GraceinMoonlight (11 page)

And she wasn’t a quitter.

A dark shadow appeared over her. Kaisie, reaching down to
take Alex.

“No, don’t—”

“Shh, Grace.” His voice whispered along her senses. “I’m
just moving him to the other bed. I’m not taking him out of the room. Hang
tight. I’ll be right back.”

That voice made her chest ache. Her good hand clenched into
a fist in her lap as Kaisie laid Alex on the bed next to hers, only inches away.
Alex was so deeply asleep, he didn’t make a sound or move a muscle when Kaisie
drew the covers over him.

Her gaze stayed locked on Alex as Kaisie walked around to
the far side of her bed, as if he knew she didn’t want him between her and
Alex. Or maybe he just wanted to be closer to the door so he could leave that
much faster. Like her daughter.

“She hates me.”

She hadn’t meant to say anything. Definitely hadn’t meant to
sound so…despairing.

“Grace.”

She ignored him, ignored the command in his tone. He wanted
her to look at him. She kept her eyes glued to the sheet covering her lap.

“I think I’d like to be alone now. Please leave.”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

She held on to the threads of her temper by sheer force of
will. She couldn’t afford to blow her cool now. She had to keep it together.
The
lucani
had been good to her. But she couldn’t afford to overstay her
welcome. She had to take her children and get the hell away from here.

Before Ettore sent his people to take back his children and
laid waste to everything in his path.

She forced herself to lift her gaze and meet his steady,
dark eyes. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for my children. We should be
out of your hair in a week, maybe less.”

The man’s gorgeous mouth tilted up, his eyes crinkled and he
started to laugh. The bastard actually laughed at her.

Her back straightened and the tears dried in her eyes. “What
exactly are you laughing at? None of this is funny.”

“You thinking you’re going to be leaving in a week is funny
as all hell, woman. Where do you think you’re going to go? Amy won’t leave Mara
behind and Mara’s almost ready to give birth so she’s not going anywhere. Alex
likes it here. And admit it. So do you. Aren’t you sick of running yet?
Besides, you’d miss me if you left.”

Every word was a jackhammer at her bruised heart. Every
single word true. Except that last statement. Of course she wouldn’t miss him.

She wouldn’t miss his gorgeous face or those luminous green
eyes or his strength. Or the way he’d made love to her that one stolen night
that seemed so far away now. But had been less than two days ago.

A night she’d love to repeat.

Hell, right now, she’d settle for a few stolen minutes held
in his arms. She felt so safe there.

Gods damn him. Why did he confuse her so badly? Why was he
hanging by her bedside as if he cared about her?

She’d expected that one night to be all she’d ever have with
him. She hadn’t expected him to declare his undying love. Not for a woman like
her.

Yet here he was, telling her she’d miss him.

Which was so true.

And he was right about the other points as well. Where could
she take her children and Mara where Ettore or the
Mal
wouldn’t find
them?

Had she merely traded one prison for another? Why had the
lucani
allowed her to drag them into her battle?

“Why?” She shook her head as she spoke that one simple word.

Kaisie had stopped laughing but he still wore the ghost of a
smile. “If you have to ask, you’re not ready for the answer.” He paused, his
smile disappearing completely. “And now you need to stop obsessing for a few
hours and get some sleep.”

“I don’t thi—”

He leaned forward, captured her chin in his hand and pressed
his mouth over hers, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. He kissed
her, lips closed, eyes open. A promise. A threat.

That kiss sapped the strength, the fight, right out of her.
When he pulled away, she sank back into the pillow.

Her good hand was halfway to her lips but she forced it back
down to her side.

Strangely, now she thought maybe she could sleep.

“Go to sleep. The entire mess will be here when you wake.
And so will I.”

* * * * *

“Yeah, this is gonna go real well.”

Kaisie didn’t bother to turn toward the door. He knew who
stood there so he just gave the guy the bird over his shoulder.

“Still such pleasant manners.” Aule’s voice was barely
audible and Grace and Alex didn’t stir. “I hear everything went according to
plan.”

“Mostly.”

“So you plan to keep her or what?”

Fucking Aule. “She’s not a pet.”

“No. She’s definitely a woman. Who you seem unable or
unwilling to leave alone.”

He thought about his answer for a few seconds before he said
what he’d felt since the first moment he’d seen her. “She’s mine.”

Aule had no immediate snappy comeback for that one and
Kaisie finally turned to look at his old friend. Who just raised his eyebrows
and stared back at him.

“Nothing to say?”

A grin ghosted around Aule’s mouth. “What would you like me
to say?”

Kaisie sighed, unfolding himself from the chair he hadn’t
left for more than a few minutes since Grace had fallen asleep. Almost eight hours
ago.

He’d slept some, but mostly he’d just sat here. Thinking.

Yeah, enough of that.

With a nod at Aule, he pushed through the door and out into
the hallway. His leg muscles nearly sang with relief as he stretched out the
kinks.

“So,” Aule said when they’d reached the back door at the end
of the hall, “you wanna talk about it or do you just wanna go for a run and
exhaust yourself so you don’t have to think about it for a while?”

“Think about what?”

“What you’re going to do about her.”

Kaisie looked his friend straight in the eyes. “There’s
nothing to think about.”

Aule nodded. “Okay. So you’re just gonna tell her she’s
moving in and you and her and the kids will live happily ever after. Barring an
attack by the
Mal
who want to kill you and her and take the kids away to
become evil.”

Leaning against the wall, Kaisie shoved his hands in his
jeans. “When did you become a fucking cynic?”

“I’m a romantic compared to you.
Vaffanculo
, Kaisie,
next you’re gonna tell me it was love at first sight.”

“I’m forty-four fucking years old, Aule. I’m not some
witless kid thinking with his dick.” He paused, sighing as he ran a hand
through his hair. “I know what the hell I want. And it’s not like we haven’t
spent any time together. We spent an entire week together.”

“Fighting. You spent most of the week fighting.”

“We didn’t kill each other. She’s a strong woman. I like
that.”

“What about sex? Do you like that too?”

“Sure. It was great.”

Aule’s mouth actually dropped open. “When— Oh hell, never
mind. I should’ve known. Tinia’s teat, Kaisie. What do you want me to say?”

“Hell. Fuck if I know. Tell me I’m not being an idiot.”

“That’s the one thing no one can say about you. You’re
definitely not an idiot.” Aule shook his head, his mouth finally curving in a
smile. “Shit, Kaisie. You sure know how to do things up right.”

“It’s a gift.”

“Just something to think about, but…does the lady return
your affections?”

Kaisie thought about flipping Aule off again for trying to
yank his chain then figured it would be wasted on the guy. “I believe she could
be persuaded to do so, yeah.”

“You mean you’re gonna woo her.”

“What the fuck does that mean, anyway? Shit, we’re not kids
anymore. I want her. She wants me. Why the hell can’t we just admit it and move
on to spending the rest of our probably short lives together?”

Aule’s incredulous expression made Kaisie want to hunch his
shoulders like a disgraced teenager. “Seriously? Have you always been this
clueless about women or did you get your head knocked in on the mission? Uni’s
ass, Kaisie, please tell me you’re kidding?”

“Why would I?”

Aule started to laugh again, keeping it low as he shook his
head. “Buddy, you are in for a seriously rude awakening.”

Kaisie crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at
his best friend, who could barely keep his laughter from braying out all over
the fucking place. “Then tell me, Casanova. What
should
I be doing?”

Throwing his arm around Kaisie’s shoulders, Aule pulled him
toward the door. “Let’s go for a walk. This could take a while.”

* * * * *

When she woke again, Grace felt much more human than she had
when she’d fallen asleep.

No light seeped through the shade at the window, so it had
to be after eight p.m. and before seven a.m. On the bed next to hers, Alex
continued to sleep.

Looking around, she saw no one else.

And she refused to believe she was upset that he wasn’t
here.

He’d told her—

The door opened and her breath caught in her chest as Kaisie
walked into the room, a covered tray in his hands.

Damn it. Just…damn it. He looked so tall and strong, dressed
in faded jeans and a plain dark t-shirt. He still hadn’t shaved but she had to
admit he looked damn good with that dark stubble on his face, she hoped he kept
it.

And those green eyes made her heart pound.

She refused to believe she was going to cry just because
he’d returned. He’d said he’d be here when she woke and, Gods damn it, here he
was.

Damn him.

“Hey, how’re you feeling?”

And damn that voice for making her blood heat. “Much better,
thank you.”

His eyes narrowed at her stilted tone but he just kept
coming. The aroma of grilled meat from the tray made her stomach growl and sent
a flush into her cheeks.

Setting the tray on the table next to her, he surprised the
hell out of her by bending to press a kiss to her forehead. Another one of
those quick, hard kisses that shouldn’t leave her breathless. And confused. But
it did.

“So I hope you like hamburgers.” He pushed the button on the
side of the bed to elevate the backrest. “And salad and vegetable soup. I
swiped some chocolate cake too but you need to eat the rest before you can have
that. I’m pretty handy with the grill but Aule’s wife made the cake. She’s hell
on wheels in the kitchen.”

She looked at the tray then back to him, not knowing what to
say. Even if she could get it through the lump in her throat. Instead she
nodded and dipped her head so he couldn’t see her expression as she reached for
the tray. Before she could, he had the legs extended and set the tray over her
lap.

Having no idea who Aule was, she merely nodded and reached
for the cover on the tray. But he was there first, again, and whipped it away.
The scent of the food nearly made her swoon. Almost as much as his kiss had and
she felt a smile tug at her mouth.

“Thank you.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught his shrug. “You haven’t
eaten anything for way too long. You need to get your strength back.”

All the better to be able to leave faster. Since she didn’t
want to start another fight, she merely nodded and started to dig in. She
nearly embarrassed herself by moaning over the juicy taste of the burger. The
man hadn’t exaggerated his grill efficiency.

“No change with Mara,” he reported as he sat in the chair
next to her bed. “Both girls are asleep right now. Mara hasn’t had any more
contractions so Nica thinks she might be able to go at least another week,
which will be better for the baby. Make sure you eat everything.”

She nodded as he fell silent. When she peeked over at him as
she switched from the burger to the soup, she saw he’d closed his eyes and
rested his head on the chair back, looking completely at ease.

With a shake of her head, she let herself eat until she was
sated, the first meal she’d had in what felt like years that wasn’t bolted down
because she had to be somewhere else or an afterthought because she had to make
sure Alex was eating.

She couldn’t finish everything but she did manage to eat
most of the chocolate cake. Kaisie was right. It tasted like heaven on a fork.

Her eyes closed in ecstasy and she couldn’t contain her
nearly breathless groan. She sneaked a peek at Kaisie to make sure he hadn’t
heard and found him asleep.

He didn’t look any softer in sleep, she realized. Still
tough, strong. Handsome.

Sighing, she lowered her fork to the tray, careful not to
make any sound to wake him. He didn’t look exhausted but she had the feeling he
hadn’t slept since they’d returned, which had to be at least twenty-four hours
ago.

He’d been too busy. Checking on her daughter. Checking on
Alex. Feeding her.

If she let herself, she might think he cared for her. Which
was utterly ridiculous.

And totally sigh-worthy.

And completely confusing.

What did he want from her?

As if he’d heard her question, his eyes opened. He couldn’t
have been asleep more than fifteen minutes, but he looked clear-eyed and alert.

“I can practically hear you thinking, Grace. Does your brain
ever stop?”

“Not really, no,” she answered honestly. “I understand it
can be totally annoying.”

He shrugged. “Could be. For someone with an inferiority
complex. Luckily I don’t have one.”

She didn’t bother to hide her smile, though she contained
her laughter. “No, that’s one thing I don’t think anyone could accuse you of.”

“That smile’s a killer, you know. You should be careful how
you use it.”

Well hell. What should she say to that? It almost sounded as
if he was flirting but that couldn’t be right. Maybe he was being sarcastic and
she was reading him wrong.

Or maybe he really was flirting with her, in which case, she
still didn’t know what to say. She had no experience with flirting.