Chapter Sixteen

“Where’s Lisa?” Piper asked.

Brandi was staring out the window in the room that Piper was claiming as her office.

Piper was crawling on the floor getting wires attached, and cords plugged in. She had to hand it to Hale this new system was much more advance than anything she ever had the chance to play with.

“She’s in bed asleep. I made her a second breakfast; she was starving. I know the orphanage feeds them. So, how can I be upset with them? But I’m furious. They should have done more. I give them money to do more.”

“Sometimes it’s not about money Brandi. It's about caring.” Two or three weeks ago saying that would have made her laugh. Not now. She thought of Thrice and how he paid the kids to watch his car while others would have cursed them. Then she thought about how content she was to sit in a Jeep while there were cars around worth more than most people would make in a lifetime. Money was important, but if no one cared, it was just cold hard cash.

“I know you’re right. What I’m trying to figure out is what I can do about it. She cried when I told her that Jabari and I wanted to adopt her. She told me no we should adopt someone younger because she was almost out of the system. Her age was never a barrier to me. I always intended to adopt her when I knew I was financially stable enough that they couldn’t deny me…” her words trailed off.

Piper knew what she was going to say. The day she decided to fill out the papers was the day they told her she was dying. Piper took her to the lawyer’s office. She wanted to leave everything she had to Lisa. It was all she could do for her at that point.

“Did Lisa have someone in mind?”

“Yeah, a four-year-old boy named David. No one is willing to adopt him.”

“Why?”

“He was born with Sickle Cell Disease.”

“Don’t you have…”

She nodded. “I was born with the trait.”

“What are you going to do?”

She turned and smiled. Brandi’s smile always floored her. It took her from pretty or even beautiful to stunning.

“We’re going to adopt them both.” That was her Brandi nothing stood in her way.

“I love the way you think.”

“What are you going to do Piper?”

“About what?” She gave me that look. The one that said I can see right through you.

“Thrice.”

“I’m going to kill him, Brandi. There’s a curse affecting me. What am I supposed to do?”

“I was going to die Piper. Actually, I did die. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I know I never regretted loving Jabari. You’re not a quitter. You’re a fighter, you always have been. You think because you never stood toe to toe with your dad it means you gave up. We both know better than that. I’ve watched your quiet defiance. I am the one who was in your corner as you stood your ground. Now’s not the time to stop fighting for what you want. I’m going to check on Lisa, Jabari should be back soon. He went to investigate a lawyer, who may be able to help us.”

Piper walked over and hugged her after she stood.

“Thanks.”

“I’ve got your back. Sister’s forever.”

“In life and death.” She smiled as Brandi left. “Thrice?”

“Everything okay?” He was close. She liked that.

“It is. I missed you.” He came in and cocked a hip as she placed her hand on the side of the desk.

“Did you get your new computer up and running?”

“I did this thing is amazing.” She logged on and brought up a program. “Do you know what this is?” He shook his head. “It’s a computer language program. From what I can tell Hale programmed it with every language in the galaxy. Not sure what he thought when he did that, but it got me to thinking.” She hit a few buttons bringing up the file she saved.

“I imputed the few things I could remember about the code I was shown.” It sat in front of us in all of its three-D glory. “Putting it in made me remember another piece. Now, none of it makes sense, but I keep thinking if I study what Hale has already programmed into the computer, one day I could make headway on this.” She turned to look at him not sure what he would say about her need to understand why her captors showed her the code.

“I know you’ll figure it out. I’ll keep you alive, so you can.”

Her heart clenched because once again he had proven he was the male she started falling for the moment she saw him in front of her makeshift jail cell. There would be no more denying or pretending she wasn’t falling for him. There was no way to know what tomorrow was going to bring. She still had to live through a curse she didn’t deserve. He didn’t deserve. The possibility she might order his death crushed her with the weight of it. The only thing worse than that was the chance she would never get to love him the way that she wanted. No more waiting around for something she couldn’t control to disappear.

“I want to be your mate in all the ways that matter.” She placed her hand on his arm and waited for the voice to tell her she was making a big mistake. There was only silence just the way she liked it. He took a step towards her then picked her up.

She laughed not being able to remember the last time she was this happy. Her hands were running over the muscles on his arms. “Have you ever thought of oiling yourself up?” Her pussy clenched, and she knew it was going to happen eventually.

He stopped in the doorway to the bedroom. His eyes landed on her. There was doubt in them.

She shifted her weight, so he would put her down. Deep breath, then she took his hand and led him to the bed. He had to want this for himself. A smile graced her lips allowing him to see how much she wanted to touch him and be touched by him. Her smile and her eyes were saying the same thing for once.

She wasn’t wearing socks or shoes since the floor was always so warm. Her hand reached down for the bottom of her light sweater and pulled it over her head. She was wearing a black bra and a thong to match. This was one of those days she was glad she went for pretty. His throat was working as he looked at her chest covered by nothing but the thin material of her bra. She gave him a sultry smile she could feel all the way down to her toes. By the sudden confusion on his face, she knew she needed practice before the mirror for that. Darn, she went back to her, I want you smile.

His face evened out, and his eyes were clear again. No more trying to play the femme fatale. When her hand went to the button on her jeans. His eyes followed. Yes, stay with me. She silently begged. When they were unbuttoned, she pulled the zipper down. His throat was really working now. Should she stop? Take it slower? Hell, she didn’t know what she was doing, but she wanted to be whatever he needed.

She turned around to give him a good look at her ass before she placed her hands on the waistband of her thong. She began to shimmy. Did she look like a mountain that was about to fall apart? Yeah, she was worried about her thighs. They weren’t those barely there thighs you saw on the beach with the perfect ten body running in slow motion to meet her lover. Her pants were below her ass now, and her confidence was about gone until she heard a growl. He growled at me!

She turned her head to see one of his hands clenched. The muscles on his arm were tensing and releasing. His other hand was sitting on his cock. Now she was ready to growl. He was softly caressing it as if he wasn’t sure of what he was doing. His eyes were on her ass. Her mate was an ass man, and he obviously liked what he was seeing.

“You like what you see love?”

He nodded his throat still working. “You’re beautiful.”

She wanted to give him a sassy smile, but the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes stopped her. He meant every word that came from his mouth. She was humbled by him.

“Thank you.” The pants fell to the floor, and she stepped out of them. She placed a knee on the bed then crawled up not stopping until she was in the center. If he wanted to see any more, he’d have to do the unpackaging himself.

In his haste to take off his shirt, he tore it. A smile lingered on her lips as she looked at the two separate pieces in his hands.

“Humans don’t make good clothing.”

She nodded. Every show of strength made her hotter for him.

When his hands dropped to his belt, there was a look on his face. It was a cross between terror and what the hell was he doing. She stayed still. This had to be his decision, either way; she would accept it.

“When the created mate, it’s an exchange of DNA. That’s more than me releasing in you, or you releasing over me.”

She’d never thought of an orgasm as releasing, but now wasn’t the time to deal with that. If they survived the curse, they could have that talk. She waited sure he would get to whatever he was thinking soon enough.

“I have to bite you. When I do, I’ll give you some of my DNA and take some of yours. Our bodies will sync, you and I will be one. You will know me better than any living person.”

That was supposed to scare her, but it didn’t. She lived a life where it was impossible to know anyone because they wore so many faces. She wanted to know Thrice. To be secure in who he was. That meant his faults as well as the shining pieces of him. She nodded wanting him to know she understood what he was saying and welcomed it.

He unbuckled his belt. The button and the zipper were down before she could register it. Then he dropped his pants. He was wearing nothing, but underwear which he dropped quickly. She took the time to really look at his body. He was a masterpiece even with the signs of his beatings. She couldn’t ask for a better-looking male. He walked towards the bed. Now her throat was the one that was working.