CHAPTER THREE #2
“It wasn’t that easy. We had to wait for certain key events to align.”
I’m trying to understand what that means, but I keep coming back to Aunt Laura. She’s the only key event that’s changed.
“Did she tell you to stay away from me?” I demand, temper prickling for a whole other set of reasons.
I could point out that they were grown men and if they wanted to keep in touch, they could have. That Aunt Laura was married to their dad, not them and she had no say in anything.
But I also understand. Aunt Laura was a scorched earth sort of person.
She didn’t believe in cordial or a friendly divorce.
Her first husband Dawson, Jenna, Keira and Lewis’s father, had to be admitted into the psych ward for fifteen months after she left him.
Even after he was released and tried to start his life over, he never could get back on track.
He wound up taking his life when Jenna was eight.
Dan had to move. He took his boys and moved literally across the country to get away from her. And his boys were all grown. They were full ass adults. But he wouldn’t leave them behind.
“What did she do?” I glance from Lukan to Kellen, then Roan. “Did she hurt you? Is your dad okay?”
Lukan captures my face between hands rough with hard labor and cradles my jaw until I have no choice, but to peer up into his eyes.
“None of that matters anymore. She’s gone. You’re here.” He sweeps back a lock of hair off my temple. “Nothing is going to take you from us again.”
My heart cracks in my chest with a longing I fight to keep down.
“You’re still married,” I remind him.
One eyebrow lifts. “Who says?”
Jenna.
But I say instead, “Aren’t you?”
The ghost of a grin touches the firm folds of his lips, a mouth I’m suddenly captivated by.
“How can there be anyone else when you are everything, Rina?” I’m drawn into his arms even while his words slip over me with the warm caress of fresh sunlight. “We live only for you.”
I’m incapable of thought, of breathing, as he worships me with his eyes. Consumes me with his gentle promise. I can’t think if he’s ever spoken to me with such devotion, but it’s a fleeting thought when he bows his head and I realize I no longer have any reason to resist.
“Say yes,” he coaxes with that low, hypnotic drawl that whispers across my skin. “Please.”
My lashes pull closed with the dip of his head. With the brush of his lips a heartbeat from mine.
This is a dream.
It ... There is no other explanation. No doubt in my mind that I’m still passed out on Aunt Laura’s sofa. This is an extended scene, a bonus track from my dream with my fantasy demon. Why else would everything be so fuzzy? Why else would they even be here, in this house, after all this time?
“I can’t. My parents...” I open my eyelids to find him inches from my face. The wide contours of his eyes, the heavy darkness of his lashes. I can nearly count every dusky strand. “But I can come visit, or we can make other arrangements...”
I’m not sure what kind of response I’m expecting. Annoyance, maybe. But he seems to have expected that when he gives a soft sigh and sweeps my cheekbone with the pad of his thumb.
“We have the night.” His lips follow the path of his finger. I cage my breath, too afraid he might stop. But he lingers on the spot, burning my skin and sending a riot of tingles down my spine. “You will beg to be ours by the end of it.”
The air escapes my throbbing lungs in a weak rush. It’s embarrassing how loud it sounds in the stillness of the room.
But Lukan pulls away. His dark eyes search my face once before he turns to the cupboards. From one — like he knew exactly where to look — he unearths a box of ginger and turmeric tea and sets it on the counter.
“Go sit with the boys,” he tells me. “I’ll make you some tea.”
I’m still staring at the box. The exact same one I have back home. It’s even the brand I prefer. While I don’t think I hold monopoly over a particular tea brand, the fact that Aunt Laura drank the same one has me baffled.
Still, I relent. It’s honestly not that big of a deal. People can have the same taste in beverages. Besides, it’s a fairly common brand. I think.
I turn away from Lukan and the kettle he’s dragging out of another cupboard. He takes it to the sink to fill with water while I face his brothers.
Neither says a word, but they watch me in that quiet, contemplative way that fills me with a snake pit of guilt. I know they were hoping I would accept their offer and board the next plane to Vancouver, but the shortsightedness of it also has me disappointed in them.
I have parents.
I have family and responsibilities.
I have a job. Okay, so, maybe my job is easy to relocate, as long as I have a computer and internet.
But I can’t just pack up and jet off whenever I want. Plus, money is an actual thing that I need to consider. Sure, I have a bit saved for emergencies, but not random impulses.
Do I want to be with them? Yes. Without question. But they need to meet me halfway. They need to sit down and have an adult conversation that we can all work with comfortably.
But I also need a minute. I need to process everything, including their mysterious appearance in the dead of night in the middle of a snowstorm. They still haven’t told me how they knew I would be here. These are all things that we have all night to get into.
For now...
“I’m going to change,” I tell them, already moving in the direction of the door.