Prince of Stone (Imperia)

by Gena Showalter

  Unconcerned, he continued on.

  “We’re going to spend eight hours in the car, and we don’t even have snacks and drinks,” she whined. “I have way too much work to do on the Victorian. In fact, I’m on the clock, and you’re going to pay me for my time!”

  “Are you trying to make me wish I’d cut off my ears and left them behind?” he said, not sparing her a glance.

  “Yes! Or aye. Whatever!”

  The truck inched along the road, doing no more than five miles per hour. Color leached from his knuckles.

  “I could walk faster than this, grandpa.”

  “Truly?” he asked. “Then get out and prove it.”

  “Ohh. Look who’s grown a pair of titanium balls. Also, you’re going the wrong freaking way!” The words echoed inside Katie’s head, and she cringed. He didn’t deserve this. He just wanted to go home. “I’m sorry,” she said, and sighed. “Pull over.”

  “Nay.” One word, both a bark and a bite. He reminded her of a caged animal.

  “Pull over. I’ll drive us to the psychic.”

  His chin snapped around. He faced her hopefully. “You speak true?”

  “Yes, now watch the road and pull over.” She pointed.

  “I wish I could stop right here in the middle of the road, so great is my relief.” He followed the line of her finger.

  Once at a halt, they quickly switched places. “You really owe me for this,” she muttered.

  “I can very easily pay you once we arrive. I need only a bed and five…ten…sixty minutes of your time.” The teasing sparkle returned to his eyes.

  Oh, how she’d missed that sparkle. “You don’t get an hour of my time until you’ve paid your previous debt.”

  Now he grinned. “Noted.”

  As she maneuvered the car in the right direction, she told him, “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

  “Aye. I know it.”

  And dang it, she liked him that way.

  For the first twenty miles, they didn’t speak, just listened to the soft hum of the radio. Katie felt Jorlan’s body heat, and it kept her mind firmly in the gutter.

  Or perhaps she was, by nature, more sexual than she’d ever realized. Perhaps she was addicted to Jorlan. Ribbons of fantasy wove through her mind. She saw it all so clearly. Jorlan would scoot closer to her and trail his hand up her thigh, making her shiver and ache for more. His eyes would devour her as he whispered a provocation she could not ignore. I dare you to experience your pleasure, katya. And she would. Oh, she would. The hot tips of his fingers would push aside her panties and slip inside her soaked core. He would stroke her, first leisurely, then with unstoppable ferocity.

  Perhaps he would take his fingers from her just to lick them because he couldn’t live another moment without learning the taste of her.

  “Katie?”

  The voice was real, not part of her fantasy, and she jolted into awareness, her cheeks burning. “What!”

  “Do you purposefully drive like this?”

  “Crap!” Amid honks and flashing middle fingers, she jerked the truck from the median and into the proper lane. She took a moment to collect her wits, slow her breathing and control her shaking. Shaking that had nothing to do with bad driving.

  How she yearned to explore every inch of his body, to exalt as he explored hers in turn. She wanted to feel the hard ripples of his muscles and the smooth silkiness of his skin.

  “What were you thinking about?” he asked.

  Swallowing, she forced her attention to remain on the road. “I just can’t believe we’re doing this. Have you always been this impulsive, or is this a new development?”

  “New development. Usually I think for weeks or months, working out all angles before taking action.” He offered no more information. “Tell me about this town we are visiting?”

  “Lubbock is known as Hub City. There’s not really much more to tell.” She had to keep him talking, had to keep herself distracted. “Now that you’ve seen more of Earth, have you noticed any surprising differences between our worlds?”

  “Aye. Here, females are equal with your males.”

  Well. Not quite equal—not yet. “Are women not allowed to venture into public places?”

  “Only with an escort.”

  “And that is where you’d like me to live?” she asked softly.

  He sat up straighter in his seat, a clear indication he didn’t like the direction of their conversation. He opened his mouth. Closed it.

  Before he could settle on a rebuttal, a loud pop rang out and the truck swerved. Heart racing, Katie pulled over to the side of the road.

  “What is wrong?” Jorlan asked with a frown.

  “Flat tire, I think.”

  Yep. Good call. Took her a while, but she managed to remove the flat. She could have done it in half the time if Jorlan had stayed inside the truck. But noooo. The barbarian stood over her shoulder, offering his opinion about everything!

  “Are you sure that goes there?” he asked. “I would put it here.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Are you positive the truck will not flip over? That metal object is holding it at an incline. I would raise the truck from the middle.”

  “I’m sure you would.”

  “Are you turning the—”

  “I’m sure! I’m sure! I’m sure!”

  He chanted something under his breath an-n-nd the flat tire exploded, a strong blast of air shoving her backward.

  As soon as she stilled, bits of rubber raining down, Jorlan was there, looming over her. He didn’t look concerned for her, though. No, he was frowning down at the remains of the tire as if it were deadly poison.

  “What did you do?” Katie demanded, jumping to her feet.

  “A spell,” he admitted grudgingly. “I’d hoped to help you.”

  “I think we can agree I’m forever a magic-free zone.”

  “You are an adorable zone. You have black soot on your face.”

  They climbed back in the truck, her nerves on edge. She was dirty, sweaty and hungry. Worse, she was dismayed. Katie didn’t like that Jorlan had watched her do yet another “warriorlike” task. First her work on the Victorian, now this. If this kept up, she might end up in the friend zone.

  Plenty of men thought of her as “just one of the boys.” She didn’t want Jorlan thinking of her that way, too. Which was a bit contradictory, she supposed, since she wanted him to see her as independent and capable.

  One of the reasons she’d continued to resist his appeal—he was so freaking sexy, and she…wasn’t. He had experience, and she didn’t. He’d lived forever, and she’d barely lived at all. The scale was unbalanced. How was she supposed to keep a man like him interested for the long haul?

  Her hands clenched on the wheel. What kind of women had Jorlan dated before her? Short, dark-haired women who wore dresses and lace and spoke with soft, angelic voices? Everything I’m not.

  Was that the real reason he hadn’t tried to win her heart or get into her pants? Did he not want her anymore?

  If only he’d tried to seduce her once in the last three days. Just once. She wouldn’t feel so forgotten.

  Well, fine. Whatever. Somewhere out there was a man who was her equal. They’d be a little awkward together, but only at first. They’d quickly find their footing.

  As quickly as I found my footing with Jorlan?

  Forget Jorlan! Her very human man would find her fascinating.

  Like Jorlan finds you fascinating?

  She ground her molars. Jorlan might find her fascinating now, but it wouldn’t last.

  Anyway. Her human boyfriend would play basketball with her, and take her to football games. So what that she hadn’t expression an interest in playing basketball with Jorlan, or attending games at his side. So what that neither of those things mattered to her.

  Every moment they spent together, he would look at her as if she were God’s most beautiful creation. Her brothers would love—

  Oh
, no! Her brothers. She cut off a groan. Her family worried more than most. If she didn’t make it home tonight, they would send out a search party.

  “Hand me the phone in the glove box, will ya?” she asked Jorlan. Her shorts had no pockets, so she’d left the cell in the truck when they’d visited the psychics.

  “What is this glove box?” he asked.

  She pointed and he complied.

  Instead of trying to drive and dial, she handed the cell to Jorlan and told him which numbers to push. She decided to call Erik, the most easygoing of the group, who’d ask the fewest questions.

  “Now push the speaker button,” she said. “And say nothing! Please.”

  Erik answered after the third ring. “Hey, sis. What’s up?”

  “Listen, I’m staying in Lubbock tonight. Maybe. Probably.” She didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. “Depends on how long my errand takes. I’ll let you know, though.”

  “What are you doing in Lubbock?” Erik asked, already suspicious.

  “Hold on. I’m checking my records to see if the reason is any of your business. Drats! It’s not,” she told him with a dry tone.

  “What for?” he insisted.

  “Maybe I needed a break.”

  Silence crackled over the line. Then, “You going by yourself?”

  “No,” she grated.

  “So you’re going with Jorlan. Why not just admit it?”

  “Because you gossip like a high school queen of mean. Because I didn’t want you or the others to worry. Because—”

  “We won’t worry. Well, I won’t,” he added with a laugh. “I saw the way Jorlan looks at you. That man will take a bullet to keep you safe.”

  Would he really? Delicious warmth tingled along her collarbone, then spread down her arms.

  When Jorlan nodded, enthusiastically agreeing with Erik, the warmth intensified until she felt as if she were melting into the seat. While she had no trouble taking care of herself, whatever the situation, she welcomed backup. In fact, she’d never understood why people in books and movies protested bodyguards or any kind of police escort. The world sucked, and man-born disasters happened every day.

  “Thank you, Erik,” she said. An eighteen-wheeler whizzed beside them. The driver blew his horn and waved. Katie ignored him. “I love you, and I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  “Don’t hang up yet. Let me speak with Jorlan first.”

  What! No way, no how. “What—you—static,” she said. “Must—be…” She reached out to disconnect the call, and the line went dead. As she pictured Erik sputtering with indignation, she grinned.

  “That went well,” Jorlan said.

  Up ahead, a billboard advertised the last gas station in a twenty-mile radius. She checked the truck’s gauge. Almost empty, dang it.

  By the time they pulled into the lot, the truck puttered on fumes. She made Jorlan get out with her so she could teach him how to properly fill a tank. At the halfway point, she stopped, paid, then had him start again, all on his own. Which he did without any problems. Smart man, faster learner.

  After she paid the second bill, both charges coming to forty-seven hard-earned dollars, she hustled Jorlan to his seat and strode inside the store to gather a few necessary items. Chocolate. An energy drink. Condoms. What? She’d left her other thousand boxes at home.

  A few minutes later, they were back on the road and eating up the miles.

  Thanks to traffic, the usually five-hour trip to Lubbock took a little over seven.

  She and Jorlan got burgers at a drive-through and sat in the parking lot to eat and research the psychic. Dining inside would have been nice; she would have had a chance to stretch her legs. Her rear end hurt like crazy! But, better she experience discomfort than an audience of strangers listening to their conversation.

  Jorlan polished off three burgers and fries in record time.

  She nibbled on her food while scrolling on her phone. “Well, crap. The shop closes in five minutes, and walk-ins are not welcome. We’ll have to wait till morning,” she told him. “I’m sorry.”

  Tension radiated from him. “Not your fault.”

  No, but his pain hurt her.

  Thick gray clouds shifted across the sky, covering the sun. A handful of raindrops splattered on the windshield. The wipers created perfect arches on the glass.

  They found a nearby motel to rent a room. A little run-down, but clean.

  Once they got situated inside, Jorlan picked up the TV control and pushed buttons. “What does this do?”

  Images flooded the small black screen. Old reruns of Baywatch.

  “Not going to destroy the TV the way you destroyed my phone? Okay.”

  If he heard her, he offered zero reaction. He was too busy getting comfortable on the bed, lying on his stomach, crossing his arms and resting his chin on his wrist.

  Before Katie could relax as well, a little girl screamed, “That’s my hamburger.” Her high-pitched voice blasted through the walls.

  Then, another girl shouted, “Mom, Carrie isn’t sharing.”

  Soon, a sharp ache pounded in Katie’s temples.

  “Want to go to the bar down the street?” she asked Jorlan.

  He didn’t spare her a glance, just muttered, “Bar. Street.”

  “Or we could stay in and have sex.” Half joke, half plea.

  “Stay. Sex,” he echoed. Then he hissed air between his teeth and jerked his attention her way. “Yes. That. Let’s do that. After we wed.”

  Her heart raced at warp speed as he stood and closed the distance. His sandalwood scent engulfed her, his body throwing off grenades of sexual heat. “Let’s have sex then discuss getting married.”

  He thought for a moment. “That is…” He leaned down, letting his mouth hover over hers. “Acceptable.”

  Her heart beat faster, harder as she rose to her tiptoes. Their lips met. Moaning, he swept his tongue against hers, the kiss hot and demanding right from the start.

  As she wound her arms around him, he cupped her breasts and ground his erection between her legs. Pure ecstasy shot through her body.

  “I want to see you,” he whispered. He tugged on the straps of her tank top.

  “I want to see you, too.” She pulled his gray T-shirt from his jeans, and then…

  “Mom. Momma. Mommy. Mom, mom, mom. Carrie took my shoes.” Once again, the little girl’s voice penetrated the walls. “Give those back, butthead. Mom! Make Carrie give me back my shoes.”

  Breath ragged, Katie ended the kiss and pressed her brow against Jorlan’s. Her first time wasn’t going to be in a rented room, with the devil’s spawn complaining nearby. “About that bar…”

  Weary sigh. “What is a bar?”

  “A place where people drink and dance as foreplay.”

  Electric blues lit up. “Aye. Let’s go.”

  A ten-minute drive and they reached their destination. As they rushed through the parking lot, headed for the door, a crack of thunder boomed and the skies opened up, pouring rain. In seconds every inch of her was soaked.

  Rather than running faster to escape the storm, she slowed and stopped. With a laugh, she spread her arms and spun. Jorlan paused to glance over his shoulder. As soon as he spotted her, he stilled and grinned. That grin shaved ten years off his appearance, not to mention ten thousand pounds of stress. For a moment, he looked so young and boyish, a man without cares, only pleasures. Her chest constricted, and for a moment, she saw stars.

  The rain soaked him, too, and oh, wow. He didn’t just look young and carefree. He looked like a water god, and she shivered.

  Mistakenly assuming she was cold, he backtracked, took her hand and lead her inside the building.

  He shook out his hair, water droplets flinging in every direction, and she laughed again.

  A growl rumbled from his chest. “No more laughing, woman, or I will have a hard-on all night.”

  All innocence, she batted her lashes. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

&n
bsp; “It is. Earth drocs—pants—already strangle him.”

  “Your penis is a him?” Now she howled.

  Jorlan donned a stern expression for all of ten seconds, before chuckling.

  In that moment, Katie realized a startling truth. At some point between freeing Jorlan from stone and agreeing to think about marrying him, he’d become her best friend. She liked him, trusted him and enjoyed him. He had her back, and she had his.

  It had happened so fast, it must have been…fated. Like soul mates.

  Fated. Soul mates. Meant to be. The words echoed inside her head, butterflies taking flight inside her stomach. Were they fated?

  “Hey! Watch it,” a man said when her shoulder brushed his.

  “Sorry,” she rushed out. She’d gotten so lost in her head, she hadn’t realized Jorlan had taken her hand and ushered her through the bar. Stay out of your head. Focus.

  Jorlan released her and stood in front of the man, menace pouring off him. “You do not speak to ladies in such a manner. You do not speak to my lady in such a manner. Ever. Do it again, and I’ll hack you into little pieces to feed to your family and friends.”

  The man paled, muttered, “Sorry, ma’am,” and hurried off.

  “Ma’am? Why don’t you cut the heart you’ve broken out of my chest,” she called.

  “You would like his heart?” Jorlan asked, vibrating with eagerness.

  Her mother used to say, It’s the thought that counts, honey, anytime Katie had given her a piece-of-crap gift she’d made at school. If she believed the claim, Jorlan had just proven to be the sweetest man ever. But, uh, she’d have to be more careful about what she said. “Thank you, but no.” Though no one was smoking, the air contained a pungent trace of nicotine. Tumultuous rock music assaulted her ears as she and Jorlan meandered across a concrete floor in search of a table.

  All around, bodies gyrated in time to the fast-paced beat. Jorlan did a double take, clearly shocked by the public displays of affection.

  Finally, a booth opened up and they hurried to snag it.