A sound of the door opening caught his attention. Elise gasped.
He pulled himself from on top of her, but it was too late. The door opened. Fuck!
The glaring backdrop of the hallway highlighted Marguerite like she was a surprised pixie.
She stopped mid-step and her mouth fell open. “Aunt Elise?”
He’d righted himself on the hotel rug and Elise climbed up from off the bed.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she said.
Hmm, to him it was exactly what it looked like, but he kept his mouth shut.
“So, you weren’t just hooking up with my father?” She cast out the accusation with spite.
Elise blinked a few times and ran her fingers over her disheveled hair. “Marguerite, come inside and we’ll talk about it.”
“Ugh, no way. Like I want to hear all the gross, sordid details.” Marguerite waved her hand with a disgusted look on her face. “How could you? After what my mom had said about him?”
Elise took a deep breath. “What your mother said is only one side of the story. You know that.”
Marguerite flashed them both a hateful stare, moving from him back to Elise. “I guess you want to be a real good listener to his side. Sorry to have interrupted,” she added with all the contempt she could muster. She turned back into the hall and slammed the door behind her.
Elise dropped her head into her hands. “Oh how dreadful, how humiliating. I am the worst.”
Lucan adjusted his shirt as he ran after her. He opened the door. “Marguerite, come back. We’ve been looking for you all day.”
“In between sucking each other’s faces off?” She headed into the stairwell.
He chased her down the stairs. “It’s dark. You can’t go out there alone. You’re too young.”
“What do you know about me besides my age?” she shouted. “Nothing.”
He caught up to her in the lobby, but restrained himself from grabbing her. Causing a scene here in the hotel wouldn’t help things. Instead, he slowed his pace to remain a few spaces back.
Once they exited the revolving doors, she said, “Don’t follow me.”
“I damn well won’t let you wander alone out here all night.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Don’t think you can suddenly act like my father after being absent my entire life.”
Elise caught up to them. “Marguerite. Will you just give us a moment to explain?”
She turned and walked away. They followed her onto a side street, trying to get her to talk.
“I don’t want to talk,” she said.
She leaped over an iron railing and into a flower garden in front of an old yellow Colonial. Then she shifted to stone form, shredding her clothing in the process. She perched in between Shasta daisies like a gargoyle statue that was part of the garden design.
Damn! Although he was a gargoyle shifter, seeing his daughter suddenly shift to stone form rendered him speechless.
Elise tapped his arm. “When she gets like this, she won’t talk. Let’s give her space.”
He turned to her. “Are you kidding me? After we’ve been searching for her?”
Elise sighed. “Well, now we know she’s safe. There’s no reasoning with her right now. She’s too stubborn.”
Like her mother. Lucan didn’t say it, though. No point in kicking up that sour topic.
He glanced at the stone statue that was his daughter and communicated to her, You can shut out your coven, but that won’t work with me. I’ll give you space. But I’m your father and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.
She didn’t reply, didn’t move, but he knew he’d connected to her and she’d heard the message.
“Fine,” he told Elise. After they walked away from his stubborn daughter, he lowered his voice. “I’ll get one of my brothers to pick up her clothes.”
“Why not you?” she asked.
“I’m staying out here. No way will I leave my daughter out here unprotected.”
TWO HOURS AFTER MARGUERITE had run out, Elise lay staring at the ceiling in her hotel room. Lucan’s vow to stay out with her, to protect her, had jolted another inch open on the already ajar door to her heart. What could she do about him?
With both Lucan and Marguerite gone, Elise had plenty of time to circle through the mistakes that left her there alone.
Did she regret kissing Lucan? Yes and no. She never wanted someone the way she yearned for him, and perhaps it was because it was so risqué, but still, she’d never forget the feel of his lips on hers. Or the way his caress affected her. A whisper of his touch scorched her like a heated kiss. She ran her fingers over her lips and trailed them down her body the way he had.
If they hadn’t been interrupted, how would he have continued? Just as gentle in some ways and rough in others. Yes, that’s how she envisioned it. That same gentle exploration when they first kissed, evolving into uncontrollable passionate need.
She trailed her fingers down her body, imagining it was Lucan. If she hadn’t been so consumed by lust, the night might have ended differently rather than her alone in a cold bed.
Did she regret not planning better so Marguerite wouldn’t have walked in on them? Absolutely. What was she? A foolish teenager so wrapped up in the situation that she lost all common sense? No, she was well into her twenties. She should have known better and considered that Marguerite could walk in at any time. The heat of the situation had clouded her sensibility.
Elise snatched her hand off her body. Marguerite was right. Elise shouldn’t have been kissing Marguerite’s father. After what Veronique had said, he was a womanizer. So, whatever would happen between them would be short-term. Was it worth hurting Marguerite over a fling?
The answer was clear. No.
There was only one sensible thing to do to remedy her error. When he would come to the hotel in the morning, she would apologize for leading him on and tell him it had been a mistake.
In the shower the next morning, she remembered how he’d touched her. With the hot water streaming down her naked body, she envisioned him doing so here. She caressed her breast, picturing his large hand. She trailed her fingers down her torso...
No. That fantasy would undermine her resolve. After picking up the shampoo bottle, she vigorously washed her hair. She had to keep a physical distance from him and avoid looking at the situation even more.
After she pulled herself together and descended to the lobby. Lucan was standing there with his back toward her as he stared out the window. He wore all black as usual, his dark hair fell loose around his shoulders. Wow, he was striking. Once again, she was aware of the female attention he garnered just by existing. Women turned back over their shoulders to give him a longer appraisal. Elise shot eye daggers at them, but they didn’t pay any notice to her. Why would they when they had a magnificent man to ogle? She was just plain and easily overlooked, the way she always had been.
Except she never felt that way around Lucan. He made her feel wanted, admired, valued. Perhaps, it was one of his lines and he knew exactly what to say to each woman he’d seduced, but she’d have sworn what was between them was genuine.
He’d said he wished he met her instead of Veronique. Her and not her beautiful, dazzling, talented older sister.
Elise groaned. Because he had picked Veronique and nothing would ever change that.
Take a deep breath. Center yourself. You need to control your emotions today and not have a repeat of yesterday.
Remember, it was a mistake.
She inhaled and then exhaled counting to three before she walked toward him. He turned before she reached him as if somehow sensing she approached.
“Elise.” He said her name with a bit of breathlessness.
The unexpected tone jolted her sense of gravity, leaving her on unsteady footing. He fixed his warm gaze on her, that same intense look that disarmed her, but this time she caught a hint of admiration. She sucked in a breath. Why was he doing this? Didn’t he know how
difficult it was to be around him? No way could she get through her rehearsed speech with him looking at her like that with his unwavering stare.
She averted her eyes to keep from losing her resolve. “Good morning, Lucan. I hope you had a good rest.”
“I chose a garden a few houses down from where Marguerite rested and stayed there. My brothers stayed at each end of the street to stay on watch as well.”
Elise blinked. This was so strange. No matter that she’d seen Marguerite in stone form, she doubted she’d ever get used to how gargoyles shifted to and from different forms.
“Will you take me to her?”
“She shifted back to human form about half an hour ago and is walking through town.”
Elise’s shoulders sagged. “So, she wasn’t headed this way?” She was hoping Marguerite would come back ready to talk. But, that likely wouldn’t happen for some time.
“Not yet.” He added, “Like you said, we should give her space. What happened last night probably didn’t help matters.”
She pursed her lips. “About that.” She brought her hands together and entwined her fingers. After she dropped them to her sides, she said, “That was a mistake. We shouldn’t have done that.”
After he didn’t say anything for three long heartbeats, she dragged her gaze to his.
He eyed her with an unreadable expression. “Right. Consider it forgotten.”
Her muscles clenched. She suppressed a forlorn sigh. Forgotten? How could he forget it so easily? She never would.
Wait, why was she getting upset by getting what she wanted? He agreed to what she asked.
Then why did it feel like she’d shredded her heart?
Chapter Ten
ELISE’S WORDS TUMBLED in Lucan’s brain as they headed out the hotel. Each revolution felt like a dagger in his gut: That was a mistake.
It hadn’t seemed like a mistake to him last night, but more like them finally acting on what they’d both wanted.
Until Marguerite showed up. And that had changed everything. He’d spent the night near her in stone form, cursing himself for letting his daughter catch them in such a compromising position. What a way to win her over—to find him kissing her aunt.
Maybe the location had been a mistake, but every other part of the encounter was branded onto his brain as right. So astronomically perfect.
Sure, they’d have to smooth things over with Marguerite, but he had no regrets on kissing her. But her—she seemed horrified this morning, like she was disgusted with herself for allowing anything to happen. But, hell, she’d been the one to initiate it.
He shook his head. Anytime he thought he understood women, they threw a new rule into the playbook.
“Do you want to go see her?” Lucan asked Elise as they exited the hotel.
He glanced at their surroundings, getting a gauge on the weather. It was a sunny morning with a few clouds off in the distance. A good morning to spend outdoors under the warmth of the sun.
She sighed. “I don’t know if she’ll be ready to talk to us, but we at least have to apologize about last night.”
Lucan nodded with a grim nod. We’re coming now, he communicated with his brothers. Where is she?
She’s walking along the harbor right now, headed toward Pedrick’s Store House.
After ending the link with his brothers, he told Elise, “She’s walking on the beach.”
As they walked toward the harbor, he stopped at a bakery. “Might as well get breakfast on the way,” he suggested.
They ordered a couple of coffees and egg sandwiches for themselves. “What would she eat?” he asked Elise. It was ridiculous that he had no idea what his daughter liked to eat, a reminder of how little he knew her—and with the way things went last night, would she want him to be in her life after that incident?
“A plain bagel with cream cheese would be great,” Elise said. “And this,” she added and picked up a bottle of orange juice.
The scent of the coffee and breakfast stirred his hunger. He sipped his black coffee as they walked to the harbor in relative silence. For that, he was grateful. He didn’t want to continue the conversation from earlier in which she dismissed everything that had happened last night with regret.
Couples held hands as they walked along the beach. That could have been Lucan and Elise, headed out for a romantic stroll.
After walking a few more minutes, he spotted Marguerite wading along the shore.
He pointed. “I see her.” He broke into a jog, jolting coffee from the top of the cup and then paused before scalding them both.
“Don’t run,” Elise said. “It will just make her run.”
That made sense. She’d think they were chasing her, which technically they were.
“Fine. We’ll walk quickly.”
He quickened the pace over the sand and Elise hastened to keep up.
“What should we say?” he asked her. “You know her better than I do.”
She pursed her lips and stared down at the sand before bringing her gaze back to Marguerite ahead of them. “We’ll just have to tell her that we were swept up in the moment, but it won’t happen again.”
Those words twisted the dagger deeper in his gut, aiming up to his heart.
Fuck. If Elise didn’t want anything to do with him, he’d back off. After all, it was better for all of them that way, right? Keeping things simpler instead of tangling the web.
Fine, he could do that. He stared at the sand, resisting the urge to kick some.
Once he was away from Elise, he’d learn to forget her. And why not? He had many women come in and out of his life, there was no need to fixate on one. Especially now that he finally had the freedom he’d so longed for. It was foolish to think of pinning an anchor on his feet when all he wanted to do was fly.
As they closed the distance, Marguerite stopped and turned. She must’ve sensed them approach.
“Are you following me?” she barked.
Damn. He straightened, unprepared for her to snap that way.
“Marguerite, we need to talk,” Elise said.
Right. He should say something, too. Something fatherly. He raised the bag and smiled. “We got you a bagel.”
She looked at him like he was a creepy crustacean that had slithered onto the sand, but took the bag. He resisted closing his eyes and cursing himself.
“Come on. Let’s sit over at that picnic table and eat,” Elise said.
Yes, she should take the lead in this situation. He’d follow it instead of being the creep who attempted to seduce her aunt and then smooth it over with breakfast goods.
Marguerite didn’t say anything, but she did go over to the table. She sat on a bench, pulled out her bagel, and then started eating. He and Elise sat on the other side of the bench. He handed her an egg sandwich, which still held some of its warmth, and he took one for himself. Marguerite didn’t look at them. She kept her eyes fixed out to the sea. When a bold seagull approached, she tossed it a piece of her bagel. Lucan opened his mouth to tell her not to feed the scavengers, but snapped it shut. It wasn’t the time for a lecture.
Lucan glanced over at Elise. She took a bite of her sandwich. Damn, wasn’t she going to take the lead on this conversation? He couldn’t do it—he’d say something stupid and not even know what it was that he said wrong. He still didn’t know what had triggered her after they met the first day. With both Elise and Marguerite eating, the silence stretched on. He pulled out his sandwich and began to eat, too.
The awkward silence stretched. Pretty soon, it would go too far, headed as far as the horizon.
When he couldn’t take it any longer, he blurted out, “Last night was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”
Marguerite fixed an accusatory stare at him. “I knew it.” She raised her index finger. “You just wanted to hook up with her like you did with my mom and then chuck her.”
Ah, fuck. Why did he speak? Elise had been telling him that it was a mistake, but when it came from his mouth, it
sounded so much worse. No wonder Marguerite reacted that way.
“That’s not what I meant,” Lucan said.
Marguerite skewered him. “Well, what did you mean?”
Good question. How would he state it without setting her off again? He was so bad at this. Would he learn to communicate with a preteen girl whom already had it out for him?
Elise said, “What he means is that we both realized what we did last night was wrong. I’m sorry you had to see that. We got caught up in the moment, but it won’t happen again.”
Although he was grateful for her stepping in, so he wouldn’t follow up with the wrong words, he hated hearing her state those words: It won’t happen again.
What if he disagreed?
No, now he sounded crazy. One kiss with Elise had already unraveled a ball of trouble with his daughter. Time to get his head out of his ass and off his dick. He was a father. He had to learn how to behave like one.
“We came here to meet your father, so we should try to forget what happened last night and stick with that plan,” Elise said.
“It hasn’t gone well so far, has it?” Marguerite stood and tossed the remains of the bagel into her bag. “I need more time alone.”
“Marguerite, you’re not old enough to go wandering off in a new city by yourself,” Elise said. “I understand you’re upset, but you can’t just go off on your own like that.”
“Why don’t we spend the day exploring the area?” Lucan suggested.
She gave him a look that all but said, Yeah, like you were exploring my aunt last night?
“Give me an hour and we’ll meet at the hotel.” She waved her arm. “It’s not like it’s dangerous here. The 17th century is long gone. This town is full of witches. I’m not going to be persecuted for being one.” She raised a brow at him. “Or half of one.”
“True, but still,” Elise said. “It’s not just a different city, but different country.”
“I know you’re like my mother, Aunt Elise, and you feel responsible for me, but you don’t have to. I’m practically a woman.”
INFLAME: (a gargoyle shifter and witch romance) (Underground Encounters Book 8) Page 7
