, when you put it like that…”
Bel broke out into a laugh. He couldn’t help it.
“Your mom tells a different story.”
“Does she?”
“Yes. Apparently, they were… very passionate.”
“Well. She’s never talked to me about that.”
“No, I can’t imagine she would.”
His shirt was unbuttoned, but he hadn’t removed it. What was his plan? she wondered, her mind back on task.
She lowered her head, freed his cock from his trousers and let it grow a bit, slowly, in her mouth. He let out a delicious moan.
“So, counselor, do we have a deal?” he breathed. A rush of blood flowed to her groin. So he liked mixing business with pleasure, did he? She teased the head of him with her tongue as she looked up at him innocently, her brown eyes like saucers.
Enthusiastically, she replied. “When do I start?”
Fifty Two
Chapter 52
“I gotta pee,” Kim announced.
“Go now, Kim!” Bel anxiously advised her.
“As soon as I go, they’re gonna show up!”
“Keep your phone on you and go,” Bel urged.
Begrudgingly Kim stomped off to the bathroom, a bit lost without her chief attendant Thana, who opted to stay behind with her husband, Nasir. Even though at this early stage, it was perfectly safe for her to fly in her condition.
Kim and Bel were standing in a beautiful ballroom in Santorini, Greece with virtually all of their immediate friends and family, and Bryan. Kim’s brothers, the bride and groom’s family, of course, even some of Amara and Grayson’s people were there to share in the surprise nuptials of Dale and Mya.
Technically they weren’t in Santorini anymore, as the private island was considered its own separate place. Booking a June wedding in Santorini, even fifteen months in advance, was difficult. So he bought an island and built what he needed. Bryan ventured into project management territory as the head of the ambitious undertaking. The planning, the paperwork, visas, government issues, labor, hiring and subcontracting and the like were all a tremendous bitch. But once it was all ironed out the execution took only a few months. When Bryan found a company that could use 3D printing to build the resort, Dale was completely obsessed. It was expensive, but he still had some billions left. Besides, he now had a resort. Even with all the extra money he’d spent to expedite things, it would pay for itself in a few years. He was in love, but he wasn’t a complete idiot.
When Kim returned from the bathroom, not a single thing had happened. The energy was unbearably tense with excitement and joy, the kind that is partly uncomfortable yet you also wish could last forever. One wrong move could ruin it, one inopportune loss of vigilance could taint a year’s worth of planning. And yet it had the potential to be so perfect.
Dale was apparently some sort of wizard of planning, but Kim honestly didn’t get why he would waste such an effort on a girl like Mya, who was the champion of never giving you the reaction you wanted. As excited as Mya got, you’d be lucky to get a smile or any bodily indication that she was even surprised. It was pretty unfulfilling in Kim’s estimation. Kimberly herself on the other hand? That’s the gal you wanted to surprise. Kim was sure to give you moments, hunty; she smirked as she thought to herself. She always made sure her friends and family knew she appreciated every single thing they did for her.
Suddenly they heard the muffle of voices, persistent and getting louder. A few people in the room had shushed loudly, even though everyone was rather quiet already. It caused a few to unconsciously shush the shusher which started another chain reaction of silent waving hands. Everyone was on edge. The moment was so close. The sounds got closer and closer, and they were surprised how well they were able to hear the couple, and surmised that the twosome must be right above them on the balcony.
“So… you probably know why I wanted to take you on this trip.”
“I had my suspicions,” Mya grinned.
“Well, I know how much you hate weddings,” Dale remarked. Mya laughed.
“I could never hate weddings. For obvious reasons. I just….think they’re overrated.” Everyone smiled as they listened.
“I know you think you’re just a simple girl but… you’re not. You’re the love of my life, and that’s no simple thing. You’re the most valuable thing in my life. By a longshot. And that’s saying a lot.”
“Dale…” Mya responded adoringly. She was always touched to hear a new sentiment from Dale, who was always inventing new ways to tell her how he loved her. He did it so much that it almost didn’t feel cringy to hear anymore.
“I don’t remember my life before you were in it. From the very first moment I ever laid eyes on you…”
Amara wiped away her rapidly falling tears. She’d remembered the moment he was talking about which was her and Grayson’s engagement party. She’d warned Mya when they were getting ready that she’d already worn the Banana Republic dress in front of them once and she’d said, “Well since it’s my dress and I still haven’t gotten to wear it anywhere yet, I really don’t care. Guys don’t remember shit like that anyways.”
“Looking back I think I knew then,” Dale continued, “I just didn’t know what I knew… anyway…” there was some shuffling when he presumably got down on one knee.
“Mya, my love, my heartbeat, would you do me the honor of making me the happiest man in the universe?”
“Aren’t you already?”
“I’d be happier if you were my wife.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes.”
“Yes?”
“Absolutely.”
As the couple continued to lovingly shower affection on each other with Mya under the impression that they were alone, the friends and family gathered underneath them were all pleasantly stunned with touched feelings, having learned a thing or two about this somewhat unfamiliar union they were all there to bless. Everyone looked around at each other, the women kicking themselves for lacking the foresight to bring tissues. Amara inwardly wanted to punch Dale for not letting her film the whole thing. She wouldn’t have to be there; she could’ve set up a discreet little steady cam somewhere. Or a camera phone for goodness sake. After a tender few moments of silence, Dale started up again.
“So I… took the liberty of planning a few things in the event you said ‘yes,’” Dale began.
“Oh Lord, Dale. Let me guess, my entire family is gonna come running around the corner, aren’t they?”
Everyone covered their mouths willing themselves to stay quiet.
“Maybe…”
Mya let out an adorable giggle.
“Come with me,” Dale said as the footsteps were on the move. Mya let out a deep sigh. The footsteps grew faint again along with the voices as Dale was now right outside the door. The heartbeats of everyone inside instantly doubled, and the door opened. In walked Dale with a phone held up in front of his eyes, obviously not surprised and taking footage of his own.
“Keep ‘em closed,” he instructed her as he led her by the hand.
When Mya entered the ballroom with her eyes closed, everyone gasped, and Mya instantly opened her eyes to see who was responsible for all the noise. Her expression morphed from deer in headlights, to wide eyes, to wide eyes and gaping mouth, and finally to covered mouth that crumpled into silent weeping, as her mind quickly begin to register the level of planning that garnered the strange cross-section of people from her life in the room. She was either getting engaged, or she was dead, and while happy to see them all, she still looked a bit confused as to why they all were there.
The room was stunned into silence because no one was prepared to lay eyes on a considerably pregnant Mya, least of all Amara and Kim who’d just had a video chat with their friend a few months ago. It seemed Dale had done a bit too good of a job surprising both Mya and their guests because there were far more tears than there were uproarious congratulations.
“So you were right, your family is here, but do you know why?”
Her mother and father had tearfully embraced her as Amara, Kim and her brothers had begun encircling her to do the same.
Dale was still filming, and Mya finally turned to look in his direction, a bit annoyed yet waiting patiently for the answer. Clearly Dale had subjected an unwilling Mya to many, many surprises over the course of two years.
“We’re getting married today,” Dale revealed.
“Oh my God, I love you!!” Mya shouted. The room erupted in laughter. Dale grinned, entirely too pleased with himself. He obviously knew his woman.
When Mya, Amara, and Kim retreated to the small dressing room at the back of the ballroom, they each were stunned when they opened the garment bag to see not only a terribly stunning ivory gown but one that fit perfectly even in light of her pregnancy. Kim was in tears at the sight of her radiant friend in the gorgeous gown. She thought back to the five year old girl who loved to dance and never talked to the family whenever she came over, she would only whisper to Kim whenever prompted to talk, and Kim would have to answer for her.
