Page 61 of Judgments of Fire and Desire

I smiled at him as my cell phone vibrated on the desk. Closing my eyes without even looking at the caller ID, I huffed.

“It’s Micah this time,” Bransford said, then gave me a smile and left the office.

I smiled slightly and answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, boo. How are you?”

“I’m okay, considering. How are you?”

“Sick of being in bed. I’d rather run into a burning building,” she said, then giggled.

I rolled my eyes. “You do that anyway sometimes, Micah. The gist of it is you’re supposed to rather do something you wouldn’t normally do.”

I chuckled as I listened to her laugh. “Okay. Well, I’d rather kiss Bransford’s ass.”

That produced a laugh out of me. When I calmed down, I said, “Actually, he’s alright with me now. I’ll explain it in person. How are you really?”

She sighed and remained quiet for a moment. “I’m okay. I’m just nervous. I have preeclampsia. They are treating it and caught it pretty early, but I’m just hoping I don’t have lasting effects of it or my baby.”

“Is Kevin helping at all?”

“Yeah, he is. He’s been great, actually.”

“Good. Well, try to stay calm. You being nervous and stressing about it can only make it worse, right?”

“Yeah. How are you and the judge?”

“We’re great. I’m about to head home to him now. I’m glad you called to check on me. I didn’t want to bug you with my issues, and now that I know your condition, I’m glad I didn’t. What are you having? Did you cave and ask the technician?”

“I did indeed cave. The suspense of it all was driving me crazy. I’m having a little princess. Hopefully, she won’t have my attitude. With all the trouble she’s causing, it will probably be worse.”

She chuckled, and I laughed with her. “Well, congratulations! I will call and check on you tomorrow, and I’ll try to go see you over the weekend.”

“That would be great. Love you, Genesis. Keep your head up.”

“Thanks, and love you too. Talk to you soon.”

I ended the call and took a deep breath, preparing to deal with the hoopla outside, then grabbed my things and headed out. When I got to the door, I quickly walked out, power walking to my car, only to realize no one was out here. I looked around and saw the crews on the street, but no one was at the door. When I turned back to the door, Bransford was standing there. “Have a good evening, Chief.”

I nearly wanted to cry. After swallowing hard, I said, “Thank you, Bransford. You too.”

He nodded and went back inside once I got in my vehicle. I drove away, thanking God for small favors.

When I turned in the driveway, I saw that Kyrie had beat me here. I was shocked that he didn’t text or call. Usually, if he got off early, he sent a text to discuss dinner plans. I supposed I had better mentally prepare to cook something. It was after six o’clock already, so I had better get a move on. Maybe we should go out for dinner if he was up to it. I didn’t know what type of day he’d had to endure. That was probably why he hadn’t communicated. It was probably horrible.

As I got to the back door and fished in my purse for my keys, I smelled food. I frowned. Kyrie didn’t really cook like that. It smelled like Ms. Carolyn’s cooking. Once I got my keys out, I quickly unlocked the back door and walked in to find my man standing in the middle of the floor, shirtless and with a single red rose in his hand.

The tears sprang from my eyes out of nowhere. He looked so amazing. I didn’t know if my appetite had increased for the food or him. His beard was glistening under the recess lighting, and his skin was oiled, begging me to trace the tattoos on his chest with my tongue. His lips looked moist and ready to be kissed as his gaze penetrated my core.

My eyes slid down his body to the black dress pants he wore and just how tight they were becoming, down to his bare feet.Jesus.The man was truly blessed in the looks department, but it was the parts of him that couldn’t be seen with the physical eye that kept me fiending for his time, attention, and touch. His heart was gold, his soul was pure, and his mind was brilliant. I loved all three components that made him him.

I slowly made my way to him, dropping my things to the floor along the way. His eyes never left me, and I couldn’t dare tear my gaze away from him either. It was like he was silently summoning me to him. When I got close, I stood there silently staring into his eyes as he extended the rose to me. “Hey, baby,” he said in a soft voice.

My eyes closed just as I took the rose from him. He leaned over, nuzzling his nose in my neck. “Hey,” I whispered.

He kissed me right beneath my ear then grabbed my hand and led me to the bedroom. My heart was so full, I knew if I said another word, I would break down emotionally. Once inside, he turned to me and began taking my clothes off. As I stood quietly, I could hear the faint sounds of jazz coming from my bathroom. God, what was he doing to me? How did he know I needed this?

Once he’d fully disrobed me, he slowly scanned my body and licked his thick lips. When his eyes made their way back to mine, he said, “You’re so beautiful, baby.”

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