He paused and ran a hand through his hair then pushed it away from his face.
“And I was supposed to be there,” Tira said.
Duke and Nic both looked at her.
“Yeah.” Duke nodded as a muscle ticked in his cheek. “You were supposed to be there.”
Tears threatened again but she bit them back. No more tears. “I’m sorry.”
Duke shook his head again. “This isn’t about blame, babe. I don’t blame you for anything.”
She rose from her seat and walked over to him, lifting her hands to cup his whisker-roughened cheeks. “But if I had been stronger—”
Duke bent and kissed her, effectively cutting her off.
He grabbed her hips, his desire hitting her with the force of a hurricane. She tasted his heated longing as he slid his tongue into her mouth and engaged hers. He didn’t hold back but he didn’t do anything other than kiss her.
And when she finally went weak in the knees, his lips curved in a smile she felt against her own.
“I’m gonna clean up the kitchen and go for a run.” Duke nodded at Nic. “Why don’t you two go find something to do. I’m sure it won’t be hard.”
Nic didn’t move, just watched Duke, his eyes narrowing. “Where are you going?”
“To stretch my legs. I won’t be gone more than half an hour.”
Tira saw indecision in Nic’s eyes and it took her a second to realize he wanted to go with Duke. He wanted to run too. Then his gaze sliced back to hers. But he didn’t want to leave her.
“I love the snow,” she said. “Just give me a few minutes to dress.”
Chapter Nine
Nic shook snow from his fur on the porch before he headed into the house.
Duke had already shifted and headed for the shower, brushing a brief kiss across Tira’s lips as she unwrapped herself from the layers of clothing she’d dressed in to play outside.
While he and Duke had stretched their legs in the field, she’d rolled a snowman. The thing was lopsided and only about three feet tall but she’d enjoyed it.
Now her cheeks were bright pink, her eyes sparkled and Nic’s heart hurt like someone had reached into his chest and pulverized the damn thing.
Gods damn it, this was how their lives were supposed to be. Not just one fucking day.
The anger and frustration he’d tried so hard to lock down started to leak past his guard, raising his blood pressure. He wanted to growl but he didn’t want to scare Tira.
If he was in his skin with the ability to speak, he’d be shooting off his mouth. Probably better to keep the pelt for a while.
So he sat on the floor in front of the fire and let the warmth soak into his fur. The snow melted, most of it dripping into the rug on the hearth but some had worked through his fur and onto his skin, making him shiver. With a full-body shimmy, he shed the water from his coat, hearing it sizzle and pop as it hit the flames.
Behind him, Tira gasped. He turned to find her wiping her face.
“You’re supposed to do that outside,” she said, laughter apparent in her voice. “Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?”
He grinned at her, knowing it was an odd sight on a wolf and knowing she’d love it. And shook again.
Her return smile was exactly what he’d wanted to see.
“You think you’re cute, don’t you?”
She obviously did, if her expression was anything to go by. Now down to her undies and a t-shirt, the rest of her wet clothes on a pile on the floor, she walked over to the fire with him.
Lowering herself onto the floor, she sat cross-legged on the plush carpet in front of the hearth. Her hair shone with red highlights from the flames as she used her discarded sweatshirt to wipe the water from his pelt.
His eyes closed as she rubbed his fur then sank her fingers into it. As she began to pet him, his entire body went boneless and he sank onto the floor in front of her, stretching out on his side so she could pet more of him.
She laughed, a throaty murmur that made him growl deep in his chest.
“I swear I heard his IQ drop a hundred points.” Duke walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair with a towel, wearing only a pair of gym shorts. “You’re such a man whore, asshole. Have a little dignity.”
The sneer in Duke’s voice made Nic want to give him the finger. Since that wasn’t physically possible at the moment, Nic ignored him. Duke was only busting on him, which actually felt pretty damn good. They’d all been under so much stress lately, no one had had much cause for ribbing or laughter.
Falling onto the couch behind Tira, Duke let his eyes close as his head rested on the cushion, only to open them when Tira scooted back until he spread his legs far enough for her to sit between them.
As she continued to pet him, Nic saw Duke’s hand rise to brush against Tira’s hair.
Now this is how it’s supposed to be.
The thought wouldn’t leave him alone. It kept rattling around his head. But on its heels was, It wouldn’t be like this always.
He and Duke were sicarii. They did wet work for the lucani king. They kept the secrets of their people by force and with bloodshed when necessary.
They were damn good at their jobs but their lives were in constant danger and Tira wouldn’t be able to help but see that with her Goddess Gift of praenuntio.
If she hadn’t seen his death eight years ago… If the three of them had set up house together, bucking all the rules of Tira’s boschetta at the time… If he had gone ahead with his plan to go to college and get a degree in whatever the hell he’d planned to get a degree in…
Duke could be dead because Nic wouldn’t have had his back all these years. Kaine, too, because she was more like Nic than he cared to admit.
Nic had no fear of dying. He only had a fear of not living enough before he did.
But Kaine… She didn’t seem to care whether she lived or died and that was somehow worse.
This woman who was stealing eteri for whatever reason… She had men willing to kill for her. She’d already taken Tira once. There was no doubt in his mind that the same woman who’d kidnapped Tira was behind the eteri kidnapping as well.
The woman had plans. She wanted to use the eteri for something the Etruscans really weren’t going to like, something that could expose them.
His people had kept their secrets for so long. And so much depended on keeping them forever.
Duke had been right when he’d told Nic their skills were needed here, with their people. To keep not only his parents and the legion safe but also the rest of the Etruscans.
The legion couldn’t afford to stand apart any longer. The Enu and the Fata needed to pull together. The Etruscan races had kept to themselves for too long. They needed to pool their power.
Didn’t the rest of the Etruscans see what was happening?
Or would they look away again, as they had a few centuries ago when the Mal had enslaved a group of lucani, forcing them to become beasts who killed for their masters?
Lucani could hold a grudge a very long time. Some still blamed the other Enu and the Fata for their failure to intervene.
They couldn’t afford that grudge any longer.
Vaffanculo, this shit made his head hurt.
Only Tira’s gentle petting made it better.
He stretched out his neck, wanting her to scratch… Ah, right there under his chin.