Page 55 of Widow Mayker

“Now that we’re face to face, I’m nervous as hell,” he admitted with a nervous laugh.

That did the trick. I laughed and instantly relaxed, knowing he felt the same way.

“You, nervous? That’s wild to me. You seem so sure of yourself.”

He relaxed and positioned his arm over the back of the couch. His fingers tickled my arm and caused goosebumps to form on my skin. It didn’t help that his thick legs brushed up against mine. Instantly, I knew that touch was his thing. Without the slightest misgivings, his fingers and body kept touching me.

“I am sure of myself. It’s just you… You make me nervous as shit. My heart is fluttering.”

Tickled, I smacked my teeth, then snickered. Lewis was surely the type to laugh a woman right out of her panties. He came all this way to celebrate my birthday with me, and I couldn’t help but think that he would likely be looking for something more before the night ended. For that reason alone, I had to be honest with him. Even if it dampened the mood, I’d rather let him down now than for the night to continue with his hopes up.

“What are your intentions for coming all the way here to see me?”

He tweaked my chin. “Besides the fact that I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on you. Or besides the fact that I’ve been dreaming about you since the first voice message I left you. Or…could it be the fact that I fuck with Shyah the master’s in engineering major?”

The more he talked the more I giggled. Charm was his middle name. He would’ve kept going if I had not stopped him.

I placed my fingers on his lips, which was a big mistake. His eyes softened and darkened at the same time. He kissed my fingers, then tucked his bottom lip between his glossy white teeth.

Mortified, I gasped and snatched my hand away. “Sorry.”

“For what? You can touch me any time you want.”

This was why I had to be honest with Lewis. He oozed sex appeal, and I hadn’t been in his presence twenty minutes.

“I’m about to disappoint you,” I cautioned. “And I’ll maybe even run you off. But… I’ve never given my body to someone, and I’m not giving my body to anyone except my husband.”

Out of all the ways I expected him to respond, it wasn’t to lean closer to me and lock eyes in a way that stirred my soul. Our noses were only millimeters apart, but he stared into my eyes, and the moment intensified.

He leaned even closer, cupped the side of my face, and placed his scruffy cheek to mine. “I’m honored that you waited for me.” When he leaned back to stare into my eyes again, my heart tripped inside my chest. “You can’t run me off, baby. Now, tell me something about you that I couldn’t find on social media.”

Slowly, a smile stretched across my face. Maybe this man was my husband. I wondered if things could truly be that simple.

Antonias appeared in front of us, bursting my bubble. After our conversation earlier, I almost feared for Lewis’s life. Antonias introduced himself, and Lewis stood to shake his hand. With a slight snarl on his face, Antonias sized Lewis up. Suddenly, I wanted to get up and leave. The more time ticked off, I increasingly grew concerned. They talked for a solid five minutes, and although I was right here, I couldn’t hear a damn thing they were talking about. As long as Antonias wasn’t swinging on Lewis, I guessed all was well.

When Lewis sat back down, he positioned himself the same way he had before he got up.

“You okay?” I asked him.

He chuckled. “Of course. Brothers, ya know. We all get stupid when a man enters the picture.”

Knowing Antonias, he probably said the most ignorant shit he could think of. I smiled, though. Lewis was…different. And I liked it.

MAJA

“That smile tells me we did a good job,” Von said.

Leaning into Von, I tilted my head back until he could see the light in my eyes. Light that he’d put there.

“He’s underneath Shyah like he’s afraid to let her go.”

Shyah looked utterly smitten by Lewis.

“He’s locked in. Much like I was when we bumped into each other. I didn’t give a fuck how much you attempted to push me away.”

Turning in Von’s arms, I looked up into his eyes. To think, there was a time I would’ve never initiated this act. Von’s love for me unlocked deep rooted trauma and lifted me out of the ashes that once consumed me. An officer of the law stole something from me. It was something that I never thought beat for anyone except my mother and the Bell family.

“Thank you for not giving up on me.”