Brown Sugar (Lunchtime Chronicles #64)

24. Tyson

24

TYSON

I light candles on the mantel before I move on to others around the room. The house is still and quiet except for the gentle stream from the shower upstairs.

Being the grumpy, grizzly loner type, I’ve always been in my element on quiet nights at home. Especially if I’ve come off a challenging mission where my life, or the life of others, was at stake.

But coming off this latest job, it’s different.

Tonight’s more than a simple quiet night at home where I’d watch ESPN for hours and then eventually drift off on the couch.

Before Jax passed away, sometimes he’d come downstairs and shake his head, laughing about how we were opposites. He’d invite me out to the bar he and his friends were heading off to. I almost always declined.

Thinking back now, I wish I’d accepted. I wish I’d done a lot of things with my baby brother, like those fishing trips we had planned.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from loss, it’s that sometimes it’s alright to open yourself up to the right people. Sometimes, it’s alright to take a chance with a person you can trust.

Most people see me, standing tall and broadly at six-foot-four, and they write me off as some moody, muscly asshole.

And maybe those people were correct in a way. I am a moody, muscly asshole.

But the handful of people who I trust, they know better.

In a couple short weeks, Kiana Baduza has become one of those select few. We come from two different worlds and had preconceived notions about the other when we first met. We’ve discovered how wrong we were to judge and how right we are together.

The woman is truly special. You strip away the celebrity and the fame, and she’s one of the most caring, interesting, and remarkable people I’ve ever met. She’s beautiful inside and out, and I’ve realized protecting her is more than just a job I was hired for.

It’s the duty I’m meant for as the man in her life.

When I’ve lit every candle in the living room, I move into the kitchen, thinking about the future I want with this one-of-a-kind woman who I can’t get enough of. I check on the steaks I’m making us and the veggies roasting in the oven.

Kiana appears as I’ve already set the table and poured the wine. She stops only a couple footsteps inside the kitchen.

A slow smirk starts up at the corner of her mouth. Her lips are distractingly kissable and the rest of her face is naked and as beautiful as ever. She’s fresh off her shower, swallowed up by another one of my T-shirts that’s a damn dress on her.

I crook a finger at her. “C’mere, princess.”

“You did all this for dinner? I would’ve been fine ordering in.”

She slow walks into my arms. I enclose them around her as soon as I get the chance. I kiss the top of her curly head and then guide her toward her chair, tucking her in once she’s seated.

“Thought you could use some home cooking.” I wink at her taking my own seat.

Her dark, alluring eyes glitter. “I haven’t even tasted anything yet and it’s already amazing. And wine? Candles? You’ve outdone yourself, Goliath.”

“Anything for you, princess.”

“How did you know? How did you figure out what Hal was going to do? I know you said you pieced together who it was, but how did you pull off saving me last minute?”

I shrug, reaching for my glass of red wine. “Simple. Hal was escalating. I knew he’d be there at the performance and that he was growing desperate. All his schemes so far had been averted. But this one would be broadcast live on TV.”

“You saved my life… and everybody else’s on that stage. In the audience.”

“It’s what I do. Protecting assets. Bringing down the bad guys.”

Her smirk returns, wider the second go around. “This was beyond just protecting an asset.”

She’s got me dead to rights. It’s true that it was much more than doing my usual job. My usual grizzly pokerface doesn’t stand a chance in her presence, the warmth in my chest undeniable.

“Of course it was, princess,” I answer. “This was about ensuring the woman I’ve fallen for is taken care of. Physically, mentally, emotionally…”

“You’re too good to me.”

“No, I’m not. He—and the others—weren’t good enough. None of them deserved you. That’s not to say I deserve you either. Some would say I don’t. But I can sure as hell promise you, princess, that I’m always going to give you my all.”

She’s blinking away tears, biting down on her bottom lip as if to stifle a cry. “I promise I’ll always give you mine,” she says, her tone quiet and soft. “I’m never sacrificing my happiness for fame again. I want to be with you, Tyson, and nothing’s going to stop us.”

We drink to our commitment to each other and then dig into the ribeyes I’ve prepared. Kiana moans in approval at the first bite. She mentions how she was rarely allowed steak while under contract with Tommy and the label, because it was deemed bad for her figure.

“But that’s over now,” she says. “I can have all the steak and potato chips I want.”

I chuckle. “Sounds like I’m about to turn you into a meat and potatoes girl.”

“Only if I turn up your spice level.”

“Good luck with that, princess. These taste buds are never gonna advance past salt and pepper.”

“I can be pretty convincing.” She bats her long lashes at me, making a kissy face that only makes me laugh some more.

“Down girl. We haven’t even had dessert yet.”

“Which reminds me, I have a surprise for you. But first you have to close your eyes.”

I’m immediately suspicious, cocking a thick brow. She doesn’t offer any more details except to wink at me like I do to her. She slides out of her chair and then disappears into the kitchen.

Rasping out a sigh, I close my eyes and play along. The pad of her footsteps a few seconds later tells me she’s returned. She comes up from behind and kisses my cheek.

“I’m not the best in the kitchen,” she admits with a giggle. “But I had this bakery Amari and I love make us something special. Tell me what it is.”

I almost grin at her instruction. I’m more than familiar with this game.

A spoon prods gently at my lips, and I open up to accept what she’s feeding me. Sweetness explodes on my tongue from the first bite. I make a throaty noise to express my approval as she feeds me more.

The dessert has a distinct sugary spice taste along with a warm gooiness that makes you want more. There’s some kind of glazed fruit in the dish too, along with crumbly pieces.

“Any guesses what it is?” Kiana whispers before nibbling my ear. She feeds me another spoonful and kisses my lips.

I blindly reach for her and pull her into my lap. “Something tells me it’s the same treat I fed you in a certain hotel. Blackberry crumble with brown sugar.”

“Just as delicious now as it was then?”

“Mhm, except I’m ready for my real dessert.”

My eyes pop open as I cup her face and draw her closer for a kiss. The kiss is sugary by virtue of the brown sugar on my tongue. Something she more than enjoys as she flicks hers to mine and rakes fingers through my beard.

We waste no time indulging in our second dessert.

I quickly clear the dinner table and lay her down, wrenching her thighs apart. My T-shirt that she’s wearing has ridden up, and she reveals she hasn’t bothered putting on any panties.

A growl rumbles out of me, my dick instantly hard in my sweatpants. Licking my lips, I hook my arms under her thighs and drag her to the edge of the table before digging in on my sweetest treat of all.

Kiana wiggles and moans, her head turning side to side.

Her already wet pussy’s drenched within minutes of me licking and sucking, adding fingers for more pleasure.

She’s an incoherent goner as I dip my tongue inside her soft pink pussy and finish her off almost as quickly as I’d started. She’s coming right on my tongue. Just the way I like it.

“Tyson,” she sighs, eyes bleary. “How… how…?”

I laugh gruffly and scoop her up in my arms to take her upstairs. I’ve got evidence of her in my beard. “Princess, pleasuring you is my new favorite hobby. You and that pretty little pussy better get used to it.”

Within minutes, she’s discovering all over again how serious I am.

I’ve brought her up to my bed, where I have my way with her, worshipping every inch and curve of her body, ’til she’s seizing up on her third orgasm.

I’m buried deep inside her, my strokes long and slow. I’m torturing myself, trying to be disciplined and hold off as long as I can. In order to do so, I focus on her, kissing and sucking on her breasts and then moving up to her pouty mouth.

I turn her over onto her stomach and press my lips to her spine. My hands fill with her soft naked curves, and I stroke my cock deep inside. Hot electricity jolts through me from where my cock’s buried in tight warmth, and I finally give in.

My release fills her up ’til I’m empty and have nothing else left to give. Her name’s on my tongue, the one I call out when I collapse in bed and pull her into me.

The one who’s in my heart as I caress her cheek and give her more sweet kisses.

“Princess, you’ve got me,” I say, kissing her once, then twice. I go for a third kiss, unable to resist. “You’ve got me hooked on you. You might as well be a damn drug. Some kind of sugar rush.”

“ Brown sugar,” she corrects with a giggle.

I laugh too, stroking her cheek, pulling her down for yet another kiss. “That’s right. Brown fucking sugar.”

“I’m feeling some inspiration for a new album,” she murmurs, resting her head on my chest. “Real content from me. The stuff I want to sing about.”

“And I’ll be there,” I say. “Every step of the way. Protecting you and supporting you.”