It took her a minute to get the feel of Luke out of her mind. As delightful as his meat felt between her legs, there was something about the look in his eyes that caused her to proceed cautiously. But good lord, there was no way she could leave without getting a piece of him. It would be a disservice to her body if she was to leave that untouched. And she was not in the habit of denying her body pleasure. Clearing her mind, Sasha settled down and began reading the documents before her.
A few hours into her review of the documents Sasha was sure they did not originate from the Middle East. Even the note from the man who was trying to warn Luke was not connected to that region.
“Luke,” she called out with one of the documents in her hand.
He appeared in the doorway just as she yawned. “You’ve been at it for a couple of hours. Why don’t you take a break?”
Sasha nodded then spoke. “I will, but I need you to take a look at this.” She handed him a document. “This was the note that was put under your hotel room door. And this one,” she gave him another document, “was written by the same person.”
Luke looked at the two documents. “They look like the same handwriting,” he glanced up at her. “The guy who tried to warn me was involved in whatever this is?”
“According to what I read it appears he was working for whomever is planning this revenge.”
“Revenge?” Luke glared at her. “Revenge for what and against who?”
“That I don’t know, but the word revenge appears in every document I’ve reviewed so far.”
“Did you get anything else from the documents that could tell us what this is all about?”
“Just that the name Koboo has showed up a few times.” Sasha yawned.
Luke checked his watch. “It’s after two in the morning. You’ve been looking at those documents for a few hours. Do I need to get you back to Monique’s place?”
“No. You said you have bedrooms upstairs?”
“A number of them.”
She glanced around. “I’ve barely touched half the documents in the first box.” Sasha yawned again. “They seem to be the results of tracking an individual. Unfortunately, just as I felt I was getting somewhere, my eyes began to blur. I need to close them a while.”
“Come with me. A few hours of shut eye and some food for your soul will help.”
“I’ll take you up on that. Show me the way.”
She walked out of the office and was surprised to see a number of people at the monitors. “When did they come in and who are they?”
“People who work for me,” he replied as he guided her away from the room.
“I must have really been caught up. I did not see any of them come into the room.”
“They are trained not to be heard or seen.” Luke replied as they reached the elevator. He pushed the up button. “Do you want to eat before going to sleep?”
“Is something already prepared? There is no way I will keep my eyes open to cook.”
“When I realized you were going to be here for a while, I prepared a little something.”
The elevator door slid open and they stepped in. “You look good, feel good, and can cook?” Sasha stood against the back wall and laid her head back, then closed her eyes.
Luke smiled. “Sally taught all of us to cook.”
Sasha opened one eye to peek at him. “Sally?”
“My mother,” Luke replied as the elevator ascended.
She nodded as if in understanding, then closed her eyes again. “Is Sally her name or is that just what you call her with all the clandestine stuff swirling around?”
“Her name is Sally and before you ask we all call her that out of respect. Yes, she is our mother, but she is so much more. Sally is an amazing woman.”
Sasha smiled. “You sound like you admire her.”
“I do,” the elevator door opened. “Sally impacts all our lives in ways you would not believe.”
“Yes, well,” Sasha responded as she stepped out of the elevator then turned back to him. “My mother had an impact on my life too, but I can’t say I admire her for it.”
Luke turned her in the direction of his kitchen. “I take it you are referring to the situation with your father?”
She glared over her shoulder. “I see you have done your homework on me.”
Luke smirked. “Do you think you would be in my home if I had not? No one enters my home who has not been fully vetted. Even if you were recommended by someone I trust.”
“I see,” she nodded then continued walking. “You may have completed your vetting process, but trust me, you do not want to get into my psyche as it relates to the relationship with my mother.” She stopped as she glanced to her right. “Oh my goodness. Look at all these books,” she walked towards the double open doors that led to his library.
The wall was lined with bookshelves on both sides of the room. They were thick cherrywood built-ins loaded with books from the floor to the ceiling. The entire back wall was framed decorative pane glass with the design of a tree with branches. She walked into the room then stopped in front of the window.
“This is beautiful. Its looks like a design of some type. What does it represent?”
Luke was standing in the doorway with his legs braced apart as she walked around the room. Most people did not pay attention to the design when they were in the room. They would comment on the colors or design. However, if you looked closer and were observant you would see the statement that was made. The design represented the core of him. The way she was examining the design made him wonder if she would see the importance of the design.
He watched as she walked backwards tilting her head left and right. She stopped right in front of him. Her back was to him when she spoke.
“Is Joe your father?”
Surprised at the question, Luke nodded. “Yes.”
“Sally is on the bark with him. There are two sets of twins,” she tilted her head to the left. “Opal and Timothy.” Her head tilted to the right. “Jade and Adam.” She straightened then looked straight into the design. “Sapphire is the baby. Samuel, Joshua, Ruby, Pearl, Diamond, Matthew, and Luke.” She turned and smiled at him. “It’s a family tree. How ingenious. How beautifully ingenious.”
Luke was in awe. “You get it,” he smiled down at her. “You actually get it.”
Sasha turned to face him and smiled. “I’m good at reading between the lines, Mr. Lassiter. That’s why I’m here.” She turned back to the window. “You love your family. You recognize the strength of your parents in each of your siblings’ lives. I think it is wonderful.” She turned back, “Unfortunately, my eyes are too tired to look deeper.”
They walked out of the library, back into the foyer where they had entered. To the right was the kitchen with a huge family room and a fireplace on both sides of the room.
“Wow, I bet this is great at Christmas.” She chuckled.
Luke glanced around smiling. “I think so. When it’s my turn to host everyone for Christmas, this room will be packed with my brothers and sisters and their children.”
“Do all of your siblings have children?”
“No. Samuel, Ruby, Joshua, Pearl and Diamond have children. The twins Opal and Timothy just got married. Adam is married, but no children for any of them yet.”
“Matthew, Jade, Sapphire and you are the single ones?”
“For now,” he smiled down at her. “Matthew and Phire are in serious relationships leaving Jade and I as the last of the single Lassiters.”
“Only two of out of twelve are single?” She looked at him surprised.
“Just the two of us,” Luke smiled. “All the others have found that love of a lifetime and are very happy.”
She huffed. “Love of a lifetime. You think something like that exists?”
“My parents are about to celebrate forty years of marriage. They love each other and act as if they are still boyfriend and girlfriend. Yes, I do believe it exists.”
“I haven’t seen it.”
Luke frowned. “No one in your family has experienced love?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Wait, JD and Tracy are the perfect example of a loving couple.”
“Maybe, but I just met them. I haven’t witnessed that eternal love you’re talking about between them. Al and Ryan seem to be happy, but I don’t know how long that has been going on or how long it will last.”
“So your mother never married?”
Sasha laughed out loud. “Yeah, it’s time for me to close my eyes. Whoever did your vetting missed a huge part of my life.”
Looking into her eyes, he could see her eyes were tired. He also saw a longing for something in them. For a fleeting moment, Luke had to wonder if she was there for something more than deciphering the documents.
“Let me get you into bed.”
“Hmm, that’s a good thought, but I need to sleep. If I get into your bed right now, you will not get the best that I have to offer.”
My bed? Luke smiled at the thought. Out of the eleven bedrooms in his house, eight of them were suites. He could put her in any one of those rooms and she would be more than comfortable.
“Did I say something wrong?”
Luke continued to stare at her. “No,” then took her hand. “You misunderstood my meaning. You are going to bed to sleep. I will discover all you have to offer later.”
“Promises, promises,” Sasha smiled as he guided her to the staircase.
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat before going upstairs?”
“I’ll get something when I wake up. Give me an hour or two, then I want to get back into those documents.”
“Do you think you will be able to get information out of them?”
Sasha nodded. “I do. It’s not going to be easy and it may take a while. As soon as I uncover the pattern, things will flow faster.” She looked up at him. “I’m sorry, this process is going to take a while. But I can tell you this,” she said as they reached the landing to the second floor, “Whoever created these documents was very intentionally trying to make it difficult to follow if they got into the wrong hands.”
Luke nodded. “That’s what I was told before. The last person who worked on them examined every document. It took her nearly two months to come up with that same conclusion.”
“I’m not surprised. I have some resources that will help. But until I really get into them, I can’t give you a timeframe.”
“Understood,” Luke opened the entrance to his bedroom. He stepped back and allowed her to walk in. The sitting area had a long sofa and a chair, a coffee table, and a television mounted on the wall. He watched as she walked through the area and beamed with pride when she stepped through the columns.
“Whoa, that’s a big bed.”
Luke laughed. “I’m a big man.”
She looked around. “This is your room?”
“It is. Do you have a problem with that?”
Sasha smiled at him. She took the edge of her sweater then pulled it over her head. Then she stepped out of her jeans. “No problem at all.” Stripped naked, she pulled back the covers and adjusted the pillows. She looked back at him. “Do you mind if I move some of these?”
Luke was stunned silent for a moment before he realized she had said something.
“The pillows, do you mind if I move them?”
He cleared his throat. “I usually throw them to the floor.”
“Oh no, they are too nice for that. I’ll just move them to the side.” She climbed into the bed then pulled the covers over her. “Give me an hour and I will explore that look in your eyes.” With that she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Luke stood there watching her. In his mind he was having an argument with his brain and his head. Get in that, now, his head yelled. Good things come to those who wait, his brain countered. Luke turned then walked out of the room closing the door behind him.
“Damn. I’m done.”