Page 5 of Papa's Beloved

“Let go.” he commands.

I know he’s not talking to me. It takes the other man a few seconds to register what’s going on. He lets go and quickly leaves the area. I turn and look at Papa.

“Too bad you’re not dressed as Legba tonight. That really would have scared him.”

He smiles at me. “I’ve never scared you.”

“Not even a little. I see you.”

He pulls me in for a kiss that leaves me breathless. My toes are tingling and my body is on fire. Papa is the only man who ever made me feel. Something, anything. I’d deadened myself to the act of sex long before I met him. Before the Kings, I felt disgusted afterwards. It’s always been different with them. I felt safe and protected. Even care sometimes. But with Papa, it was different from the moment our eyes locked. There was a spark.

He awakened something within me I didn’t know existed. I can’t believe he wants me knowing I’ve slept with most of his brothers, including his best friend. I’ve not only slept with them, but sometimes it was more than one man. Sometimes it was him and his best friend.

It was just sex. Something I’m good at. The club paid for my tuition and gave me room and board. All I had to do was to please the brothers. My choice and, in my opinion, a hell of a lot better than turning tricks.

Chapter 5

Papa

“You’re thinking too hard,” I say when I end the kiss.

“How do you always know?”

I lean down and kiss the tip of her nose. “Beloved, there is little I don’t know about you.”

She thinks she has a closet full of secrets. I know them all. She may be angry with me for looking into her past, but I’ll deal with it when that day comes. I know telling her I know and accept everything won’t make a difference. At least not yet. I hope one day soon that will change. She is my light in this dark world.

Oshun’s Krewe finishes their parade and behind them is Cleopatra. Oshun’s Krewe is around three hundred strong, while Cleopatra boasts eighteen hundred women. The all-female krewe started in the early seventies. It’s been one of my favorites since I got out of the Marines and moved to Baton Rouge, then New Orleans, with Gambit.

The music is loud. The beads are flowing. And my girl is smiling. I’d do anything to see that smile. The one that shines through when her guard is down. Which isn’t often enough. By the time we watch twenty-one floats and nearly two thousand women march by, my face is numb from the cold.

I bend down and whisper in Nay’s ear.

“Do you want to watch the next one or grab some food?”

“Food. I’m starved.”

“Mother’s isn’t far.”

“Oh yes. Seafood platter, here I come.”

I chuckle and thread our fingers together before guiding us through the crowds and into Mother’s. We snag the last empty table.

“I’ll grab drinks from the bar while you look at the menu,” I say, dropping a quick kiss on Nay’s lips.

I make my way through the crowd to the bar. I order a beer for myself and a sweet red hurricane for Nay. She loves the damn things. Why not? You can get them everywhere around New Orleans and some come in half-yard carry cups.

Three men stand around my table, trying to chat my woman up when I return. She’s being polite, but ignoring them.

“Come on, sweetheart. You have three empty seats.”

“And one of them is taken. If you want the extra chairs, go for it, but this table is not for you.”

“Well said, Beloved,” I drop a kiss on her forehead and hand her a drink.

The guys get the hint and wander off.

“Have you decided what you want?”

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