Saved and SAINTified (16 page)

“You’re right. Look at the stock they come from. A rare father having a rare child isn’t unheard of. S
aint, I’ve told you countless times, your gifts are astounding.  What made you even more unique is you didn’t seem to have the foggiest. I liked that, actually. It made you more humble once you came into the realization. Don’t be surprised that, as you get older, and more people in our circle know what you’re capable of, you’ll be highly sought after for healing … Actually, if you look at your career, Saint, it’s already been happening.”

“Then maybe
that’s
what this is about.” Saint looked at Lawrence as if he’d had a sudden awakening. “Maybe there is some healing that needs to take place that I’m just not aware of yet. New developments aren’t always a bad thing, I suppose.” He shrugged.

“That could very well be and speaking of new developments
—I have ruled out twelve guys as the mole.”

“You work fast. That’s great.”

“Yeah, well, once Jagger gets here, it’s on. He can do what I can do, only better and faster in that regard.”

“Cool. Do you want to stick around for lunch?” The two men stood from the summer recliners.

“I wish I could, but after I shoot a few hoops with Hassani, I need to paint the guestroom. I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Pssst!” S
aint rolled his eyes. “You’re staying for lunch! I pay you enough so you can hire a painter. Besides, I’m going to have that barbeque chicken you like delivered. It will just be us guys. Xenia is running some errands, and you know what they say, when the Goddesses are away…”

“The
Angel Children will play!”

Saint patted him on the shoulder and t
hey went back into the house. Closing the sliding doors behind him, Saint tried desperately to push his concerns aside once and for all.

“Goodness!” Xenia slammed the front door behind her and wrestled the large bags in her hands. “Why didn’t I just come through the damn garage?” she barked out loud, straining with the load.

“Baby, what are you doing?” S
aint rose from the living room couch where he’d dozed off. He pulled his black shorts up and slid on his flip flops. Yawning loudly, he approached her, putting pep in his step. “I thought you were just going next door to give the kids cupcakes?” He grabbed several of the bags and helped her into the kitchen.

Xenia
sighed. “I was, but then Robbie’s mom wanted to give me all of this stuff. For some reason, she feels it is her duty to hand me a bunch of yarn now.” Xenia sighed. “I wish I’d never told that woman I was interested in learning macramé.”

S
aint burst out laughing. “Xenia, you know you aren’t going to be sewing any rugs.”

Xenia
rolled her eyes. “You don’t know that, Mr. Know-It-All. Besides, I could be good at it!” she winked.

“Ha!” S
aint teased, inviting a shove to his shoulder.

H
e opened one of the tall, opaque kitchen cabinets, removed a glass and grabbed a bottle of Fiji water from the refrigerator. Leaning back against the granite counter, he poured half into the glass, then placed the remainder back in the fridge.

Suddenly, he felt himself stirring inside. It hit him like a ton of bricks. Damn
, he wanted her. He wanted her bad. He knew this moment would arrive and it was scaring the shit out of him.

I’m not going to be able to control myself
...

He looked her up and down as she went through the bags,
carefully counting and examining the colorful spools of yarn—apparently oblivious to his hungry gaze. He swallowed hard, licked his lips and stepped closer to her.

“Hey baby,” he
murmured. “Uh, how long is this party supposed to last next door?”

“Oh,” she shrugged, “Probably another hour or two. There is some performer coming at four. And then after that, they will cut the cake. They have the cupcakes I made now, which is overkill if you ask me, but
… Ahhh!” Xenia jumped when Saint wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. “You scared me.”

“Mmmm, there’s nothing to be afraid of
… ’cept the monster in my shorts.”

Xenia
looked over her shoulder at him. “Boy, you need to quit. You know what? Some of these are really pretty. I like this purple and turquoise one. I’ll have to write her a ‘thank you’ card.”

S
aint took Xenia’s hand and began to lead her away. She tried to plant her feet on the sparkling white kitchen floor, but she just slid along as he kept his firm hold onto her wrists.

“S
aint, what are you doing?” She laughed nervously as he cleared the kitchen with her in tow. Xenia twisted and turned, finally breaking free when he became distracted by the sudden boom of loud music. She raced toward the living room. Saint narrowed his eyes and dashed after her, in hot pursuit. He tackled her to the couch, causing her to yell out playfully at the top of her lungs. She clawed at his bare chest, at his platinum chain with the Star of David dangling from it.

“Come on now,” he huffed as he pinned her gruffly to the couch, pushing her arms back
and making himself comfortable between her thighs. “Mmmm, I can smell it.” He felt his eyes narrow to slits. “You’re …
almost
in heat.”

“I hate when you say that, S
aint,” Xenia hissed. “Like I’m some damn animal. What is wrong with you?” she laughed as she continued to try to push him off of her.

“Forty-
eight more hours…”

“And you told me that if you try to approach me to get some, any time before then, to tell you ‘
no’. You knew you’d be weak, well in advance. Well, I’m telling you ‘no.’” She fought to get away from his grasp. “Now look, this is the fourth time this week I’ve had to fight you off. You are out of control!”

“Just a little bit, baby, please?” S
aint’s sad expression was a custom-blend, created to break her resolve. “Just let me get in a few pumps, and I promise I’ll stop! I’ll just stick it in, then take it right back out.”

Xenia
crossed her arms over her chest and made a face.

“Okay, I’ll just stick the head in
… just let me put the tip in—stroke it a bit and then I won’t ask you anymore!”

“Yeah, right. S
aint, you sound like some sixteen-year-old boy. You must think I have mashed potatoes for brains. Get up off of me!”

“Come on, baby
…
you know you want it
… you gave everyone else cupcakes … what about
me,
huh?” He nestled his head in the cradle of her shoulder and neck, keeping her secure beneath him, never wanting her to go.

Come on,
Xenia, shit! Fuck what I said! Give me some fucking pussy!

“S
aint, surely you can wait a couple more days. Now this is just silly!”

“Ahhhh!”

Saint got off her completely frustrated, his teeth clenched, bared like fangs. His inner-animal was in full view, and there was barely any way to tame the beast. He felt his chest heave, his breathing labored, driving him crazy. The other night he had to sleep in the guest house, due to being completely unable to control himself around her in the wee hours of the morning.

He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him
—it was as if he’d never had her before. His sex drive was amped up to a level he’d never experienced; he felt like a wolf on the prowl. No other woman would do, it had to be Xenia, but he knew that it was imperative that they stick to the plan, despite the horny monster inside of him that wouldn’t give him a moment’s rest.

Xenia
sat back and wiped her brow. “Look, it’s been hard for me too, Saint.”

“Yeah, but at least you got some head last night! I wanted some head, too!” he yelled as he slumped down on the couch, pouting like his children. He closed his eyes and punched the couch.

Xenia smiled, a motherly smile, and rubbed his chest.

“Don’t touch me
… unless you are going to give it up. Not in the mood to be teased, seriously,” he whispered with exasperation, keeping his eyes closed.

Xenia
laughed. “Don’t be like that, baby.” She nestled close to him, laid her head on his shoulder.

He sighed and wrapped his arm around her. “This fucking sucks.” He laughed
—a miserable, frustrated laugh. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it. I may need to be put in a padded room.”

“You seem more wound up than usual.” She clasped his hand. “You weren’t like this when I had the kids and you had to wait.”

“I already addressed this with you. You have a short ass memory and I know why, because you’re getting what you need and the hell with everybody else.”

Xenia
burst out laughing, seemingly becoming more amused the angrier he became.

“
Uh, I was still getting served, remember?! You gave me brain and hand jobs to tide me over. It wasn’t nearly as bad as this.  ...  Now I can’t cum, at all! I’m about to explode. When I
do
get it, I’m going to wear your ass out  ...  over there laughin’ ’nd shit. This shit ain’t funny.” He was dead serious.

Xenia
shook her head and laughed louder, unphased by his outburst. “Oh yeah, that’s right. I’m sorry. Here is what I don’t get though. You’ve been abstinent before. You said you were for over six months before we met in person. How is this different?”

“Baby, I
hadn’t met you yet—you weren’t in my system. My soul craved you but I had never experienced you. You can’t miss what you never had.” He kept his eyes closed and lulled his head back onto the couch, completely exasperated. “My horniness level shot through the roof like two days ago. I think about sex all damn day. It’s even interrupting my work. I’m going nuts.” He rubbed his forehead. “Shit, maybe I need to take up macramé tonight!”

Xenia
burst out laughing. “Well, since you can’t cum, is there anything else you’d like? Is there something else I can do, to help pass the time?”

“Checkers? Shit, I don’t know.”
He peered like a pervert down at her crotch. “I don’t want anything but
that
. I can’t even French kiss you now and leave it at that. You were
this
close,” he pinched his fingers together, “to gettin’ the dick last night. It’s good you stopped me or that would’ve been all she wrote. Don’t ask me to wash your back tonight again either; you saw what happened. Matter of fact, I am not allowed to see you naked, period. It just makes it worse. Damn you for being so fuckin’ sexy.”

He gave a loud exhale
. “It took all of my strength to not just whip it out and go to town … Jesus.”

“Well, boy or girl
regardless, it will be worth it in the end. Just think of it as a mini-sex-cation. Distance makes the heart grow fonder they say...” She smiled at him.

“Easy for you to say
. I ate you like you were the last supper this morning. All I got was my face squeezed between your damn legs while you came. I was jealous, wishing I could’ve been your panties for the day and hoping you’d be afflicted with a coochie wedge, better known as the G-String camel toe.”

He grabbed her and kissed her forehead. Her body shaking with laughter, she leaned over and laid her head on
his shoulder.

****

Saint stood with his legs apart and his hands across his chest. He glared at Dakarai as the boy ran back and forth in the vast playroom. Hassani sat quietly off to the side, flipping through several books before standing up and going into the kitchen. Meanwhile, the three-year-old Dakarai bounced a ball up and down on the floor, and squealed in delight as it made the thud sound over and over. Dakarai paused and looked at him out the corner of his eye.

“
Hey, Dakarai, come here for a minute.” Saint hooked his finger and beckoned him.

Dakarai hesitated, looked at his father and held the blue ball high, as if he were going to throw it. He then ran around in circles, laughing, playing.

“Dakarai, what are you doing? I asked you to come here,” Saint said more sternly as he slid down into one of the bright red children’s chairs near the book shelf. Dakarai dropped the ball, watched it roll away and made his way toward his father.

“No, don’t sit there, sit here on my lap.”

The toddler happily leapt onto his father’s lap and locked his hands around his neck. Saint held him around the waist and looked down at him. Their faces were close—they could almost rub their noses together. He loved looking at his sons, studying every detail on their face. They changed so fast and so much; each day seemed slightly different than the one before.

“Dakarai, I need to ask you a question.”

“Okay.”

“Can you tell what I’m thinking right now?” S
aint lowered his block, allowing Dakarai access to various thoughts and ideas. Dakarai grinned shyly and turned around, wiggling on Saint’s lap.