She stabbed a waffle with her own fork and reached for the strawberries. It would take time to put Alec’s plan into motion, so maybe they’d still be able to snatch a few hours of peace before all hell broke loose. If Derek could control his reactions enough to get through the next few hours, they’d have some time. Not enough, but some.
If there were two words Derek wouldn’t have picked to describe Luciano Maglieri, they were “punk” and “cowboy”. The man who arrived on Nick’s doorstep was handsome, immaculately clothed and groomed, and looked like he’d stepped out of a lineup of New York City’s most eligible bachelors.
Luciano was pretty much everything Derek wasn’t, and it sucked.
“Come in, Luke. We’ve been expecting you.”
“Nicole.” Luciano stepped inside and leaned over to drop a kiss to Nick’s cheek. She tensed and pulled away, and the man raised his eyes to Derek. “Hi. I’m Luke Maglieri.”
If you put your lips on her again, I’ll send you back to your mother in pieces. Derek was proud that he only sounded slightly surly. “Hi. I’m Derek.”
Nick kept her hand wrapped firmly around his, something Luciano acknowledged with a small smile. “I see my intentions aren’t a secret, either.”
“Let’s sit down,” Nick suggested, “and we can talk about things.”
Alec waited in the living room, sprawled in one of Nick’s chairs with his legs stretched out in front of him and his ankles crossed. “Howdy, cowboy. How’s the ranch?”
“It’s fine, thank you.” Luciano straightened his suit jacket. “Foaled some impressive animals this year.”
Nick indicated the chair near Alec’s and steered Derek toward a love seat. “I’m glad your operation is doing well. I’m equally sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
“I thought it might be that way.” Luciano grinned as he sat down. “I hope you won’t be offended if I express my earnest relief at your refusal.”
It was almost too good to be true. Derek tightened his fingers around Nick’s hand and watched Luciano’s face. “You don’t want to marry her?”
“Actually, no.” He seemed sincere. “Not that you’re not lovely, Nicole. But the last thing I want is control of the Conclave.”
“We have that much in common,” she admitted.
Luciano’s vaguely cool, polite demeanor thawed a little. “I was sorry to hear about Michelle’s situation.”
Derek glanced at Alec, who shrugged one shoulder in a tiny, almost invisible gesture. Nick just sat a little straighter. “What was your mother offering? The terms, I mean.”
A lock of dark hair fell over Luciano’s forehead, and he brushed it back. “Aaron Spencer would be given a private execution. She couldn’t budge on that. Michelle would be spared, and the baby would become a ward of the Conclave. You and I would be married, with a prenuptial agreement stipulating division of assets and—and heirs.”
Nick made a soft noise and leaned closer to Derek. “Those are shitty terms, Luke.”
“I know.”
Nick’s pain grated painfully against Derek’s instincts. He dropped her hand and curled his arm around her shoulders instead, holding her against his side. “So if you know it’s shitty, why are you here?”
He blinked. “Because I was told to come.”
“What if they tell you to hurt Nick or Michelle?”
Luciano’s expression melted into one of shock, and he glanced at Alec. “Is he serious?”
Alec snorted. “If you’d spent the last two years getting spit on by the ruling elite the way he has, you’d be asking the same damn question, kid.”
Derek felt Nick’s eyes on him, but he kept his gaze on Luciano. The man’s shock didn’t vanish; it worsened. “Oh, I see. Uh, well. No, I mean them no harm. Things certainly haven’t reached that point.”
Maybe it was supposed to be comforting, but Derek just kept hearing the unspoken last word: yet. “In case Alec’s subtlety didn’t give it away completely, I wasn’t born like this. I was turned two years ago, and I don’t quite get your polite rules where we sit here and casually discuss how the father of Nick’s niece or nephew needs to be executed.”
Luciano stared at him, and Nick sighed. “Michelle isn’t a threat, I swear. We just need a few days to figure something out. Can you stall?”
He offered her a gentle smile. “I can tell Mom we’re talking things over. I’m sure she’d like to hear how successfully I’m wooing you.”
Derek didn’t realize he’d tightened his fingers until the arm of the love seat cracked.
“Okay.” Nick took a deep breath. “Alec, can you walk Luke out? And, please, leave Alec your cell number and the number at your hotel.” She didn’t move. “Thank you for doing this.”
“You’re welcome.” Luciano’s expression held a surprising sympathy.
She glanced at Alec. “Can you—?”
Derek almost winced as Alec speared him with a pointed look. “I’m fine, Alec.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
After a moment Alec nodded and rose. “C’mon, cowboy. Let’s clear out.”
When they were gone, Derek shifted his attention to the arm of the loveseat. “I can fix this,” he promised, the words shaking a little. He’d snapped the wood, and he hadn’t even been thinking about it. If his hand had closed on Nick’s shoulder…
“I don’t care about the furniture.” She knelt on the love seat beside him and took his face in her hands. “I care about you.”
There was no doubt about it, not with the way she watched him. Derek closed his eyes and inhaled her scent to steady himself. “I’m scared of what happens if I lose my shit and I’m holding something more important than a chair.”
She kissed him softly. “After we’ve helped Michelle and Aaron, we’ll lock ourselves in a hotel room for the weekend and not talk to anyone who isn’t bringing room service. You just need time, Derek.”
“Yeah. Time would be good.” After a few seconds, he trusted himself enough to curl his fingers around Nick’s waist. “Do you trust that man? Luke, I mean. If we reach the point where people are trying to hurt Michelle—” Or you. “Do you trust him not to be one of them?”
Nick turned and eased onto his lap. “Luciano’s in a tough place. His mother has grand plans for him, but he’s not interested. I know how that feels.” Her tone was light, but it held an undercurrent of pain. “Luciano isn’t alpha. He couldn’t handle control of the Conclave, and Enrica just won’t see that. Me? I’m just a selfish bitch.”
The words sounded like something she’d been told before, probably more than once. Derek cradled her cheek with his hand and rubbed his thumb along her jaw. “I’ve been watching the sort of shit you left behind for less than twenty-four hours, and I don’t blame you a bit.”
“That isn’t the point.” She turned her face to his touch. “I was born with responsibilities. It’s the way things are. Part of all those polite rules.”
Rules he’d never understand. Hell, at this point, rules he didn’t want to understand. “I’m sort of useless, aren’t I?”
“No, you were dealt a crappy hand, and you’ve been busting your ass to deal with it for two years.” Her nose brushed his jaw as she nuzzled her face to his. “I don’t think you’re useless. I think you’re beautiful.”
“Yeah, well, I think he’s a hunk,” Alec drawled from the doorway, “but we probably have more important things to discuss.”
Derek groaned. “You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are.”
“Whatever, I’m a goddamned laugh riot.”
“Nothing else to discuss at the moment,” Nick told him. “They know my sister’s here, and they know they can’t get to her. So we’ll gather some things together for her and Aaron, make damn sure that safe house is impenetrable…and then I’m going to plan a trip.”
Derek stiffened, and he fought to keep his fingers from tightening around her hips. “A trip?”
“I may have to go to New York, after all.” She slipped her fingers through his hair, seemingly unconcerned by Alec’s presence. “I have to find another way to give Enrica what she wants. A way that’ll keep Michelle safe.”