“Is the lady okay?” Roman spoke to the men who looked ready to gut him, but his eyes were all for the lady in question.
“The lady is none of your concern,” Eka spat.
“See now, that depends.”
Roman’s cool reply had the brothers trading amazed and slightly humored looks.
“Depends on what?” Eka demanded.
Imani noted the stranger had yet to give either of her brothers the benefit of his gaze. His eyes were still on hers. Faintly, she acknowledged she hadn’t taken a real breath since he had interrupted them. She didn’t think she could breathe properly if she tried.
“That depends on what she says to me next,” Roman closed more distance between the two men and sensed them bracing for contact. They were all pretty matched in height, he thought. At 6 '6, he supposed he had only a good four inches on them both. In weight, the younger would pose no threat. The older...oh well, he thought. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
“Are you okay?” he asked, barely able to hear the words coming from his mouth. God...she was unreal, he marveled while slowly scanning her features. Her eyes were perfectly spaced and almond shaped. They set above a pert nose that further emphasized the full mouth which beautifully offset the gaze he would surely never forget. Her skin was more flawless than he’d first thought. Dark was a poor adjective to describe her coloring which was beyond any words he had to convey the depth of such a shade.
A low growl of impatience toppled Roman from the sublime cloud the girl had placed him on.
“Imani,” Eka’s voice was a forewarning against any disobedience.
Sadly, Imani’s ability to follow orders had deserted her. Whoever her rescuer was, she had never seen such a bottomless gaze-one with the power to render her so still. Instead of bleak and ominous, calm escape was what she sensed.
Calm? Escape? In the eyes of a white man? Imani Kamande, you have truly lost your mind. Maybe she had and yet-
“Imani!” Eka barked then.
“Alright now, everybody just, just calm down,” Faraji’s peacemaker persona weighed in. “Stranger,” he addressed Roman, “I ask you to respect this as a family matter.”
“I’ll go when she tells me to.”
Imani sensed Eka shifting behind her, readying for attack. She stood, moving from the bench and not sure whether she was doing so to save the stranger or her brother. Somehow, the stranger didn’t seem the type to lose many fights.
“I think I could use some fresher air,” she said.
Eka shoved Faraji aside in his haste to get to Imani.
“Touch me and I’ll tell Papa,” she lifted her chin when her words brought Eka up short.
She shifted her head, indicating the spot over her shoulder. “Touch him and I’ll tell Papa you tried to attack a stranger who came to my rescue.”
“Imani, what the hell are you doing?” Faraji’s tone was confusion and terror combined.
Imani had no idea what she was doing. The only thing she was mildly certain of was that her life would change the moment she put her hand into the wide palm extended toward her. She favored her brothers with another look, laughter tickling her throat at the utter devastation that seemed to paralyze their faces.
“Raj, please tell Papa I’ll be right there,” she put her fingers to the stranger’s palm and returned the squeeze he gave her hand before they walked away.
~17~
“No, wait,” Imani tugged her escort’s hand. She realized he was taking them back to the dining room by way of another entrance once they’d covered the steep curve around the balcony.
Roman stopped, concern pooling his eyes when he looked down at her. “Are you okay?” There was an awed hush lacing his voice. It mirrored his expression as he studied her. The beaded braids were piled atop her head in a wide ball. The high collared gown she wore matched the beads color and wrapped her svelte frame like a glove.
“Do you think we could sit down before we go back?” She asked.
“Sure,” Roman didn’t hesitate to switch courses and led her to one of the benches a short way down from the balcony entrance.
“Are you okay?” Roman persisted, still quite concerned for her well-being. “Should I go get one of your um...attendants? Please don’t faint on me, alright? Your brothers will definitely kill me then.” When she laughed, he smiled in sheer appreciation of the sound.
“I promise, I won’t faint. I’m too elated to faint.”
“Elated,” disbelief caressed his pronunciation of the word.
“No one stands up to Eka. Ever. Thank you, Mister...”
“Tesano,” he grimaced. “Roman.”
“Thank you, Mr. Tesano.”
“It’s just Roman, please. Do I seem like a mister to you?”
“No,” she shook her head. Silently, she observed that he didn’t seem much older than she was. He was exceptionally tall, though and with the build of an athlete that bordered on massive. The bench had seemed quite spacious when she’d shared it with Raj. Now, sharing with the stranger, it felt uncomfortably small.
She hadn’t dared to linger over his features earlier with Eka and Raj around, but now...He had the kind of darkly intense looks her London classmates swooned over in magazines featuring film stars. She had swooned over a fair amount of those smolderingly handsome types herself.
Now, school was behind her. She was a woman graduated and realizing the frivolity of girlish interests. It had all been meaningless especially where boys were concerned. She could never expect her parents would approve of a boy she herself had chosen.
“I um...” she blinked. “I should call you Mr. Tesano.” She saw a fine muscle dance along his well-defined jaw.
“Why?”
