The stormy blue-gray eyes.
The way her lovely lips parted in ecstasy.
He didn’t want her?
Yeah, that would never happen.
The wanting never stopped when it came to his wife. She was the first person he thought about when they woke, and the last when they slept. In between, he worked to make her proud, and he dreamed about her so they’d never be apart.
Tori was his center.
“I remember the first day I saw you in the swamp. You arrived to find a killer, and you stole my heart.”
Hers skipped in her chest.
“I never thought about women like that before. They stopped mattering to me. Then there was you. Victoria, you were the one person I wanted more than anything in the world.”
She listened to his words. They soothed the fear.
“Honestly, I don’t feel that anymore. Now…it’s a million times deeper. Then it wasn’t an ounce of what I’ve found with you. Don’t think I could ever fall out of love with you. Victoria Littlemoon, you’re my universe. I’ll still find you sexy even when we are old and saggy. You’ll still be this woman. I’ll still see you exactly as I did on that first day. You’re not only beautiful on the outside, but you’re amazing on the inside, too, and that’s what I love most about you.”
She sniffled.
“I love you, Julian.”
He knew she did. He saw it every day in her eyes—in the way she greeted him when they were apart, and when they simply sat having coffee together.
It was crystal clear.
“I love you, too, honey.”
Slowly, he nudged her legs apart before sliding into the wet heat of her body. He was ready for round two. Feasting on his wife had made him hard all over again.
As he began moving in and out, he stared into Tori’s eyes. They were absolutely gorgeous.
“Forever, Tori. I promise.”
Her heart skipped even as she was being pushed closer to the edge. She was seconds from falling, and she wanted him to take that trip with her.
“Cum with me, Julian.”
It was all she had to ask.
Two more strokes and she tumbled again. The way her body milked his, he didn’t have a chance. Julian shouted her name and poured into the woman he loved.
They fell as one.
Julian rolled off her body, trying not to squash their baby.
“Julian, I’m sorry.”
“About?”
Despite knowing they were good, there was still that second where his heart skipped in his chest. He couldn’t lose Victoria Rose. She was his world.
“The tears,” she finally said. “I’m a hormonal mess. I don’t want you to think I don’t believe we’re strong. I really have no control over anything anymore. It’s like wanting to have something blue, and your brain and body makes you pick red. I don’t know how to manage it.”
“And that scares you.”
She nodded. “I don’t have control of my body, my emotions, or what’s coming.”
Julian was pretty sure she wasn’t talking about the spirit getting ready to make their lives hell. This was still about the bigger demon chasing his wife.
Motherhood.
Thanks to Shelby Christensen, she was a nervous wreck. Tori couldn’t see what he saw. Not only was she going to be an amazing mother, but she was going to handle it, like everything else in stride.
His babe was badass.
Still, he needed to reassure her. That was his role in all of this. As the man, he needed to support his wife as she was struggling through all of this.
Yes, he was scared, too, but one of them had to be the strong one, and it was his turn to carry her.
Julian rolled to his side to rest face to face with his wife. It was time for more heart to heart talking. His hand automatically went to her baby bump, and he lovingly stroked it with his warm palm.
“Honey, I know you’re scared, but you’re almost there. We don’t have much longer to go. Veronica is going to be here before we know it, and you’re going to be a mom.”
“I’ll be a good, one, right?”
He smiled.
Yeah, he’d been right.
Here was the underlying fear.
“You’re going to be the best one. You’re going to make Clarissa look horrible.”
She snorted. “I love you, but if she ever hears you say that, she’s going to kick your Native ass back to the Rez.”
He snorted. “Yeah, probably.”
Julian knew his mother would do no such thing. What Tori didn’t realize was that the family would circle around her, protecting her heart. Clarissa loved her as one of her own, and she knew Tori was struggling with this new adventure.
“I love you, too, Victoria Rose.”
They cuddled and his wife relaxed. Time went by, and finally, Julian had to discuss it now that the storm had passed.
“Victoria?”
“Hmmmm?” she asked, cuddling against her husband. The scent of his cologne was cathartic, as was the way his fingers stroked her back.
“We aren’t done talking about what you pulled today. I’m not happy.”
“I’m happy. I think I had like five orgasms.”
He stared at her. “You’re such a hussy, but that’s beside the point. Now pay attention to what I’m saying.”
She went serious and stared into his gold-flecked eyes.
“I get that you have to do this thing because it’s our new path in life, but I need a safety net. You deliberately went behind my back.”
“I did.”
“I need to be able to trust.”
She knew he was right. “I swear I won’t do it again. I’ll let you be there to catch me if I fall.”
“Promise?”
He knew if she gave her word, it was as good as gold. Tori was honorable if nothing else.
“I promise, Julian.”
He relaxed. “Now, about this entity? What the hell are we going to do?” he asked.
Tori thought about it. She’d been pondering it the entire day, and there was only one thing she could do.
“I don’t have any choice. I need to contact it. It’s angry and that’s growing. It’s already after Lennox. I can’t risk waiting for it to come after us too.”
Oh, he really hated that.
Of all the things she could say, that was the worst.
Tori watched him fight for composure. “Don’t worry, Jules, I’m not going to do it alone.”
He didn’t know anything about handling ghosts. If she was thinking that he’d be any help, someone should point out the obvious.
Julian had barely calmed down a pregnant woman. A dead woman? Yeah, that couldn’t end well.
Hell!
He’d just learned how to handle his wife.
Julian tried to be funny. It was the only way to keep from losing his mind.
“How are you going to contact it? Are you going to dial one-eight-hundred-dead-scary-spooks?”
She laughed. “If that number isn’t taken, we need to grab it for our business. That’s funny shit.”
“Victoria, you’re stalling.”
Oh, she was well aware.
“I need a séance.”
He stared at her. Like before, he was hoping that he’d misheard her. When she didn’t say more, he knew he’d heard her right.
“How are you going to pull that off? Please tell me that you’re not going to do anything stupid. By stupid, I mean attempting to do it alone.”
“I have to call in backup.”
Julian wasn’t sure if she had a psychic he didn’t know about lying around or what. No one he could think of was equipped to handle any such thing.
“Who, Victoria Rose?”
“I need Nyx. She’s the only one who knows how to do this, and do it right. With her, I have a shot at not making this a mess. She can walk me through it.”
He didn’t like that at all.
Apparently, he was the ONLY one who recalled wh
at the hell went down the last time she, Nyx, and the dead ran into each other.
It was a mess.
No, that was putting it mildly. This was going to be an epic issue. He could feel it coming.
“Julian, she can handle this. I know her. Nyx is stronger than we all think.”
He wanted to believe that.
Hell!
He wanted to pray his wife was right. If she was wrong, there was a lot on the line.
“The issue is going to be Beau.”
Julian laughed.
“What?”
“Can you blame the man?”
She thought about it.
The last time they brought her to a case, they burned her out. The next step was far worse.
If they screwed up, losing her gift wasn’t going to be a possible outcome.
It could kill her.
Then again, if Tori tried to channel that mess, she could be the one who lost her life.
Holy shit!
Julian had no way out.
Sometimes, being the boss really sucked.
Chapter Seven
Thursday
One A.M.
He was lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. After holding Lennox in his arms, he couldn’t shake the way she felt against him.
Worse?
The scent.
Her perfume was all over his shirt, and he was actually thinking about pulling it back on so he could sleep. He kept telling himself that he wasn’t obsessed, but the woman had turned something back on in him.
He didn’t understand it.
Hart couldn’t figure it out.
He’d sworn off women for the last four years, but the first one he’d come into contact with turned his libido on its ear.
What the hell was wrong with him?
This had to be proof that he had the worst timing in the history of mankind. Out of all the women to fall for, and to allow to trip him up, what the hell was he thinking?
It wasn’t the girl at the grocery store who flirted whenever he went shopping.
No.
It wasn’t the woman across the hall who winked at him and flashed her breasts.
Nope.
It was Lennox freaking Easton?
Hell!
He was sinking and fast.
He wasn’t quite sure what scared him more. The fact that she’d managed to break through his wall in one day, or that he was likely going to get his heart handed to him when it was over.
What right did he have to even think about a relationship? In his world, there were priorities.
First came Ivy.
Second came Ivy.
Hell!
It was all about Ivy all the time.
She had to have someone to protect her, and as her father, it was his duty to love and shelter her. He couldn’t let just anyone into their lives, and he had to choose someone who would love his child as much as he did.
That was his vow to his little girl.
She’d almost been lost to him, and he couldn’t bear the thought of falling into bed with a woman, bringing her into Ivy’s life, and then having her walk away. It was already going to be hard enough when she grew up and he had to explain where her birth mother had gone.
But to have Ivy get attached and force her to lose one more person in her life?
No.
The hurt would be too much.
Yeah, he couldn’t let that happen.
In order for him to let Lennox in, he needed to ensure that Ivy’s heart was protected. Screw his. Fatherhood had responsibilities and he had to stick to them. If it meant never having a woman in his life ever again, so be it.
His screw up had nearly ruined Ivy’s life.
He’d pay the penance.
After Ivy came his career. Unlike Lennox, he wasn’t rich. He was a cop and now a private investigator. He had to think about how he was going to pay for college, keep a teen girl in clothes, and buy her a car when she learned to drive. He didn’t have the luxury of losing his job. When he left the force out of principle, he’d been scared.
No, that was putting it mildly.
He’d been shit terrified with a side of anxiety attack waiting to happen.
When Julian and Tori showed up at his place, he’d lucked out on that one. Honestly, he didn’t like the idea of being a cop anymore. Going to work for him meant possibly dying when some crazy tried to take his life.
Now it was safer.
Yes, they dealt with some crazy shit, and half the people he’d once worked with wouldn’t believe it, it was still safer than the alternative.
Then there was the bottom line.
The Littlemoons paid him well. It was almost double what he’d made as a cop, and he couldn’t lose that. He had a family with them, and that mattered. He and Ivy were on the other side of the country, away from people they’d once had in their lives. They both needed that connection.
It strengthened his ability to be a damn good father. Family was everything, and he was learning that each and every day.
Plus, Clarissa watched his daughter without asking for payment. Where in the world was that going to happen? She lived right across from the office, in a building that Tori and Julian had bought. It was so easy to come to work, walk Ivy across the street, and then not stress it if he was running late.
There was no bitching and moaning.
No calls to explain he was standing over a dead body and needed someone to stay late.
There was no stress. Clarissa would let Ivy sleep there if need be, and he appreciated that.
More than words could ever say.
It always made his day when Clarissa would come to the office and Ivy would find him. She was half him, and he couldn’t wait until she grew into a gorgeous woman.
Those two priorities superseded anything else in life.
Did he miss sex?
Oh, hell yes.
His body craved it right now. The more he told himself he couldn’t have Lennox Easton, the more he wanted her. He’d been on a woman fast, and he’d done it with very little temptation.
He didn’t go out.
He didn’t date.
Now he was face to face with a gorgeous redhead and his libido was sending out the signs that it was done with the woman fast.
Sex had gotten him in trouble before.
Then again, it had gotten him Ivy, so he’d won that round. Still, Lennox was that rich woman who could have anything. Why did he think she’d even remotely be interested in him?
Many times in his past, he’d been asked the same question she’d asked him.
‘Are you a cop?’
It never ended with the woman coming home with him, or asking for his number. It was always a slow brush off. It was funny. When someone was chasing them, they wanted a cop. When it was time for a relationship?
Yeah.
No.
It was as if he had some disease.
Oh wait!
He did.
Back then, it had been ‘shittypay-itis’ with a side of ‘horribleworkhour-itis’.
Hart knew he needed to let this fantasy go. He didn’t have anything to offer Lennox, or any woman for that matter.
He didn’t own his own home.
He was a single father.
Yeah, he was a dead-end street, and he knew it. This had to stop here, and now.
He closed his eyes and prayed for sleep. If the universe even remotely liked him, he’d get a reprieve.
Yeah, it hated him.
It wasn’t happening.
He was thinking about Lennox, and how she was only one room away. There was only one wall separating them.
Hart wondered what she slept in.
If she smelled just as amazing in her bed as she did against his chest.
All the questions were driving him insane.
Tossing and turning, Hart tried counting backward. It was his last shot at sleep. If he didn’t get some, he was going to be a mess in the morning.
> Normally, Ivy would climb into his bed at some point in the middle of the night, and she’d cuddle with him as she sucked her thumb.
He missed her.
He missed Lennox beside him.
He missed sex.
Hart was having a really rough time.
And it really sucked.
Why was his life hell?
* * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *
She couldn’t sleep.
Lying in her bed, she was thinking about Everhart Rose.
Why?
She had no freaking clue. He was prickly like a cactus, rude, obnoxious, and she should be repelled.
Still…
When she’d been crying, he’d instinctively wrapped her in his arms and let her be upset. He hadn’t called her silly, or chided her, insisting she stop crying. Instead, he’d been tender, gentle, and loving.
She’d missed that in her life.
Growing up, Mariah and Orwell Easton didn’t give her affection. Maybe that was part of the reason why she and her brother were so screwed up.
The nannies raised them.
If they fell, the housekeeper cleaned their wounds.
Mariah and her husband were always too busy to care about two kids. It made her wonder why the hell they had kids anyway. It was clear they didn’t want them.
Then she thought about Hart and his daughter. Lennox saw the look he got in his eyes every time he discussed her. It was that emotion she never saw with her own blood.
The man genuinely loved his child.
To say that she wasn’t curious would be an understatement. Lennox wanted to ask where Ivy’s mother had disappeared to, but she knew she shouldn’t.
What if Hart’s wife had died?
What if that hurt him?
Despite how angry he made her since meeting him, one thing was clear.
He made her feel.
That was a rarity in her world. The only emotion she’d had the last two years was fear. When he was near, she wasn’t afraid.
Pissed?
Yes.
Stirred up?
Hell yes.
But afraid?
No.
Truthfully, there was more to it. There was something about him being an ex-cop. He was clearly brave, smart, and tough. In her pantheon of characteristics a man had to have, they were the top three.
Add that to the dark hair, silvery eyes, hard body, and she was pretty much screwed.
Forbidden Secrets Page 12
