Page 48 of Lau Ahi
I did him a favor by hitting him in his stomach instead of his face but he took my actions as further confirmation.
Pretty bastard.
“And to whom are you referring when you say Vega? You mean Alec?”
“It’s a nickname of his.”
“Well, since he hasn’t given me leave to use it I won’t. But no. You have no need for charm because it doesn’t work on me. I’m friendly with Alec because he hasn’t done anything wrong and I find him a competent human from the standpoint of the interactions we’ve had with one another. I can’t say anything about his personality or how he would behave in other situations because I haven’t interacted with him in that way.”
“And you never will.”
I knew I couldn’t mutter, the tone of my voice too deep to muffle. The words had escaped before my brain could muzzle my mouth. The delight in her eyes was worth the annoyance of her hearing my thoughts breaking through. “My, touchy are we?”
“I’ve never cared about anything enough to be possessive about it. But if I had to put a name on what I felt it would be that. The last thing I would want is for my future wife to be secretly enamored and cuckolding me with one of my closest friends.”
“One of? You mean there’s actually people who get along with you outside of a work setting? I’d like to meet these unicorns.”
I thought of my brothers and the way I was sure they were going to gloat over this new revelation. I’d already stopped Yacouba from coming up here because he was nosy as hell and wanted to bring Jasmine and baby Yasir up to check Asha out. I wasn’t ready to share her with my world yet but knew it was inevitable.
“I’m sure you will soon.”
Her eyes narrowed behind the large square frames that covered her face. I loved when she wore glasses. They’d been on when we’d caught her by surprise at the university but since then she’d had contacts in. Combined with her wardrobe thatflattered every curve, I’d had to cuss out more fellow agents than I cared to discuss in the last week. Far too many were coming and asking me about her and I knew Alec was the one directing them to me.
“That sounds like a threat and not like an invitation to a nice dinner.”
I ignored her comment and glanced around the room.
“There are several things that we’re going to have to work through when it comes to your apartment.”
“Work through? What do you mean?”
“Security measures have to be increased because, as you said, they are lacking. We’ve got to improve them. Immediately.”
I could see the change in her eyes with my words. The flash of fear and then worry before she shored up her emotions and prepared to fight me every step of the way.
“I’m sure your being here has something to do with the negotiations I refused to be a part of and I’m not allowed to refute any of this. So, you might as well get the grand tour of your new home. I’m glad you knew I wasn’t leaving this place.”
I was surprised at her words thinking she would have put up a larger fuss. But then my mind touched back on the fear in her eyes and I realized that maybe she wouldn’t be so reckless with her life after all.
Instead of teasing her and putting an even further chasm between the two of us I only nodded and toed off my shoes. I never wore shoes in the house because I trekked through too many crime scenes and didn’t want to bring any of that into my home. I would give this place the same respect.
She led me through all seven thousand square feet of the penthouse. I had the floor plan memorized but was happy to see the walls come to life through her eyes. The color saturation that was evident in the great room continued throughout the house. The hallways were a deep amethyst, with photos of herfriends and family lining the walls. There were five bedrooms, two offices, a full library done in a traditional English style complete with bookcase ladders, tufted cognac leather sofas and a large writing desk. The walls and ceilings were color-drenched in emerald and had a decidedly masculine look.
This is where I’ll be setting up shop.
We walked back into the hall heading toward the entrance, which I was sure was her polite way of kicking me out. I paused at a picture of her and her twin studying their similarities but feeling my eyes staying fixed on the one I knew was Asha.
“If you’re going to tell me you prefer my sister to me, you won’t hurt my feelings. People have been doing it my whole life. It’s my norm, frankly.”
She spoke her truth as she moved further away from me, that mass of hair shielding her face from view. This was new. Not quite vulnerability but a confession of sorts, and I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.
“It must drive you crazy.”
I took a step away from the portrait keeping my footsteps purposefully heavy so that she knew I was coming up behind her. That was something I knew she needed. A semblance of control, despite it being nothing more than a lie. She knew it and I knew it but somehow she’d roped me into this game of feeding her delusions instead of confronting her on them. A foie de deux, Only this type of madness between the two of us seemed imperative to her mental stability and I had to give it to her. At least for now. Maybe when I knew her better, when we were on better ground, she might let me in more. But I wasn’t rushing it. Because Asha was the type of woman who demanded and deserved reciprocity and I wasn’t sure if spilling my guts to her on how fucked up I really was should be done before I got papers on her. That contract was one thing but a marriage license…
She turned, that fake-ass smile plastered back on her face and I was immediately annoyed. Asha’s features were angelic, placid. Unassumingly delicate. The cream of her cashmere lounge set complemented her dark nutmeg skin and black hair. But it was clear she was going to say something to make me want to put my fist through the wall.
“On the contrary. I prefer my sister to myself most days.” Her smile brightened as though she knew she was shocking me and wasn’t ashamed of it. When she turned her body to lean against the front of her desk I was momentarily distracted by how her hips spread creating the perfect heart shape with the pressure from behind.
