by Nina Croft
He collapsed in her arms, rolled onto his side, and pulled her with him so he remained lodged deep inside her. She wrapped her legs around him because she didn’t want to let him go.
As her heart slowed, she looked across at him out of sleepy eyes. He was watching her, but his mind was at peace. They stayed like that for long minutes, lulled by the birdsong, the buzz of the cicadas in the trees.
Finally, she cleared her throat. “That was…”
“Mind blowing. Earth shattering. Life changing.”
She pursed her lips. “Hey, it’s not fair. You can talk to me without moving your lips. I still have to do all the work.”
He shifted, dragging her with him, until he lay on his back, her straddling his hips, his hardening cock still deep inside her.
This time they made love slowly, rising and falling to the rhythm of their hearts. She closed her eyes, fused their minds, and gave herself up to the overwhelming pleasure, driving them higher than she’d ever been before.
Afterward, she sprawled over him, sweat gleaming on their bodies, and as sleep took her, she almost wished this was the end, that she’d need never wake. She’d die happy.
…
Ethan shifted himself slowly, so as not to wake her, onto his side, hooking her to him with a thigh thrown over her hips. He liked watching her sleep. Her face relaxed, the tension that was always present when she was awake smoothing out. He wished he could somehow change things, make her life such that the lines would go forever.
But the truth was, he was potentially one of the most powerful men in the world, if not the most powerful, and he still couldn’t make one woman happy. Maybe there were ways he could ease some of her pain. He’d have access to Travis’s files now. He could find out what was done to her sister. Perhaps there was something they could do to make things better. He could ensure the Conclave never came after them again. Destroy all records of the Tribe.
Or maybe destroy the Conclave itself. It was something that had been in the back of his mind for a long time. He’d come back to find out what happened to his mother. And if it hadn’t been an accident, then he’d make those responsible pay. Hell, he’d even destroy the Conclave, if they had murdered her. Now, revenge no longer seemed…necessary. Almost irrelevant. It wouldn’t change the past. If he brought down his legacy, it would be for better reasons than revenge. Maybe some of Sadie’s goodness was rubbing off on him. Though he was sure she didn’t think of herself as good.
Which didn’t mean he didn’t want to know what had happened to his mother. He knew Sadie had discovered something. Something that had shocked her. So he wasn’t expecting good news. He was about to learn the truth, and it no longer mattered. If the Conclave had ordered her death, if his father had carried out the execution…what could he do? It was past.
He recognized the moment she came awake. She pushed herself up and looked at him, scowling.
“Did you know we have company?” he said to put off whatever she planned to say. He waved a hand to the doorway of the hut, where a huge, fully grown black leopard lay stretched out on the floor, tail twitching, watching them out of half-closed golden eyes. Ethan had been a little…alarmed when the animal had first appeared. But it had shown no signs of aggression, and he’d decide his best bet was to ignore it.
She turned her head to look at the leopard. “He has your eyes.”
He wasn’t sure that was a compliment. The leopard didn’t look evil. But it did look cold, conscienceless. A predator.
As if catching her attention, the animal rose to its feet and strolled over. Ethan tensed but didn’t move as Sadie scratched the leopard’s head. It rubbed against her, a rough purr rolling from its throat. “This is Kpo,” Sadie murmured. “Kane found him as a kitten after a forest fire killed his parents. He brought him up. It gives me hope that he’s not a complete bastard.” She sighed. “I suppose we need to talk.” She waved a hand at the leopard, and he strolled away, collapsing by the door and rolling onto his back, huge paws in the air. Ethan tried not to look at the claws.
She slipped out from beneath him and padded across the floor naked. Long and slender, with small breasts and dark nipples, pale skin, she was so beautiful, he hurt. His cock twitched, and he had to stifle the urge to pull her back to him, lose himself in her body again. But she was right, they needed to talk.
She found her shorts and T-shirt, and pulled them on. Then tossed him his shorts.
He sighed and sat up, running a hand through his hair, then over the stubble on his chin. His arm ached, a sudden reminder of the bullet wound in his shoulder and everything that had happened.
He rose to his feet, pulled on his shorts, then sat again, and patted the mattress beside him. “Come and talk to me, then.”
As she sat down, his heart rate picked up. He’d searched for the answers for so long; now he was finally going to discover the truth. He was aware that she had gotten the information from his father, which meant he was implicated. He’d always suspected that. But his father was dead. There was nothing Ethan could do to him.
She twisted on the bed so she could look into his eyes.
“Tell me,” he said.
She took a deep breath. “Your mother isn’t dead.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
For a moment, the words made no sense. He shook his head. “What?”
“At least, she wasn’t twelve years ago. I don’t know now. Your father had no contact with her. That was part of the deal. The only way he could guarantee that what they’d done would remain secret.”
“I don’t understand.” They’d buried her. He’d attended the funeral. She had to be dead. Because the alternative was…fuck.
She took his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? What for? That my mother is alive when I thought she was dead? Isn’t that cause for celebration?”
She didn’t speak, just let him think it through.
His mother had obviously been unhappy. He’d known that. Even considered that maybe she’d committed suicide, and his father had kept it from him. Instead, she had made a deal with his father. And she’d walked away from him, happy to leave him behind, let him believe she was dead.
“She wanted to take you with her. She begged your father, but he wouldn’t even consider it. He told her you were Conclave through and through.”
He thought back to his eighteen-year-old self. Until his mother’s death, when the doubts had started, he’d been loyal to the Conclave. Oh, he’d believed that changes were needed, but he’d never doubted their right to rule. How would he have reacted if his mother had asked him to go away? To leave it all behind? Honestly, he didn’t know, but he would never have betrayed her.
“Your father truly believed that you wouldn’t want it. That if you did go away with her, you would resent her in the end and maybe even give her away. And if anyone from the Conclave discovered she was alive, it would be an immediate death sentence. For both of you and probably for your sister as well.”
“My sister?”
“Your mother was five months pregnant.”
“I know.” She’d wanted another child so much. It had made her death even more tragic.
“With a daughter,” Sadie continued. “It was what triggered her desire to get away. She didn’t want her daughter growing up within the Conclave.”
“You mean growing up like me?”
“She loved you.”
“How the fuck do you know that?” Of course she hadn’t loved him. She had fucking walked away without a backward glance. He’d often wondered if there was something wrong with him. Here was the definitive proof.
“It’s not proof of anything,” she said fiercely. “She was distraught about leaving you—I saw it in your father’s head. But she hated the Conclave, hated the things your father did.”
He remembered the first time he’d realized that his mother wasn’t entirely happy with their lives—the execution he’d mentioned to Kaitlin. He’d been five. All the families had been c
alled together. One of the hereditary members had tried to leave. She’d been found and brought back—executed as an example.
His mother had told him to close his eyes. He hadn’t. He’d been determined to prove he was a fitting member of the Conclave, and wanted to make his father proud. Maybe that was when she’d realized he wasn’t worth sticking around for.
“She never thought that.”
“You don’t know what she thought. She allowed me to believe she was dead. That maybe my father was implicit in that death. Do you know what that did to me?”
“Yes.”
Of course she fucking did. She was no doubt in his head right now.
He pulled his hand free and got to his feet, pacing the small room. The leopard raised its head, growling softly, and he glared at it until it put its head back down. But it continued watching him. He came back to stand in front of her. “All these fucking years, my one driving force had been based on a goddamn lie. I left. I distanced myself from my father, in case I found out that I needed to kill him to revenge my mother. And all the time, she was living somewhere else. Happily ignoring the fact that she had a son. Bringing up my goddamn sister who is no doubt worth a hundred of me. Bringing her up to be goddamn nice. Something I’ll obviously never be.”
“No, you’re not nice. You wouldn’t have been nice, even if you hadn’t been part of the Conclave. But whatever you believe, you’re not evil, either.”
“Pity my mother couldn’t have seen that.”
“What else could she have done?” Sadie’s tone was reasonable, but he didn’t want to be reasonable. He felt betrayed, abandoned.
“I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do.” For the first time, he heard a flicker of anger in her voice.
He pressed his hands to his skull. He needed to get out of there. “I’m going for a walk.” He needed to be alone.
“How fucking melodramatic.” Now she definitely sounded angry.
Good. So was he. Fucking furious. With his mother. With his father who had lied to him all these years. With Sadie, who didn’t fucking love him, either.
Shock flared on her face as the thought passed through his mind.
“I…” She shook her head.
Yeah, what did he expect her to say? That he was wrong?
He turned and walked away, grabbing his T-shirt as he passed. He hesitated at the doorway, then headed off in the opposite direction from the house. He was vaguely aware of the great cat rising to his feet and following him. He paused and turned to see Sadie standing in the doorway watching him. “I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”
“Yes, you do. It’s a jungle out there. The real thing. I didn’t save your life for you to go and get eaten by a goddamn lion.”
He shrugged and stalked away, found a track heading off into the trees that surrounded the clearing where the house stood. The path was narrow, well used, and soon he was climbing up a steep incline. Ahead, a man perched on a boulder to the side of a narrow opening in the mountain. A stranger, though, he had the look of all the Tribe about him. Tall, black hair, deep blue eyes. He rose to his feet when he caught sight of Ethan. An automatic rifle was slung across his shoulder, but he made no move to aim the gun, although he did step in front of the opening.
“Hi,” he said. “You must be Sadie’s friend.”
Hah. Was that what he was? Her friend? Her lover? He had a flashback to the feel of being deep inside her.
The man’s eyes widened, and then he grinned. “I’m Ryder.”
“Ethan.” He held out his hand and the other man shook it. Ethan nodded to the opening. “What’s in there?”
“Just hope you never find out.”
“Why? Because then you’d have to kill me?”
He patted the rifle. “Yup.”
Now he really wanted to know. What could they possibly be guarding out here in the middle of nowhere?
But he wasn’t getting past Ryder. He turned and walked back the way he had come. Then he headed in the other direction and into the jungle. The track here was wider, wide enough for a vehicle, and he could make out tire tracks in the soft earth. This must be the main route into the area. He followed it for a while. The house had been built in a valley, and he was quickly climbing again. He kept his mind blank. Soon he’d have to think everything through. He walked until his legs ached and sweat soaked his T-shirt. Then he found a rock and sat down. He could no longer see the house; it was hidden behind the turns in the track. He still had his babysitter. The leopard watched him out of golden eyes, clearly taking his job seriously.
The place was amazing. All around him, the jungle was rampant with life. Plants grew everywhere, lush in the damp air, and the sounds of birds and animals, insects filled the air. He slapped at a mosquito on his arm.
Then took a deep breath.
His mother was alive.
Or had been, and there was no reason to think she wouldn’t still be. And he likely had a sister. She’d be nearly twelve now. What was she like?
His mother had walked away from him without a backward glance. To save his sister from turning out like him, no doubt.
Would he look for them?
Really, what was the point? His mother had clearly washed her hands of him. She didn’t want to be part of his life. So fuck her.
He felt strangely empty. Finding the truth had consumed him for so long. Find the truth and then deal with the consequences. Now there was nothing to deal with, but he still had to decide what to do next.
He needed to contact Fergus and find out what was happening back in London.
Or did he?
Could he walk away from everything? Turn his back on the Conclave? Maybe they would come after him. Hell, of course they would. But he was better than most of them. He could ensure they’d never find him and deal with anyone who did. He had access to almost unlimited funds.
Of course, that was presuming Sadie’s friends actually let him leave here. He didn’t think she would allow them to kill him, but maybe she wouldn’t be given the choice. She’d said that this Kane wanted to talk to him, though he suspected there wouldn’t be much talking going on. He’d presumably take a look in his mind and decide how much of a risk he was.
What would he see? He didn’t think he was a risk to them. Not on purpose, anyway. He’d never do anything that might bring harm to Sadie. He’d die before he let any harm come to her from the Conclave.
At that thought, his brain stopped working. Just for a second and then started again.
He loved her.
Loved a woman who would never allow herself to return the emotion.
She wanted him, but she was too guarded. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel more than physical desire. She kept him at a distance, and he wasn’t sure there was any way to break through the walls she’d built up. She’d lost too much. Been betrayed by too many people.
Now she was keeping herself safe from more hurt.
So why would she take a risk on a man like him?
While he’d sat, clouds had gathered overhead. Now the first drops of rain started to fall, and he got to his feet and rubbed at his aching shoulder.
Time to go meet the man who wanted him dead.
By the time he got back, it was raining hard, washing the heat and the sweat from his body. As he approached the house, Sadie appeared on the veranda. She waited as he crossed the lawn, watching him, her face expressionless.
“Fergus is calling,” she said as he stopped in front of her. “He won’t speak to anyone but you. I think he suspects that we might have offed you already.”
“And am I allowed to talk to him? I’m not quite sure of my status here.”
“Neither am I. The others are all out at the moment. But I want to know what’s going on back in London. Just don’t mention where we are.”
“I don’t actually know where we are.”
He followed her into the house and down the hallway into an office at the back of the building. A desk with a compute
r stood in the middle of the room, which was empty of people. So he wasn’t to be interrogated just yet.
Sadie sat down in the chair behind the desk, pressed a few buttons, and Fergus appeared on the screen.
“Hey, Fergus, nice to see you. And here’s your boss. Still alive and dying to talk to you.” She got up and waved him to the chair.
Ethan took the seat. Fergus looked fine, the bruises from his interrogation had already faded to yellow.
“What’s happening?” he said.
“Nothing good. You need to get back here.”
“Tell me?”
“They all woke up with no ill effects. Just two dead. Your father and Travis. They managed to keep it quiet and clean up. But there are a lot of unhappy people.”
He’d bet they were. Someone had gotten into the place, managed to knock them all out, and killed their leader. They would be feeling vulnerable right now, and that made them dangerous.
“They want to know where you are.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I believed you were laying low. You were injured at the conference, and you believe it was an assassination attempt. There’s a full-blown investigation going on.”
“And they believe you?”
“Not sure. But Lauren is making a bid for the leadership. She’s spreading the rumor that you’re dead and insisting that the Conclave needs a leader, and sooner rather than later.”
Shit, that was not good news. If she became entrenched, got any support, then she would be difficult to remove. And while he’d considered walking away, he hadn’t really thought through the implications. Like who would take control if he wasn’t there. Lauren was truly amoral. She could not be allowed to take leadership.
“She approached me,” Fergus said. “Asked for my support, offered me a position and a shitload of money.”
