CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

As soon as I stepped over the threshold of the house Jeremiah and I had shared for more than a decade, the smell of Sandalwood engulfed me. Even though my day hadn’t been the least bit stressful, I could already feel my limbs loosening as the incense worked its magic. I deposited my bags on the couch and headed upstairs, where I could hear Jill Scott crooning songs from my favorite neo-soul album. When I reached our bedroom at the end of the hall, the door swung open and Jeremiah greeted me with a smile.

The light from the room bounced off the top of his bald head and his deep brown skin glistened as if he’d bathed in baby oil.

“Welcome home, baby.”

He pulled me into his arms and pressed a firm kiss to my lips. In lieu of a response, I kissed him back and followed as he pulled me into the room. He turned and gently pushed me backward to sit on the bed before bending down and unstrapping the low heels I wore to work. I watched as he focused on his task of undressing me. He untucked my blouse from my slacks and slipped it over my head then unclasped my bra and tossed both items on the bed. His deft fingers quickly released my belt and unzipped my pants before tugging them and my panties down my hips. I bent my knees, allowing him to pull the material from my ankles and lay it on the growing pile on the bed behind me.

He leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to my lower abdomen and I contracted involuntarily. I wanted to drop into his lap and straddle him but I also wanted to see what else he had planned. From his crouched position he winked up at me as if he could hear my thoughts, then he stood and grabbed my hand to lead me into the bathroom. The lights were off but several lit candles around the space cast a warm glow and allowed me to see that the whirlpool tub was filled with bubbles.The air was thick with the scent of lavender and vanilla and the music seemed to be coming from the portable speaker that sat on the counter. My eyes swept the room, taking in the glass of red wine on a tray and the fluffy pink robe hanging on a hook on the wall. My heart flooded with gratitude.

I turned to him. “Jer—”

But he just shook his head and pressed a swift kiss to my lips, silencing whatever I was about to say.

“Get in, baby.”

I didn’t hesitate to follow Jeremiah’s directive. He waited until I was neck deep in the bubbles and leaning back against the waterproof cushion mounted on the lip of the tub before handing me the glass of wine and pressing a kiss to my forehead with instructions for me to relax. Then he left the room to allow me to do just that.

When he returned, the wine was gone and He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat) was lulling me to sleep. A splash of water made my eyes pop open just in time to see him squirt some of my favorite body wash onto a loofah. I sat forward and he proceeded to wash my back. He bathed my whole body, even nudging my knees apart so he could swipe in between my thighs, and when he was done, he rinsed me completely and instructed me to step out of the tub.

I didn’t say a word as he dried me off with a terry cloth towel. Not even when he led me to my cushioned vanity stool. I was able to keep quiet as he massaged lavender body butter into my skin. I held my tongue while I sat in bed and ate the meal that Sabrina had undoubtedly prepared at the request of her eldest son, all the way until Jeremiah had removed the tray from my lap and took it downstairs to the kitchen. I was proud of myself for holding in my questions until he reentered the room, undressed and slid under the cool covers. Reflexively, I rolled over and curled up against him, finally able to heed my curiosity.

“What made you do all of this?”

He kissed my temple and squeezed me closer to him. “I just wanted to do something special for my lady. You deserve this and more.”

I smiled and wiggled in his arms, nuzzling the sensitive skin on the bottom of his bicep. Jeremiah had steadily been increasing the level of which he spoiled me and I had no complaints. I don’t know what caused the change but I was here for—Hold up! I sat up in the bed and looked down at him. He stared back with a raised eyebrow and an amused gleam in his eye.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “What do you want?”

He opened his mouth like he was going to deny it but instead he burst out laughing so hard the bed shook. I folded my arms across my breasts and waited. Still laughing, he grabbed me by the hips and pulled me across his chest, tapping my thigh until I spread my legs and straddled him. When my ass was resting on his pelvis, he squeezed my hips and trailed his hands up my sides until his hands framed my face. His laughter died down and he stared at me with a grin on his face and, just like every time I saw him smile, my heart burst in my chest and I fell deeper in love with him. He squeezed one of my ass cheeks and bucked his hips, causing me to fall forward against his chest. Immediately, his arms wrapped around my waist and he held me against him.

“What makes you think I did all of this because I want something?”

I smirked even as the rumble of his chest made my core flood and clench. “I know you Jeremiah Saul Hawkins! You’ve been content with us opting out of this ‘holiday’ all of this time and now you’re trying to tell me that after several years you all of a sudden decided to put together this elaborate series of gifts just because?! Nah, try me again, playa.”

Jeremiah’s smirk matched my own and my breath hitched as he used both of his hands to massage my ass. He licked a trail up the column of my neck and nibbled on my earlobe. “You think you’re so smart, huh?”

I shivered and my hips undulated as if they had a mind of their own. “Nah, but you do, though.”

I felt him reach behind me and place himself at my entrance. As he breached me, he said in a husky voice, “What if I said I was ready for a son?”

A gasp, then moan, fell from my lips as he pushed down on my hips until he was fully seated inside of me.

“What you think about that?”

“Shit, babe.” I tried to form a coherent response to his question but the sensation of being filled by him was too distracting. We had been tossing around the idea of having another baby for a couple of years now but never made a concrete decision despite the lack of reasons we each had not to.

“Can I have my son now, baby?”

He gripped my thigh and rolled us until my back met the pillow-soft, down comforter. Knowing this position like the back of my hand, I instinctively bent my knee and pressed my toes to his collarbone. I waited for him to place a swift kiss to my ankle before I moved, resting my ankle on his shoulder and simultaneously tilting my hips back to give him the opportunity to hit every spot inside of me that was guaranteed to drive me crazy.

Our eyes met and I smiled at him. “You know that you didn’t have to do all of this to get another baby out of me, right?”

He turned his head and bit the side of my calf as he dragged his hips back and forth, pulling mewling sounds from my chest. “I know.” He groaned as I clenched around him. “I just love spoiling you.”

“I’m not spoiled.” My denial came quick, like a reflex, even though I knew the words were a lie.

He huffed out a chuckle as he rotated his hips and dug deeper inside of me. “You are. Like milk.”

I moaned and his pace increased, making my eyes flutter closed and my head press into the mattress. That familiar warmth approached quickly and not even five minutes later found me crying out my release with my mouth pressed to his chest to muffle the sound. Jeremiah snapped his hips against me and groaned into my ear as he released.

He pulled out and dropped to the mattress beside me, pulling me until I was draped across his chest. When my breathing returned to its normal pace I pushed up on my arms and looked down at him. The satisfied look on his face made me giggle.

“You’re serious?”

He nodded. “If you’re ready, I’m more than ready.”

I grinned, joy blooming in my chest. This man made me so happy it was crazy. Even after all of these years, I couldn’t imagine my life without him and the thought of growing our family by one more pleased me. I wanted another baby almost as much as he did. A beautiful mahogany-toned cherub with those same chestnut eyes he shared with our daughter would be perfect.

“Let’s do it.”

The way my heart thumped when his cheeks lifted and his smile spread reminded me how over-the-top in love with him I was.

“Yeah?”

I nodded, already looking forward to all of the practice I foresaw. “Yeah. As soon as I get back from the trip to Houston with my girls this weekend we can start trying.”

“For real, Lisa, you might be pregnant right now. I was definitely aiming for your ovaries with that nut!”

I laughed hard. “Your ass is so silly! Too bad for you that I’m not ovulating right now.”

He sat up and hugged me so tightly I thought I felt my back crack. “It’s all good. I’m getting in that ass every day when you get back.”

I kissed his neck. “I’m looking forward to it. I love you and thank you for today. Remembering all of those moments brought me so much happiness.”

He framed my face with his hands and met my eyes with his own. “I love you. You and Ja’mya are my life. You know that, right?”

I bit my lip and nodded. When he pressed his forehead against mine and brushed the tip of his nose against my own, I sighed contentedly. There was nowhere on Earth I’d rather be. Everything that was good, was right here in my arms.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.”