An Exceptional Twist (54 page)

Without a doubt, he wanted to ravish her,
but that wasn’t enough. He really did want her whole heart. Just
knowing that she was his, Stefen could wait for this part.

Moving back up to her face, he hovered over
her body. “We’ll wait as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
He gave her another quick kiss and switched subjects before his
actions contradicted what he’d just promised her. “I’m starved. I
can’t wait to eat the omelet you promised me.” He pulled her up,
grinning.

“Is that what you want me for? My cooking?”
she teased.

“You caught me.” He
smirked, then cleared his throat. “Now let’s get off of this couch
before I show you one of the other
many
reasons why I want
you.”

Her answering pants were music to his
ears.

Leah had already pinched herself to make
sure she wasn’t dreaming as she loaded the dishwasher after
breakfast. Stefen loved her. Apparently, for months. Why had she
waited so long to tell him how she felt? They could have been
together this entire time.

It actually worked out for the best, though.
They needed to learn how to be with each other first, without it
just being about sex.

It took everything she had to stop him on
the couch. She wanted him to keep going, but she was thankful he’d
respected her feelings. If they were going to make it in the long
run, they would need to build on a strong foundation that had
nothing to do with physical intimacy.

The phone rang as she started the
dishwasher. Stefen had stepped into the bathroom, so she
comfortably answered like she’d done many times before.

The incensed female voice
on the other end bellowed, “Oh, so now that you are
engaged
, you think you
have the right to answer his phone?”

Clicking her tongue, Leah asked, “I'm sorry,
who is this?” She knew who this cow was but wasn’t going to give
her the satisfaction.

“You know damn well that this is Stefen's
mother.”

Playing it off, Leah said in her sweetest
voice, “Actually, I didn't know it was you, Mrs. Hunter. Stefen
can't come to the phone right now, but I can have him call you
back.”

The tone in his mom’s voice was tight. “If
you think you’re going to use my son to get yourself out of the
ghetto, then you’re mistaken.” This woman hurled insults quicker
than a monkey flung its shit at innocent bystanders.

“
Excuse me?”
And just like that, Leah's bitch switch was
flipped to the ‘on’ position.

“You heard me. Do not be mistaken. There is
no way some girl from the hood is going to taint our family blood
and freeload off our fortune,” she huffed, clearly irritated. “I
will make you an offer, though. How much will it take for you to
stay away from my son?” Leah could hear the clicking of a pen, as
though she was literally sitting there with her checkbook.

Leah squeezed the phone so
hard, she was surprise it didn’t snap in half. “How dare you speak
to me like that. There isn't enough money in the world to keep me
from marrying Stefen, so you had better just get used to the
idea,
Mom
! And
correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that family fortune, your
husband’s
inheritance?”
Take that, you
stuffy-assed bitch.

Stefen’s mom gasped audibly. “How dare
you…”

Leah was shaking by the time she hung the
phone up, then turned to see Stefen standing behind her with his
mouth nearly touching the floor.

Slapping her hand over her mouth, she
murmured between her fingers, “I am so sorry. Your mom pissed me
off. I wasn't thinking.”

As expected, his cell started to ring.

He cupped her face, darting his eyes back
and forth between hers, then pecked Leah on the lips. “I love you.”
Then he walked toward his blaring mobile phone sitting on the
dining room table. He chuckled and shook his head. “I guess it's my
turn now.”

Stefen answered the call right before it
went to his voice mail. “Hello, Mother.”

His mother screamed into
the phone, “What the hell, Stefen? When I specifically asked you if
you were dating
her
, you said you were not. Now I hear from Lisa that you
proposed and didn’t even consult me? You
cannot
marry her. Have your fun with
her, but
do not
bring her into our family.” She muttered, “What will people
think?”

Speaking through gritted teeth, he squeezed
the phone, similar to how he’d seen Leah do. “Mom, you have no say
so in who I marry. I'm a grown-ass man and can make my own fucking
decisions. And by the way, do not give anyone else my address. If I
want someone to know where I live, I'll give it to them myself.” He
wanted Leah to know that he intended to stand up for her, so he
purposely joined her in the kitchen during the call. Pulling her
toward him, he ran a reassuring hand up and down her back.

“Stefen, do I need to
remind you of what happened to William Hanson? Everyone turned
their back on him
and
his family when he married that stripper. You can't do that
to us. My son will not marry an immigrant,” she barked out in
fury.

Outraged, he did something that he would
normally think was too disrespectful. He yelled back at his mother,
“Mother, I'm done with this conversation! You can either accept
that I love Leah and am going to marry her, or plan on not seeing
me anymore. She isn't going anywhere. She's in my life for good.”
He added, slightly softer, “I'm the one that isn't good enough for
her.”

Leah whipped her head up.

Stefen gave her a reassuring wink.

Shocking the hell out of him, his mom spat
out, “She's pregnant, isn't she? How can you do this to us?” She
was desperate at this point and was beginning to whine like Lisa
had earlier. “Wait, we can fix this. Go get a DNA test. You know
how easy those gold diggers are. It's probably not even your child.
She’s just after your money. You do see this, don't you?”

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his
breath.

If this conversation had
to happen in front of Leah, his mother needed to know that Leah was
his priority. He would go to the ends of the earth to protect her
and her honor. “
Mom!
She’s not pregnant and don't ever say anything about her
again. I love her. End of story!” Staring into Leah’s eyes, he
added, “Trust me, though, when she is pregnant, I’ll be the
happiest man alive.” He ended the call just like that, tossing the
phone on the counter.

They weren’t actually engaged, but Stefen’s
blood boiled. His mother had always acted superior, and he was done
with it. What was worse was that he’d learned how to be that way
from her.

Never again would he travel down that road.
As an outsider looking in, he was disgusted. This was exactly what
Caleb had been talking about for so many years.

My cousin was trying to save me from myself.
I have some restitutions to make.

Stefen caged Leah between his arms, placing
his hands on the counter behind her. “I’m sorry about that. She’s
embarrassing. I’d like to say it’s the last time we’ll hear that
kind of shit from her, but you and I both know it’s not.”

Rubbing her palm on his chest, Leah said,
“Stefen, I'm not mad at you. You don’t control her. Just like I
don’t control Elena. Wait until you get a load of her.” A wicked
smile crept up Leah’s beautiful lips.

His own devious smile broke free. “If you
keep smiling like that, you’re going to find yourself back on that
couch with me.”

Her eyes widened, and he chuckled. It looked
like she was actually entertaining the idea, but he knew better.
They were going to have to watch themselves until she was
ready.

Smacking her on the ass, he said, “Okay, I
need to get out of here before the phone rings again, like I’m sure
it will when the news of our ‘engagement’ breaks out. What do you
say to a walk on the beach? I'll even leave my cell here.”

Once she recovered from the shock of the ass
smack, her face softened. “Wait, why didn’t you tell your mom the
truth?”

Pulling her face toward
his, he kissed her lips, down her jaw, making his way to her neck.
“Leah, I did tell her the truth. The only detail that wasn’t true
was that we aren’t engaged…
yet
.” He pulled away and wiggled his
eyebrows.

She breathed out heavily, “Yet?”

Smirking, he told her,
“Everything in its own time,
mi
amor
.” Stefen liked the sound of his new
favorite pet name for her. Whether it was spoken in English,
French, or Spanish—she was his love.

Stefen’s knuckles skimmed the silky skin of
Leah’s inner arm as he tenderly kissed her shoulders. Standing
beside her bed, he pulled her closer until her back touched his
bare torso, his fingertips brushing the hypersensitive skin on her
stomach. Her head moved to the side, giving his lips the access
they needed to consume the length of her neck. With his hands on
her waist, he gently directed her to turn around and face him. The
intense hunger in his beautiful eyes was tantalizing, and she
couldn’t wait to satisfy his appetite.

They hadn’t talked about it yet, but at this
moment, she couldn’t care less about the consequences. Leah loved
Stefen with everything she had, and he’d promised that he felt the
same way about her. The one thing she couldn’t understand right now
was why she wasn’t nervous.

Stefen slowly ran his soothing fingertips
down her exposed back as she inhaled deeply and held that breath,
savoring his masculine aroma. He grunted his approval when his hand
landed on her barely-there, panty-covered round bottom.

A shiver made its way down her spine as his
breath teased the side of her neck, and he whispered in her ear, “I
can't wait to take you as mine and only mine. No other man will
ever have you like this again.”

“I’m already yours, Stefen,” she panted
erratically.

Slowly laying her down, on top of the
velvety-covered bedspread, he pulled their bodies closer to the
headboard, placing feather-light kisses on her neck, shoulders, and
chest.

She whimpered before moaning his name, “Oh,
Stefen.”

Then something shifted in the air. There was
an energy in the room that didn't belong.

“Stefen is not the type to settle down. He
won't be faithful to you. He doesn't know how.”

As he covered her body with his own, Leah
peeked over Stefen's broad shoulder to see where that toxic voice
was coming from. Leah knew exactly who it belonged to, but she
couldn't see anyone.