Tameka's Smile

Chapter Eleven

“How long have you known about Momma’s men?” Tameka had dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. They were seated on the bed facing each other, NeeCee with her legs crossed and Tameka’s tucked underneath.

“I didn’t know until you told me,” she replied. “I knew about Daddy’s women because I came home early one day and caught them. He tried to play it off but I’ve never been stupid. I already suspected. I knew Momma liked to party and drink, but she used to keep it away from the house.”

“I think once Momma E. left and you were gone, there was no one to keep things in check.”

Tameka shook her head. “They’re adults. They shouldn’t have to have someone riding herd on them. You and Craig were home. They should have cared enough about the two of you to keep what they doing away from the house. But then, I’ve never noticed either one of them caring about anyone but themselves,” she finished in disgust. It was still a sore spot with her. As a counselor she knew she should let it go, but had never been able to, and definitely not now.

She shoved away the grim thought and focused on her sister. Reaching out, she took hold of the hand NeeCee had resting on her knee and held it between her own, trying to think of a way to say what needed saying without jeopardizing their fragile new accord. Knowing there was no easy way to do this, she took a deep breath and began. “Honey, I would never judge you or the decisions you’ve made in life. Just promise me one thing. Promise me that you’ll be careful. There are so many diseases out there these days. I’d hate to lose you.”

“Believe me, I know, and I don’t do that anymore. Going to Spain was the best thing that could have happened to me. It let me get out and see how other people lived. For a while there were still men, but Momma E. had a long talk with me and helped me put everything in proper perspective. I didn’t need sex for an escape. I had my art and she taught me other coping methods—like keeping a journal—that actually worked. Don’t get me wrong. I still like a good, hard cock, but I’m a lot more selective now about when and where I indulge,” she finished with a laugh.

The relief Tameka felt was tremendous but she downplayed it with a simple smile. “I’m glad. How did you end up in Spain?”

“My art teacher saw some of my doodling and took an interest in me. Convinced me to take art as an elective. I did and I can’t describe how it made me feel, seeing the blank canvas take life before me with something I created.” Her eyes had a faraway look in them, like she was gazing back on the past. “My teacher claimed I was a natural. She pulled some strings and signed me up to go to Madrid as part of the Student Exchange Program. I brushed up on my Spanish and off I went.” Tameka played with NeeCee’s fingers as she tried to figure out what bothered her about NeeCee’s statement. Finally, she asked, “The ISEP costs a lot of money. More than Mom and Dad could afford. How on earth did you manage?”

“Momma E,” came the surprising answer. “I don’t know where she got the money, but when I called and told her about it, she said not to worry. She’d handle it. The rest of the money came from financial aid.”

NeeCee hesitated before continuing slowly. “I always felt guilty about accepting it. I mean, I’m not even her grandchild. It wasn’t right for me to be taking money from her like I was.” She let go of her sister’s hand and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. “Don’t you start with that mess.

Momma E. wouldn’t have given it to you if she didn’t want you to have it. Besides, I’m not so sure she didn’t know about you not being Dad’s. She always said you were too pretty to have come from his loins.”

NeeCee impishly grinned, then burst into laughter. “You’re right. Used to piss him off big time whenever she said it. I had forgotten.”

“Hmm, come to think of it, she also used to say the only worthwhile thing Dad ever did was produce me. Kind of makes me wonder if Craig is Dad’s. There’s a five-year gap between us.

Long enough for Mom to have realized what a screw up Dad is and go looking for someone else.”

“You really think he’s not?” NeeCee looked like the thought never crossed her mind.

She shrugged her shoulders. “With Mom, who knows?” She changed the subject. “So where are you living now? You still painting? How’s it going? Did you bring any of your work with you? I’d love to see some.”

Before NeeCee could answer, a knock sounded at the partially open door. Tameka looked up as the pregnant woman from the shop, Kiesha, stuck her head around the door. “Is it alright to come in? Oh, I didn’t realize you had company. We can come back.”

“No, it’s okay. This is my sister NeeCee.” Kiesha entered the room followed closely by another male that Tameka had never seen before. “NeeCee, Tameka, this is Carol’s mate Mark. He runs the town’s pharmacy. Alex said you had some questions, but I wasn’t aware that your sister was here visiting. We can discuss things another time.”

“If this is about the whole werewolf thing, I already know,” NeeCee informed them. “And, I have a few questions of my own.”

When both pairs of eyes swung to her questioningly, Tameka shrugged. “She’s family. I wasn’t going to hide it from her. Did I break some sort of law?”

Kiesha looked at Mark, who held his hands up. “Don’t ask me. You’re the alpha. It’s your call.”

“Gee, thanks. I can see you’re going to be a lot of help.”

“Hey, you’re the one that decided you’d do a better job than Carol of explaining things. I’m just following your lead, O

Mighty Alpha,” he said laughingly.

Kiesha turned and caught the expression on Tameka’s face before she could erase it. “Sorry. I just don’t understand what this,” she motioned between Mark and Kiesha, “has to do with anything.”

“I’m the one that should be apologizing. You have some legitimate concerns and here we are joking around. Let me explain. I’m not sure how much of our earlier conversation you remember, so if I repeat myself, bear with me. Alex and I are newly mated. Since he’s the pack’s alpha that made me alpha as well. Alex asked Carol to come and speak with you today but when I found out about it, I pulled rank. That’s what Mark is teasing me about. My understanding is that you want to know how life will change now that you’re a shifter, right?” Tameka nodded.

“Carol’s never been human. I felt the two of us would do a better job of explaining things since we’re both the human half of a true mate couple,” Kiesha finished with a smile.

“Makes sense to me,” NeeCee commented.

“So where do you want to start?” Mark questioned.

“First, I think Kiesha should sit down before she falls down.

Is it my imagination or are you bigger now than you were just last week?” The question was too personal to be asking someone she’d just meet but the size of Kiesha’s belly startled it out of her. It was easily twice the size.

Kiesha lowered herself into the seat with a sigh of relief.

“No, you’re not imagining things. This baby is growing by leaps and bounds.”

“Is it a baby? I mean, you guys don’t have puppies, do you?”

“NeeCee!”

“What? Like you weren’t curious?”

The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind until NeeCee mentioned it.

Fortunately Kiesha thought the whole thing was hilarious.

Mark answered while Kiesha composed herself. “We have babies. When they’re first born, they look no different from human.”

“I’m sorry,” Kiesha snickered. “I asked the very same thing when I discovered I was pregnant. You should have seen the look on Alex’s face.”

“How long have you been mated?” Tameka thought that was as good a place to start as any. There was so much she needed to know but now that the opportunity presented itself, her mind was curiously blank.

“For me it’s only been about four months. Maybe I should tell you a bit about my mating experience and Mark can tell you about his. Then you can ask your questions. Will that work?”

“Yes. To be honest, I don’t know what to ask,” she confessed.

“I do,” NeeCee stated.

“But you’re not the one who’s turned into a werewolf,” Meka reminded her sister.

“Shape-shifter,” Mark and Kiesha chorused together.

“Whatever.” She still didn’t know what the big freaking deal was. It was the same thing. “The point is, I’m the one that needs answers.”

“Actually, you both do,” Mark corrected, “though I’m sure my mate would disagree. Ms. Emma carried the gene that allowed her to mate Mr. Ned and now you, her granddaughter, are mated to Chad. There’s a very good chance that NeeCee could be someone’s mate as well. This thing seems to be heredity, carried predominately on the father’s side. Of course, finding one’s true mate occurs so rarely that there’s still a lot we don’t know or understand about the process.” Meka glanced at NeeCee to find her staring at her in a meaningful way. She knew what her sister was thinking. If this thing was passed down through the father, then NeeCee didn’t have anything to worry about.

“What’s wrong?”

Tameka turned at Kiesha’s question. She was debating how to answer without betraying NeeCee’s confidence, when NeeCee revealed in a matter of fact tone of voice, “Meka and I have different fathers.”

“Oh.” Kiesha looked back and forth between her and NeeCee, studying their features closely. “You both must take after your mother because you look a lot alike.” Meka smiled while NeeCee snorted.

Mark ignored her, saying to Tameka, “I can’t say I’m happy to hear that. A lot of our guys are looking for mates and there’s just not enough to go around. It would have been nice if your sister was a match for one of them.”

“Nice for whom?” NeeCee asked, eyebrow arched.

“Uh…” Mark floundered, appearing to be lost for words.

Kiesha started talking, covering his gaffe. “One Friday night, a little over four months ago, I was home in my bed asleep. I woke to find myself hanging from a tree, in the woods, in the middle of the night. I was freezing my butt off with only a nightgown to cover me when five of the biggest wolves I’d ever seen in my life came out of the darkness and sniffed me. Then one of them licked me and nodded his head. The others stepped back. The wolf transformed before my eyes into Alex, my mate. I passed out. When I came to, he told me this incredible story about my being his true mate, the woman he’d been waiting for to complete him. Of course I thought he was crazy. The thing is, I couldn’t explain how I ended up in those woods, three states away from my home. Nor could I doubt the evidence of my own eyes. I’d seen him shift from wolf to man. The part about being his mate took some convincing—frankly I wasn’t looking for a commitment—but I eventually believed him and now I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. We’re getting married in four weeks, even though by shifter standards we already are.

That’s my story.” She leaned back in her chair with a sigh and rubbed her swollen belly, a contented expression on her face.

“Mark, your turn.”

Something Kiesha said tickled at the back of her mind, troubling her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She was still trying to figure it out when Mark began his story, capturing her attention.

“I met Carol while in college, when I was close to completing my degree. I was immediately bowled over. I had to have her. Chased her day and night until she agreed to go out with me. We couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. It was a wonder we both didn’t fail that semester. Then she told me what she was. I thought she was playing games, you know, trying to break things off but didn’t have the guts, so she came up with this bull story…until she shifted. No warning or anything. One minute she was there; the next a wolf. Freaked me out big time, but it proved she was speaking the truth. While I was still coming to terms with what I’d seen, she explained about the mate bond and how it was changing me. All I could think was, I’m changing into that? A monster straight out of a horror movie? That’s what I shouted at her, along with a lot of other things that don’t bear repeating. I stormed out of her apartment and stayed away for a month. I couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was her. How much I wanted, needed, and loved her. It was the last that drove me to her, begging her to forgive me and take me back. The pain I felt when we were apart…I’ve never felt anything like that in my life, and never want to again. I may not be the human I used to be but I wouldn’t revert back even if I could.” When he finished, he pushed his glasses back up on his nose and settled against the dresser, ankles crossed in a relaxed posed.

“What’s this mate bond you keep talking about? And how can you already be married by shifter standards? I don’t understand.” NeeCee asked the very question that was nibbling at the back of Tameka’s mind.

Kiesha and Mark took turns explaining true mates, the mating fever, and how it all culminates into the mate bond.

Tameka slanted a sideways glance at NeeCee to see how she was taking all of this.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t have nothing to do with this, but you better ask your questions quick before I forget this is about you. I have tons more.”

On that note of warning, Tameka asked the first question that came to mind. “Alex said that normally, the change from human to shifter happens gradually over time. What was the first difference you noticed?”

“Oh, God, I’ll never forget. My sense of smell. Alex and I were entering Moe’s Diner for lunch when suddenly, all these scents overwhelmed me. I thought I was going to pass out. If there’d been anything in my stomach, I’m sure I would have puked. It was horrible,” Kiesha stated, a look of remembered distaste on her face.

Mark crossed his arms over his chest, a faraway look on his.

“The thing I remember most is how aggressive I was. I’m normally very laid back. I was challenging everyone about everything. Short-tempered and very territorial. I thought the stress of finals and graduation was getting to me.”

“What about you, Meka? Feeling any different?” NeeCee questioned.

She brought her knee up and rested her chin on it as she thought about it. “No, I feel the same. Nothing’s changed.” In a tone of pure disbelief, Kiesha asked, “You have not noticed any difference?”

“Nada.”

Mark straightened and came over to stand behind Kiesha’s chair, placing his hands on the top. “I have an idea. Let’s try a little experiment.”

“What kind?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing major. I just want you to focus and tell me what you hear.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

She flicked another glance at NeeCee before saying,

“Okay.”

“Remember, concentrate and tell us everything that you hear.”

At first, all she heard were the normal hospital sounds she’d gotten used to. She called them out as she recognized each sound: the woosh and beeps of machinery, carts being pushed down the hall, phones ringing. But as she concentrated, she could hear more—the soft fall of footsteps in the clinic hallways, conversations of clinic staff a good distance away sounding as clear as if they stood right outside the door, and Chad and Bull talking as they entered the automatic doors of the clinic.

“Oh.” The last startled her so bad she returned to herself with a thump, feeling like she’d just had an out-of-body experience. “I don’t understand. Why couldn’t I hear all of that before?”

Mark smiled, seemingly pleased. “You’re automatically tuning it out—turning down the volume, if you prefer. That’s good. Most shifters have to be taught. You’re probably doing the same thing with your sense of smell.”

Tameka decided to test it out. Closing her eyes, she tried to identify the scents around her. She immediately began to gag.

Tameka slapped a hand over her nose as her eyes watered and choked out, “How do I shut it off?”

“First, open your eyes,” Kiesha commanded dryly.

Her eyes popped open to see Kiesha and Mark gazing at her with barely suppressed amusement.

“Loss of sight magnifies your other senses,” Mark added with a chuckle.

“I knew that,” she muttered around her hand as Chad came through the door.

He made a beeline for Tameka, gazing at her in concern as he stopped by her side. “What’s wrong?”

“Meka’s testing her Spidey senses,” NeeCee stated.

“Her what?” Bull asked as he closed the door.

“Still gagging here?” Meka reminded them. The combined scents of antiseptic, hospital waste, and who knew what else were overwhelming. Even the smell of her favorite body lotion on her hand was making her sick.

“Tameka, focus on Chad until all the other scents fade,” Kiesha instructed.

She immediately turned and buried her nose in Chad’s chest. He palmed the back of her head and stroked her back.

“Someone want to tell me what this is all about?”

“We were doing a little experiment to see…” Mark’s voice and the rest of her surroundings faded as Tameka immersed herself in Chad’s heavenly scent. Her hands came up to grasp his butt as she rubbed her nose against him, pushing past his shirt to his skin.

Mmm, good. Mate. Want.

Her nails dug into him, pulling him closer as she crept forward to the edge of the bed. Her nose drifted lower, headed for his crotch where the scent was strongest.

“Meka.” Chad’s hand twisted in her hair, pulling her head up and back.

She growled at him . “Mate. Want. Now.” He got in her face, a concerned look in his eyes. “Control your wolf, babe.”

She lunged up, aiming for his mouth but he jerked away. At the same time, he tightened his grip, restraining her movements.

She snarled and tried to snatch loose. When she came back to herself, Chad had her pinned to the bed, his teeth holding her by the throat and she smelled blood.

“Chad,” she tried to call out, but it emerged as little more than a hoarse whisper.

He must have heard because he licked her neck and then rose until they were face-to-face. His eyes were glowing; his shirt ripped to shreds. Blood dripped from where her nails dug into his shoulders. She lifted her hands and gazed in horror at the red coating her fingertips. “What did I do?”

“Welcome back,” he whispered and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“Chad, answer me. What happened?” The borderline hysteria in her voice caused the glow to dim.

“Your beast came out to play.”

She gazed again at his blood splattered and tattered clothing, not understanding how he could be so calm. She’d attacked him.

NeeCee’s face came into her field of vision. “Yo, Meka.

You okay? Holy shit, her eyes are glowing.”

“NeeCee, stay back. I don’t want to hurt you, too.” What if she lost control again? NeeCee wasn’t a shifter like Chad.

“Baby, I’m fine.”

“How can you say that? I attacked you.” As she spoke, something stirred, deep in her belly. The skin on her body seemed to ripple and she immediately froze. “Did you feel that?

What the hell is it?” she whispered, afraid to speak to loudly as though it might hear her and respond.

Plastered as he was to her from chest to knee, she had no doubt that he’d felt what she did.

“That’s your wolf. It’s responding to your fear. You need to calm down.”

“Calm down? You look like a wild animal clawed you.”

“Here, let me help.” He kissed her, spearing his tongue deep in her mouth.

His taste hit her and she moaned, arching into him as the fear disappeared. Her legs came up to wrap around his waist.

“That’s enough, Chad. If your lust triggers hers, we’ll be right back where we started,” Mark cautioned.

It was then she realized Chad was fiercely aroused. She could smell it rolling off of him, although how she identified the scent was a mystery.

“Chad,” Kiesha growled warningly.

He heeded the alpha’s call, slowly disentangling their mouths. He backed off of the bed and stood, pulling her up with him. Meka’s feet dropped to the floor and she swayed, still unbalanced from the emotional roller coaster she’d ridden. Chad pushed the pillows to the side and sat at the head of the bed, then settled her into the space between his legs, her back against his chest, hips snug against his erection. His arms wrapped around her as he rested his chin on the top of her head, breathing heavy.

Meka felt protected and comforted.

“Wow! That was…um…interesting. What the hell just happened? Why’d she wig out like that?” NeeCee asked.

Meka finally noticed that NeeCee had cleared the bed and was standing at the end behind the dubious protection of the footboard. Bull hovered protectively close behind.

“Let me explain,” Mark began. “Meka’s enhanced hearing and sense of smell is powered by her wolf. When we asked her to tap into it, it stirred her beast. Chad’s return after so long an absence brought her wolf to the surface along with the need to mate.”

“If she wanted to fuck, why did she try to take his head off?”

Meka flinched inwardly at NeeCee’s blunt language, but then the meaning of her words registered. “I tried to rip his head off?”

“Just a little love play,” Chad said soothingly.

She didn’t believe him and it must have showed.

“What you did was totally normal, Meka. Your she-wolf made Chad establish his dominance. It’s something all she-wolves do with their mates,” Mark explained.

Once again NeeCee asked what Meka was thinking. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means her wolf made sure Chad was strong enough to tame it,” Bull entered the conversation.

“By fighting him?” She was so confused.

“By testing him. Think of it this way, Meka. In the wild, female wolves force the male to prove how strong he is before selecting him as a mate. She needs a mate that’s not only a good provider, but one capable of protecting her and their pups. As women we do the same thing. Think about it. When you were dating, how many times have you tested a man by saying or doing something out of character, just to see how he would respond? Would he let you walk all over him or would he put his foot down? Black women in particular tend to be strong. We have to be. That strength is bred into us. And, we desire and search for men just as strong—not to dominate us --but because sometimes we’re weak and we need to know that when our strength fails, our man’s got our back,” Kiesha concluded.

That actually made sense. Tameka had dated some weak men in her life and she’d sent all of them packing. In the human world, the battle of wits and wills was more subtle but no less important. It all boiled down to one question, is this male a worthy mate?

“You’re right. There’s nothing I hate more than a ‘yes’ man.

I get rid of them real quick and in a hurry,” NeeCee stated.

Bull leaned forward and whispered something in her ear that caused her back to stiffen and eyes to narrow. He grinned wickedly and retreated to lean against the door, gazed still glued to NeeCee’s back.

A yawn escaped before Meka could stop it. “Forgive me. I don’t know why I’m suddenly so tired.”

“Don’t apologize. We’re the ones that sorry. You’re still recovering from the coma. Both Carol and Alex instructed us not to linger too long. I guess now is a good time to leave. We can continue this discussion later, after you’ve rested,” Kiesha stated.

“Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. Please, both of you, take some of these flowers with you. There’s no way I can take them all home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll take this one. It’s so pretty. Here, I’ll leave the card with you.” Kiesha selected one of the ones that was delivered recently and set the envelope on the bedside table.

“I’ll have Carol stop by and pick out the one she likes.

She’s the green thumb in our family,” Mark stated.

Bull left his position by the door and walked around, examining the offerings and reading the goodwill cards attached.

“Bull, you can have one, too,” she generously offered. “I had no idea the people around here were this friendly. They don’t even know me.”

“But they know Chad. Most of these are from the pack.

You’re one of us now,” Bull stated as he reinserted on card and pulled out another.

“I should go, too, and let you get some rest,” NeeCee stated after Kiesha and Mark left the room.

Meka was barely listening. Just before the door closed, she’d noticed a man standing in the hallway, right in front of her room. Now that she thought about it, he’d moved out the way, allowing Kiesha and Mark to exist before moving back into position. “Why is there a man standing in front of my door?”

“Rome had Alex put guards on you and NeeCee.” Chad spoke into her ear.

“Guards? Why?” Meka tried to twist around to face him, but he held her tight. Instead, she leaned her head back and looked up.

“Because Psycho Bitch tried to riddle his hide with bullets this morning. You should see his truck,” Bull stated as he moved to a new group of plants.

“What!” Meka was immediately wide awake, tiredness forgotten.

“Thanks, Bull,” was Chad’s dry response.

“Are you hurt? Let me see!”

“Meka, it wasn’t that serious,” he assured her as she struggled, needing to see for herself.

When his arms tightened like bands around her, she ordered, “Release me!”

“I’m okay,” he insisted, but he did as she commanded and with a long-suffering look, allowed her to check him for damage.

“I can understand Meka needing a guard, but why’d this Alex dude stick one on me?” NeeCee questioned.

Bull held up a card. “Take a look at this, Chad.” He turned to NeeCee, “This card is the reason your lovely person is now being protected twenty-four-seven.”

Chad took the note from Bull and read it. “Which plant did this one come out of?”

“The lily by the door,” Meka answered.

“You knew about this and didn’t say anything,” he roared.

“Don’t you raise your voice at me,” she shouted. “I was busy and forgot.” She moved to get off of the bed and he pulled her right back and onto his lap.

“You should have told me. This is important.” He glowered at her. She matched him glare for glare.

“Like your being shot at this morning is important?” Then she smiled sweetly, knowing her eyes glinted dangerously. “It’s almost three and I’m just finding out about it,” she reminded him. “From Bull,” she added pointedly.

NeeCee interrupted their staring contest when she took the card and read it aloud. “The old lady. Her husband. Your animal lover. Who else will you lose? Your sister? Give me what I want!

This woman really has a hard-on for that land. Why don’t you just give it to her—take the money and run?”

“If it were mine, I probably would. No dirt is worth all of this grief.” Then Meka explained about the property belonging to the pack and how she was just the trustee.

“If it’s their land, let them deal with it. You shouldn’t be in the middle of this,” was NeeCee’s response. “It’s not like they’re paying you, are they?”

“No, but they do pay the property taxes and such.”

“Well, duh! It belongs to them. If I were you, I’d pack up and move. Let them handle this mess. Go stay with Chad or something. You two are basically married anyway. Let him provide the roof over your head.”

Meka snapped around to see Chad’s reaction to the news.

“We’re married?” He gazed at her questioningly.

“You didn’t know?”

“Dude, I keep telling you. You gotta hang with the pack more often. What do you think a mate is?” Bull smacked his forehead and hung his head in pretended shame, his cowboy hat held against his chest.

“Married.” If the slowly spreading grin across his face was any indication, Chad was pleased with the news.

“I still want rings and a marriage license,” he told her.

“Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One step at a time, remember?” She broke out into a sweat just thinking about marriage vows.

He stared at her until she began to squirm uncomfortably.

“One step at a time, wife. ”

Meka flinched and turned away just in time to catch NeeCee laughing at her. “Oh, this is rich. A marriage and a family counselor that doesn’t want to be married. If only your patients could hear you now.”

“Shut up, NeeCee,” she grumbled. Meka would be the first to admit she had hang-ups when it came to love and marriage.

Becoming a shifter wasn’t going to magically change that.

“As your husband, I have to agree with my new baby sister-in-law, even if she is a brat…”

“Hey! Watch it, wolf-man. I’m trying to help you,” NeeCee protested.

“…let the pack deal with this. Come live with me until this is over with. Hell, I have money. We can buy our own land and build our own house.”

“I think you staying at your place until this is over is an excellent idea. In fact, NeeCee, you should go home, too. You’ll be safer. What?!” Both NeeCee and Chad were shaking their heads.

“I’m not going anywhere,” NeeCee began.

“I’m your last line of defense, babe. My orders are to protect you and I can’t do that if you’re one place and I’m another,” Chad stated firmly. He had that look in his eyes that said hell would freeze before he changed his mind. That left NeeCee to convince.

“Nin-Nee, please. Go home. As much as I love having you here, I’d rather you be safe.”

“Uh-uh, no doing, so you can quit with the baby names.

Besides, who’s to say this woman won’t just follow me and arrange a little accident once I’m away and supposedly safe? At least here I have protection. If you’re guarding Meka, who’s my guard?”

“Why, darling, I thought you knew. I’ve been ordered to watch your luscious body around the clock, and I’m a stickler for following directions,” Bull informed her with a leer.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you go…?”

“NeeCee!”

“What! He started it,” she grouched.

Meka sighed. “I guess we’ll all be staying at my place. Oh, joy,” she muttered sarcastically.