SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle (61 page)

Live your life,
Soli had said.

Hell, the tightening of his pants told him that he wasn’t a geezer and he wasn’t dead. Ysabeau-want pulsed through his system. He popped off the couch and strode down the hallway to seize love with both hands.

When he knocked on her door, Ysabeau came out of her bedroom wearing a forest-green nightgown made out of silk and light. Her skin was glowing and she smelled of a sweet tropical sunset.

“Luke—” she barely got out before he silenced her with his lips.

He kissed her with all the loneliness, hurt, and hunger he felt. She wrapped her arms around his back, holding him tight, matching him kiss-for-kiss. Diving head-first into the deep end of desire, his hands went on a demanding search to touch her. Neck. Shoulders. Arms. When he reached the small of her back, he pressed, drawing her closer.

Hungrily, he showered kisses down to the sweet spot of her neck. The rumble in her throat did unbelievable things to him. Her breath exhaled through her parted lips until his mouth found hers again. Not softly. He wanted her so bad it hurt. She moaned deeply when his hands skimmed across her breasts beneath her nightgown. He lingered a little longer, squeezing gently, feeling the weight of her breasts in his hands.

Suddenly, her hands were on top of his. Breathing heavily, he released her, stepping back to read her face.

“Please, don’t…” she whispered.

“Don’t?” He looked deeply into her eyes.

“Oh, please…” she swayed into him, “…don’t stop. I have condoms. Boxes of them. Hundreds and hundreds. I should have told you before.”

Ripping his shirt over his head, she kissed his collarbones and nibbled on his neck. Then to his utter surprise, she body slammed him into the wall. Even though it hurt like hell, and his ribs would be screaming tomorrow, he liked it. Her thighs wrapped around his hips and lips, hot and urgent, singed his. Her hands roamed his body, needy, demanding.

With one finger he dropped the thin straps of her nightgown over her shoulders, kissing her soft skin as he went. She closed her eyes and clung to him like a drowning woman. They were both breathing heavily. His lips found her nipple. When he sucked, she threw her head back and moaned. That moan killed him more than her sighs.

“I want to make love to you, Ysabeau.” His voice sounded like a growl to his own ears. “More than just tonight. Or tomorrow. I need to know if you would consider me, us, together.”

“I’m yours,” she whispered. “Make love to me.”

Although he would love to hear that a million times, he said, “Don’t need to tell me twice.”

He scooped her up in his arms to carry her back to her room. While nibbling his neck she started to giggle.

“What is it?” he stopped walking.

“I was thinking about your, um, banana. Is it really magnificent?”

He grinned. “Yes, yes it is.”

She kissed him so hard that it was difficult to carry her those last few steps to her bedroom.

A knock on the front door caused her to lift her head. “Did you hear that?”

“Bonswa!” A voice called from the entryway. “
Kote ou ye
?”

Ysabeau’s eyes flew open. “It’s Gran!”

‡

“M
anti!” Grann said
with a disapproving huff. “Dis cannot be true.”

“Gran!” Ysabeau yanked the straps of her nightgown back up and fluffed the hair at the nape of her neck. “I, uh, didn’t you say you weren’t coming over today?” Ysabeau’s voice cracked. Her skin was flushed with a fine sheen of perspiration.

Gran’s light eyes narrowed at Luke. She didn’t say a word.

Luke threw his shirt over his head. His blond hair was uncharacteristically mussed and he looked…sexy. Ysabeau fought to douse the flames erupting in her belly.

“You must be Ysabeau’s grandmother,” Luke said.

Ysabeau blinked. “Gran, this is my…”
I’m his for as long as he wants me.
“…um, this is Luke Carter.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Luke offered his hand, withdrawing it when she shook her head.

“I know all about dis one, child,” Grann said to Ysabeau. At barely five feet tall, she had to tip her head back to glare into Luke’s eyes. “I’m here
’cause
of you, Mr. Carter.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Please ma’am, call me Luke.”

“I’ll call you what I please. You call me Gran. Dat’s what everybody calls me. Even de devil himself.”

Ysabeau shot her a questioning look. Why was Grann acting so rudely?

“Certainly. Gran,” Luke said.

He spoke to her angry grandmother with so much respect Ysabeau wanted to kiss him. And the way his eyes held infinite pools of emotion when they cut her way made her want to kiss him. Standing next to him made her want to kiss him. Lord help her. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about his lips?

Distance. That’s what she needed. A little space between herself and the steaming hot male filling up her senses before she ripped his shirt off again and begged him to take her right there in front of Gran. Sweet Mother, she wanted him. Desperately. She glanced at his face and saw he was struggling with desire too. Her gaze dropped to his lips. Holy Saints, focus on something else! Her eyes dropped lower…not there!

“I need to speak wid you, child,” Grann interrupted her steamy thoughts. “Now.”

She blinked at the command in Gran’s voice. Something was wrong. Why was Grann here at this hour instead of snoring in her own home? Ten o’clock was her usual bedtime. Something was terribly wrong.

“Have you eaten, Gran? I can make you something.” Her voice cracked.

“No child, just a nip of sherry.”

“Good. Let’s—” She accidentally glanced at Luke again and felt an electric shiver go through her.
Focus
! She screamed at herself. “—let’s pour you a glass.”

“Maybe two.” Grann followed Ysabeau into the kitchen. Switching to Kreyòl she said, “Why is the man still here?” So Grann had heard about Luke.

As Ysabeau rose on her toes and reached into the cabinet for the bottle she caught a glimpse of Luke leaning against the doorframe, several feet behind her. Why could she still feel his hands on her skin?

“I’m taking care of him.” Ysabeau continuing the discussion in Kreyòl. “He was mugged.”

“He looks fine enough to go to a hotel. I’ve got my car outside. I’ll drive him to save you from having to”—her gaze took in Ysabeau’s nightdress—“put clothes on.”

Ysabeau grasped the front of the nightdress, cinching it closed. “It’s almost midnight! I’m not sending him to a hotel at this hour.”

Grann raised an eyebrow and turned her focus on the man in the doorway, eyeing him as if he were a gigantic cockroach lounging there.

Thinking fast, Ysabeau rushed over to Luke. “Do you want a glass of sherry?”

His gaze slowly traveled the length of her. “Not exactly what I
want
at the moment.”

Ysabeau gulped.

Grann let out a breath of disgust. “Red and blue auras? One over the other? Is he the patient you asked about? Oh, that big fat—she knew! Holding out on me! I out to slap Deolina into next Sunday.”

Fear spread in Ysabeau’s core. She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Please, Gran, tell me what’s going on.”

“Deolina! She finally has a little power and uses it against me? Not telling is like tying my hands so I can’t protect you. She put you in harm’s way.”

Ysabeau nearly jumped when Luke wrapped his arm around her. “Protect Ysabeau from what?”

Grann made a smacking noise. “I said dat in English?”

Ysabeau shivered. She leaned into Luke, letting his warmth ease into her skin and melt the cold seeping into her bones.

“You’ve got five seconds to start telling us what’s going on,” he growled
at Gran
.

Had Luke lost his mind? Nobody so much as raised a voice to Gran, let alone threatened her!

Gran’s hands were on her hips, her chin lifted.

“Luke, why don’t you wait for me in the living room—” Ysabeau began.

“I’m not going anywhere.” His blue eyes were pinned on Gran. “Three seconds.”

Grann shook her head slowly. “Deo was right. I spilled de tomato seeds. All right, Mr. Carter, let us go.”

He held Ysabeau even tighter. Not moving. “Go where?”

“To do a reading. Deo said a spirit is watching over the man, but I didn’t know it was dis powerful. Clear as a sunset, her aura is bleeding all over his. It’s unheard of.”

“I…I beg your pardon?” Luke sputtered.

“No need begging my pardon unless someting bad happens. If my girl gets hurt in dis mess, you’ll be wishing dat spirit sucked you down to de underworld wid her.”

“Excuse me?” Luke’s eyes were wide.

“No, Mr. Carter, der is no excuse for it. You hurt Ysabeau and der won’t be a piece of you left for dat spirit to carry away for de devil to claim.”

Ysabeau’s jaw dropped and she couldn’t form a single word.

*

“Take dem, Mr.
Carter.” Grann offered a bundle wrapped inside an ancient scarf.

Luke sat beside Ysabeau on “his” couch while Grann sat in the wicker chair like a queen on her throne. Realizing what was bundled inside the scarf, he shook his head. “Hell, no.”

“Dey’s just tarot cards.” Grann pushed the dark, ornate deck toward him. “See? No claws, no fangs.”

“No.”

“You must touch dem for me to make a reading. Go on now, shuffle dem in your hands.”

Every fiber in his body argued loudly against Tarot readings of any kind. A nervous twitch was developing somewhere near his diaphragm. Forget the fact he didn’t believe in fortune-tellings. His Catholic mother would have cuffed his ears for being in the same room with a deck of magic cards.

Ysabeau rubbed his leg. “Go ahead, Luke. Gran’s readings are very good.”

It wasn’t enough that his alone time with Ysabeau had been cut short by Gran’s untimely visit. Now that it was dark and all good Granies should be heading off to la-la land so that he and Ysabeau could pick up where they left off—this mumbo-jumbo shit?

“Mr. Carter, how else are we going to find out what de spirit wants?”

He looked at Ysabeau. “I’m clueless here. What’s she talking about?”

Worry tightened her soft features. “Deolina can foretell the future, Gochi can read vibes, kind of like a human lie-detector, and Grann can—”

“Read de cards,” Grann interrupted.

Ysabeau frowned. “Amongst other things.”

“T’ings we need not discuss at de moment. Are you ready, Mr. Carter?”

“Ready for what?”

“They think we are in danger,” Ysabeau said quietly. “Deo, Gochi, and Grann are worried about us.”

“You,” Grann corrected. “I don’t know about him. You are de one who—” Grann looked down at the rug on the floor, unable to finish.

“The one who what? If you know something that could harm Ysabeau, you’d better spit it out, lady.”

Grann shook her head. “Don’t worry, Mr. Carter. We are doing our finest to change all dat and you are going to help us.”

He crossed his arms. “Explain.”

Ysabeau rushed in. “You have two auras, Luke. I see them, so does Gran. I think one belongs to your…your wife.” It was hard for her to say the word. “Soli. She’s here with you. Even now I see her aura flickering.”

Luke blinked. “Soli died two years ago.”

“Dat may be, Mr. Carter, but her spirit doesn’t move on. She needs to tell us why she’s protecting you. What does she know dat we don’t?”

Luke scrubbed his face with his hands. “My wife is protecting me? Even though I buried her two years ago?”

“Yes,” Ysabeau and Grann said together.

“Right.” He couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice and worked his ass off not to smile. “What are the magic cards supposed to do?”

“Tell de past, present, future,” Grann said.

His past was too painful and the present was bizarre. “I don’t want to know the future. Leave it where it is, out there somewhere.” He pointed toward the darkness in the entryway.

Ysabeau gave his knee a gentle squeeze causing blood to rush a little faster through his veins. “It’s going to be all right, Luke.”

Grann shook her head sadly as if her favorite pupil had just belched loudly in class. “Mr. Carter, do you care about my grandbaby?”