The Bull (The Black Land Series Book 2)

by D. Camille

  Suddenly she was joined at the table by Rion and Corvus' mother, Pam Shaw. Khayla smiled as the woman took the seat next to her. Pam Shaw always reminded Khayla of Claire Huxtable meets Erykah Badu. She was ethereal and enchanting, and her sons were fine as hell. Khayla wondered why she seemed to want to talk to her.

  Pam Shaw smiled at the beautiful young woman. Khayla had always been a beauty since they were all children. Pam thought of all the Negus as her sons, but outside of Rion and Corvus, Lance was the most special to her. He'd spent a lot of time at her home since he and Corvus were the best of friends. Her heart went out to the boy who'd taken on so much at such a young age, and she and her husband had done everything in their power to assist him.

  It was no secret that Lance had given his heart to Khayla a long time ago, and Pam wondered why these two were not together after all this time.

  “Hello Khayla.”

  “Mrs. Shaw, how are you?” Khayla responded.

  Pam nodded. “I'm very well. Thank you.”

  “I know you're excited about your new grandbaby.”

  “Excited is not the word. I can't wait for our new young god,” Pam said happily and Khayla smiled.

  Khayla laughed. “Maybe Corvus will be next.”

  Pam glanced out at her son still playing with Kyros. “No, he has a while.” She turned to Khayla. “What about you honey? I'm sure the men are knocking down your door as beautiful and smart as you are.”

  “They're knocking, but I'm not answering.”

  Pam laughed. “You're waiting for the one?”

  Khayla shrugged. “Is there such a thing?”

  “Perception is reality Khayla. If you believe there is one...then there is,” Pam explained.

  “They don't make men like Mr. Shaw or Granddaddy Patterson anymore.”

  Pam looked back out at the men. “You have five of them in your life.”

  Khayla pursed her lips. “Rion's married. Khalil's my twin. Brandon is...Brandon, and you said Corvus has awhile.”

  Pam looked at her. “What about Lance?”

  “Lance is not an option.”

  “Is that by choice?” Pam inquired.

  Khayla nodded. “Yes.”

  “Hmmmm...his choice or yours?”

  “Both...”

  Pam smiled again. “The best thing about choices is that they are easy to change, if you don't wait too long.”

  “Well, I don't look at Lance that way.”

  “How do you look at him?” Pam asked.

  Khayla shrugged. “He's my friend and like a brother.”

  “Khayla...sweetheart, Lance has never been your brother and he's never looked at you as a sister. We both know that boy has lived a hard life and he's never complained. Sometimes a man who's had to be strong all his life, just needs a woman who can let him be weak when he needs to.”

  “You young women want a man to pay the bills, cater to your emotional needs, and as you say...put it down on you and do it all with a smile, but can he come to you when's broken and hurting? Can he lay his head on your breast and shed a tear for the atrocities he faces every day or will you think he's soft? Can he tell the burdens of his heart, or do you just want to hear how much he wants your body?”

  Khayla looked away. “I know that Lance has been through a lot and I'll always be there for him.”

  “Lance is my third son and I love him to death. His wild ways are only because he hasn't found the place secure enough to rest his head,” Pam explained. “There's never been a foundation for him.”

  Khayla smirked. “Lance has rested his head many places.”

  Pam shook her head. “No sweetheart, Lance has only shared his body. His heart...is a different story. He gave that to a pretty little girl with afro puffs a long time ago.”

  “Mrs. Shaw...” Khayla began.

  Pam touched her arm softly. “I'm done. You don't have to tell me to go away.”

  Khayla smiled. “I would never tell you that. You'd pull out the kitchen knives on me.”

  Pam laughed. “You're right.” She stood to her feet. “Tell your mother I said hello. I'm sorry they couldn't make it today.”

  “Yes, they're on their annual trek to the Motherland. They hate that they missed it though,” Khayla told her.

  “Well, I'm sure they're having a good time, and I'll talk with her when she gets back.”

  Khayla nodded then watched as Pam Shaw walked over to the men who were now joined by her husband and Mr. Patterson. Khayla looked at the group. These men were strong, loyal, handsome and kind. They were both loving and dangerous.

  She watched the love in Rion's eyes as his wife approached. He smiled and pulled her into his arms staring down at her. Slowly he lowered his head and kissed her soundly. Khayla watched as he lifted his head and she looked up at him before gently stroking his face. His smile was warm and full as he held her eyes.

  As she watched the exchange, Khayla understood what Pam Shaw had been saying. Rion had found the secure place to rest his head. Both Rion and Tauri were strong willed people. Rion was the Lion and he'd found his lioness in Tauri Patterson. Now they were building a life together, and it looked as if nothing would stop them.

  If Khayla was honest with herself, she'd admit that having someone look at her the way Rion looked at Tauri wouldn't be a problem. She gathered her nephew and prepared to take him home to play their game. She didn't know what Khalil had to do this evening, but she'd see him when he got home. She hoped her brother was seeing a woman, because he needed someone in his life. That wretched Melody had done a job on him. Khayla wondered if she and her twin were just destined not to find love.

  She drove to her brother's home and let her nephew inside where he quickly rushed off to set the game up. Her phone rang and she answered after a quick glance at the screen.

  “Hey Lance,” she said softly.

  “Hey Katydids.”

  She walked through the house to find her nephew. “What's up? You okay?” she asked.

  Lance sighed. “Yeah, I'm straight.” He paused. “You mad at me?”

  “Yes.”

  He laughed softly at her quick reply. “No you not.”

  She laughed with him. “How are you going to tell me that I'm not?”

  “'Cause you never stay mad at me. No matter what stupid shit I do,” he said quietly.

  “And we both know you can do some stupid things” she responded.

  “But you never dip out on me.” He paused again. “And I never want you to.”

  Khayla took a seat on the sofa next to Kyros. “If you pull something again like you did today, then I might.”

  “I can't help it.”

  “Lance...”

  He cut her off. “You know I keep it one hundred. It won't go away Khayla.”

  “What won't go away?” she finally asked.

  “The way you smell...the way you feel...the way you taste,” he told her.

  Khayla sat up quickly and took a sharp breath at his words.

  “You okay Auntie Khayla?” Kyros asked looking over at her while holding his controller.

  She turned to him. “I'm fine Kyros. Go ahead and start building, I'll be right back.”

  Khayla stood and left the room walking down the hall. “We tried this Lance and it didn't work,” she reminded him firmly.

  “It didn't work because I fucked it up,” he admitted.

  Khayla closed her eyes. “Lance, we're in a good spot now. We work together and we've put all of that behind us.”

  “It's not behind us Katydids. That's why we can never stay away from one another. We've always been together and it's not going to change.”

  She leaned against the wall. “What do you want Lance?”

  “I wanna take you out and eat some unhealthy food. I wanna Netflix and chill. I wanna buy new sheets for you,” he said passionately.

  “You know I'm not going to eat unhealthy food,” she whispered touched by his words.

  Lance laughed softly. “But you
wanna do the rest?”

  Khayla bit her lip. “Maybe... I don't know.”

  “Where are you now?” he asked.

  “I'm at Khalil's playing Minecraft with Kyros,” she told him.

  “So Khayla Imani, can I take you out this week?” he asked.

  Her eyes widened. “On a date?”

  “Yeah, Ma on a date. A date I'll plan for us.”

  Khayla smiled. During their summer rendezvous, they pretty much stayed at Lance's house as they hadn't wanted anyone to know about their relationship.

  “You're serious?” she asked.

  “More serious than I've ever been about anything in my life,” he answered.

  Khayla heard her brother's car in the driveway. “What about the Negus?” she asked.

  “I'm not worried about the Negus. You my number one.”

  Khayla sighed, “Lance if you fuck this up...I swear...”

  “You just sit back and let me flex my swag,” he interrupted. “Let me put it on you.”

  She lifted a brow. “Oh really?”

  “Hell yeah.”

  The door opened and Khalil entered before turning to his sister. “Hey,” he greeted watching her with the phone in her hand.

  “Hey, I'm just talking to Lance for a minute,” she explained. “Kyros is in the family room.”

  Khalil looked at her a second longer then headed to find his son.

  “I should go, Kyros is waiting for me,” she said into the phone.

  “Alright, tell my little homie I'll see him later.”

  Khayla smiled. “I'll tell him.”

  “And you...I will definitely see later, Miss Lady,” he said sexily.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “Goodnight Katydids...”

  “Goodnight Lance.”

  Khayla disconnected the call and stood in the hall staring at the floor. Lance was right about one thing; they could never stay away from each other. Since that first summer they'd met and each summer afterwards they were drawn to each other like moths to flames. He was also right that she could never stay mad at him for long. He always knew the right words to say to make her smile and forgive him. He'd look at her with those sexy dark eyes then give her that wicked smile, and she'd be done for.

  Khayla went and joined her brother and nephew. After taking a seat on the sofa, Khalil turned to her.

  “Everything cool?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, I was just catching up on some things with Lance.” Khayla grew warm as she said his name and thought about him buying new sheets. She gave herself a light fan with her hand.

  Khalil nodded as well watching her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, it's warm in here.” She fanned herself some more as images of Lance's hard body flashed before her eyes.

  “You want me to turn the air on?” Khalil asked.

  Khayla now felt warmth between her thighs as she remembered Lance tasting her. She quickly stood to her feet. “No, I just need some water. I'll be right back.”

  Khalil watched his sister's retreating back then turned to his son. “Now tell me about these pretty girls on Uncle Lance's phone.”

  Chapter 4

  Lance arrived at the restaurant later the next evening. He looked around at the filled tables and smiled. At first he'd been skeptical about a healthy food restaurant in the hood, but Khayla had been right and the reception had been phenomenal. He spotted the mastermind behind this endeavor standing behind the counter talking with the staff. She wore a long skirt with a flowing blouse. Her hair was in her signature twist-out bob.

  Lance approached with a smile on his face taking in her voluptuous frame. Khayla had always been curvaceous and thick and he loved every sexy inch of her. Her firm breasts sat up like two melons and he remembered how they felt in his hands and on his tongue. He recalled how her sexy thighs wrapped around his back as he squeezed her large, round ass.

  “Hey Khayla,” he greeted hoarsely.

  She looked up at him and smiled while reading his thoughts. “Hi Lance.”

  The staff looked between the pair in question. Everyone knew that these two had something brewing, but no one could figure out just what it was, since they had seen both on many occasions with other people. Today, however it was clear that whatever they had was about to boil over.

  “Can I see you in the office for a minute?” Lance asked and she nodded.

  Khayla turned to the staff. “I'll be right back and we can finish,” she told them before turning to Lance and allowing him to lead her away. The staff watched them go with smiles on their faces.

  Inside the office, Lance took a seat behind his desk while Khayla stood by the door. “How is everything?” he asked.

  “Good. I was just briefing the staff on next week's schedules,” she explained.

  He nodded slowly pinning her with a dark stare. “Why are you standing by the door?”

  Khayla bit her lip. “I need to get back out there,” she whispered then watched as he stood and came towards her. His shirt hugged his chest and his thighs were snug in the denim he wore.

  “Why are you acting nervous?” he asked when he reached her.

  “I am,” she answered honestly.

  Lance frowned. “About?”

  “You.”

  He moved closer. “You know me Khayla.”

  She looked away. “Exactly.”

  Lance lifted his hand and turned her face to his. “You changed your mind?”

  He saw the indecision in her face before lowering his mouth to hers. Gently his lips caressed hers as he pulled her closer. Khayla was swept away as his strong arms enfolded her. His firm lips savored hers while she held on to his muscled arms.

  “You scared?” he asked against her lips.

  Khayla smiled as she recognized his taunt. As kids, whenever he wanted to dare her into doing something, he'd ask if she was scared.

  “Not of you...little boy,” she responded as usual.

  “Then kiss me like you want it.”

  Her eyes darkened at his command. Khayla wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her open mouth over his. From that point it was on and any reservations that either of them had disappeared. For both of them, no one could compare to the other. As their mouths and tongues engaged, their bodies moved closer, frustrated by the clothing between them. When they finally parted, Khayla pulled back and touched his handsome face.

  “I want you to come to my office,” she told him softly.

  He nodded. “Okay, you need something?”

  She nodded as well. “I need to test you.”

  Lance froze and tilted his head. “What?” He'd thought she'd said she wanted to test him.

  “I want to test you Lance. If we're going to eventually be together again, I need to know you're safe.”

  He stepped back in confusion. “You think I got a disease?” he asked in amazement.

  Khayla removed her arms and folded them in front of her. “I'm a doctor Lance. I know what's out there and I know you've been out there. Even though we'll use protection, I want to know for sure, just in case.”

  Lance gave a short laugh. “Damn! You serious...you think I'm walking around infected or something.”

  “Lance, African-American women make up over sixty percent of women with AIDS in this country because they didn't want to have this conversation with a man they decided to be intimate with.”

  His eyes bulged. “You think I got AIDS!”

  “I'm saying that it's the responsible thing to do for both of us so we know for sure what the other's health status is,” she said calmly.

  “So you getting tested too?” he asked.

  Khayla frowned at him. “For your information Lance, I am very careful and I get tested regularly when I've had a sexual interaction.”

  He stared at her. “Exactly how many sexual interactions have you had?” he questioned.

  She tilted her head. “Really? You want to go there?” she asked as her eyes narrowed.

  Lance blew
out a breath and leaned back against his desk. “Damn, I've never had this happen.”

  “I'm not surprised,” Khayla said sarcastically. “They just fall into your lap.”

  He looked up and reached for her hand before gently pulling her toward him. “I'm careful too Khayla and I don't have anything, but I will come to your office.”

  She stared down into his face. “We're not virgins anymore Lance.”

  “I know and I'm glad you're about your business.” He placed his hands on her hips.

  Khayla kissed him softly. “Thank you.”

  “So when this test comes back that means we can get down in the raw, right?” he asked giving her a sexy look.

  She shook her head. “I'll only get down like that for my King.”

  Lance pulled her head down to his. “Who do you think I am?” he whispered.

  “You've applied but you haven't passed the screening process,” she said watching him.

  “Consider that position filled, Ma.” Lance said against her mouth. “No other applicants need apply.”

  Khayla touched her lips to his. “We'll see if you can make it through to the end.”

  “You know nothing stops me Katydids, not if I really want it,” he whispered as he lifted her skirt up her leg.

  She trembled at the touch of his hand on her skin. “You want it?” she breathed as his hand continued to travel upwards.

  When he reached her now aching spot, he stroked it softly. “My name is right here.”

  Khayla held onto his shoulders as he continued to gently massage the dampened area inside of her panties. “What is it?” he questioned.

  Her eyes met his as he moved deeper. “Lance...”

  The knock at the door startled them both and Lance answered with a gruff, “Who is it?”

  “Uh, a customer wants to see the manager,” a voice came from the other side.

  Lance watched Khayla as he removed his hand and replaced her skirt. “I got it.” He told her as he stood.