Page 28 of Merciless Obsession (The Bloodline #2)

The two of us slapped hands before coming into a brotherly hug. “I trust you, Ez. I know you know your shit and you’re smart, but you gotta stop and think sometimes before you act. Got me?” he said into my ear.

I nodded and patted his back. “I hear you, big bro. I hear you.”

Releasing me, Nazai turned to leave. “Tell sis-in-law I said wassup!” I called out behind him. He tossed his hand up in acknowledgement.

Now that was all out the way, it was time for me to get ready for tonight. Tonight was my date with Ziora and I planned on making it a first date neither of us would forget.

____

Instead of letting myself in I decided to be a gentleman and knock on Ziora’s door then waited.

After leaving Lucas’s clinic I went home to get some work done.

I wasn’t due back in court until mid-next week and wasn’t accepting any new clients at the moment.

My firm was running smoothly and the other attorneys under me were doing well.

Everything was moving accordingly, Dad would be proud.

Just as I was about to knock again, the door was pulled open. Grinning, I held out the bouquet of red roses.

“Good evening, Bumblebee! It’s lovely to see you.”

Ziora frowned and dropped her eyes to the roses. “What are you doing here?”

“Why did you forget already? We have a date.” I stepped forward, forcing myself into the house.

“Hey!” Stepping past her, I looked around. “I told you I wasn’t going out with you.”

Grinning, I spun on my heels so I was facing her.

“I think we both agree by now that I don’t take well to not getting my way.

Good thing for you, I’m learning to be a patient man.

” I looked her over. She was dressed like she was preparing for a cozy night in.

Her hair pulled into a messy bun, she wore an oversized sweatshirt and I wasn’t sure if she had something on under it. I licked my lips.

“I figured you might not be sure of what to wear tonight so I took the initiative and had my assistant pick you out something to wear.” I stepped closer to her and this time forced the roses into her hands. Then I grabbed the dress bag hanging on my arm. “This is also for you.”

Ziora didn’t reach for the bag. She stared at me as if she didn’t recognize me.

“Ezra. Look, at first this whole thing intrigued me because… I don’t know, maybe I was bored and it brought some excitement to my normal routine, but this is getting crazy. You’re not thinking logically. You’re acting erratically. I think you should go and find someone else to fixate on.”

Her words went in one ear and out the other. Ziora could fight like she didn’t like or feel this thing between us but she was lying to herself.

“I got more information on your sister’s case,” I admitted after a few moments of silence.

That gained her attention. “What? Tell me!”

One corner of my mouth lifted. “I’ll tell you on our date.” I lifted the dress bag again, causing her frown to deepen. “Now go change into this and do something with your hair. I’ll be waiting down here for you.”

It was written all on her face to protest. Ziora liked to be in control and didn’t do well with the unknown, that was clear.

Still, I planned on breaking her away from that.

I wanted her to bend at my will and trust me without any pushback.

It might take some time, but I was a lawyer.

I had made a group of jurors believe that someone who was guilty was completely innocent more than once when the cards were stacked against them.

Even if my family did sometimes have to take those same clients and end them, in the eyes of their peers they were innocent.

If I could do that, I could surely get Ziora to let her guard down and accept our relationship.

“You’re serious?” Ziora swallowed hard, eyeing the dress bag.

“I joke a lot, Bumblebee, but this isn’t one of those moments.”

Her nostrils expanded and her eyes flashed. “Fine!” she huffed, stomping toward me and snatching the bag from me. She tossed the roses on the table close to the door and stormed to the steps.

Smiling, I turned and walked to the kitchen to grab something to drink. Ziora always had something bottled now. Maybe she didn’t trust pre-opened things anymore.

Snagging a bottle of sweet tea, I closed the fridge and walked to the couch.

I picked up the book on the coffee table next to the laptop.

It was a thriller fiction book based on the title and cover.

I noticed Ziora never seemed to watch TV.

There was only one in her living room, but it was always off.

Putting the book down, I grabbed the laptop and tapped the trackpad.

We gave it back to her and she must have restored it from when it was erased.

It hadn’t been asleep long enough to need a password.

It looked like she was working on something for Shadows of Silver Stone in one tab and the other looked like blueprints of some sort.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking at though.

“Excuse you!” The top of the laptop was slammed shut.

I lifted my eyes to Ziora’s pissed off face. Blood rushed to my dick seeing her in the dress.

“Fuck, I knew red was your color.” I pushed off the couch and stood.

Her hair was now down and curls fell loosely over her shoulders, parted on the left side.

She had added some lip gloss to her cupid’s bow lips but left the rest of her face bare of any makeup.

I was surprised to see she even opted to wear medium-sized, gold hoop earrings.

“You’re lucky I showered before you got here.” She pushed some hair behind her shoulders, causing my attention to go there. “It’s kind of creepy you knew my size too.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip as my eyes roamed her. The dress was halter style with the straps down on her arms, ruby red, and stopped mid-thigh. The bottom was a flowy skirt that hugged her curvy hips perfectly at the waist.

Slowly, I circled her to get a full view of my date for the evening. I stepped behind her so my chest was to her back. I brushed her hair off her shoulders and leaned down to press my lips against the back of one.

“You have such beautiful shoulders. I knew this dress would do them justice.” I kissed upwards, tracing the splash of freckles.

She inhaled a sharp breath. “We should get going.”

Ziora stepped away from me toward her laptop.

“If you need shoes I got those in the car too. I just forgot to?—”

She cut me off. “I have shoes.”

Smirking, I licked my lips and nodded. “Good, good.”

Before coming here, I had my barber come by the house and cut my hair and line it up.

I wore a wine colored turtleneck sweater, charcoal gray pants, and black dress shoes.

In my ears were two diamond studs. On my wrist was a Chocolate Baguette Factory diamond Rolex, one I only brought out for special occasions.

A gift from my dad when I passed the bar.

“I think we look good together; we should capture the moment.” I dug in my pocket and pulled my phone out.

I went to take the picture but Ziora lowered her head.

I bit down on my back teeth, but kept my cool.

Facing her, I gripped her cheeks tightly, forcing her lips to pucker, and leaned down, placing my lips on hers. I lifted the phone and took a picture.

“There, that wasn’t that hard,” I whispered, licking the watermelon tasting gloss off her lips.

“Go put your shoes on. It’s time to go.”

She tucked her lips in her mouth and pushed past me. A couple minutes later she was back downstairs with gold heels on.

“Let’s go.” I held my hand out.

Ziora ignored my hand and walked past me.

She was standoffish now, but by the end of the night I was sure she would be singing a different tune.

____

“Wow, I’ve heard about this place but never ate here before. I’ve been missing out,” Ziora commented, wiping her mouth.

“I aim to please. I wouldn’t take you anywhere but to the best place.” I picked up the glass of whiskey and brought it to my mouth. I watched Ziora over the rim of the glass.

Opulent was a fine dining restaurant in downtown Silver Shadow.

It was well-known for its delectable steaks and fresh seafood.

There was always a waitlist to get a table in the evening, and the dishes weren’t cheap either, but worth every penny.

The food was always flavorful and cooked to perfection.

Ziora had gotten garlic parmesan lamb chops, roasted red potatoes, green beans, and a glass of white sangria to wash it down. I got filet mignon cooked medium well, with roasted red potatoes and roasted mushrooms. I also had calamari for an appetizer.

“Are you gonna tell me what you learned now?” she asked, giving me her full attention.

During dinner she was quiet for the most part.

When I would try to talk, she would give me short answers.

It was cute, but my patience had run thin.

I had rented out a private room in the back, her skin glowed under the beaming lights above.

She was truly beautiful and a sight for sore eyes.

I wonder if she was aware of that. It wasn’t fair I had to share her with the world; so when I could tuck her away for just my eyes, I took full advantage.

“Do you still speak to your parents?” She looked caught off guard by my question, making me smile.

“What kind of question is that? I thought you were gonna tell me what you learned about my sister.”

“In due time, Bumblebee. Haven’t you ever heard good things come to those who wait.” Her lips pursed and she reached for the sangria glass, bringing it to her mouth and taking a long sip.

“No, I don’t. The day my sister was found they were dead to me.

Physically my mom was there most days but mentally she was gone.

It was like living with a zombie. Dad, well he hardly batted an eye.

Basically said it was one less mouth to feed.

As soon as I turned eighteen I left home and never looked back. ”

“Where did you go? How did you make money?”

She snorted. “From hacking, of course. I had been saving up to get me and my sister away from our toxic ass parents, but I was too late. Now?”

“I know you like reading, what else do you enjoy?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What is this?”

“Can’t I get to know my future wife? I don’t think that’s too much to ask.” My eyes dropped to her left hand.

“Future wife?” Her eyes widened. “Even if I did believe in commitment and all that, it wouldn’t be to you.”

I faked offense. “And what’s wrong with me?”

“Besides the fact that you’re a psycho? I don’t take well to men who drug me for their own personal gain.”

“I didn’t hurt you though, did I? I told you, my plan isn’t to hurt you…unless you’re into that kinda thing?” This time I licked my lips and leaned forward.

She shook her head. “See! You just got crazy eyes when you said that.”

I tossed my head back and released a chuckle. “Oh, Ziora.” I grew serious. “Call it what you want but I have no plans of us not being together. It’s fate that Emmet was able to find your real identity.”

She blinked slowly and scrunched her nose. She raked her hands through her hair and exhaled deeply. “How many people have you killed?”

I smirked. “Don’t know.” My shoulders lifted. “I was able to join the family when I turned eighteen. Dad wanted me to wait until I was done with law school, but I had no desire for that. Why should my older brothers have all the fun?”

She finished off her glass. “Have you ever been in love?”

That question made my chest burn, but I kept a cool face. I thought back to the one and only girl before Ziora to snatch my attention in such an intense way. “Once…maybe. I was young, so maybe it wasn’t love, but it was something I suppose.”

Her brows furrowed. “What does that even mean? Were you obsessed over her too?”

“Obsessed isn’t the word I would use. Infatuated? Yes. She introduced me to a new version of myself I didn’t know existed. One that I haven’t been able to share in a long time.” My voice was deadpan, fitting with how my face looked now.

Finishing my whiskey, I set the glass on the table and folded my hands.

“What about you? Has any man attempted to steal the heart you’ve been saving for me?”

For a moment she didn’t reply before snorting and giving me a stifled, toothless half grin. “No. The longest relationship I had was an experiment I attempted and failed at.”

My curiosity peaked. “And what experiment was that?”

She wet her lips and pushed her now empty dish away. “Inaya told me I’ve closed myself off from allowing people to get close to me since my sister died. I wanted to prove that wasn’t true. We dated for six months and I ended it before he announced he was moving across the country.”

Although I hated to hear about her with another man, I was relieved to hear it meant nothing.

“Now if that’s all—” Before she could finish the server returned.

“Are we doing dessert tonight?” she asked, bouncing her eyes between us.

I looked at Ziora for the answer. She shook her head.

“We’re good. The check please.” I flashed her a grin, while reaching for my wallet, causing her to blush.

Ziora cleared her throat. “Actually, can I get the strawberry cheesecake?” Her tone was snappy.

I quirked a brow and glanced at her. “You heard the lady. Add the cheesecake before you charge the card.”

The girl nodded and left the room.

“Now where were we?”

“You were about to tell me about the information you learned.”

“Right…not yet. The date isn’t over.” Ziora looked displeased.

“That wasn’t the deal.”

“Yeah well, beggars can’t be choosers.” My shoulders rose then fell and I leaned forward. “Now, what was the hardest thing you’ve hacked?”

The point of tonight was for me to get to know Ziora on a more personal level.

Everything Emmet uncovered was surface level.

I wanted to know it all, down to when she got her first tooth if I could.

If dangling the information in front of her was what I needed to use to get her to open up, I wasn’t against it.