Page 14 of Attracted to A Savage

“Everything okay Kai?” My mother asked, calling me by the name that only she used, as she sat in the seat and continued to sip her drink slowly.

"Yeah, just somebody I know from around the way." I brushed it off as Ayesha shot daggers my way.

"Some cougar whose face he was in. They had the audacity to stop talking when I walked up too Mama Roc," Ayesha said with an attitude.

"You haven't learned about older women after Cashmere had you crying for forty days and forty nights?" She joked as she laughed loudly. My mama was the only person I could vent to during that time. Nobody else would've ever believed it. The shit wasn't funny then, but we could laugh about it now.

"Ma, chill," I said as I chuckled at the thought. Cash's ass had me torn up.

I looked down at my GPS and saw we had fifteen minutes to make it to the house before I switched to Cash's location. She was in a car now, and for her sake, she had better hope that the car was taking her to her reserve. Despite how I felt about her, now that I knew my son existed, she would never reappear if she pulled another disappearing act.

We made it to the mansion that I had rented. Everyone was outside at the pool, and my brother was barbecuing. Grabbing my mom's and Ayesha's luggage from the back, I carried it inside and told the driver to wait for me.

I hugged my sisters and then dapped up their husbands and my brothers. My little niece Kaiya ran up to me and finessed me out of a hundred-dollar bill after she reminded me that I forgot to bring her a beach ball a couple of months ago. I had just found out about KJ's existence less than an hour ago, and I was already thinking that he should be right here with them playing in the water.

"Where are you going, Ro?" My younger brother Kaino asked me as I hastily walked back to the front of the house so I could leave.

"Yeah, where you going?" Ayesha asked as she came behind him and walked toward me.

"It's always business to handle," I answered him and disregarded her entirely. He nodded, and I continued to walk toward the truck.

"Ayesha, leave my brother alone! Stop hounding him. You already popped up at my mama's house so you could get on the jet with them." My sister Kaira came out the door with a pan of macaroni in her hand and yelled at her in-law. Her husband stood behind her, shaking his head at his sister.

"I'm manifesting not hounding beloved." She said as she laughed and turned to follow my sister back into the backyard. Ayesha was cool, and she was fine as fuck. But she was trying to force me into a relationship, which wasn't what I wanted from her. At first, she said she was cool with it, but then she flipped. I wasn't the type of nigga that could be pressured, so I fell back from her.

Jumping back into the truck, I clicked on Cash's location again. I had twenty-three minutes until I was going to get the answers from her that I had waited three years for.

11

CASHMERE

Icut my shopping into an eighth when Ro said that I had better be back at the reserve in an hour. I ran out of the shop so fast you'd think I stole everything in the bag to ensure I had enough time for the forty-minute drive back to Dorado Beach. I know I had kept the secret from him, but the last thing I wanted to do was test him about it now that he knew. He would be on my ass so fast that I wouldn't even be able to make it off the island.

The truck slowed to a stop, and I stepped out to pick up KJ from the seat. I struggled to throw him across my shoulder and carry his dead weight into the suite along with the bags of clothing and toys. Walking through the door, I laid him down on the bed, took off his little sneakers, and kissed his head. I took a couple of deep breaths as I watched the time pass. I finally had put one beast to sleep, and now I was about to wake up another.

When Ro stood in front of me in that shop and I looked into his eyes, I could see that it took everything in him to give me KJ. But I knew he did it because he didn't want to hurt me. That was the exact reason why I had excused every red flag about that man despite them waving like women in a pageant. Kairo was so quick to anger, except when it came to me. With me, he was kind, understanding, and passionate. He was considerateof his words and apologetic if he offended me. Then, he would mosey into the street and shoot at someone or beat them into a vegetative state.

"I'm here." My phone scared me as I looked down and saw that Kairo had told me he had arrived at the reserve. I texted him the suite number while waiting for him to come to the door. My breathing hitched because I didn't know what the outcome of the conversation would be.

He knocked twice, and I opened the door and allowed him to come in. He looked around before the door closed behind him.

"Where's Kash?" He asked no sooner than he crossed the threshold.

"In the room, he fell asleep. It's his nap time." I said quietly. He walked to the room and peeked his head in to be sure that I hadn't dropped KJ off anywhere.

He nodded as he followed me into the living room and sat across from me. I could see how his temples flexed, that he was fighting back some emotion.

"Why the fuck would you keep him away from me?" He grilled me.

"I didn't know that I was pregnant at first. I moved away, tried to rebuild, and found out. I was supposed to let you know, but I just felt like doing that would have me right back in the middle of what I had just escaped from. I was resentful; I felt like loving you caused me to lose everything I had. I was mad at myself for even crossing the line in the first place. It was a lot. And I know that doesn't make it right, but it's true. I'm sorry." I said honestly as tears rolled down my face. He looked up at me and didn't speak right away.

"You told him I was at school?" He scoffed.

"I made sure he knew you, Ro. He knows so much about you. I gave him the best answer I knew."

"Yeah, that sounds good, but it's not the same. I still remember my pops took me everywhere with him. Nigga would throw me up on his neck and go on with his day. Pictures ain't the same. He needed that time. That shit matters." His voice croaked as he spoke. We had spent so many nights talking about how much he missed his dad since his dad had gone to prison.

"You're right, I'm sorry." I apologized again. I would never argue that I was right because I knew I was dead wrong. But somehow, I just let it go too far.

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