“Exactly,” he confirmed, though the moment was tearing him apart.
Zakira’s legs went weak and finally gave out beneath her. The tears welled in her eyes, and she began crying all over again.
In an instant, Malik was beside her on the floor. “Baby, please understand this,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.
Zakira’s only response was to turn her cocoa eyes toward him. The look in the wide pools was clearly accusing.
Malik’s expression hardened. “I’m not about to let you watch me die, Zakira. You can’t expect me to do that.”
Zakira shook her head and swallowed the sob rising in her throat. “That’s what it means to be married, Malik. We’re together no matter what.”
“I can’t do it, not even for you.” Malik pressed a kiss to her head and started to stand.
Zakira’s arms went around his legs and she held him to her. Malik went back to his knees and pulled her against him. They held each other for hours.
Tree pulled the keys from Eddie’s shaking fingers. She gave him a grateful smile and waited for him to unlock the door and usher her inside.
Wringing her hands, she went to the living room and turned on all the lamps. The warm light gave the elegantly furnished room a cozy appearance. Tree appeared quite impressed. “I like it.” He told her, shrugging his massive frame out of his overcoat.
Eddie managed a brief smile, before the unsteady feeling washed over her again. Now that Tree was there in her home, she didn’t have the slightest idea what to say. She needn’t have worried.
Tree tossed his coat to a high-backed, forest-green armchair and headed over to Edwina. He slid his long arms around her waist and pulled her close. One hand cupped her chin and held her still as he kissed her.
Eddie eagerly returned the kiss, moaning as his tongue thrust into her mouth. Her fingers curled around the lapels of his stylish sport jacket and she arched her voluptuous form into his body.
A voice in the back of Tree’s mind cautioned him that it was still too soon for them to be intimate. He wasn’t about to let her go just yet, though. The need to know she wanted him passionately and not just to keep her mind off her worries encouraged him.
His persuasive hands stroked her bare skin, his fingers slipping beneath the material at the small of her back. He caressed the swell of her buttocks and lifted her even closer. His mouth left hers to ease down the softly scented column of her neck. One hand cupped her breast, and he gently squeezed the full mound.
“Tree…” she sighed, lost in the mastery of his touch. It was as though he knew exactly where she wanted, needed the most attention. She never wanted him to stop…
A shudder racked Tree’s massive frame when he felt Eddie’s hands slip beneath his coat to massage his back. Suddenly, the urge to have her beneath him became overwhelming. Gripping her bottom, he lifted her high against him and carried her to the sofa.
Eddie’s willingness and the soft, seductive tone of her voice when she sighed his name made Tree’s heart pound at breakneck speed. When she was beneath him, he slid one hand up her thigh and under the raised hemline of her dress. His sensuous strokes against her skin were so steady and sure, he had her dress and stockings removed in no time.
“Eddie…” Tree groaned as his midnight stare feasted on her lovely dark form. Her bare breasts heaved uncontrollably and beckoned his mouth. He filled himself with her, his tongue swirling around the firm peak of one breast as he suckled mercilessly.
Eddie knew she should have protested in some way, but she didn’t want him to stop. When Tree’s fingers slipped beneath the lacy edge of her panties and into the creamy center of her body, she screamed her pleasure.
Tree’s long fingers thrust more deeply as Eddie responses grew more vocal. She was as lost in the feel of his clothes rubbing against her bare skin as she was in the feel of his fingers teasing the extra-sensitive bud of her womanhood.
Tree rested his head against her shoulder and enjoyed the sound of Eddie’s passionate cries in his ear. Her body moved erotically, enjoying every thrust and circular movement of his fingers.
“Tree…Tree…don’t stop…please…” she shamelessly begged as she experienced an incredible orgasm.
When the movements of her body slowed, he raised his head. He made an attempt to take some of his considerable weight off her. Edwina’s hands tightened around his arm and he stopped.
“Stay…” she asked, sounding completely exhausted.
Tree granted her request. He didn’t leave until she had fallen asleep.
Zakira’s eyes popped open and, for a moment, she was deathly still. Then, shifting, she tried to get a sense of her surroundings. She finally realized that she was on the sofa in the office at Badu’s. It was the next morning, and she was alone.
Bolting upright, she slapped her hair away from her eyes and ran out of the office. Chanel was putting away her purse and shrieked when Zakira raced into the hall.
“Gosh, Zakira, you scared—”
“Can I have your car keys?”
Chanel frowned, not liking Zakira’s disheveled appearance or frantic words. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Zakira hurriedly assured her as she took the keys that dangled from Chanel’s fingers. “Thanks. I’ll return your car as soon as I can!” she called, running down the hall.
Zakira ignored the strange sense of déjà vu that washed over her when she burst into the house, shouting Malik’s name. Silence answered her crazed calls.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed her fingers to her lips and began walking through the house. She looked into every room on both levels. She didn’t feel the tears pressuring her eyes until she walked into the bedroom. Every piece of clothing and all personal articles belonging to Malik were gone. The only thing he left behind was a letter on her pillow.
For what seemed an eternity, Zakira stood staring at the lone sheet of paper. Pulling herself together, she sat on the bed and snatched up the note.
Zaki,
I know you don’t understand any of this. All I can say is that it’s something I have to do to preserve what little sanity I have left. Don’t ever doubt that I love you more than my life. I just can’t die in front of you. I’d rather have you hate me than pity me. Tree will be in touch almost every day to make sure you’re okay. He’ll let you know when I’m gone. Take care of Badu’s; it’s yours now. Stay lovely, Zaki. Know that every day and night my mind will be on you.
I’ll love you forever. Malik
Pressing the letter against her chest, Zakira bowed her head and cried. Her sobs gradually turned to loud wails that filled the entire house.
Sometime in the late afternoon, Zakira woke. She hadn’t realized she had cried herself to sleep until she saw the tear-stained note lying next to her on the bed.
Like a zombie, she dragged herself from the tangled mass of covers. Deciding to take a shower, she pulled the long, satin evening gown from her shoulders. It was hopeless to think she was all cried out since she spent the entire time sniffing and wiping tears from her face. In the shower, she just hugged herself and rocked slowly back and forth beneath the warm, steady spray of the water.
Afterward, she slipped into a warm, comfortable old pair of pajamas and wrapped her long, damp hair in a towel. She was headed downstairs to fix herself a cup of tea, when the doorbell sounded. She walked past the front door as though she didn’t hear it.
In no mood for company, she prayed whoever it was would leave her alone. At first, she thought it could be Chanel coming for her car but she had taken care of that earlier in the day. One of the waiters had taken a cab out to the house and picked up the car. She had left the key beneath the Welcome mat at the front door.
Shrugging, she continued on to the kitchen. But the doorbell continued to ring and Zakira continued to pray the person would just give up. She tried to concentrate on preparing her tea, but the annoying buzz of the bell was too much. She slammed a mug to the counter and stormed ou
t of the kitchen. Her brown eyes blazed with fury and aggravation when she whipped open the door. When she saw Tree standing on the other side, that fury intensified.
“What the hell do you want?” she sneered.
Tree gave a grim smile and briefly bowed his head. “Malik made me promise to watch out for you. I’d planned to do that anyway.”
Zakira just shook her head. “Malik told you to watch out for me? It seems he told you a lot, hmm?”
“Z…”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, the tears beginning to well in her eyes again.
Tree stepped into the house and shut the door behind him. “Honey, I wanted to tell you, but Malik made me promise.”
Zakira willed herself to calm down. “Okay, look. It was Malik’s place to tell me about the cancer. But this plan of his to leave…God, Tree…you could’ve at least warned me.”
The muscle in Tree’s jaw danced wickedly as he struggled for the right words. Damn Malik, he thought, leaving him to look like the villain. Zakira looked as if she hated him.
“Tree?…”
“Listen, Z. I didn’t really…know what—”
“Stop! Just stop it!” she snapped, pushing his hands away from her shoulders when he tried to comfort her.
“Zakira—”
“No! You flat out lied to me! I know Malik is your boy, but I thought I was your friend, too!”
Frustrated, Tree ran a large hand over his wavy hair and shut his eyes tight. “Zakira, I was in the middle here. You just don’t understand.”
“You’re so right, I don’t understand,” she snapped, turning her back on him.
The dark depths of Tree’s eyes were filled with sadness; his entire body ached. He knew Zakira was hurt and too angry to hear him. Stepping closer, he squeezed her arms lightly and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Realizing it was too soon to get through to her, he left.
The Enlightenment Center was a forty-bed cancer treatment facility located just past the Virginia/West Virginia border. A twenty-doctor staff specialized in experimental methods of treating the sickness, and they were making great strides.
Malik had driven all night and arrived at the fortress-like structure nestled in the mountains around 4:00 a.m. After checking into his suite, he went right to bed. The restless five-hour slumber did him no good, however. His mind was tortured by dreams of Zakira. The two of them together loving each other…making love…
The next morning he was in the midst of unpacking, when a knock on the door interrupted him. After a brief silence, the door opened and Malik’s physicians, Dr. McNeil and Dr. Burns, entered.
“Malik, how are you settling in?” Dr. McNeil asked, walking across the room to shake hands.
“All right,” Malik replied, meeting him in the middle of the room.
“You know Doctor Burns?” McNeil asked, glancing behind him.
Malik’s smile was grim. “Yeah. How are you, Doc?”
Burns nodded. “I’m fine, but our concern is you.”
Sighing, Malik returned to his unpacking. “I won’t be a concern to anyone in a few months.”
The doctors exchanged uneasy glances, before Dr. Burns stepped forward. “Malik, you should remember that here at The Enlightenment Center, our first concern is to promote positive thinking. It’s been the key to many remissions.”
A small light of hope appeared in Malik’s midnight-gray eyes just for an instant. It disappeared, though. “You’ve got your work cut out for you,” he warned them.
“Well, in addition to the need for a positive outlook, there’s something else you should know,” Dr. McNeil stated.
Malik was silent as he waited for the doctor to continue.
“We want to discuss operating.”
Instantly, Malik began shaking his head. The long dreads brushed his wide shoulders as he did so. “I already told you that was a route I didn’t want to take.”
Dr. McNeil clasped his hands together. “Listen, Malik, Doctor Burns and I have consulted on this and we believe operating is something you should consider.”
Malik’s gaze searched the doctors’ faces. “Do you remember telling me there could be devastating complications during surgery?”
“Malik, you will die if you don’t have the surgery,” Dr. Burns said, as he too stepped forward. “There’s no question that it’s risky. But Doctor McNeil and I feel that this would be successful. We’ve consulted on your case and we both believe you can come out of the surgery with no residual brain damage.”
Malik closed his eyes and ordered himself not to take hope in the doctor’s word. He had already resigned himself to the fact that his life was over. The tone in the men’s voices however, was breaking through the wall of coldness he had tried to build. Excitement was already surging through his body at the thought of beating the cancer. A silent prayer repeated itself over and over again in his mind before he turned to face the doctors.
“All right, where would we begin?” he asked.
Chapter 8
“Come on, Z…” Eddie whispered in a panicky tone as she rang the doorbell. She had decided to give her stepsister a few days alone. Unfortunately, she had called several times to check on her and there had been no answer. Knowing Zakira always came to her with any problem and was now shutting her out worried Eddie.
She had been pressing the bell a good three minutes, but there was no answer. Deciding to investigate, she went around back and found Zakira on the patio curled up on a chaise lounge.
“Hey, girl,” Eddie called, lightly placing her hand on her sister’s shoulder.
Zakira jumped at the contact, but didn’t bother to look up.
She placed a soft kiss to Zakira’s forehead and sat next to her on the lounge. “How are you?” she asked, hating the way her best friend in the world appeared at that very moment. It was obvious that Zakira was still devastated over all that had happened.
Zakira finally raised her weak, brown gaze to Eddie’s face. “If all I had to deal with was Malik being sick, I think I could’ve handled it.”
Eddie smiled and rubbed Zakira’s hand. “Baby, I know it’s a lot to deal with.”
“Hmph, I wonder if you really know.”
A hurt look crossed Edwina’s delicate dark features. “I just want to help, Z.”
Zakira kissed Eddie’s cheek, realizing how her words must have sounded. Pushing herself off the chaise, she shoved her hands beneath the thick mohair sweater she wore. “What I mean is, all these months I’ve been trying to deal with Malik’s cancer and trying to figure out what else was going on with him. I even went to Tree for some answers that might have made all this…just a little easier. He knew everything the whole time and he wouldn’t tell me.”
Eddie tilted her head to the side. “Who knew? Tree?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Edwina stood up and smoothed her hand over the soft hair at the nape of her neck. “Well, I’m sure Malik felt he could handle the news about the cancer better—”
“Eddie, he knew about Malik’s stupid plan to leave me alone and not tell me anything. Tree knew Malik was going to go away to die.”
Eddie stood speechless for a moment.
Zakira held her head back in an attempt to ward off the tears pressuring her eyes. “I’m in no mood to talk about Tree any more, much less my loving husband.”
Meanwhile, Eddie wanted to kick herself for being so caught up in Trekel Grisani. She wasn’t even in a relationship with him, and he had already disappointed her.
The elevator doors closed behind Edwina. She let out a breath and leaned against them for a moment. Her visit to Zakira’s had been unsuccessful, and Eddie feared her sister would remain bitter and angry indefinitely.
Deciding not to let her worries affect the work she had in store for the day, she took another deep breath and pushed herself from the elevator wall. When she stepped into the corridor leading to her office, her assistant looked up.
“
Trekel Grisani is waiting in your office,” she announced.
Eddie frowned and glanced in the direction of her office. “Shanice, didn’t you tell him I might be in late?” she asked.
Shanice nodded as a smile tugged at her full lips. “I sure did, but he said he didn’t mind waiting as long as it took.”
“Oh,” Eddie disappointedly replied.
She cleared her throat and headed to her office. When she opened the door, she spotted Tree standing near the windows.
Tree turned the moment he heard the door open. He studied Eddie with his intense, dark eyes and instantly noticed the wary look in her eyes. He knew at once that she had talked to Zakira. “What are you thinking?” he softly questioned.
Edwina bowed her head and walked to her desk. “I don’t see how you could keep something like that from her,” she grumbled, looking through a small stack of folders.
“You don’t understand.”
“Hmph, you’re right. I don’t.”
A grimace clouded Tree’s handsome face. He remembered Zakira uttering those same words. It angered him more to hear them coming from Edwina. “Listen, Malik…he needed me.”
Eddie rolled her eyes. “So did Zakira.”
“Eddie, please!” Tree snapped, his deep voice growing raspier as his frustration mounted. He raked one hand through his wavy, dark hair as his grimace turned into a murderous glare. “I hated being put in the middle of this. But, I had a job to do. Malik came to me as a client and I had a responsibility to respect his wishes.” Tree took a deep breath, and raised his intense gaze to Eddie’s face. “I think you can understand that, being a doctor.”
Eddie pressed her lips together and began to nod slowly. There was no way she could argue with him in that regard. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. For the first time, she could see how much he was hurting. He loved Malik and Zakira as much as she did.
Trekel lowered his tall frame into one of the chairs in front of the desk. He covered his face in his hands and groaned.
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