King of Devon

by Naleighna Kai

“Jesus Christ,” Temple exclaimed.

  When Jai’s head whipped to her, she said, “Sorry.”

  “You cannot be married on the same day the license is issued.”

  “Do you ever have any good news?” Jai said, his tone as sour as his facial expression.

  “Are you telling me you want to have a fly-by-night arrangement that doesn’t include the everyone?”

  “Everyone?” Temple asked, getting to her feet. “I just want something small and intimate. Just the two of you as witnesses.”

  “And you’re not going to have the rest of the crew in for something as important as this?” Dro retorted, sounding pissed.

  Temple mouthed the words, “I told you.”

  “Like I said, I’ll round up the Kings and Knights,” Dro said, and he used that tone which meant he wasn’t going to be deterred.

  They disconnected the call and Temple fell into a fit of giggles.

  “We have to call Sandy.” Jai keyed in her number, then gave her the info.

  “See, I leave you all alone for two hours, and y’all are trying to get married—wait did you say, tonight?” She laughed so hard she caught the hiccups.

  “He’s trying to make an honest woman out of me,” Temple said.

  “And she’s been over here trying to make a dishonest man out of me,” Jai tattled.

  “I’m on my way back,” Sandy said, without hesitation.

  Temple blinked and grimaced. “No, we just wanted—”

  “No ma’am,” she insisted. “You are not having a wedding without me, this little one, or some damn good food. I’ll get things started over there and come back for her when she wakes. Be there in a jiffy.”

  Sandy disconnected the call before Temple could protest any further.

  “Your family is pretty damn—”

  “Amazing. Loving. Determined,” Jai supplied with a toothy grin.

  “Yes, that too,” she conceded, and leaned her head against his chest. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “I can,” he said, pressing a kiss to her lips.

  ”Do you believe you’ll be worth the wait?”

  “Woman, that is an absolute promise,” he shot back. “Now, go upstairs pull out something amazing, and let’s get the first part of this party started.”

  Temple scrambled to get up and rushed toward the stairs. Then realizing he was watching, she slowed and did a sexy little sashay the rest of the way.

  “You are so wrong for that,” he said and her tinkling laughter echoed through the house.

  Jai waited until she was out of earshot, then placed a call to Dro and said, “Hold on a second,” then added Daron to the call. “Fellas, remember that favor I asked for?”

  “You mean outside of the other kabillion ones you and your woman have on the table right now?” Daron said without missing a beat.

  “See, why are you bringing up old stuff.” Jai stood and brushed off his shirt. “I need you to work a miracle for me. It’ll be my wedding present to Temple.”

  “You know that’s a tall order, right?” Dro said.

  Daron agreed. “We’re still waiting for confirmation on some things.”

  “But I have faith that you two can do the impossible,” Jai said, placing his legs into a yoga pose. “The Impossible’s timeline just came a little faster, that’s all.”

  “Spoken by the man who doesn’t have to do the mental, Internet, and under-the radar gymnastics to pull it off,” Dro said in a dry tone.

  “But they call you a fixer for a reason, and Daron’s the tech guru who can cut through all the bull and make stuff happen.”

  “Oh, what pressure,” Daron retorted, amidst the clicking sound of his fingers dancing across his keyboard.

  Dro chuckled. “Yeah, he’s laying it on pretty thick.”

  Jai glanced down at the erection that refused to subside and said, “Pressure? You don’t know the half of it.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Twenty-nine minutes to midnight and the Kings, their queens, Mira, Nurse Jennifer, and Sandy’s family were all putting the finishing touches on Jai’s home as they waited for Daron, Khalil and Aashna to arrive.

  Khalil walked in, guiding Aashna toward the center of the living room. Then another familiar face came in behind them. Sesvalah, a woman with honey cream skin and tiny locs that nearly touched her knees, who Jai had hired to provide counseling for Temple while she was at Meridian. Since then, the sessions have been ongoing, and Temple had made a great deal of progress, so it made sense for her to be a part of the happy occasion.

  “Good Evening,” Sesvalah said to everyone and was greeted in kind. “I’m here to perform the wedding ceremony.”

  Jai’s gaze whipped to Temple. “You invited your counselor to officiate the wedding?”

  “She’s also a pastor,” Temple said, her chin lifted, showing her determination. “Who did you think should do it?”

  “Well, my father.” He gestured to Khalil whose lips turned up in a smile. “But—”

  “No, it is the bride’s choice,” Khalil said, with a small bow. “I can simply be the father of the groom, today. And that is fine with me.”

  “And father of the bride since mine isn’t here,” Temple prompted.

  He gave a slight bow. “I would be honored.”

  “Why don’t we both do the wedding?” Sesvalah offered. “You can never have too many blessings going into such a wonderful experience.”

  Jai looked at Temple, who nodded and said, “That sounds like a plan.” Then she addressed Khalil. “But I’d still like for you to walk me down the aisle.”

  “Indeed.” He kissed the back of her hand.

  “Hey, get your own wife,” Jai teased.

  “Trust me, I did,” Khalil said with a hearty chuckle.

  Everyone laughed.

  The Knights arrived in black suits and ties that matched the ones the Kings wore, and they brought in the rest of the items that Marilyn, Cameron, Milan, Zuri and the Kings had asked them to bring. Marilyn came through a few minutes later and Hiram greeted her with a kiss that received some good-natured ribbing from the Knights and Kings. Everyone quickly finished with the décor and setting the stage for the wedding so that when the clock struck twelve, it would be showtime.

  “You know, all of us being here at this hour reminds me of that old Patsy Cline song,” Sesvalah said, settling on the living room sofa.

  Khalil frowned for a moment, then realization widened his eyes and he crooned, “I go out walkin’ after midnight …”

  “Oh, and he sings too,” Sesvalah teased, to the sound of laughter from the group.

  “Yes, that makes sense,” Temple said. “Jaidev sings to India all the time, and I swear she won’t hear anything else.”

  “That’s all right, baby,” Jaidev crooned, kissing Temple’s forehead. “I’ll sing to you, too.”

  “Yeah, but that’s not the kind of song mama will be wanting to hear,” Reno said in a sly tone, and his mate nudged him.

  “Behave,” Khalil said and winked at his wife, who gave him a sassy smirk that spoke to the fact that she was now well aware of what kind of song they meant.

  Jaidev had come to terms with the fact that his mother and Khalil had rekindled a flame that never quite went away. Their relationship and Khalil’s skillful maneuvering to acquire the Maharaj wealth from the very people who had caused such harm, and put it into the hands of those he knew would do right by it, had sent shockwaves through parts of India, Goa and Dubai. The fallout was epic as Khalil’s way of tipping the balance of power meant that the nine of them, women included, were now part of the ruling class.

  In some ways, Jai, Devesh and his twin sister, Anaya, Vikkas and Mira had managed to avoid taking on any guilt that their family members tried to heap on, and were becoming closer than any of them had thought possible.

  The whole confusing marriage-not-quite-divorce-marriage— annulment—marriage and divorce fiasco had to be brought before an American judge, much to
the Maharaj Family’s dismay. Their whole argument rested on the fact that none of the marriage part of the machinations held weight, which would unravel the main parts of what Khalil had put in place to wrest control of the Maharaj fortune from the elders and legally put it in the control of the members he was certain would do right by the wealth and status.

  Unfortunately for them, Khalil was correct in his assertion that he was still legally married to Aashna which did make certain that Vikkas, Jaidev, and Mira were legitimate Maharaj-Bhandari heirs. Unfortunately, in a split-the-baby down the middle move, the judge did require them to have all the proper paperwork in order and that meant a substantial settlement to Guarav if he could somehow prove damages he suffered as a result of the duplicitous marriage. Varsha hadn’t bothered, but Khalil had already given her a fair amount of money anyway.

  Guarav, in true selfish fashion was holding out for more money, and had taken to stalling on turning in the necessary documents to have time run out. After several visits to the judge’s chamber with no conclusion to the proceedings in sight, Khalil put an end to things by telling Gaurav, “She didn’t call you out on the infidelity issue you don’t think she knew about, because that’s not the reason she was ready to cut ties with you. But the judge might see things differently, since you presented yourself as a faithful and dutiful husband. That one little element can turn things in our favor if a certain mistress decides she wants to … how do I say it … spill the tea and walk off with a little dancing cash that will cost me less than it will cost you, if you continue to make us suffer.”

  Gaurav’s face lost every ounce of color.

  Khalil placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a warning squeeze. “Trust me, I have what I want—free and clear—and we can last a lot longer with these proceedings than you think.”

  The final orders from the judge went through with great haste, and thanks to Khalil’s last conversation with Guarav and that tip off to the judge, the man didn’t get a dime. Khalil remarried Aashna in a private ceremony with only Vikkas and Milan, Jaidev and Temple, and Mira looking on. Then the two of them disappeared for nearly a month on a seven-continent cruise.

  Seemed like every time Khalil left the country was when the exciting things within the family tended to happen. Jai’s parents had landed late last night and their timing couldn’t be better.

  CHAPTER 31

  Daron burst into the house, put his back against the door, and gestured wildly for Jai to come close. The rest of the Kings looked at each other first, before following on Jai’s heels.

  “What’s going on?” Reno asked, giving his brother a onceover. “You look like hell.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” He glanced at Jai and lowered his voice. “I’m going to need you to stall for a little bit.”

  “What?” Dwayne said, sighing. “We were ready to finally start everything. We were waiting on you and Dro.”

  Dro tipped in and closed the door behind him, then shook his head.

  “Yes, I know,” Daron shot back but looked to Jai. “But we’re going to need you to delay things a little bit.”

  “Are you going to tell me why?”

  “No.” Daron squared his shoulders and met the answering glare head-on. “Stall.”

  “For how long?”

  Daron’s expression darkened. “For as long as it takes.”

  “That is not an answer,” Shaz said as Kaleb and Reno nodded. Finally, something the two of them could agree on.

  “Trust me. Please.”

  Jai huffed, glanced at Dro who simply shrugged and walked out to the group situated in the living room. They all wore expressions that ranged from curiosity to mild annoyance at being kept in limbo.

  “People, we’re going to need a minute for the rest of the paperwork to arrive,” Dro said with a reassuring look in Daron’s direction.

  Temple’s gaze narrowed to slits. She thrust her bouquet into Hiram’s hands and moved forward until she was only inches away from Dro. “Bull. The paperwork is already here.” She stood toe to toe with Jai. “Are you having second thoughts, because we don’t—”

  “No, my love. Never that.” Jai sighed, placing his arm about her waist before concentrating on Daron and Dro. “They’re asking for a few more—”

  The screech of tires pulled everyone’s attention.

  Daron raised his gaze heavenward, let out a long, slow breath as Dro’s lips turned up in a small smile. They practically skipped to the door, something that was so uncharacteristic that all the Kings did a double-take and shared questioning glances with each other.

  “Rut roh,” Vikkas managed in his best Scooby-Doo imitation, causing Milan to shake her head.

  Daron opened the door only enough to put his head out, then waited.

  Others—especially his fellow Kings—tried to come close, but Daron gestured for them to stay back. Footsteps sounded against the pathway leading to the front entrance. The closer they came, the more anxious Jai felt.

  “What the hell is he up to?” Cameron said through her teeth.

  Milan stood next to her and slipped off the apron Sandy had given her when she first arrived to help with the meal. “Hell if I know.”

  “Ladies and gentleman, and Kaleb,” Daron teased, grinning when Kaleb slyly flipped him the bird. “May I present to you … the miracle of the day.” Voices all chimed in at once and he put up an index finger to silence them. “No, I’m not talking about a woman who’s survived the most tragic of circumstances and lived to tell her story. Or the fact that she’s given birth to an amazing child.” His gaze lovingly landed on India, who was leaning over in Grant’s arms, reaching for a strand of Shaz’s locs. “Fellas, you do know, I’m her favorite, right?”

  “Lies,” Grant said, passing the baby to Dwayne before trying to move past Daron. “Enough already.”

  “Hold your horses, young man.” Dro blocked him with an arm, pushing to back Grant up. “I’ve got this.”

  “Must be huge,” Vikkas said, halting his own steps in that direction. “This is the most I’ve ever heard him speak at one time.”

  Daron gave Vikkas the evil eye and ignored the chuckles that accompanied that true statement. “Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted.” His smile was back in place. “And I’m not speaking of the miracle that our brother, Jaidev Maharaj, has found love with Temple Devaughn and they’re getting married at this ungodly hour of the morning.”

  “Marriage isn’t a miracle, that was a given,” Jai said, with an affirming nod.

  “All right now,” Sandy said, and shimmied her shoulders in appreciation.

  Temple nudged Jai in the side, then took a few tentative steps forward, moving closer to Daron, who couldn’t keep the smile off his face. The most anyone had ever seen the most serious King in the group smile in any manner.

  “May I bring to you, Jai’s wedding present …” With that, Daron opened the door to its full reach.

  Temple froze, gasped so hard it seemed to extract every ounce of air from the room. Then she let loose with a blood-curdling scream that shook the entire building.

  Jai barely caught Temple before her legs gave out.

  CHAPTER 32

  “Are we too early?” a man with a medium build said as he stepped over the threshold. He was followed by a fleshy woman who could almost be his twin, except for a tight cap of curls and the fact that she walked with a slight limp. Their features were strikingly familiar to the woman in Jai’s arms.

  When Sandy pressed a cold cloth to her forehead, Temple woke from her fainting spell.

  “Donny, Ebbie …” Temple whispered, then left Jai, did a walk-sprint to the foyer and fell into their arms creating a three-way circle. They embraced and the tears and sobs were epic.

  Jai looked on, but asked Shaz, “Are you crying, my brother?”

  “No, no. Allergies and whatnot.” Shaz wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and his Jamaican accent was thicker than normal because that was a straight-up fi
b.

  “Allergies,” Kaleb taunted, frowning as he scanned Shaz from head to toe. “Dude, the only thing you’re allergic to is not eating.”

  Dwayne let out a low whistle. Reno’s hand went up to stifle his laughter. The rest of the Kings and the Knights didn’t bother to try. Shaz’s appetite was like the eighth and ninth wonders of the world— exactly in that order.

  “You outdid yourselves this time,” Jai said to Dro and Daron, who were practically beaming as he embraced them. “You came through for me. But were you able to ….”