In Love with Ezra (Love Unaccounted Book 2) (47 page)

“Mine,” he grunted, plummeting in me. In fact, I came three times from his deep drives into my core. “Mine!” he’d growl each time I came for him.

No matter how much Ezra had trained my body, in my heart I had my answer from earlier. All of my work of having him see me as more than his sandbox partner had been in vain.

~Lex~

The next morning at the office, there was a knock at my door.

“What’s up, Eddie?” I used the nickname I had for Eduardo.

It was what his family and friends called him, but no one at work. He turned out to be a damn good outreach worker. I’d gone out with him a few evenings when Ezra was away, having nothing better to do with my time. I did it to see what
Christ Cares
encountered at night when trying to offer sexually transmitted disease testing, coats, and food vouchers for those returning for test results from a van that’s tricked out on the inside to resemble a clinic room.

“You funny!” he jeered. “There’s some people downstairs asking for you in the lobby.”

“Oh,” I frowned then quickly remembered the box of sanitary napkins we were donating to a local shelter. The manager of the facility was coming to pick it up. “Oh!” I shrieked louder. “Thanks!”

I jumped from my desk headed out into the hall where the large box was. In my heels, I warily took off down the stairs. I miscounted a step and although I didn’t slip, when I didn’t feel the carpet where I thought the landing was I braced myself, tensing my whole frame as I gripped the box into me too hard. I felt a pinch in my abdomen and that nip knocked me off balance a little.

“Shit!” I cried unexpectedly, but not too loud.

“Oh, sweetheart,” I heard crooned from behind me as hands covered mine and a body provided a break in my fall, though I didn’t need it. “No worries, I got you, baby.” He giggled.

The voice sounded familiar. It was greasy as hell and he wouldn’t let go, even met my ass with his pelvis.

I wiggled out of his hold. When I turned to face him, still holding the box, Wilkinson sported a sleazy, distrustful smile. Any time before being married, I could’ve handled him just as I’d done any other unwanted attention from a man. But this was the man that was the root cause of the current bruises marring my ass and hips. Each time I had them, I relished their aches reminiscing on how they got there. Today, I winced every time I recalled Ezra’s brutal handling of me last night.

“Don’t ever touch me again in your life! Do you understand me?” I spoke through gritted teeth.  

“Hey! Young lady!” A big man in a black suit warned, accent thickly southern. “This is a man of God!”

“What’s going on here?” I shifted with the box in my hands to find Precious, righting her coat on her shoulders.

I shifted again and Wilkinson and I remained silent as he smiled at my glare. I wanted to knock the shit out of him. We stood out in the middle of the main level in the small hall, just before the entrance. He looked to be leaving with Precious, so I begged my temper to ebb.

“Is there a problem?” a familiar rasp sounded.

I didn’t pivot to find him. I’d have much rather disappeared. My heart doubled in speed.

No!

Things went quiet for a while. Dangerous silence answered there
was
a problem. Ezra stepped toward me and removed the box from my death grip. When I saw the beard that covered almost half his face my mouth went dry.

“Oh, that was you, Lex?” Another familiar voice sounded.

“Daddy?” I asked in disbelief.

My father stepped out of the small reception area where there were four waiting chairs and approached us.

“Yeah,” he answered. “If I’da known that was you, I woulda’ been on it! You good?”

From that tone I could tell he’d heard my warning to Wilkinson, who still hadn’t uttered a word. Ezra’s eyes narrowed as he processed what had been said and what hadn’t. I didn’t want a showdown here at work—hell, at all! There was no way I could tell Ezra another man had touched me inappropriately.

“I’m good. I promise!” I tried to convince him…and Ezra.

“Pastor,” black suit spoke. That’s when I realized he was a body guard. “You need to teach your people ‘round here how ta’ respect the collar. This a church business. We ain’t in the streets, now!”

My eyes raced to Ezra’s, wild and ready to explode. An amused smile spread on Ezra’s face.
A pleased one
.

“Yes, in fact, I perhaps should,” he answered peering directly at me. I wanted to exhale my relief. Ezra placed the box on the floor, against the wall then turned to Wilkinson and Precious. “Please…” he shifted out of the path we blocked. “I take it you two were leaving.”

Precious smiled uneasily as she breezed past us. She was uncomfortable. Maybe because she’d been caught by her crush, sneaking out on a date with his enemy. Wilkinson followed Precious sans a smile, and the big guy in black followed him. But my father remained. What was he doing there? This was all too crazy.

Ezra must have had the same question from the way he glared at my father. Rasul straightened his shoulders, a sign of discomfort.

I swallowed my own discomfort. “I was told someone was here for me and assumed it was a work associate.” I couldn’t exactly ask what he was doing here. It would’ve been rude.

My father’s eyes peeled from a waiting Ezra. The tension between these two was so thick you would never know how much I’ve kept them apart. I didn’t understand it.

“I ‘on’t want nothing,” he hissed, tossing out the obvious. “I’m good. I can’t come build wit’ my daughter at her job no more?” He threw Ezra a cold stare with that one.

“Okay…” I said to break that war of bravado.

“You remember Gina daughter, Kema?”

“No?” I felt my face hardened. I didn’t remember
a
Gina.

“From St. Nick, by where the old pub used to be?” Still nothing. “C’mon, man!” he cried frustrated. “The pretty girl…she had a baby not too long ago?”

I continued with my blank face. He was frustrated and if I wasn’t so drawn to his cologne, I would have forgotten Ezra was standing there, listening.

Giving up, he exhaled and turned. “C’mere, baby girl. Let her see you.”

I glanced beyond him, curious about who in the hell he was bringing to my job. I didn’t need this shit! My job was the only good thing I had going on for me. The only thing that separated me from the streets had Ezra and I failed.

Then she came into view, walking slowly as if she were pulling something behind her. It was Kema with little Noel. I hadn’t seen her in what felt like forever.

“Kema!” I yelped. “Oh, my god! He’s getting so big!” I covered my mouth as she picked him up and dumped the baby on her hip. “He walks?”

The sight of them brought about an overwhelming nostalgia. It was my old world…in my new place.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“She got into some trouble and need some help. I ran into her momma and figured you two knew each other, so I brought her here.” My father’s eyes went to Ezra, silently gloating for having a legitimate reason for showing up unannounced.

“Are you okay?” I worried suddenly.

“Yeah,” she gave a sideways smile. It was dry, and not alarming so I was relieved. “But I ain’t got no place to stay no more.”

“Oh.” I sucked in a breath, biting my lip. “Well, you’ve come to the right place, I guess.”

“’Dat’s what I was tryna say!” My father beamed proudly. “Now, I’mma hit these streets. Got shit to do. You good from here, right?” he asked Kema, who smiled and nodded. “You good, Lex?”

“Yeah,” I answered, feeling weird about the question.

“A’ight, I’m out dis bitch,” he murmured before walking out of the lobby.

“I heard you got married and shit,” Kema giggled very girlie-like. “You just disappeared.”

I inhaled while stretching my neck. “I guess I did.” I felt a wave of guilt I didn’t understand. I hadn’t disappeared out of nowhere. The rec’s closing was slow and painful. But I didn’t want to get into that. “Welp, let’s get you upstairs to my office to see what we can do for you.” I turned to find Ezra right on my ass. The man who made it easy for me to disappear. “Oh!”

His smile was disarming, eyes glistening with a softness I forgot he possessed. I also knew it was for Kema’s sake.

I froze.

“Kema, this is—”

“I am Pastor Carmichael, Kema.” Ezra offered his hand. “Welcome to
Christ Cares
,” he rasped professionally with high cheekbones that left me enamored.

“Hi,” Kema returned, bouncing little Noel on her hip.  

I guess that was the mask he wanted to wear for Kema. I was fine with that.

“Alexis, do you mind if I have twenty seconds of your time. I will be leaving soon and would like to share something with you before I do.”

Oh, shit!
I just knew it was about Wilkinson’s ass.

I nodded and held up a finger for Kema to hold on before following Ezra a few feet away, turning a corner. Ezra’s broad shoulders provided privacy in the small area designated for the water cooler.

“I have a youth conference next week in Arizona. It’s been on my calendar for almost a year. We were fortunate to be invited this year to represent
C.O.O.L.J.C
. It’s a multi-denominational Christian event and close to fifteen thousand people are expected to be there. I would like you to attend,” he rasped, voice uncharacteristically uncertain.

My mind took off with his intent. Ezra had never invited me to attend one of his sermons outside of
RSfALC
. After last night, I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to spend additional time with him. Maybe it was best that we had these periods of breaks to manage the explosiveness of our dynamic.

“You’re hesitating.” Gone was the uncertainty and here was the control freak.

“You were harsh last night. You hurt me.” That admission wasn’t planned.

Nonetheless, it was needed. I couldn’t allow what happened to pass without me addressing it. I’d never been at ease at the hands of the beast: he was unpredictable, yet controlled; beyond adventurous, yet tempered. But he’d never been reckless. Last night was about far more than a simple sexual excursion. It was penance.  

Clearly uneasy, Ezra’s eyes shifted in the air as though he was contemplating his next words.

“You were right in assuming my father’s decision to have Seth Wilkinson speak last night in my absence was to spite me. Seth is a member of the BDSM community as well. He was able to sniff out your submissive nature from the audience. I’m sure could even discern your experience, no matter how unwilling it’s been on your behalf. He called you up to the pulpit under the guise of ministering to you, but it was an attempt to seduce you, an age old ploy corrupt members of clergy use regularly to bait vulnerable women. That did not please me.”

My eyes ballooned. I had to rewind. “Your father knows you’re into this?”

“No. Seth and I have a long standing history of being at opposite ends of the table regarding ministry in general. We’ve debated seminary topics for years, in addition to his method of luring women. The real issue began back in my undergrad years regarding a young woman I’d ended a relationship with that he absorbed and had an issue with her fixation with me.” His eyes bounced in mine, imploring me to understand so he wouldn’t have to go into further detail.

“Precious? They’re a couple?” Couldn’t have been with the way she sniffed up Ezra’s ass!

“They’re acquaintances. I suspect they would be more but for Precious’ reluctance.” He took a deep breath, slightly annoyed at the prospect of this conversation, possibly. “Alexis, I’ve been under considerable pressure as of late and the last thing I would endeavor is to mistreat you in any way. I’d like you to accompany me to the conference.”

Stubbornly, I asked, “So is this to keep me away from a rivaling dom?” I gripped my hip, switching stances.

“No. Valentine’s Day is the following Sunday. And although I loathe the practice of traditional romance, I thought this would be a way to participate in the holiday.”

Shit.

When he said things like that—even delivered snarky—his flexibility warmed me, foolishly. 

Ezra was trying to meet me halfway, so to speak. I couldn’t deny the appeal in that.

Exhaling, I broke away from his piercing gaze, rolling my eyes. “Sure. Why not.”

“Very well.” He nodded formally. “I’ll begin the arrangements.”