Page 5 of Through the Fire

The smile on his face stretched from ear to ear. His affection for her was palpable.

“But nah, my baby is an angel, and I don’t know why. She got a ho for a mama and then me. We both know I strayed away from the angel path a long time ago.”

“Her mama can’t be that bad. You had a baby with her.”

He frowned deeply. “I never said I was smart.”

I didn’t want to laugh, so I slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle it. I cleared my throat once I gathered myself.

“I’m glad you think that’s funny. You better be lucky I need to get to my baby, or I’d bend you over my knee for that.”

His words sent a chill down my spine in the worst way. I couldn’t understand why my body was having such a visceral reaction to him.

“I don’t want any problems, sir.” I focused on bagging the jar and then handing it off to him. “I pray this can bring baby girl some relief.”

He nodded. “I do too. I’ll be testing it out soon as I get home. Thank you, Izzy.” He began backing away slowly. He looked as if he wanted to say more but settled for, “It was nice seeing you again.”

I offered a closed-mouthed smile and waved. I exhaled heavily once he released me from the trance his hazel orbs sucked me in. I placed a hand over my racing heart to regulate my breathing. If one thing was clear, it was that I needed to stay far the hell away from him. He was injecting rays of light into a world I very much wanted to keep pitch black for the rest of my life.

AWeek Later…

With Shyla secured in my arms to save time, I rushed toward A Little More Sheahoping to catch the shop before they closed for the evening. It was my day off, but I fell into a coma after cleaning, cooking, and spending quality time with my baby. By the time I woke up, it was half an hour to 7:00 p.m., which was the time Island closed her shop for the day.

The drive was twenty minutes. Plus, I had to get both of us ready first. By the time we made it to the Dynasty District, it was ten minutes after the hour. Since I’d come so far, I figured I’d try my luck. As we neared the door, I saw Island was just locking up for the night.

“Wait… Wait…” I called out. My chest heaved up and down from carrying Shy Shy while sprinting from where I was forced to park down the block.

Her eyes widened in shock. She studied us through the glass. I could practically see the wheels in her mind spinning.

“Please, I need another jar of that stuff. It helped, and we’re out.” I pointed at my daughter. “Come on. You don’t want my baby to go back to being an alligator. She’s a princess.”

I stuck out my bottom lip for emphasis. I grinned when she shook her head and began unlocking the door. I sighed in relief when she pushed it open.

“You better be lucky she’s so cute,” Island told me then stepped back to allow us inside.

I placed Shyla on her feet once we were safely in the shop. She immediately grabbed my hand, never one to do too good with strangers. I turned to watch over Island as she put the lock back on the door.

“So, you saying if my baby was ugly, you wouldn’t let us in?”

She turned toward us and shrugged.

“Absolutely not. Wouldn’t want nightmares before bedtime.”

Her response tickled me as we followed her deeper into her little shop. The scent of lavender practically clung to every particle in the air. I began to relax now that we’d made it inside and could get what we needed.

“How’d you run out so fast? That jar should’ve lasted at least another two weeks.”

I shrugged. “I may have tweaked the directions because it was working but also drying out kind of fast. I kept reapplying because I didn’t want her to go back to making herself cry and bleed.”

Island propped an arm on her front counter and tapped her chin. I couldn’t help but admire the shape of her body. Island was five foot seven and slender with soft curves where they needed to be. She was the color of cinnamon with the cutest brown freckles across her plump cheeks and nose. Today, her heart-shaped lips had a juicy red tint to them that I liked. Her long black locs cascaded down her back in curly ringlets I would wrap around my hand as I drilled her from the back… if I hadn’t noticed a hint of sadness behind her deep brown eyes. She was a bit guarded, though. She had this air of confidence that attracted a man like me to her.

I licked my lips, loving everything about the woman in front of me. She was adorable as a young girl, but as a grown woman, she was fine as fuck. Any man with eyes would be infatuated with her. And since I was a man with eyes, I couldn’t get enough of sizing her up.

“It shouldn’t have been drying out so quickly.”

She glanced down at my baby and bent down so they were at eye level.

“Hey, princess,” she greeted her softly.

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