Page 8 of Craving a King

“The river room is my favorite. My mother and I used to walk by the river for hours. To this day, the water is my favorite place to be.”

We step in and I exhale a deep breath. Every shade of blue is represented in the wall coverings, bed linens, and even the floor tile. The floors are colored such a deep gray they look blue. There are also small fish tanks in between the tiles of the floor, so it looks like I am walking on water as the fish swim under my feet. “King, this is magnificent. May I stay in this room, please?”

He looks into my eyes. “Of course, Ella. You may have whatever you want. I am sure all the toiletries you may need are in the bathroom. I just want you happy while you are here.”

I chuckle. “Why are you so concerned about my happiness? Is it really so I can build excellent schools for you? I assure you this is not how the client-contractor relationship generally progresses. It is I that needs to impress you.”

He does not laugh. “No. Never try to impress me. It is an impossible task. I will always expect more. As for your happiness, between exiting the car and walking to this room, it became of interest to me.”

I clear my throat. “And why is that, King?”

“Well, Ella, the jury is still out.”

With that, he crashes his body into mine and kisses me like I have never been kissed before. It starts tentative and gentle. His full lips are soft and asking my permission to go further with every touch. My mind says to stop this, but my body craves it, so I allow it. Opening my mouth, I invite him in to explore and make himself comfortable. The wall starts to tumble down as we give into the passion that sparked the moment we laid eyes on each other. The kiss chips at my resolve bit by bit before finally taking me to the river.

Chapter Six

Correction

Kofi

The kiss with Ella last night was a mistake.

I let my lips write a check I am most certainly not ready to cash. Now it may be awkward. But I could not resist. The sight of her makes me want to take her against the nearest wall and screw her until she passes out from the pleasure. She is equally infuriating and sexy. The way her teeth captured my bottom lip while I was kissing her was a direct display of her power over me. But then, she parted her lips so readily and let me set the pace as I devoured her. For a moment, Ella yielded power. She is a walking contradiction. Hard and soft. Sweet and spicy. Fetching and fightable.

I wish I could figure out which side of her is making me lose my mind! Even now I am lying in this bed thinking about how her full breasts pressed into me during that kiss. I swear she tried to grind the sweet spot at the center of her body into mine. She definitely felt the bulge between my legs last night—no way she missed it. I was rock hard! Shit! There is no way I make it through my morning shower without rubbing one out. The fact that I sleep naked is no help. I feel my hand creeping toward my dick already. Ever since I started researching Ella, watching the videos of her speeches and looking at her pictures, I jack off more than a teenager. But it cannot go further.

From this moment on, I will be the ultimate host. After the abrupt kiss, she admitted it was silly for Senya and me to drive to the palace in town when I was already at my home. So, I got permission to stay in my own damn house! Unbelievable. She is infuriating and she thinks way too much of herself, but I love it. It just makes me want to get her in bed even more. Just imagining her sweet hazel eyes looking up at me while she swallows me in that sweet caramel mouth of hers makes me want to go wake her up so we can live out my fantasy.

Instead, I will continue my plan today and show her the best Kumasi has to offer. The Manhyia Palace Museum will give her a great lesson in Ashanti customs and history. Then, my palace in Kumasi will expose her to the seat of our government. The marketplace will give her a chance to see our artisans at work, and I have a surprise for her there. I want her to fall in love with this place so she will build her schools here and stay. Well, at least stay for a year after the launch to ensure the implementation is smooth. The future of my people depends on well-educated youth. I cannot afford to mess this up. Damn! I should have kept it 100 percent professional. A romantic entanglement is a harbinger for heartbreak, and breaking her heart is the surest way to run her and her school network back to Atlanta. This situation is stressful.

The running stream outside my window always calms me down. I call this home Bonbiri because of its location near the former Bonbiri game reserve. When I want to think without the noise and distractions of Kumasi or Accra, I come here and bring only my cook Akua and my right hand, Senya.

“Your majesty, I have breakfast ready downstairs if you and your guest are ready.” I know that sweet voice anywhere. I grab the robe by my bed and head to the door.

I am not hungry, but I know Akua will not take no for an answer. She is like a second mother to me. She has served my family for over 60 years. My mother passed away 25 years ago, when I was only twelve.

“Auntie.” I open the door and usher her in. “You speak as if you expected my guest to be in here with me.” I close the door behind her.

“Well, I saw you two kissing last night as I was passing to my room, and I just thought…”

“Auntie, were you spying on me?!” I feign offense.

Already that one kiss is causing mischief. I keep my romantic interests separate from my home life. Away from Akua. Hopefully, Ella and I can go back to a friendly business relationship and pretend the kiss never happened.

She laughs at my expense. “You know I don’t sleep. And I still see everything. Well, if she’s not here, where is she staying?”

I nod to my right. “The river room.”

“Ahh OK, well, I will set the table for breakfast in an hour.” She grabs the side of my face with her hands. “I’m even making your favorite fish stew for lunch!” She turns to leave but changes her mind.

“Osei Kofi…” She pauses for effect, and I straighten to attention. Few have the privilege of calling me by my full name. Those who do use it only for serious conversation. “Tell me more about this woman you invited here. She’s staying for a month?” Ahh, the old woman wants information. I knew my favorite fish stew at one o’ clock in the afternoon would cost me something.

I playfully narrow my eyes at her. “Hmmm. You know a lot of information for someone that does not spy.” I told no one but Senya of my plans. If he is Akua’s source, I will have words for him this morning.

“I accidentally overheard you on the phone a few weeks ago, giving some directions to Senya about a woman named Ella. I believe you told him to ensure her transportation and that she should have comfortable accommodations for her monthlong stay? Where is she from that you need to accommodate her for a month?” Akua raises her right eyebrow as if to say,gotcha!

“She is an American.” I say nothing more and we reenter my bedroom. Her expression informs me that I am in for a lecture. I take a seat in a nearby chair.

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