Page 27 of Masked Indulgence
She could have some nasty habits I just couldn’t cotton to. I mean, who knew if we’d actually get along ornot?
But looking into her eyes I told myself that I should forgo seeing other women until I knew for certain that she and I weren’t compatible. “I think I can be satisfied with just little ol’ you. We don’t have to put this agreement in stone. We have a lot to get to know about one another before we decide whether we’re interested in pursuing more later on if we want. But for now, yeah, I’ll stay away from other women, and you stay away from othermen.”
She let out a big breath. “Good.”
Then she kissed me, and we fell into that blissful state of just being together. It seemed the most natural thing to me, being with her. But as we continued kissing and my cock grew, I heard her tummy growling and stopped the kiss—if I didn’t stop now I knew this would lead all the way to the bed. “You’rehungry.”
“Not so hungry that we need to stop where we were headed,” sheprotested.
I wasn’t having any of that. I took her hand in mine, leading her out the bedroom door. “I’m getting you something to eat. I’ll have Mona make you a sandwich to tide you over until dinner’sready.”
She lagged behind, whining, “Really Nix, I can wait for dinner. I’m not that hungry. My tummy has just started growling a lot—I have no idea why thatis.”
I had to laugh. Was she really so clueless? “Baby, you have a little human you’re growing inside of you. You need to eat a lot more so our kid will behealthy.”
Taking her straight into the kitchen, I didn’t see Mona anywhere and figured she was doing something elsewhere. So I sat Katana down and went to the fridge to make her a sandwich myself. “Ham?” Iasked.
“I kind of hate ham. Do you have turkey?” she asked then tried to get up. “I can make my own sandwich,Nix.”
I turned around and placed my hands on her shoulders. “I’ve got this. So turkey and Swiss?” I asked as I found some sliced Swiss cheese in the lunch meatdrawer.
“Sounds great. And thank you,” she said, then pulled out her cell and looked at her social media while I got towork.
A beep from the alarm system alerted me that it was being deactivated again and my stomach went tight. I knew there were only four people who had the code to my system, and three of them were already in thehouse.
“That would be Shanna,” I told Katana, watching her eyes gobig.
“Shanna? Who’s that?” sheasked.
Shanna came into the kitchen before I could answer her. And she didn’t wait one second for me to introduce the two. “I’m Shanna, Nixon’s best friend. You must be the woman who says she’s pregnant byhim.”
Katana got up and extended her hand in a polite gesture, but Shanna didn’t shake it. “I’m Katana Reeves. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shanna.” When Shanna just looked at Katana’s hand for several moments, Katana pulled it back and took aseat.
Shanna did the same, sitting across the small table from her. I hated the way she was eyeing Katana and stepped in, placing the plate with the sandwich and chips in front of Katana. “I think milk would be best for you to drink.” I turned to grab a glass and then wondered if she had any allergies. I turned back, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Wait, are you lactose intolerant, or do you have any allergies I should knowabout?”
“No, I’m allergy-free as far as I know, and I can have dairy. Thank you, Nix,” Katana said then bit into her sandwich as Shanna stared at her. I had to hand it to Katana—she didn’t seem to be intimidated by Shanna in theleast.
But then I remembered that Katana had been in an orphanage and then in foster care. She’d probably had to learn at a very early age how to deal with assholes—which my best friend was definitelybeing.
After placing the glass of milk on the table, I took a seat, pulling my chair closer to Katana’s than Shanna’s. “So what brought you back here,Shanna?”
“I wanted to meet her, of course,” she answered me. “So what’s the deal with youtwo?”
“What do you mean?” Katana asked, wiping her mouth with the napkin I’d givenher.
“I mean, do you think you’re going to come in here and take over my best friend’s life?” Shanna tapped her foot as she stared Katanadown.
I’d had enough. “Shanna,stop.”
Shanna’s light brows rose and she looked appalled. “Nixon, someone has to look out for you. I’m not about to let some money-grubbingbitch…”
I stood up and took her by the arm. “I will not have you speaking that way in my house, Shanna.” I jerked her up and pulled her toward thedoor.
But Katana stopped me. “It’s okay, Nix. She can ask me anything she wants to. She just cares about you. That’s why she’s upset right now—I understand that. Please, let her sit back down, and she and I can get to know one another. If she’s your best friend, then she’s pretty important to you, and will be to our baby aswell.”
I let Shanna’s arm go and wagged my finger in her face. “You chill on the name calling. You’re lucky she’s nice, Shanna, or you’d have been out on your ass. Be nice. She’s the mother of my child. My blood. And you know how I am about blood. It takes priority over everyone else. Don’t make me cut you out of mylife.”
Shanna went pale. I suppose she’d never imagined I’d actually do such a thing to her. “Nixon?”
