Chapter 33
MYKEL
We stayed in the tub for a while. My raging cock was still hard as steel. Even if I was losing my shit and wanted to take Adley right now, I pulled myself together, allowing my brain to rule for a while.
I pulled the spray and pointed it at her as I rinsed her clean.
“I can help you with that.” Her voice was still low and shaky from her orgasm. Despite my unattended needs, I could still comprehend what she was trying to say.
“I’ll be fine.” I chuckled. “Can I ask you something?”
“Is that something making the situation awkward?”
“No, baby.”
She turned to face me. “Go ahead.”
I looked into her eyes. The sparks of anticipation were present. “Will you go out on a date with me?”
Judging by her reaction, she wasn’t expecting it. “Oh, even if we’re already married?”
“We can still go out on a date and have fun.”
“We had dinner before.”
“This time, it’s different. You know my feelings about you. So?”
She smiled. Flush crept up her ivory skin. “Okay. Where are you taking me for this date?”
“Something special, but wear something comfy, even a mickey mouse pajama set.”
She giggled, nibbling her bottom lip. I leaned down to kiss her, and she let me.
After a couple more minutes, I got up and went under the shower. It was a hard pass, even if I wanted to work on my hard-on. I had a wife waiting in bed for me.
Adley was already on her shirt and jeans, blowdrying her hair.
“I don’t have something to change. I’m going to the penthouse and pick you up at six?”
“Sure.” She pulled a chair. “Sit.”
“Why?”
“Just sit, Mykel.”
I looked at her inquisitively before I sat down in front of the mirror. Then she started to blow drying my hair.
“Do you want me to cut my hair?”
“Nope. I envy you. Your hair is thick and smooth. When I was in high school, I colored my hair blonde.”
“What’s not to love about your hair? Are you really brunette?” I asked the obvious.
Dusky pink blossomed on her cheeks. “Only one way to find out.”
“You’ll keep unwaxed?” I lifted a brow.
“You’re so lewd.” Judging by her reaction, she just confirmed it to me.
“You are Belle then.”
“You did not just reference Disney on me.” She poured a little amount of hair oil on her palm and rubbed them before she applied it to my hair. “Now you smell like me. We’re done.”
“I was kidding.”
“You don’t look so beast to me.”
“I know you’re worried about Lex, but he’s gonna be fine. He’s strong and gonna pull this through.” I turned around, wrapped my arms around her, and hugged her tight. She also hugged me back, resting her chin on my head. I could hear her heart beating so fast, hoping it did for me.
“I know. Will you please think about his offer?”
I titled my neck so that she could see me. “I will do this for you. Just have patience in me.”
“Thanks.” She kissed me quickly. “You can’t be this selfish, Mykel. What do you want from me?”
“Your acceptance.” That was honest to the fault answer I could give.
“What do you mean? I accepted you.” Her brows creased.
“That’s not what I want.”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
“Then tell me.”
“I have a difficult past. My rep isn’t perfect. I want you to see the real me without this cocky playboy image, without the fame, money, and power.”
“What do you think I’d seen for the past weeks? I was wrong. It was so awful that I judged you as this stereotypical playboy billionaire who ran away after sex, afraid of intimacy and commitments. I saw the real you when you helped with my irrational fear. Your mother is proof that you are more than meets the eye. Then what you sacrificed for me, I didn’t know how to pay you back.”
“I’m not asking for payments. I want nothing from you than to give me a chance.”
“You have it.”
A smile curved up my lips. My chest expanded with hopes. “See you tonight?”
“Tonight then.”
I kissed her one more time before I walked out of her room. I went to the study to meet Lex. He was currently on the phone. I went through the photographs I’d never seen in his office at Kross Corp.
“Mykel.”
“How old is Adley in this picture?” I pointed at the photo of, in my guess, Adley’s parents.
“Six. She’s the most lively girl I’ve ever met and never ran out of energy. We call her sugar rush. She’s also inquisitive.” He gestured for me to sit.
“That’s precisely the Adley I met. She hates just sitting down. I feel like her brain is working all the time.”
“You’re not staying?”
“I’m taking Adley to my home tonight. I’ll just go to the penthouse to change and take some things.”
“What’s your plan for my granddaughter, Mykel. I’m sorry to ask, but I wanna know if her needs are taken care of.”
I had to sit down. “You may disapprove of my relationship with Adley, but you have to give me a chance. You may not like how we started, but I’m trying to make it right.”
“I told Adley I approved your relationship. Didn’t she tell you?”
I was taken aback by his reply. I stared at him for a few seconds, asking myself if what I heard was right. “Really?”
“Just stop swinging around your junk, Mykel. I want Adley to be your only woman. If you can do that, I have no issue with you.”
“Believe it or not, I’m loyal to your granddaughter.”
“Then that’s the only thing I wanna hear for now. And I want grandchildren.”
I laughed out loud. Before I could reply, the door swung open. My wife walked in wearing a curious look on her face. “You’re still here.”
“I came to tell your grandfather I’m taking you on a date,” I joked.
“You’re not serious. I’m not fifteen, Mykel.”
“I’m just messing with you, baby. I’m here to check on him before I go.” I faced Lex. “And I’m picking her up at six.”
Lex nodded in agreement.
“I’ll check up on you on Monday,” Adley said to her grandpa.
“I’ll be fine. I have a specialist checking on me from time to time. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Grandpa, don’t be a royal pain. I’ll come and check on you. That’s final.”
“Fine. You, Mykel, go home.” He turned to my wife. “And you, go check your Ins-whatever.”
My wife and I exchanged looked before we barked out laughing.
***
I picked up my wife at exactly six. She came down the entrance in exactly a mickey mouse pajama set.
I laughed as she presented herself. “You look so adorable.” I was not wearing anything fancy either than a shirt and jeans.
“You look hot yourself, big guy.” Her smile was cheek to cheek.
“Shall we?” I gestured to the passenger seat. Once she was in, I shut the door and went to the driver’s seat. This time I would drive us to our home.
“Those two gents will follow us?”
“Yup. How’s your checking the Ins-?”
She smiled. “It was fine. I see you posted new pictures.”
“With women?”
She stared at me. “Are you trying to find out if I get jealous?”
“No reason for you to get jealous. Besides, I’m open to you. I don’t hide things from you. You should know that.” I squeezed her hand.
“I trust you. If things get boring between us and you want out, all you have to do is tell me.”
“Not happening, baby. For the first time, I feel stability. I go to work and think of you. Then I have someone waiting for me to go home to. I’m great and happy with what I have right now. Why would I make things complicated when my life is closed to perfect?” I stole a glance at her. She was staring at the road ahead of us.
“Perfect answer. So, where are you taking me?”
“We’ll get there, baby. Just relax.” I turned on the radio and played the music app on my phone.
“You like his music?”
“What’s not to like a sound like classic with a voice like that. … smooth as Tennessee whiskey.”
Adley was amused. “I’m not judging your choice of music.”
“I listen to what’s on the chart. I don’t have time to search for what’s good. I just don’t listen to hip-hop and rap. I couldn’t keep up with the lyrics.”
“So you listen to Taylor, Kpop, Billie Eilish?”
“Yeah. I still remember the face of Kye and Sax when the Kpop played on the radio.” I chuckled.
“You’re full of surprises, Mykel.”
“I know, baby. I’m awesome.”
She hid her smile and looked outside the window.
We listened to music and got to know more-those simple and obvious we liked to do every day, the food we enjoyed, things we wanted to escape doing, the book we read, our choices of movies we’d like to watch. Something like that that I didn’t mind adjusting.
“We’re here,” I announced.
She looked out through the windshield without a word.
“Welcome home, baby.” I pressed the password on the security keypad. The gate slid wide.
She looked at me. Her expression was pure shock.
Kye and Sax were already out of the SUV, surveying the area around my ten-bedroom house. I bought it from a real estate broker after earning eight figures in my bank account.
I helped her out of the car after I got a signal from Sax.
“This is beautiful, Mykel. How long have you had this house?”
“I’m glad you like it-almost three years. I don’t come here often. Maybe once every three months if I felt suffocated in the city. Before I bought the penthouse, I lived in my apartment for the past years. I just bought that building so that I could install a security system.”
I unlocked the door. It was fully furnished. It had everything I wanted, and I’d dreamed of when I started earning. Mom was pleased about the house as well.
She let her eyes wander. Adley had a great taste in luxury. She may be wearing pajamas tonight, but she looked expensive in every way. Her bag was from the most luxurious brand. Her sandals alone were worth a thousand bucks.
I just realized something. I’d never given her a gift. The ring on her finger didn’t count. So what the fuck was I doing?
“I’ll tour you around later. Let’s go to the back.”
“Okay.”
I led the way through the backdoor, where we passed the biggest pool. Sax and Kye had already set up my first outdoor picnic date with my wife.
The candles lit up aside from the lighting from the patio and the moon casting a glow at us. The sky was dark and clear. What I loved about this house was the air was fresh, and it was a great getaway place. That was a giveaway.
She also appreciated the place as she looked at the sky before stepping into the spread blanket. “It’s beautiful.”
“As beautiful as you.”
She turned to me. “I don’t know you have a romance in your body.”
“Then you still have a lot to learn about me.”
She took the wine I offered and sipped it. “Delicious. Thank you for taking me here. This home is special to you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I sipped my wine and picked a slice of chicken and veggie pinwheels. “Open your mouth.”
She took a bite, and I stuffed the remaining into my mouth. “That’s why I brought you here.”
“What?” she asked.
“You mean a lot to me that I don’t know how to tell you and express it.”
She leaned over and kissed me on my lips. Then she whispered, “You’re on the right track, Mykel. I can feel and see everything you do. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”