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“What in the actual fuck, C?!” Rani Nkosi growled.
“Good to see you too, brother,” Kofi Nkosi added.
The men had parted ways for separate journeys to the house. Bach and Saiida quickly arrived where everyone had gathered in the main living room. Saiida had brought along a first aid kit and clothing. She saw to the younger men’s wounds while their older brothers observed with bland expressions as Rani and Kofi groaned in agony while thanking Saiida for her care.
Kofi rested on his side, exposed from hip to upper thigh. Anguish twisted his gorgeous features as he thanked Saiida for her kindness. With the same devilish good looks as his brothers, Rani reclined on an opposing sofa. His head was turned to expose the marks between his collarbone and shoulder.
“Her kindness is surpassed only by her beauty,” Rani said.
“You two realize she’s a scientist?” Chisulo probed. “She recognizes scratches when she sees them.”
“Seriously, Sulo?” Kofi scolded. “You nearly tore Rani’s head off.”
Waving off the argument, Chisulo headed for the inlaid bar across the grand room.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” Bach asked.
“We could ask you two the same,” Rani bit out. “If it wasn’t for Stafa we’d still be in the dark,” like Kofi, he most often preferred using the second half of their eldest brother's name.
Saiida finished up with her nursing efforts then and the guys thanked her with heightened sweetness.
“Explain,” Bach ordered.
Rani and Kofi rolled their eyes as the bruskness resumed. Saiida had moved to a table in a far corner alcove to repack the first aid kit. Bach and Chisulo listened as their younger brothers told them about Mustafa’s directive to meet there- he was on his way back.
“Why does he want you two here?” Chisulo asked.
Now, the younger Nkosi traded uneasy looks. “Aunt Toyin called,” Kofi said. “Asani is dead.”
A hush fell over the room.
“How? When?” Bach asked.
“No idea about either,” Rani said.
“Aunt Toy only said it happened on the job,” Kofi shared.
“What job? With who?” Chisulo asked, folding his arms over the hoody he’d changed into.
Both young men shrugged.
“That was all she could tell us,” Kofi put in. “She said Haddad called her with the news so... maybe he was there.”
A guarded, meaningful look passed between Bach and Chisulo.
“When did Aunt Toy call?” Chisulo asked.
“Mmm...couple days ago, maybe,” Rani looked to Kofi for confirmation. “We were going to see her- to attend the funeral in Simon’s Town when Stafa called and told us to come here.”
“Funeral? They’ve already sent her a body?” Bach queried.
Rani frowned. “Sounded like Haddad was taking care of that,” he shrugged. “It’s weird-Aunt Toy sounded strange...like she was trying to tell us there wasn’t even enough of ‘San left to bury.”
Chisulo put a hand to his brow and turned his back on his brothers.
“What?” Kofi probed.
“What is it you two don’t want us to know?” Rani followed up the question, also noticing Chisulo’s reaction.
“It’s probably best if you guys don’t-”
“Ah, don’t give us that, B!” Rani spat, his slanted dark eyes narrowed. “What are you to really doing up here?”
“Yeah,” Kofi chimed in. “You two clowns are the last to take a vacation out of the clear blue...”
“We aren’t here on holiday, goddammit!” Chisulo snapped. Turning then, he discovered that his little brothers were paying him no mind. It didn’t take long to understand why, as he too lost interest in all else.
Kam arrived in the room and the youngest Nkosi took interest as they both rose to their feet. Saiida smiled at the new arrival and introduced her cousin. Rani and Kofi all but gushed as each vied for the chance to be first to shake Kam’s hand. Concern flashed on Kam’s face when she noticed the injury to Rani’s neck.
“It happened on the way in. It’s just a scratch,” Rani said.
Bach snorted.
“Yeah, it’s nothing major, Kam,” Kofi ignored Bach while lifting the hem of his shirt to display his own wound. “Some bonehead who takes his security detail way too seriously.”
“Chisulo!” Rani coughed out his brother’s name in accusation.
“Saiida’s been an angel,” Kofi added. “At least someone here knows hospitality. Our relatives sure don’t.”
“Well let’s get you both back on the sofa,” Kam urged. “Can I get either of you a drink?”
Rani eyed Kam adoringly. “Bourbon would be good.”
“Thanks Kam, they’ll have either beer, water, or juice,” Bach decided.
Rani lifted a hand in his brother’s direction. “See, Kam? This is what we mean about hospitality.”
“More like the lack of it,” Kofi fixed Kam with his own look of adoration. “I’ll take a beer, Kam. Red Stripe if these bozos have any.”
Kam laughed, already feeling lighter than she had in far too long. Rani and Kofi, their sense of humor and digs at their older brothers, reminded her so much of Rashid. That the reminder made her happy instead of sad, was refreshing.
Still, those upbeat, refreshing sensations dampened when her eyes met Chisulo’s. He was standing near the bar entrance when she approached. The way wasn’t completely blocked, but given his size and the narrow entry port he stood next to, it would’ve been impossible to move past without touching him. She didn’t trust either of them to resist such stimuli.
Chisulo watched her in brooding, stony silence for nearly half a minute before he moved aside. Kam went to get the beer and tried to shift her thoughts to something other than the way her body yearned for Chisulo Nkosi.
He had shifted recently. She’d known him long enough to recognize the scent. It was a druggy mix of pine, mint, grass, and something earthy, more basic. As far as Kam was concerned, it was an aphrodisiac of the highest order. Quickly, she begged herself to think of anything else.
The bar fridge was a drinker’s haven of beer and wine. Kam focused on the conversation in the living room while trying to locate the stout bottles of Red Stripe.
“...can’t even get Stafa to tell us why he wants us here,” Rani was saying. “We should be going to see about Aunt Toy. Haddad had Asani cremated, you know?”
“Rani,” Chisulo barked his brother’s name.
The warning call went unheeded as Kofi picked up the discussion.
“It’s understandable, Ran,” Kofi said. “If there wasn’t much of him left after the attack, Aunt Toy would’ve been crying over pieces in a coffin, otherwise.”
The sound of glass shattering brought everyone’s focus to the bar. Kam appeared to be moments away from hyperventilating. She stood unmoving but for the ever-quickening rise and fall of her bosom beneath the fabric of the plum t-shirt she wore with white cotton sleep pants which flared around her legs. The material was now marked by traces of the beer she’d spilled.
“I-I’m sorry,” her voice was barely a whisper and she left the room at a light jog.
––––––––
“Kam,” Chisulo wasted no time finding her.
The house was equipped with many stairways, allowing for various routes back to the floor of her suite. He found her there, just as she was arriving at the opposite end of the long hallway. Heavy footfalls were muffled on the thick hallway runner as a race for the door ensued. Kam beat Chisulo there and almost managed to shut the door in his face. His shoulder to the slab of dark wood and his hand wedged through the sliver between the door and its frame was all it took to prevent that.
Kam didn’t bother exhausting herself with a fight. Her wounded gaze trained in on the fierce flames in the hearth across the room. “Leave me alone, Chisulo,” she groaned.
“I can’t do that, love.”
“Your cousin...Asani. He was there, wasn’t he? He was one of the ones, I-”
“Kam-”
“Please don’t tell me this wasn’t my fault. I’m likely to vomit if you do.”
“Let me help you, sweet.”
“Why?” The single query held a heartbreakingly lost edge. “I just killed your cousin. How can you even look at me after that?”
“Kam,” Chisulo rubbed the bridge of his nose and took a moment before he continued. “My brothers and I, we adore our Aunt Toyin, but her son made the choice to go his own wrong way a long time ago.”
“So that makes this alright?!” Kam’s expression was incredulous.
Dangerously frustrated and knowing he wouldn’t get through to her, Chisulo began to rub at the dull ache brewing behind his eyes.
“Please go,” she once more urged him. When he looked her way, she could see how set he was against following that order. Resolved, she braced herself to get around him and to the door. When she moved one way, so did he. He even anticipated the moves she feinted until her anger won out and she met him head-on with her fists aimed at his chest.
Chisulo absorbed the blows stoically until Kam spent her energy and slumped against him. His plan was to carry her to bed, to hold and reassure her.
She anticipated that. Chisulo was bending to lift her into his arms when she shoved his chest and bolted. She’d barely opened the door an inch, when it was slammed shut before her face. Her back was slammed unceremoniously against it, seconds later. She refused the satisfaction of letting him see her fight-a useless battle. She simply went rigid, using a daggering glare to reflect her rage.
“I’m trying to be patient with you, Kam.”
“I don’t want your patience.”
“Good. Because I’m all out.”
She nodded, the movement stiff. “Will you go now? I promise to stay put.” The grin he gave in response, made her stomach drop.
“You misunderstand me. All out, means I’m all out of giving you this fucking space you claim you need.”
“Claim I need?”
Chisulo could hear the anger consuming the defeat that had flavored her voice. He welcomed the change. He was being straight with her-he was all out of patience. He could hardly see straight, he wanted her so badly. He wanted her. He intended to have her. Better for him, if her rage stirred instead of her despair.
Rage indeed, he realized when he crushed her mouth beneath his and felt her teeth sink into his top lip.
“You know what I’m capable of,” she panted.
“Better than most,” he fired back.
Kam blinked, realizing they were fixed on two very different things. “Get out,” her voice grated.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go when I’m done.”
Again, he leaned close. Kam turned her head to avoid the kiss she expected. Chisulo gave the attention to her neck instead.
“Stop!” she hissed.
“I will,” he promised, broad palms encircling her thighs and spreading them to accommodate his size.
Kam used her fists against him once more, but her efforts were no deterrent not when those efforts reflected little in the way of resistance. Her fingers were curling into the hooded, lightweight sweatshirt he sported with faded, loose-fitting blue jeans.
Chisulo’s fingers were busy as well, slipping into the waistband of her beer-splattered sleep pants. She had lost her house slippers during the mad dash back to the suite. Now, her bare feet were crossed at the ankles behind his back. Her hands rose from his shoulders to his hair, curling into the thick, silken crop that waved over his head. He moved from her pants to the hem of her t-shirt, needing only one hand to yank the top up and over her head once she’d relinquished her grip on his hair.
Her bra was a memory soon after. Chisulo cupped the firm, full globes, thumbs brushing the licorice-dark tips that were as hard as gemstones. He descended on them like a thirsting man, his moans both approving and tortured.
“Don’t stop me, don’t turn me away Kam,” he said amid the intense suckling. For a time, he sucked hard on one nipple, teeth intermittently grazing the tip while his thumb and forefinger fondled its twin.
Kam choked out a gasp when he began to bathe the molested nub with slow strokes from his tongue. She luxuriated in his hair between her fingers. This, paired with his tongue on her tits were rivals for providing the most sensuous stimuli.
Eventually, Chisulo’s hands made their way back down her body. They molded the hourglass curves of her torso and hips. Once more, he found his way into her pants, yanking at them until the material resisted where her legs were locked around his waist. Releasing her was not an option. He merely tugged, until the material fell away in tatters. Her panties were next, drifting to the floor without a sound.
“Damn you-”
“Quiet,” he continued to devour her cleavage.
Kam bit her lip to stifle a curse when his hand moved between their bodies and he claimed her with two orgasm-inducing fingers.
“Damn me, huh?” he taunted as her need soaked his skin.
Her vaginal muscles were vice-tight around Chisulo’s fingers while she bucked and writhed to find release. He denied her the pleasure, of course, but she refused to lash out with slaps and curses. She simply averted her face again, stubbornly closing her eyes as if to emotionally detach from the moment.
Chisulo relished the challenge. With effortless agility, he hoisted her higher against the door. He ignored a nipple that puckered for his mouth, instead favoring the plump underside of the breast, moaning as he feasted.
Kam slapped at his shoulder, frustrated by her body’s inability to resist the pleasure consuming it. Chisulo took her wrists captive in response, imprisoning them above her head against the door.
With the rest of her secured by his bulk, Chisulo used his free hand to undo his jean fastening. Again, Kam bit her lip but did a poor job of silencing her cries. They lilted from her throat when he took her. His hard, generous size spread her wide and she could feel her desire streaming generously to cover his length in a flood of creamy white.
Chisulo rested his forehead on her shoulder. He muttered curses of approval and gratitude as his dick thrust and rotated higher and faster. He lost himself in her clevage once more, alternating his focus between the nipples seeking his favor.
Kam braced against his restraining hold at her wrists. She yearned to pamper her fingers in his hair or to knead the stunning range of his shoulders.
Chisulo must have sensed that he might benefit from releasing her, for he eased his hold. Moments later, his palms were filled with her ass. His face was completely hidden in her neck, his groans were muffled yet possessed the same approving tone as his curses.
Mingled with the purely male sounds of pleasure and adoration, were the purely feminine sounds of desire fulfilled. The lovers crested and settled as one, holding each other in heated desperation as the torrents calmed and eventually subsided.
Chisulo took his time backing away from Kam. Gently, he guided her down from the door until she was on her feet. His fathomless eyes were fixed on her face, but the intensity was lost on Kam. Her eyes, haunted and distant would not meet his. She freed herself from the space between him and the door.
Chisulo fixed his clothes and watched as she tried to tug down her T-shirt. The only sounds at play, were the pops, crackles, and dull roars from the fire.
“Kam-”
“Go be with your family, Chisulo. You saw how upset your brothers were.”
Impossibly, his eyes grew darker. “Are you serious? We all thought he was an ass.”
“Your aunt didn’t. It’s obvious how much you all love her. I’d think you’d want to be with your family for that reason alone.”
He closed the distance now, taking her shoulders. “My aunt isn’t here, Kam and you are my family.”
Misery clouded her face. “How long do you think we’ll last once they all find out what I did? Bach and Mustafa know. Once they’ve had time to think about what I’ve done, to...reconsider... everyone will fall in line with what they say.”
Chisulo retreated a step as though he’d been powered into by a physical blow. “You think I’d be one of them?”
“Honestly, Chisulo, what’s really between us except some very amazing sex?” she walked away from the stricken look her query put in his eyes.