Before she could say anything Mindy was out of the door.
“Why did she thank me?”
“For staying. I never realized she’d been missing something from her life.”
“A mother?”
Elijah nodded, closing the distance between them. “I’ve given her everything apart from that.”
“Is that how she sees me? As a mother figure?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“I can’t be a mother to her.” In truth Cherry had never had a mother herself.
“You’re doing a damn good job of taking care of her.” He took her hand. “Is all of your stuff here?”
“Yes.” She looked at his hand in hers. “Do all of your women now know you’re taken?”
“Yes.”
“That was a lot of phone calls. Are you sure I’m worth it?”
“Cherry Morgan, are you jealous?”
She tried to pull her hand away, shaking her head. “No, I’m not jealous. What is there to be jealous of?”
Elijah chuckled. “You can lie all you want to, baby. I know jealousy when I see it. I can also tell you that there is no need to be jealous. Those women meant nothing to me.” He kept hold of her hand, refusing to let go.
“I need to go and get breakfast ready.” She also needed to get ready for school.
“Remember who you belong to when you’re in college. I’m going to be late today.”
She stared at him, knowing where he was going. “You’re going to go look for them.”
“I don’t need to look. I’ve already found them.”
“Remember our deal,” she said. The thought of anything happening to him scared her. Elijah kept her and Mindy safe.
“I promise I won’t forget.” He tugged her down onto his lap when she would have walked away.
“You’re not going anywhere yet.” His arms banded around her, holding her tight against him. “Kiss me.”
“Why?”
“Because you want to.”
She stared down at his lips. Cherry wanted to kiss him. Resting her hands on his shoulders, she gripped him tightly as she closed the small distance between them. Pressing her lips against his, she explored his lips tentatively at first, then increased the pressure. Elijah opened his lips, and she slid her tongue into his mouth, moaning as he met her halfway.
He gripped the back of her head, holding her in place as he took over the kiss, deepening his touch.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said.
Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the pleasure of his touch. She forgot everything else and held him tightly.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before he released her. “That’s how I want you to kiss me from now on.”
Her lips tingled from his touch. She nodded her head, unable to argue with him.
“Go. I’ll be down in a moment.”
Cherry got to her feet, heading downstairs into the kitchen. Her heart was pounding. Where Elijah said he only cared about her, Cherry knew she was in love with him.
****
Later that morning Elijah stared at the house the twins shared. They were both mechanics and didn’t have a record to their name. Henry sat beside him, and Caleb was in the back.
“You didn’t have to come,” Elijah said, looking into the back. The whole journey Caleb had tried to talk him out of coming here today. These were the final men he needed to see. He had a deal to stick to. The twins were safe so long as their crime ended with Cherry.
Rubbing at his temples, Elijah waited for the anger to come to him. Nothing happened. She’d not even cared about these two men. The door to the house opened, and he saw two men, identical, carrying out bags of trash. They were laughing at something, and he didn’t know what, nor did he care.
“Shall I turn the car around?” Henry asked.
“No.”
Elijah opened the car door, climbing out of the vehicle. Neither man spotted him. Crossing the road he heard Caleb and Henry climbing out behind him. These two men would easily hurt Cherry. She was so small in comparison to them.
It was a long time ago.
Henry had done a thorough background check on them, and it had come up clean.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Elijah said, stepping in front of the man.
“Hi,” one on the right said.
“Can we help you?” This came from the one on the left.
“Actually, you can. I want to talk to you about a mutual friend, an … acquaintance.”
The left looked him up and down, assessing him. “I doubt we’ve got the same friends in common.”
“Cherry Morgan, she’s our mutual friend.”
Both men knew her, and they remembered her. What surprised Elijah more was the shame on both of their faces.