Blood Moon (20 page)

She ignored him, grabbing the suitcase and returning to the room. The suitcase thudded on the bed next to Lukas’ prone form.

“These are going to be very close quarters,” Lukas said.

A sly grin flitted over his face and her mouth dropped into an O. Her hand connected with his thigh with a satisfying thwack. “You knew they could see us!”

“Oops?”

Chapter Nineteen

Ignoring his contagious grin, she opened the suitcase, sorting through the clothes until she found a tea length, black sheath dress Ella had leant her for the occasion. It would be a little snug in the chest, but she’d manage.

“Are you going to change?”

Lukas watched her, his grin fading a little. He motioned to the T-shirt and jeans he’d worn on the drive. “You don’t think Jonas and Haemon would find this appropriate, huh?”

Jerking the small bag of toiletries from the bottom of the suitcase, she pretended to study him carefully. Heat lit in his gaze, and she flashed a wicked smile. “While I don’t mind, I think they’d probably be insulted.”

Heading for the bathroom, his voice slid over her skin like a caress. “Want me to help scrub your back?”

For a moment, she considered it. A glance out the open doorway changed her mind. Lawrence, Thaddeus, and Sebastian all sat around the TV, their attention on the doorway rather than the screen.

“I think not.”

Thaddeus groaned.

When she’d showered, dried her hair, and slid the dress over her head, she came out of the bathroom to see Lukas napping on the bed. His features were less harsh when he slept, and she stood, watching for a moment. One eyelid cracked open, and he took in her outfit and approved.

“Need some help?”

She turned, scooping her hair over her shoulder to reveal the gaping zipper. “Please.”

His hands made quick work of the zipper, though amusement danced around his lips when she turned around. She looked down at her chest and groaned. It was almost obscene. Her chest was poured into the dress, giving her more cleavage than usual. “I’m not going to need a table. We can probably balance a cup and plate right there.”

Lukas slid one finger along her collarbone, catching the chain of her necklace and starting to tug. Her hand slapped over his, a wave of uneasiness washing over her.

“What?”

“When this was given to me, I was warned that Haemon should never see it. I won’t leave it here, but I think it’s better if it stays where it is.”

Lukas shook his head. “If you want, but that just seems uncomfortable.”

Winking, she sat down on the bed, twisting her hair behind her head and securing it with a few pins from the nightstand. “I’ll let you help massage out the soreness later.”

***

Aria sat on the couch with the boys, watching mindless television. As Lukas stepped out of the shower, a knock reverberated through the room. She shared a look with Thaddeus before he stood to open the door. Pax announced dinner would be served in thirty minutes and added that Haemon had arrived. The last of his news infiltrated tension into the room like a bullet. Thaddeus closed the door, and Aria released her breath. She resisted the urge to run. In nearly a year, she and Haemon hadn’t been within miles of each other. Now he was in the same house. Her skin crawled at the thought.

Lukas appeared in the doorway, his white dress-shirt unbuttoned, baring his bronze chest, and she became distracted. Aria’s mouth watered with the urge to taste the tantalizing skin revealed by the gap in the fabric. She averted her gaze. Now was not the time to be fantasizing about Lukas’ body.

Now is an excellent time.
His voice curled through her head like smoke.

She glared.

Lukas laughed, then told Sebastian and Thaddeus to clean up for dinner.

By the time everyone was ready, Pax and Lorenzo were waiting in the doorway, boredom outlining their faces. Dread filled Aria as they left the suite, her gaze constantly trailing over Lukas, who looked dark, forbidding, and gorgeous in his black slacks and white silk shirt. Thaddeus walked to her right, while Lukas pulled her hand through the crook of his elbow, siding next her on the other side. Lawrence and Sebastian took up the rear, followed by Pax.

The house was huge, decorated with an eclectic flair that worked better in some rooms than others. They followed Lorenzo into a large, wood-paneled dining room to see Jonas at the head of the table, and Haemon stood on his left, a glass of wine cradled in one hand.

“Welcome again, my dear. I believe you are all acquainted,” Jonas said, as they filed into the room.

Lukas appeared to be the picture of calm and good humor as he nodded to Haemon. Everything Aria was not, but she kept her fear concealed as Lukas said, “We are, yes. Nice to see you, again, Haemon.”

Haemon’s blond head inclined as if he were a king. “The pleasure is all mine.”

For once, she didn’t mind being ignored. Her stomach was doing flips, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make it through the entire meal. Jonas motioned for them to sit with a gracious sweep of his hand.

“You’ll notice that everyone’s places are marked. I thought it best under the circumstances.”

Aria faced the table that stretched a good twelve feet. Deep mahogany wood legs carved with acanthus leaves and wolves’ heads peeked out from under the edge of the Battenberg lace tablecloth. The carved wolves’ paws clasped wooden balls.

The settings were fine bone china and silver with delicate crystal wine glasses filled with white wine. A card was placed in a special holder above each setting. With a growing sense of dread, Aria knew without looking which seat was hers. The table, set for ten, only held enough chairs for six more. She watched as Jonas sat down in a heavy carved chair at the head of the table, flanked on the left by Haemon, and his four Pack Guards. Lukas took his place next to Jonas, but stiffened when she did not follow him up the right side of the table. At least Jonas hadn’t been foolish enough to mix the group. She remained at the opposite end, starring at the card with her name in a flowing script above the single place setting, away from everyone else. From this distance, she might as well be eating alone.

She nudged Thaddeus with her foot. With a forced smile, she nodded towards Lukas. “Go on. Find your place. I’m starved.”

Lukas’ gaze caught hers, and she could see the anger boiling under the surface. The urge to mind-speak with him hit her hard, but she was not certain if Jonas or one of the strangers in the room would be able to hear such communication. They’d discussed this in the car and decided the best idea was to speak aloud or not at all.

She waited for Pax to hold out her chair and sat, smoothing her skirt down as she did. Jonas and Haemon watched her like hawks. She was surprised to find that she actually found it entertaining. “You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you. I enjoy it very much.” Jonas smiled as the men took their seats, and Aria noted the look of disappointment, probably from the lack of response to the seating arrangements. She calmly took a sip of the wine.  

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Thaddeus watched her, his outrage on her behalf clear in his face. Lawrence was sizing up their opponents, one of whom included Otis, who appeared to have lost a few teeth since she’d last seen him. Somehow, she knew Lawrence and Thaddeus were probably responsible. Lukas and his wolves would not have allowed Otis to return to Haemon unscathed. Sebastian avoided everyone’s gaze. His sudden bashfulness had Aria’s brow furrowing. While he was shy, he was normally far more alert and active than this.

She made a mental note to ask him later. Her thoughts were pulled back to the group when Haemon coughed slightly. “Well, this is rather uncomfortable.”

“Funny,” she muttered, as she took a sip of her wine then propped the hand cupping her wineglass on the arm of the chair. “I thought that was the point.”

Jonas frowned. “No, no. That was not my intention at all.”

Yeah, right.

“I just thought we might take the opportunity to have a lovely dinner together and then a…chat.”

Ah, there it was.
Jonas and Haemon wanted to see if they could talk this over without having a formal Meet, where any and all could come and observe the results. Perhaps the Council was a little more aware of its growing unpopularity than she’d thought.

Lukas stared at her across the table, and she flicked her gaze to Thaddeus, who had taken a huge gulp of wine and was struggling to keep his comments to himself. While she would enjoy hearing what his sarcasm came up with, they all knew it would not go over well.

“I’m sure we would all enjoy the chance to talk,” Lukas said, diplomatically.

Haemon’s smile made her squirm. “As would I. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed the pleasure of Aria’s company.”

The way his mouth formed the words made them sound obscene. She flickered a glance to Lukas, her attention catching the whiteness of his fingertips, curved around the stem of the wine glass. If he squeezed any harder, he’d break the silly thing in half. As if Haemon knew exactly what she was thinking, he flashed his smile at her. She had to physically bite her tongue to stop from making a snide comment. Oh, but she wanted to rip into him—verbally and physically.

She moved her hands to her lap, allowing one of the two servants to place a bowl of salad in front of her. Everything about this place reeked money and power, which meant this would be the longest meal of her life.

Lukas waited about two seconds for his host to take a dainty forkful of salad, and then stabbed his own fork into the lettuce. The bone china would never be the same by the time he finished.

Between bites of salad, Haemon continued to watch her, until he decided to make conversation. “What have you been doing the last year, Aria?”

Aria stopped and stared at him. His face was the picture of innocence. Being polite was going to kill her. It might be the death of him as well, if she could manage it.

She swallowed her food and patted her lips with the white linen napkin, then laid it neatly across her thighs. The extra time gave her a chance to control her temper. Smiling sweetly, she batted her lashes. “Why, Haemon, I didn’t realize you didn’t know.”

He adopted a wounded air, his expression a picture of distress. “I only know that you seemed to be running from me.”

She took a delicate sip of wine, setting it down with a sympathetic smile. “I left to…explore my options.”

Chapter Twenty

“It’s amazing you people can eat in here. You’ve got to be choking on all the bullshit.”

Aria jerked her gaze away from Haemon’s glare to see Cern. He slid into the chair to her right, and a servant scurried to bring in the necessary tableware to set a place for him.

Haemon’s body tensed and knuckles turn white when he fisted his hand. “It’s so nice of you to join us, Cern.”

Aria noted the displeasure in Haemon’s voice, but Cern didn’t seem concerned. 

“Terribly sorry I’m late. You wouldn’t believe the traffic,” Cern replied.

Jonas could not hide his irritation. “What are you doing here?”

Cern swirled the liquid in his glass, then sniffed it delicately. The act seemed laughable considering the cut-off shorts and dark green T-shirt advertising a popular tractor company. “I was invited. The rest of the Council has appointed me to act as mediator should the need arise.”

Haemon and Jonas exchanged a surprised look. Apparently, they weren’t aware of the latest development. Cern shot Aria a wink over the rim of his glass. Mischief gleamed in his dark brown eyes.

“Why wasn’t I informed of this?” A tic formed in Jonas’ cheek as he glared at Cern.

Cern shrugged, digging into his salad. “I guess they figured I would get here in about the same amount of time it would have taken to call.”

Silence reigned until Cern indicated he was finished with his food, and his plate was whisked away. The next course arrived in silver domes, uncapped on the sideboard and brought to the table. Steaming plates of steak, potatoes au gratin, and asparagus were artfully arranged on their plates.

Lukas tried to start conversation again. “When is the Meet planned?”

“Tomorrow morning, as soon as all the required Council members have arrived,” Jonas answered.

“Required members?” Haemon asked, as he cut through his steak with controlled movements. Aria knew when he finished the steak would be sliced into tiny squares, all precisely the same size.

Jonas nodded at Haemon. “We think this may be settled without the full Meet. Hopefully after dinner, we will be able to talk things through. If not, the senior members of the Council will hear the complaints and we will go from there.”

Cern leaned towards her, pitching his voice so that she alone could hear him—a feat in a room full of werewolves. “Sounds like they already know what’s going to happen.”

Aria snorted. “Everyone here knows how this will end. Or at least the general idea. Even you.” She watched him closely, unsure of this latest development. She motioned with her fork, noting that Lawrence and Haemon’s Pack Guards were watching them intently. “Eat your dinner. I, for one, will be taking advantage of the delicious meal.”

She hadn’t lied. Everything was the finest quality and had been prepared by someone who probably worked for a five-star restaurant in their “real” job. Cern’s appearance, while a surprise, didn’t make her too uncomfortable. He’d been popping in and out of Council politics as long as she could remember. But she didn’t understand his sudden interest in being Haemon’s lap dog. No one ever trusted Cern completely, and he never served a purpose unless it suited him. She would just have to wait and find out. 

Haemon, Lukas, and Jonas kept up some sort of mundane conversation about the origin of the beef they ate, while the other six men at the table sized each other up over dinner. In such formal surroundings, they were not required to speak unless spoken to: their main purpose being protection, if needed.

“Penny for your thoughts.”