Amber’s sudden shove nearly toppled Rico to floor as she scooched away, frantically righting her clothing. Before he could say anything, she leapt up and slid into her shoes. Circling the couch without looking his way, grabbing up her coat and purse, she called in a remarkably steady voice, “Baby, come on. Get ready. We need to get home.”
The sleep-rumpled girl emerged from the bathroom to obediently put on her shoes and coat without fully opening her eyes. She blinked owlishly at her host and murmured, “’Bye, Rico,” as Amber hurried her toward the door.
Rico didn’t dare stand up, afraid he’d confront mother and child with what felt like a foot-long boner, but he couldn’t let them leave in such a rush.
“Hey, let me call you a cab. It’s the least I can do to thank you . . . for dinner.”
Amber wrapped her arm about the groggy girl and practically shoved her out the door. “No, thanks. Good night.”
And the Prince of Fools just let them go.
* * * * *
“We’re going for a run.”
The idea of taking their torture outside into a slashing cold drizzle after an already punishing round of sparring had the surly dozen more disgruntled than usual.
As they started to reach for their jackets, their instructor snapped, “You won’t need those. We’re not jogging in the park.”
Following him outside, they found a small bus waiting, and exchanged uneasy glances.
“Just where are we going?” Lamar Poe grumbled.
A feral smile creased features that had been hewn from stone all morning. “It’s a surprise.”
“Why am I sure we won’t like it,” the lanky Poe muttered.
“I don’t expect you will. No one’s forcing you to come.”
With that, Rico climbed aboard the bus and took the seat behind the driver, never giving any of them another glance. They stared at the back of his red head, murmuring amongst themselves as their ride left the comfort of the city on I-10 and headed for the bayou. The mood darkened when the bifold doors opened at the edge of a forbidding wilderness. They glanced around. No sign of a trail. And they grew alarmed as the doors closed and their transportation drove away.
“What’re we doing out here, Hoss?” Donny asked for all of them, concerned but not contentious.
“Communing with nature. Nature can be pretty damned unforgiven, and you’ll find me more so if you don’t keep up with me.” Rico pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt so it shadowed his eyes and left the hard square of his jaw exposed. “I’ve got the only phone. You wanna go home? You catch me and take it from me.”
And just like that he disappeared into the thick brush.
They stood blinking stupidly after him for a moment, then T-Ray spoke for them all.
“I don’t wanna stay out here all night, so let’s get the son of a bitch.”
* * * * *
He ran to outdistance thoughts tormenting him whenever he stood still.
Rico now remembered everything about that first night, each detail flooding back as Amber described them, every hot, delectable one of them. He and Amber James tearing up the sheets after she’d taken him in to comfort him. And as he’d taken her, fiercely, feverishly, while his brother and Mia Guedry, whom he’d thought had permanently broken his heart, were the farthest things from his thoughts. Amber, so lusciously warm and giving, greeted by his blank look of panic in the morning as if all she’d done for him was forgotten.
Not forgotten, just lost, the way he’d been lost in a spiral of rejection and betrayal. Until she’d rescued him with her big heart and compassionate nature. Until she’d set fire to the ash of his emotions while he’d watched her erotic reenactment of her fantasies. And had become the embodiment of every one of his. Dreamy, desirable, and libidinous. He’d had no idea the gentle confessor and earth mother could pack such a straight-for-the-lusty-groin punch. She’d left him reeling and wanting. And then had just left him.
So, he ran, with his personal hounds from hell called loneliness chasing him.
* * * * *
T-Ray Roux, staggered to a stop, palms clutching knees as he gasped, “Anyone see which way he went?”
“Straight to hell, I hope,” Poe panted.
“Not until we get that phone and GPS ourselves outta here.”
“We should split up,” the newest of their group proposed. “Half of us lost is better than all of us. That doubles our chances.”
“Good, idea, Preach.” T-Ray nodded at the rest. “Like he said.” He gestured to one group and pointed down a tangled footpath. “Head that way. We’ll keep on going. Holler if you see the bastard.”
They split up, T-Ray’s group of Poe, Donny, the Preacher and two others, running as hard as the terrain would allow, eyes open for signs that Terriot had passed this way.
“Here,” Gus, whom they called Preacher because of his annoying lack of sins, called out, holding up a broken branch to take the scent left on it. “He went this way. It’s fresh. He can’t be too far ahead.”
Motivated by their own discomfort, they picked up the pace, T-Ray plunging ahead, Gus watching for sign, the others staying out of their way. What they never expected was Terriot to come rushing toward them, shoving past T-Ray and Gus, scattering all but Donny like chickens off into the brush. While the others gaped after him in surprise, Donny swore angrily, snatched a hefty chunk of rock off the uneven ground and heaved it with guided missile accuracy, clipping their instructor in the back of the head and dropping him on the spot.
Donny blinked and nervously told the others, “Well, I was getting tired, and figured the way to catch him was to stop him.”
The other group came jogging down the path behind them, having driven Rico their way, and now crowded in behind them as T-Ray was the only one brave enough to kneel and roll the still figure over.
Scalp wounds had a nasty habit of leaking something fierce, and this was no exception. Blood from the chunk torn just behind his left ear had spread around it to pool beneath his cheek and nose. His head lolled, eyes closed.
“Better hope you didn’t kill him,” Poe muttered, as they cautiously crouched around the motionless prince. “His brothers’ll come swarming down off their mountain and devour every one of us.” That gave cold comfort. He added, “Get his phone. I don’t want to be stuck out here when he wakes up.”
“We can’t just leave him,” Donny argued.
When T-Ray put fingertips to Rico’s throat to feel for a pulse, he found a hand wrapped tightly about his wrist as golden eyes flashed open, alert and aware.
“Who hit me?” Rico groaned, reaching up with his other hand to test the lump on his head.
Donny swallowed hard. “I did, sir. I’m sorry.”
Rico floundered for a moment, finally growling, “Help me up.” He gritted his teeth as he was dragged to his feet to confront his very pale assailant. “Don’t you apologize for being the only smart one in the bunch. You don’t exhaust yourself chasing an enemy when you can bring him down quick. Good move. Who decided to divide the group and come in on both sides?”
“That was me,” Gus admitted. “And T got us going.”
“Smart and efficient. Got everyone working together. You, Donny and T-Ray are our squad leaders.” While the three blinked in surprise, he reached an unsteady hand into his pocket to pull out the phone. “Now, let’s get out of this nasty-ass place. The first round’s on me.”
* * * * *
Trying to pretend it was business as usual lasted only until Mia settled on the other side of the bar. Dark, questioning eyes saw through right her.
“You want to trade places and you can tell me all your problems?”
Amber smiled faintly at the offer. “I’m good. And speaking of, you look great.”
Mia smirked. “Nice misdirection. I’m feeling good.”
“And Colin?”
“He’s beyond belief great.” A loud group filing in from the back lot distracted her for an instant, dampening her mood. “Except for one thing.”
Amber followed her nod and stiffened.
A pack of tired and dirty fellows led by Rico Terriot swarmed several of the tables. The Terriot prince drew up sharply when he saw the two of them, a riot of emotions crossing his face before he got control of them. While the others settled into chairs, he approached the bar, movements wary.
"Hey," he mumbled, stepping up behind the stool next to Mia's, careful not to look at either female or come too close. "Could we get a round? My tab."
He flinched when Mia placed a hand on his arm, gaze jumping to her and quickly away, avoiding Amber completely.
"How are you, Rico? Colin and I miss you."
A wry smile. "Too bad he didn't miss me with that last punch," he murmured, rolling his knuckles along his jaw.
"Things don't have to be that way, you know."
"I kinda got the impression," he disagreed, "that they do."
"Kate's been asking about you."
He'd been instrumental in bringing the middle teen from Lake Tahoe in secret to bolster his ailing brother, a move that pushed the stubborn Terriot to reconnect with his sisters. Rico squirmed at that applied pressure to a soft spot.
"Tell her I said hey."
"Tell her yourself. We'll be here tomorrow for the party."
"What party?" His furrowed brow lifted. "Oh, the one for LaRoche's kid. Evie was talking about it. Didn't know I was invited."
"Of course, you are." Mia's hand squeezed, making him fidget. "You're family."
Another twisted smile. "Right."
He finally nodded to Amber, the quick eye contact between them packing a lightning strike sizzle before he started to turn away.
Mia's grip yanked him up short. "What did you do?" she demanded, features pulling in concern.
"About what?" He went deer-in-the-headlights still when her other hand raised to his brow, sucking a harsh inhale even before her gentle touch made contact.
"To your head."
"Oh. That." A nervous laugh as he tried to wriggle away. "Met up with something harder than my skull."
Wordlessly, Amber supplied a clean, wet bar cloth for Mia's careful cleanup of the dried blood around his ear while he stood rigid in unvoiced objection, barely breathing, gaze downcast and mouth tight.
"There," his clan's new princess pronounced. "That's better."
Than what? Having open heart surgery without anesthesia?
Rico smiled grimly and dodged away while he could escape from what he’d thought he needed and what he now knew he wanted. All eyes were on him when he sat down.
"Are you hitting that?" one of the group asked in awe.
"Past tense," he growled, not interested in discussing his lovelorn life.
He endured the ribald chuckles and nudges until Amber approached balancing a large tray filled with pitchers and glasses she doled out efficiently. Rico kept his focus on the tabletop until she moved away. Then his gaze slid up to follow her return behind the bar.
The all-too-observant Trey crowed, "You're tapping that, too? You lucky SOB!"
Rico pinned the fool with a knife point glare. "I think you and me are going to go over the finer points of hand-to-hand first thing tomorrow, so I suggest you drink up while that jaw you're jacking still works."
Silence. Then T-Ray nudged the petrified loudmouth with an elbow. "Guess we all know what he'll be hitting tomorrow.” Chuckling, he reached for a pitcher. “Let's raise a glass while our friend here can still swallow."
* * * * *
"You're sleeping together!"
Amber's gaze flew up almost as fast as her denial. "No, we aren't!" At Mia's knowing smirk, she amended, "Not since that first time." Dark brows rose, coaxing her to add, "Not really."
"Not really," her friend mused. "That's like me saying I'm not quite pregnant. Are you together or not?”
“It’s complicated.” She tore her stare from Rico with a topic-changing directness. “You and Colin. You were saying?”
Mia warmed to the subject like a solar flare. “You should see him with his sisters. He’s so happy.” Her gaze misted as she confided, “I wish we could keep them here with us. They’re miserable with their mother.”
“Why don’t you?”
A sigh. “He gave his word to take them back next week. You know how he is on points of honor. That’s going to be hard on all of us. Worse since he’s cut off from his brothers. Family’s hard. It’s easier to avenge them than enjoy them while you have them.”
Amber made an assenting noise. “Tell me about it.”
Mia was too observant. “I didn’t know you still had family, other than your daughter.”
“Had. That ghost raises an ugly head from time to time.”
“That’s not going to happen, Mia.” She’d run from the chance like a virgin caught necking behind fogged car windows by a policeman’s flashlight.
Mia laughed at the glum remark. “I don’t know what you were seeing a minute ago, but it wasn’t me he was looking at with those strip-me-naked eyes.”
Amber risked a glance toward the rowdy group, attention lingering on the square-jawed profile of the prince in question. Confusion and longing bubbled up until the pressure grew too great to contain without spilling. "I’m out of my league with him, Mia. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing . . . for either of us. If it was just me, I'd take the risk. But it isn't. I have to think of my daughter first."
"She doesn't like him? He doesn't like kids? I don’t believe that."
"He's crazy about her, and her about him."
"Then it's your problem, not theirs," came a gentle prodding. "You can't trust him enough?"
"He's not the kind I can be sure will stick around when the new wears off.” A soul-shredding confession. “Parenting is hard work, not just fun and games. I’m only a couple of years older but feel like I’m his mom. She doesn't need a playmate. She needs a role model. He's fun, he's impulsive, giving, caring."
"And?"
"Reckless. Not sure of what he wants. We fill a need for him right now, but I don't know if it'll last or if he'll get bored with us. I won't put Evangeline through that. She deserves stability."
"And what do you need? Are you thinking about that at all?"
"So much I'm burning through batteries like a remote-control race car.” She laughed, embarrassed by the confession, then sobered. “But batteries are cheaper than heart surgery once he breaks ours."
"Are you sure he will?"
"No." Miserably admitted as she started scrubbing the already clean bar top. "I don't know what to do. We're becoming this wonderful habit that's all friendship and family and restless nights. But I don't know if it'll ever be more."
"Because of you or because of him?"
"Both,” Amber admitted, a truth that hurt all the way down to her sensible work shoes. “He's afraid to take the leap, and I'm afraid of the fall."
"But if you don't take the chance, you won't ever know how it feels to fly."
She risked another glance at the table. "I know how it feels. It feels like every dream I ever had come true. And I want it so much, it scares me."
"What do you want?"
"Him.” She threw the rag aside and leaned back against the bar, studying his reflection and her own in the mirror behind the top-shelf liquor. “I want to hear his laugh. I want to lap up his smile. I want to sleep in his arms and wake up with him every morning. I want to look into his eyes over breakfast. I want to see him and Evie on the couch, watching movies. He took her shopping at the mall, and he's been teaching her to dance." Her voice hitched. Tears shimmered above her smile. "He's strong, honest, kind, and pit-bull protective. He listens as well as talks. And he's humble."
A chuckle. "I notice you didn't list hot and rich in that impressive list."
She turned to study her friend ruefully. "Well, that's kind of obvious, isn't it? But I've known a lot of hot and rich that I'd scrape off my shoes without regret." Amber shook her head, marveling. "He doesn't see any difference between us."
"But you do. That’s why you can’t accept that he'd make a perfect mate and father for you and your girl. Tell me what the real problem is?"
Truth time, one hard to speak, harder to accept, and harder to escape. "I never got the chance to be young, date and fall in love. I went right from being a child to a mother. I don't know how I should feel. There are . . . are things he doesn't know. Things that might change everything!"
"Talk to him about whatever it is that has you ready to jump out of your skin just thinking about it. I doubt there's anything you could tell him that would tarnish the way he looks at you and Evie."
Amber answered with a grim smile. She knew there was.
She should have settled for friendship and left the tempting physical aspect alone. A friend she could keep at arm’s length, but a lover was different. She’d been careless. Until the presence of her child and the return of her brother had thrust reality in front of dreams.
Rico Terriot was already too involved in her life, too close to her secrets for comfort. So, what else could she do but take that cautious step back to protect herself and more importantly, her daughter. And, Rico, as well, from the dangers crouching in the shadows of her past.
She’d hurt him with her abrupt flight, racing from his glorious touch out into a cruel night as if he were the threat she feared. Had she taken his offer of bliss, she’d be accepting him into her life on a new, more intimate level, exposing him to risks she wouldn’t allow him to take. Not because she was afraid he couldn’t protect her. But because she was terrified she’d get him killed.
She hadn’t taken that step back lightly. It took every fiber of strength and will she had, and still the pain of it was crippling. Step back she must. Not because she didn’t believe in him.
But because she loved him.