Page 29 of The Bell’s Toll (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)

chapter nineteen

Nasiah

T he house has had a different vibe in the last week.

After the old lady creatures attacked me, things went bad at one of Raziel’s casinos.

A human was killed by something that came through his portal.

Unfortunately, he was put on suspension.

They shut down all of his casinos and clubs, and his portals are out of service. It’s an enormous blow to him.

Razzy made most of his money from his clubs and casinos. He can’t even rely on his income from being a dominus because he’s suspended without pay.

“Do you think he will like it?” I ask Tanisha through the FaceTime screen.

Ever since Erazel was attacked, she’s been hanging around much more. Today she was back at her apartment.

“Girl, that man would like anything you do. You could feed him Pop-Tarts and Kool-Aid and he’d think it was special.”

Removing the salmon from the oven, I laugh as I pour honey glaze on it. I’ve been wanting to do something nice for Raziel since he’s been so down lately.

I asked all the guards in the house what he liked to do for fun, and none of them knew what to tell me. Apparently, Razzy is all about his business. The man has gone out of his way multiple times to make me happy. I feel like it’s time I returned the favor.

“I know,” I say to Nisha, wiping my hands on my apron. “I just want this to be special for him.”

She looks into the phone with a smile on her face. “It’s so cute to see you truly in love.”

I stop what I’m doing and give her my full attention. “Love?”

I like Razzy, and I feel a strong connection to him, but I don’t know if I’m ready to call it love.

“Don’t play stupid,” Tanish chuckles. “You would have never done this for Jamieson.”

Placing my hand on my hip, I scrunch my face at her. “I’ve done tons of nice things for J. Remember the surprise birthday party?”

She shakes her head. “Yes, I remember you giving the party. But I also remember the cake coming out wrong and the venue not being decorated correctly, and you didn’t even bat an eye.

Yet today you’ve been fretting about whether the plates go with your tablecloth.” I look down at the gold-trimmed plates in front of me. Still not sure I shouldn’t have gone with the silver stoneware.

Her laughter has me look back at my phone screen. “Look at you; you’re still thinking about those plates.”

I chuckle as I shake my head. “Shut up. I just want this to be special for him.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” she says. “You want this to be perfect because you care about making this special for him. With Jamieson, you were just doing a nice thing out of obligation. There is nothing wrong with it. I just want you to understand that when you love someone, you move differently.”

Her words run through my head. I’ve been planning this night since the day he told me his boss placed him on suspension.

The look in his eyes made my heart hurt. Maybe this is more than a simple connection. Perhaps he's more than just a like. Maybe I am falling for him.

“You might be right.” I shake my head as if I’m trying to dislodge that thought. “But what if this is just a false feeling? What if whatever he did is making me feel like this?”

She shrugs. “What if it is? Maybe without the bond you wouldn’t be in love with him? However, it doesn’t matter because you have a bond. Rather it’s a side effect or not, it’s real.”

She’s right. It didn’t matter how I would feel if I didn’t have the bond because the bond is real. And if loving a man that takes care of you, loves on you, protects you with his life, and dicks you down until you fall into a comma like sleep, isn’t real, then I’d rather stay in this fantasy.

“You’re right,” I say.

“Of course I am. Now, finish getting your dinner set up. I have some plans tonight myself.”

I pause, staring at her. “What plans?”

She laughs. “My business ain’t your business,” she taunts. “Just know my plans involve a certain bodyguard.”

I turn my nose up jokingly. “Y’all better not be doing the nasty.”

“And is,” she laughs. I join in her laughter.

“Bye, girl,” I say before hanging up.

I take the time to finish setting up the candlelight dinner. Once I’m done, I take off the apron.

Tonight, I’m wearing a short, fitted slip dress. My D-cup breasts are barely contained by the thin straps. The hem is lace and falls to my thighs. The square neckline has my round breasts squeezing out the top. It’s giving casual yet sexy.

Standing in front of his office door, I knock before walking in. I pull up short when I notice he’s here with a few others.

The dark skin guy that I now know is Conah is here. Erazel and the other bodyguard Hamon are also here. There is also a blue-eyed tan female with long brunette hair.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I can—”

Razzy cuts me off. “Come here, baby.” I make my way over to his desk with a smile on my face.

He holds out a hand to me. I take it. He tugs me onto his lap. As soon as I sit down, he wraps a hand around my waist. I laid my back against his chest.

“Have you found out who Akathol’s daughter is?” he goes on to speak like I didn’t interrupt an important meeting.

None of the others seem to mind my presence. In fact, the female smiles at me with a warm expression.

“I have every knight under you trying to find that female,” Conah says.

“Good. The moment you find her, let me know. With this suspension, I’m limited in what I can do.”

“You sure you can’t go to the king?” the female asks. “I mean, you guys are friends. Surely, he will understand that this isn’t your fault.”

I don’t know who this king is, but if he can get Raziel back to work, then I agree with the female.

Raziel makes slow circles against my belly with his thumb.

“Yes, Khalid and I are friends, but he gave me this role because he thought I could handle it. I don’t want to reach out to him begging for his help. He has way more shit than I do to deal with. Plus, I don’t want him to know I let him down.”

The way his voice drops at the last statement has me leaning further back, placing my head on his shoulder. He plants a kiss on my cheek.

“Don’t forget, going to Khalid over Rojun’s head would feel like an insult. And Ro has done everything he could to help me.”

“Except let you step to Gadiel,” Erazel argues.

Razzy’s body tenses with the mention of that name. I slide my hand on top of his that’s wrapped around my waist, locking our fingers together. Immediately his body softens.

“Can you at least go see him?” the female asks.

“No,” Raziel says. “As long as I’m on suspension, I can’t leave my district. And even if I could, Gadiel is officially off suspension. Which means he is now ranked higher than I am. I can’t question him now.”

“Let me do it?” Erazel asks. “I can go and ask him. I don’t give a shit about hierarchy.”

“Era, I appreciate it, but if something were to go wrong, if Gadiel were to attack or have you killed, there would be nothing I could do. I don’t have the power to protect you right now, and I’m not risking you guys.”

This is why I loved this man. The way he…

…. my thoughts freeze. I just admitted I loved him.

But it’s true. Despite how we met, and what he is, Raziel is the most loving and thoughtful man I’ve ever met.

I understand why his crew is willing to risk their lives and go against protocol to stand up for him.

“I’d do it for you,” Erazel says.

“As would I,” Hamon adds.

Raziel raises his hand. “I appreciate it, I do. But right now, we need to put our attention on finding the daughter. She’s the only one who has answers for us.”

They all nod their heads. One by one, they disappear out of the room. Once they are all gone, Raziel places a kiss on my shoulder.

“You’re killing me in this dress, Baby. I’m trying to give that pussy a break, but you’re going to make me relapse.”

I chuckle, turning slightly in his lap to look at him. “Tonight is all about you.” I place a kiss on his lips and then run my thumb over them to wipe away the gloss I left behind.

“What are you talking about?”

I stand up and grab his hand, pulling him out of the chair. He’s wearing a pair of sweatpants and a gray T-shirt. That dick print is doing what it’s supposed to do in those sweats.

“Come with me,” I grin as I pull him out of his office.

“Are you trying to surprise me?”

He grabs my hips, pressing his hardened member against my ass. Feeling him pressed to me makes me want to abandon this dinner idea and take him to the room. But I’m determined to do something nice.

I swat at his hands, turning around to face him. “Behave,” I playfully warn.

He holds up his hands as if he’s under arrest. “Yes, ma’am.”

I laugh at the smirk on his face before turning back around and leading him to the dining room. We stop at the door, and I turn to face him.

“I know this hasn’t been a pleasant week for you, so I wanted to do something to let you know I was thinking about you.”

I push the door open from behind me. His pinched gaze goes from my face to the dining room. I watch as his features go from confused to relaxed. He takes in the candles, the soft music, and the food. When he looks back at me, there is a smile on his face.

“You did this for me, Nasiah?”

I shrug. “Of course. I wanted to cheer you up.”

He grabs my face and kisses me so thoroughly I feel as if I’m floating. I swear my feet are hovering over the ground. When he pulls away, he places his forehead to mine for a moment before dropping a kiss there.

“Thank you,” he whispers. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

I felt honored to be the first. I grab his hand and lead him to the table.

On the menu tonight is a Caesar salad to start. The main course is honey-glazed salmon, roasted vegetable medley and mushroom and spinach risotto. For dessert, a lemon cake with a lemon-zest glaze. I pulled out all the stops for this meal.

“Have a seat.” I direct him.