A fog filled Lucien’s brain. He knew he owed Ryenne some kind of explanation but he couldn’t manage to put more than a couple of words together. He wasn’t even sure how they had taken leave of Chantal and exited the restaurant.

They must have, because now they sped through the dark city in a taxi, Ryenne sullen and quiet beside him.

When they pulled up in front of his house, he paid the driver and helped Ryenne out of the car. Before entering the house, he stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Ryenne, look, I’m sorry.”

“Who was she, Lucien?”

He sighed. “Chantal and I, as you gathered, were supposed to get married. But then she discovered the truth about me and my family, and she left me.”

“She didn’t know about all of you being wolf shifters?”

“No, and it came as such a surprise to her that she walked out on me only two weeks before our wedding.”

A look of pain crossed Ryenne’s face. “So, you were in love with her?”

“I was.”

“You wanted to marry her?”

“I did. We were very happy, or so I thought. But apparently our love wasn’t strong enough to overcome me being a shifter.”

“There was a time,” Ryenne said, “when I would have understood her state of mind and her decision. I might have walked out on you, too.”

“Would you have? You didn’t. Sure, you fought your attraction to me, but in the end, here we are. We’re together.”

“But it wasn’t easy.”

“Ryenne, you had a history with wolf shifters. Rogue wolves killed your brother and father and destroyed your family. You had a good reason to mistrust me and all wolf shifters. She didn’t. She was just scared.”

Ryenne nodded and put her hands on either side of his face. “Do you still love her?”

He shook his head. “My love for her died the moment she walked away from what we had and what we could have been together. It died because she hadn’t loved or trusted me enough to give us a chance and see what my being a shifter might mean for us. She didn’t take any of our past together into consideration. Didn’t consider what kind of man I was. She was blinded by her fear of something different and how people would treat her, and what it would mean for her.”

Ryenne nodded again. “I’m not afraid of those things.”

“I know.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment as heat built between them. He leaned down and kissed her waiting lips. She responded with her usual energy and passion.

He pulled away. “Let’s not continue this on the sidewalk.”

She laughed, took his hand, and led him into the house. Downstairs was dark. Everyone must have already gone to bed.

They climbed the stairs up to the attic level that, once upon a time, had been the servants’ quarters. By knocking down the walls in several rooms at the front of the house, a bigger room had been created for Lucien. It was more private up here, as the rooms at the back of the house were rarely used, which he’d especially appreciated as a teenager and in his early twenties. He had even figured out a way to come and go through a window at the end of the hall that led onto just enough of a sloped roof that he could swing himself down to the ground without getting hurt.

No one else slept up here, so as soon as they reached the hall, he started kissing Ryenne again. They bumped into the walls a couple of times as passion grew between them, glorying in the feel of each other’s hands and lips and skin.

In his room, he kicked the door shut, threw off his shirt, and pushed Ryenne onto the bed, a little more roughly than he would normally treat her.

She smiled and grabbed him by the hair, pulled his face to hers. Soft lips and cold hands sizzled on his hot skin. Her long legs wrapped around his waist, causing her dress to ride up her warm thighs as his cock strained against his pants.

He couldn’t wait any longer. “Ready?”

She nodded and bit her lip.

Opening his pants, he pulled out his length and gave it a stroke, his gaze boring into Ryenne’s. She wiggled out of her panties and the sight of her smooth flesh inflamed him.

He pushed a finger inside her to make sure she was wet before he thrust into her, harder than usual. Again, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he heaved himself into her over and over. He wanted to bite her so bad, to mark her as his. For always.

But he wouldn’t risk turning her.

After he came, she wriggled out from under him, pulled his pants off, and climbed astride him. Luckily, his shifter strength extended to his cock. She rode him until she reached her own climax.

This was one of the things he loved about Ryenne. She took what she wanted from him, when she wanted it. She didn’t pretend, she didn’t play games, she wasn’t afraid to tell him and show him what she wanted.

He’d never had this much passion with Chantal. He had never wanted to bite her, either. How could he even think of his ex in this moment?

He forced his focus back on Ryenne, on the gorgeous woman slumped on top of him, her bones liquid, her skin hot, and he caressed her back until he fell asleep.

***

Lucien spent a typical lazy morning outside in the little garden courtyard with Ryenne.

In the early afternoon, Ryenne excused herself to go upstairs and call her best friend and business partner, Gavin, who was freaking out about the wedding of his ex on Saturday. “I need to calm him down,” she explained, kissing Lucien’s head and leaving him alone in the courtyard.

Maman was in the office finishing up a client proposal with Dany and Guy, based on their observations from their visit to the Zénith the day before, and Lucien was cleaning up the lunch dishes in the kitchen, when there was a knock on the door. He went to answer it.

A man of medium height with red hair stood rigidly on the stoop, glancing over his shoulder. His expression turned haughty when he turned to Lucien.

“Monsieur Renardin, what are you doing here? I thought you were leaving town today.”

“Please, call me Charles,” Renardin said. “I am leaving, later on, but just wanted to stop by—”

Maman joined them in the hall.

“Madame Malraux, it is such a pleasure to meet you. I am so glad we’re going to be working together.”

“Ah bon? Who are you?” She looked between the newcomer and Lucien.

“Let’s go into the office,” Lucien suggested. He ushered Renardin into the large, airy room filled with a combination of dainty and functional furniture. There was no clutter, no dust, thanks to his mother’s constant tidying. All documents were filed away in their proper place.

He and Renardin sat in floral-patterned wingback chairs as Maman leaned against her broad wooden desk from the nineteenth century, facing Lucien and their guest, her arms crossed. “Now then, who are you?”

“Charles Renardin. I work for Lord Enterprises.”

Lucien glanced nervously at his mother. After the job in Kenya, she had researched their client and discovered Stephen Muteti’s ties to Lord Enterprises. Françoise narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything.

“We are interested in working with you. Malraux Frères is well-established and you have an impeccable reputation in the shifter hunting business. We think your skills will be useful to us.”

“Why on earth would a legitimate business need shifter hunters?”

“Well, Madame Malraux, we employ many shifters and we would like you to become a main part of our security force to help keep our employees in line.”

Lucien watched his mother’s face redden. “Maman, why don’t we get our guest a drink?”

But his mother was having none of it. “You want shifters to police only the shifters you want controlled? No, thank you. You can leave now.”

“But your son said he was willing to meet with us and set up an appointment to finalize the arrangements for an exclusive and highly lucrative contract.”

“My son does not speak for our business. I do. You will leave. Now.”

“Maman, let’s not make hasty decisions. You and I should talk about this.”

“The day Malraux Frères gets in bed with rogues is the day I die. Good day, Monsieur Renardin.” She stormed to the front door and held it open until Monsieur Renardin passed through.

On the other side of the threshold, he turned and glared at Lucien and his mother. “You will regret this.” He strode down the street, anger evident with each step.

Maman slammed the door and rounded on Lucien. “How dare you tell him we would work with him? You can’t make decisions like this. Since when are you interested in working with rogues?”

“I wouldn’t actually sign a contract with them. You ruined my plan. I was going along with them so we could find out more. Do you know where their business is located?”

She shook her head, chin still tilted upward in anger. “I have no interest in knowing.”

“Well, I do. We could have found out valuable information. These people tried to turn Ryenne in Kenya and could have killed me. I guess we know now why they left me alive. They wanted to use us. And I want to know why. Don’t you?”

Maman’s face paled. “Maybe I was too hasty, but the idea of rogues coming to us, as he said, an established and respected shifter hunter business... I’m sorry, son, his gall made anger pour out of my ears and I reacted without thinking.”

He put an arm around her. “It’s okay, Maman. Ryenne reacted just as you did at dinner last night, but she saw that we might be able to use them as they’re trying to use us. Unfortunately, that door has closed. We’ll find another way.”

“He said we would regret it, Lucien. I may have put us all in danger.” Maman’s shoulders shook.

Lucien had never seen her like this. Putting his arm around her, he stilled her shaking. “We’ll find another way, Maman.” His words seemed to reassure her, but Lucien wasn’t convinced. The Fangs were trouble.