“This nigga got a fed charge and did fourteen upstate. He kept quiet… ain’t never snitch on nobody. I sent commissary every week, made sure his family was straight. The nigga came home and figured the world owes him his spot back.”
“So… he wants money?” I asked.
“He wants back in the streets, and I offered the muthafucka a spot at one of the dealerships instead. He turned it down and got disrespectful.” Knuck’s jaw ticked again. “He seesdealerships, hears ‘bout my family, my seed, and thinks I got soft.”
“Fuck what he thinks, Keon.” I folded my arms, and his eyes narrowed when I said that. “I’m already fighting myself. I can’t fight your past, too.”
The words cracked something in him, and I could tell. “You ain’t never gotta fight my past,” he said. “That’s shit formeto handle.”
“How?”
“That’s for me to worry ‘bout, not you,” he said, eyebrows bunched together as he pulled me into his chest. “All you need to know is that nigga won’t ever come near my family again. On my soul.”
I pulled back a little, eyes locked on his, and I felt the shift. That subtle but violent flip in his energy.
“I’ma handle this shit the only way I know how,” Knuck continued. “Ain’t no more conversations. Ain’t no back-and-forth. That nigga crossed a line he’s not gon’ get the chance to cross again.”
“Knuck…”
He cut me off without raising his voice. “Everything gon’ be straight. You hear me? You gon’ be straight. Kassim gon’ be straight. Everybody.”
I stared at him, heart thumping too loud in my chest. “Should I be scared?”
He chuckled, shaking his head before kissing my lips. “Never that,” he whispered against my lips. Hugging me tightly,he said in my ear, “You should feel lucky you got a nigga who’s never gon’ play ‘bout his respect, his woman, or his family.”
I barely had time to react before he was already pulling away.
“Go take a shower,” he chucked his chin towards the door. “I need a minute.”
I stared at him for a second, the smell of liquor hanging in the air, then headed upstairs with my heart lodged in my throat. I let the shower spray beat on my shoulders until the mirror fogged and the last of the tremor left my hands.
Afterward, I crawled into bed wearing a lace nightie. The house felt heavy but quiet. Rain tapped the windows, and the baby monitor glowed steady green. Worry stayed in my chest, but sleep finally pulled me under.
???
If e l tK n u c k ’ sbeard first, then the slow drag of his tongue along my inner thigh. “Keon,” I whispered, half-asleep.
“Shh.” His voice was a deep ripple against my skin. “Let me talk to you like this.” He hooked his fingers and slid my panties down my legs. His palms pressed my hips to the mattress.
A deep moan slipped from my lips as his tongue stroked me. “I told you I got us, and I mean that shit.” His words vibrated against my clit before his tongue circled it, sucking on it just right.
I sucked in a sharp breath, head dropping back against the pillow. “Babe…” His tongue pressed deeper, sliding through my pussy until the tip flicked over my clit again in tight, steady strokes. My hips lifted off the mattress, body on fire. “Fuucckkk…”
“I’ma always protect you,” he groaned, voice rough. He sucked hard and I gasped, my legs tightening around his shoulders.
My back arched, and a cry tore out of me as I came hard. “Keonnnn!”
Before I could even catch my breath, Knuck climbed up the bed, my eyes connecting with his. His chain hung against his chest as he lowered and kissed my lips deeply. “You don’t ever have to worry, baby,” he said, his eyes dark, intense, still holding that edge from earlier.
He pushed inside me in one long, claiming stroke, filling me until the breath left my chest. “Fuck,” I breathed, nails gripping his shoulders.
He held there for a minute, letting me feel every inch of him and the slow burn of stretch that came with it. “You heard me?”
“Yessss…”
He pulled halfway out, then drove back in, slow and steady. “I protect what’s mine in prayer or gun smoke. Fuckkk…” His hand slid up my stomach, skimmed the swell of my breasts, then wrapped gently around my throat. “…don’t ever question that shit.”
My legs locked around Knuck’s waist as his stroke started getting crazy. “Baaabbbeee… shhiiittt…”