Niyah
***
Xander crossed the room and sat next to her. He pulled her head to his chest and massaged her scalp with his fingers. “Shhhhhh,” he whispered against her forehead.
“Shhhh.... Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” His chest vibrated from the deep rumble of his voice.
Niyah sniffed. “I want to, but I can’t.”
Xander gently kissed her forehead. “You can, but you don’t have to. You need to know that you can tell me anything.” He slid his finger under her chin and lifted her face until she was looking directly into his eyes. “I mean anything,” he declared.
Niyah nodded. “Okay,” she whispered.
Xander reached over and picked up Niyah’s glass. He sniffed it and grinned. “So, you’re drinking this vodka straight, huh?”
“It’s been a rough day,” Niyah admitted through a sigh.
Xander chuckled. “I’d say so.” He stood and held out his hand for her to join him. Niyah placed her hand in his and stood. He handed her the glass. “Knock that back so I can fix you a real drink.”
Niyah looked at the glass and made a face. Sipping and gulping is one thing, but it was still a lot of vodka in the glass. Knocking it back would burn.
Xander raised a brow. “You poured it, now you gotta drink it.”
Niyah giggled and put the glass to her lips. As instructed, she finished the vodka and handed him the glass.
“Good girl.” Xander took the glass and led her into her bedroom. Judging from the state of disarray her bed linen was in, it wasn’t the guest bed he was lying in. He led her to the chair near her window. “Take your clothes off and sit.”
Niyah grinned. “You’re awful bossy, Mr. Creed.”
“I’m a boss, Doc. It’s in my blood.” He left her in the bedroom and entered the ensuite bath.
Seconds later, Niyah heard the water running, so she took off her clothes, carried them into her walk-in closet, and dropped them in the hamper.
“Come on in,” Xander called from the bathroom.
Niyah closed her eyes and inhaled the aroma of her lavender bath beads.
When she went into the bathroom, Xander was lighting a candle.
He placed it on the countertop. His expression changed.
In his eyes was a flicker of appreciation for her uncovered curves.
While under his scrutiny, Niyah resisted the natural urge to cover herself.
Instead, she straightened her spine and pushed her shoulders back.
The way his darkened gaze met her nakedness instantly heated her skin.
Xander looked away as if he had to force himself and rolled up his sleeves.
“Get in. I’ll be right back.” He grabbed Niyah’s glass and left.
Before stepping in, Niyah tested the water with her toe.
The temperature was perfect, but the tub wasn’t full.
Nevertheless, she stepped in and eased down into the water.
Niyah sighed when the warm water enveloped her skin.
With the soft light of scented candles, Xander had created quite a relaxing atmosphere.
“I fixed you a proper drink,” Xander announced when he entered the bathroom. “How’s the water?”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.”
He handed her the glass and lowered to his knees behind her. “Hand me that,” he requested, reaching ed for the sponge.
Niyah sipped from the glass. “Umm. This is delicious. What is this?”
“Moscow Mule.”
“I’ve heard of that.” She took another sip. “I really like it.”
Niyah quieted when her thoughts returned to her sister, the evidence she had removed from the crime scene, and the DNA she’d destroyed. Maybe she deserved to have her license stripped away. Maybe she deserved to go to jail.
Xander moved a loose loc off her shoulder and swirled the sponge over her back. “Where did you go?” he asked, pulling her back to the present.
Niyah closed her eyes and allowed her head to fall. “Xander, I-I... I’ve done something.”
“Okay.” His voice was deep and filled with concern.
“Something bad, Xander. I’ve done something really bad.” Niyah heard the weakness and vulnerability in her voice. Telling him what she’d done could be a disaster. She could possibly bring about her own condemnation. What would stop Xander from turning her and Naomi in?
Xander dropped the sponge in the water and rubbed her shoulders. “What did you do?”
Niyah wiped a tear from her cheek. “I broke the law.”
Xander gripped her shoulders. “There are a lot of laws, Niyah. It’s easy to break one or two.”
“I tampered with evidence,” Niyah confessed.
Xander’s silence filled the room like carbon dioxide. It was like she could hear the inner workings of his brain. Niyah suddenly wished she could go back in time before she’d confessed to a crime.
“Niyah.” Though his voice was soft, the sound of it made Niyah jump.
“Xander, I--”
“Wait. You’re a death investigator. So, what you're saying is you covered up a murder.”
“Yes, I covered up a murder,” Niyah admitted in the tiniest whisper.
Xander moved from behind her and crawled to the side of the tub. He reached in and grabbed her hand. “Why did you cover up a murder?”
Niyah hesitated. It was one thing to confess her own sins, but another to tell her sister’s.
“Why did you cover up a murder?” Xander repeated.
Niyah sighed. “I had my reasons.”
Xander used his thumb to swipe a tear from her face. “Does anyone else know?”
Niyah nodded. “Yes, but she won’t say anything. At least, I don’t think she will.”
“Bella,” Xander muttered under his breath.
Niyah neither confirmed nor denied.
“Does anyone else know?” he asked again.
“Yes,” Niyah admitted.
“Yes?” Xander repeated in disbelief. “Niyah, how many people know?”
“Four now, including you.”
His eyes grew wide with concern. “Can you get away with this?”
“I think so, but that’s not really the point. Xander, I have just shitted on everything I believe in.”
“Tell me why, Niyah?”
“I had to, Xander!”
“All right,” Xander calmed. “What’s done is done. Now, we need figure out how to keep you out of prison.”
“There’s nothing to figure out. It simple. If someone turns me in, I’m going to prison. For now, I’m free.”
Xander fished the sponge out of the water and pumped it with bodywash. “We’re gonna keep it that way. I just got you. I’m not ready to give you up.”
Niyah cleared her throat and raised a brow at him. “Got me? Who says you got me?”
Xander chuckled. “Girl, you know I got you. Stop pretending that you don’t belong to me.”
Niyah laughed. “How do you figure that?”
Xander threw his hands up. “We live together!”
Niyah grinned. “That, Xander, was supposed to be temporary.”
Xander peered at her with wicked amusement. “Shit, is that what you thought?” he asked with a chuckle. “This is my home.”
Niyah laughed and splashed him with water. “Easy, big guy, this is my home!” she corrected with a smile.
Xander laughed. “Okay, Ookay... If you say so.”
Niyah shifted in the tub. She reached for the faucet, but Xander moved her hand. “You getting cold?”
“A little bit.”
Xander turned on the hot water and used his hand to swish the water around. “You are coming with me to my parents’ house for election night, right?”
Niyah nodded. “I am.”
“Good. Because the Creeds are about to make history.” Xander smiled and ran his thumb alongside her cheek. “History,” he repeated.