King Divas (20 page)

His name is rumbling in the streets again. This on the heels of learning that Diesel Carver has transplanted from Atlanta. Add an angry Python and that makes three powerful legends suddenly on the scene. How could a massive invasion on our territory not be too far off? From my left Mason's snoring deepens. I'm glad that he's finally getting some sleep, but at the same time, why the fuck is he sleeping when we're being surrounded by enemies and we don't have a new arms dealer lined up?

I toss and turn for more than half the night while Mason finally sleeps like a baby. Pregnancy doesn't agree with me. I do manage to fall asleep briefly, but I wake up frightened, and then for hours I can't shake the ominous feeling that has somehow crept into my bones. That can't be good.

When Mason wakes, he catches me frowning and rubbing my belly.

“Is everything cool?” he asks.

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.” Since that doesn't sound too encouraging, he continues to stare at me. “You'd tell me if there's something wrong, right?”

“Right?”

“Mason, please. I'm just cranky, all right? And it's hot in this bitch. Are you sure the damn air conditioner is working?”

“Yeah. But if it'll make you feel any better, I'll go and check.” He climbs out of the bed and pads out into the hall to check the thermostat and the vents. “I feel cool air,” he hollers back.

I roll my eyes and wish that I could crawl out of my skin.

Mason walks back into the bedroom, takes one look at me, and asks, “How about I fix you a bowl of ice cream?”

“I think I just fell in love with you all over again,” I blurt out, unsure why I feel like I'm on the verge of crying.
Crying.
I rarely fucking cry.

“Okay. It's settled. Ice cream for breakfast.” He slaps his hands together and makes a mad dash to the kitchen.

I push myself up from the bed. When I do, I feel a sudden drop. That startles me. “What the fuck?” When nothing else happens, I breathe a sigh of relief. In that moment, my fear forges a special bond between me and my child. The fear that something may be wrong or something may have happened to him.

Until this moment, being pregnant has been just my state of being—and yes, I felt some kind of way about being inconvenienced. But the thought of there being something wrong terrifies me like nothing in the streets ever has.

“Okay,” Mason says, returning with a big ol' grin on his face. “I got your favorite: Rocky Road.” He takes another look at my face. And he sees my watery eyes. “What happened? What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” I swipe the tears from my eyes.

Mason stares with two bowls of ice cream in his hands, like he's too scared to move.

“I just felt the baby kick. That's all.”

“Oh yeah?” He puts the ice cream down on the dresser and rushes over to have a feel for himself. But he waits and waits, and when nothing happens, his smile drops again.

“Maybe you'll catch it later,” I say.

Disappointed, he nods and stands. “We got to get you an appointment with a doctor. I can't believe that you haven't done that yet.”

“Can you hand me my ice cream before you turn into my mother?”

He grabs the bowls. “I'm just saying.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I'll call someone today.”

“Who?”

“I don't know. I'll look in the phone book or Google it, I guess.” I plow my first spoon of Rocky Road into my mouth.

“You're going to get some random?” he asks, twisting up his face.

“What? You got your favorite ob-gyn doctor on speed dial or something?”

“Nah. Nah.” He shrugs. “I thought you and your girls kinda shared that sort of information.”

I stare at him.

“I mean, surely one of the Flowers can recommend a doctor.”

“I wouldn't know since I don't hang out with the Flowers.” I give him a
what the fuck
look.

“Okay. Don't get like that. You know what I mean. We should get someone with a proven record.”

“How much skill does it take to stand between my legs and play catch?”

He cocks his head and stares with his mismatched-colored eyes. “Will you get serious? It's not going to kill you to act like a female for the next couple of months. That means going to a doctor and letting him check out your lady parts.”

To avoid snapping back at him, I shove more ice cream into my mouth.

“Don't act like I'm wrong or I'm being unreasonable.”

“Okay. Okay.” I roll my eyes. “I'll . . . ask around.”

He smiles. But he waits until I'm practically inhaling my creamy breakfast before he hits me with his next request.

“I need for you to go see Smokestack,” he says.

I groan. “I'm sorry. It seems like lately every time I see him, I'm the bearer of bad news for him.”

“I understand. But I really need you to do this. He's gotta have a contact for our people to get more guns.”

He has my full attention. “So you're worried about King Isaac being back on the streets?”

“More than worried.The timing with this Diesel character
and
Python simmering out there?” He shakes his head. “We got to be on our p's and q's on this shit. I want our people armed to the teeth if need be.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“And take Profit with you.”

“What?”

“Look. It's way past time for me to start grooming him for leadership. In this game you never know. I may not always be around. He's got to be ready to step up.”

I know he doesn't mean it the way I took the statement, but it still hurts. Mason meets my gaze. “I love you, baby, but you can never be king—only queen.” He crosses over to deliver a kiss. I'll admit it: it does make me feel better.

“So you'll do this for me?” he asks.

I hesitate a second too long.

“When are you going to tell me what the hell is going on between you and Profit?”

I choke. “What?”

He leans over and lightly whacks my back until I can breathe again. “You good?”

I nod.

“Cool. Now about Profit—and before you fix your mouth to say
nothing
, I'm not blind or stupid.
Something
is up.”

Oh fuck.
I don't know whether I have the energy to come up with a lie that I can remember—and given how salty Ta'Shara has been behaving, I need to think my answer through.

Mason's stare intensifies. “Are you two still fighting about that night I went over the bridge? Do you want me to talk to him?”

I relax. “No. I don't need for you to fight my battles.”

“Well, I don't want him stressing you out. There's no reason for him to still be upset about that. I'm back. Everything is cool.”

“Give him some more time. He'll come around,” I say, sighing and mentally kicking myself.

Mason weighs my words. “All right—but if I see him stressing you out again, I'm gonna step to him and set him straight.”

“Deal.”

He gives me another kiss and then places his hand on my belly. Again, the baby doesn't kick and he has to walk away with his ice cream, disappointed.

I
haven't been catering to my man as much as I should. Given the amount of stress that we've been going through this past year, we've been feeling the cracks in our foundation, but we're finally back on the same page. I sent Kane and June Bug to Bath & Body Works for some bath soaks, body scrub, and a few more supplies so I can give him a nice mani and pedi.

I know that I'm running the risk of going overboard, but I'm so damn happy to have my real nigga back that I might also throw in a private strip show before I really put it on him. Once I get the candles lit and the rose petals tossed, I change into a black silk teddy and half robe, and then call Python into the bathroom.

He takes one look around the bathroom and cocks a curious smile. “What the fuck is all this?”

Smiling, I walk over and take him by the hand. “This is all for you.”

“Yeah? Did I forget that it's my birthday or some shit?”

“No. I just wanted to do something nice for you.” I tug his suspicious ass inside and then help him remove his shirt. Then I run my fingers over his muscled and tattooed chest. My nigga may be ugly as sin, but he also has the body of an African god.

“Now that you got me up in here, whatcha gonna do?”

“I'm going to treat you like the king you are.” I unhook his black jeans and then slowly slide down the zipper. We usually go at it hard and rough, but tonight I want to slow shit down and seduce my man. I glide my hands to each side of his hips and then tug his jeans and boxers down his legs. As I kneel in front of him, his cock springs up and pops me on the chin.

“It looks like someone is happy to see you,” Python says, smirking. “Are you ready to eat the cake, Anna Mae?”

“Not yet.” I wink up at him. “I like my dessert after the meal.” But to tide him over, I take hold of his thick dick and plant a kiss against the fat mushroom head.

“All right, momma. I'm gonna let you do you and enjoy the show.” He steps out of his clothes.

Standing up, I remove my robe and allow a few seconds for him to drink me all in. The lace on the front of my teddy does a good job of hiding the rash of keloids across my chest, courtesy of Ta'Shara's failed murder attempt. Regardless, I'm still flawless judging by my husband's hungry gaze. I take him over to the tub and tell him, “Step in.”

For once, he follows directions and sits down. “Awww. This feels nice.”

“You like that, baby?” I ask, kneeling down next to the tub.

He leans all the way back and closes his eyes. “What's not to like?”

“Good.”

“Are you going to join me in here?”

“I already had my bath.” I reach over for the new mesh sponge and then douse it with liquid soap. I wash his body in small circular strokes, taking my time to make sure that I get every inch of him. The shit starts feeling so good to him that he starts humming. That's when I surprise his ass and bust out the bowl of grapes.

“Oh. You're on this shit.” He chuckles before plucking a few and popping them into his mouth.

“I want to make you feel good,” I tell him. “After all that's gone down, you need to relax and recharge.” His crooked smile gets my heart fluttering a bit. “Welcome back.”

Python knows exactly what I'm talking about. “Yeah. I guess I was trippin' on some bullshit,” he admits. “Muthafuckas can't change the past. What's done is done. I know that shit now.”

Our eyes lock and for the first time in a long fucking while I feel as if we're one.

“Thanks for hanging in there with your man. I'm going to do right by your loyalty.”

“Does that mean that we're going to start fighting for what's ours again?”

He nods. “We're going to take our shit back and then we're going to snatch everybody else's shit too. You feelin' me? You down?”

My smile widens. “What the fuck do you think?” I set the grapes aside and start soaping his two-tone dick as it juts above the milk-colored water like a chocolate éclair.

“Mmmmm.” Python sinks lower into the tub and spreads open his legs so I can make sure he gets as clean as a whistle. In no time, he's moving his hips in time to my rhythm. With my free hand, I reach for the bath oil and then use that muthafucka like a lube.

Python looks like he's ready to lose his shit when I slow everything waaay the fuck down. “Ah. I knew that your ass was going to start playing games.”

“Yeah? But isn't this a
fun
game?” Leaning over, I pour everything that I am into a kiss because I want him to truly feel me. The shit must feel good to him because the next thing I know his wet hands wrap around me and I'm pulled into the tub with him.

Laughing, I splash down next to him. “What are you doing? This is silk.”

“I don't give a fuck about that. It's coming off any damn way.” He hooks one finger around one, thin spaghetti strap and then snaps that muthafucka off with no effort. “I appreciate you pampering your man, but the best way to spoil my ass is by giving me some of that bomb-ass pussy you got.” To make sure that I didn't misunderstand his direct ass, he cups my pussy and gives it a firm squeeze. In response, my clit pounds against his palm like a jackhammer. Next thing I know there's a whole lot of splashing going on as the teddy is ripped from my body. There's no need for foreplay because I'm already adding my special honey into the mix.

With one powerful stroke, I'm impaled on his cock. The shit feels so good that my head immediately lolls back and my eyes roll around in my head. Once my pussy adjusts I start rolling my hips.

“Yeah, baby. That's what the fuck I'm talking about. Ssssss.” Python caresses my breasts for a moment, before pinching the nipples.

I hiss my damn self. The harder he pinches, the higher my nut rises.

Loving the sound of my pleasure, Python pushes himself up from the water to latch his mouth around one of my throbbing nipples.The instant his teeth skim across the delicate skin, my pussy squirts all over his dick. In no time at all his hands make their way around my body and my ass cheeks inch wider and wider.

I know my nigga like the back of my hand. I know what he's feigning for. My pussy may be great but my ass is like fucking heaven to him. Still rocking my hips, I feel one of his fingers slide in through the back door.

Then another.

Before long, I'm wide the fuck open: on my knees with my face pressed against the cold water knob and my ass up in the air, getting pounded hard.

“Awww.Fuck. Yesssss. Ssssssss.” Python slaps my ass so hard that I jump and squirt some more. Nigga turns my asshole into a crime scene before he nuts so fucking hard that I feel that shit gushing all up in my belly.

And our asses ain't nowhere near done.

We stand up together and turn on the shower to rinse off. But minutes later, our wet, naked bodies are falling onto the bedsheets, ready for round two. Instead of looking around for a belt buckle, Python snatches the cord from the nightstand lamp and wraps that shit around my neck like a fucking noose.

I don't panic or lose my cool because this strangling shit ain't fuckin' new to me. Back in the day when we first hooked up, I thought the muthafucka was sick, and this li'l freak nasty shit that he was into was something that I had to endure to be his new queen. But over time, I started liking the pain and then loving it. There is something about playing with death that makes muthafuckas feel more alive. That's the best way to describe it. And if you're doing the shit with a nice cocaine kick: paradise.

“Ssssss.” We're in the fucking zone. No one and nothing exists but us and this moment. Once again, I feel like I would lie for this nigga, kill for this nigga, and even die for him. And right now, with a dildo in my pussy, his fat cock in my ass, and a cord wrapped around my neck, I
know
that he feels the same fucking way.