CHAPTER 29 – BRYCE
I’D KNOWN I HAD TO get my ass back home when I learned that her ex-husband moved back into her place. I returned to Summer Cove armed and prepared to kick ass only to learn a few days before I returned she’d sent him on his merry way.
Rumors always abounded around Summer Cove, so I wasn’t sure what to believe about his reason for living with her. The only thing I knew to be true was what Bishop said, “I ain’t got a clue, man.”
When I’d asked her about it the night of the open mic night, she shared with me how he’d come to her in need. Although she’d been hesitant about allowing him back into her life, Peyton’s heart had gone out to him.
Her heart. The most beautiful thing about her, which could also be her greatest downfall.
When things didn’t work out with us, she’d decided in a moment of weakness to allow him in. That confession hurt like hell.
Not because I’d wondered if she’d been intimate with him, or if things had jumped off between them in the last month. She’d assured me they hadn’t, and I trusted her. Peyton wasn’t a liar.
It hurt because my failure to share my true feelings and my fears led her back into an unstable and potentially dangerous situation. The same thing occurred in college.
Using physical force to demonstrate my feelings scared her, leading her to push me away and find refuge in the arms of another man. We’d both failed one another that way.
Looking at her now lying beside me in the bed with the early morning sun slanting in on her like it was, I realized I almost missed out on my destiny. So focused on chasing ass for the first several years to purge her from my system, I’d lost precious years.
I didn’t plan on playing another game or losing another opportunity at loving Peyton.
Pushing the hair away from her face, I rested my hand on her hip and breathed in the scent of her hair. Cinnamon.
“Mmm, good morning,” she murmured, turning around to face me and nuzzling her head underneath my chin.
I reached around and grabbed her ass, pulling her flush against me.
“Good morning.”
“Already, Bryce?”
“Yeah, I told you it’s going to be a good morning.”
“You woke me up twice during the night to have sex.”
“No, only one of those times count. The second time you were awake already.”
She smiled at me. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Here to stay,” I said, brushing my lips across her forehead.
My heart thundered in my chest at the reality of my situation. Ari was taking care of the sale of my condo and the furniture.
I’d had my clothes shipped to Summer Cove with some other cherished items, carrying only my laptop and a suitcase with a week’s worth of clothes on the plane with me.
Rolling Peyton onto her back, I straddled her, pressing her hands above her head. Our mouths met in a hungry kiss, starving for the taste of one another.
As we kissed, I marveled at how the love of my life had been right here all along. I’d run, hid, and lied to myself all to protect my heart. And when I thought I’d lost her forever, I’d wandered around searching for the source of my emptiness.
Breaking our kiss, I moved down, kissing her breasts and abdomen as I went. My lips hovered over her navel, licking her there. I’d discovered last night that was a ticklish spot for her.
As expected, she flinched, bringing her knees up. I used my legs to spread hers apart and angled myself to enter her.
“You still horny?” she asked, her husky voice thick with sleep.
“I’m trying to put my babies in your ass.”
Peyton’s eyes went wide, looking like pools of water.
“B—ba—babies?”
“Yes, babies,” I said, sliding deep into her warmth.
Peyton wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. Her hips rose to meet every thrust I gave as we rode the waves of pleasure together.
She withheld nothing from me, and I gave her all of me, deeply aware of every sensation at the moment. I didn’t want to miss a single moment of this experience. The way we reveled in one another, securing our love and our bond in an intimate physical dance.
“PJ, I love you more than I thought I was capable of loving another human being. You’re mine now,” I said, brushing my lips against hers as I switched angles, driving deeper inside her.
“Only ever belonged to you,” she sighed.
My hands moved down the curve of her hips, holding her tight and bringing her as close to me as physically possible. I wanted nothing ever to sever the connection we had again.
This woman so full of intellect, beauty, and a soft, compassionate heart who was also very fragile and needed to be protected, was mine. She was all mine, and I couldn’t get enough of her.
Our chapter of love was just beginning. And this powerful dance of intimacy that we shared was one of the many ways we’d learned to express our feelings. I looked forward to exploring the various ways we could communicate the depth of our emotions and how far this relationship could go.
“Bryce.”
“Yes, baby?”
“If you have to leave again, I’ll go with you. I’ll go wherever you go,” she whispered against my lips. “Because I was made for you, only for you.”
Those words, so simple, were powerful and had the potency to bring me to the edge. Grasping the sheets, I drove deeper inside of her. Every muscle in my body clenched as I worked hard to hold on. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could last, and I didn’t want to leave her behind.
“Give it to me, Bryce. I’m ready...I’m so ready,” she purred underneath me.
That was all I needed. Letting go, my body rocked back and forth and lowered just a bit and rose again as I emptied my seed inside of her. Planting hopes for our future and our dreams.
We lay in bed a while longer, staring at the ceiling as I held her in my arms.
“Did you mean what you said, Bryce?”
“What?”
“About putting babies inside of me?”
Taking her chin between my fingers, I turned her head to face me. “Peyton, I love you. There’s no reason to pretend this isn’t what it is. When I asked you that question, it wasn’t on a whim. It was something I’ve planned for the last month that we were apart. And I know that when you answered that wasn’t on a whim either.”
“It wasn’t.”
“My future is with you. Your place is by my side, PJ. You’re all I need in this life, and I want to spend the rest of our lives proving to you that I love you more each day,” I said before kissing her.
Tears shone in her eyes when we pulled apart.
“I don’t know how to stop loving you, Bryce Hasaan Lexington.”
“Then don’t ever try, Peyton Joanne Lexington.”
She giggled. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over hearing that,” she said, extending her hand and staring at the big ring I’d slid onto her finger yesterday.
“Good, because I’ll never get tired of calling you that,” I replied, pulling her to me and kissing her lips.
“Oh, gosh! Your mom’s going to kill us!” she screeched, lifting her head away from me.
“For what? Marrying you? I already told her that it was my intention. The day that I flew back to do the open mic night, Mom and I had a long conversation.”
“What about denying her another wedding?”
“She also knew that it was my intention. I told you if you wanted a big wedding, we could do that. And maybe we still can later, but I wanted to make you my wife immediately. And as for everyone else who has something to say about it, they can kiss my black ass. My parents are good with it because they just want me to be happy. You said you didn’t want another big wedding, so the rest doesn’t matter.”
“Our friends?”
“They’ll forgive us the way they forgave Zy and Karina.”
Her gaze softened, and she rested her head on my shoulder o
nce more. “I forgot you told me they eloped.”
“Right. So, we’ll cross the bridge about family and friends when we get to it. For now, all I want to do is spend the rest of the day tapping that ass, Mrs. Bryce Lexington.”
Giggling, she said, “I want to play out chapter seven in your newest release, The Drip Factor.”
My dick twitched, instantly growing hard. “Shiiiidd! You ain’t said nothing but a word, baby,” I replied, turning her over onto her stomach and spreading her ass cheeks apart.
I dipped my head low and wiggled my tongue out to taste her. My girl was dripping wet and ready for me. Just as I’d known she would be.
EPILOGUE – CHAPTER 30 – BRYCE
“DUDE, YOU LOOK LIKE you’re in love,” Bishop said.
“I’ve always been that,” I said, looking from the chubby miracle in my arms to the olive-colored woman lying in bed.
“You should let me name him, too. After all, I got it right with Bianca.” Bishop chuckled at me, shaking his head as he pulled back the blanket to peer at his nephew again.
“Don’t rub it in,” I snarled at my little brother. “We chose Cairo Alexander for his name.”
“I love it,” Gianna exclaimed.
“You got my daughter’s name off, you’re not getting my boy,” I said.
“Serves you right. You had no right to be betting on whether or not you’d marry me. Especially when we both knew you were smitten,” Peyton said, smiling at me as her eyes crinkled around the corners.
“Smitten? Who the fuck says smitten?” I asked.
“Language,” Gianna warned, wagging her finger at me.
“Sorry about that,” I apologized, looking down at my angel again.
“Yes. You were smitten and too stubborn to admit it. That’s why our daughter’s name is Bianca Giselle,” Peyton replied.
“Giselle was your idea,” I pointed out. “Besides, the only reason B got the name Bianca off is that I love that name anyway. Always have.”
“Liar!” Bishop called out, laughing at me.
“You may like it now, but still, Bianca was Bishop’s idea. Not yours, and it’s all because you bet against us,” she said.
“Hmph. I think it’s a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl,” Gianna said.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Peyton replied.
“Speaking of Bianca, where is she now?” Gianna asked.
“At Peyton’s parents’ house for the weekend. Her sister and brother came in town not only to see the birth of this one but to spend time with their little niece, too,” I said.
It had taken a lot to convince Peyton to allow our two-year-old daughter to remain with my in-laws while she gave birth to our son. They’d slowly worked towards rebuilding their relationship, but they had a long way to go. She was close to her siblings again, but the damage between her parents and her would take time to heal.
Her mother had finally gotten around to not blaming her for everything that went wrong in life.
“I think y’all got busy on Bianca right away. Ya’ll were married what nine months when she was born?” Bishop asked.
Peyton smiled at me with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Open mic night,” we both said, laughing, recalling the promise I’d made to put my babies inside of her.
“Damn, wasn’t that before the elopement?” Bishop asked.
“Yes,” Peyton said shyly. “We’re not exactly sure when it happened, but we know it was somewhere between open mic night and the morning after the elopement. We like to think it was open mic night.”
“It had to be the sax,” Gianna said.
“Yeah, great sex,” I replied.
Peyton pulled a sad face, rolled her eyes, and shook her head.
“Corny, even for you, big bruh,” Bishop replied.
“Whatever,” I replied. “It’s your turn now.”
“What and ruin this beautiful body?” Gianna said, pulling her hands down the sides of her hips.
She wore a beautiful orange and pink maxi dress that had the words “Yoga Life” written down the front of the dress.
“I mean, might as well join the crowd, B. Our asses ain’t getting no younger, lil bruh. All of us have married off now, including those of us who swore off the ‘m,’ word,” I said.
“Shit, I knew it was a wrap for the rest of us when Darnell finally married Gina,” Bishop said, laughing.
“You two need to behave,” Gianna warned, wagging a finger at us.
“You guys really should join the family,” Peyton joked as she accepted our son back from me. “Zy and Karina’s daughter, Amira, is three now?”
“Yes, she is. Just celebrated her third birthday last month,” Bishop said.
“Right, and Silver and Kole’s daughter, Nari is two and a half, and their little girl, Chloe, is six months. Bianca’s two, and now we’ve added Cairo. It means victorious,” Peyton said sweetly.
“Speaking of name meanings, what did Silver say Nari means again in Korean?” Bishop asked.
“Lily Flower,” Peyton replied.
“That’s a nice name,” Gianna said.
“Yeah,” Bishop replied, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing her on the neck. Gianna smiled sweetly up at him, and they shared a moment.
I watched my brother carefully; certain something was up with him.
“We were thinking Aahil Bashir for our son,” Bishop said slyly.
“Aahil means ‘God’s gift,’ and Bashir means ‘wise man who is a bringer of good news,’ in Persian,” Gianna explained with a delicate smile of her own.
“Like you can just pick and choose the gender of your child when you finally decide to have it. Did you pick out a girl's name?” I asked, looking at my brother, who was chuckling.
“Wait, Bryce, I think you missed the point,” Peyton said, gently resting her hand on my wrist. I looked at my wife and then back at my brother and sister-in-law when Peyton asked her next question. “Are you guys expecting?”
“In six months, we’ll have a boy to add to the growing family,” Gianna said.
I laughed. “Hell, nah, B! Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. Now that you know I can finally tell Ma,” he said.
Jumping up from my chair, I pulled my brother into a hug of congratulations as I slapped his back, and we whooped it up for a minute.
“Can you two calm down your masculine roars?” Gianna asked, laughing. “We are still in a hospital.”
“My bad! Man! Mama can get off your back. You know if you’d told her first, the world would already know,” I said.
“Exactly, which is why she’ll be the second to know after you two.”
I gave my brother pound and thumped him on the back again. This was special for him.
Starting a family and having a doting, committed wife after the fiasco he’d gone through with Brielle was his dream.
Things between him and Gianna started strange, too. Their fake relationship to fool my mother and her fans turned into something neither of them could control quickly. And when he’d almost lost her because he was too scared to open his heart after what his ex-wife took him through, she’d come through and claimed her man.
I looked at my wife. Our paths weren’t much different than my brother and sister-in-law. It had taken us years to admit our feelings to one another, and when we finally did, both of us were scared to take that final leap.
Now, after all this time, we all were moving ahead in a positive direction with lots of love and the desire to be one strong, committed unit.
“I’m happy for you, man,” I said.
“Thanks, big bro. Some days I can’t believe it myself either. Aside from a thriving business—”
“And you got your first billion before me,” I said, teasing him.
“Pssh, you’re not too far behind from what I hear. Especially with the movie deal now,” he chuckled.
“Yes, the reviews on your newest release is all anyone can talk about on socia
l media,” Gianna said. “I even had to field questions about what my brother-in-law is up to on my last Yoga live last week.”
“Well, once the cat was out the bag on your identity,” Peyton said, shaking her head.
“I know, but I can stand under the scrutiny as long as I’ve got your love, baby,” I said, bowing and kissing my wife and then my newborn son.
“I still can’t believe that Miss June did that. She’s such a spiteful old woman,” Peyton replied.
“What’s done in the dark always comes to light, but in the end, they worked out in our favor, babe, because everything about us and all that we do is good. No evil or negative energy is coming from our way so that it won’t work in her favor. We’re on to another chapter, and she’s still stuck in misery.”
“You’re right about that,” Peyton murmured.
“I guess that’ll be the next news that’s trending. G and I are having a baby,” Bishop said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to all this attention.”
“Might as well. It’s what Daddy built us strong for all those years ago. Protecting us from the media, and ensuring we knew who we were no matter what the world said. That’s what keeps us strong, keeps our character intact when others would tear it down. It’s what keeps us marching on, handling our business, and being the strong black men we are,” I said.
“Always,” my brother said, giving me dap again.
My thoughts went back to the reviews that were released today on my newest book, Entangled Truth. I smiled, thinking of the hard work I’d put in to create that novel. The hard deals Aria pushed to get those movie deals on the table, and the love of a good woman who’d inspired the story.
I was thankful for everything we’d gone through. The good and the bad.
“...a captivating story of love, triumph, and the ability of love to stand the test of time. I felt Marc’s pain and heartbreak, despite the fact he was impervious to Willa’s plight.” N. Washington, Naira’s Tea
“... a well-written story that compelled me with every word. A storyline of hope that encourages readers to rise above the perils of depression and loss. The perfect balance of romance and erotica. His slogan of ‘Permission to Shower After Reading and #slipperywhenwet’ lives on.” J. Lockhart, USA Today
Undeniable: A Friends To Lovers Romance (Love Desired Book 4) Page 20
