So he just couldn’t.
“This guy has got it in him, Circe. He can be
that guy for you. He might be the only one in two universes that
can be. He’s a warrior
and
he’s a protector. You know where
I’m at with you. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t feel it in my gut
that it’s true.”
“Noc—” she tried again.
But he kept going.
“And the most important thing about it is,
you so rocked his world last night just looking at you, I know
he’ll take it all from you. He’ll hear it and he’ll get it and I
mean
all
of it. Who you are. The power you have. What
happened to you. Where you’re from. He won’t care if you tell him
you’re from the moon. The man I saw last night, babe, he just wants
you.”
“He terrifies me,” she blurted.
That was unexpected.
Noc fell silent.
Circe looked beyond him, drew in a visible
breath then looked back at him.
“He terrifies me,” she whispered.
“Why?” Noc whispered back. “He’s not Lahn.
He’s not from a place they rape women to make them their wives. I
can see you looking at him and seeing only that. But that isn’t who
he is.”
“It’s not that. I saw Lahn with his Circe and
I know even Lahn isn’t that.”
“Then what is it?”
“He’s everything.”
Again, unexpected.
And again, Noc fell silent.
“He’s meant for me,” she kept on, doing it
not sounding hopeful, sounding terrified. “He’s mine.”
“I think from what I saw last night, you’re
right. He is,” Noc agreed.
“I have never, not once, been happy,” she
told him.
Noc felt that slice through his gut.
“Circe.”
“I have never, not once, except long ago in a
time that seems so far away it’s like it was a dream, the time my
parents were alive, I have never felt love.”
Christ.
She was killing him.
“Babe.”
“I know I have friends who care deeply about
me. That’s not the same.”
It wasn’t.
It wasn’t the love of a man.
It wasn’t that love growing into family, be
it a family of two or the family those two made.
“I want him,” she admitted.
Finally they were getting somewhere.
He moved close, saying, “Circe, all I’ve been
saying means you can have him.”
She shook her head. “I finally escaped
Baldur, only to be set upon by pirates, passed amongst them like a
toy. I escaped them, only to be put into the Wife Hunt in Korwahk.
At my end, I spirited myself away, only to put my twin in my place
where she was promptly violated.”
“That worked out,” he reminded her.
“But it could have been disastrous,” she
reminded him.
“It wasn’t,” he stated.
“It could have been, and the point is, Noc, I
don’t have very good luck.”
“You are not wrong about that, Circe, and now
you’re at a crossroads. You can live safe, which means you live
half a life, or you can keep trying your luck because, serious as
shit, babe, you’re long due for a windfall and I see it right
within your reach. You just gotta reach for it.”
She looked hopeful before that melted to
uncertain.
“What if he doesn’t want me?” she asked
almost shyly.
Noc fought a grin.
“Babe, were you conscious last night?” he
asked back.
Again with the hope that went uncertain.
She lifted and dropped her free hand. “I’m a
witch. I’m from another world. I’ve had…things have been done to
me…”
She trailed off and Noc reached out and took
her hand.
“Those things were done
to
you. Those
things don’t
make
you. You are what you’ve always been,
Circe. A beautiful, strong, caring woman. You took all that was
piled on you and never gave up. You escaped Baldur only to end up
in a situation that was just as bad. You got kidnapped and landed
in another bad situation and you still didn’t give up. You found a
way to get out. That could have gone really bad, but it didn’t, and
in the end, the woman you switched with is happy, in love, making
babies and her father thinks of you as his daughter. You got all
that because you had every reason to give up and you never did.
Don’t give up now. You’ve got so much to give, babe, the lucky one
in this scenario is not you reaching out to Dax. It’ll be Dax, if
you find the courage to reach.”
“You’re very sweet,” she murmured.
“Maybe. But mostly I’m very right.”
She gave that a moment to sink in before she
stated, “This remains to be seen but there is something you’re
wrong about and that’s that you couldn’t be ‘that guy’ for me.”
Shit.
What?
He made himself stay close, holding her hand,
hoping like fuck he hadn’t read what went on between them months
ago wrong.
He saw a small smile touch her mouth before
she shared, “I don’t mean I wanted that between us, and it wouldn’t
matter because, you’ll remember, you didn’t want that either. What
was understood then is understood now. But you speak like you’re
not the kind of man strong enough to be ‘that guy’ who can be all
he needs to be for a woman who needs him to be just that. But if
you weren’t, then Franka would be in a very different place right
now and not looking like the gold of the sun shines through her,
when before she looked weighed down by the blanket of eternal
night.”
It was that that made Noc release her and
step back.
At his movements, her brows drew
together.
“You are that man, Noc, you must know this,”
she said gently.
He shook his head. “I was just the guy who
happened to be there when shit went down and looking back, I was
half in love with her already so I’m lucky this is where we ended
up.”
When he was done speaking, she stared at him,
murmuring, “Lucky?”
He ignored that and carried on. “But we’re
not talking about me.”
Before he could say more, Circe butted
in.
“We weren’t. We are now.”
“I’m here right now for you,” he
asserted.
“Then good. Thank you. So I’ll make a deal
with you, Noc. I’ll think about not playing it safe. I’ll think
about trying my luck. But only if you’ll think about the absolute
rubbish you just handed me.”
Noc felt his head jerk and his jaw
tighten.
“You’re right, I know her story,” she said
softly. “And I need to speak to her. I was…” she gave a short shake
of her head, “not myself last night. I was cruel even knowing she
didn’t deserve it. I will…I’ll apologize. But Noc, it’s impossible
for me to understand how you can come here championing this man for
me not knowing you’re that man for Franka.”
He was getting impatient.
“Again, Circe, we’re not talking about
me.”
“You said this Dax would be the one who would
be lucky if I took a chance. I wonder, if I asked Franka, who
she
felt was the lucky one between her and you.”
“She can think that it’s her but I know the
truth.”
She studied him closely, doing this
speaking.
“I had everything, a loving family, a magical
gift, and it was all swept from me by a cruel and twisted man. Your
Franka, I can’t even think on it, Noc, knowing from her first
breath, she had nothing. Until she had you.”
His words were tight when he stated, “Not
gonna repeat myself, Circe.”
“I can’t believe you don’t see what’s inside
you,” she whispered, her gaze searching.
“I’m just a guy.”
“You are not just a guy,” she stated
firmly.
He was done in a way they both were going to
be done.
“All right, I’m the guy who made it all good
for Franka,” he lied. “There it is. Now I said that, our deal. I’m
going from here to my woman, and if you give me the go ahead, when
I get there, we’ll call Dax and ask him to dinner tomorrow night.
At my place. Me, him, Franka and you.”
“You only said what you said about yourself
so I’d make that deal,” she accused.
She was correct.
Noc didn’t confirm that.
He didn’t say anything.
Suddenly, what he’d just suggested hit her
and her concern for him fled as anxiety again took hold.
“Your decision, your life and I stand by
whatever you decide,” he said. “I’ll make Franka do it, and if I
can pull it off, I’ll make Valentine do it. But I don’t think I
have to go on record to say, if you don’t come to dinner tomorrow
night, don’t try your luck one last time and do it for a shot at
happiness with this guy, I think you’re making a big mistake.”
“I’ll come to dinner,” she replied in such a
soft voice he almost didn’t hear her.
So relieved, he couldn’t stop himself, he
reached out and pulled her into his arms to give her a tight
hug.
“That’s the right decision,” he said into the
top of her hair.
“I hope it is,” she said into his chest.
He lifted his head and she leaned back but he
didn’t let her go.
“It is,” he assured.
She pressed her lips together, still visibly
anxious.
“Come early,” he urged. “Sit with Franka.
Talk to her. Get to know her. Drink some wine. You’ll be in a safe
place with
your
people around you looking after
you
.
You feel uncomfortable or anything, we’ll take care of you. I
promise you that, Circe. Swear.”
“I believe you.”
He gave her a squeeze and then slowly let her
go, murmuring, “Good. Now I gotta get to my truck to call Frannie
and let her know it’s all good. She’s pretending she’s got it all
together, but she’s freaked as shit things got messed up last night
and she’s worried about you so I gotta get that off her mind before
I get the rest of this show on the road.”
She looked like she wanted to say something
but thought better of it before she smiled at him and started
toward the door.
He followed her.
She opened it and he moved out, turning to
say, “I’m seriously glad you opened the door, babe.”
“I’ll tell you later whether or not I
am.”
She’d pulled up her courage and was showing
him a brave face.
He was glad for it because he didn’t hope he
was right about this world’s Dax Lahn.
What he saw last night he knew he was right
and he wanted that for her.
“Early,” he said. “I’ve texted you my
address, show at four. I’ll be cooking. Franka will be watching me
do it and talking to you. We’ll ask him to be there at six.”
She tried to hide her nervous swallow and
nodded.
Noc lifted a hand, wrapped his fingers
briefly around the side of her neck and gave her a smile.
“See you tomorrow,” he said as his
goodbye.
“Tomorrow, Noc.”
He turned to leave and took two steps but
stopped when she called his name.
“You can think what you want but I know.
Franka and I have different stories, but we were both left in the
same darkness,” she said quietly. “So I know. If this man is that
man for me,
I
will be the lucky one. And you being the man
you are, the only man for Franka, so is she.”
Before he could say a word, she shut the
door.
He stared at it for a beat and then he didn’t
give it another second.
Or another thought.
He walked to his Suburban, got in and made a
phone call.
* * * * *
Franka was pacing.
Noc was leaning a hip against his island,
phone to his ear, listening to it ringing, focus on Frannie.
“Baby, calm down,” he urged.
She stopped instantly, caught his eyes and
hers narrowed.
“Calm? This man might have spent the last
sixteen hours convincing himself we’re insane and he wants nothing
to do with us, including Circe. Valentine has made certain he
doesn’t go after her and he hasn’t, but she doesn’t have the power
to read his thoughts.”
She’d counted the hours.
That was cute.
He didn’t have a chance to further reassure
her.
The phone stopped ringing and a man answered
with, “Lahn.”
“Lahn, this is Noc Hawthorne.”
“Did she get home okay?”
Noc dropped his head and grinned at his
feet.
He hadn’t spent the last sixteen hours
convincing himself they were insane.
Noc saw Franka’s hand land on his chest and
he lifted his eyes to her, still grinning.
Her shoulders fell in relief.
“Hawthorne,” Dax bit out. “You there?”
“Yes, I’m here and she got home okay, pissed
as hell we tried to set her up but okay. Went ’round and talked to
her this morning. She’s not been in a place for a while to take a
shot at certain things but I pointed out she’s gotta find that
place. In other words, we’d like to know if you’d come to dinner
tomorrow, my place, Frannie, me and Circe. Six.”
“Text me your address, I’ll be there.”
Noc nearly burst out laughing.
His efforts at not doing that made his next
words sound choked.
“Will do.”
Frannie pressed in at his chest and gave him
wide what-the-hell-is-going-on eyes.
He rounded her with an arm.
“Tomorrow,” Dax grunted.
“Yeah, man. See you then,” Noc replied.
Dax hung up.
Noc dropped his phone from his ear and
started chuckling.
“What?” Franka asked.
“He’s coming to dinner.”
She lifted her other hand to his chest and
pressed both in, beaming and declaring, “By the gods, this pleases
me.”
Noc was pleased too but he was more pleased
seeing how much she was.
She remained pleased for about two seconds
before she got down to business.
“No Fleuridian wine tomorrow, Noc,” she
bossed. “I don’t want her thinking of home. Not the good of
Fleuridian wine and definitely not the bad she was treated to
there. I want her head firmly in this world.”
“Aye, aye captain,” he said on a grin.
Her eyes narrowed again.
“This is no jest. We have to plan this
carefully. He’s taken with her but we’re her people. He mustn’t
think less of her because he thinks less of us. To that end, what
are you making for dinner?”