by Marks, Teir
“I’m sorry you were put through that.” He apologized once they had pulled away.
Maleiha smiled at him. She was honestly fine because she had known he wouldn't let anything happen to her. “Then take me home and apologize to me for the rest of the night.”
Grae bit his bottom lip before starting the car. “That, I can do.”
Maleiha leaned back in her seat as they started on their way home. Deciding that she would deal with her job in the morning.
12
Synn sat in his workshop, putting the final touches on the handle of the last knife he had made. The only thing left to do was to sharpen them. It was a set of four, and he had made them as a birthday present for Kylen. His youngest sibling’s birthday was around the corner, and he honestly hadn’t been sure if he would get them done in time with everything else that needed his attention. However, he had and with a couple of weeks to spare.
Though they weren’t on the best of terms, he was still his baby brother, and he wasn’t going to not give him something he had been working on for a while for him.
They weren’t planning anything significant for his birthday. After all, he was just turning twenty, but Synn figured he would at least want to go out.
Taking out his sharpening block, he was just about to start on the first knife when there was a knock at his workshop door before it open. He slowly began to sharpen the blade as Nyela came into view beside him. She rest her hip against the side of the table as she watched him.
“Those are nice.” She stated, and Synn hummed in acknowledgment. “Are they for me?”
“No.” He told her simply.
She moved around behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders, beginning to massage them slowly. “Whatever. Who are they for then?”
“Kylen.” When she didn’t say anything, he spoke again. “Do you want a set?”
“Not if they’re going to look like his.”
Synn paused in what he was doing for a moment and rolled his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder at her and lifted a brow.
“What? I’m just saying.”
Synn shook his head and went back to what he was doing — concentrating on getting the knife sharpened to his standards. He felt her hands slide down his chest as she rested her chin on his shoulder. He had first thought that she had come in for a reason, because she wanted something. Now, he knew that she just wanted to be where he was.
As tough as she acted, she was like any other human being, wanting and craving the affection of others. She just wanted to be in his space. Placing the knife aside, he pulled her around to sit in his lap. When she was, he picked the tools up again and handed them to her. He figured they could spend time together, and he could show her how he made some of his weapons, what he found so serene about the process.
“You don’t expect me to work on something for that little bastard of a brother of yours, right?”
“He’s still my brother. Regardless of whatever the two of you have going on.” Synn told her, taking the knife for Kylen out of her hand, and picking up a different one.
He hadn’t made it for anyone in particular. He simply figured he would spend some time working on a few different weapons while he worked on his youngest sibling’s, and this knife had been a product of that.
Synn handed it to her, and once she had it securely in her hands, he placed his over hers’. Slowly, he began to guide her hand as they started to sharpen the knife. It was the final process needing to be done.
He could tell by the way she followed his lead easily that it wasn’t her first time sharpening a knife, and he wasn’t surprised by that fact with her line of work. He did notice, however, that the way she had been sharpening them, was used to doing it, was incorrect.
It didn’t take much on his part to notice the way her hand tried to move slightly from the position he had it in. It was a learned behavior. One that she’d had for a long time, and he knew it could have only stemmed from the way she was used to doing it.
When they passed over it a particular time, she veered back into the incorrect motion, and Synn was surprised that she hadn’t cut her finger.
“You keep trying to do it that way, and you're going to cut yourself,” Synn whispered in her ear, his lips brushing it lightly.
“You keep whispering in my ear like that, and I’m going to ride something.” She retorted, and Synn snorted before smirking to himself.
When they finished with the knife, he slid it into the sheathed he’d made for it. Once he had set it aside on the table, she turned in his lap to straddle him.
“You don’t have plans tonight, right?”
Synn raised a brow at her. “Why?”
“I wanted to go out.”
“Me having plans shouldn’t stop you from going out.” He was teasing her, of course. He knew what she meant. She glared at him, and he decided to stop. “I know what you mean. I don’t have plans.”
And if he did, he had no problems canceling them to spend time with her. Unless, of course, it was something he needed to do with his siblings that would, in turn, keep her safe.
“What did you want to do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe just go out somewhere. Spend some time together, just the two of us outside of the house.”
“Alright. Go get ready.”
She nodded at him, moving to stand, but Synn placed his hands on her waist, pulling her back down. He leaned in and kissed her before taking her lower lip in between his teeth.
“Are you trying to make us stay in?” Nyela questioned before running her tongue along his bottom lip. “Because the only thing we’ll be doing is each other if you kiss me like that again.”
Synn smirked at her. “No. You wanted to go out, so we’re going. Besides, I can do you anywhere.” He responded, flicking his tongue against her lip. He then released her waist, tapping her thigh.
She slowly rose from his lap, and Synn watched her until he couldn’t see her in his peripheral as she walked away.
Ashton had just stepped out of the shower and was wrapping a towel around his waist when he thought he heard his name being called. He had spent the past several hours in the basement training. Strengthening his stamina and hitting the punching bag. He stilled for a moment and listened. When he didn’t hear anything, he went about putting his deodorant on.
“Ashton!”
That time, there was no mistaking that his name was being called, and it sounded like it was his little vixen. A minute later, she stepped into the bathroom, and she didn’t look happy at all.
“What’s wrong, baby?” He questioned, turning to look at her.
She didn’t say anything for a few seconds as her eyes roamed over him. He found it a bit amusing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him naked before. He didn’t say anything. No, he merely let her molest him with her eyes. After all, he was hers, and he was content to let her continue until she was ready to tell him what she was upset about.
Ashton saw the moment she shook herself mentally and came back to what she had initially sought him out for.
“We need to talk.”
He raised a brow at her as he headed towards her. “You’re not leaving me.” He told her bluntly, leaving no room for argument before bypassing her and heading back into their bedroom.
He didn’t know what the fuck she thought this was, but when someone uttered the fateful phrase “we need to talk”, it was seldom met with any good news and usually resulted in people breaking up.
“Leaving you?” She questioned. “Why would I do that? Unless you did something stupid.” She concluded in an accusatory tone.
“Depends on what you thought was stupid,” Ashton responded as he pulled a pair of boxers from his drawer. “Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”
She didn’t say anything right away, and he figured it was because he’d removed his towel to pull his boxer’s on.
“Are you going to tell me or keep staring at my dick?”
He watch
ed as she rolled her eyes before going and sitting at the end of the bed. “You have to get rid of Donnie.” She told him.
Ashton rubbed his chin. “In what sense?”
She furrowed her brow at him. “In the sense that you make him go away.”
Nodding, he made his way over to the closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and putting them on before going to the dresser and grabbing a t-shirt. He pulled on his socks and shoes before putting lotion on his arms and face. He pulled a hat on and grabbed his gun.
“What are you doing with that?” Korrae questioned him, surprised.
He raised a brow at her. “You said you wanted me to get rid of Donnie.” He told her, and he watched in amusement while her eyes grew large.
“Not like that!”
“I asked in what sense.”
“Well, I didn’t mean kill him. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Ashton began to chuckle as he placed the gun back in the drawer. “I know you didn’t, Vixen, but I couldn’t let the opportunity to tease you pass me by.”
“You’re so annoying sometimes. You can’t go around killing people because I said get rid of them.”
He shrugged. “I really can.”
“You don’t even know why I want him gone. From the shop that is.”
“Doesn’t matter. You want him gone; I’ll take care of it. In whatever sense that may entail.”
“You don’t have to kill for me, Ashton.”
He made his way over to her leaning down, placing his hands on the bed on either side of her. “But I would.” He told her before pecking her on the lips.
“Well, there’s no need. Especially if I just want them out of my personal space.”
“Fine. I won’t dispose of anyone you want out of your space unless you specifically tell me that’s what you want and in return, you will never start another conversation with we need to talk.”
“You never know.” She told him. “There may be a time when I start a conversation like that, and it goes in that very direction.”
Ashton placed one of his hands around her throat and pushed her backward until she was lying down. He hovered over her.
“You’re not fucking leaving me. So, don’t ever say that shit again.”
Her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip, and then she smirked at him. Shaking his head, he let her go. She’d done it on purpose. Just to rile him up a bit. He supposed it was payback for what he had done to her a few moments before.
Ashton stood straight up and backed away as she sat up, a smirk still in place on her face. He lifted a brow before turning and making his way to his dresser to choose a watch. A few seconds later, her arms came around him as she rest her head on his back.
“I was only kidding. I don’t plan on leaving you.” She paused for a minute. “Even if you do get on my nerves.”
“Likewise, baby.” He responded. Almost instantly, he felt her bite him.
“Don’t be an asshole.” She scolded.
Ashton snorted. “You called me annoying and then told me I got on your nerves. Yet, I’m the asshole.”
“Yes.”
“If you say so.”
They were silent for a moment as they stood there. Him putting on his watch and her simply being in his space.
“We need to tal…”
“What did I just say?” He questioned, cutting her off as she began to giggle.
“Fine. We need to have a discussion.”
Ashton turned around, causing her to remove her arms from around him. He leaned down and picked her up before going over and tossing her on the bed. She was playing with him. He was all too aware. He honestly enjoyed that side of her. She was becoming more comfortable every day, and that was all he wanted from her. She laughed even more as she bounced against the bed.
“Seriously, though.” She stated when she stopped laughing. “My parents, my mom, more specifically, would like to meet you.”
She seemed a bit nervous to be telling him this, and he figured she hadn’t taken anyone home to meet her parents in a while.
“That’s fine, Vixen. Just say when. We can take them out to dinner.” He then looked down at his watch. “I have to go take care of some things, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and we can do something.”
Ashton watched her nod before he turned to leave, only to have her grab the back of his shirt. He smirked to himself before turning around, raising a brow at her. Though he knew exactly what she wanted. She glared at him, and he gave in, leaning down to kiss her.
When she let his shirt go, he pulled away from the kiss before heading out of the bedroom — deciding that the something he wanted to do later was her.
Maleiha made her way through the front door after twelve hours of volunteering at one of the clinics in town. She was exhausted beyond belief, but she’d enjoyed helping out. She was making her way past the living room when she saw Grae sitting on the couch, texting. The television was going, but he wasn’t watching it.
Making her way into the living room, she climbed into his lap, forcing him to stop texting for a moment. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before his arms encircled her, and he was texting again.
“How was your day volunteering?”
“It was good.” She responded as she lay her head on his shoulder. “What did you do all day?”
“Nothing too major.”
Maleiha could feel his hands moving and wondered who he was texting because clearly, he was writing a book to them. For a second, she thought about asking, but she had no reason not to trust Grae and decided that it didn’t matter.
It was only a short time later before he stood up with her in his arms and proceeded to make his way out of the living room. He stepped onto the elevator, and she figured he was taking her to their room.
She was proven correct when they stepped off on the third floor, and he headed into their bedroom. He sat her down on the bed before tossing his phone on it and going into the bathroom. Maleiha fell backward on the bed as she heard the water in the bathtub begin to run.
Several minutes later, Grae came back out and pulled her up from the bed. He kissed her on the lips softly before beginning to undress her.
Once Maleiha stood naked in front of him, she watched as he licked his lips before picking her up and carrying her into the bathroom. He gently placed her inside the bathtub.
“I’m sure your day seemed long as hell.” He told her. “Relax, and I’ll go pick up some food.”
“Thank you, baby.”
Maleiha watched him leave before sinking in the tub a bit deeper. The hot water felt good on her body, and she could tell by the wonderful aroma permeating the air that he’d put in some essential oils to help her relax. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. Her man was good to her.
After relaxing for a bit longer, Maleiha washed herself before getting out of the tub. She dried off before wrapping a towel around her waist.
Making her way back into the bedroom, she went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of panties. She pulled them on before going to Grae’s dresser and taking one of his t-shirts, slipping it over her head. She heard a text notification and turned to see where her phone was. It had been in the pocket of her scrubs top when Grae undressed her, but those clothes were no longer on the floor.
She spotted her phone on the bedside table on her side of the bed. When she picked it up, she saw that she didn’t have any text messages. The alert when off again, and she turned her head in the direction of the sound. She saw Grae’s phone on the bed and figured he must have forgotten it when he left.
Picking it up, she saw that he had a text and the contact that appeared read, First Love.
Maleiha put the phone back down as her heartbeat accelerated, but she told herself to calm down. There was no need for her to jump to conclusions and think the worse. She shouldn’t have been snooping through his phone. Well, not necessarily through, but close enough.
She found herself at the end of the
bed, pacing back and forth. That’s where she was when Grae walked into the room with a bag of Italian food.
“Damn. I was trying to make it back before you got out, but traffic was crazy.” He told her, walking over and kissing her forehead.
“It’s…it’s fine. Grae, can I ask you something?”
It must have been her tone of voice when she asked him that because he placed the bag on the side table and turned to her, his brow furrowed.
“You can always ask me anything, Beauty. What is it?”
Maleiha bit the inside of her jaw briefly. “You left your phone here, and you got a text. I…I didn’t go through your phone or anything, but the contact name said, First Love.”
She knew that most men in this situation would get upset and try to turn the tables around on her. However, she knew that her man was not most men. So, she was not at all shocked when that wasn’t the reaction she got. Instead, he sat on the bed and pulled her into his lap.
“You should have just gone through it, Beauty. I have nothing to hide from you, and you should know that. I don’t even have a lock on my phone.”
“I do know that.”
“Good. I need to know that you trust me. I’m not going to lie and tell you that women don’t shoot their shots, because they do. I just block those shots.”
Maleiha nodded her head. “Okay. So, then who’s texting you?”
She watched as Grae picked up the phone and handed it to her. She tapped on the message, and when it opened, she glanced at him.
“Read it.”
Maleiha did as he requested. It only took a couple of messages, and she stopped reading. It was painfully clear that he had been texting his mother. Placing the phone back on the bed, she exhaled.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Grae questioned. “You had every right to wonder, but you own every part of me. Everything I am is yours, and I have no intention of giving it to anyone else. Hell, you practically walk around with my dick in your purse.”
At that, Maleiha began to laugh. “Shut up.” She told him through her laughter.
