Authors: Donna Grant
“I can’t live like this, and neither can any of you. I will never be able to repay what any of you have done for me, but we all know we’ll have to make a decision soon.”
Myles rested his hands on Addison’s shoulders as he stood behind her chair. “I hate to agree, but Skye’s right.”
“The vamps knew we would retreat here,” Riley said and flatted her lips. “Man, I hate those assholes.”
“It’s not just the vampires,” Minka pointed out.
That was the kicker. They had no idea which one of the factions was helping the vampires. Magic was being used, but that could be the Djinn, witches, or even Delphine.
“Give me another few days,” Court asked Skye. “Please.”
She nodded, unable to tell him no. He turned on his heel and walked out of the house. She tracked him through the window in the parlor until he was out of sight.
“If there’s anything to find, Court will find it,” Myles said.
Skye slid her gaze to him and forced a smile. “I think you’re right.”
“You mean a lot to him,” Solomon said.
Skye’s heart missed a beat. The very idea that that could be true made her extremely happy. She looked at him. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s proving it to you every day, Skye,” Solomon said as he leaned against the doorway. “He patrols all night, only catching little naps when we make him take a break. He’s hardly eaten in days. Like all of us, he knows the attack is coming, and he wants to make sure there are no surprises.”
“Which will happen if I leave.”
Solomon nodded his head once.
Skye looked at each person in the room. “There has to be something we can do to get this attack over with. If we wait too long, we won’t have the other weres for help.”
“She’s right,” Kane said as he walked into the room. “They’re already getting antsy. Griffin is keeping them here for now.”
Minka leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table. “I didn’t come just to play cards, Skye. I came here because I have an idea. One that I think could get you out of this mess.”
“Took you long enough,” Solomon mumbled.
Skye watched the two of them, wondering if Solomon disliked Minka as much as he put on. Or if there were something more there. Skye was beginning to think there was something more.
C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN
Court stood back by a stand of trees and stared at the house he’d grown up in. There were many good memories there, but it was the night their parents were murdered that always came to mind when he looked at it.
He loved coming home, but it was hard. Their family had been shattered in one night because of a vengeful Voodoo priestess who didn’t want the five factions to have any type of peace.
Delphine had gotten her wish with his parents’ deaths. Now she needed to die. If she wasn’t causing problems with the LaRues, she was messing with the Chiassons. So far, neither family had lost another member to Delphine’s attempts.
But how long could their luck hold out.
Then there was Skye.
Court blew out a deep breath. The woman was constantly on his mind. He thought about her even in sleep. Her laugh, her lips turning up in a sensual smile, her long black hair, her smoky eyes. Her body.
She drove him mad with desire. He craved her, yearned for her. Burned for her.
Being around her so much over the past days had been the sweetest kind of torture. He would find ways to get as close to her as he dared. Occasionally, he’d let their hands brush. He even sunk so low as to touch her hair when she passed. Each time he returned from a patrol, he fought not to go to her, to pull her into his arms for a kiss as Myles did Addison.
Court grew hard just picturing Skye in his arms, imagined kissing her slowly, seductively, passionately. It was why he chose to patrol all night, because he couldn’t be in the same house as her and not go to her.
He wasn’t fighting it. He wanted to go to Skye. Court knew making love to her would be amazing. But she was being hunted by the vamps. He had to concentrate on that threat.
There was a slight movement to his left. Court shifted his gaze and saw Kane walk silently around a tree. Kane came to stand beside him, and for long moments, neither brother said a word.
“How many more nights are you going to spend out here watching the house?” Kane asked.
Court took immediate offense. “I patrol.”
“In between staring at the house and thinking of Skye.”
Court didn’t bother to deny it. But he didn’t want to talk about it either. “How long to do you think Riley will stay?”
“As long as she needs to.”
“She’s done you good.”
Kane lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Riley is a strong woman. She’s a Chiasson. But she also needed someone. She’s not as happy as she makes out.”
That made Court frown. “Is it her brothers?”
“I don’t know. I don’t ask questions.”
“Which is apparently exactly what she needs.”
“Yeah,” Kane mumbled. After a long stretch of silence, he said, “I don’t know if we would’ve acted any differently than our cousins if we’d had a sister.”
Court grunted. “I’ve thought the same thing. Riley is hurt by their actions, but it’s done out of love. They want to protect her.”
“I think she believes they think her weak.”
“Riley?” Court asked as he swiveled his head to Kane. “Weak? Not possible.”
Kane raised a brow as one side of his lips lifted in a sort of smile. “I know. But Vincent, Lincoln, Beau, and Christian might have forgotten her strength while Riley was away at college.”
“I’m glad she came here. Even with the danger, it’s good to make that connection with our cousins again.”
Kane turned so that he faced Court. “There’s another connection that needs to be made. Get your ass in the house and kiss Skye like you’ve been longing to do.”
Court blinked, taken aback. “What?”
“I know you, Court. The fact you’ve kept your distance from Skye tells me how much you like her.”
Was it that obvious? Did the others know, as well? Did he care that they knew? No, he realized, he didn’t.
“I do like her,” he admitted. “I don’t want to screw it up.”
“Then go see her,” Kane said and gave him a little push. “We’ve got things covered out here.”
Once his feet started moving, Court couldn’t stop. He walked to the house, up the steps to the porch, and through the front door. He paused long enough to close the door softly behind him, listening for Skye.
Court walked to the kitchen, glancing inside rooms as he went. He found Minka sitting alone at the kitchen table with a glass of untouched bourbon in her hand.
“She’s in her room,” Minka said with a smile.
Court nodded to the bottle. “Do you not like the brand?”
“I’m just thinking.”
“You didn’t have to come, but I’m glad you did. I’m sorry Solomon is such an ass.”
Minka waved away his words. “I can handle Solomon. I’m more concerned with the plan.”
He was too, but Court wasn’t going to add more worry to her. “How did you know I was looking for Skye?”
At this, Minka chuckled. “You can’t seriously be asking me that question with the way you’ve been looking at her.”
“I guess not,” Court said with a smile.
He walked to the fridge and got out two longneck beers. He waved goodnight to Minka and headed up the stairs. When he was outside his old bedroom door, he stopped and knocked.
A moment later, the door opened. Court held up the beers and smiled. “Care for a refreshment?”
“I’d love one,” Skye said as she stepped aside and opened the door wider for him.
He walked into his bedroom and looked around at how she had made it hers. There were piles of clothes off in the corner. Her things that he had gotten for her four days earlier from her place.
Court cleared his throat and pulled his gaze away from the laundry and the memory of being inside her house and looking through her belongings.
He turned and set the bottles on the desk, twisting off first one cap and then the other. Then he held one out for her. Their fingers brushed as she took the offered beer.
Their eyes held for a moment before she leaned against the wall. Court remained across from her and propped his shoulder against the opposite wall.
“I’m surprised you aren’t on patrol,” she said into the silence.
He shrugged. “I wanted to give Myles time with Addison.”
“I hate that everyone is doing all of this because of me. I’m a nobody, Court. Why should any of you care if I’m taken?”
He couldn’t believe the thought had even entered her head. “Why do you say that?”
“I have no family, no friends, really. There’s no one who would even miss me if I died.”
“I would.”
Her dark gaze locked with his. “You don’t know me.”
“I do. I know you’re funny, brave, stubborn, and relentless. I know you value friendship and responsibility. I know you want to protect the innocent as we do.”
“That’s not all there is to know about me. I was born into an extremely wealthy family and raised in the Bahamas.”
Court didn’t interrupt her. He was happy she’d decided to share part of her past.
“My parents loved to spend money,” she said with a smile. “They had nice things, but they spent on others, as well. I grew up in a stunningly beautiful place with everything I could ever want. I went off to UCLA for my degree, thinking that nothing would ever change. Then my parents got into a wreck and they were both killed.”
She paused and took a long drink of the beer. “Anyone’s life will change with the death of their parents. But it was more. I learned that my parents were all but bankrupt, struggling to keep living as they had been and paying for my college. It was up to me to plan both of their funerals and sell everything they had to pay off the creditors.”
Court hated the misery he saw on her face, but it was the glint of tears that about undid him. He could never stand to see a woman cry. It slayed him.
“All those people my parents gave to while they could were nowhere to be found. Not a single one of them helped me,” Skye continued. “I had a knack for getting as much money as I could for the artwork and my mother’s jewelry. That more than made up for other differences. There was nearly enough left after the bills were paid to pay for the rest of my college.”
“Did you use it?”
“Some of it. I worked because I knew I had to change my life. I wouldn’t always have money to fall back on. It was a lifestyle shift,” she said with a grin.
The only other person who’d ever heard that story was Jo, because her college roommate had helped her find a job and learn to manage money. Skye wasn’t sure why she’d shared it with Court. It left her raw, exposed.
But it also felt as if it healed her.
She watched as he hooked a finger around the longneck of the bottle and lifted it to his lips to drink. Surely he had to know how incredibly sexy he was.
It was his blond hair and the way it hit his jaw. It had more body than a man’s hair had a right to. Even when he ran his fingers through it, it looked amazing.
And his eyes. Damn, the man had eyes that made her feel as if she were drowning in vivid, electric blue.
Then there was his body. With every muscle defined and sculpted to perfection, he made her mouth water.
Despite all of that, or maybe because of it, it was the way he made her feel. She felt special, as if she were the only woman on earth he cared about, and that melted her heart. He made her feel safe, secure. Something that she hadn’t felt since her parents.
Skye swallowed as she realized the room had grown quiet as they stared at each other. The sexual tension was back. Truthfully, it had never left. It was only banked when he was away, but it flared to life anew when he was around.
He set his bottle down on the desk and closed the distance between them. He put a hand against the wall near her head and simply stared at her.
Skye’s heart was pounding with excitement, her blood warming with need. Her gaze lowered to his mouth for a heartbeat while she struggled to keep oxygen moving through her lungs.
“Are you afraid of me?” he whispered.
“No. Never.”
His hands slid to either side of her face as his lips touched hers.
Skye wanted to shout with joy. Her hands immediately rose to touch him, hating that she still held her beer in one hand. His kiss was soft, searching as he lightly kissed her a few times.
Then he groaned softly and slanted his mouth over hers. His tongue slid between her lips. She sagged against him, gripping his shirt with her free hand.
His arms shifted so that they were wrapped around her, holding her tight. The kiss deepened, and desire coiled low in her belly.
Suddenly, the beer was gone from her hand, taken by Court. He ended the kiss and lifted his head enough to look down at her.
“My God, you’re beautiful.”