That was code for the wire transfers to Yohan’s accounts. No traces. No bounce backs. He was sticking to the deal.

  Relief filled me, making me sigh. Things were going as planned.

  “Speaking of Yohan?”

  “He’s been traveling back and forth from his home to his office. He’s keeping to his routine mostly, with no major changes. He hasn’t sent money anywhere. His hands are still clean.”

  “And the prostitute?” I raised my head, hoping that I was right.

  “They never booked him. He’s disappeared.”

  “Disappeared?” Impossible. People didn’t vanish. Not unless somebody wanted them to.

  “I have a theory, but I’m still working out the kinks. ‘Til then, yeah, he’s disappeared. I’ll let you know more when I have the info.” The bastard was lucky I trusted his pretty ass.

  “Where’s Ward?”

  “He’s out running a few errands that he mentioned. Everybody else is out taking care of business. Yasmine was cooking when I left her. She mentioned feeding the twins before she came back up to see you. Abigail called. She said that she had some important information for you.”

  “Alright. Any idea what?”

  “None. But she said it needed to go through you first.”

  I nodded. Abigail was careful. It was why she worked for me. If she said it was important then it was. “I’ll call her back and then I think I will attempt to take a shower by myself today. I’m feeling better finally and when the doc was here last night, he told me I should be able to go off of bed rest as long as Yasmine was good with it. I swear that woman has all of y’all wrapped around her little finger.”

  “‘Y’all?’ I’ve seen how you look at her. You’re not immune.”

  “You need to stop worrying about me and focus on Paula and Yohan.”

  “Aye aye, captain.” He snickered as he walked away, irritating me.

  “What’s that for, asshole?”

  “She’s getting to you, Dom. It looks good on you, too. Maybe if you cleaned yourself up, she’d show you some interest too.”

  “Get the fuck out!” I threw a pillow at his head just as he ducked out the room. “Fucker!”

  I chuckled, hating the fact that I was stuck with his knuckleheaded ass. Brothers. Guess he should be lucky that I’ve loved him since he came into the world. The day he was born made me the proudest big brother ever. And I took my role seriously.

  I walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. My facial hair was wild. I’d need to get O to come up and get it together. He was the only person that we let touch our hair. It made for a long Sunday, waiting in line. That’s when we went to his house, ordered pizza and wings, and played video games all day while we took turns in the ‘look good seat’.

  Getting in the water for the first time in a while by myself felt good. I could breathe better and I wasn’t afraid of falling over. My lungs were on the mend and so was my health.

  Aside from the two weeks in jail, I’d been cooped up in this room for almost a month. It was time to get out and get some fresh air that wasn’t stale with illness. I dressed soon after my shower in a sweatsuit. The house was cool, and I didn’t want to relapse. I zipped up my hoodie and picked up my tray from this morning’s breakfast.

  I found Yasmine in the kitchen, swaying to music and cooking. The twins were in their bassinets asleep, and though I wanted to see them up close and personal for the first time in almost two months, the woman hypnotizing me by moving her hips to the music distracted me. Besides, they were asleep.

  I walked up behind Yasmine and wrapped my arms around her. She almost jumped out of her skin until she realized it was me. Then that’s when the scolding began.

  “You shouldn’t be up!”

  “You heard the doc. I just need to take it easy.”

  “I don’t want you sick again, please, whatever you need, I’ll bring it to you.”

  “What I need is right here.” I pulled her closer into my arms and she relaxed there. We’d spent a lot more time touching over the past few weeks. She closed her eyes and swayed in my arms.

  “Think you can handle something a little heavier than broth and noodles?” She wondered out loud.

  “I think so. I wouldn’t go overboard, but I think I can handle something heartier.”

  “Perfect. Are you ready to see the babies?”

  I don’t know, was I? This was my first time at this father-business. I’d only seen them while they were in the hospital. I’d spent time with them before my trip but was it enough? And if it wasn’t, was it too late to bond with them?

  “Sure.”

  Yasmine wiped her hands on her apron, then picked up my son. My… Son. She handed him over, smiling sweetly.

  “Domino, say hey to Jr. Jr, can you see your papa?” His eyes fluttered open and then he smiled before dozing back to sleep.

  Wait, what was that burning sensation in my eyes? Sniffing, I looked him over. He was wearing a tan one-piece thing, fluffy like a throw blanket. It covered his hands and feet and had a gazillion buttons down the legs and up the body. I leaned in to nuzzle his cheek to mine to smell the baby freshness and Yasmine’s sweet scent. I also smelled… me?

  “Why does he smell like me?” It confused me.

  “Oh! I wrapped each of them in a sweatshirt of yours every day so they know who you are. I didn’t want them not to bond with you. I hope that’s okay.” Her face was a mixture of things. Worried. Hopeful. Excited. Curious. But I could tell that she wished that she could read my mind right now.

  “It’s more than okay. Thank you.” I winked at her and her face lit up in wonderment.

  She then picked up my daughter and held her other arm steady for Jr. After we swapped, she held my daughter so I could see her.

  “Laila, do you remember your papa? Say hi.” Yasmine’s smile was cunning. Guilty.

  I chuckled because I’d just lost the name war with her. She’d been arguing for her name to be Laila for all this time and even called a truce saying that I could name her Dominique. Looking at them now, I knew the truth. She’d been calling her Laila this entire time.

  “Laila, huh?” I asked her, though my eyes never left my daughter.

  “Mhm… Laila.”

  “It’s hard arguing with a woman that has already won. I’m in trouble if you're anything like your mother, Laila.”

  Yasmine stilled. “Mother?”

  “Yes. You’re my wife, why would you be anything other than their mother?”

  “Because I… I didn’t want to assume. I know that they have a mother somewhere.”

  “Yes, she’s standing right here in this kitchen,” I confirmed and consoled her. “All they know is you.”

  Tears easily fell from Yasmine’s eyes. She put Jr. into his bassinet and rushed me with a hug before raining kisses on my face. Realizing that she was holding my head at a weird angle, she took Laila from me and put her into hers. Then she pulled me down to her and continued raining kisses along my face. When she got to my lips, she held on tighter and took a genuine kiss. Our first one. One that had me lifting her onto the counter so we could get to one another as needed. She wrapped her legs around me and we became lost in the moment. Perfect.

  “Whoa!”

  We froze at being caught. Then I remembered that I was at my house.

  “Ward,” I acknowledged before nibbling along Yasmine’s chin.

  “Bro.” He stole a muffin off of the counter and picked up Jr. “I’m surprised that they let y’all watch them making out like school kids. I will take you two with uncle Ward and give them some privacy. I’ll wash your eyes with baby soap, okay? Negligent parents...”

  We both chuckled and Yasmine slid from the counter, going back to cooking. “I’m glad that I cooked something light for dinner. It’ll be perfect for you.”

  Just like you.

  The thought surprised the fuck out of me. When…? How…? I cleared my throat and turned my attention to Yasmine.

  “Need some help?” I needed to do something because I was losing my mind.

  Yasmine smiled big and motioned for me to come over. “I do.”

  And that’s how we ended up making dinner together.

  Domino

  When Ward called me, I didn’t like what he had to say. It pissed me off so badly that I forgot about keeping my hands clean. He’d only confirmed what Abigail suspected. That’s how I ended up here, using Rodney’s face as a punching bag. He deserved every hit too. Was this ass beating going to prevent me from killing him? No. It was just an outlet. One that I fucking needed.

  “You have a family. Not just your blood. All of us here. We would have never sold you out! That wasn’t even the shitty part.” I kicked him in his rib, hearing the crunch and not giving a fuck. “You sold me out for five measly ass thousand dollars. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Son of a rat bitch!” His stomach is where the next five kicks landed. Blood expelled from his mouth and landed on my pants. That didn’t matter either.

  “Boss…” He struggled to say.

  “Don’t fucking talk to me. There is nothing at all that you could say to me to make anything better. Nothing!”

  “When they asked about Paula, I didn’t know that it was you they were after.”

  “Then you didn’t ask enough questions! You’re wasting my time now and you wasted two weeks of my time then. You know that I know everything about your sorry ass, right? Two children. A fiancé. Your mother and grandmother. Your sister that’s paralyzed. That rock behind your house where you stash all of your money. You don’t get a fucking pass because you didn’t know!”

  He’d told Yohan’s men everything. How long I planned to stay in Morocco, about Paula, Laila, not Jr. because he hadn’t listened hard enough to the conversation between Abigail and me to realize that we were talking about twins. Fucking liar.

  “Domino, don’t do this, man! It’s not what you think. You’ve got a rat on your squad, but it’s not me. The guy he sent, told me that if I didn’t tell him, he would kill my mother!”

  “And who is this rat, Rodney? I don’t see anybody squirming but you.” I kicked him again for emphasis.

  No hesitation. “Saint. He’s been telling everything.”

  All of my guards snickered. This rat had also not done his homework.

  “Do you know who Saint is? Huh?!” I smacked his face, taking him out of the daze he’d fallen into.

  “Yeah, yeah. He’s your boy. I struggled to believe it, too.”

  “Why do you think he’s a rat?” This better be good.

  “Because he wants to be like you. One of the Kings.” More snickering erupted from my guards.

  “Well, let’s call him and find out why he snitched then, right?” I picked up my phone video calling Saint.

  “I thought you’d be home by now,” Saint answered.

  “Busy. Rodney is here, and he’s got something to say.”

  “What?” Saint was eating a plate full of something, stuffing his mouth. “Does he want me to save him a plate or something? Can’t do that. This Bastille might be my favorite. It reminds me of that pie that mom used to make. I don’t know if anybody is getting some of this.”

  “Saint?” I stopped him while he was ahead.

  “Yo?”

  “That’s not what Rodney wants.”

  “Well, what? I’m busy.” Making love to that plate of his cause he was on my screen paying little attention that my foot was in Rodney’s chest.

  “No, he seems to think you’re a rat.”

  Saint dropped his fork, squinting into the phone. “And who in the fuck did I shit on?”

  “Me.”

  “And why in the fuck would I snitch on my brotha, bitch?!” Saint’s face was unmistakable. He’d pissed him off.

  Rodney looked between me and the screen. “Brother? Man, y’all not blood, though.” Rodney coughed up more blood while he held his stomach and pressed against my foot. I didn’t budge but I wanted to kick his dumb ass again.

  “Tell that to my mother,” Saint yelled. “You’re lucky I’m not there. I’d kill yo’ bitch ass with my bare fuckin’ hands. I’d rat nobody out. Especially Domino. I put snitches in the ground!”

  “He’s lying!” Rodney yelled. “He’s lying!”

  “Prove it,” Saint demanded.

  “I ain’t got to prove shit to you, rat!” Rodney fired off.

  Tired of the bullshit, I pulled my gun from my back pocket. “Tell me how you know this to be a fact before I blow your damn head off your body.”

  “I… I…”

  “Time is ticking and we all know I hate wasting my time.” I pushed the gun to his temple and pressed hard, making him scream.

  “Okay! Okay! Yohan had some men come to my house and make demands. He only gave me the 5 g’s as a bonus.”

  “I know. Because he paid off all of your debt. You gamble and owe people all over. He gave you that money as fallback dough. He knew I was coming after you the moment that I found out what the fuck you did. That five was to get you to the rest of the money, passport, and a new life. Do you know why he did all of that?”

  “In case they still came after me.” Wrong answer.

  “You wish. He knew I would kill your dumb ass.” I landed two solid blows to his gut and another two to his face before I stood up. “Sharp?”

  My personal guard stepped forward. “Sir?”

  “Make sure this mess gets cleaned up.” He wouldn’t touch a thing, but he’d make sure they carried my orders out.

  “You got it.”

  I walked away from the scene, going to my car. I only made it to the door before I heard a series of shots going off. Not turning to look, I entered the car, and it took off immediately. I was hyped and there was only one thing that I had on my mind. Yasmine.

  Taking care of business always turned me on, but when I figured out shit that had been bugging me, the beast came out. I’d been defied, lied to, and even penetrated by the enemy. Figuring out the how had me jonesing for my wife. It could be because her virginity was waiting on me and tonight, I would take that shit with a vengeance.

  I grabbed something quick on the way home because it was late. It was the first time that I’d been away from Yasmine and the babies for longer than two hours, and I was missing them like crazy. Not to mention that I needed Yasmine in the worst way. My body was on autopilot while I ate. Fry-ketchup-chew. Drink-straw-sip. Burger-sauce-bite. All the while it was Yasmine I was craving. It’s the one thing that was making my mouth water.

  When I got home, the guys were saying stuff as I got out, but I walked past everybody, focused on my destination. Inside, I walked through the dimly lit house until I got to Yasmine’s door. I paused only to slow down. I didn’t want to scare her. Opening the door slowly, I entered only to find her not in her room. I checked the twins’ room, and she wasn’t there either. I picked up my phone and texted Saint.

  Me: Where’s Yasmine?

  Saint: She was reading on the couch.

  Me: She wasn’t in there when I walked past. Also not in her room or the twins.

  Saint: Gimme a sec and I’ll find her.

  I exhaled, trying to keep my cool. Tonight wasn’t the night for her to disappear. I double-checked her room and when she wasn’t there; I went to the adjoined bathroom that connected our rooms and showered. My clothes went into a black bag and would be disposed of tomorrow.

  Trying to focus on showering, I let the cool water cascade over me. My dick throbbed in need, but I refused to touch it. Yasmine would have to deal with that added frustration later. Once clean, I walked into my room where I found Yasmine stretched across my bed with a book tossed aside. She was asleep on her stomach in a satin gown that rose high on her thighs revealing smooth tan skin. It was the first time that I’d seen so much of her. For a moment, I was speechless. Her arms and shoulders were bare except the thin shoulder straps that had fallen out of place. Her hair was down, with a loose natural curl that spiraled down her back. My fingers itched to grasp a hand full of it while I was inside her.

  A motherfuckin’ treat.

  I caressed her legs, loving the smoothness of her skin. My mouth followed the trail up her legs. Gently, I adjusted her to give me an opening to her sweetness. I already knew what I wanted. I kissed over her ass listening to the light moans that came from her. She was still somewhere between awake and asleep until I slid my tongue inside her heat.

  Yasmine gasped loudly, breathless. This part wasn’t for her, I was satisfying a need that I’d had for weeks. I massaged the inside of her with my tongue as I held her into the position that pleased me. Yasmine cried out, trembling in my hold. Sweet as sin. I moaned out my approval as I continued to feast, taking my time. Delicious.

  I heard her hitting the bed repeatedly, begging for mercy between her cries of passion, but again… this wasn’t about her. I couldn’t help but groan again at how good she tasted. And her response to me fed the beast that planned to ruin her. In retrospect, because she was a virgin, I guess I should have warmed her up to my needs. I couldn’t, though. I needed her how I wanted her, now, and without worrying about things like niceties. That wasn't my style. I would make her feel good, though. That was a given. But she needed to get on my level, not the other way around. And I was going to have fun getting her there.

  “Dominic!” She panted my name more than said it. Gasps came next, followed by her grinding her sweetness against my mouth. She was enjoying the sensations, looking for completion, but I was just beginning. We had all night for her to find her pleasure with no end in sight.

  I slid my tongue out of her and across her clit rolling my tongue along it. She whimpered something beautiful, begging for more. She was right where I wanted her, wet and ready for more and she was going to get it. I teased her, bringing her to the edge and back. Teasing her frustrated her attempts to come. I chuckled, not caring. She’d be allowed to later after I’d had my fun.

  “Pleeeeease, Dominic! Pleeeeeease!” She cried out.

  “I told you, you’re going to beg for everything that you get tonight.”

 

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