The Lion

by D. Camille

  He shook his head. “A young god is not afraid of fire. He knows how to tame it.” His gaze moved back to hers and held it for a moment.

  Tauri turned and grabbed her bag. “Goodnight Orion. Thank you for the dinner.” She began to walk in the direction of the exit. “Let me know when you have my evidence.”

  Rion watched her go. “Goodnight Tauri. I'll be in touch,” he called to her retreating back. I'll have evidence and a lot more for you beautiful goddess...

  Tauri made it to her car and quickly settled inside. She started the vehicle and took off driving for a few blocks until she pulled over to the side. She hit the steering wheel with both hands.

  “Gotdammit!” She curled her hands around the leather wheel tightly. “That damn Orion Shaw!”

  He had been right. She did want him. Hell, who wouldn't? He was so fine and smooth, and he still had that Detroit swagger. He may have been gone for a while but now that he had returned it seemed to have fallen right back in place.

  Orion didn't seem to be afraid of her tough exterior that usually pushed guys away at the blink of an eye. He seemed to enjoy her city girl side and she believed he said those outrageous things just to bait her even more.

  The problem was that she liked it. She liked it a lot. Orion made her smolder in more ways than one, but she would not get swept away by him, she couldn't. Detroit was her home and as much as Orion professed that it was his too, he always had the option and means to live anywhere he desired. She would not become involved with a man who may not stay around in her city... and in her life.

  But damn, he was so...so...just so damn much. When she looked at him, she thought of her Granny's homemade chocolate frosting and she just wanted to taste every inch of him on her tongue. He'd said her mouth was hot and she imagined he was just as hot himself, in every way. When she'd looked at his broad chest and strong arms in that tight black shirt tonight, she'd had to calm herself several times.

  “Urghhhh....” she groaned.

  Tauri looked out at her surroundings for a moment before restarting her car. “Okay Orion, if you want it, you'll have to come correct to get it...and you'd best believe it won't be easy.”

  After his dinner with Tauri, Rion drove to his parents’ home on the northwest side. Although he was a professional baseball player who could afford to buy them practically any home they desired, they’d chosen to stay in the city.

  Rion arrived at the residence and spotted his brother’s car parked in the driveway. He entered the home and was greeted immediately by his mother.

  “Hotep my young god! What a surprise!” She enfolded him tightly.

  Rion returned her embrace feeling all the love she had for him and had always freely bestowed.

  “Hotep, my beautiful goddess mother and the giver of life. My praise and honor to you always.”

  His mother smiled and kissed his warm cheek. “You have the gift of charisma, my son.”

  Rion laughed and returned her kiss.

  “I bet all that charisma won’t work on Tauri Patterson though.” Rion turned as his brother entered the room eating from a plate of food.

  Rion’s mother lifted a brow. “Tauri Patterson, the prosecutor?”

  Corvus stuffed another spoon of food into his mouth. “Yeah, Rion’s thirsty for her.”

  Rion’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not thirsty for her and the Negus talks too much. Is that all y’all have to do is gossip?”

  Swallowing another helping Corvus answered, “It’s not gossip man. It’s sharing and relaying pertinent information.”

  Rion folded his arms. “And so how is my business pertinent information?”

  Corvus shrugged. “Khalil said she got you all twisted so we have to make sure you don’t go slipping.” He ate another spoonful. “We looking out for you.”

  Pam Shaw watched her sons in amusement. It was clear that Rion was definitely interested in Tauri Patterson. It was also clear that Corvus was going to ride the hell out of him about it.

  “Would you like some dinner?” Pam asked Rion.

  He turned to his mother. “No, thank you. I’ve already eaten.”

  Corvus looked up. “He had dinner with Tauri Patterson at the baseball field.” He turned to Rion. “Wasn’t it kinda cold out there?”

  Rion nodded slowly at his brother. “Wait until Momma is not around. I’ve got you.”

  Corvus turned to his mother. “You hear him threatening me?”

  “You deserve it. Now leave your brother alone, go sit down somewhere and finish that food. You’re probably dropping crumbs all over the place,” she admonished.

  Corvus gave them both a look as he walked away. Pam took her son’s arm and led him into another room where they both took a seat.

  “Where’s Daddy?” Rion asked.

  Pam smiled so happy that her sons had been able to accept George Shaw into their lives. She had been a single woman with two little boys when George had changed their world. He’d eventually adopted both boys and now they both looked at him as simply their father.

  “He’s at a Council meeting tonight,” she informed him. “He’ll be sorry he missed you.”

  Rion nodded and sat back among the fluffy cushions. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”

  “So what is going on with this threat? Is there any more information?” she asked.

  “I’m getting Tauri Patterson some more evidence so that she can go forward with prosecuting the case.”

  Pam nodded. “And what about you and Tauri Patterson? Your brother seems to think there’s something going on?”

  Rion sighed. “There is something going on, just don’t ask me what it is because I don’t have a clue yet.”

  “You just got back Orion. Don’t you think this is kind of sudden trying to start a relationship with all that you have going on?” Pam questioned.

  Rion rubbed a hand down his face. “I know. I came to build a team but I also came to build a life. I’m thirty-one years old and I do want a family. I’ve lived on the road for over ten years and now I want to create some roots.”

  “From what I hear of Tauri Patterson, she’s a whip; very brilliant, very tenacious and very talented. She’s committed to the city and will take on any challenge, so I’m happy that she’s working on your case.” His mother paused. “You two are a lot alike and you probably go up in flames around each other, but remember while fire can provide warmth and comfort, it can also devastate and destroy.”

  Rion smiled. “Momma, I’m not saying I’m trying to marry Tauri…at least not now, but I do want to spend time with her, which is crazy in itself because she’s going to make a brother work extremely hard for every moment.”

  “Keep her on your side Orion. You’re going to need her to finish what you’re trying to do. Don’t do anything dumb to make her mad.”

  Rion laughed. “You must have me confused with Corvus. I don’t make women mad.”

  Pam shook her head. “Corvus makes them want to either kiss him or kill him.”

  “Sometimes I wholeheartedly agree with the latter,” Rion commented.

  She laughed. “He likes to bait you. He likes to see how much it takes to make the lion attack.”

  “Well this lion has to save his attacks for the truly dangerous predators.”

  Pam sobered. “Please be careful Orion. This is not a joke. If something were to happen to you…” she trailed off.

  Orion was at her side immediately taking her hand. “I’m fine Momma. Mac has a detail following me and the Negus, although they talk too much, are also watching out for me.”

  “Tomorrow I’m calling in some reinforcements to help end this very soon. So, I don’t want you to worry.”

  She touched his handsome face. “You are my young god. You’ve possessed great strength and maturity since the day you were born. You were created to do incredible things in this world and I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you Momma. You guided me into this world and throughout this life. I am only a young god bec
ause you are a mighty goddess.”

  Pam smiled at her son. “Tauri Patterson is very lucky young woman if she can gain the heart of this lion.”

  Corvus popped his head in the doorway. “Hey Momma, can I get that last piece of cake?”

  “No, leave that for Orion.”

  Corvus frowned. “He wasn’t even supposed to be over here tonight.”

  Pam stood. “You’ve had several pieces Corvus, you can share with your brother.” She walked past Corvus and headed towards the kitchen.

  Corvus looked at Rion. “So I can get that piece?” he asked.

  “Nope.”

  Corvus’ eyes narrowed. “You don’t even want it.”

  Rion shrugged. “So, Momma said it’s mine.”

  Corvus rubbed his chin with a wicked grin. “Hmmmm….maybe I’ll get Tauri Patterson to make me some cake.”

  Rion stood laughing. “Corvus, Tauri Patterson would shove a cake down your throat and poison you with it.”

  Corvus looked confused. “And you like that?”

  Rion walked over to his brother. “More and more every day.” He winked and walked out of the room to meet his mother in the kitchen.

  Corvus joined them and found Rion seated at the counter with cake in front of him. He took the seat next to him eyeing the slice.

  “So I heard you had a tail?” he asked Rion.

  Rion kept his eyes on the cake. “Yeah, Mac took care of it. It didn’t lead anywhere though.”

  “Who was it?”

  “They made up some story about wanting to meet me. Mac doesn’t buy it though.”

  Corvus looked at the cake on the plate again. “So what’s the next step?”

  Rion picked up his fork. “Calling in some additional resources, I need this to be done so I can move forward with the deal.”

  Corvus nodded and looked directly at Rion. “Well, I’m here and I got you, no matter what. You know that. I’m not going to let anything happen to my big Bro,” he said sincerely.

  Rion smiled at his brother and slowly pushed the plate toward him. “Eat the cake boy.”

  Corvus grinned broadly. “I love you man…for real though.” Rion shook his head laughing.

  Pam turned from the sink and walked over to another counter lifting a cover. She removed a plate that contained another slice of cake and placed it in front of Orion.

  Corvus looked from his mother to Orion who were both smiling watching his reaction.

  “See, why y’all be playing?” Corvus grumbled.

  Chapter 4

  Rion stood looking out over the Detroit River from his penthouse apartment located in the downtown area. He stared silently across the water into the skyline of Windsor, Canada. His thoughts first drifted to Tauri Patterson. He couldn't contain the smile that came to his face without warning. She was heat of the most intense kind and he felt her fire whenever he was within ten feet of her. He knew she felt it too, even though she tried her damnedest to fight it.

  He continued to smile as he thought about the strength she possessed. He was totally enamored by the fighting spirit within her. It reminded him of himself and of his city. Detroit was all about fighting and surviving while doing it with swagg. Tauri had that in spades and it had him completely captivated.

  Rion knew he had to stay on top of his game with Tauri as she would not give a brother a pass at all. He liked keeping her off balance and watching the looks of surprise on her face when he baited her. Tauri was accustomed to ruling the game, but Rion was determined to show her that he'd already conquered the game.

  Shaking his head, he got to the business at hand. He needed to call in reinforcements and he needed to do it now. Picking up the phone, he dialed the number and waited.

  “The young god. What's up Bruh?”

  Rion smiled. “What's up Sun God? How is married life?”

  Rion had met Ray Parker, also known as the Sun God, during his year in college at Stanford.

  “Well, when you've married the most beautiful, brilliant, and sexiest woman alive; it's pretty damn good,” Ray told him.

  “Man, I can't believe both you and Jordan are married. How is he doing?”

  Ray laughed as Rion referred to their college friend Jordan Black. “He's good. He's in St. Kitts with his wife and daughter. My mother is also vacationing with them.”

  Rion nodded. “That's right, he married your sister. You never told me you had a sister.”

  “Bruh, don't even go there. It was not pretty.”

  “I can imagine,” Rion commented. He knew Ray pretty well and knew how protective he was of women in particular so he could imagine how he'd been with his only sister.

  “How's the purchase of the team going?” Ray asked.

  Rion sighed. “Yeah, that's why I'm calling you. I need your help...again.”

  “What's going on?”

  “I've received a threat against my life and I need to gather some evidence to put them away,” Rion explained.

  “A threat? What the hell?” Ray roared.

  Rion ran a hand over his head. “Yeah, I got a note saying this isn't the Negro leagues and I'll be dead before I own a team.”

  “Oh, it's handled.” Ray vowed.

  “Wait, hold up... we can't have that. The city has had enough bad press circulating. I can't have high ranking people found dead because of this.”

  “Who said they'd be found?” Ray asked.

  Rion shook his head. “What I need is evidence; paperwork, witnesses, conversations, something that can stand up in court.”

  Ray paused. “Let me put a plan together and get back to you.”

  Rion nodded. “Thanks Ray. I can't thank you and the Black Diamonds enough for your financial backing on the team and now this.”

  “We believe in you Rion. We're here for whatever you need,” Ray told him.

  “You always have been. I remember following you around campus the whole year I was there. You were like my personal bodyguard. Nobody came anywhere near me.”

  Ray laughed. “You were a cool young dude, besides I think we were the only two Khemetic people at Stanford.”

  Rion laughed as well. “I know that's the truth.”

  “Let me get on this. No way in hell I'm letting anybody get away with this right here,” Ray informed him.

  “Cool, I'll wait to hear from you,” Rion said glancing back out the window.

  Ray ended the call and looked up as his wife Isabelle entered the room. He smiled at her immediately and she came over to take a seat on his lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck she kissed him deeply.

  “Hello Belle,” he whispered against her lips.

  She touched his face staring into his bright brown eyes. “Hello Sun God. What are you doing?”

  He frowned. “I have a problem in Detroit.”

  Isabelle smoothed his brow with a soft touch. “Are you leaving?”

  Ray put a hand to her stomach. “You know I'm not going anywhere away from you and our baby.”

  She placed a hand over his on her little belly. “What are you going to do?”

  “I think it's time for the Uncut Diamonds to get started,” he told her.

  Isabelle lifted a brow. “Which ones?”

  Ray sighed. “The top two.”

  “Oh my...are they still angry with one another?”

  “If they are, it's time to get over it,” Ray announced.

  *********

  Tauri sat in her office reading over the files for one of her cases. Her attention was shot due to six-feet four inches of incredible chocolate that invaded her thoughts and dreams. Orion Shaw was beginning to become a distraction with his sexy dark eyes and unexpected dinners. She'd had to leave last night before she'd done something wild and reckless like having hot sex with Orion Shaw in the middle of a baseball field.

  Tauri shook her head. “Orion Shaw...who the hell are you?”

  A knock on the door made her look up.

  “Brandon?”

  “May I speak with yo
u for a moment Tauri?” her boss asked.

  Tauri nodded slowly before he entered her office and took a seat across from her desk. She whipped off her glasses and focused her attention on him. Brandon was very no nonsense and always got straight to the point. He was firm but he was also always fair.

  “I want to talk about Rion's case. The names that Mac's detectives have as being involved in this are big wigs, in and around this city. I need to know that you can handle this.”

  “Yes, I can handle it. I appreciate your faith in me to assign me the case in the first place,” Tauri said watching him.

  “You're the best on the team Tauri and I need you to be focused.”

  Tauri sat up in her seat and raised a brow. “I'm always focused Brandon. I take my job very seriously.”

  Brandon lifted a hand. “Relax Tauri, I'm not questioning your commitment to your job. I know how good you are.” He pinned her with a look. “I also know something is starting between you and Orion.”

  Tauri looked away. “Brandon...”

  “Look Tauri, you and Orion are two consenting adults and what you do has nothing to do with me but someone has threatened to kill my best friend, so I want to make sure these bastards are put under the jail.”

  Tauri turned back to him. “I understand. I don't want Orion hurt either and I promise you that this case is my top priority once I have sufficient evidence.”

  Brandon nodded and stood. “My door is always open. If you need anything do not hesitate to let me know.”

  Tauri stood as well. “Thank you Brandon.”

  She watched him go and picked up her glasses replacing them on her face. For the next few hours, she worked without ceasing trying to rid her thoughts of the young god who'd invaded her life just two days ago. She stretched her arms above her head then paused as the object of her thoughts now stood in her doorway. He smiled at her and her stomach did its customary flip.

  Bringing her arms down, she stared at him. “What are you doing here Orion?”

  Tauri watched as he walked over to her desk. Today he was dressed in dark tailored slacks and an expensive white dress shirt. He wore no tie or jacket and still looked like he'd walked off a runway.