“I switched shifts,” Yasmine replied.
Megan frowned, then her dark chocolate eyes narrowed. She strode into the room and sat down, making no bones about the fact she was staring at Yasmine. Obviously waiting for more than ‘I switched shifts.’
“What?” Yasmine asked irritably.
“Don’t take that tone with me. You need to talk, and being such a good friend, I’m here to listen.” Megan sighed, as if put out.
Yasmine’s lips twitched as Megan crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Yasmine laughed, and Megan joined her. It was one of the things which made them such good friends. When they were acting bitchy, the other would get them out of their mood.
“Now spill, honey.” Megan settled against the couch.
Yasmine told her of what had happened with Sedeo.
Megan listened. When she was finished, Megan said. “Oh no! That poor man. He loves his niece. What are they thinking?”
Yasmine nodded. Megan had met Sedeo and Shelby. They had hit it off. Megan and Bobby had come on some of their outings. Bobby was good with Shelby, and she thought he was hers to control. It was cute watching them together.
“I’ll testify for him if he needs me too,” Megan offered.
“I’ll let him know.” She patted her friend’s hand.
Megan watched her, then pursed her lips. “Now tell me what’s really bugging you.”
“Hello? Weren’t you listening? He told me to get out. Instead of letting me be there for him.” She waved her hand.
“Like that would have gotten you to leave if you wanted to stay.” Megan snorted.
Yasmine sat forward, closing her eyes. She should have known Megan would see more than she was saying. It was the other thing about their friendship. They couldn’t bullshit each other. They knew each other too well. Taking a breath, she looked at Megan.
Megan gasped and gripped her hand. “Oh, honey. Why do you look so miserable?”
“I did something stupid.”
“What?”
“I let myself care too much,” she said hoarsely.
“No. You haven’t admitted to yourself until now how much you really do care.” Megan smiled gently.
Yasmine flopped back on the couch. Megan was right. She hadn’t wanted to let herself get too close to him and Shelby. What she hadn’t realized until today was it was already too late. Sedeo shutting down had been a knife to her soul. She didn’t even know when he’d gotten into her so deep. Him and Shelby. When she read the court papers for custody, she had felt sick. She faced the possibility of fires daily, yet it never scared her. Not like the thought of losing Shelby. Or Sedeo, without Shelby. In her mind, they were a package deal.
“I’ll take Rufus out, so you can think some more,” Megan said softly. She stood and touched Yasmine’s shoulder, then called Rufus.
He whined, looking at Yasmine.
“Go on, boy,” she said.
He got up and followed Megan. Rufus looked back at her, then padded down to the hall to the front door.
She heard the door open and close behind them, then dropped her head back against the couch. Sometime later, the door opened again.
“Yas, he’s back. Call me if you need anything,” Megan called.
“I will. Thanks,” she replied.
The clicky-clack of Rufus’s nails preceded his reentry into the living room. She patted the couch. He climbed up and put his head into her lap. She stroked his fur as she thought.
Later, as she prepared dinner, ate, then took Rufus for his walk, she was still thinking. After getting ready to go to bed, Yasmine wandered down the hall into her kitchen. She made sure everything was off for the night and shut off the lights. Reaching the hall, she jumped, startled, as the doorbell rang. Cautiously, she approached to the front door and looked out the peephole. She gasped, then took a breath and opened the door. A beatific, innocent smile met her gaze.
“Yassie!” Shelby cried, and reached for her.
Automatically, she held out her arms. Yasmine cuddled the child against her and played with her hair. With trepidation, she finally glanced up at him. She lost her breath at the look in his sexy blue eyes.
5
Forcing herself not to give into her baser desires, Yasmine held his gaze with as much of a deadpan expression as she could pull off. Her arms, however, held the precious little girl gently and lovingly. Shelby was not to blame. “What do you want?” Her voice was straightforward and no nonsense.
Sedeo licked his lips and shoved a hand through his hair. “Can we talk?” he asked.
Yas picked up on the uncertainty in his tone. With a shrug, she stepped back and allowed him to enter. She watched from lowered lids as he bent down to say hi to Rufus before standing tall and piercing her with those intense blue eyes.
With one hand, she turned on another light, and her breath hitched as the warm glow gave her an even better view of him. When Shelby struggled to get down, Yasmine set her on the floor without hesitation.
“What about? I was just on my way to bed.”
Her gaze skimmed him as she relived the shared times they’d had in bed. Against the wall, on the couch. Yasmine felt her body respond to the path her mind was going down. Get a grip, Yas. Don’t jump on him. Let him say what he has to say...then jump on him. A smile almost broke free, but she contained it.
“About earlier,” he began.
“When you kicked me out, you mean?”
His jaw clenched, but he nodded. “Yes. When I asked you to let me be alone.”
“Semantics,” she muttered.
Sedeo leaned back against her front door, his powerful arms crossed his torso. One thick lock of hair kept falling forward, threatening to cover one of his beautiful eyes.
Yasmine had to force herself not to go to him and push it aside.
“Not going to make this easy, are you?”
She bristled at the slight admonishment in his tone. Why should she make it easy? He’s the one who kicked me out. Yasmine rolled her neck, trying to loosen up the stiffness she felt. Exhaustion had begun to settle in. It had been an emotionally trying day, and she really wanted to sleep. However, as she stood there watching him, her body wanted more than sleep. It wanted to rest with him. Smell his scent when she inhaled. Have his body heat warming her in the cool night air.
“What do you want?” she asked again as walked to the living room, leaving him to follow with Shelby. Yasmine sat in an overstuffed leather chair.
“A chance to explain,” he said, and sat on the couch, holding Shelby in his arms.
Yasmine kept her gaze on the adorable child as she curled up trustingly against her uncle. His love for Shelby was blatantly obvious, and anger flashed through her as she thought of the girl’s grandparents trying to separate them. “So explain.” She lowered her voice so as not to disturb a dozing Shelby.
“I told you before I was having a hard time accepting this.” He gestured between them. “When those papers came today, it...I handled it all wrong. I’m sorry.” Sedeo settled his niece on the couch.
Yasmine watched as he moved toward where she sat. No words passed between them as he sank to his knees and maneuvered himself between her legs. She shuddered as his callused hands slowly moved up her bare calves and onto her thighs.
“I was all wrong. I shouldn’t have let you go.” His fingertips moved in small sensual circles, closer and closer to the leg of the boxers she wore.
Each touch caused her belly to tighten and quiver. “Wrong,” she murmured, her heart pounding like she’d run up ten flights of steps in full gear.
“You scare me, Yasmine. How you make me feel. How important you’ve become to Shelby. All of that. It frightens me.”
Her gaze settled upon his mouth as it moved. His firm, kissable lips. She shifted against the leather of her chair. “Okay, so—”
“Let me finish,” he said, cutting her off. “Not everything for me is cut and dried anymore. I have to do what’s best for Shelby, no matter what
.” His fingers slipped under the soft cotton of her boxers, and he caressed the sides of her legs.
“Right,” she uttered, struggling for breath, her mind totally not focusing on the words coming from his lips.
“Yasmine,” he whispered. “Forgive me.”
Blinking rapidly to try and find her concentration, Yasmine licked her lips and stared at his face.
His blue eyes, darkened partially by shadow and partially by uncertainty, held her gaze. There were lines of worry and strain on his face as he waited for her response. Stubble darkened his chin, and she longed to feel it abrading her skin.
“Yas,” he implored as he withdrew his hands from her legs. Lacing their fingers, he teased the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “Do you forgive me?”
“Yes,” she said. “I should have understood. I know how much you love Shelby.”
His mouth lingered gently against hers before he pushed to his feet with one easy movement. “I’m going to put Shelby to bed. Then I’ll be back, and we will pick up where we left off.”
By the time she’d found her lost breath, he and his niece had vanished. Closing her eyes, Yasmine wondered about what she was doing. Sedeo had given her a perfect out. A way to keep him at arm’s length. But instead of taking it and going to bed, she was sitting in the living room of her house, waiting for him while he put his niece to bed in one of her rooms.
She found herself smiling as, one by one, the lights were flicked off. Her body tensed with the knowledge of forthcoming pleasure as she waited for him to return. Strong hands settled upon her shoulders and began to rub. A low groan escaped as she dropped her head forward to allow him better access to her neck. Her eyes closed as he worked his magic. Little by little, she felt herself relax.
He never slowed, just kept up the continuous muscle-relaxing motions. “Are you getting enough sleep, Yas?” he asked as his thumbs worked out a kink.
“I’m sure we all could stand to get some more rest. But yes, I’m fine.”
He stopped, and she whimpered in frustration. His low husky chuckle reached her, and she glared at him.
“Come to bed, Yas, and I’ll give you a much better massage.” His hand trailed around her neck to skim along her chin.
She shivered before taking his hand. Sedeo pulled her to her feet and walked her around the chair until she stood before him. Laying her hand above his heart, he stared down into her eyes. Yasmine’s mouth watered at the desire in his gaze.
“I hope you’re going to make good on your promise, Sedeo Parker.”
“I’m good with my hands, baby. It’s what I do.” His timbre was laced with sexual promise.
Yasmine shuddered with anticipation, squeezed his hand, and lowered her gaze. “Take me to bed, Sedeo.”
Sedeo felt like his heart was ready to burst. The urge to drop to his knees and thank God for this woman filled him. Lifting her hand, he pressed his lips to her knuckles. Her shudder rocked him. There was something about the way she reacted to his touch. He couldn’t explain it, yet it definitely fed his ego.
No words were spoken as they headed to her bedroom. She stood silently as he removed the few items of clothing she wore, the yellow light from the street the only illumination in the room. The dark honey hue of her naked skin called to him in ways he had no desire to ignore. Biting his lower lip gently, he sighed before leading her to the bed and helping her to get on it.
He gazed at her prone body with appreciation. Yasmine lay on her stomach, arms down by her sides. With a groan, he whipped off his shirt then removed his shoes and pants. Clad only in his boxers, Sedeo straddled her amazing ass, and began kneading the muscles in her upper back. A low moan of pleasure filled the air, and her entire body seemed to sink deeper into the mattress.
Slowly and methodically, he moved down her body. He massaged her arms, and then returned to her back. He worked his way down to her butt, which he skipped, and began to rub her legs. Her small moans and sighs of contentment brought a smile to his face.
Pressing a kiss on her ankle, he murmured, “Turn over, baby.” There was no response. “Yasmine?” He crawled up the bed and lowered his face near hers. Deep, even breaths came from her, and he chuckled lightly. “My luck. Horny as hell, and you’re sleeping like a baby.”
Brushing a kiss along her cheek, he unfolded the light blanket at the end of the bed and covered her with it before sliding in beside her. She burrowed against him and sighed contentedly. Sedeo wrapped his arms around her and held her tight before succumbing to the lure of the sandman.
He was alone in the bed. Sedeo was awake in seconds. The silence in the house was nearly overwhelming. Heart pounding, he stared at the clock on the bedside stand. Two in the morning.
“Yasmine?” he asked as he swung his legs off the bed and reached for a pair of pajama bottoms, tugging them on.
No response. He padded down the hall. Sedeo headed for the room where Shelby slept, and when he pushed open the door, he froze. Curled up on the end of the bed was Rufus, and beside Shelby lay Yasmine, dead to the world, in a tee shirt and boxers. Rufus lifted his head, but put it back down after a short stare.
His niece lay tucked tight against Yasmine. Walking silently into the room, Sedeo took a seat in the rocking chair in the corner and watched his women as they slept. When he woke a second time, he again was alone in the room, but this time he was covered with a blanket and his feet were propped up on an ottoman. Stretching, he stood and folded the blanket before setting it on the chair. Light laughter reached him, so he headed off down the hall in search of those making the noise.
He found them in the kitchen. Shelby was standing on books on a chair in front of the sink, her hands in the basin of the stainless steel sink. They were washing dishes. Yasmine was beside her and as he watched, Shelby continued to talk faster than he could make out the words. Yasmine, however, nodded and murmured at times which Shelby must have figured to be appropriate.
“What have we here?” he asked, moving further into the kitchen. A smile spread across his face as both feminine heads turned toward him. Sedeo noticed how Yasmine watched Shelby, ready to grab her if need be.
“Dishes, Unca Seddy,” Shelby told him, waving a handful of white bubbles.
He stopped beside his niece and winked at Yasmine. “Yes, I see. You’re being very helpful.”
“Yep,” she chirped before placing her blue eyes back on the job before of washing plastic cups.
Leaning over his niece, Sedeo gave Yasmine a tender kiss.
“Did you sleep okay?” she asked. “And why were you sleeping in the chair?”
“When I woke and you weren’t there, I looked for you. You and Shelby were so angelic I didn’t want to disturb you, but I also didn’t want to leave you alone. So I slept in the chair. It was quite comfortable, really.”
A smile filled her features and made his heart stop before beating even faster.
“Done,” Shelby announced. “Down.”
Sedeo helped her down and wiped off her hands. As he watched her head for Rufus, he turned his attention back to the woman cleaning up the sink. Leaning against her shoulder, he trailed his tongue along the edge of her ear.
“Stop,” she murmured. “Behave yourself.”
“Do I have to?” he asked, as his hands landed upon her hips, settling her backside against his pelvis.
“Yes.”
With a low groan of disappointment, he backed away. “What’s the plan for today?”
His heart sank as she shook her head.
“I have some things to get done today.”
“Like?” he prodded.
“Errands. Shelby would really be bored.” She looked away as she dried her hands off on a small towel before hanging it on the handle on the oven. “I have to get ready.” Another brief smile and she walked away, stopping to ruffle Shelby’s hair, but she never looked back.
Sedeo wasn’t sure what had happened. He remained where he was for a few moments before going back into the living r
oom and seating himself on the couch while Shelby played. When the doorbell rang, Yasmine hollered up the hall, “Can you get the door, please?”
“Sure,” he yelled back. Pulling open the door, he found himself face to face with Bobby Hanks. “Morning,” Sedeo said.
“Good morning, Mr. Parker,” Bobby responded. “Is Yas around?”
“She’s in the back. I’m sure she’ll be right up.”
“I’m here,” Yasmine announced as she strode into view.
“Morning, Yasmine,” Bobby said.
“Morning, Bobby. Thanks for taking him.”
“Not a problem. I should get going with him.” Bobby stepped in and grabbed the leash hanging by the door.
Sedeo watched as Bobby whistled and Rufus came trotting right up to him, standing while the leash was attached.
“Be good, Rufus,” Yasmine placed a kiss on his head before waving at Bobby and heading back toward her room.
Bobby smiled, touched Shelby’s cheek, and walked away. “Let’s go, Rufus,” he said as they jogged down the walk toward the street.
Sweeping Shelby up in his arms so she didn’t follow them, Sedeo shut the door and tried to soothe a sniffling Shelby. She struggled against him, and he set her down, where she promptly sat on the floor and stuck out her lower lip. Shaking his head at her antics, he sat on the couch and waited for Yasmine to return.
It didn’t take long for Yasmine to reappear. She wore black pants and a dark blue shirt with a fireman logo on it. On one shoulder, she carried a black duffle bag.
“Rufus gone!” Shelby cried.
“He had an appointment with Bobby. He’ll be back,” Yasmine told her.
“Now!” the little girl yelled.
“Nope. Sorry.” Yasmine looked at him. “I have to get going. Lock up when you leave?”
“Where are you going?” he questioned again.
“I have some things to do. Look, I’ll call later, but I really need to get going.” She leaned close and kissed him. With a kiss for Shelby as well, Yasmine headed out the door.
Wicked Burn (Free Falling Book 1) Page 5