DANGEROUSLY HIS (EPISODE 4)
A Mother's Secret, A Brother's Warning
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The ghost of Nkosi’s touch still burned on my wrist, a brand from last night that no amount of wine could wash away. I sat in my mother’s living room, the picturesque sounds of the ocean feeling like a mockery to the storm inside me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him—his grip, his veined hands, his voice whispering, "Call me."
“You’re quiet today, Naledi.”
My brother’s voice sliced through my turmoil. Andile was watching me, his kingly gaze missing nothing from where he was tangled with his wife, Buhle. His hand rested possessively on her small, growing bump, a picture of the love I swore was a lie for people like me.
I forced a shrug, the movement tight. “Just tired.”
My mother, Thandi, looked up from her lap. The effort in her smile was a physical pain. She’d traded her designer dresses for worn sweaters, her laughter for a silence that screamed of my father’s absence, even after twenty years. I wished she’d just break. We could handle it.
“Andile,” I said, tilting my head subtly toward our mother.
He cleared his throat. “Ma. How have you really been?”
Her smile tightened, a fragile shield. “I’m fine, my son. Don’t worry about me.” Her eyes, however, darted to me, alight with a sudden, dangerous curiosity. “And you, Naledi? No one… special, you want to tell me about?”
The question was a landmine. “No,” I said, too quickly. “I’m not interested in dating. Or marriage.”
Andile chimed in, his voice a low warning. “What’s wrong with marriage, Naledi?”
“I like my freedom.”
“You can have freedom with the right person,” he countered, his fingers tightening on Buhle’s shoulder.
Buhle chuckled softly. “You say that, Andile, but you called me three times when I was just buying ice cream.”
The normalcy of the moment was suffocating. I needed an escape, but my brother, ever my tormentor, provided the wrong one.
“Was Nkosi fine picking you up last night?” Andile asked, his tone casual, but his eyes were sharp.
A flash of heat went through me.Nice ass! His voice rang in my memory, followed by the guards’ smirks. “He was… fine,” I bit out, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’d have preferred you.”
Andile scoffed. “You know I couldn’t. Surprisingly, he jumped at the offer.”
/p>
I fell silent, but it was too late. Our mother was staring at me, her eyes wide and knowing. A slow, terrifying smirk spread across her face.
Andile became alert instantly. “What?” he demanded, looking between us.
“Nothing,” I said, my heart hammering.
“She’s thinking about Nkosi Dlamini,” our mother said, her voice a singsong of delight.
Andile was on his feet in an instant, his protective energy filling the room. “No. Absolutely not, Naledi. He is not a good guy for you.”
Panic and defiance warred within me. “I am not with him! She’s the one imagining things!”
“If he isn’t a good guy,” Buhle interjected softly, her cheeks flushed, “then why has he been your best friend all these years?”
Andile ran a hand over his face, frustration etched into his features. “He’s a good Friend. A loyal man. But he is not the kind of man you want for a wife. He’s… dangerous.”
The word sent a shiver down my spine. Dangerously His. “And how do *you* know what kind of man I want?” I challenged, my voice trembling.
Before he could answer, a familiar, deep voice echoed from the doorway, smooth as whiskey and just as intoxicating.
“That’s a question I’d like to hear the answer to myself.”
We all spun around. There, leaning against the doorframe, looking completely at home, was Nkosi. His dark eyes locked directly onto mine, a challenge and a promise in one devastating look. He’d heard everything.
Andile stepped forward, his body rigid. “Nkosi. What are you doing here?”
Nkosi’s smirk was a blade. He ignored my brother, his gaze never leaving my horrified face as he delivered his bombshell.
“Thandi invited me,” he said, his voice dropping into an intimate murmur meant only for me. “She said her daughter might need a ride home. And I never could refuse a request from your mother… or a chance to see you.”
💋 *He’s here, in my family’s sanctuary, and the look in his eyes says last night was just the beginning. With my brother ready to wage war and my mother playing matchmaker, how long can I pretend I don't want the very danger he promises?*
**To be continued in Part 5...**
Everyone keeps saying, “Now the story makes sense!” after reading the missed chapters. 👉 You’ll feel the same — start here to read missed episodes collections 👇👇
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