So, yo’ pretty ass on the market?

Rhodes To Love, book 24 of The Henderson Family Saga, is coming 5/16!! Have you preordered your copy yet? Here’s the 🔗:https://bit.ly/rhodes2love

Karima and Rhodes had a lot say and there was plenty of drama! 😰 Enjoy the excerpt!

I eased them off his face as he stared at me, tucking his bottom lip into his mouth. His nickname was Rosewood, because his name was Rhodes Woods. Whenever a teacher said his full name, that was what it sounded like. Plus, he earned a reputation for not really caring for the white kids at school. Knowing the history of the primarily black city of Rosewood, Florida, it fit perfectly.

Although Rosewood was known because of the massacre of black people by white men in 1923, Rhodes would have been like Ving Rhames in the movie Rosewood depicting the race riot. He didn’t play with those white boys at school. He defended everybody black… period. My dad liked him a lot, but I didn’t think he liked him for me. He just liked that Rhodes had my back, no matter the cost.

“For your information, while you been letting that fuck boy string you along, I got my bachelor’s degree in agricultural science and a master’s degree in animal science. Don’t let this Oakland swag fool you. I had to adapt to my surroundings. Can’t beat ’em, might as well join ’em.”

I chuckled as my eyes widened. “I knew you could do it. You were so adamant about not going to college, and now you have a master’s degree. I’m so proud of you, Rhodes. Sit down so we can catch up.”

We sat in the booth, and I handed his glasses back to him. He never wore glasses, so I asked, “Are those prescription?”

“Naw. I wear them to throw people off a lil bit. They don’t realize I ain’t to be fucked with as long as I have these muthafuckas on. They reveal their true colors a lot quicker than they do if my dreads hanging and I have my chains on and my grill in.”

I slowly shook my head. “Well, I’m so happy to see you. It’s been at least five years.”

“Mm-hmm. You ignored that shit I said earlier. You still fucking around with Jared?”

I looked away for a moment. I chose to focus on the fact that he’d gone to school instead of how much of a fool I had been. When I started dating Jared, I stopped talking to Rhodes. Although we hadn’t seen one another in a while, we were sure to keep up with each other by phone. I knew he wanted me, no matter how much of a friend I considered him to be. That wouldn’t have been cool to keep him around when I had a man. Jared, or any other man, would have noticed his attraction to me. He never tried to hide it. He’d scanned my body unashamedly, just today, after I hugged him.

“No. We broke up almost a year ago. One of his women showed up at my house.”

“Tell me you fucked that bitch up.”

“No. I slammed the door on her.”

He slowly shook his head. “Always the soft one. I like that shit though. My country princess can’t be scrapping in them Nome streets. Leave that shit for your aunt and cousin. So, yo’ pretty ass on the market?”

I chuckled. I knew he was talking about Aunt Tiffany and Jessica. They were the fighters. I heard Aunt Jen was like that in her younger years also. I stared over at him as he licked his lips and reached for my hand. I slid it to him, and he lifted it and kissed it.

“Rhodes, I leave for Nashville tomorrow.”

He slowly allowed my hand to slide from his as his eyebrows lifted slightly. “For real? I never thought you would leave Nome. I mean… I know you can barrel race from anywhere, but with as close as you are to your family, that shit gut checked me. So, I reconnected to you only for you to leave me again.”

He lowered his head and stared at me. I could feel a stirring below, coaxing me to let him taste what he’d been wanting before I go. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to subdue my thoughts and subtle desires, then reopened them and stood. He followed my lead and stood as well. I molded my body into his, hugging him tightly. I’d missed his friendship, but in this moment, I realized I’d been running from him as well.

I was so attracted to Rhodes, but I hated that thug shit he was on in high school. He was a product of his environment and had succumbed to it for a moment. With his dad being a kingpin in Oakland, I knew the lifestyle was engrained in him. It was all he knew. However, it seemed being out here brought about a change in him. It was like he was showing me he could be everything I wanted, only for me to leave him behind once again.

He gently rubbed my back and kissed the top of my forehead near my hairline. Lifting my head from his chest, I stared up into his small, slanted eyes. When he lowered his face to mine, I couldn’t allow myself to pull away. He softly kissed my lips, and a low rumble vibrated his throat. He pulled away from me and said, “When you ready to travel the Rhodes to love, I’ll be here, KD.”