by Lynde Lakes
“Damon, sir, may I give Victoria a ride to the hospital? I think we’ll all feel better when we know how Valerie’s doing. I couldn’t leave without knowing.”
Rick shifted his weight as Damon hesitated for a moment, rubbing his jaw. “You saved Valerie’s life and deserve the peace of mind. And if you keep it cool, it might be good for Victoria to have some time alone with you to say goodbye before you pack up and head for San Diego.”
Five minutes later, Victoria watched Rick hustle out of the mansion. He had shrugged on a clean shirt, and as he got closer, she inhaled the heady aftershave he’d splashed on. It was no match for the smoke that hung heavy in the air. “Ready?” he asked, climbing onto his bike.
She nodded, lowered the helmet shield, and wrapped her arms tightly around his hot, sweaty waist. Straddling the cycle with muscular legs, he flipped up the kickstand with a heel. He turned the key and hit the kick-start pedal.
He swerved from the driveway onto the road that led to Mt. Baldy Highway and hit the gas. She gasped and her knees locked tighter around the bike as an unbelievable surge of hot wind pounded her body. She pressed against him, excited by the in-control authority emitting from him and the power of the cycle vibrating between her thighs. He glanced back. “Don’t look so worried. Valerie will be fine.”
She clung tighter to his torso, memorizing its trim contours and flexing stomach muscles.
He slowed as they entered the lush hospital grounds. The four-story imposing structure brought shivers down her spine. A hospital was a dangerous place for the cursed.
Rick lifted her off of the bike and put his arm around her. “They’ll take good care of Valerie.”
“But what if, in the process, they test her blood and discover she is suffering from lycanthropy?”
“Your mom is there. She’ll control what they do to your sister.”
When Victoria entered the hospital room, Rick nodded to Angela, who then gave them a favorable update on Valerie’s condition.
Valerie smiled. “Don’t look so worried, Victoria. They don’t take blood for a cracked rib.”
Victoria smiled back, feeling now that somehow, everything would be all right.
On the way back up the hill to the mansion, her thoughts zeroed in on Rick again. She pressed her lips close to his ear and said, “Could we stop in that turnout ahead and talk?”
She felt him sigh as he pulled off the highway. She had to make her feelings clear. He helped her off the bike and they walked to the bench on the edge of the cliff that overlooked the sprawling San Bernardino Valley and the Rancho Cucamonga area. She took in the expansive twinkling skyline lights of a number of small communities as they sat down. Most of the smoke from the fire had dissipated and the breeze had carried it away.
“Rick, you have to turn Dad down and remain in the area. He’s manipulating you. It is the same old story. He believes that throwing money at the problem will make it go away.” Tears rushed to the back of her eyes and she forced them away. She wasn’t ready to let Rick go. Maybe she never would be, and this was her last chance to make her move.
She took a deep breath and thrust herself into his arms. With her face buried against his shoulder, she breathed him in. “Rick, you saved me and my sister. My heart’s lost to you.” When he said nothing, she added, “I want you to stay, Rick. Together we can stand up to my dad.”
He laughed. “Why? He’s right. We don’t make sense together.”
He pushed her away slightly and took her hands in his. “Look, I have to go. You’re still in school and I’m the big bad wolf who makes fathers quake in their boots.”
She laughed. “You’re a little mixed up. I’m the wolf and you’re my prey. You can’t escape the chemistry and desire between us.”
“I can and I will. But I won’t kid you. It’ll be painful as hell to walk away from you.”
She frowned. “Well, I never pegged you as a coward. I thought you were this Indian brave who’d save me from my passionless existence.”
“Honey, you’re existence is the farthest thing from passionless that I can imagine. But the timing is off. And I can’t blow this opportunity.”
“You’re putting a job ahead of me.”
He shook his head. “We’ll still be friends, and who knows after a few years what the future might hold for us.”
“Why can’t you accept that I’m a woman now, ready to love like a woman?”
“I’m an honorable man and I made promises to your dad. Besides, I’m not ready to be a husband and you’re not ready to be a wife.”
She pouted. “I wasn’t proposing. I just want you to stick around and see where this thing between us is headed.”
Rick’s eyes darkened. “We both know where it’s headed and I can’t let it happen. I told you that in the beginning.” His gaze softened. “In my culture, the Indian brave has to earn the right to his princess. If you still want to give this a try in a few years, I’ll do all I can to prove my courage. Any man who’d even consider winning your love is no coward, I assure you.”
Victoria decided that losing this argument wasn’t an option. Even as she thought it, she felt like she was in the wrong. But she’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted Rick. And she was used to getting what she wanted.
When they retuned to the mansion, she asked, “Can you at least walk me to my bedroom door? I don’t bite, you know.”
He laughed. “You do bite. I’ve experienced those incisors firsthand. I’ll walk you to your door. But I’m not coming inside.”
“Afraid?”
“After seeing you in action? Hell yes. It would be so damn easy to lose my soul in the wake of your youth and enthusiasm.”
“Why are you playing the old man card? You’re only two years older than me. We both have youth. I’ve seen and felt your signs of enthusiasm.” He shook his head and went silent. She wondered what he was thinking. She was so sure he loved her.
Chapter Twelve
With soft music coming from the mansion intercom, they walked up the winding stairway, him guiding her with a hand to the middle of her back, his touch commanding and possessive. She felt breathless, radiant, and fearful all at the same time. When he opened the door for her, she hesitated, then, without switching on a light, she shoved him hard toward her bed. Giving a yelp, he hurled backwards hard onto the coverlet. Before he could escape, she jumped on top of him. She kissed him with all the passion that had roared through them earlier as the flames inched closer and closer. Recalling the high of danger and the thrill of defeating evil, she moved her hips over his hardness and stripped off her top, exposing her breasts.
A quarter-moon threw silvery light and shadows across Rick’s stunned face and her bosom. For an instant, desire flared in his eyes. Good. She had him. Their heat and the scent of orange blossoms mingled with the lingering smoke from the fire added to her determination and escalating desperation to conquer.
“No, damn it, Victoria! This is why we don’t work together. You want what you want with no respect for my vow to your dad. You think like a petulant child. When I make it, it will be with a woman who understands love and isn’t just a selfish taker who sees me as prey.”
He grabbed her arms roughly and lifted her off of him as through she were a feather and tossed her aside. Victoria felt like he’d thrown ice water into her face. To her regret, he was right. She was treating him like prey to triumph over, not the hero and love of her heart. He slammed out of her room, leaving her feeling childish and rejected. Her plan to drive him crazy with desire had failed, and instead, she’d skyrocketed her own libido and, in the process, driven him away.
Rick’s face flamed hot. Probably everyone in the mansion had heard their impassioned shouts. He was sure of it when Damon raced up the stairs like gangbusters, coming to the rescue of his precious daughter.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Victoria’s virginity and my honor are intact, sir. We just had a difference of opinion on how to s
ay goodbye.”
“She’ll get over it,” Damon said. “She’s had little experience dealing with the word no. And that’s my fault.” He shifted his weight. “Your yelling exchange isn’t why I’m here. You have experience with computers, right?”
“Yes, sir. I learned to be a skilled and efficient hacker while working as an investigator for my brother. What do you need?”
“I need to get into Lazar’s computer and pinpoint where we are on the development of the serum.”
Rick worked over thirty minutes before he found his way in to the secret data chambers. “It looks like Lazar believed he already found a cure. He was marketing it to other countries as his own.”
“What about testing and FDA approvals?”
“It appears he skipped that important process. It also appears he used his own lycanthrope cursed blood in the serum along with something called moon poppies and a property he called mud extract X.”
“Extract X, dear God no. I was told early on that the mud extract had toxic properties that could maim and kill. I must warn his buyers that we don’t have FDA approval and the dangers of using an unapproved serum.”
Damon knew he needed someone he trusted on this. Angela was a top analyst and researcher for Derrick Simons and Associates before they married. “Angela can help me log all the data and analyze it so the work can go forward safely. Until all safety measures are in place, I won’t test it on our girls or anyone who doesn’t understand the dangers.” Damon felt the blood drain from his face, he’d bet his face had paled to a ghostly gray. He paused. “What time are you leaving in the morning?”
“I’ve decided it’s safest to leave now, sir. I’ll just grab my backpack, say my goodbyes to the others, and hit the road.”
Twenty minutes later, Damon walked out to the driveway with Rick and shook his hand. “I’ll see you at the SD office in a week. Until then the office manager, Rochelle Mitchell, will get you settled in and bring you up to speed.”
Damon felt a burning gaze searing through his soul. He looked up at Victoria’s bedroom window. She stood in a stiff stance that radiated resentment and glared down at him. He had never seen such hatred coming from one of his girls.
Rick looked up at Victoria, waved, and then when she didn’t acknowledge his gesture, he shrugged. He mounted his bike and roared down the driveway on his Harley without a backward glance. Damon felt her sadness tear through him as her shoulders slumped and she turned away.
He had to go to her and try to make things right.
Damon knocked on her door. “Go away, Dad,” she shouted.
He opened the door and went in. He enfolded her unyielding body in his arms. “Honey, I had to send him away. You two were getting in over your heads. And until we find the cure, sex is off the table. Rick isn’t ready to be a husband and you’re certainly not ready to be a wife.”
“Why do you keep talking about marriage? I just wanted to get to know him better and allow him to know the real me.”
“Look, sweetie, we need to solve the wolf issues before you get too chummy with anyone. And I’m working diligently on that.”
She lifted her chin defiantly. “You mean trusting others to do it for you. I believe in taking a more direct route. What did you do with the information I gave you from the Internet on lycanthropy and morphing?”
Damon’s heart swelled with pride. Victoria was smart, analytical like her mother, and a doer. “I turned it over to Lazar for testing.”
“Great move, Dad.”
Damon could have cut the sarcasm with a knife and her censure struck a blow to his gut. She was right in doubting him. His desire to control everything had led him to trust the wrong people. Suddenly, he was second-guessing his other decisions. Had he made a mistake in sending Rick away? What if the Indian biker with a brain like a steel trap found a grown woman like the single San Diego office manager, Rochelle, to love? Damon knew Victoria would never forgive him if Rick lost interest in waiting for her to grow up. The best Damon could hope for was that Victoria would find someone else, too, and then Rick would no longer be an issue.
Why was he fooling around with the complex nature of the heart anyway? He had to get the serum problem solved. And he had to do it before his half-brother Reeves rose from the dead to once again reign terror on his family. Since Reeves could morph into any form, Damon knew his days of complete trust of those around him were over. He would look at everyone with suspicious eyes. Reeves could morph into anyone, including Hugh, Kyle Cooper, a police officer, or even take over Rick’s body.
Damon hurried toward his office. He had a slew of duties to handle. He needed a new lab technician with high skills and impeccable credentials to get the research humming again and help him find a cure. It had already taken too long. He could use some of Lazar’s research data, but he needed to discover a formula that didn’t include the poisonous mud properties.
He turned when he heard the tap, tap of Angela’s high heels on the tiles behind him.
“Damon, wait up. I need to talk to you.”
Feeling his gut tightened, he turned, opened his arms, and ran toward her. “I know…I know I’ve screwed everything up, but if we work together maybe you can help me get back on track.”
“What do you mean work together?”
“I need my most trusted friend and lover in on this.”
“On what? Give me specifics.”
“Yes, yes, of course. You were a top analyst and researcher for Derrick Simons and Associates before we married. I need you to help me log all the data and analyze it so can go forward safely.”
“What data?
“Rick turned out to be a skilled and efficient hacker while working as an investigator for his brother. He invaded Lazar’s computer and pinpointed where our company is on the development of the serum.” Damon took a breath, fighting his excitement. “Rick found his way in to secret data chambers. The bastard Lazar believed he already found a cure and was marketing it to other countries as his own.”
“I’m not surprised. What confuses me is why you let a sharp guy like Rick go.’
“I didn’t let him go. I promoted him to the San Diego office.”
“I think perhaps you chased off Victoria’s best chance to rid herself of the curse.”
He raked his hair off his forehead. “What are you talking about?”
“The proven past history that true love can lift the curse.”
“They were just two people who had the hots for each other. There wasn’t enough time for love to get in the picture.”
“My point exactly. You didn’t give them time. You chased off a terrific guy who in the coming months might have fallen for her and made an excellent husband.”
“Or maybe I removed a guy before temptation reared its ugly head and Victoria ended up pregnant and passed on her curse to the next generation.”
“I see your point, but maybe you’re not giving her enough credit.”
He reached out and stroked Angela’s arm. “Honey, maybe you don’t remember what it was like to be in the crazed lustful werewolf state.”
Her eyes went all smoky. “I remember. That’s why we have twins who suffer from the curse.”
He leaned in and kissed her lips lightly. “Again. You proved my point. But don’t worry. Until all of the safety measures are in place, I won’t test the serum on our girls or anyone who doesn’t understand the dangers.”
“Test it on our girls?” Her voice rose. “Are you crazy?”
He quickly drew her into his arms. She stiffened but didn’t back away. “Don’t worry. From this minute on were in this together. I need your intuitiveness and good judgment. From now on I won’t make a move without us discussing it first. Besides, we need lots of testing and FDA approvals. Lazar skipped that important process. For good reason. He’d used his own lycanthrope cursed blood in the serum along with something called moon poppies and a property he called mud extract X.”
Angela paled. “The governmental scie
ntists told me early on that the mud extract had toxic properties that could maim and kill.”
“I remember and they told Lazar. But he ignored the warning. I’ll have to warn Lazar’s buyers that we don’t have FDA approval and the dangers of using unapproved serum. Also that Lazar had no right to sign contracts with them because he didn’t hold the patents. He took a breath, praying for forgiveness. “I know what must be going through you mind. I’ll admit that trusting those around me has been my fatal flaw. That’s why I need you in my corner to keep me in balance.”
She frowned, her gaze long, searing. Finally, she sighed and said, “Of course I’ll help. I want the best for my girls. And in spite of your tough stance, I know you want it too.”
He drew her close and rained kisses on her face and neck. “I do, I do. I just don’t want them getting pregnant.”
“Neither of us wants that. But how do you feel about me getting pregnant again?”
“Let’s get through this present challenge before we take on more family, if you don’t mind.”
She lowered her eyes.
He hugged her tight against him and slid his hand down her spine. “But we have to practice our rhythms daily so we’ll be ready when we decide the time is right.” He grabbed her by the hand and led her to the lab. Inside, he ceremoniously locked the door with a loud click. She arched an eyebrow. “Are we here to work?”
He glanced around. “After we take care of some other business.” Damn. Of course the counter was filled with vials. He ached to dramatically sweep them to the floor. But being practical and refusing to cause a chemical fire, he merely used his forearm to shove them aside. Then he covered the table space with a thick, cushiony blanket. Then, with a savagery that made her eyes widen, he lifted her feather-light body up on the counter. She gave a sly smile. Slowly, he removed her blouse and shorts. He stroked her arms as he lowered her bra straps. He smoothed her flat, firm belly as he very slowly slipped off the lacy bikini panties. “You’re breathtaking.”
