Authors: Editor
Lucian found the situation absurd and started laughing. He’d never seen her as resolute in a decision for many years. It made him proud she was gaining her self-confidence back, but she could’ve chosen someone else to pick on for starters. But then he knew she would start out on him as a testing ground. A trust existed between them that held no boundaries.
Raven peeked and saw only his pearly-white teeth. No fangs, no bewitching her with his silvery blue eyes, just Lucian, her beloved imbecile.
With her English accent in high gear, Raven spouted, “Ah bloody ’ell, Lucian St. James. You’re pulling me leg. I’m findin’ ya not the least bit funny. You’ve no fangs. You’re no blood sucker and ’tis broad daylight you daft sod. If you’ll be tryin’ to pass as one of those vile creatures then ya best be tellin’ such tales at night, with the moon full and your furry little friend that I’ve yet to meet—ah excuse me—pump full of silver.” Raven swiftly turned her full attention to her sister-in-law. “Serrie, please tell me he’s full of shite.”
Serina’s lips thinned as she glanced to Lucian.
Lucian finished his tale of woe explaining that Payton had been seriously wounded and would most likely turn in three weeks to a werewolf.
Raven switched gears. She studied Payton. A werewolf? She jumped from her seat by Lucian and slumped beside her personal chef on a big plump, cushy daybed. With a hand atop each of his shoulders she shoved him on his back so he had to look up to her. Without thinking of consequences, she hiked up her black silk skirt to give her legs room and straddled Payton. It started off as a joke, but once she sat across him, she found her feelings a little more intense than she expected.
Then she felt his feelings becoming more intense, right where she’d plopped her dainty little self upon him, he began to sprout a new limb and without the need of moonlight. She wiggled slightly, trying to adjust to him, not to cause any more arousal, but it backfired. He was solidly pressing into her most feminine parts which left her both mortified and aroused. If she jumped off him, well...her brothers and Father would know something was up and once off him, they’d see exactly what it was. So she stayed put and tortured both Payton and herself in a fun yet strangely aggravating sense.
Payton blushed. “I’m so sorry,” he mouthed to her, “but you really caught me off me guard. You, on top of me was the last thing I expected and the first thing I dreamt of.” Payton enjoyed the attention, even with an audience of their closest family and friends, all on the edges of their seats leaning forward, watching intently. And they were.
Raven’s long jet-black tresses created the perfect backdrop for her gorgeous blue eyes. It brought out the stark vivid sapphire hue. He could easily lose himself in the depth of their beauty nightly. Her lips silently beseeched him to reach up and close the distance between them. He’d wished they were alone when he did this, but the way he saw things, it was now or never. Raven showed concern for him. Maybe, just maybe it meant she had feelings for him. He was certain she knew he had feelings for her by now.
Looking into her eyes with a smile that he couldn’t control, he brought his finger between them motioning for her to come closer.
She did. No questions asked.
He ran his fingers through her hair with his one hand and when she didn’t flinch or try to pull away from him, he brought his other hand up to her face, and caressed her cheeks. “Raven, no matter what happens to me in three weeks, I’ll be fine. You’ll just have to learn how to cook one night out of the month. That’s probably the scariest part of this deal.”
Raven punched him in the stomach. Payton found his laughter made his own worries less intense. Now he had to find a way to do the same for Raven, once he got back his wind.
“It’s not funny, Payton. None of it. You, Lucian and Ands don’t seem much worried. I suppose I’ll have to be the one who worries for all of you.” Her tears fell from nowhere.
Payton reached up and brushed each and every tear from her face. Conjuring up all his nerve, he brought his body up to meet her and kissed her gently.
Raven froze, her body more rigid than the protrusion between her thighs she sat perched on. She stared straight ahead, focused on nothing. She didn’t kiss him back, but she didn’t pull away from him either.
Raven didn’t know what to expect, but this wasn’t it, especially in front of her brothers, not to mention a priest. She knew God would strike her down—any second now. Waiting with her lips still glued to his, she actually looked up to the ceiling and around the room.
Reluctantly, Payton broke away from her. “Raven, look at me, not the ceiling.” He whispered, “I will never hurt you. Your family knows this or they never would have allowed me to touch you, let alone live under your roof with you.” He bent his head back to hers to kiss her once more but stopped just short of her mouth. In a low voice he asked, “Kiss me back this time, so I won’t look like a complete fool, but only if you want to.”
Raven let out a nervous little giggle and smiled as she closed the distance between them. She knew Payton would never hurt her, and she trusted him. For the first time in many years, Raven trusted another man.
She enjoyed Payton’s lips. He was soft, sweet, tantalizing, and made her want more, even if she wasn’t ready for the next step. Their kiss had no tongues
―
not this time, not her first time. She was content with the fact she’d let him kiss her. Maybe, in time they could experiment, slowly, and see what came of it.
Father Butler stood and excused himself, making excuses that the garden needed weeding.
Oh! Like he does the weeding
. Serina bit her cheeks. Father patted her head in passing, laughing.
“You need not say what you’re thinking, child. It is written as plain as day all over your precious face.” His hearty belly laugh echoed in the hallway.
Molly stood up, fanned her cheeks and excused herself, mumbling something about dirty nappies.
In complete disbelief, André and Lucian went back and forth between looking at each other with the exact same stunned mask and staring at their sister, her lips melded with Payton’s.
Serina grabbed both brother’s hands, and dragged them from the room. “You two act as if you’ve never witnessed a kiss before.”
Raven never noticed she and Payton were alone. Oblivious to everything except Payton’s gentleness and his lips on hers and his hips pressing gently into her sensitive spots, she opened her eyes to find him smiling. “What?” she shyly asked. “Did I do that right?”
Before Xavier attacked her, she had wanted the first man, the only man in her life to be just that, her first and only man. She wanted to save herself for her marriage. Could Payton be the one? She wasn’t sure, but now she was willing to experiment. She knew Lucian was absolutely positive about Serina. He never second-guessed anything in his life, ever. Raven, however, second-guessed what day of the week it was. Xavier made her doubt almost everything in her life.
“You are beautiful, Raven. You have the kiss of an angel. Although maybe I feel that because we are in a church, but I do believe it is of your doings.”
“You Sir, have the grin of the devil plastered about your face. Maybe we should leave here and make our way home, before the roof comes down upon us. No, wait. Am I right in assuming you won’t let us go home until Duncan and your attacker, Jonah, are back? When is everyone leaving to go find Duncan and the other one?”
Raven didn’t like the other man they were about to bring home with them. He’d hurt Payton, he’d kidnapped Serina, left her alone and chained in a cave, and God help him if he so chose to, he’d had a hand in her brother’s death/rebirth. And for that alone, she knew she’d never forgive the man.
“They’re leaving very soon. But it’s just André and Lucian going to find them. You’ve got me to watch over you. Doesn’t that leave a warm, fuzzy feeling all over you?”
“Yes and at the same time, no. This feeling you describe scares the daylights out of me, Payton. What happens if you really turn into a warm, fuzzy, snarling thing? I really can’t cook.” Teasingly, she smiled at him. “I won’t lie to you. We need to do baby steps. I hope you’re a patient man. But just so you are aware of what just took place
―
”
“Raven, I will never force you to do anything you’re not comfortable doing. Ever. I want you to trust me and until you do, we will have fun finding out ways to get around it.”
“Nicely put. And then you as our bodyguard, I don’t know about that either. André showed me the hole in his chest.” She poked her finger into Payton’s chest right where the arrow pierced André. “I thank God we’ve got Serina. We’ve definitely kept her busy since the day we met her.”
Shooting an eyebrow up a few times and flashing a smile, he eased her fears. “Your brother says he will teach me how to shoot a crossbow when he returns. I did hit one of the targets I sought you know,” he added, trying to reclaim his confidence in his own abilities more so than trying to reassure Raven he wasn’t a blundering idiot on the loose with weapons he’d no knowledge of, other than a set of carving knives.
“Payton, what happens if in three weeks…?”
Payton leaned into her and whispered in her ear, “Do not spend the next three weeks worrying over something that neither of us can control. You’ll make your self sick for no reason. Worrying is like paying for something you’ve not yet purchased, and I sense you spend your money wisely.”
Raven threaded her fingers with Payton’s and tugged at him. “Garden, come on. Let’s go get Duncan. I want my family home again under one roof.”
****
Serina took the opportunity to spend some quality time with her husband before he left her. In the playground, Lucian sat curled on a swing, his knees crushed into his chest. The swing scraped the ground from both his weight and height each time he passed the starting point.
Serina took one look at him and laughed heartily. “The swing is built for people the size of fairies in mind, not giants.”
“Give us a shove, luv,” he said with a straight face.
Valiant in her attempts, she stood behind him, trying to push him, her feet buried in the sand.
“Higher, m’lady,” he teased. “I want to experience the wind in my hair.”
She yanked him backwards through the chains to the ground and jumped atop of him.
“Or not. I like your idea better.” Lucian ran his hands up her thighs.
Perched on his stomach, she smiled. “We made it home, luv. Together. I didn’t think we would, but someone was listening to me on that mountain after all.”
“Serina, I failed you up there. I should have been able to kill that monster.”
Quickly, Serina grabbed his cheeks and held his face so he couldn’t turn from her. “We had no idea what evil we were up against, Lucian. There’s no way we could have been prepared for that. You have no reason to feel guilt. I think under the circumstances you and I did all right. You got a bit more than you bartered for, but we’re together and that’s all that matters.” Serina bent over to kiss her husband.
With one swift roll, Serina was on her back looking up at him and the sky’s radiant array of color behind him. This time he bent to her, and placed his lips ever-so-gently on her neck, the epicenter of her sensual awareness and watched a grin working its way onto her lips.
“A quickie here?” she asked eyes wide.
“Oh, how I love your scent woman. You mesmerize my soul, you make me whole and give me faith in myself.” His lips covered hers with a warmth that would never cool. “No, m’lady, not here. We are open for many eyes to see. I will make endless love to you this evening and well into the morrow upon my return then you and I can begin our own family. I’ve heard it said, practice makes perfect. Now that I think about it, tonight sounds awfully far off. Would you care for a quickie before I ride off into the sunset?”
“I thought you’d never ask. Follow me. I’ve the perfect place. No one will find us. Or hear us.” She winked.
Lucian stood, and pulled his wife up. As he brushed the sand from her dress he copped a lustful feel of her lush behind in the process.
“You’re a cheeky bugger.”
Walking back through the gardens, they smiled to everyone and continued straight past each and every person in their family.
“Hey you two, hold up. We should get going soon, Luce,” André insisted as he stood ready to follow on his brother’s heels. “A telegram arrived minutes past that Duncan and Jonah made it safely to a small village a few hours from here. Won’t take long at all to grab them. We’ll be home in time for dinner, Payton.” André turned towards the blushing chef. “Unless, you’ve cooked up other plans for the evening.”
“Dinner tonight, my Lord will be a feast, a celebration for our family.” Payton lifted Raven’s hand to his lips and kissed her, then excused himself.
Lucian yelled back, “Half past noon, Ands. We need to take care of one or two things first.”
“Where are you going?”
Raven jabbed André in his ribs, giving him a look that he was indeed an imbecile, not Lucian this once. “Did you forget he’s on his honeymoon?”
André blushed. “I did. My apologies,” he yelled after them, but they were already out of sight.
****
“Where is it you’re dragging me to?” Although it didn’t matter. As long as he was with Serina, nothing else mattered.