Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“For what?”
“I want to call Banks and give him enough notice to change his schedule for tomorrow.”
“That’s fair.” I tried not to frown, but it was her fault that I was having a difficult time sharing her with others. However, I wouldn’t complain when she had already made my shattered life whole again.
I nodded. “You can use my phone.”
“Thanks.”
Chapter twenty-five
Lessons from a Black Woman
Moni
The smooth silk of my new robe whispered against my skin. Golden dragons and delicate cherry blossoms decorated the rich blue fabric.
It flowed around me like a river of liquid luxury.
“Do you approve?” I spun around giving Lei a show.
The fabric caught the light and shimmered.
Lei leaned against the doorpost with his arms folded over his chest and a smirk twitching at the corner of his lips. “You look radiant and regal.”
“And do you like your robe?”
He shrugged, looking down at his. It was equally stunning in design but more dragons and in a deep, midnight blue.
My Mountain Master.
The more I was around Lei, the more I understood that he didn’t need finery to command attention; his power and dominance was enough of a cloak, more opulent than anything he could wear.
“This is fine.” Lei shrugged. “But the fact that my father bought it for us, lowers my review.”
Leaving the door post, Lei adjusted the robe on his shoulders and walked over to me.
And for a few seconds, I wondered what Leo had been thinking when he purchased these exquisite robes for us. Perhaps he imagined the intimate moments Lei and I would share, wrapped in such elegance.
Lei stopped in front of me. “What are you thinking about?”
“I was trying to figure out what was on your father’s mind when he bought these.”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Why not?”
“It might scare you.”
“So. . .you know?”
“I have a good guess.”
I grinned. “Then, tell me.”
Lei lifted his hand to my robe and touched the collar. “You’ll regret it.”
“I won’t.” I raised an eyebrow, waiting for his explanation. “Tell me.”
“Hmmm.” He slipped his fingers over a golden dragon on my sleeve, tracing its coils.
Lovely shivers ran up my spine.
“These robes are a tradition in the East. They’re for new couples who are trying to conceive.”
“Uh. . .” I blinked, processing his words. “Trying to have babies?”
A small smile played on his lips. “Yes. The cherry blossoms symbolize new beginnings and fertility, while the golden dragons represent strength and protection.”
“No.”
“Yes.” With delicate tiny strokes, he trailed the cherry blossom tree on the front of my robe. “And the color blue is not because we are in the East.”
“Then, what is it?”
“The color blue. . .well, it’s believed to encourage the birth of a boy.”
I looked down at the rich blue fabric, suddenly seeing it in a new light. “So your father is basically saying. . .get to work on my grandson?”
“Pretty much.”
“Leo Jr?”
Lei frowned. “We are not naming our son after him.”
“We are not even having a discussion about having kids. It’s too soon.”
Lei’s frown turned to a smirk. “Are you sure about that?”
“Very sure.”
He raised his hand to my face and gently caressed my cheek.
I leaned into his touch. “Speaking of that, I’ll need to head back to Glory, get my birth control, and talk to my doctor.”
“There’s a Palace doctor. She will be your new physician.”
“I will still need to go to Glory to—”
“I don’t want you out of the East.”
“Lei, calm the fuck down.”
He brushed his thumb against my chin. “I’m possessive.”
“No shit, but you don’t control my movements.”
“If you leave the Palace, I want to know.”
Now it was my turn to frown.
“But, if you leave the East, it will need to be planned and discussed days before you go.”
“Absolutely not.”
Lei’s eyes darkened, the playful banter draining away. “I am serious.”
“Yeah. I know you are. This is why I’m letting you know that I’m not abiding by that.”
“There are dangers—”
“Bullshit. You’re just worried about other men.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, a Mountain Master warning that I wouldn’t heed.
“I am your partner, Lei, not your prisoner.”
A heavy silence stretched between us.
Lei kept his gaze fixed on me. “My feelings for you are new ones that I have never experienced. I don’t want to lose this, or you when. . .I’ve lost. . .people in the past.”
“Yeah, but. . .your PTSD doesn’t allow you to cage me.”
He blinked. “I don’t think I have PTSD.”
“You saw Chanel dead. You carried her corpse around. If it isn’t PTSD, then it is something.”
He blinked again.
“After all of this—the tea ceremony and battle—we’re going to make sure you talk to someone.”
“You think I need to talk to someone?”
“Lei, we will all need to talk to someone after this.”
Lei’s gaze softened.
“Everyone thinks you’re this solid rock of a man because you’re the Mountain Master, but in the end. . .you are a human with a delicate mind and a shattered heart. And all of that needs to be respected.”