Dressed in Yellow: BBW Contemporary Romance by Karina Ashe Read Free Book Online Page A

no family to demand redress of any insult.
    “I’m not letting it go! I’m calling the police! Your father!” Mandira paused, cheeks flushed, eyes narrowing. And smiled. “ Leon .”
    “Mandira.”
    “Yeah, Aiva, tell your girl to mind her own business before she gets some of the same discipline.”
    It galled her. Bile rose in her throat, the heat of anger curling her nails into her palms. But she didn’t want Mandira hurt. She pushed and pulled the woman back into the storeroom.
    “I’ll take care of it,” Aiva promised. “Just stay here.”
    She approached her cousin, expression cold, walking right up to him so their noses almost touched. In her heels, they were of a height.
    “That was a freebie,” she said softly. “But the next time you raise a hand to me, it better be to shoot me dead. Because I will come after you with everything I have.”
    He sneered, but stepped back, casually. “Get those freakin’ protestors out of the street in front of my shop, Aiva. Next time I won’t ask so nice.”
    Her fury simmered through the day and into the evening. When she went home, the first thing she did was pour herself a glass of wine to calm her nerves. Soothe her temper. She refused to look at herself in the mirror. Her fingertips could feel the bruised flesh- seeing it would only goad her into doing something that would be foolish. If she were going to war with Daniel, a confrontation of sheer strength would go in her favor. She would have to use patience, wit.
    The doorbell rang. Aiva whirled, wine sloshing on her hand, wondering who in the hell was bothering her. She didn’t want visitors. She wanted to stew in her own temper and eat cake. When it rang again, insistently, she stomped to the door and flung it open with her free hand.
    Leon took one look at her face, smile slipping from his lips. He stepped into her home, slamming the door closed, took the glass of wine from her limp fingers. She was...surprised to see him. She’d all but burned bridges, refusing his offer of help. Aiva hadn’t expected him to call her again, much less show up at her house.
    “Who?”
    “Huh?” She couldn’t think past her surprise.
    His jaw clenched. “Who hit you?” Fingertips brushed her cheekbone gently, a contrast to the cold fury in green eyes. Eyes gone reptilian with anger.
    “I- no one. I mean-”
    “Don’t lie to me.” His voice slashed her, his hands taking her wrists and pulling her body flush against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, raising her chin so he could examine her face. “Don’t fucking lie to me. Who hit you?” He paused, and the sudden chill in his eyes almost frightened her. “A man, of course. Who? Is that why you don’t want my help? Is there someone else?”
    “What? No!” Her mouth gaped a little. He sounded... jealous. Angry at the thought she’d gone to another man. “It was Dan-” Aiva clamped her mouth shut, belatedly. Damn wine. Even her teeth were beginning to feel loose. To distract him, she allowed her knees to collapse.
    “I feel faint,” she said.
    Leon lifted her, a feat that on a normal day would have dampened her panties. But today- her stress mitigated her response to a man strong enough to manhandle a curvy girl like her. He lowered her onto the white couch, placing her legs carefully closed, and pulling off her heels.
    “Don’t move,” he said, returning from the kitchen a few minutes later with a dishtowel wrapped around ice cubes. “Here. You should have done this straight away.”
    “I preferred the wine.”
    Eyes hard like chips of jade glinted. “I’ll bet. He’s dead, you know.”
    “Are you out of your mind?” Aiva knew better than to brush off the threat. Not with a man like this. He wouldn’t mention death just to blow off steam. “It’s just a-”
    “He touched what belongs to me. Hurt what belongs to me.” Leon inhaled through gritted teeth. “ Marked what belongs to me.”
    “Lower your voice,” she hissed. “And