Page 40 of Heart's Masquerade

Torrian glared at him. “Not today.” He thrust the door open, and a cold blast of air hit in him the face. He groaned and climbed out of the car. Gathering the bags in his hands, he glanced at Niles. “Enjoy the time off. I’ll call in a few days.”

“Sir, are you sure ab

out this?”

“I’ve stayed with Jaz before.”

“I know, but not this long.”

“Stop worrying, old man.” Torrian smiled. “Enjoy the time with your family. You deserve it.”

“Thank you, sir. I will do that.”

A short while later, Torrian arrived at Jaz’s door and rang the bell with stiff fingers. His feet had frozen, and he couldn’t work his jaw. The clouds hanging heavy in the sky made him wonder if they weren’t in for another snowstorm. Even if they were, he wouldn’t change or delay this time with Jaz. They’d planned it for weeks, him getting coverage at work and her handling all the seasonal events early so the two of them could enjoy three days of nothing but each other. He tried to grin thinking about it and failed. Too damn cold. Torrian kicked the door and winced in pain.

Jaz opened the door with wide eyes, laughing. “Wow, angry much?”

“I’m freezing.”

She tugged him inside and slammed the door before offering that delicious mouth to him. Torrian dropped the bags and dragged her closer. He let his hands roam to her ass and gave it a squeeze. Her yelp allowed him to probe the warm sweetness of her mouth with is tongue. When he set her properly on her feet, he moaned.

“You taste like honey,” he said.

She waggled a finger. “Not good at identifying tastes either? That’s nutmeg and cinnamon. I made dessert.”

“No food?”

She laughed. “Of course there’s food, but I didn’t make it. One of the local ladies and I cut a deal. Man oh man, we’re eating good this next three days. Then on Thursday, I have to go to my parents’ place. Rhashon and Yasmine and the kids will be there. You’re welcome to come along.”

He hesitated and reached for the bags. “I brought these. Where can I put them?”

“Who are those for?”

“Glenda upstairs.”

She laughed. “Very funny, but two bags? Did you bring your Christmas gifts, too?”

“No, they’re all yours.” For a moment he wondered if he’d gone overboard and if she would notice if he spent more money than the average joe could afford to spend at Christmas. He’d made sure to choose regular items a woman might like, even while he longed to splurge and spend every dime in his wallet on her, along with maxing out his credit cards.

Torrian scanned the living room and found that Jaz had set up a tiny five-foot tree in the corner, under which was four boxes of various sizes. He sighed in relief. “You have four for me. That’s not bad.”

“Um, two of those are mine. Sorry, I spent most of my funds on the kids. Maybe you should take some of that back.” She nodded at his bags, and he straightened.

“If you don’t like them, you can give them away, but all of these are yours.” Torrian refused to hear another word and set the packages under the tree. After Jaz had rewarded him with another kiss and a tormenting wiggle on his lap, they enjoyed hot chocolate and a piece of the pie she’d made herself in front of the TV. He wondered when he would lose his mind in this closet room over the next couple of days.

“Jazara,” he began and stopped.

She curled at his side, sipping the hot beverage and focused on the screen. He thought she seemed content, and he didn’t want to disturb her happiness. “Hmm?”

“Would you like to know more about me?”

She froze. Big brown eyes flicked to his gaze, and he saw fear in their depths. Pain tightened in his chest. He never wanted to hurt her or leave her afraid, but would she feel like Kenny? Would she think he didn’t belong here anymore or with her? Since the day he threatened his cousin, he had run across him a couple times. In each meeting, Kenny pretended he didn’t see Torrian and kept walking. His friends didn’t even acknowledge Torrian’s existence.

Jaz spoke with people who had a lot more money to give to charity all the time. The practice was a part of her job, but he had also heard her say rich people just didn’t understand the pain of needing and not knowing where the answer would come from. He knew of course because he’d been there, but how would Jaz view him? To uncover who he was seemed insurmountable, and logic told him he was probably making it more than it needed to be. However, logic didn’t part his lips and force him to speak the truth either.

“I…” She began, and the doorbell rang.

Jaz set her cup down and popped to her feet. He knew she ran away from him when she went to answer. Yasmine and her kids were behind the door when Jaz opened it, and all of a sudden the tiny room grew smaller still with so many people.

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