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Leo.
The markings on my face made the Leo constellation. I’d known the moment he’d posed the question.
Seeing the answer on my face, Rowdy smiled, then stood and closed my door before rounding the hood and climbing into the driver’s seat.
In nineteen years, Rowdy had been the only one to ever figure it out, the only one who’d ever truly seen me.
I expected him to gloat about stunning me into silence, but he didn’t. He just turned on Summer Walker even though he complained whenever I played her music, saying she made his ears bleed.
We rode in silence, vibin’ to her albumOver It,before a thought struck me, and I turned down the music, stealing his focus for a moment before it was forced back to the road. “What was the biggest shock?” At his confused frown, I added, “You said before that my trying to leave wasn’t the biggest shock. What was?”
I could tell he didn’t want to answer but did anyway after stopping at the light. He knew I wouldn’t let it go. “Realizing I’d do anything to make you stay. Nothing was off limits, Atlas. Nothing. I let someone I wasn’t sure about into my kingdom because it meant I could have you instead.”
I held his gaze as I turned over his confession in my mind, and he stared right back at me until I couldn’t take the distance anymore, and I found my way into his lap. Safe in his arms, the place I’d abandoned everything I knew to be, I kissed him, forcing traffic to go around us with an angry blare of their horns.
Winter left, spring had come and gone, and now summer was nearing its end as well. I wish I could say the six months since Rowdy and I became official had been pure bliss, but…I hadn’t considered the backlash.
And since I was the first to hold that title, there had been no one to warn me.
Rowdy had put the word out on me long before he’d made his intentions known, but it was a different story when people saw the truth with their own eyes and knew it wasn’t a rumor started by some clout chaser.
Nope.
I, Atlas Ilana Beck, was Rowdy Wray’s official girl.
The position came with endless adoration, affection, respect, care, security, that big, beautiful Black dick, and the long list of enemies I’d inherited overnight.
I couldn’t go anywhere without some girl Rowdy had fucked in the past trying to befriend me or fight me. Usually, it was the latter. It had gotten so bad that Rowdy now forbade me from going anywhere alone. Since I didn’t have anyone else, it meant withouthim.
I sighed as I studied my reflection in the floor-length mirror. My faux locs were a thing of the past, and I now wore my natural hair in two long stitch braids with my baby hair softly curling around my hairline. I admired the nude halter bikini clinging to my body one last time before grabbing the matching cover-up and tying it around my waist.
The decorative mirror leaning in the corner of the master closet was just one of the many additions I’d made to Rowdy’s barren bedroom.
His room, along with the rest of his house, had been the picture of bachelorhood, bereft of furnishings and a personal touch. When I’d asked him why, he’d said there was no need when he was never home.
Rowdy then handed over his credit card and told me to buy whatever I needed to feel at home. I’d swallowed my rejection, knowing it would only lead to an argument. The last time we’d argued about money, my returning to school had been the cause.
We had been cuddled up on the couch, watching a scary movie, and at some point, during the newConjuringmovie, my mind had drifted to money. I’d made the mistake of asking him about his household bills.
Still facing the TV, his wary gaze slid to me, curled up next to him. “Why, Atlas?”
“Because I feel weird living here without contributing anything. It feels like I’m mooching off you.”
Grabbing the remote, Rowdy pressed paused before giving me his full attention. “Do I strike you as a person who can be taken advantage of, Atlas?”
I didn’t even need to think about the answer. “No.”
“Then why are you sitting here thinking of ways to piss me off? What’s the matter?” His brows dipped in contemplation like he was really trying to uncover my true motive for asking. “You want me to pipe you or something?”
I rolled my eyes. Of course, his mannish ass thought everything I did was to get him to fuck me. I mean, occasionally—most of the time—yeah.Definitely.But not now. Not this time. “No, Owen. I’m serious. My paychecks aren’t much—as you know—but I can help out with the smaller bills like the electricity or groceries.”
“Nah.”
“But—”
“I said no. If you want to help me, work on getting that school transfer, as we talked about. Your ass is stalling like you thought I wouldn’t notice, so let’s get this shit understood while it’s in the air. When it comes to you, I’m always three steps ahead. Live it, breathe it, and don’t ever doubt it. I didn’t say anything before because, while I have no problems whatsoever steering this boat,sometimes, I want you to choose us without feeling like I forced your hand. That’s for you, not for me. I kicked morals to the curb a long time ago. You’re young as fuck—so young that some days I struggle to convince myself that wanting you isn’t an affront to nature. Most days, I forget you’re only nineteen with your whole life ahead of you, and I’m back to square one—chasing your bumper. There’s no me without you, so fuck it. Bills are the last thing you should be concerned about. Work on getting that degree, stacking your money, and fulfilling your dreams. I got the rest.”
He stared me down until the blazing warmth that traveled from my cheeks, pooled in my gut, and set my pussy onfirebefore tickling my toes, finally settled enough for me to whisper, “Okay.”
