The Lion (11 page)

  Tauri slowly moved up the walkway to the Shaw home a few days later. Orion's parents had invited her over for dinner this evening. In one hand she held her purse and in the other a cake tray. She had to admit she was actually nervous meeting Orion's family and although he'd assured her that the evening would go smoothly, she wasn't so sure. Tauri had never met the family of a man she was intimate with before. She'd never allowed a relationship to progress to that level but Orion had persuaded her in his own special way.

  Before she reached the front porch, the door opened and a beautifully ethereal woman stood in the doorway. The woman lifted a brow as Tauri continued to approach.

  “Hello,” Tauri greeted as she came face to face with whom she believed was Orion's mother.

The woman smiled. “Hello, you must be Tauri Patterson.”

  “Yes, I'm Tauri.”

She looked Tauri over before extending a hand. “I'm Pam Shaw, Orion's mother.”

  Tauri adjusted her purse on her arm to accept her hand. “It's nice to meet you Mrs. Shaw. Thank you for inviting me to your home.”

  “Come inside Tauri. I'm anxious to speak with you,” she invited while opening the door to allow Tauri inside the house.

  Once inside the home Tauri took a quick glance around at the nicely furnished home before she turned to Pam.

  “Is Orion here?” she asked since she had expected him to be the one greeting her at the door.

  His mother smiled. “Yes, the men are all talking in the family room. Why don't you come to the kitchen with me?” His mother led her into a large kitchen with all types of food laid out on the counters and stove.

Pam nodded at the tray in her hand. “You didn't have to bring anything.”

Tauri sat the tray on an empty spot on the table. “I just made a cake.”

  “You made it?” Pam asked coming over to lift the top.

Tauri cleared her throat. “Yes, it's chocolate.”

Pam peeked at the frosted cake and replaced the cover looking at Tauri. “You can cook?”

  Tauri nodded slowly as Pam quickly moved to check one of the pots on the stove. Tauri took a deep breath and glanced around the kitchen. Where the hell was Orion? Here she was stuck in the kitchen with his mother who looked like she was ready to give her the third degree. This is why she didn't like to meet families.

  “So Tauri, you're the top prosecutor for the city and you also make homemade cakes. You appear to be very talented,” Pam said turning back to where Tauri was standing still holding her bag.

Tauri smiled. “Lawyer by day, baker by night...” She shrugged uncomfortably.

  “Hmmmm.... I also understand you haven't known my son for long.”

  Okay, Tauri thought, we're going straight for the big guns. She sat her purse on a chair and gave Pam her full attention.

  “No, Orion and I haven't known each other for very long, almost two weeks.”

  Pam lifted a brow. “And we're meeting you already? Seems like things are moving quickly between you two.”

Hold the hell up...Tauri thought, I'm not the one talking about building and babies.

  “Mrs. Shaw, let me say this...” Tauri began as her phone buzzed with a text. She automatically reached down into her bag. “Excuse me....”

Tauri glanced at the text on her screen from Orion.

 
Where are you baby?

She typed back:

 
In your mother's kitchen. Where the hell are you?

  A few seconds later Rion showed up in the doorway and looked at his mother questioningly before walking over to where Tauri was standing. He placed a hand on her waist as he leaned down to kiss her gently.

  “I wondered where you were,” he said staring down at her. “I didn't hear the doorbell.”

  “Your mother was waiting for me at the door,” Tauri explained.

  Rion looked at his mother then back at Tauri. He read the look on his mother's face and felt the tenseness in Tauri's body.

  “What's going on?” he asked both women.

Tauri looked away. “I just came for dinner.”

Rion turned to his mother. “Momma?” he asked pointedly.

  Pam folded her arms. “I was just asking Tauri about the speed of your relationship Orion. You just got here and you have a lot on your plate right now.”

  Rion frowned as his brother and father appeared in the kitchen wondering what was going on. Corvus saw the look on his brother's face and stopped. The lion was riled up and he wondered why.

  “I'm going to say this for the last time so there will be no more questions,” Rion began facing his family. “It does not matter to me what anybody thinks. I came here to start a team and to start my life; and that life is with Tauri Patterson.” He looked at Tauri. “I would marry her today if she agreed, because I don't need anyone to tell me what my heart already knows.”

  Tauri's eyes widened as she watched him. It always threw her off balance when Orion made his declarations, but this one was a doozy and in front of his entire family. He took her hand and brought it to his mouth. “We invited you for dinner and I hope that you will stay.”

Tauri touched his face. “Yes, I'll stay.”

  Corvus and George looked at Pam before she walked over to the couple. “My son has very eloquently put me in my place,” she said to Tauri. “I apologize if I offended you in any way. Please feel welcome in our home.”

Tauri nodded and smiled. “Thank you.”

  George Shaw smiled at his wife. He knew this was going to be hard for her. Orion was her young god and he'd always been there for her, before and after George had come into their lives. Their bond was very special and George understood it was going to be hard for Pam to deal with a new woman in Orion's life. However, he was proud of her today for making the first step. Orion was a man who knew his own mind and always had. George knew that Orion would not allow this situation to get out of hand and was pleased at the way he'd handled it.

Rion turned to his mother. “Tauri's going to give you five grandbabies.”

Pam smiled at him happily while Tauri frowned at him.

  “Let these two say hello while we get the table set,” Pam said ushering Corvus and George out of the kitchen.

  Tauri was still frowning when Rion turned back to her. “Don't do that,” he said kissing her furrowed brow.

  “I don't know what to do with you Orion Shaw,” she told him.

Rion gently pulled her into his arms. “Hello Tauri. I'm glad you came.”

She hugged him back. “You didn't tell me you were a momma's boy.”

He frowned and pulled back. “I'm not, Corvus is though.”

  Tauri tilted her head. “Right, your momma was about to pull out the kitchen knives on me right here.”

  Rion laughed. “Nope, my momma wouldn't go there. She wouldn't mess up her kitchen like that. She'd take you outside.”

  “That's not funny.” Tauri crossed her arms glaring at him.

  Rion stared down at her taking in the red dress that hugged her sexy curves and showed her curvy legs. “Stop flashing those pretty eyes at me before I do something to you in my momma's kitchen.”

  “I can't believe the things you say sometimes...” she sighed.

  “What?” he asked.

Tauri looked at him. “Orion you just told your family that you'd marry me.”

  “I am.”

Tauri's hands balled into fists. “I want to strangle you.”

Rion lifted her eyes to his. “I want to love you,” he whispered softly before kissing her.

  Tauri wanted to stay angry, she wanted to not fall under Orion's spell but he was too damn good; too damn smooth. He kissed her slowly savoring her mouth and pulling her closer. She didn't care that they were in his mother's kitchen or that moments ago she'd wanted to punch him in the face. All that mattered now was being held in his arms and him wanting to love her.

They both heard a loud cough and turned in the direction where it had come from.

  “Uh, can we eat? 'Cause I'm hungry,” Corvus said from the doorway.

  “Tauri this is my brother Corvus, the greedy one,” Rion introduced them and Corvus came to take her hand.

  “It's nice to meet you Corvus, I've heard a lot about you,” Tauri told him smiling and shaking his hand.

  He looked at Rion. “If it's from him, it's all lies. If it's from other females, it's all true...” he said grinning.

Tauri laughed. “Don't start Corvus,” Rion warned.

  “I'm on good behavior tonight because Momma has already vexed the lion and I don't want him attacking me,” Corvus explained.

Tauri looked confused. “The lion?”

Corvus nodded. “He doesn't come out often, but when he does...watch out.”

She turned to Orion and lifted a brow.

  Pam showed up and got everybody moving to sit down to dinner. Rion took the seat next to Tauri while Corvus sat across from them and their parents sat on the ends, after Tauri was introduced to their father.

  Tauri looked around the table. “Thank you again for having me. Orion has told me a lot about all of you.” They all smiled at her as they began their meals.

  “Corvus where's Lance? I thought you two stayed joined at the hip?” Rion asked his brother.

  Corvus smirked. “We're hooking up later to check out that new club downtown. You and Tauri should come through.”

Rion glanced at Tauri. “Who else is going to be there?” he asked.

  “Me, Lance and B is supposed to come through if he can. He's still working on that breach at his office.”

Tauri smiled. “I can't imagine Brandon in a club.”

Corvus and Rion shared a look before going back to their meals.

  “How do you like working with Brandon?” Pam asked Tauri.

  “He's a great boss. I have a lot of respect for him and the work he does for the city.”

Pam continued eating then asked, “Do you like your job Tauri?”

  Tauri turned to her. “Yes, very much.” She turned to Rion. “I'm glad that Brandon assigned me Orion's case.” He smiled at her.

  “We're very concerned about Orion and this threat,” his mother said shaking her head.

Tauri stared at Rion. “Believe me Mrs. Shaw, this is a top priority. Orion is very important to me.”

Pam smiled. “That's wonderful to hear Tauri.”

  “What's the update on the situation at the prosecutor's office?” George asked.

  Rion shrugged. “Somebody put a tracer on Tauri's computer. The FBI came in and didn't find anything else so it seems Tauri was the target and it revolves around my case. The guys from LA are working on identifying who it is.”

  “Did Chief Green put some security on Tauri?” Pam asked concerned.

Corvus nodded. “We've got it Momma.”

Tauri turned to Rion. “You have someone following me?” she asked surprised.

  “We're watching out for you,” Rion confirmed. “I'm not taking any chances with my future.”

Tauri flushed as she looked down at her plate. “Thank you Orion,” she said softly.

  Rion sat his fork down and gently took her hand. Tauri turned to look into his eyes and everyone in the room disappeared. Tauri was a tough girl and was accustomed to taking care of herself. That Orion had been concerned enough to look out for her, touched her heart deeply.

  “Never thank me for taking care of you Tauri...that's what I'm supposed to do,” Rion told her.

  Tauri looked from Rion to his father and then to his mother. “Thank you for raising such a wonderful man,” Tauri told them.

Pam and George smiled at her.

  “Uh, they raised more than one...”Corvus added looking around the table.

  After dinner at the Shaw house, Tauri and Rion agreed to meet Corvus downtown. Inside the club, they were led to a VIP section where Corvus and Lance were seated. They all greeted one another and Tauri was introduced to Lance.

  The waitress arrived and Lance ordered a drink and looked to Tauri. “You want a drink sister because the temple boys don't drink alcohol.”

Tauri smiled. “The temple boys?”

  “The body is the temple of the god. We've been taught to keep them clean,” Rion told her.

  Tauri nodded. “In that case, I'll have a strawberry daiquiri, a virgin one.” Tauri wasn't really a drinker, so it wasn't a big deal to her.

  Rion leaned toward her. “If you want a drink baby, it's fine. I don't expect you not to enjoy yourself.”

  “Not tonight. I can enjoy myself just being with you.” She smiled at him and he kissed her cheek.

  Rion looked up to find Corvus and Lance watching him with looks of sympathy. They knew that their brother was gone. Tauri Patterson had captured the heart of the lion.

  “So Lance, no female entourage tonight?” Rion asked.

  Lance sat back. “Nah, I called Katydids to see if she wanted to chill but she had some other plans or something.”

  Tauri excused herself to the ladies room and all the men stood until she was out of sight. Lance turned to Corvus. “How was dinner with the fam?” he asked as they all sat.