Her Protector

by D. Camille

  She nodded. “You want your regular?”

  He agreed and waited while she took Sean and Kyle’s orders. When she walked away, Kent looked back across the table at two sets of eyes watching him.

  “So what’s our next move Sean?” he asked.

  Sean began slowly. “Kyle checked in with the police and found out that the substance on the card wasn’t blood. It was just made to look like it, but someone is clearly trying to scare Lotus.”

  “Warren Harding?” Kent questioned.

  Kyle chimed in. “Maybe…or someone in his family.”

  “Dennis said Warren wants Lotus for himself and will protect her from his family but I don’t trust any of them,” Kent relayed.

  “They can’t be trusted,” Sean agreed. “And I won’t hesitate to protect Lotus.”

  “I think we all agree on that,” Kent told them.

  Their drinks arrived and Kent took a sip of his as Michelle kept her gaze on him. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

  He nodded and she left them alone again.

  “Lotus is coming back to LA with me and Kyle when I leave,” Sean informed Kent.

  “Yeah, she told me last night.” Kent lifted his gaze to Kyle. “I want her to be safe so I’ll be down here handling business.”

  “Dennis’ body hasn’t been reported yet,” Kyle told them. “If no one calls in tonight, I’ll drop an anonymous call in the morning.”

  Kent nodded. “I’m still monitoring Warren’s office. He hasn’t been in a lot lately and the tail reports that he’s been staying inside his house and taking walks.”

  “He wasn’t the one who delivered the card to Lotus,” Kyle began. “Somehow it got slipped into the internal mail. Somebody may have paid off a staff member at the Medical Center to get it in there.”

  “Did you check out the nurse who gave it to her?” Kent asked.

  Kyle nodded. “She was clean. She’d just arrived on her shift and saw the mail.”

  “At this point, everyone is still a suspect until proven otherwise,” Sean told them and they both agreed.

  “I have a man both inside and outside of the Medical Center watching Lotus,” Kent said taking another sip of his drink.

  “Lotus is a smart woman too,” Kyle added. “She won’t take risks.”

  Kent looked up. “She’s incredibly smart and capable of taking care of herself,” he complimented. “But I’m here and I’ll make sure she doesn’t have to take any risks.”

  Sean looked between the two and shook his head. Lily had told him last night about Kent and Lotus which had them both still trying to understand how this was going to work out. Apparently Kyle was also involved in this equation as well. He’d let them figure out that part, he wasn’t a matchmaker. He was here to handle business only and get back to his family.

  Their lunch orders arrived and each man dug into his meal until Kyle’s phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen then glanced at the men sitting at the table.

  “Uh, excuse me…” he said getting to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”

  Kent looked confused as he watched him walk away. He knew that look and what it meant…a woman was calling.

  Dropping his fork, Kent got to his feet. “I’ll be back.”

  Sean watched him leave and picked up his glass of water as Ray’s words echoed in his head. “These damn kids.”

  Kent had his phone out and dialing before he reached the lobby area. He headed straight out the door behind Kyle and waited. Checking his watch, he wondered if Lotus was on a break. He hoped that she was working.

  Kent’s heart sank when she answered. “You must have felt me thinking about you.”

  “You were thinking about me?” he asked.

  “I’m always thinking about you,” Lotus said playfully.

  Kent looked around and spotted Kyle a little further away talking on the phone. “Were you on a break?”

  “Yes, I just finished and I don’t have another patient for an hour or so.”

  He smiled. “I can’t wait to see you tonight.”

  “I can’t wait to see you either.”

  Kent glanced again at Kyle who was still talking intently on his cell.

  “What are you doing?” Lotus asked regaining his attention.

  “I’m having lunch with Sean and Kyle.”

  “Oh, tell them I said hello.”

  “Yeah, baby I will.” Kent promised.

  “You can pick me up around five thirty,” Lotus told him. “And then…”

  He gave her a sexy laugh. “And then you get the green-eyed monster.”

  “I can’t wait to see this game that is so tight,” she teased him.

  “Hmmm…speaking of tight,” he murmured.

  Lotus laughed softly. “You’re so nasty.”

  “You know it.”

  Kent looked up as Kyle walked back inside the restaurant.

  “Yeah, I know it…I want to see it too.”

  “Keep talking girl,” he warned.

  “Go finish your lunch and I’ll see you later,” Lotus told him softly.

  “See you later baby.”

  Kent ended the call and went back inside to join the pair. The trio talked and planned some more as they finished their meals. Michelle returned with the check and handed it to Kent with a sexy smile before leaving them to sort it out.

  “I’ve got it,” Kent said pulling out his wallet. He looked over the paper, which had a note written on the top along with a phone number.

  Extracting enough bills to cover the check with a generous tip, he placed them on the table along with the check. “Let’s go.”

  Sean and Kyle glanced down at the information clearly displayed on the bill. Kent stood and was followed by the two men.

  Kyle nodded at the paper on the table. “Are you forgetting something?”

  “Already forgotten, my dude,” Kent said walking away.

  Chapter 11

  Lotus walked out of her shower into her bedroom closet. Kent had picked her up from work just as promised and brought her home to dress, stating that he’d be back in an hour to get her. Looking through her closet, she decided on an off the shoulders, mid thigh-high bodycon dress with bell sleeves in a bright orange that complimented her chocolate skin.

  Lotus had bought this dress on a whim, hoping to one day wear it for the man who was coming for her. It hugged all of the curves he liked to admire and showed enough skin to make his mouth water for more.

  After moisturizing herself with the coconut body oil, she got dressed and began working on her hair. Releasing it from her work style of being pinned back into a large bantu knot, she released it. Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled at her shining dark eyes and the excitement she saw in them.

  Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself before getting back to the task at hand. She decided to do an updo twist with long earrings. Spraying herself with her favorite perfume, she put on her three-inch strappy heels and grabbed her bag.

  The bell rang on time and she smiled while slowly walking to answer. Opening the door, she connected gazes with the handsome man on the other side. Slowly, she perused him in dark slacks and cream shirt. His eyes were glowing as he looked her over.

  Lotus stepped back and allowed him inside. Neither spoke as they stared at one another, each lost in their own lascivious thoughts. When his arm slid around her waist and his face was in her neck inhaling, Lotus cradled the back of his head, feeling the soft waves.

  “Are you going to smell me all night?” she asked after a minute.

  “If I move right now, I’m going to have you spread out naked on your bed, lying on your stomach with your ass in the air,” he gritted out.

  Lotus blinked. “Oh, so you just need a minute?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “I really do love your way with words…” she whispered.

  Kent inhaled her scent once again and kissed her neck gently. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  L
otus nodded slowly as he pulled back. “Yes, I’m ready.”

  His eyes covered her from head to toe. “You look absolutely amazing.”

  “Thank you.” Lotus smiled. “So do you.”

  Kent led her out to his waiting car and helped her inside. In the driver’s seat, he began playing some neo-soul that caused her to smile some more. He turned to her with a smile of his own before starting the car.

  Kent began driving and Lotus watched the passing scenery as he kept glancing over at her glistening legs. Licking his lips, he turned back to the road.

  “You like the music?” he asked and she turned to him.

  “It’s perfect.”

  He turned that green gaze on her. “You know what I like?”

  Lotus crossed her legs and turned to him. “What’s that pretty eyes?”

  “I like the way you got all sexy for me,” he said quietly.

  Lotus blinked. “Oh, you think this is for you?” She leaned back in her seat giving him a full view. “Maybe I dress like this all the time when a man takes me out?”

  Kent glanced at her. “Like I said, I like the way you got all sexy for me.”

  “Your Momma spoiled you so bad,” Lotus commented.

  “Nah, she didn’t.” He told her. “My Momma stayed on my ass.”

  “’Cause you were probably bad as hell.”

  He smiled. “I was.”

  “You still are.”

  Kent reached over and placed a large hand on her warm thigh. “If you knew what I was thinking right now, you’d jump out of this car while it’s moving.”

  “I ain’t scurred,” she whispered.

  He slid his hand higher up her crossed legs. “You don’t have to be.”

  Lotus separated her thighs and looked at him. He lifted a brow and asked, “You want me to pull over?”

  Lotus leaned over the console and kissed his jaw. “I want you…period.”

  Kent removed his hand then concentrated on driving and not crashing the car. Having Lotus look and talk to him this way had his mind some kind of way. He was the king of sexy comeback lines and innuendos, but Lotus had him tongue tied.

  When she turned those big dark eyes and sexy dimples on him, all the blood rushed from his head to another part of his body, below his neck but above his waist. Her scent along with the slow mellow groove that was playing inside the car had his thoughts all scrambled. He didn’t understand how she made him feel this way and always had in her presence.

  “Don’t try to figure it out,” Lotus told him. “It’s the universal chemistry when twin flames connect.”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “We’re twin flames, that’s why you’re the one in my visions,” she explained.

  “Are you serious right now?” Kent asked glancing at her.

  Lotus nodded. “Yes, you want me to explain it?”

  “Please…”

  “There are soulmates and there are twin flames. A soulmate is someone you are close to at a soul level. Soulmates can be a parent, a spouse, a best friend, or a sibling. It’s someone that you have a deep love for, and there’s a spiritual bond that sets them apart from the superficiality of most other people in your life. Soulmates are ones who are very like us in frequency makeup.”

  He nodded. “So like me and Trent?”

  She agreed. “Exactly, and like me and my Momma.”

  Kent kept driving to their destination. “So what’s a twin flame?”

  Lotus smiled. “All other relationships through all our lives could be said to be "practice" for the twin, the ultimate relationship, because you only get one.”

  She reached for his hand. “Your twin flame is literally the other half of your soul.”

  Kent gently squeezed her hand as she continued. “A twin flame couple is more intense than any other union and it’s the strongest attraction of spirit and physical.”

  Lotus covered their joined hands with her free hand. “In the presence of your twin, there is nothing between you, nothing blocking your closeness, because it is a divine love.”

  Kent steered the car into a parking garage to a reserved spot. Removing his hand from hers, he parked and shut the engine before turning to her. “That explains a lot.”

  “Like what?” Lotus asked in curiosity.

  His eyes held hers. “I’ve been with a lot of beautiful women…”

  Lotus frowned. “I know.”

  Kent again reached for her hand. “No, listen…I’ve been with beautiful women who I’ve never thought about again, but the one beautiful woman who I’d never even really kissed, she scared the hell out of me.”

  “I could never understand it,” he continued. “And when I saw you with Kyle, I wanted to beat the shit out of him.”

  Lotus nodded. “You were jealous,” she translated.

  “But it was stupid, because you weren’t even my woman.”

  She touched his lightly bearded jaw. “But I was…”

  He paused for a moment. “That’s how I felt, like you were supposed to be with me but then you looked at me like you couldn’t stand me,” he pointed out.

  “No, I just didn’t fall at your feet.” Lotus shook her head and removed her hand. “Because you had to come to me on your own.”

  Kent studied her face in the interior of the car. “You didn’t want me to be your twin flame.”

  Lotus smiled softly. “No, I didn’t, because even with these pretty eyes and that sexy body, I don’t want a savage. Even now, I’m taking it one day at a time.”

  “You might eventually wake up from the spell I’ve put on you,” she finished showing her dimples.

  He touched the indentation that drove him crazy. “If you have put a spell on me, I don’t think I ever want to wake up.”

  Lotus moved closer. “I think you like me,” she whispered.

  Kent met her half way and kissed her gently. “I liked you when I was seventeen,” he said against her mouth. “I’m not seventeen anymore.”

  He released his seatbelt and then hers before pulling her across the seat onto his lap. Her mouth became his playground as he demonstrated that he was indeed now a grown ass man.

  Lotus relaxed in his strong arms, giving in to his heated exploration of her lips and tongue. When he gathered her closer, she wrapped him in her arms and together they created the heat of twin flames until neither could breathe.

  With a hand up her dress, Lotus tried to regain her breathing while deep green eyes continued to hypnotize her. “Can I show you how much I more than like you?” he asked softly.

  “I’d like to see that.”

  He smiled and moved her back to her seat. Lotus fixed her clothing while Kent exited the car then came around to open the door for her.

  Sliding out of the vehicle, Lotus took his offered hand and stood to face him then slowly looked around the parking garage.

  “Where are we?” she asked as he slipped an arm around her waist.

  “My place.”

  Lotus froze. “Our date is at your place?”

  He nodded and continued to guide her away from the car.

  “I’m really going to have to help you work on your game,” she told him as they neared the entrance.

  Kent grinned. “Nah, it’s straight.”

  Lotus shook her head as she followed him inside. Her heart began to sink as she thought of Kent’s actions. His words seemed to give the impression that he was moving in the right direction, then he did something like take her to his apartment for their first date, probably like every other woman he dated. She frowned as she looked straight ahead.

  Although she wanted her honey pot stirred more than anything right now, this just wasn’t the way she’d thought it would all go down her first time. She’d imagined candlelight and soft music, sweet words and soft touches that would eventually lead into head banging sexual activity.

  Kent carefully watched her emotions play across her face as they entered the elevator. “You told me that I hadn’t invited you here,�
�� he reminded.

  She glanced up at him. “I remember.”

  When they arrived at the top floor, Kent showed her to the door. Lotus quietly took in the professionally designed décor as they walked down a long hall. Kent unlocked the door then stepped back to allow her inside.

  After the door closed, Lotus found her back pressed against it with a warm, hard body attached to hers. A hot mouth followed before she could say a word. The hands on her waist held her firmly in place as the gentle assault continued.

  “If I’m the one, you’re going to have to start giving me more credit,” Kent told her softly, looking down into her face.

  “Credit for what?”

  “For knowing how to make a woman happy outside of the bed.”

  Lotus inhaled and smelled a delicious aroma. “I want you to show me.”

  “I’m going to expect a sincere apology,” he told her.

  The scent hit her nose again as she held his gaze. “We’ll see.”

  Kent stepped away and took her hand. “Come eat your crow.”

  Lotus looked around as he led her into the luxury apartment. Inside, a living room that had floor to ceiling windows caused her eyes to widen. A white leather sofa and chair along with decorative lamps and tables filled the space, and a large fluffy rug covered a portion of the gleaming hardwoods.

  She turned to Kent as he reached for her bag and sat it on the sofa then grabbed a remote on the table. With the push of a button, Maxwell’s mellow smooth filled the room. Lotus lifted a brow and he smiled at her. “Oh yeah, little Momma…get it right.”

  She followed as he led her into a dining room where a table was set for two complete with candles and a centerpiece of colorful lotus flowers floating in water. Lotus lifted a hand to her mouth as she contained a gasp. “Don’t get quiet on me now,” Kent taunted.

  Stepping behind her, Kent placed his hands on her waist and guided her to the kitchen, which was a chef’s dream with gleaming white cabinets and Carrara marble countertops. The professional silver pots and pans on the six burner stove gave off the incredible aromas as the surround sound continue to play the song.

  After taking in all the aesthetics of the beautiful kitchen, Lotus turned to him. “This is beautiful. Your entire place is incredible.”

  “Why you look surprised?” he asked frowning.