Shira (11 page)

“It’s you,” she exclaimed. “How did you find me out here?”

She was still nervous around the animal, but with the mess of the humans in her life, the leopard seemed like a welcome relief. She dropped to her knees feeling the cool earth under them and knowing she probably looked a hot mess. The leopard came to her with gentle grace. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her face in his fur. The sobs she’d held in check came unbidden, and she let the tears fall for a long time.

After some time, she raised her head sniffling. She scratched the cat behind his ears, and he purred. “I’m not going back,” she said. “To either of them.”

The leopard pulled from her hold and turned away from her.

“You’re leaving me too?”

The way it bobbed its head she could have sworn it told her no, but she decided she was seeing things. The leopard paced toward the trees away from the fence and then stopped. She figured out that it wanted her to follow. She stood up and went after him. They walked for what felt like hours. She dug the cheap cell phone she had purchased out of her purse and saw that it had been forty-five minutes. Missed calls reminded her that she had put her cell phone on vibrate earlier and hadn’t taken it off. Whisper had phoned three times, but Max hadn’t. She sighed. He didn’t give a damn, so why should she?

The leopard led her out to the road, and she couldn’t believe he was smart enough to have done that. She stooped and kissed his head. “Thanks, sweetie.”

She started to walk along the street, but the leopard crossed in front of her, blocking her path. She stopped. Behind her, she heard a car coming, and she shrank back to the tree line in fear. She considered running the way she had come, but again the leopard blocked her. Lights blinded her when the car pulled to a stop. Her heart raced.

“Shira,” a man called. At first she thought it was Max, but then she realized it was his brother Alec. “Come on. Get in.”

She wondered why he didn’t say anything about the leopard, but maybe he couldn’t see it in the shadows. She waited to see if the animal would stop her again, but he didn’t. Exhausted, she had no choice but to take the ride. Maybe Alec could run her to the apartment and then take her to the bus station.

Alec got out of the car and walked around to open the passenger door. She sighed and got in. He shut the door and then opened the back one. Shira’s eyes widened when he held it until the leopard got in, and then he hopped in on his side. Her throat was dry as they rode down the street.

“You know him?” she asked after some time.

“Yeah.”

She waited for an explanation, but he didn’t offer one. “Um, I was wondering if you could take me to Whisper’s apartment to pick up my things and then take me to the bus station.”

The leopard growled in the back, and Alec gave him a look that appeared to be a warning. The animal fell silent.

“Is that what you really want?” Alec asked.

She frowned. “Does it matter?”

“I heard… I mean my brother mentioned to me that you were planning to marry your ex. My understanding was that relationship wasn’t the best.”

“Wow, word travels fast.” She waved her hand. “Well, you all can relax. I’m not marrying Sam, but neither am I going to keep working for Max. I’m leaving.”

“Whisper won’t be happy. It seemed like the two of your were getting close.”

She clutched her purse so tight her fingers hurt. “Why is everyone so quick to tell me what
they
want?”

He stared at her a second. “I wasn’t aware that was happening.” Alec pulled to the side of the road and came to a stop. He jumped out of the car, and she watched him march around to her side and open the door.
Oh goodness, he’s so mad he’s going to leave me on the side of the road.

“I sorry,” she blurted. “I didn’t mean…”

He tugged her from the car and slammed the door before the leopard could get out. “Walk with me a little.”

Shira pressed her lips together. Both brothers were bossy. She gave in and fell into step beside him. They paced a short way from the car, and she looked back to see that the leopard was not pleased to be trapped in Alec’s vehicle.

“My brother likes you.
A lot
,” Alec began.

“I don’t think so.” She fidgeted with her dress, embarrassed.

“He’s been hurt. The pain of his loss goes deeper than anything you could imagine. I’m only now getting it. If I imagine losing Whisper, I can see the despair he must have felt.”

“Why are you telling me this?” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “I said I’m leaving, so I don’t have any false hopes in his direction.”

“That’s the wrong move.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”

He grumbled, giving a good impression of the gruff noises the leopard had made earlier. “My brother is a fool, but it’s clear to me if you leave, you’re doing the same thing Sarah did.”

Shira blinked up at him. “What?”

“Sarah left him. It might not have been her fault, but she left him alone. You’re doing the same.”

“In case you didn’t know, your brother pushed me away. You heard him yourself say he doesn’t want me. Besides, we were only employer and employee, nothing more.”

“Don’t lie to yourself.”

She stomped her foot and started to walk back to the car. “Please take me home. I’ll find my own way to the bus station. And if you don’t want to do that, then I’ll walk!”

“Two stubborn asses,” he muttered.

She whirled around. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” he snapped. “Get in.”

A short while later, they drew up to the apartment building. Shira hesitated in getting out. “What will you do with him?” She indicated the leopard.

“I’ll take care of him. Don’t worry. And I’ll tell Whisper you’re okay.”

She thanked him and got out. Now that she was home, she realized she was too tired to pack let alone get to the station. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind Sam would come by at some point, so she would set her alarm to wake her at five in the morning, then get moving.

After a hot shower, she slipped into a nightie, ready to go to bed. The doorbell ringing stopped her in her tracks, and fear kept her where she was. Had Sam come straight over? He’d said he had known all along where she was staying. Whisper had said earlier that she was spending the night with Alec. She was alone.

Shira searched the apartment for a weapon. If she knew Sam, he wouldn’t go away until she answered. He would stand out there knocking until she worried he would disturb the neighbors.

Whisper had placed a bat in the hall closet, and Shira retrieved it, gripping the handle as she approached the door.

“Go away, Sam. I’m not coming back.” She couldn’t make herself get close enough to the door to check the peephole.

“Shira, it’s me.”

Her heart fluttered. “Max?”

She threw the locks back and wrenched the door open. There he was, looking oddly like he’d been desperate to see her. She decided she was fantasizing from all the stress of the evening.

Max eyed the bat still in her hand. “Were you planning to bludgeon me to death?”

She let the weapon drop to her side. “What do you want?”

“Don’t go.”

“What?” She didn’t just hear the words she’d longed for him to say. Her imagination had run into overtime.

Max stepped into the apartment, forcing her to retreat a pace. He shut the door and locked it, then turned back to her. From the first touch of his hands on her upper arms, she was lost, but she forced herself to remain silent.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said. “Stay here with me.”

She lowered her gaze to his shirtfront. He hadn’t changed, but his suit jacket was gone, and his shirt had wrinkles that weren’t there earlier. “I’m sure you can find another housekeeper.”

Okay, so she was pushing it, but the man wasn’t spouting words of love. The least he could do was be plain about what he wanted. All she knew was that her heart had gone haywire, and it was taking a lot of willpower not to bury her face at the base of his neck and plead for him not to let go. She had more pride than that.

Max cupped her face between his palms and made her look him in the eyes. The intensity in his gaze took her breath away. She had to part her lips and draw in air just to keep from falling to the floor.
He’s a rebound relationship. Not more than that. I can’t afford to love him so deeply.

“Please… Shira…”

Blood pulsed in her ears making it hard to hear, but she read his lips. They were so close. He didn’t speak words of love, but she saw the longing and what she hadn’t expected to see, although it echoed in her own heart.

“I can’t be alone,” he said. “Not again. I don’t know what’s right or what’s wrong. I can’t let you go. Stay.”

She nodded, swallowing before she could say anything. “I won’t leave you.”

Her feet left the floor when he scooped her into a crushing embrace. He didn’t hurt her, but he devoured her lips and moaned in her mouth like she was a lifeline. He kissed her long and hard, until she felt lightheaded. Her body ignited, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her down the hall as he continued to drop soft caresses to her cheeks, her eyes, her temples.

He loves me. He
must
love me.

He laid her on the bed and rested a big palm on her mound. Shira trembled. Her nightie had risen, revealing her panties. The flimsy pink thing was a barrier she needed gone now. She reached down to slide them over her hips, but he stopped her.

“Wait.”

She paused, eying him. “Don’t you want to?”

“Woman, are you mad?” He chuckled. “Let me look at you for a minute. Let me feast on your slender curves, the soft, chocolate skin, so smooth and tastes so good.” He demonstrated his meaning by leaning down and brushing her nightie higher to reveal her belly. A gentle kiss there sent shivers down her spine. He helped her get the nightie over her head and stopped to stare once again.

“You don’t think I’m too thin?” Getting his ex’s well-endowed figure out of her head was difficult. To fill a B cup bra was a challenge for her, and when she’d lost so much weight being with Sam, she’d gone down to an A. She had never heard the end of it.

Max flicked a thumb over one of her nipples and licked his lips. She didn’t miss the lust in his eyes. “Your breasts fit in my hand perfectly, and I don’t think I’ve met a woman with such large nipples. Is that normal for black women?”

He seemed genuinely curious, and Shira rolled her eyes. “Are you going to try to find out?”

He lowered his head and kissed her pussy through her panties. Shira caught her bottom lip between her teeth and raised her hips a little. Max drew away to her disappointment. “Do you want to be the only black woman I ever have? The only woman
period
?”

She gasped. Was he asking he to marry him? He couldn’t be. Not like this.

Max didn’t seem to expect an answer. He at last removed her panties, the whole of his attention focused between her legs. All of Shira’s doubts about her body melted away, and she raised a knee and spread her thighs. She knew he liked what he saw. She could please him and bring him to a strong release if nothing else. Knowing whether he loved her was a mystery, but for now, this was enough. This pleasure between the two of them, however long it lasted.

She played with her nipples for him, twisting the peaks and massaging them while she moaned. A low growl started in Max’s throat, and he went still watching her. She squeezed her breasts and arched her back, then ran her hands down her belly. At her mound, she used one hand to play with her pussy. She parted her folds and fingered her clit. All the while a light danced in his eyes. Shira could have sworn they changed color, but she wasn’t sure.

Max licked his lips once again. “Put your finger inside. Let me see it covered in your come.”

She did as she was told, not minding the command at all. “Like this?”

“Yes, just like that.” If possible, his voice had gone deeper if a bit craggy. She liked it. “Now two fingers, baby. Oh, yeah, deeper.”

She ran her fingers in and out of her pussy, getting off on the sounds her cream made. She raised her hips and gasped her pleasure. “I wish it was you in me.”

“What part of me?”

She turned her head away. He tsked, and turned her head back before focusing on her pussy again.

“Tell me what part of my body you want down here, Shira.”

Nervous and a little embarrassed, she didn’t say anything. Max leaned down and kissed her lips. She ached to be filled, but dirty talk wasn’t something she’d done before. The mere thought got her hotter, but saying it out loud. Using the
P
word seemed too clinical and was a turnoff.

She shut her eyes tight and blurted, “Your dick.”

She expected his laugh, but his lips touched hers a brief second and then were gone. “Can you say cock?”

“Cock.” She threw her arm over her face. “You must think I’m an idiot. I promise I’m not so virginal.”

This time he did chuckle. “I have first hand knowledge that you’re not. Open your eyes for me, Shira. I want us to look at each other when we come.”

She peered up at him, and the embarrassment ebbed.

“Does it bother you to say it?”

She shook her head. “It turns me on. I want you to talk dirty to me, Max.”

“In that case…” He sat up and began dragging his clothes off and tossing them over his shoulder. “The sooner I get my hard cock inside your tight, little pussy, the better. I’m about to explode, and I want to do it buried as deep as I can get. Now”—he positioned himself over her—“would you like me to fuck you in the ass as well?”

Shira’s pussy gushed anew. “Hell, yes!”

Max stroked a hand over her mound and squeezed. “So wet, baby. You’re all ready for me, aren’t you?”

She raised her legs higher, causing her pussy lips to open more. “I need it now, Max.”

“Mm, do you know what you do to me?” He ran a hand from the base of his cock to the tip, and her mouth watered just seeing how stiff he was. She knew even though they’d had sex for hours the last time, it had been too long. He would stretch her, and she’d welcome it.