Pride and Consequence (20 page)

Edwina and Tree were waiting patiently outside the office. Tree had told her only that Malik was alive, leaving out the details of his own involvement. Edwina was speechless, absorbing all that had happened. It wasn't until they heard voices raised in anger and the commotion that followed that they intervened.

“Z!” Eddie called, when she and Tree rushed into the room. She reached her stepsister and pulled her away from Malik.

“I hate you!” Zakira shouted, her eyes red from crying. She struggled to break free of Eddie's embrace.

“Z, please,” Eddie whispered, raising her eyes across the room toward Malik. “Honey, come on now. You need to calm down,” she urged, pulling Zakira toward the door.

“You may as well go back to wherever you were,” Zakira advised, her voice hoarse and surprisingly calm, “because you'll never get your hands on me or the business. Never.”

A flash of something uneasy rose in Malik's dark eyes. The dark promise hung in the air like a storm cloud.

Eddie sat the mug of hot tea on the dining table and rubbed her hands together. “I still can't believe it. Are you sure that was really Malik?”

“I'm sure.”

“Well, where's he been all this time?”

“Maybe you should ask your fiancé.”

Eddie's eyes narrowed. “What does Tree know about it?”

Leaning against the kitchen countertop, Zakira folded her hands across her chest. “I'd say he knows a lot, since Malik has been keeping tabs on me through him.”

Edwina shook her head. “Tree wouldn't…he wouldn't put you through this.”

“Yes he would, Eddie,” Zakira hotly corrected. “He'd do anything for Malik.”

Zakira was in a terrible state and Eddie was in no condition to help. She couldn't believe Tree could be so cold, so…dishonest. Especially when he'd come down so hard on her before about not being honest with her feelings.

“Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring you down with me.”

Eddie glanced over at Zakira and smiled at her kind words. “I had to find out sooner or later. Tree never would have told me.”

Zakira shrugged. “He probably would've said it was for your own good that you not know. That's the way Malik feels. It justifies his whole outlook on the situation. God, I feel so stupid!”

Eddie closed her eyes and nodded. She felt exactly the same.

“Of all the…damn crap you've pulled and I've been foolish enough to go along with, man, this has got to be the most idiotic—”

“Tree—”

“What?!”

Malik closed his eyes and massaged the back of his neck. “It's done, so we don't need to be going through this. I can't change what's already happened.”

Tree braced his hands on the desk. They hadn't left the restaurant and were still in the manager's office. “Eddie probably hates me now,” he groaned, his midnight eyes narrowed in anger.

“I'm sorry about that, man.”

“Are you?” Tree asked, turning around to face him. “You know, Malik, if we hadn't been through so much together, I could probably hate you for this.”

“I couldn't blame you,” Malik told him, shoving his hands through his dreadlocks.

Tree brought two fingers to his temple and massaged the ache there. “So, uh, what are your plans now?”

Malik let out a long breath. “I just need her back, Tree.”

“That's not gonna be easy.”

A little smirk pulled at Malik's mouth. “I am the one she was in here beating up.”

Tree shrugged. “She's gotten real tough…and real bitter.”

“I'm not worried about that.” Malik sighed, waving his hand.

“Well, how are you gonna play this?”

“I'm gonna match her.” Malik decided. “I won't back down or quit.”

Tree nodded and smoothed his hand across his wavy, black hair. “Plan on wearing down her defenses?”

“Tree, man, I think it's the only way I'll be able to get her to listen to me.”

“So where are you going now?” Tree asked, watching Malik grab his jacket and head for the door.

Hand poised over the brass doorknob, Malik sent his friend a devilish smile. “I'm going to spend the night with my wife.”

Eddie hated leaving Zakira after all that happened. Unfortunately, her sister's mood was too unbearable. Once she drifted off to sleep, Eddie left. It was quite late when she got back to the hotel. Not wanting to disturb Tree, who was probably asleep, she crept around the suite, shrugging out of her dress, shoes and hose. She was about to tiptoe into the bedroom when one of the living room lamps clicked on.

“Where have you been?”

Eddie shrieked as her hazel eyes slowly adjusted to the light. She saw Tree glaring at her from an armchair in the corner of the room.

“Where have you been?” he repeated, pushing his large frame out of the chair.

“I was…with Zakira,” she finally told him.

Tree walked closer to Eddie, the deep frown etched on his handsome face slowly vanishing. “I figured if you were there, you would've spent the night.”

“Oh, I wanted to,” Eddie quickly assured him, walking into the bedroom to hang her dress. “But she's in such an evil mood, I thought she would prefer being alone.”

Tree ran a large hand across his face and leaned against the dresser. “I guess she'll be that way for a while.”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

Tree's smoldering dark gaze narrowed. “What did you say?”

Eddie finished with her dress and turned to face him. “I said, ‘Thanks to you.'”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Tree pushed himself off the dresser.

Eddie propped a hand on her hip. “You know damn well what it means!”

“Maybe you better explain it to me,” he requested, his voice raspy with anger and frustration.

“Tree, you didn't tell her where Malik was when you knew the entire time. How could you do that? How could you be so cold, so—”

“I had a job to do!”

“Oh, yeah, that's so convenient. Client loyalty. You could've refused, you know?”

The sinister glare on Tree's magnificent features belied the strong emotions coursing through him. Eddie, standing across the room wearing a skimpy, green lace bra and matching panties, both aroused and angered him. He had to shut his eyes against the sensuous image she cast. “Doc, if you think I could turn my back on Malik, you're crazy. We been through so much together. You can't even imagine.”

“And that makes it okay to put Zakira through something so terrible when you had the power to stop it?”

Tree clenched his hand into a large fist, wanting very badly to vent his frustration by hitting something. Preferably Malik. Instead, he decided to drown his sorrows in a glass of something strong and headed to the door. “I need to get out of here,” he mumbled, and stormed past Edwina.

The thick, navy blue comforter and matching satin sheets were tangled across the bed. Zakira had been tossing and turning since she drifted off to sleep an hour earlier.

Finally, her eyes snapped open and she sat up. She groaned and pulled her slender fingers through her tousled mane. Lord, how could things be so stable one minute and totally unglued the next? That morning, all she could think about was beginning a new chapter in her life with the business and…other things. Now, all she could think of was Malik.

When she turned and saw him standing there at the party, she had wanted to scream and run into his arms. He looked so good, so fine…so sexy. It was as though the time without him had never happened…well, almost. When he kissed her, it felt as though her insides had turned into a heavy syrup. She was completely weakened by need. All she wanted him to do was make love to her.

With a sigh, Zakira shook her head and decided to get up. A hot cup of milk would be just the thing to get her back to sleep. Without bothering to turn on the lights, she walked out of the bedroom and headed for the stairs. Over the past couple months, the sounds of New York had grown vaguely comforting. Unfortunately, tonight was no ordinary night.

Zakira reached the bottom of the carpeted staircase and was about to leave the last step when she bumped into something or someone. Her small hands rose instantly and she found herself touching a solid wall of muscle. Instinct told her it was Malik.

Zakira pulled away, as though he burned to touch. “How'd you get in here?”

A deep dimple creased Malik's cheek when he favored her with a roguish smile. “That's my secret,” he teased.

Zakira was not amused. “Yeah, you're good at keeping those, aren't you?” she noted, almost falling when he joined her on the bottom step. His hands closed around her hips and he held her to him.

“Let go,” she insisted, pushing against his chest.

Instead, Malik tightened his grip and lowered his mouth to the side of her neck. “Where are you going?” he murmured.

Zakira closed her eyes and prayed for the strength to resist him. “To the kitchen…for some milk.”

A wicked grin tugged at the seductive curve of Malik's mouth. His hands tightened a bit more around her hips as he towered over her. “You won't be needing it, Zaki,” he assured, lifting her. He took the stairs two at a time.

Instantly, Zakira began to struggle. Her hands were curled into fists and she pounded Malik's chest and back. She fought him all the way to the bedroom. Surprisingly, Malik went directly to the room as though he had been there before. Zakira grasped the lapels of his heavy tan leather jacket when he let her go. As soon as her bare feet touched the carpet, she moved to get past him. He blocked her way. When she tried going around him on the opposite side, he blocked that path, as well.

Frustrated beyond words, Zakira raised her stormy brown eyes to his face. Determined to wipe the smug grin from his face, she laid a cracking slap against his cheek.

The grin disappeared, but Malik was far from discouraged. His unsettling gray stare narrowed and he jerked her against him. She gasped, allowing him the access he wanted. His head dipped and he pushed his tongue deep inside her mouth.

“Mmm…” they both groaned amidst the hard, passionate kiss. Once Malik released her, however, Zakira slapped him again. In response, he pulled her close to punish her with another fiery kiss.

Zakira was weakened by the desire she felt for her husband. Still, she refused to give in so easily. When he released her lips, she poised her hand for yet another blow.

Easily anticipating her next move, Malik brought her hand to his chest. “Stop fighting me,” he whispered against her mouth, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips.

Zakira's long lashes fluttered closed and she practically melted in Malik's embrace. Her lips parted, allowing him entrance to the dark cavern of her mouth. A shiver ran deep through her body and almost caused her legs to buckle beneath her. “Malik, please don't do this to me,” she begged, knowing that if he wouldn't stop, she couldn't.

“Baby, don't ask me that,” he groaned, his fingers already going to the ties of the nightie she wore and tugging them loose. He brushed the silky material from her shoulders and eased the gown down past her breasts. It fell away to pool around her feet.

Zakira cried out softly when Malik lifted her against him and she felt the cool leather next to her bare skin. He carried her to the tangled bed and lowered her to the middle.

For a moment, his gaze simply trailed her body. From her face, his eyes dropped to her chest where he reacquainted himself with the curve and tone of her bosom. His heated gaze was so intense, Zakira became aroused by it.

One finger reached out to trace the shape of her breasts. It dropped into the valley between them and trailed to her navel. Zakira's lashes fluttered madly as she arched her body into the caress.

Malik's own eyes closed when Zakira caught his finger and guided it to the center of her body. He caressed her there gently, his head falling to her chest when he discovered how moist she was.

Zakira's hips began to move erotically. Each stroke of Malik's fingers brought another moan from her mouth.

“Don't stop,” she softly ordered, gasping at the friction of his dreadlocks against her skin.

Malik buried his face between her breasts and inhaled their soft scent. His fingers probed deeper as his lips closed around one firm nipple. His eyes were shut tightly as he savored the taste of her after so long. His tongue swirled around the hard peak, and he suckled as though he were starved.

Zakira, needing to feel his bare skin next to hers, tried to push the jacket from his back. After a moment, Malik cooperated, jerking the coat from his broad shoulders and pulling the stylish fleece sweatshirt over his head. Zakira's eyes widened as she took in the sleek, dark chiseled chest. A soft smile touched her lips as her fingers reached out to trace the unyielding surface.