She curled up in his arms and stayed where she felt protected. They would have to move this moment couldn’t last forever.
His hand stroked her cheek, and she knew it was time to come back to reality.
“I didn’t—.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just walk funny for a couple of weeks.”
She gasped. His deep laughter bounced around the room.
“Oh, you.” She smacked his chest.
“Go take a shower menace. You smell like sex; I don’t know how much more I can take before I lay you on the bed and dive between your legs.
She flushed her cheeks were hot, and her eyes were so bright that she could feel them. The smile on her lips wouldn’t be tamed. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom because why walk when you could run.
*~*~*~*
“I thought you’d never come.”
“You made it clear that you didn’t want me around.”
“That’s not true… Maybe it was true, but I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know. How is your mate?”
“She’s dying. How do I help her? How do I save her life?”
“If I could give you the answers I would.”
He finally turned his head to look at Dante, his oldest brother. He was standing in the doorway casually leaning against it.
“What did you do to your hair?”
“You didn’t think I was going to let you get a badass cut and leave me behind.”
He threw back his head and laughed. Family, why had he tried to run away from that?
“Something is after Tempest.”
“I think you’re doing the right thing. Start at the beginning and as close as you can get to that is the cave.”
“What if I need…” He stopped; he was an island.
Dante’s laughter peppered the room. “You’ve never been an island, Lucca. We all need each other. Why do you think that the family stays together?”
“If I lost all of you?”
“You would be broken. We would be broken if we lost you.”
Broken that made sense. There were times he felt that way knowing they were so far away.
“Tell Tempest your big brother says hi and make sure she drinks those shakes.”
He disappeared.
His big brother? He never calls himself that unless he was trying to get a message across. He was telling him something he would simply have to decode it.
“I thought I heard voices.” She was standing there in a towel with her skin glowing and a smile on her face. “Mine,” his inner beast growled.
“My oldest brother, Dante, was here, and he wanted me to tell you he said hi. You’ll meet him, eventually. He likes to be super-secret.”
“I better take a shower.” He stopped to kiss her on his way into the bathroom.
She turned staring at his ass as he walked away. A soft sigh left her lips. I am in so deep; she shook her head. Life was supposed to be easy when she woke up. This curse tearing her apart would be over. There would be no reason to kill her because there was nothing left on the Earth to protect.
He stepped into the shower the desire to beat his head against the wall was overwhelming. How did he run to the past to escape his future only to run directly into her?
The water ran down his head as he closed his eyes and fell into his beast. He was a fighter, a killer; his people had always been some of the worse in the universe. This was what he had inside of him. Sure, he had an animal that was so handsome that it would make you sell your soul for a chance to touch him. In the end, it was this bruiser, this killer who scared him, and he had claimed Tempest as his.
Would he have to kill himself to keep her safe? Would his death save her, stop all the madness? Was Dante correct, would his brothers be broken if he died or would their bond keep them from the madness that would try to take them over?
He didn’t have any answers to these questions. It had taken every bit of strength he had not to put is fingers in his mouth and suck down her essence. The minute he did that he knew that he wouldn’t give her up. He couldn’t do that to her. They would go back, find out what was killing her, and then he would kill it.
His heart beat slowed as he thought about her being safe. He wanted to see her dance in the sun and dive into the water. He wanted to see her eyes shine and know that her world was fine. He could do that for her before he had to let her go.
He nodded that was the plan. He would make sure that she would be safe then he would let his menace go dance in the light, and he would slip back into the shadows, even if his beast didn’t like it.
Chapter Six
“What are you doing, menace?”
He was standing there with a towel wrapped around his hips that were muscular and slim. He was really going to be the death of her. How many times had she told him to keep his clothes on around her? Never, she wasn’t an idiot.
She licked her lips and turned back to that blue wall because she really wanted that towel to fall. She already had her cake, did she really deserve to eat it? Her hand went to her stomach as desire bubbled over.
“Tempest?” His hand was on her concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine. I found a large duffle bag in your closet. I was packing some of my clothes. I’m not going on another road trip without them.”
He pulled her into his arm tightening around her for a minute.
“I think that’s a good idea. He stepped back; you might want to close your eyes the towel is coming off.”
She nodded her throat working, but her eyes were glued to him. He dropped the towel. Someone help me; he's huge. Her eyes were wide even as she licked her lips. He turned around and bent over. She almost had a heart attack, could she get a pic of this?
“Are you throbbing? I am.”
She tore her eyes away from him as his laughter once again circled her making her nipples hard, and her nether lips throb.
“If only we had time, but we need to leave.”
“It’s a good thing I packed for you.”
“Did you pack my boxers?”
Her lips tilted upward making her look like sunlight.
“You wear boxers? I couldn’t find any.” He leaned against the bed and let out a booming laugh. He stopped he couldn’t remember laughing this much in his whole life. He needed to cut her loose soon.
“I’m going downstairs to pack your shakes. Come down when you’re done.”
She watched him leave his back was stiff. He looked like he was fighting with himself. Her head shook. Why should she care? Are we going to play this game again? Yep, she told herself. One orgasm did not a couple make. So what, she felt that orgasm down to her toes, and her knees were still shaking.
Her hands hovered over his boxers before putting them in the bag and zipping it. She ran down the stairs and jumped into his arms when she got into the kitchen.
“What if I wasn’t prepared, and you fell?”
“You’d never let me fall.” She moved her head to the side so he couldn’t see her eyes. Every word she spoke was the truth. How could she already trust him?
He put her down. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
She flashed him a smile. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
He followed her out the house. “Where’s your car?”
“I pulled out the SUV. I don’t know where we're going, and I wanted something that could handle every terrain.”
“Good thinking.” She put the bag in and climb into the front seat.
Her eyes closed as he drove.
He turned on the radio allowing the road to capture his attention. He listened carefully trying to
pick up background chatter of his brothers of even the Dares.
“How long can you pretend to be sleeping?”
“How long has it been?”
“Two hours.”
“I have about two more hours in me.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking.”
She opened her eyes and looked around. They were on the highway merging in and out of traffic. He was a good driver. His strong fingers were wrapped around the steering wheel making her remember how they felt in her. That was amazing, but the gentleness of them stroking her cheek almost made her give him her heart.
“What we are doing got real. It’s one thing to talk about it or to threaten to do it, but we’re doing it, and it's dangerous.”
“We have to find out what’s killing you.”
“No, we don’t. We could just live together in bliss until I died. I swear I won’t run.”
“Do you want to die?”
“No. Lucca, I just want you to live. This cave is dangerous. Who knows what’s waiting for us in there?”
“So, I should be okay living with you, loving you knowing every day you’re one step closer to death?”
“Isn’t that what the rest of the world does?”
“Yeah.”
She reached over and turned up the music allowing it to drown out the sound of her heart beating much too loudly. He drove for a while before he turned the music down.
“Everyone dies menace. Most of us don’t think about it because it will happen, eventually. When things become hard is when you have a death sentence placed on you, and you know it. It becomes part of your everyday life. There are people like that, people like you. That’s when you do everything to break it and pray for a normal lifespan no matter what it is. I can’t watch you die without doing everything in my power to stop it.”
He reached out and turned the music back up. Neither of them acknowledged the tears she was crying. The rest of the ride was made in silence until he finally stopped in a small town.
“We’ll get your boots here. There’s a small shop that makes the best shoes and boots.”
“Makes?”
“Un huh, by hand. Your feet are about to be happy.”
Her feet were already happy to be healed, but handmade boots sounded comfortable and expensive. How the hell was she going to afford them?
“Um Lucca, did you miss the part where I told you I spent centuries in a cave?”
“No.”
“How much do handmade boots cost?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that menace, the same way you pretend you don’t know what we are to each other.”
They were mates, their bodies aligned with each other the more time they spent together. That didn’t mean he had to buy her top of the line shoes or that his family had to buy her clothes.
She looked at him from under her eyelashes. He already knew that. They passed several malls and shoe stores, and he never stopped because he always planned to bring her here. Because she was his mate? No, she wouldn’t insult him like that. He brought her here because he cared, she knew he did, just like she knew he would deny it if she asked.
In some ways, they were just alike. Emotion didn’t come easily to them, and caring was a foreign word. She was going to have to run soon, and he knew it. She slid her hand across the seat until she was touching his thigh. Before she left, he needed to know he was worth loving.
“I’m ready to see these shoes that will make my feet feel like they have died and gone to heaven.”
His blue eyes swirled at her words making her feel good. She didn’t like it when they became cloudy. He stood at the front of the SUV with his hand stretched out. She knew she shouldn’t do it, but she placed hers in his. He pulled her close to his side placing his arm around her and led her to the shoe store.
They walked in, and the smell of refined leather hit her nose. She could spend hours in here it smelled so good, and the shoes looked amazing.
“Awe, young love. Lucca, you finally bring a young lady to meet me, but you didn’t call ahead. I would have prepared dinner.”
“Forgive me, Elizabeth. I promise I will bring her again. Elizabeth this is Tempest. Tempest this is Elizabeth.”
“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth.”
“Same to you, young lady. Did you come for shoes? Please tell me you need shoes.” Her voice was young and lively contrasting with the wrinkles on her face.
She came around the counter full of energy, Tempest liked her immediately.
“I rarely get to see Lucca, but now he has brought a beautiful young lady for me to show my shoes too. Have a seat, and I will measure your dainty feet.”
That was the one thing about her that wasn’t dainty. “I have big feet.”
She took off the tennis shoes she was wearing and stepped on the measuring device.
“You’re right they are a size eight.”
You would think her feet would be a five or even a six considering how small she was.
“She has to have big feet to carry all the attitude she has.”
She lit up on the inside from his compliment. Other people wouldn’t know it was one, but she knew and secretly hugged it to her heart.
“What boots would you like to see?” She got up and picked out several. “What shoes do you want to see?”
There was no way she could pick out shoes, but now that she asked her hand hovered over several pairs.
“I’ll be right back.”
“I like her. How did you meet her?”
“Her father used to own this shop he left it to his only daughter but back then no one felt a woman could run an establishment. They told her to get married and raise babies.”
“It was a difficult time. I eventually got married, but my husband raised the children, and I put the food on the table.”
She gave Lucca a smile before she started fitting shoes to Tempest's feet.
“That is one of the best pairs of boots I have, but I also have these.” She held up a pair of boots that took her breath away.
“They are beautiful.”
“They’re honey just like your hair.”
She turned to look at Lucca who was stroking the ends of her hair.
“You are the first female he has ever brought here. I can see you have captured his heart. He’s one of the good ones. I didn’t make these boots Pierre did. I could live forever and not be as gifted as he is. He comes into my shop and says I will make something today. The last time he did that he made these. They’re a size eight, and I have a feeling he made them for you.”
“How could he have made them for me?”
“I don’t question him anymore. He once made the most adorable pair of toddler shoes for a girl. ‘Who will pay to have handmade shoes for a toddler, I asked him.’ He simply smiled. Several weeks later, a young couple comes in. The woman is sniffing like she is holding back tears as they looked at the shoes.
“I asked her what was wrong. She tells me that the doctors told them that their daughter would never walk. She can’t seem to find her center of balance. The father asked if he could see the shoes that I had displayed under the glass counter. I was not surprised when they fit. He wanted them didn’t care what the cost was. ‘At least she can have pretty shoes, he said.’ The mother put her on the floor while he paid. Next thing I know she’s screaming his name. The little girl was walking.”
She walked over to the wall behind the counter and picked up a picture. “This is her. She’s a world-class ballerina today. They still come in and say thank you. I keep telling them to thank Pierre, but he’s never around when they come.”
“That’s amazing. To have so much talent.”
“We all have talent; we don’t always choose to use it. Let’s try on these boots.”
Pierre was a genius. “My feet feel like they aren’t wearing anything that’s how comfortable the boots are. I love them.” She was walking around the store barely controlling the need to run in them.
“Then you will take them. Let’s try the rest of the shoes on.”
She was standing at the counter with five pairs of shoes and an open mouth when Elizabeth rang them up.
“That’s too much.”
“No, it’s not. Lucca will take out his black card and say here
use this. Then he will say make sure you take a nice tip for yourself.”
He added three pairs of shoes to the counter. “Tell Pierre that I’m disappointed, he didn’t make me any shoes.”
She rang him up and gave him the final total.
“Here use this,” he pulled out a black card. “Make sure you give yourself a generous tip.”
Elizabeth looked at Tempest, and they both laughed.
“What?”
Chapter Seven
“We’re going to stop for the night.”
“Why?”
“We need rest.” He pulled up to a cute bed-and-breakfast. “You need your shake, and we need food.”
She turned around and reached into the back seat. “Wouldn’t want the skinny chick to embarrass you. I’ll down this maybe I’ll gain a pound or two.”
“I’m sorry Tempest. I didn’t mean what I said.”
“What?” The shake went down the wrong way causing her to cough and wheeze.
“I’m sorry.”
“If you didn’t mean it why did you say it?”
“I was protecting myself and trying to drive you away. What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t tell you that you were beautiful, and your slender body attracts. That would scare you away. If I told you that your hair looks like honey, and I want to bury my nose in it, I would probably sound strange. What if I told you that your eyes are violet, and the light in them gives me an instant erection? You would tell me to keep my lecherous gaze to myself.”
She searched his eyes with wonder. “You actually find me attractive?”
“Have you forgotten what happened on the couch already?” He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her lips before getting out.
“Let’s go see if they have a room available.” He took her hand and led her up the stairs.
“You’re going to have to tell me how you keep these shake's cold.”
“It’s a created secret.” He winked at her before they walked through the door.
She stopped in the doorway turning her head to take it all in. The foyer was small and led to a living room that was open and easy to see. The whole place was done with vintage pieces that looked like they were antiques. The pictures on the wall looked like they could sell for millions. She was almost afraid to walk in for fear of damaging something, and there was no way she wanted to sit on the furniture.
Lucca (The A'rouk Brothers Book 3) Page 4
