Page 39 of Can I?

“I don’t believe you could have ever lost me, Milana. I just needed time. I was all in before I knew what you were going through. Although I knew something was up, you had my nose wide open in Birmingham. I tried convincing myself that I couldn’t be with you so I wouldn’t have to deal with the drama. You see how that shit panned out, . . . with me deep in them guts.”

She chuckled. “Mm. Well, I’m glad. We gotta get you better so you can stay up in my guts.”

I slowly shook my head. I could see now that we would both be handfuls when it came to sexually pleasing one another. When we got to the bathroom, I got in the shower and instead of her going away to call her uncle, she got in with me. Grabbing the towel from the bar, she wet it and lathered it up then began washing me. The way she took her time, rubbing me and practically massaging me with the washcloth, had me growing even softer by the minute.

When she got to my dick and he jumped, she giggled. Taking her time, she washed him thoroughly. Once she was done washing me, she quickly washed herself as I rinsed off. I pulled her to me and kissed her forehead. “Thank you so much for taking care of me, Milana. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms tonight.”

“I can’t wait for that either.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

MILANA

Watchful Eyes were camped out around the family barn like it was their substation and they were having a team meeting. We were having a celebration to celebrate the success of my girls, Maui and Ashanni, along with SS, Royal, and King. SS and Royal had gotten their bachelor’s degrees in business, and King had gotten his bachelor’s in finance. I was so proud of all of them. They were proving the family business would be in good hands when the time came to pass the torch.

Jakari and Rylan were already in positions to take over whenever Uncle WJ decided he wanted to retire. I doubted that moment would ever come since he didn’t start running the business until much later in life. He would be running shit until he no longer could.

I’d taken Ferris to the hospital just to make sure everything was good, and the ER doctor said that it was. They gave him another round of antibiotics, because we didn’t tell him about the first round. We didn’t want Uncle Kenny to get in trouble for anything. They didn’t keep him overnight. I’d left him in bed asleep to go to the graduation ceremonies then went back to help him get dressed. He said he refused to miss the party.

He talked to his mama on the phone last night as well. I was nervous about meeting her because she sounded extremely angry on the phone, and I noticed Ferris glancing at me while he talked. I was pretty sure he didn’t know I noticed. She was going to be blaming me for what happened to him. I had no problem accepting the blame. I’d been doing that shit for the past couple of months anyway.

When we got to the table with Ryder J and my parents, they all stood and hugged me tightly then shook Ferris’s hand. “Ferris, you don’t think you need to be at home resting, baby?” my mama asked.

He smiled, and before he could respond, my daddy said, “First of all, thank you for protecting my baby as I would have. Secondly, you need to get that excitement out yo’ eyes when you speak to my wife.”

Mama shoulder bumped him as Ferris’s smile faded somewhat. I chuckled because I knew he was joking. Ferris wasn’t familiar with him yet, so that was why it was funny. My daddy was so damn possessive and intimidating at times. When he chuckled, Ferris eased up, and his smile returned.

Turning to me, he said, “It was my honor to protect this country princess. She’s my baby, too, even after only a short amount of time.”

While staring into his eyes, I could only think about all the nasty ass shit we did last night. That man’s dick was going to be my kryptonite. Whenever he even adjusted the shit in his pants, it put me in a trance. I couldn’t focus for shit. My lips would part and everything. I wanted him again so badly. The doctor told him to take off a week, not doing anything strenuous. So I knew sex was out unless Ferris chose to ignore the doctor’s advice.

My brother cleared his throat, and I blinked rapidly as my mama giggled. “I swear y’all remind us of when we first started dating,” my mama said. “The whole restaurant ‘get to know you’session in Birmingham was definitely like having a moment of déjà vu. Ryder and I met at a rodeo. He’s Legend’s cousin and had tagged along with him and Red, just like you tagged along with Asad and met Milana. We began getting to know one another at a restaurant after the rodeo to celebrate my win.”

I smiled brightly as I leaned against Ferris. What he said in response took my damn breath away.

“Well, hopefully, Milana and I can have the same outcome the two of you did.” He kissed my cheek. “I already know that she’s someone I want to love and build with.”

I could feel my eyes welling up with tears as I leaned over and kissed his lips. Ryder J rolled his eyes then stood. “A’ight. Y’all be easy. Too much romance at this table. I’ll go chill with my boys.”

I chuckled and watched him go sit with Crew, Kane, and SS. I glanced over at my girls and decided to go and hug them. “I’ll be right back, baby.”

“Okay.”

I made my way to Ashanni and Maui. They were seated at a table with the twins, Malia, and Ace, surprisingly. I wasn’t sure why he was seated with them. He was between the twins and looked to be upset about something. I wouldn’t bring it up now.

“Hey, y’all! Congratulations!”

Maui and Ashanni hopped up from their seats, and we were all jumping and screaming in excitement. I swore they were making me want to go back to school to get my master’s degree. I didn’t even have a party after graduation because I was so busy trying to establish myself in the rodeo circuit. I didn’t want to simply be known as Tiffany’s daughter. I wanted to be known as Tiffany Henderson-Semien’s daughter who could also fuck up the industry just like her mother.

My mama was still the blueprint in this rodeo industry for women of all cultures and nationalities, but especially for blackwomen. I wanted to be just as significant. While Karima was out, it was time to take over barrel racing. So maybe I didn’t have time to go back to school right now. However, I knew it would never be too late.

“Y’all sound like some fucking chipmunks,” Ace said.

Bali and Noni both leaned into him, and Noni kissed his cheek. I frowned slightly then went to them. I hugged the twins then grabbed Ace’s hand, pulling him from his seat. I hugged him tightly. “What’s going on?” I asked in his ear.

He pulled away from me and slid his hand down his face. He was turning red. I grabbed his hand and pulled him outside the main area to the foyer. When I saw Mr. Ryan, I knew it was probably best if we went further down the hallway. He said if he was here, things were hot and heavy. So after the shooting yesterday, they probably called him back.

When we were in the hallway, I asked, “What happened?”

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