“Ah fuck, yes,” she screamed, starting to come undone again for me.
Her walls clenched tight as I bounced her faster, making sure her clit rubbed against my pelvis giving her the friction she needed to explode. The sounds of skin slapping and heavy panting was all that could be heard in the glass enclosure. I pinned her body to the wall of the shower bracketing my hands on either side of her body and plunged into her until her whole body convulsed. Running my tongue over her neck, I bit down hard, thrusting up into her deep as she came, chanting my name. Her muscles contracting around me forced me to cum as well, pumping everything I had into her. After catching my breath. Ireleased her legs wrapping them around me as I turned and sat on the bench with her face buried in my neck.
“Was that what you had in mind when you were waiting for me to come shower with you?” I asked, running my hand up her back as she relaxed against me, coming down from her orgasm.
“Better.” She mumbled, face still in my neck running her teeth and soft lips over the skin there.
“If you keep doing that we’ll never get out of the shower, Princess. And you know we need to get to the market before our guests get here.” I said as I bounced her on my lap feeling my dick hardening again. Before I pinned her to the wall again, I lifted her off me and placed her on her feet.
“I’ll be good for now,” she said giggling as we moved back in the spray and washed each other. The memory sent chills through my body, but I couldn’t even respond like I usually would to thoughts of sex with my wife. I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower to get a towel. As I opened the cabinet, something caught my eye. There was a small, crumpled bag carefully hidden behind Timberly’s bath toys. I pulled it out and unfolded the paper towel inside. Inside the paper towel was a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.
“Nova…” I whispered.
My breath hitched tight in my chest, followed by guilt heavy and raw. Then rage, not at Nova but at myself. Anger and guilt rolled off me in waves. Gripping the counter, I steadied myself as my mind went to my past mistakes. Thoughts of how I failed Sabrina and how if I didn’t get my shit together history would repeat itself with Nova. My fists slammed on the sink, reopening the cuts on my already damaged knuckles. I stared into the mirror at the reflection in front of me contemplating my mistakes.
“Nah. I ain’t losin’ them. I swear on my soul, on Sabrina’s grave. I’m bringin’ Nova home.And my baby too.” I said to my reflection, voice hoarse from pain and exhaustion.
I’m comin Nova.
I dried off and dressed before checking my phone for any missed calls or messages. After making sure there wasn’t any, I made my way to Timberly’s room. Barry, the bodyguard, Black but on her detail straightened and gave me a slight nod of his head as I approached. I bypassed him and pushed open the door gently to check on, baby girl. I stepped in and saw Timberly sitting up in her bed, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulder as she stared out her window.
“Baby girl, why are you still awake?” I asked softly.
“I was waiting for you to get home. Did you find Mommy?”
“Not yet, baby. But I’m lookin’. I ain’t stoppin’. I promise.” I told her, sitting next to her on the bed.
“You’re going to save her. I just know it.” She said holding her stuffed unicorn close to her heart.
The bunny she usually slept with had been tossed into the trash and replaced with this stuffed animal by Black and Blue. I didn’t want anything to remind her of how her mother had been taken from us.
“You always believe in me, huh?” I said, trying to keep my voice strong.
“You’re my hero. Even when you don’t believe in you. It’s not your fault.” Timberly said, crawling into my lap and hugging me tight.
I swallowed hard and hugged her to my chest. She smelled like bubblegum shampoo and sweet dreams. For a moment, I didn’t feel like a failure. For a moment, I felt like a father, a protector. “I lost someone before.” I told her. “Her name was Sabrina. I couldn’t save her. I let her down.”
“But you didn’t lose me. I’m still here. And Mommy’s coming back. 'Cause you don’t give up.” Timberly said before she cuddled into my chest, holding on to me like I was her lifeline.
I remained there for a few minutes taking in the words she’d said. I was her hero. I rocked her in my arms until her breathing evened out and she finally fell asleep. Placing her under the covers, I kissed her forehead and tucked her in. Before leaving as quietly as I came, closing her door behind me.
“You know what’ll happen if something happens to my daughter, right?” I said, eyes cold, a promise of a slow death if he failed me and any harm came to my daughter.
“Yes Sir.” Timberly’s guard answered.
The darkness of my office engulfed me as I sat behind my desk, the glow of the desk lamp catching the swirl of liquor in my glass. My jaw clenched tight enough to crack my teeth as I thought about what I was facing. I'd kissed Timberly’s forehead and lied with all the love I had in me that I would bring her mother home safe. Now the silence pressed on me like a weight as I wondered if I could. I was angry enough to burn the whole damn city to ash, and dead set on making sure anyone who had a hand in taking Nova felt my pain tenfold. The phone lay in front of me as I watched it like it was my last lifeline to sanity. When it rang, someone was going to die because I wasn’t about to let my daughter down.
These boardroom vultures must have forgotten who the hell I am. Sitting around that glossy-ass table in their tailored suits like they built this empire. Like they didn’t eat off the table me and Pops bled to build. My jaw ticked as I stood at the head of the table, staring down Casandra Patel, her voice trembling behind corporate concern.
“We’re worried about the optics, Mr. Sanderson,” she said.
Optics? My wife had been snatched during a deadly gun fight with our daughter in the car. And they wanna talk about image.
I leaned in slow, voice low. “Let me make something clear. You don’t run this. I do.” Some LA investor tried to speak up, muttering about market confidence and frozen assets. I cut him off cold.
“You scared to lose money? I’m scared to lose my wife. You think we built Phoenix by being soft? You think fear came from quarterly projections?” I looked each and every one of them dead in the eye. “It came from people knowing that crossing a Sanderson meant dying broke or not living at all.”
Pops walked in like a ghost from another life. No tie, just that cane and all the power that our name carried.
