Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

Merc

When the doorbell rang,I wasn't expecting it to be Neo. Just like at the cabin, at the sight of me, she burst into tears. I suspected these were happy tears. It took a favor for me to get Audré to sing for her, but it was worth it. I was willing to wait for Neo, like I said, but I also wanted her to know there didn't have to be a wait.

After wrapping her legs around me, I closed and locked the door then carried her to my bedroom.

I put her on her feet in front of the bed and wiped her eyes.

"Hi," she spoke softly with a giggle.

"You good?"

"Yes. Um…" Twiddling her thumbs, Neo pulled in a deep breath. "I'm sorry it took so long."

Brushing her cheek with my thumb, I told her, "I'd wait for you forever."

Our lips were like magnets, drawn to one another. Our centers too. But there was nothing slow and soft about our connection this time. She was ass up, clenching the sheets as she threw that ass back. Each medium paced stroke had her body smacking against mine as I reacquainted myself with her pussy. Between her whimpers, grunts, and moans… that shit was like a drug. A drug I wanted to consume every day for the rest of my life.

"This has been so much fun,"Neo said, swirling her fingers around my chest.

After we made love, we went out on the town. I took her out for dinner, then we went to a popup museum that highlighted Black artists. We hadn't really talked about what this day was going to lead to, but I was grateful that she'd made her way back to me.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. And I'm glad you came back to me."

"How have things been?"

"Good. Omar is gone to Atlanta, and he told her he'd be back when she had the baby, but I doubt it. We told Marz he's going to be a big brother, and he's happy about that. I've been looking into buildings for my training academy. I'm not rushing it, though, because I want it to be perfect."

"That's exciting. I've been looking at buildings and apartments too. I haven't seen anything yet that really caught my eye, so I'm being patient."

I made the mental note to get with Cooper about getting a commercial building for her. I didn't want her to stress over the financial process, and it was important to me that she be stable enough to never have to worry about anyone taking anything from her again. As much as I wanted to tell her she could stay with me, she'd shared with me that she rushed into moving in with Steven after he gave her the business.

"What are you looking for in buildings? And are you looking into particular areas?"

I listened intently as she ran down her list, locking in everything for future reference. Our conversation shifted. We continued to catch up, and she told me about her mom asking about our status earlier because of a cruise. I told her I didn't mind being her plus one. Aries and I took turns planning things for Marz for the summer anyway.

That caused me to ask her, "You plan on giving me more babies? I want like four."

"Four!" She shrieked before giggling and tossing her leg over me. "Baby, that's a lot."

"I know, but I want a big family since I was an only child."

"I feel you. I was the same way."

"Then what was your number?"

"Three."

"Aight, so how about you give me three, and with Marz, we will have four total."

"I think that sounds perfect."

After kissing her forehead, I asked, "How I'm supposed to love you?"

She looked up at me, and her smile made my heart skip a beat. "You mean like my love language?"

"Yeah, I guess, though I don't think anyone has just one way to feel loved."

"I can agree with that. I feel like saying I have just one boxes me in. I need different things at different times. Like… my parents were super generous because I was their only child, right? So from childhood, I'd say my love language is gifts. But as an adult, I started to feel loved more by men with quality time. Some days it's touch, and when I'm overwhelmed, it's service. Maybe I'm a greedy lover, but I want it all."

"That doesn't make you greedy. Even if you were, I have no problem keeping you satiated. I'm tryna feed your soul and make sure you never get up from my table because you feel empty. I want you to feast." Neo sat up and looked down at me. "What?"

"Who told you to say that?"

"Say what?"

"What you just said. Did my mom call you?"

Chuckling, I shook my head and lifted it slightly to give her a quick kiss. "No, baby. Why?"

"I was talking to my mom about you earlier, and she used me getting food poisoning as an analogy of why I shouldn't run away from you. She said I should let you be the chicken noodle soup for my soul and that I should feast. Then I asked for a God wink and your delivery arrived. Now, you're saying the exact same thing she said earlier."

"Well… maybe this conversation was His way of giving you exactly what you'd asked for."

"Maybe so."

She lowered herself to my lips, and we found ourselves connected at the center again. I could say we were making up for lost time, but that wasn't the case. I wanted this woman always in all ways—all day. Even if no time had passed, I'd still want to join her as one.