Dro shook his head and said, “We’ll keep looking.”
Another woman stepped into the foyer, brushing her dark hair away from her face. “Good Morning, I’m Pastor Karen Williams,” she said, scanning the faces in the room. “I’m supposed to perform a wedding today?”
“Take a number,” Khalil said at the same time Sesvalah said, “Stand in line.”
Everyone laughed and the tension in the room eased back into the happiness and expectation of joy that had permeated a few minutes before.
“If you don’t mind,” Jai said. “Maybe we can give Temple a moment or two with her brother and sister. She hasn’t seen them in …”
“Twenty-one years,” Donny supplied.
“Long years when we worried so much,” Ebbie said. “We wondered if she actually was okay.”
* * *
The night she made her escape, Vaunie Liscell was given a small bag that contained money, a change of clothes, and a list of women she would connect with in every small town where she lodged and pick up another escort along the way.
No one would be able to trace her journey, and neither Donny, Ebbie, nor the only adult who helped them were given any information beyond the last embraces they were allowed.
The next day, the police took the blood-stained bedsheets. Everyone in the town gathered in search parties and scoured the streets, fields, farmlands, and then the wooded areas and hills near their home. Ebbie and Donny were there every step of the way, praying that none of the efforts to find Vaunie panned out. The dogs eventually made tracks to the Greyhound station, but the trail ended there and leads went cold.
The search ended, but their mother was certain that her two oldest children and that “meddling teacher” had something to do with Vaunie S untimely disappearance. At the insistence of Carl Webster, who put pressure on the sheriff’s office, Ms. Crenshaw was even arrested in relation to the disappearance, with the sheriff trying to force information out of her about Vaunie’s whereabouts.
Eventually, all charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, and the rumors and gossip died down. Uncle Dane was so angered by Vaunie’s absence that he made certain Ms. Crenshaw would not have another teaching post within their town or any of the surrounding cities. She sold her house and left soon after. No one had heard from her again.
Dane Webster, who now had a taste for young flesh, thought he’d substitute Ebbie for Vaunie on the first night they came for one of the limited visitations with their mother.
He learned a valuable lesson that ended with a two-month hospital stay and third-degree burns over seventy-five percent of his body. All stemming from the pot of boiling grits poured on him as he slept quietly while their mother was “conveniently” out with friends. Donny held him in place allowing time for the heated mixture to do its job.
The “accident” was quietly swept under the rug by authorities who had no desire to delve further into the reason Ebbie and Donny had committed such a crime. They were then sent to live with their father on a permanent basis, though the relationship remained tense and troublesome, with the police occasionally still questioning them about their sister’s disappearance.
When they came of age, they set out to find Shiobaun “Vaunie” Liscell
Unfortunately, Pastor Kae’s efforts at keeping their Vaunie—now Temple Devaughn safe, meant that they never did.
* * *
Thirty minutes after Donny and Ebbie arrived and the guests had indulged in a few appetizers to ward off their midnight appetites, Temple and her siblings left the parlor and said it was all right to start the wedding.
Dro played the first chords on the piano accompanied by Milan’s violin. Khalil’s voice echoed through the parlor, living room, foyer and dining room where everyone was situated. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was a tribute that Temple had requested for him to sing. The words described when she first opened her eyes and Jai was there for her, holding her hand through the pain and a process that bewildered her. His smile had been her guiding light, his eyes had held such sincerity, her soul had felt at ease.
While Khalil, Dro and Milan rendered the piece with such elegance and beauty, Temple held onto Jai, trying not to let the tears overcome. Then she embraced her brother and sister, holding on to them as though she never wanted to let them go. Over her brother’s shoulder, she looked at her husband-to-be and whispered, “Yes, that’s not all you’re good at.”
Jai leaned in, pressed a kiss to her lips that caused several smiles to light the faces around the room.
CHAPTER 33
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Temple said, holding on to Jai for dear life. She didn’t dare look down. They were at the highest point of the Jamaican jungle, preparing for the first of many zipline experiences they would have throughout the day. At this angle, the only things on her mind were a few cotton-candy clouds that seemed to be just within reach, the baby-blue sky, brilliant sunshine, and a dense green canopy below that might swallow them whole.
Temple stood taller and looked up at Jai. “Remind me to personally put my foot up Shaz’s behind.”
“Now, now,” Jai said, chuckling. “You mentioned wanting an adventure you’d never forget for your honeymoon. Shaz delivered. You cannot fault him for thinking you wanted a real escapade outside of bedroom gymnastics.”
“Yes, but did we have to do this the moment we arrived?” Temple protested. “Suppose I don’t survive? I’ll never know whether you lived up to your own hype.”
Jai broke into laughter. “Trust me, God is not going to let us check out of here before we get to the good parts of the honeymoon and after this we probably won’t come up for air, so …”
They had started by going up a winding trail, shrouded on both sides by tall bushes. Then, the ten people were fitted with a harness and helmet before executing the smallest zipline that took them from one side of the mountain to the other. The first one allowed everyone to get used to the process. The ziplines they had done since then grew longer each time. At the moment, ten of them were high up, bunched around a tree, feet planted on heavy gray milk-crate-looking apparatuses that were anchored to the wood as a jumping off platform. A courageous look down meant not seeing the ground at all.
With a friendly grin in place, their loc-wearing instructor and guide said, “At the beginning, we told you there would be a little surprise.”
“You mean, outside of nearly losing my mind and my breakfast on the previous ones?” Temple snapped and the others laughed. “But don’t mind me. I’m just moments away from a heart attack, that’s all.”
Their second guide with short-cropped hair, wearing similar gear, pursed his lips as if to keep amusement at bay.
Jai kissed her forehead and chuckled. “Don’t mind her, we’re both virgins.”
Temple’s lips twisted in displeasure as her gaze narrowed on him. “You said you were a used one.”
“I meant, at ziplining,” he replied, resting a hand on her nape and the rest of the people hugging the tree all burst into laughter. “Lighten up, wife.”
“So the surprise is,” locs began, then paused for effect. “This next zipline is a little different.”
Groans erupted from everyone.
Their companions shuffled their feet and one tourist yelled, “Yeah mon!”
His smile flashed white in his dark face. “We’ll be going down instead of across.”
“I am going to kill him,” Temple said, closing her eyes. “You are going to be minus one King.”
“So it’s a drop,” Jai asked, casting a glance at the rugged vista below them.
Their tormenter nodded. “Straight down.”
“We can do this,” Jai said to Temple, stroking her back.
“What do you mean we,” she countered, swinging her gaze from the drop below to Jai.
The first set of guests completed the drop with very little effort, some yelling at the top of their voices as they went. Temple, however, was still hugging the tree as if
it was a family member. “I’m not doing that.”
“Come on, love,” Jai coaxed her, using his most persuasive tone. “You’ve done the others and you’re practically a pro.”
“Yes, finally, but that’s going across—this is…” She peered over to the side and then quickly closed her eyes. “Down. I’m not doing this.”
“We’ll have to take her back if she’s not going forward,” the guide said. He put two fingers in his mouth and produced a loud whistle. An answering whistle came with a yelled, “One for the return.”
“Make that two,” Jai said in a resigned whisper. “If she’s not going forward, I won’t either.”
“Nooooo,” Temple objected, laying both hands on his chest. “You love this sort of thing. Keep going and tell me how it ends.”
“No ma’am. We either go together or not at all.” He nodded to the guide and said. “Tell them it’s two.”
The guide complied.
“Well, the others did make it down okay,” she mused, peering over the side again. “I guess …”
“We got you,” Mr. locs said raising both hands. “See, I’ll go down and be the one to catch you.”
“You promise?” she asked, still looking toward the ground.
The guide whistled and informed the others to hold off, slid down and made it to the next landing, then held out his arms. “I’ve got you.”
Temple closed her eyes and said a word of prayer. Then she positioned herself, and the loc-wearing guide slowly lowered her to the descent point. Things started off slow, then the last few feet hit at top speed.
“Whoooooo!” Temple squeezed her eyes shut. Suddenly, a pair of hands cradled her bottom. “Honey, I think you caught the wrong end,” she said to the guide, whose smile could have wrapped around the tree.
“Lady, I think I have the best end,” he quipped.
“Yes, you do,” Jai said, scowling down at the grinning guide. “And that part of her is married, too. Hands off my woman, dude.”
The crowd laughed as the guide quickly put his hands up and Jai give him the evil eye.
Jai was the next one down and he quickly put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. From where Temple stood, the next zipline was the length of three football fields.
“Are you ready?” Jai asked her.
“I’ve done seven so far,” she answered, still looking out to find where the end of the line happened to be. “I think … I think I can handle it.”
“You want me to go first?”
“Yes, I think I’d like you to be there to catch me, so you don’t catch a case.”
Jai gave her a sheepish smile. “I wasn’t going to hurt that man.”
A smile of her own played around her lips. “I can’t tell.”
Jai tackled the next one like a champ, and waited for Temple to follow. He heard the whoops, screams, and laughter long before he could put eyes on her. That smile, seeing the wind blowing through her hair. She was handling this one like a pro. The guide pulled her the rest of the way in and Jai was there to welcome her into his arms.
“How was it?”
Smiling wide, Temple said, “I think I loved it.”
Jai tipped one brow? “Want to do it again.”
“Heeeeeeeeell no.” She stepped away from him, also putting distance between her and the landing pad. “I have not lost my mind.”
Jai couldn’t help the laughter that spilled from his lips.
* * *
Jai draped his nose along he jawline taking in her floral scent. Plagued with such a profound and powerful need, he kissed Temple’s lips, awakening her from the nap that was sorely needed after their experience in the jungle. He guided Temple to their private pool, immersed her body so that every part of her was wet and wonderful.
Those dark brown eyes locked on hers, consuming her very soul. Jai’s tongue traced the outline of her lips, teasing, parting them so that he could explore the moist interior. She ceased all ability to breathe as he held her tongue hostage, freeing it only to inhale and deepen his reach. The heat that overwhelmed her nearly caused Temple to lose consciousness.
His hands, equally as dangerous, held her close, stroking a heated path down the smooth curve of her back, worshipping her buttocks and thighs before parting them so she could welcome him into her world.
“Is it always like this,” she asked, lacing her hands in the dark silky locks of his hair, before stroking the silver streak that was a stark contrast to the rest. A ray of light in all that darkness, just as he had been the morning sun to her barren earth.
“It will always be this way … for us,” he whispered before pressing a kiss to her ear, then using that wicked tongue to trace a heated path from her earlobe, her cheeks, the smooth expanse of soft skin across her neck, shoulders and downward until he reached the firm pebble at the center of her breast. There, he teased, tasted, suckled, varying a rhythm that rendered her unable to speak anything but his name. All she could feel was him. All she could taste was him. All she could hear was the sharp intake of his breath every time some part of him connected with her body.
“Jaidev,” she whispered, fanning her hand on the surface of the water.
“Yes, my love.”
“You promise to always love me like this?”
Jai pulled away to look deep into her eyes. “As long as the Creator keeps life flowing through my body and blood flowing through my veins, I will love you with everything I have to give.”
The heated liquid flowed around them as he massaged away all aches, pains, and with it any worries she might have. She melted into him, more ready to consummate their marriage than she thought possible. His kisses were pure rain after a lifetime of drought; a shock to the system after a period of nothingness. Every touch centered her somehow. Every glance ignited that flame that she didn’t know could exist. Everything that was Jaidev Maharaj swept away the painful memories and created new ones, loving ones, forever ones.
“Are you ready for me?” he whispered into her hair.
“As I’ll ever be,” she responded, parting her thighs to give him full access to her core. He dove under the water, placed her thighs on his shoulders, buried himself within her center and feasted as though she was his last supper. She could not help but cry out his name, cry out expressing the myriad of unfamiliar sensations whipping through her.
When the trembling subsided he broke the surface of the water, lowered her thighs until she was wrapped around his waist, anchored as he held onto her body. Then he was with her, inside her, melding them as one, leaving no doubt that she belonged with him, to him, for him—always him.
Temple’s breathing caught at the full length of him resting inside her, allowing her to enjoy this new feeling of oneness. Moments passed before he pulled out and the absence of him nearly crushed her spirit. He peered down at her, watching as her hands reached out for him, pulling him back, guiding him into the place she never wanted him to leave. She arched toward him, her hands laced in the silky strands of his hair.
This time, her choice. This time, her love. This time, it was … forever.
CHAPTER 34
“Curtis served me with legal papers,” Temple said, placing a sleeping India in his arms. “He wants custody of our daughter.”
The fact that the man was out on a substantial bail despite the level of charges against him, and he was now using the legal process to draw things out before the trial, only proved exactly how unbalanced the justice system was.
She could never understand how all evidence and proof was in place at how he raped her—including her deposition where she recounted that she could remember some things, and his scent was the most telling thing of all—and he wasn’t already under the bottom of somebody’s prison, was unthinkable. Since the Knights had witnessed him on camera straightening his clothes and all that and sent in everything else they had found, and the DNA was absolute proof, how could he still be out here in the world causing Temple all kinds of grief.
&nb
sp; “That’s not going to happen,” Jai said, moving from the sofa to stand at her side. He scanned the paperwork over her shoulder. “We’ll consult with a lawyer and sort things out.”
“He’s stating that I didn’t want the baby and was giving you custody, and he never consented to that. Isn’t that rich?” Temple frowned, and he guided her back to the sofa to take a seat. “But how would he even know that?”
“I’m going to assume that someone is still feeding him information. I’ll have Daron get into it.”
Temple cradled India to her breasts. “He’s trying to make me pay. First, because I wouldn’t have sex with him before marriage. I wanted my first time to be special. He wasn’t feeling any of that. He constantly sent me porn videos. Porn, of all things. Trying to get me hot and bothered to make me want him. All it did was turn me off.” She locked gazes with Jai. “I tried watching one I didn’t like the way the women were treated. Like only parts of the women mattered. We are so much more than the sum total of body parts, but that’s all he saw in me. Thought my resistance to him was something to be conquered.” Temple sighed, and a world of weariness was in that sound. “All my mother saw was my father in me, then she saw my bank account.” She stared across the room at her painting on the wall, one that reflected her hope that she would find her father one day. She had worked on it for days after their marriage and Jai insisted that it be placed in a prominent position in their home. Temple shook her head. “They never saw me. Never the real me.”
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