AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No,” I say.
“No? Can you give a reason?” She arches her brow in challenge.
I glare at her and Shinji. His suggestion completely undermines what I told her yesterday.
“He’s got the wrong idea.” Shinji places my breakfast in front of me and sits between me and Lakeshia. “Lakeshia will not betaking clients at this new escort service. She will oversee the operations only.”
I glare at the distance separating me from my husband. Shinji in the middle of us will become a problem if we don’t discuss it. I make a mental note to pull him aside and hash it out.
“Wait a minute, you can’t dictate how I run my company.” Lakeshia folds her arms.
“And yet we won’t budge on this subject,” I say, relaxing into my chair now that Shinji is in my corner, metaphorically if not physically. “You want to work, we’re on board as long as you aren’t the commodity you’re selling and you don’t put your health at risk. Do I have to remind you that your pussy is ours now?”
She rolls her eyes and I resist the urge to drag her in my lap and tease her until she’s on the edge and learns not to test me. I have a feeling Lakeshia learns fast when her body is the instrument of punishment.
“I don’t have any connections here, but starting fresh does have some appeal. I’ll have to figure out the best places to scout…”
Lakeshia’s voice as she muses becomes background noise while I watch her investment in the idea grows. Her eyes brighten and her gestures become more animated. It is a stark contrast to the woman from three weeks ago. Then, self-preservation, panic, and a life on the run had dimmed the life I see now.
The urge to maintain her bright energy rises inside me.
I don’t like it.
I cannot become invested in her. Agreeing to Shinji’s demand for a child is bad enough. No child deserves me as a father and that shit Shinji spewed last night about us having so much love to give…a baby needs more than loving parents.
Babies grow into children, and at every stage of their development, they’re unpredictable. I can’t put them in a box for their protection. It’s probably considered child abuse and the fact that I want to do it anyway proves I’m not father material.
Years into our relationship I almost lost Shinji because of my rigidness. I’ve made some progress since then, but it’s not nearly enough to raise a happy child. However, my reservations don’t matter because I promised Shinji the world and he wants this.
No, he needs this. Every visit to Katsuo’s house and the weekends Shinji negotiates to have my cousin’s kids over hammers home the fact that Shinji is a dad-in-waiting.
He’s waited long enough.
I swallow the lump in my throat. There’s time for me to adjust to our new reality. It will take time to plant our seed, at least I pray it will. The longer it takes, the easier it will become to picture myself as a father.
I don’t know how my cousin took to fatherhood so easily after deciding Portia was his. The ease he has with his adopted kids is one I envy.
As if the universe is toying with me, I get a message from Katsuo.
“I guess our grace period is over,” Shinji says.
I nod as I read the entire message. Katsuo gave us the time we needed to find Lakeshia but our duties must resume as the priority in our lives. I respond to Katsuo and send a text to four of my men. They’ll arrive soon to guard Lakeshia during the day while Shinji and I protect Kimura’s interests.
I place the phone on the table facedown once I finish setting up the day’s routine. “Lakeshia, don’t leave the house today. Your things should arrive soon and you’ll need to check that nothing is broken.”
“What things?” she asks, a curious expression on her face.
“Oh yeah. Trust Takeshi to remember details like that.” Shinji turns to Lakeshia. “Since you left Hawaii with so little, we found your house and hired a company to pack and ship it for you. Although you’ve been on the run for so long, we wanted to ensure there was no sign left behind that you lived in Hawaii.”
“That’s actually kind of sweet. Thank you.” Lakeshia stares into her lap, probably feeling as awkward as I do to be on the receiving end of her gratitude.
“Also, before we leave, I’ll introduce you to your guards. Despite what you think, being our surrogate requires you to have your own protection team since neither of us can see to it personally.” I rise from my seat, my mind already on the debriefing I’ll have ahead of me.
“I’ll be fine. As long as you don’t expect to confine me here until I give birth. Prison vibes, even luxurious ones, aren’t conducive to getting me in the baby-making mood.”
“Don’t worry about your mood. Takeshi and I will ensure maximum readiness.” Shinji grins as if he enjoys brandishing a red flag in front of a raging bull.
As the bull in question, I have no rebuttal.
