Patience (Serpents Series #5)

c h a p t e r . o n e

REIGN

First day of school...

"Oh, my baby is going to be a nurse!" I watched from a distance as Royal's mom hugged her tightly with proud tears in her eyes. Today was her first day of class.

She settled into my house a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know what I thought when I said she could stay with me, but I knew I wasn't letting her stay in a dorm with boys lurking around for a horny high. Sure, there were good guys in the world but they weren't me. The thought of her with someone other than me made my blood boil to a crisp.

I lost all sense and control when it came to her. I always wanted to be around her. She's so precious and I want her to be mine. Well.

She is mine. She's just blissfully unaware of it at the moment.

Peach. A nickname well-earned.

She's my best friend, and I know this may be early, but I love that spicy woman. She was my personal definition of 'fierce.' Every time I saw her, I was amazed. With bold brown eyes, kinky dark brown hair, a bright smile, a busty chest, thick thighs, and her loud laugh, she could tell me to roll over, and I would obey her directions to the T.

If I have to wait four years to have her to myself, I will. I respect her and the rules she set for herself. Her dream was here long before me.

"Thanks, mom," she smiled at her mom. I waited by my truck, looking at their interaction, not wanting to intrude. "I wouldn't have got inspiration if it wasn't for you," her mom breaks out in a sob, hugging her again. Her mom, Ruby, was wearing grey scrubs and Sketchers. I know how much this means to her.

"I'm so proud of you, honey," she kisses her cheeks.

"Ruby, come on, let the girl breathe," her dad, Gabriel, chuckles prying her away. "I'm so proud of you, my sweet girl."

"I'm going to make you proud, Daddy."

"You already do, Royalty," he kisses her head, with a final hug.

"So, I get to keep your room?" Her sister Abella chimes in. I snorted at the look on Royal's face, but it was nothing but love.

"I love you, too, Abby," she wrapped her sister in a tight hug. Abby looked like the younger image of her.

"Royal, baby, that guy has been looking at you for a while now. Do you know him?" Her mother whispers, not so subtly. "Looks like a muscular wall if you ask me."

"Control yourself, woman," Royal's dad eyes his wife playfully. Her coffee-brown eyes look around, and they settle on me. A smile breaks out on her face, and I take that as my cue to walk over to the group. Her father stares me down with a deadly look while her mom and sister beam.

"Reign!" She exclaimed, meeting me halfway and crashing into my chest.

"Hey peach," I wrapped my arms around her, hiding my face in her neck. She smelled like mint and oranges. Sweet. "How you feelin'?"

"Nervous, but I can't stop smiling," she pulled away but kept her arms around me. "What are you doing here?"

"You know I wasn't going to miss your first day," I smiled down at her. "Even brought you a little something," I said in playful suspicion, pulling out the brown bag. "Blueberry muffin and iced caramel latte," I bought her a purple tumbler for her drinks. She adored that colour like the moon.

"You getting soft on me, Big Guy?" she smirks.

Baby, you make me hard every time I see you.

"Only for you, peach. Only for you," I brushed a hair out of her face. Her curls were wrapped in a pineapple bun with two small plaits hanging in the front. She had some purple streaks done last week. Her unique style is one of the things I liked about her.