As Famke finished reading a bedtime story to Precious, she was torn in her feelings. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever anticipated a moment in her life where she would be able to do the things, she had done that night. Helping Imani give Precious her bath and then picking out pajamas and reading a bedtime story were all pipedreams she had never permitted herself to contemplate. She was snuggled up to the child who was tucked in her bed with Royal sitting at the end of the bed watching and it felt intimate and special. For the first time in her life, she felt like a mom. Yet, for all these blessings, she was feeling terror and sorrow and more than a smidge of anger.None of this was real.It didn’t matter how much she had wanted it to be. She could never be Precious’ mother. The role had belonged solely to Mindy and those were not shoes she was capable of filling. The photo of Mindy, Prince and Precious on the bedside table mocked her desperate craving to be more than a friend P
Famke wanted to go straight to bed. Bram had already locked himself in the room almost immediately after Royal’s parents had left. Imani was a vivacious woman, and her husband Cliff was a down-to-earth man with a booming laugh. He was warm and personable. Their combined affections, happy laughter and high energy had exhausted the Noor siblings. She also suspected Bram was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the presence of Precious.Since the time she had confessed to having had a baby as a surrogate, something he had never noticed while he’d been undergoing treatment and recovery, confined mostly to his bed and later a wheelchair with limited vision, he had never fully understood the role she had played. Seeing Precious in person, seeing the way Famke was reacting to the situation, was making it real in his mind and the sacrifices she had made to pay for his surgery were looming large over him suddenly. She had caught him more than once looking at her sadly and while she wanted to reassure
Royal looked to Famke who had voiced the concerns he had been considering himself. He took a breath, “when she mentioned the smoking thing upstairs it struck me,” he shook his head. “Mom had complained to me about two weeks before they passed away, she’d smelled nicotine or cigarette smoke on Mindy. Mindy had explained it away as she’d had lunch with a coworker from her office who smoked. When Mom had picked up Precious from daycare, when she hugged her, she could smell it in her hair. Mom was convinced she was smoking with her in the car. She said if she noticed it again, she would talk to Prince.”“Do you think maybe she told Prince?”“Mom tells me everything. Trust me, there are things I know about family members I wish I didn’t because Mom turned me into her confidante when dad had a health scare about ten years ago and she has only gotten worse. My mom overshares so much, I can tell you if Aunt Jennine’s bowels are causing her problems or if my uncle’s prostate is acting up. If M
She had to have misheard him. “Marry you?”“Yes.”“Like a marriage of convenience? You’ll have a ton of mistresses on the side, and I’ll be Precious’ fake-Aunt?”“No mistresses. I wouldn’t embarrass my family like that. You will be her real aunt.” He reached his knuckles up to stroke her cheek. “I know it’s not the romantic vision you’ve probably dreamed of your entire life. I know it’s not how I ever envisioned proposing to a woman, but I’m convinced with your tenacity and my stubborn ass, we can make it work.”“You mean marriage, marriage?”“Surely you can imagine a real marriage with me. I’m not so ugly.”She blinked multiple times at his comment and the bold way he looked her over, feeling her breath catch in her throat. “You want a real marriage. Like sex?” she was embarrassed as her voice squeaked like Bram’s had at thirteen.“Why not?” he cocked his head to one side and looked her up and down.“Because we don’t know each other!”“Tell me you haven’t had at least one sexual drea
Famke was surprised by the question. Nobody had ever asked her if they could kiss her before. Any man she’d ever dated, not that there had been heaps of them, had simply put their lips to hers and went for it. He started to step back, and she realized he was taking her silence as a rejection.“Yes,” she blurted it out. “Yes. I want you to kiss me.”The smile spreading on his face lit up the kitchen and he leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers.Famke considered she was having one of those end-of-life movie reels playing in her head moments, where every single thing she’d ever done was rolling through her mind. Except in this case, it was every cheesy romantic comedy movie she watched rotating through her mind. Every first kiss between female and male leads were flickering in her mind and nothing close to what she was feeling right now.The moment his lips touched hers, she felt she was on fire. Her skin itched to be closer to him with none of the barriers of their clothing betw
She sat on the floor of the bedroom and replayed his words over and over in her mind. She considered how many wicked dreams had she had of him and how flustered it made her to know he’d had the same thoughts.“You’re a grown woman, Famke. You have denied yourself far too long. Five years too long.” She hissed to herself. The last time she’d had sex was with the guy she’d been dating off and on from the diner she worked at. He had been a trucker she had been seeing immediately before Bram’s surgery. When she had cried in his hotel room, he had told her he didn’t have it in him to deal with all the emotions she was bringing. He only wanted the good time. She had walked out and not looked back. A few months later she’d met Prince and Mindy and since then, she had not prioritized sex. She went dancing with her friends or to the movies with Mr. Lighter from 3B, but romantic entanglements hadn’t been anything for which she was ready.Now however, there was a very real, hot-blooded man, down
She rose from her knees to walk to the door and pulled it open to find Royal standing there with a concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?” “Yes, why?” “I was sure I heard you talking to yourself. I was worried I had upset you, pushing you so far.” She shook her head and held up her phone, “talking to Nyx.” “Nyx?” “My best friend. My only friend really, outside of work colleagues. We’ve known each other since kindergarten. She’s working on a project this weekend because her boss didn’t want her to go on a date.” She threw Nyx under the bus instead of confessing it was she who had called her. “She’s pissed off.” Royal frowned, “is he sexually harassing her? Does she need help?” She laughed and shook her head, “no. She’ll deal with it. He asked her out once. She shot him down. Since then, he hasn’t asked again. He told her a year ago it was up to her to make the next move and he hasn’t put any pressure on her since. However, he sabotages her dates. Shows up where she’s at, loo
Heaven. This was what heaven felt like. She was sure of it. He was in deep and she could feel the bones of his hips pressing against her soft flesh. The hard thick hair coated sinew of his thighs rubbed against the delicate flesh of the inside of hers and she moaned as her body adjusted to the feel of him. He rotated his hips as if getting his bearings as his hands began a magical path of pleasure touching every bit of skin he could grab before one of his hands slid behind her and gripped her ass tight.The way he angled her had him even deeper, almost to the point it hurt and then he was doing what he’d set out to do. He pulled out until just the tip of him was still in and then slammed back into her. It took no time for him to set a rhythm he controlled as he fucked her mercilessly. She could barely hold on to him for dear life as he thrusted. His groans were not quiet as he pounded into her, and his lips were everywhere they could reach. He arched his spine to suck her nipple throu