by D. Camille
“We’re not playing make-up Lance.” She rubbed his back. “We can’t change the past, we can only take advantage of right now.”
She pulled back and looked at him. “And right now, I want you to get back in this bed and relax.” Khayla touched his jaw. “Let me lie close to you and feel your heartbeat. Let me feel the warmth of your beautiful brown skin and soak in your strength and power.”
“Will you do that for me baby?” she asked.
Lance nodded and stood removing his shirt. His pants were next and Khayla moved over to give him room. She held the covers open as he slipped inside pulling her warm body next to his. Khayla held him close with his head on her breasts. She intertwined her naked legs with his and sighed.
“Now this…is perfect,” she breathed as she closed her eyes.
*********
“Khayla Imani…”
Khayla heard the voice in her ear but didn’t stir.
A few minutes later she heard it again. “Khayla Imani, are you going to wake up?”
“No.”
She heard Lance’s deep laugh in her ear. “Why not?”
“Because if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up,” she whispered.
Khayla felt a kiss on the back of her neck. “It’s not a dream Ma.”
She slowly opened her eyes and saw that it was now daylight outside. She felt Lance’s body spooned behind her.
“Why do I have to wake up?” she asked.
“Because we missed breakfast,” he told her.
“I wasn’t hungry anyway.”
He kissed her neck again. “And we missed lunch.”
She frowned. “Oh.”
“We’re supposed to have dinner with Mr. Sable in about an hour or so.”
Khayla turned to him. “We slept that long?”
Lance nodded. “I guess we were both more tired than we realized.”
She placed a hand on her face and rested on her elbow. “Or we just finally relaxed. There’s been so much going on in our lives.”
“You seemed so stressed about this whole weekend,” she told him.
He watched her. “I just wanted everything to be perfect.”
“This right here…is perfection.”
Lance reached out and touched her breast. “This right here…is perfection.”
Khayla smiled and moved closer as Lance’s phone went off. She lifted a brow as he reached for the device on the nightstand.
“That’s Corvus’ ring. He must need to talk to me,” he explained giving her a look.
She nodded. “Okay, I gotta go to the bathroom anyway.”
Lance watched her leave the bed and head into the other room before answering. “What’s up Corvus?”
“We got a lead on the car that Karen’s dude was driving.”
Lance frowned. “Who is it?”
“It’s registered to some cat named Reggie. I drove past the address on the registration but no sign of the car,” Corvus informed him. “Word is he’s running weight through Ohio down to Texas.”
“Okay. I’ll be back tomorrow night. Let’s hook up then.”
“Cool. I thought you’d want to know,” Corvus said.
Lance watched Khayla returning. “Yeah, I did. Thanks.”
“Tell Khayla I said what’s up.”
“Corvus said to tell you what’s up,” Lance relayed.
Khayla climbed back into the bed. “Tell him I said hi and stop interrupting my getaway before I have to hurt him.”
Corvus spoke up. “I heard her. She so damn mean, just like her brother.”
Lance laughed. “I heard that Corvus!” Khayla yelled.
“You know I love you Khayla!” Corvus yelled back.
“Bye Corvus.” Lance ended the call and replaced the phone on the nightstand.
Khayla looked at him. “Is it an emergency?” she asked.
Lance shook his head. “Nah…”
“Do we need to go back to the city?”
“Everything is fine Ma. I got it,” he told her.
Khayla studied him for a minute. She knew those two well and if Corvus was calling while Lance was away, something was definitely up. “Okay baby…no questions.”
“We should start getting ready,” Lance said watching her.
Khayla guessed that Corvus’ call had something to do with Karen, which meant that the Negus had some type of lead on her whereabouts. Since Lance had clammed up, she knew he didn’t want her to know. She hoped that Sage had been able to get her what she needed.
Khayla smiled at Lance. “You wanna wash my back baby?”
He nodded. “And everything else too.”
An hour later, the pair headed downstairs to a dining room filled with beautiful people. The Sable family was gorgeous to say the least. Lana introduced her two sisters, Lorna and Lena. All three women resembled one another with beautiful natural hair.
Their father didn’t look old enough to have three grown daughters. He was an extremely handsome man who clearly took his health very seriously. His light brown complexion and wavy black hair complimented a chiseled face with dark eyes.
Lance held out Khayla’s chair and waited for her to be seated. He took the seat next to her as Lloyd Sable smiled at her.
“Well now I see why this man drove six hours to check out our place for you. You are a beautiful young woman Dr. Lewis,” Lloyd told her.
Khayla blushed. “Thank you Mr. Sable and please, call me Khayla.”
Khayla had managed to put her destroyed twist out into a neat curly bun. Tonight she wore a long maxi dress with long sleeves that complimented her sexy curves.
“And please call me Lloyd.” He turned to Lance. “You’re a smart man. You keep her.”
Lance smiled. “Oh, she’s mine.”
Lloyd looked around the table at his lovely daughters. “You got some brothers for these girls here?”
“Daddy!” they all exclaimed laughing.
Lance slid Khayla a look. “Khayla has a twin brother.”
“A twin brother?” Lana asked.
Khayla nodded. “And he has a son. His name’s Kyros and he’s six.”
“Oh how cute,” Lorna added.
“Is he a doctor too?” Lena asked.
“No, he runs a community center in Detroit,” Khayla explained.
Lloyd nodded. “That’s a commendable job.” He turned to Lance again. “And I’m so impressed with you, young man.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He looked at them both. “You two are Detroit’s new power couple in business?”
“We will be,” Lance agreed.
Khayla smiled. “Actually Lance is the business guru.” She turned to him in slacks and a dress shirt and looked him over. “He’s very smart and savvy.”
Lance reached for his glass and took a slow sip. When Khayla looked at him that way it did something to him.
Lloyd smiled at the couple. He remembered reaching for his glass many times when his beloved wife had looked at him a certain way. He’d lost her when the girls were young and he still thought of her every day.
Lance replaced his glass and took Khayla’s hand. “I’m smart enough to know that you’re irreplaceable.”
The other three women at the table sighed as Khayla smiled.
Lloyd laughed. “Let’s have dinner. You young people are priceless.”
Dinner was a festive occasion as the half dozen people got to know one another. Lance watched Khayla in action and marveled at how well she could adapt to different people. Khayla was a flame and like moths, people were always immediately drawn to her. Her vast wealth of knowledge combined with her giving energy made her irresistible.
Khayla felt Lance’s gaze on her and turned to him. Their eyes connected and she smiled at him. He looked so handsome in his dress clothes, but then again Lance looked handsome in Timbs and T-shirt…or nothing at all. He’d brought her here not just as a getaway but also to help make her vision a reality. A woman couldn’t dream of more than
that from her King.
Lance smiled at her and gave her a sexy look indicating exactly what he was planning to go down later tonight. Khayla returned both his smile and his look before turning her attention back to Lloyd Sable.
“Mr. Sable, Lana told us that you work with black farmers?” Khayla inquired.
He nodded. “Yes, I got wind of John Boyd and when I found out what he was doing, I knew this was something we had to look into.”
“Many people don’t even know black farmers exist let alone that they need our help to maintain their farms and livelihood. The government has mistreated them very badly.”
Khayla agreed. “With the lack of healthy foods available in many black communities, it’s imperative that we try to bring the two together.”
“That’s why I was impressed with your idea of the food co-ops. When Lance told me about you and your idea, I knew I had to meet you.” Lloyd smiled. “Plus I had to see the woman who this man was obviously head over heels for.”
“He came in here outlining every detail that he wanted for you to have during your stay and didn’t care what it took or cost to make it happen,” Lloyd finished.
Lana chimed in. “Yes, he had us all running around here like chickens with our heads cut off trying to find the things he requested.
Lance laughed softly as Khayla turned to him. “It was important to me,” he told them all.
“We got the point,” Lloyd added.
“Lana told me that everything you serve here is locally grown and made in-house?” Khayla asked turning back to Lloyd. “That’s amazing.”
Lloyd looked proudly at his daughters. “Yes, we changed over to everything organic and locally grown a few years ago. The girls went about the business of finding local farmers, bakers, and everything else.”
“They’ve made this place very special.” He smiled at them and they beamed.
“Thank you Daddy,” Lana spoke up. “Without you we couldn’t even have this place. Daddy ran this place for many years all by himself and kept it afloat.”
“I commend you Mr. Sable. Black-owned family businesses rarely survive let alone through generations,” Khayla told him. “What you’ve accomplished is impressive.”
“Add in the fact that you’ve done something totally different by serving healthy foods is amazing,” she finished.
Lloyd looked at everyone around the table. “You all are the ones who can bring us back to where we started. Our culture wasn’t always one of disease and sickness. We used to grow our own foods and use the plants of the earth to heal ourselves. Now we’ve turned to all man-created products.”
“Our food is poisoned, even our water. Look at that fiasco in Flint, Michigan. That’s an act of terrorism, if I’ve ever seen one. How can you sleep at night knowing you’ve poisoned an entire community and families?” He shook his head. “Would this have happened if it wasn’t a predominantly black area? And would the people have stood for it?”
Everyone around the table listened intently and took in Lloyd’s words. In Khayla’s mind, the tragedy in Flint only proved that black communities must take control of their necessities like food, water and shelter. The co-op would provide two of them and the way Lance and Corvus were buying up and developing properties in the city, they could definitely serve the third.
Lance shook his head. “The governor needs to be taken care of. Brothers are getting locked up every day for petty crimes and he basically enacts genocide on an entire city and nothing happens. It’s not right.”
Everyone agreed as they began to clear away the table. When the dinner dishes were gone, Khayla looked around again. “This is really a beautiful place,” she told the Sables. “I’m so glad that Lance found it. I have to tell everyone about it now.”
“Well as the Marketing Director, I’d love that!” Lorna told her. “We appreciate all new business.”
“Did the other guests eat in their rooms?” Khayla asked wondering why they’d been the only ones having dinner that evening.
All the Sables looked at one another, then at Lance. “This young man rented the entire place for the weekend,” Lloyd informed her.
Khayla’s mouth opened as she turned to him. “Lance…”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want any surprises.”
“I can’t believe you sometimes,” Khayla whispered as she leaned over to kiss him softly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome Katydids.”
Lana jumped from her seat. “Oh I almost forgot.” She quickly left the room and Khayla looked confused. When she returned, she had in her hands two colorful tins of the candy Lance had nicknamed her after.
“Lance had these shipped to us. Normally we don’t serve these, but this was his special request tonight,” Lana told Khayla.
Khayla put a hand to her face then looked at the women smiling across from her. “How can you not love that?” she said nearly speechless.
“Who would try?” Lena asked smiling.
Khayla turned to Lance. “So you’re just pulling out all the stops.”
He leaned closer. “I told you, there is nothing I won’t do for you Khayla.”
Khayla turned back to the sisters who were watching the interaction. “I told him, he’s going to make me cry this whole weekend.”
“I’d be crying too…” Lana told her.
“And spending all my time in the room,” Lorna added.
“Naked…” Lena finished.
“Lena!” her family exclaimed.
She shrugged. “It’s true.”
Khayla smiled. “I agree,” she looked at Lena. “With all of you.”
Everyone laughed and began to sample the chocolate treats. As the evening wound down they continued to discuss Khayla’s food co-op with Lloyd giving her lots of information and promising to follow up with her once she got back to the city.
Soon they all said goodnight and Lance led Khayla back up to their room. She headed towards the door and he stopped her. “This way…”
Khayla looked surprised as he led her to another door. “This room tonight,” he told her and opened the door to reveal another beautifully designed room. This one had a large bed covered in red silk sheets and comforter. Laid out on the bed was a sheer, red baby doll teddy and next to the bed was another fresh vase of flowers. The lights were dimmed and there was a fire burning in the adjacent fireplace.
Khayla turned to him and rested her forehead on his chest. “What are you trying to do to me?” she whispered.
Lance pulled her close. “Hmmmm…steal your heart, sweep you off your feet…blow your damn mind.”
“Mission accomplished,” she told him without looking up.
He walked her over to the bed and took a seat before grabbing her hips and moving her to stand in between his legs. Khayla looked down into his eyes.
“I don’t know what to do with you. I never imagined…,” she told him looking around the room.
Lance reached for the nightie on the bed. “I got this for you. Will you wear it?” he asked.
Khayla smiled down at him taking the garment. “Boy at this point, I’d wear gasoline underwear and run through a fire for you.”
“Nah, I don’t need all that.” He moved his hands to her behind. “Just this.”
She stepped back from his embrace and held the piece of fabric against her front. “You picked this out for me?”
He nodded watching her now with hooded dark eyes.
“How did you have time to do all of this?” she asked amazed.
“I made time.”
Khayla smiled again, for the millionth time she thought. “Okay, let me change.”
Lance watched as she rushed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He removed his shoes and sat back against the pillows. Seeing Khayla smile this weekend meant the entire world to him. Knowing that he’d made her happy filled him with contentment. There was work to be done when he returned, but for now Khayla Lewis was his only concern.
A few minutes
later the door opened and as she stood in the doorway, it was just as he’d imagined when he’d seen the item in the store. Her full breasts were on display including the dark chocolate nipples that made his tongue water. His gaze moved past her tummy which was firm and soft to the touch, just the way he liked it. Then, he found the spot that made him instantly erect. Her woman’s area was on full display. The well-groomed dark patch called his name as he stared at it in anticipation. He moved to thick, strong legs and thighs that he loved to feel wrapped around him.
“Bring that over here,” he told her sexily.
Khayla obeyed and walked to the end of the bed before climbing up and over him. She cradled his face as she looked into his eyes.
“I will never forget this weekend Lance because nothing has ever made me this happy.” She kissed his lips gently. “Thank you for caring this much and for showing me that you truly are a King that I can trust.”
Chapter 18
The next evening Lance drove Khayla home after their weekend together. Inside her apartment, he took her bags into the bedroom and retuned to find her standing by the sofa. He came and pulled her into his arms.
“Did you have a good time Ma?” he asked.
“You know I did.”
He kissed her cheek. “That’s what I wanted.”
Khayla looked at him. “What are you about to get into?” she questioned.
“Business…” he responded.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” Khayla inquired.
Lance shook his head. “Nah, you straight. You should get some rest.”
“Maybe you should get some rest,” she told him pointedly.
“I will. Don’t worry about me.”
Khayla shrugged. “I’ve got business to take care of too, so like you say… I’m straight.”
Lance watched her for a moment. “What business?”
“Queen business...”
He released her. “Khayla, I hope that you not talking about anything to do with finding Karen.”
“Is that what you’re talking about?” She folded her arms.
His eyes narrowed. “I got this…I told you.”
“Then do you baby…I’m not interfering.”
Lance reached for her again. “I don’t want you involved.”