Chapter Nine
They had already walked a block, and Lucan couldn’t figure out why he was holding her hand. There wasn’t really a reason. They weren’t a couple.
No matter how many times he said it in his head, that truth didn’t seem to want to stick with her hot little fingers in his.
Jamie sighed and leaned into him a little. “You smell good,” she mumbled.
He could smell the alcohol on her and knew she was more than a little plastered from it.
“Are we close?” Lucan said.
Jamie looked around and stopped. She pointed a bit down the road. “There. That’s where she grabbed me.”
She glanced at her arm, and he could see purple marks forming there. Anger jolted through him. Even if the woman hadn’t known what she was doing, she hurt his woman.
Lucan frowned.
His woman?
He’d thought it, and it just sounded right in his head. His inner beast had howled all night long about his woman, and he was starting to believe it.
Lucan cleared all the thoughts from his head as he took in a deep breath. It was time to use some of his hybrid advantages to help track down their enemy. He sniffed, looking for any odd scents.
Nothing.
“Let me see,” he said.
He leaned down to Jamie and pulled her close, her arm near his head. Maybe he’d be able to pick of the scent there and catch it on something else.
Despite himself, he couldn’t help but get a bit excited at her quick inhale of breath. It was hard enough to concentrate with her Vestal scent infusing his nostrils.
“What are you doing?” Jamie said.
“Just relax while I try and get the scent on you,” he growled.
Jamie stilled in his arms as he breathed in deeply.
Just there, past the distracting lavender, was something. Not really strong enough, though. He pressed his nose against her soft skin and felt the skin pebble as he did.
A small shiver came from the woman. He stopped what he was doing to stare at her.
Her mouth was slightly open and eyes half closed. She looked like she was half near orgasm, and damned if she wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever seen.
Lucan cursed under his breath as his cock swelled in response. He was pressed so closely to her she must have felt it instantly. She shifted.
He sucked in a breath, trying not to groan. He ignored the urge to rub against her, and instead went back to smelling her arm.
The enemy was close, and he needed to keep his focus before Jamie or anyone else got hurt.
There was something there on her arm, but it just wasn’t enough.
“I’m getting nothing,” Lucan said.
He let her go, but she kept a hand on his arm.
“Maybe I should get you back to your place,” he said after a moment.
Jamie nodded, and he was surprised when a soft blush spread across her cheeks.
Lucan turned away from her as they walked back to his bike.
All he had to do was drop her off. Well, let her ride on the back of his bike and cling to him in all the wrong ways. Then drop her off before he convinced himself that he needed to stay to keep an eye on her.
Lucan cursed under his breath.
Simple, right?
* * *
Jamie pressed her face into Lucan’s back and closed her eyes. She loved the warmth of him as they drove through town. His helmet smelled like him, which only enhanced the pleasure of the low rumble of the bike between her legs.
The fear from earlier had passed. His presence always felt like a protective blanket that would shield her from harm. There was just something about Lucan that made her feel like everything was going to be fine as long as he was there with her.
When they stopped outside her apartment, she opened her eyes to look around.
“That’s weird,” Lucan said.
Jamie climbed off and handed him the helmet. “What?”
He pointed to a black car. “Looks like Nikon is still here.”
For a moment, he looked like he wanted to get back on his bike and take off. She twisted her hands and tried to think of a reason for Lucan to stay, but nothing came to mind.
It wasn’t exactly like she could tell him she wanted him to come upstairs so he could fuck her brains out.
Lucan sighed. “I should check to make sure everything is fine.”
Jamie frowned. “You don’t think the woman followed them here, do you?”
Lucan shook his head. “Likely not. She’d have a hard time getting the drop on Nikon, but just want to be sure.”
Jamie wanted to be happy he was coming upstairs, but worry still ate at her. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe the woman had found them. Maybe she was waiting for her to get there with more people.
They reached the top of the stairs and stopped outside the door to Leah’s apartment. Lucan raised his brows in surprise then shook his head.
“They’re fine,” he said.
Jamie opened her own door and looked to where he stood behind her. “How do you know?”
He shrugged. “I can hear them.”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “Are they…?” Her cheeks heated.
Lucan shook his head. “Sleeping,” he said quietly. “I don’t think Nikon has slept much since…”
He trailed off, and she understood. Leah had lost someone she was attracted to, but Nikon had lost his family.
Jamie nodded to her apartment. Lucan paused for a moment and then stepped inside.
“Leah, too,” she said as she entered.
Jamie kicked off her shoes before walking over to the fridge and pulling out two beers. She handed one to Lucan who took the open beverage.
“She told me today that’s she’s trying to be stronger,” she said. She sighed and sat on the couch. “That was before that woman.”
Lucan sat beside her. Jamie was keenly aware on how close they were to their position from the night before.
“She’s not doing well?” he said.
“Even though she and Alair had just started something—” Jamie took a long drink and then shook her head. “—It was just too much. I don’t think she’s ever lost anyone like that.
Lucan raised a brow. “And you have?”
She shrugged. “Sure,” she said. “Lots of people lose people they care for. Lost my mom before I could even open my eyes to a blood clot. And then my dad to a heart attack three years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
Jamie shook her head and took another drink. “Don’t be,” She smiled. “I moved on. Doesn’t mean I didn’t love them, but the living have to keep on living. It’s our duty to those that can’t be here.”
She looked over at him and was surprised to find the big man staring intently at her.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” he said quietly. “Every part of you is so full of life. I thought maybe you’d never had anything bad happen to you, but that’s not it at all. You’re just… you.”
Jamie sat their stunned. She wasn’t really sure what to say in response. It wasn’t exactly poetry, but what he said touched her in the same way. Her heart fluttered the more she stared at him.
She reached up and placed a hand on his cheek. “And you’re you. That’s what makes you so special.”
Jamie slowly moved in for a kiss. This time she wanted him to think about it. To know she was going to kiss him and give him time to say no.
It wasn’t just about sex anymore, although she really hoped it ended with that. This time it was about the heart, and her heart was full of feeling for him.
If they started this, she wasn’t going to be able to just shut it off like she had with other men. This time it was for real, and she wanted something long term.
Their lips touched, and she sighed as she pressed into him, his mouth moving slowly against hers. Each of them tasted and relished the other.
After a moment, she stood and looked down at his glowing yellow eyes. She pulled her shirt and bra over her head and leaned over to pull her pants to the floor. When she kicked them off, she stepped over to where he was on the couch, her movements slow and deliberate.
“I want you to stay with me,” she said quietly. “I want you to make love to me.”
He was quiet for a moment, and she worried that it was too much. That she’d used the wrong words, but they were the ones in her heart, and she didn’t know if she had any other to say.
A low rumble filled the room just before he shot off the couch and lifted her into his arms.
“You’re mine tonight.”