BirthStone by Sydney Addae Read Free Book Online Page A

and
society.”
    Anger, hot and potent, flashed through her
at the insult. His dig hit its target. Her control over her
emotions had been skewed since the postpartum debacle. The only
reason she hadn’t mentioned the outbursts of rage and tingly hot
energy across her skin to Silas is because she wanted to explore
this new area on her own. It gave her something to focus on besides
her domestic duties.
    Jasmine eyed Rose, who lay on the desk
whimpering with her eyes closed. Turning, so she could lean against
the desk, and knowing that Rose could hear her, Jasmine responded
to Merriweather.
    “I think you misunderstand, Merriweather.”
Her tone was low and hard. ”La Patron schedules meetings with
Presidents of countries, stateside and abroad, he has friends in
the Senate, the House, and on the bench. He is the ruler of his
nation, and the fact he does not return your call, someone who does
not rank on his societal scale, says nothing about him but
everything about you.”
    “Wwwhaaat?”
    “I believe we will have a discussion with
the good Lieutenant over how you have this very private number.
Don’t bother calling again, your line will be blocked and I will
report you to the captain for stalking.”
    “I’m not –”
    “Of course you are stalking Mr. Knight,
Merriweather,” she said, grinning, quite enjoying the exasperated
sounds he made on the other end as he tried to out-talk her. But
the experience of raising two outgoing sons held her steady while
she took the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go.
    “By your own admission, you said you’ve
called before, and I know for a fact you’ve called three times this
week.” Rose had been complaining about the man’s attitude and told
her that he was becoming a pest by calling so often. It was a
calculated guess on Jasmine’s part that it was more than twice.
    “I have important business to discuss with
him. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, then fine, I’ll find someone
who will listen. We’ll see how big he is then, won’t we. I promise
you this, Silas Knight will pay for killing Robbie. On my honor, I
promise you that.” His voice had dropped to a low snarl.
    The air in her nostrils stilled. Her
heartbeat stuttered as each word he spoke registered. Rage, red and
potent, curled within her belly. She sensed her mate’s attention
and shut down their connection. She would handle this.
    “Are you threatening Silas?” Jasmine asked
in what she hoped was an even tone. Her body tightened at the idea
of danger to her mate. She unclenched her fist while waiting for
him to answer.
    Silence met her question, followed with a
delighted chuckle. “Ah…this is better than I hoped. Ms. Bennett,
how wonderful to hear your voice. It is truly an honor… I mean I am
most fortunate of men to have this gratifying opportunity to speak
with you.”
    Frowning, Jasmine removed the receiver from
her ear and then replaced it. “You have been speaking with me for
the past ten minutes. I ask again, are you threatening Silas?”
    “Not in the sense that you are thinking
–”
    “You have no idea what I’m thinking,” she
snapped, aggravated by his about face. Now she’d have to explain to
her mate how talking with a crazy person got her so twisted up she
shut down their link. He would think she forgot to take her
medication, again. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
    “I assure you, nothing is wrong, all is
right in my world. To hear the voice of the one… I apologize for
being testy before. I would close with these words of caution, be
careful and stay close to home.”
    Brow raised, she glanced at Rose, who
remained seated, face down at her desk. She was torn between
helping Rose and by extension, her son Tyrone, or listening to
information that may or may not shed light on the level of
hostility aimed at her or Silas. With her mom and sister arriving
soon, she wanted to be sure everyone was safe.
    Pushing from the desk, Jasmine pulled up a
nearby chair