Day of Atonement Read Online Free PDF Page B

twirled his finger around her belly button.
    She swatted his hand before he could go any further. “No, thank you. I am not even trying to get down like that with these thin walls and this squeaky bed frame.”
    â€œChicken.”
    â€œWhatever. Go to sleep. You’ll cool off. I hope you dream about mints because your breath is not nice.”
    â€œI hope you don’t think you got it going on in there.” He lightly poked her bottom lip.
    â€œNo, but I’m not trying to be all in your face like you’re in mine.”
    Just to be ornery, Troy got even closer and whispered, “I love you,” very slowly blowing the breath of each word in her nostrils.
    â€œEwe! Stop it!” She playfully hit him and he went down to nibble her neck. He also purposely wiggled the bed with his hips so that there was an abundance of noise coming from their room. “You better cut it out right now,” she said between giggles.
    â€œOr else?” Troy made the bed squeak even louder. This time he added a few “Oh, Natalies” for fun and covered her mouth so shecould not protest. She looked like she didn’t know whether she would die laughing or die from embarrassment when they heard footsteps in the hall.
    â€œI am going to kill you.” Natalie swatted him on the head.
    â€œI love you, too, babe.”
    She rolled her eyes and got out of bed, slipping a robe over her maternity shorts and pajama top. “I’ll be back. I have to pee.” She peeked out the room to make sure the coast was clear before heading out.
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    Natalie never did get back to sleep that morning, nor did she give in to Troy’s desires for intimacy. She made it very clear that nothing like that would happen all week. He made it very clear that he wished they would have gotten a hotel like they had done last year when they came here for Christmas. At the time, his sister, Tracy, and her husband were separated so she and her kids were living with Diane. Troy’s parents were separated this time last year as well, which was the only reason why Troy allowed Nate to stay at the house with Diane and Tracy while the two of them stayed at the hotel. Natalie thought it was sad that this would be the first time her father-in-law had actually seen Nate in person. She had only met him once herself. She knew Troy well enough to know that he didn’t necessarily want her and Nate to come with him solely to meet Elvin’s mom or to hang out with his wife. She was fully aware of Troy’s dislike of his father and he also admitted that he was nervous leaving them at the house with him.
    â€œWe’ll be all right,” she assured him as they finally went downstairs.
    The initial encounter with the rest of the family was a little awkwardonly, because the tension between Troy and his father was evident. Reed gave Natalie a very welcoming embrace, which she didn’t mind. He looked as if he wanted to hug Troy as well, but Troy’s stiff lawman posture was uninviting. They didn’t even exchange a handshake. Rather, Troy gave his father a very dry “hey” and walked right past him to wrap Tracy in a bear hug. He did the same with his fourteen-year-old niece before playfully putting her older brother in a head lock.
    Troy’s niece and nephew seemed to be a perfect blend between his sister and their father, Al, who, like Natalie, was biracial. It was eerie how divided the rest of their family was by their looks. Troy’s mom and sister had the same medium-brown complexion. Also, they weren’t the type of women who could easily hide in a crowd due to their height and wide hips. Neither woman was fat; they simply had more than a fair share of voluptuousness from the waist down, a trait that was clearly being passed down to Troy’s niece.
    On the other hand, it was obvious that Troy had gotten his much darker skin tone and handsomeness from his