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I walked out into the front of Liam's apartment. Mysterious Darius hadn't brought the car around yet. It felt strange to be driven. I felt like it would be faster to walk through the traffic snarled streets of Center City. But Liam was insistent.
As I stood there, a tricked out SUV slowed down in front of me. "Hey chocolate mama, you look cold, need me to warm you up?"
"What the fuck do they want?"
I didn't hear Liam come up behind me, but in an instant his hand in on my shoulder. Claiming me. Protecting me. Maybe because we had been spending so much time horizontal, but it surprised me all over again how tall he was. I was tall, but he was even taller, and he loomed over me possessively until the SUV rolled passed.
"They would have no idea what to do with you," he rumbled, with a hint of pride in his voice. And hunger. "What you need."
A warm deliciousness spread through me at the protectiveness in his voice. No one, not Tre, not even my father would have stood up to those catcallers. Both would have rushed me inside, blaming me for catching their attention in the first place. "No," I said, reaching upward for a kiss. "They wouldn't."
He kissed me long and deep. "This'll have to last me," he groaned. The black car rolled up and I could see Darius's scowling face inside.
"Have a good day," I told him. When he walked away, I felt like a piece of me walked with him.
"Good morning, Darius," I said brightly as he held open the door for me. I was proud I didn't slip up and call him Mysterious Darius to his face.
His scowl remained. "Good morning, Shay."
I sat down, momentarily dejected as he walked around the front of the car and slid into the seat.
No, I had too good of a night last night for him to ruin it with his surliness. "How are you this morning?" I called from the back seat.
He grunted as he pulled into traffic. "Can't complain," he glowered.
"Sure you can!" I smiled. "Tell me something that bugs you. Anything."
A yellow cab rolled up almost to our bumper and laid on its horn. "Cabbies," Darius rumbled. "Cabbies bug me."
I laughed nervously. "So, Liam tells me you've been working for him for as long as he can remember. How long is that, exactly?"
He made a growling noise, like a dog warning off someone from stealing his bone. "Don't really recall."
"Well, how old was Liam?"
"A baby."
I sat back for a second. Liam was twenty-four. He'd worked for them that long? "A baby?" I echoed.
"Baby, kid, something like that."
"You really don't know for sure?"
Darius looked over his shoulder as he was changing lanes. "No ma'am, I actually do know. To the day. But it's not something I feel comfortable sharing." He gunned the engine, cutting off a SEPTA bus in the process. "Here you are, Shay," he glowered, throwing the car in park. "I'd get out, but I'm in a bus zone."
"Ah, okay, sure, I'm capable of opening my own door." I slid across the seat and pushed the heavy door open with a slight grunt. "Have a good day?" I called, pushing the door closed.
He peeled out before it even had time to latch, leaving me standing confused on the sidewalk.
*****
"Maybe he's working deep undercover," Kit ventured after I told him the story of my ride with Mysterious Darius. "Or he's in witness protection and can't talk about his past."
"Something like that," I nodded dispiritedly. "And you know what the worst part is?"
"It means something and you can't figure out what it is?" Kit deadpanned.
I threw a pen at him. "Well of course, that goes without saying. But beyond that, he just straight up doesn't like me and I have no idea why."
"You represent a security risk," Kit said immediately. "You want know about Liam's past, you're in his life, you're asking questions...."
I shot a look at him. "Damn, Kit. I think you might not be too far off on that one. He definitely doesn't like me getting close to Liam. It's like he's afraid I'm going to find something out."
"Dun dun DUN dun Darius! Mysterious Darius!" Kit sang his theme song in minor key, waggling his thick fingers spookily. "If you suddenly disappear, I'll find you, lover, don't you fret."
"Gee thanks," I laughed. "You've set me completely at ease.
Kit looked at me suspiciously. "I think that might be the first time you've ever lied to me, Shay," he nodded. "Well done."
Chapter Twenty - Five
When forty degrees feels balmy, you know it's been a rough winter.
I stopped three blocks from Jasmine's place and unzipped my jacket with a flourish. The weak winter sun hadn't yet slipped behind the tall buildings. It was setting later.
There was no mistaking it, spring was on its way...eventually.
Liam had texted me five minutes before I locked up Young's. "I'm taking you to dinner tonight. We're going on a damned date."
"How fancy should I dress?" I texted back.
"Don't care. You look best naked anyway," he replied immediately.
"I'll wear my best rope for the occasion," I typed, grinning from ear to ear.
"Holy fuck, I might love you," he replied.
I wasn't going to second guess it. I wasn't even going to ask him to clarify. He "might" love me?
Might I love him too?
My heart banged in my chest as I hurried back to Jasmine's and rummaged through my suitcases until I found a skirt left over from my corporate days. It was slightly wrinkled, but it would have to do.
I pinned my hair back in a twist, slicking down the curls as best as I could. I curled and mascara-ed my lashes, then smoothed on some gray, kohl shadow, winging out the edges. The change in weather had me feeling frisky, so I blended in some creamy coral blusher and dug through Jasmine's makeup case, testing lip colors until I finally settled on a vibrant orangey red.
There. The woman Liam Graves might love smiled back at me in the mirror and she looked gooood.
If the bathroom mirror wasn't enough confirmation, the way Liam looked at me as I stood on the sidewalk was even further proof that I looked as good as I felt. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him right there on the sidewalk.
"Everyone at Vetri is going to be jealous of my date," he murmured into my throat. "All those eyes on you, I'm not sure I like the idea."
"Are you being possessive?"
He pulled back and touched my bright red lips. "I don't think anyone could blame me."
I grinned. "Well I'm yours, so don't worry about it," I soothed as he helped me into the car.
"You've got it backwards," he clarified. "I think I'm the one who belongs to you."
The words were right there on the tip of my tongue, ready to leap out into the world. I love you. Holy shit, I love you. I had to press my lips together tightly to keep them inside, but the full feeling inside of my chest made it hard to breathe.
I was so damn happy my heart hurt.
Liam slid back into the seat with me and laid his hand possessively on my thigh. "All set, Darius," he called to the front.
I leaned into Liam's shoulder, nuzzling him, just enjoying the way he smelled.
His phone buzzed.
He pulled back and shot me an apologetic grin. "You know, I'm really starting to hate that thing," I told him as he pulled it from his pocket."
His eyebrows knitted together. "It's Dahlia. I'm so sorry." He held it up to his ear. "Yeah," he grumbled.
I leaned away from him, trying not to eavesdrop, but failing. I caught snatches of her voice, the voice of the woman I had never met but who loomed so large in my relationship, larger even than the mysterious Lily herself.
