Right now you need to go to ground.
That was Gabriel, acting as if his twin needed to be taken out behind the proverbial barn.
Gabriel, easily picking up Lucian’s thought, gave a rather rude snort of derision.
I do not think that will happen anytime soon. Francesca says get beneath the earth immediately, and take your lifemate with you. She has given far too much of her strength in healing you .
Lucian shook his head as he gathered Jaxon into his arms. Gabriel had to have the last word. He was like that.
Only because I am always right.
Chapter Seventeen
Jaxon curled up on the small sofa right in front of the fireplace. She wore only a thin robe, her small rebellion against the coming event, and the warmth from the flames felt good. She also liked the way fire light flickered and danced on the wall, bringing out the wood trim’s golden hue. She was nervous, striving for normalcy, and needed something to keep her from thinking too much.
Shaking out the newspaper, she began to scan it, reading as a policewoman, looking for any stray detail that might be of use in any of her open cases. Often some odd item in the paper could help bring together pieces of information in police work.
Finding an article on the second page, she could hardly believe her eyes. She recognized three names, attributed to three great humanitarians.
Hal Barton. Harry Timms. Denny Sheldon
. The three men who had “visited” their home so recently. “Lucian, have you read the paper this evening?”
He glanced at her, his black eyebrows raised in inquiry.
“What now?”
He
hid his smile, knowing exactly what she was doing, what she was trying to avoid.
“I wonder. It seems your three friends, the ones who broke into our house and wanted you to invest in their foolproof security system, have become rather wealthy in their own right.”
“I am glad for them. They will not need my money after all.”
“They never did. I’m not a moron, you know. You did something to them, didn’t you? What did you do?”
Lucian’s black eyes were laughing, but his voice was innocent. “What could I have possibly done? You were there. What does the article say?”
“The three of them worked for a couple of ‘businessmen.’ “ Her large brown eyes were boring into him. “Ha! Probably drug lords. I’m right, aren’t I?”
She was altogether too smart. Staying one step ahead of her for the rest of their lives was going to require effort. Lucian shrugged, a secret little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Jaxon found him altogether too sexy. Likely he was always going to get away with far too much. “Anyway, these two ‘businessmen’ apparently met with a sailing accident and left their companies to the three of these guys, who now seem to be running the businesses legitimately and giving huge profits to charity. According to the reporter, they were investigated thoroughly, and the police are convinced they’re completely legitimate.”
“Good for them. And this is somehow worrisome to you? You must explain this to me.”
She glared at him. “You are so innocent, aren’t you, Lucian? You know what? I don’t want to know what you did. It’s probably illegal.”
“You said they were investigated thoroughly.”
“Very convenient. No one would know if you did anything, would they?”
“Angel.” Lucian’s voice was soft and gentle, perfectly innocent of any mischief making. “They live completely across the continent. I do have limitations.”
“If you do, I haven’t noticed them yet,” she answered and shook out the paper again, raising it high to cover her face.
Lucian laughed softly. “I think you are just suffering prewedding jitters.”
The paper rustled warningly. “I am not nervous.”
“Yes, you are. I am in your mind, honey. You are very nervous. I must say, it is an interesting phenomenon, when you are already irrevocably bound to me. We have been together under the worst circumstances, and you know you are sealed to me, so why are you so apprehensive about a little ceremony?”
“I’m not nervous.” It was a blatant lie. “Lucian, I don’t know why you’re insisting on this ceremony anyway. You said we were already married. That’s enough for me. And weren’t you worried about paper trails? I thought you said Carpathians had to be careful about such things.”
“You are trying to squirm out of it,” he accused her. “But it is not going to work. I have been in your mind, and I saw how much such a wedding means to you.”
Jaxon carefully folded the newspaper and set it aside. “Lucian, look at me.” When he turned to face her, she locked her gaze with his. “It
meant
a great deal to me, Lucian. Now I know it isn’t the wedding that counts, it’s what the wedding means. I know we belong together, and your ceremony, although terribly sexist, is as binding as a human ceremony.”
“More so,” he said softly.
She smiled. “Maybe.”
“But still, the human ceremony is quite beautiful, and my brother has come all this way with his wife to stand beside me. I have endured his stupid grins and gloating manner long enough. He believes you have me wrapped around your little finger. You will go through with this, Jaxon, just to pay for that alone.”
“Maybe we could go hide out in the mountains, Lucian.” Jaxon stood up and went to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing up against him suggestively. “Someplace where we can be alone.”
He turned immediately and took her into his arms. “You are blatantly trying to seduce me into missing our wedding and disappointing our guests. Shame on you, angel. And I am so susceptible to your charms.” His voice held that husky note of desire that always took her breath away.
“Many charms,” she corrected, turning up her mouth to be kissed.
He obliged her, bending his head to her instantly, his mouth moving slowly, thoroughly over hers. His mouth was hot and moist, his tongue dancing with hers suggestively. Her fingers brushed at his long, thick ebony hair lovingly, then slid to his shirt to push it from his shoulders, letting her burrow against his skin.
“I don’t care if all our guests miss us. I want you, Lucian.”
“You cannot wait a few hours?” he teased her. “I made love to you just this rising.”
Her eyes darkened, and she allowed her robe to slip from her shoulders. “Let’s have more hot, crazy sex, then. It works for me.”
His dark eyebrows shot up, but he obediently waved a hand so the room’s door lock snicked into place. His body tightened painfully, hard and throbbing in anticipation. “You are, after all, my lifemate, and I can do no other than to keep you happy.” His clothes floated to the floor immediately.
Pressed as she was against him, Jaxon found the thick evidence of his compliance thrust temptingly against her bare breasts. She cupped him in her hand, her fingers sliding, caressing, stroking until his breath slammed out of his lungs. “It seems to me, since I’m being so demanding, that I should help you out... get you in the mood.” Her breath was deliberately warm on him. She blew softly, gently, her tongue stroking curling heat along his length.
A rough growl escaped from his throat. Jaxon laughed softly. He was pushing against her. “I’m not quite sure what you want,” she teased.
His fist bunched in her tousled hair. “I will make myself perfectly clear,” he murmured softly. “Open your mouth.”
He threw back his head, arching more deeply into her as her mouth, hot and moist, closed tightly over the most sensitive part of him. Her tongue teased and danced as her hand tightened to slide over him again and again. “Jaxon,” he groaned, forgetting the wedding, the guests, everything but her mouth and her hand.