Chapter Seven

Brandi woke up feeling warm and cared for. She closed her eyes and allowed her body to sink into Jabari’s. A smile of contentment stole across her face before she forced herself back to reality. Quietly, she left the bed and put on a robe. Fie was lying on the bottom of the bed. She picked him up and walked out the bedroom leaving the door cracked.

“Let’s go do some work.” She walked into her second bedroom. The walls were a stark white in here. She had a desk, an easel, and an assortment of paper and pencils along with colored chalks.

This was where she allowed her imagination to run wild as she designed clothes. She flipped through some of her more futuristic outfits before she sat down and centered herself. Once she picked up her pencil time flew by as she continued the dress she was working on.

A knock on the door brought her out of her world of beauty. Her eyes looked down at Fie asleep at her feet before she looked at the door again. Jabari should have left. The clear sky brightening the room said it was at least two hours later. She went to the door wondering what she should say.

The open door revealed him wearing nothing but the pants he never took off.

“Hi.”

He looked at her not saying anything. Her stomach jumped and tightened.

“Did you come to say goodbye?”

He was still silent, and she found herself wanting to shuffle from foot to foot, but she forced herself to stay still.

“Is that what you want?” His voice was harsh; she moved back a step or two.

“Not necessarily.”

The fire was back in his eyes, and she wasn’t feeling pleasure from it.

“You seem upset.” She was on the retreat now. “You might want to think about what you’re doing. I would hate if you didn’t live to regret it.”

Her knees touched her chair, and she sat with a loud thump.

“What do you want?” he growled. His displeasure made her stomach jump.

“I want you to stop before I cut you in half.” She grabbed a knife from under her chair. No one was coming into her home to threaten her and think they were getting away with it.

The frown on his face was gone as he smiled at her. “Defender.” Then he plucked the knife out of her hand in a move that was too fast for her to see.

“I’m not leaving Brandi. I don’t care how many times you sneak out the room, or how long you stay holed up in here. I’m not leaving.”

He picked her up and placed her against the wall. His body held her in place while his lips took her in a kiss that was making her go up in smoke. He placed his thick cock against her pussy and pushed making her heart almost stop. Her legs went around him as he nipped at her mouth for entry. His tongue invaded her as his hips shoved against her, and she was ready to open wide and take him hard and fast.

“More.” Her tongue dueled with his looking for dominance even as it accepted defeat. He was overcoming her senses with a smoothness of alcohol that had been aged to perfection. Her nipples were willing to give in if only he touched them, suck them, pluck them. Her core was needy as it begged to be filled by him.

It was only one night, and all he used were his fingers and mouth, but already she was addicted to him. His scent filled her head. She’d sell everything she had for the next taste of him. She bared her neck asking for his bite, his possession.

It was the knock on the front door that brought her back to her senses.

“Someone is at the door.” She pushed against his shoulders.

“They’ll wait.” His kiss was deeper making her feel like she was drugged with pleasure as her eyes lowered and all she could think about was getting closer to him.

“Your kiss could be a drug.” She was feeling good. The pain that had been making its way up her legs disappeared.

He stepped back and let her down. She ached already missing the closeness.

“You and I are going to have to talk if you think you’re staying.” Her voice was gruff when all she wanted to do was rub all over him.

“Who is it?” She answered the second knock.

“It’s breakfast.” He went to the door and let in two males who looked like they could be related to him, but she had never seen them before. They walked in and looked her over and then turned their heads in a clear sign of dismissal.

“Well, that was rude.” They ignored her and laid out the food on her table.

“You ordered breakfast.”

“This way neither of us has to cook.”

She nodded. It was a good idea, but this was more than she would have thought to make.

“Is that eggs benedict?”

One of the two males in her home nodded, but neither spoke to her. When they were done, they glared at Jabari before walking towards the door. The last one stopped and looked at her before his normal brown eyes flipped and became a different color.

“She carries the taint of evil. Someone is trying to kill her.” He slammed the door behind him and left.

She found her knees giving out and sat on the couch.

“Are they like you?” Her voice was low as she replayed his words.

“Yes, he’s created like I am. Like me, he has been tortured.”

“What did he mean when he said someone is trying to kill me?”

“I don’t know. Do you have any enemies?”

“None that want me dead.”

“Come eat, we’ll figure it out.”

The joy at the thought of breakfast was diminished by what she heard. Still, the eggs were pulling at her.

“You know there is too much food here.”

“I eat a lot.” He sat down and placed Fie on a chair with his bowl.

Her heart melted. He was the most dangerous caretaker she had ever met, and she liked it. There were times when he looked at her, and her heart caught in her throat. It was the danger that he exuded, then in the next heartbeat; she knew it would never be directed at her. Maybe this made her mentally sick, but it was sexy as hell to know this dangerous male would never hurt her.

“How did you know I wanted eggs benedict for breakfast?”

“You talk in your sleep.”

“Are you serious?”

His eyes met hers; they were so warm that the ice was melting. Damn, there was going to be a flood somewhere besides her panties.

“Yes, you talk in your sleep.”

Her cheeks heated up as she ducked her head. None of her previous lovers ever told her that. Then again, most of them weren’t the staying around kind. She took a quick peek at him and hid her eyes again. Could she really call Jabari a lover? He was more of a one-night stand. He said he wasn’t leaving, and he did order breakfast, but they all say that before they disappear.

Deep breath, enjoy the moment. She would deal with the fallout when it happened.

“I need to pick up the rest of my clothes from the Coliseum.” That was where she put on her last fashion show. “They’ve been calling. All the feedback has been positive, and I’ve gotten some orders for a fall line of clothes.”

She started eating. Thinking too far in the future depressed her.

“Your car is still in the shop, I’ll take you to pick up your clothes.”

“Thanks, but I have to go to see the doctor first.”

His eyes bored into hers, and she waited for the polite decline as he realized her lifespan might be counted in days or months, not years or decades.

“Why?”

“I get the final verdict today. They wanted to do some more testing before they were willing to tell me I’m dying. I’m not a pessimist, but I can feel the changes in my body.”

“Then we will go see the human doctor first. After we see him, maybe you will consent to be seen by Mekhi.”

“Your brother is a doctor?”

“He is. I also want him to look at Fie for you.”

“If he can treat both humans and animals, he must be a great doctor.”

“He prefers healer.” He gave her a sexy smile that made her forget his brother and get lost in exactly what his mouth and tongue were capable of.

“I need a shower first.” She eyed the French toast on the table. She shouldn’t, but she did. Maybe it was time to live a little.