In Love with Ezra (Love Unaccounted Book 2) Read Online Free

messages. And they were never made clear right away, but when I focused intently on the visuals and compared them with keywords of the message, I could start—
    “Snoopie found my mother lying on the floor in a pool of blood and called 911.”
    My eyes shot up and over to an apparently pensive Alexis. Her plate was untouched, food still neatly assembled. But her wine glass was empty.
    “Snoopie?”
    “The guy whose homecoming we were celebrating. He found my mother drowning in her blood after she slit her throat. She’d turned on the gas on the stove with the windows closed.” I found myself blinking successively. This was totally unexpected. “He saved her by finding her just in time, calling for help, and hauling her crazy ass out of there.” Alexis snorted. “She was almost two hundred pounds and he was probably sixty pounds lighter, but Snoopie carried her down the stairs and waited for the ambulance and fire trucks. I was sleep in my bedroom and could have died. Screaming woke me. I ran out of the house and found out what was going on when he was holding her in his arms. I saw the fear and…horror in his eyes as he shouted for her to hold on. He was only fifteen.” She sat up and took a deep breath. After shrugging Alexis informed, “She died two days later from a stroke. Weird for her young age, but that took her out of here.”
    She reached for the bottle and poured more.   
    “I am sorry to hear that, Alexis.”
    There was a pause.
    “Oh?” she mocked. “No kitten ?”
    I found myself angling my head, trying to gauge where she was going.
    “I’m not perfect, Ezra,” she enunciated perfectly, coquette engirding each syllable. “I make mistakes. I don’t fit into your world, but you knew this when you asked for me.” She raised her left hand in the air, wiggling her fingers, including the one holding her diamond wedding rings.
    The radiant cut in the engagement solitaire sparkled with blinding brilliance. Each time I observed them I was reminded of Alexis’ humility. The three point five karat diamond solitaire didn’t faze her in the least; neither did the additional two-karat emerald cut wedding band. She’d never asked about the number of karats or the expense. She simply accepted and wore them with compliance. 
    I caught the slant of intoxication in her eyes. My beloved had applied liquid courage to confront me tonight.
    “Come again?” I urged, watching her gulp down a hefty amount of her fresh wine.
    That long sculpted neck teased me, provoked the beast.
    “You’re not perfect either, Carmichael. Since we’ve returned to your ‘compound’”—she used air quotes—“you don’t talk much. You prefer time alone. I wake up in the bed of the sexiest man I’ve ever encountered and all that’s left is your scent and a dent on your side of the bed. You’re controlling as hell and that makes me feel unwelcome here. Your hospitality sucks, Pastor.” She licked her lips, inadvertently drawing my attention to them.
    No matter how loose her nerves were in the moment, Alexis was crying out, expressing her true feelings. This was not good. She had to feel at home here. This was her home. Having her feel otherwise was counterproductive. 
    Talk more? About what?
    I’d never been loquacious. I measured my outpouring to others to preserve my mental and emotional energy each day. What could we possibly have to talk about that hadn’t been addressed already?
    And waking up to me in bed?
    I worked out in my gym and worked all day, although home. I got up early to work out and meditated; she knew this from Kamigu. It would be unnatural for me to lie around in bed until she awakened. Eight...nine o’clock would be extremely late and disrupt my internal balance. I’d implemented extensive adjustments and arrangements to make room for her in my life.
    What more can I do?
    I scooted my seat back from the table, wiped down my beard, and widened my shoulders to open myself to compromise. “How