His lips twitched. “Of course you do.” His hand reached out, his fingers tipping up her chin. He studied her face. Something about his close scrutiny had her squirming in her seat like a nine-year-old in front of the principal. “You don’t need to lie to me. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”
She laughed, hoping it sounded as confused as she actually was. “Okay. I need to go now.”
“Why? You’re only going to pull over about a mile away and fly back here. Why not come in for a cup of tea?”
Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?” Who the hell was this guy?
“Shane? Are you out there?”
His eyes twinkled down at her. The lilting tongue of the Sidhe dripped from his firm lips. “I’m busy, Da. Give me a few minutes, please. And can you put on a pot of tea? It seems we have a guest.” He stood tall and held out his hand, switching back to English. “Come along, Akane Russo. We have a few things to discuss. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable inside, where it’s warm?”
“You’re Shane Dunne?” She let her pupil expand, and her Sight along with it. What she saw had her blinking in shock.
No wonder she’d been fascinated by the power she’d felt. The man was a hybrid! One of the rarest of the rare, with powers not even Oberon himself could comprehend, and here he was on a little Podunk, Nebraska farm. What a waste. Her mother would have a fit when she found out. Hybrids were something of a hobby for her.
Akane tried her best to hide her wince. Yeah right. Just a hobby.
He looked down at her as if he knew every single one of her secrets and liked what he saw. “To some.” His grip on her hand tightened, his lips just brushing the backs of her knuckles. “I’ll be someone else to you.”
Her belly flopped, but she got out of the car anyway.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
Chapter Seven
Moira blinked sleepily, smiling at the sight of Duncan’s tired face. He was standing by the side of the bed, stroking her hair to wake her. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Is he back yet?”
“Nope. And the sun is coming up.”
She threw back the covers. “Do we need to go get him?”
Duncan nodded and handed her a pair of jeans. “He hasn’t contacted me in about half an hour.”
Shit. That couldn’t be good. “Where was he last?”
“Gloating over the fact that some gremlin named Big Red was rifling through Charles’s files like a sailor through a whore’s panty drawer.”
She stumbled, one leg in her jeans. “What?”
“His words, not mine.” Duncan sat down and began pulling on his boots. “We’ll need to be careful. If Charles has Jaden he can hurt him badly.”
Moira scrambled into the rest of her clothes. She ran to the closet and pulled out the cowgirl boots her father had bought for her. “Ready.” The polished iron toe on the outside wasn’t enough to bother her even with skin to skin contact, but a full-blood Sidhe she kicked in the nuts would feel it for days.
Duncan eyed those boots warily. “Um. I’d ask, but I’m not sure I want to know.”
“Have you tried contacting him?” She grabbed a pair of leather gloves and pulled them on. She planned on bringing a little back-up to the party.
“Yes. I’m pretty sure he’s unharmed, but he’s still not answering.”
She practically ran down the stairs, grabbing her coat once she hit the foyer. “Let me try. Maybe you haven’t been using the right tone of voice.”
He eyed her dubiously. “Whatever you say.”
She cocked her hip. She knew exactly what tone of voice to use. It had always worked on her brothers when her mother had used it. She figured it would work on one pain in the ass vampire. “Jaden Blackthorn! You answer me right this minute!”
“Yeowch. What? Daddy’s busy.”
“Are you fighting?”
“Some might call it that.”
“What do you call it?”
“Fun.”
She dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. “Jaden.”
“Yes, dear. I’ll put down the nice redcap and be home before you know it.”
“It’s almost sunrise.”
“Yeah. I kinda noticed that, being a vampire and all.”
She took her hands away from her eyes and rolled them. “Duncan, how did you put up with him for a hundred years?”
“Patience. Lots of patience.”
“I heard that.” Jaden paused. “I heard that. Huh. Weird. Ow.”
“Ow?”
“Lucky shot. All right, I’m done playing. I’m headed back for the car. See you in a bit.”
She tapped her foot. “Should we wait for him?”
Duncan shrugged. “He took the M6. Knowing him, he’ll be here in about ten minutes, the way he drives.”
She frowned. “I got the impression that Charles’s place was farther away than that.”
“Yup. He’s about half an hour away, but Jaden likes to drive fast.” Duncan turned on his heel and headed for the breakfast room. “Lord above, I need coffee.”
“Not for you, Mr. Malmayne. I think you need a little down time.” She grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and managed to swing him around, pointing him toward the stairs. “Beddy-bye!”
He pouted at her. “Aw, Mom!”
“Don’t sass me, young man. Up you go!”
Duncan grinned down at her, looking like the little boy she’d treated him as. “Good night, amoureaux.” He picked her up and kissed her. She loved the way Duncan kissed her. He made her feel that she was the only person in his whole world. He held her as if she barely weighed as much as a feather. “Mm. We have a ceremony to perform.”
Her lips twitched. “True. We’ll need to take care of that soon. Maybe when we see my family?”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Do you want your family there when we say our Vows?”
“Of course. They’ll want to watch us all marry each other.” She snuggled in, breathing him in. That warm, masculine scent wafted through her, made her feel safe. Made her feel like she was home. “When all this crap is over and done with I’m going to want a party. A big one.”
“A big one, huh?” He nuzzled her neck, his whiskers tickling her.
She giggled and pulled free. “Oh, yeah. Huge.”
“I think we can arrange that.” His jaw locked, and she could tell he was holding back a yawn.
“Go to bed, Duncan. I can handle Jaden for now.” Hell, she had a bit more than handling in mind, but Duncan needed his sleep. Besides, she’d been with Duncan and she’d been with both of them. It was time to see what her vampire would do when he had just her to think about. She could hardly wait to see what he’d come up with.
“Why do I have the feeling you’re plotting something?”
She grinned up at him. “Because you already know me very well.”
He snorted and finally let her go. “Do what you have to do to keep yourself safe.” He cupped her cheek, looking down at her with sleepy affection. “If anything happens to you I can’t guarantee I won’t go ballistic.”
She nuzzled his hand. “I’ll stay safe. I’ll make sure Jaden isn’t hurt, bang him on your desk and then patrol for a while.”
Duncan blinked. “Bang him, huh?”