by Natavia
“Punishment wasn’t good enough for you?” he asked.
“The poison made me really sick at work. I fell asleep in the bathroom on break. Your punishment was the reason for me not returning home yesterday,” I replied.
“Why aren’t you in uniform?” Toyi asked.
“HUSH!” Koja roared at Toyi. He released me and pulled me closer to him. Koja rubbed his face against mine and purred.
“I thought something happened to you. What’s that smell? You smell like another animal,” Koja said. He smelled Eze’s scent on my body.
“I’m fine and a stray dog tried to attack me while walking home,” I lied.
“Toyi, take her upstairs and bathe her. You and Asha will bring food tonight,” Koja said.
“She won’t be punished for not returning home?” Toyi asked.
“She was sick, all is forgiven. Now, do what I say or you’ll be next. We both know you won’t survive a second in the hole,” Koja spat. Toyi grabbed my hand and led me into the house. The other pride members hissed and snarled at me. Asha turned her back when she saw me but I wasn’t surprised anymore. I knew it was only a matter of time before she turned against me, too. Toyi took me to her master bedroom which was bigger than Asha’s. Her tub was big enough to fit three humans. She locked the door and told me to undress.
“I can bathe myself,” I said.
“That’s not what our king demanded,” she replied.
“He’s your king, I don’t bow down to anyone,” I said. Her eyes glowed at me and a low growl escaped her lips. Toyi was a year older than me and was very pretty and shapely. She was smart with technology, especially computers. We were illegal citizens but Toyi gave us fake identities so we could work.
“Why do you give us a hard time, uh? You make Koja upset and he always takes it out on the rest of the pride. I tried to love you like my sister but you just make it so hard,” she said.
“You make it hard on yourself. You can leave and find another pride, but you chose to stay and tolerate Koja. That’s not my problem, that’s yours. You and Asha blame me for falling in love with a lion who only sees y’all as pussy and servants. Again, not my problem,” I replied.
“You sicken me. You talk to us as if you’re not like us! You’re a lion, too, and soon you will be his wife,” she replied.
“I’m not anything like this pride and that’s the issue,” I said. She walked off and went into her bathroom so she could run the water. She tried to help me undress and I pulled away from her.
“I’m fine,” I said.
The water inside the tub was soothing but the bath I had in Camden was better. A smile crept along my face when I thought of the beautiful lost world. Toyi sat on the toilet seat, staring at me.
“Who is he?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I replied.
“The male you are glowing about. Your scent is stronger, I suppose from arousal. Koja thinks it’s because of him, but I know better,” she said.
“Why should I share anything with you?” I replied.
“You don’t have to, I can tell. Your spirit is at peace with whomever he is,” she replied. Toyi’s mother was somewhere in Africa with Koja’s father. Koja’s father killed Toyi’s father and took his pride. Koja split from his father’s pride when he was old enough to be king and took his brothers with him. Koja’s father mated with Toyi’s mother, and because of that, Toyi was kicked out of the pride and forced to be in Koja’s pride. Overall, Koja’s pride was made on bad blood. Too bad Asha didn’t know Koja and his family were trouble when she fell in love.
“My spirit is at peace,” I replied. Toyi picked up my necklace and held it in her hand.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Something you cannot have. I found it while I was cleaning a building,” I replied.
“It suits your character,” she said.
“Let me bathe in peace,” I replied.
Toyi rolled her eyes before she left the bathroom. She wanted a friendship with me but I didn’t feel the same about her. I didn’t trust anyone in the pride.
The necklace around my neck glowed. When I held it up, the eyes in the lion medallion were the same as mine. The medallion was speaking to me. I could sense it wanted me to return to Tiban because that’s where I belonged.
*************
A few hours later, I was dropped off in front of my job by one of the pride members. When I walked into the cleaning agency, the manager called me into her office. She was a short middle-aged Hispanic woman. Her name was Rosara and she was really nice.
“Good afternoon, Sy’noba. How are you feeling?” she asked as she took a seat behind her desk.
“I’m feeling much better, thank you,” I replied.
“Eze Saber is really fond of your work,” she said and I blushed.
“Thank you, I try my best,” I replied.
“Mr. Saber called a few minutes ago. He requested you at his family’s estate. This is very big, Sy’noba, and great for marketing. We can take this business higher once Mr. Saber spreads the word to his friends. I will take you off the other assignments. Here is your new schedule,” she said. She handed me the schedule and I could imagine Eze telling her he needed me around the clock for personal reasons.
“Monday through Saturdays, from eleven in the morning ‘til ten at night. If it’s too much for you, let me know and I can try to arrange something else for you,” Rosara said.
“No, everything is fine. Thank you very much,” I said.
“His assistant will be picking you up shortly. So, how is Mr. Saber’s son, Eze? He’s too young to run that big company. Lucky family, it must be nice to walk away from a billion-dollar company so easily. I heard Mr. Alexander was very sick, poor man,” she said.
Oh, he’s not sick. He’s enjoying his life in Camden, I thought.
“Yes, such a tragedy, but Eze is doing a wonderful job,” I replied. The front door of the office chimed. A familiar scent breezed past my nose and a soft purr escaped my lips. It was Eze. When I walked out of Rosara’s small office, I went into the lobby to greet him. Eze was dressed in a Nike jogging suit and the cologne he wore mixed with his animal’s scent was driving me insane.
“Good afternoon, beautiful,” he greeted me.
I would love to see how your ass looks in those scrubs. I have a feeling you don’t have any panties on, Eze thought.
You’re such a perv, I joked.
Only when it comes to Sy’noba, he thought.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes, but we need to talk about this schedule,” I said and he smirked.
“Can I make the hours longer?” he asked and I playfully pushed him. Rosara walked out of her office to meet Eze.
“Good afternoon. Are you Eze’s assistant?” Rosara asked. It was her first time personally meeting Eze.
“Naw, he was busy so I decided to come down myself. I’m Eze,” he said and held his hand out.
No way this boy is running his father’s company. Why does he have gold on his teeth? And those tattoos on his hands aren’t good for business. My heavens, I hope my son doesn’t see this. He might get more ideas in body art. These kids today don’t value their bodies, Rosara thought.
“Nice to meet you, Eze,” Rosara said.
“Same to you,” Eze replied nonchalantly.
“See you later, Rosara,” I said.
“Have a nice day. Call the office if you need anything,” she replied. Eze held the door open for me on our way out the building.
“You just wanted to see my ass,” I called out to him.
“And what a round nice ass it is. What do you want to do today? I rescheduled my meeting, so I’m all yours,” he said.
“I’m dressed in work clothes,” I replied.
“We can go shopping then,” he said.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. That’s the last thing I need,” I replied.
“Cool, how about we stop by your pride’s house and get yo
ur clothes?” Eze smirked.
“You know that’s trespassing,” I replied and he shrugged his shoulders.
“Your bitch-ass king is the least of my worries. So, tell me where you live or do I have to eat it out of you?” he flirted.
“Ewwww, you’re nasty,” I giggled. “Okay, fine, we can go shopping but only if you take it out of my check,” I said.
“Aight, in that case, I’ll give you a bonus,” he replied.
He opened the door to his black and red sports car. It reminded me of a space ship inside. Eze got in and turned up the radio a little bit and a rap song played talking about hustling and eating pussy. I covered my mouth to keep the giggles in.
“What’s so funny? You ain’t feeling this?” he asked.
“I don’t listen to music but I think this song had a bad influence on you. Do you do anything illegal?” I asked.
“Yeah, but it’s only illegal to humans. I captured endangered animals so they can be bred in exchange for cash. I used to travel a lot, but my father’s business is holding me back. But I’m not complaining because I met you,” he admitted. He stared at me and his eyes changed. Something pulled me closer to him, maybe it was our chemistry. I traced the outline of his full sexy lips and he kissed the palm of my hand.
“You are gonna be mine,” he said when I pulled away from him.
“Not according to Lynx. Speaking of her, what’s the deal between the two of you? My cat is getting impatient with her and her threats,” I replied.
“Me and Lynx view each other differently. I look at her as a friend and she looks at me as a mate,” he said.
“Can you blame her? You take care of her,” I replied.
“Because she doesn’t have anyone, and for a long time, she lived in an orphanage. She has abandonment issues,” he said.
“And jealousy issues,” I replied.
Eze placed his hand on my thigh as he weaved in out of traffic. He put the window down so the spring air could blow through my air. With my eyes closed, I enjoyed the feeling of being free. Eze gave me that feeling, a feeling I didn’t have until I met him. The pride symbolized blood, torture, rage, and death.
Eze took me to the mall and it was my first time there. I tried to avoid busy places as much as I could.
“What kind of clothes and shoes do you like?” Eze asked while we looked around in the women’s department of a store called Saks.
“Soft shoes, like moccasins, which I can make myself. I don’t know much about fashion outside of work clothes,” I replied.
“Hi, can I help you with something?” a woman asked Eze.
“Yeah, can I see these in a size seven and a half?” Eze asked her. She grabbed the expensive heel from him.
“Let me check. Do you need to see anything else?” she asked Eze. He picked up more shoes and handed them to her.
She’s so fuckin’ lucky. I can’t even get my man off the couch to even buy me a pair of slippers, the salesclerk thought when she walked away.
“So, you know my shoe size?” I asked Eze.
“Animal’s intuition is a muthafucka, ain’t it?” he asked.
The salesclerk came back with boxes stacked up in her hands. Eze helped her because she was ready to topple over. When I took a seat, Eze opened the boxes for me.
“These are high,” I said as I stepped into the shoes.
“Walk to the mirror and back,” the salesclerk said. Surprisingly, the heels were like slippers to me.
If a cat can land on two feet, it can walk in heels, Eze thought.
Good point, I said.
After Eze paid for the six pairs of shoes, we headed over to the clothes department.
“Girrrllllllll, let me just ask you this. Who did your sew-in?” a light-skinned salesclerk asked me.
“Sew-in?” I replied.
“Your weave,” she whispered.
“Ohhhh, I see, my parents did it. It’s all natural,” I replied and her mouth hit the floor.
“It’s so beautiful. It reminds me of bohemian curls. Anyways, my name is Evelyn. What can I help you with?” she asked.
“Clothes, I guess. Um nothing too fancy,” I replied.
“Umph, you seem like a tight jeans kinda of girl. We have these cute distress jeans that will look good with a tight-fitting top and stilettos,” she said. Eze told me he was going to find a seat. He was already getting impatient after he suggested we go shopping.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Evelyn asked as she held jeans up to me.
“No, we’re just friends,” I replied and she laughed.
“Honey, that man looks at you like he’s thinking about more than friendship. What size are you?” she asked.
“I don’t really know. I don’t wear jeans, just work pants,” I replied.
“You’re a workaholic, huh? I know the feeling. Since I left my ex-husband, that’s all I do is work. I have two children I have to feed and their daddy ain’t shit but a sperm donor. Do you have kids?” she asked.
“No, not yet. I haven’t thought about kids,” I said.
“Good, enjoy your youth until you meet the right one, but I think you’re a size sixteen. You’re very hippy,” she said. She handed me five pairs of jeans to try on while she searched for tops. Moments later, I was inside the fitting room trying on jeans. Someone knocked on the door and I opened it. Eze stepped into the fitting room with me.
“Naw, I don’t like those,” he said.
“Why? I think they fit very well,” I replied.
“Maybe a little looser,” he said.
I turned around to face the mirror and Eze’s tall frame towered over me. His emerald and gold cat eyes accentuated his rich deep chocolate skin. His thick curly hair reminded me of wool and the hair on his face brought out his rugged but handsome looks. Eze wrapped his thick arms around my hips and leaned down to kiss my neck. He gently bit my neck with his gold canines. My floodgates instantly opened and that throbbing feeling in my center came back again.
“You look good in these jeans but I don’t want nobody else looking,” he whispered in my ear.
“I want them,” I replied and he huffed.
“Aight,” he chuckled.
Evelyn came back while Eze was leaving out of my fitting room. She had a lot of clothes in her hands. I tried on all the clothes but a few things I didn’t like. When we took the clothes to the register, it came up to ten thousand dollars. Eze handed the clerk his card and I didn’t understand why human designers charged so much for their clothes and shoes.
“Thank you,” I said as he placed the bags inside his trunk.
“Anything for a Nubian queen,” he replied then kissed my lips.
After we left the parking lot of the mall, he headed to Saber Estates. Eze played another rap song and the beat was catchy.
“Awww shit, my queen is feeling it,” Eze teased when he caught me bopping my head.
“It’s not all that,” I joked.
“Stop lying, I can hear your thoughts. You’re trying to learn the words,” he chuckled and I playfully pinched him.
“Stay out of my business,” I said.
“It takes practice. I’ll have you going to rap concerts with me in a few weeks. You’ll have fun. It’s time to live, baby,” Eze replied. His energy boosted mine and I wasn’t complaining. I had a feeling something good was going to come out of it.
Lynx
“A re you sure this will work?” I asked David. David was a part of my study group and had a big knack for animals. It was Eze’s idea for me to go to college instead of staying in the house. College turned out to be a good experience. I was popular on campus because of my expensive fashion and sexy attitude the human boys liked.
“Yes, it will. My dad breeds cats all the time. Just don’t give your cat too much because it can be deadly,” he replied. David was giving me a chemical powdered milk that made cats go in heat for breeding purposes. Eze thought I wasn’t mature enough, but I knew how I felt about him. He was the love of my life
and I couldn’t imagine him mating with another female.
“Thank you, David,” I said as I handed him the wad of cash. He stuffed it inside his backpack before he left the library.
