GraceinMoonlight (12 page)

She wanted to ask him what he meant, how he felt about her.
Gods, she was awful at this man-woman stuff.

His lips curved in a wry grimace. “And I should have kept my
mouth shut.” He sighed. “Okay, so… I figure since both of us are no longer
kids, this shouldn’t be such a production.”

She blinked at him, trying to figure out where he was going
with this. Maybe her brain wasn’t as clear as she’d thought. “What shouldn’t be
such a production?”

“And then,” he continued on as if she hadn’t spoken, “I
thought, well, then what’s the point?”

“The point of what? Kaisie, what—”

“The point of starting a relationship.”

Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

“Huh. Guess your brain does stop occasionally.”

Actually, her brain was speeding ahead at a hundred miles an
hour. Relationship. Was he actually talking about a relationship between the
two of them?

Her heart began to pound as well. And desire spread through
her body like a fire.

“Anyway,” Kaisie continued, “if we’re going to do this, I
guess we should do it right. So, I’m giving you a couple of days to recover,
get the kids settled, think about what you want to do for the rest of your
life. Then I’m going to have you over to my house for dinner. No kids. Just the
two of us. I’ll cook. We’ll talk. Maybe we’ll have more great sex, because,
babe, the sex was great. Maybe we’ll just make out because, technically, it’ll
only be our first date and I seem to recall there’re rules about dating.”

“Dating.”

His lips curved again and heat flooded through her gut and
lower, into her sex. She realized her mouth was hanging open but she couldn’t
seem to get it to close.

“You want to date me?”

He shook his head. “No. I wanna mate you. But we’ll start
slow so your brain doesn’t explode. And after you get used to me in a few days,
we’ll work out the details. So…”

He rose, walked over to the bed, leaned close and pressed
his lips to hers. Her brain functioned well enough to kiss him back, to tilt
her head so he could get a better angle. She felt her lungs shudder and a girly
squeak nearly escaped her throat when he pulled away after a too-short kiss.

He stared down into her eyes for several seconds, searching
for something. She had no idea what. Dazed and confused didn’t come close to
what she was feeling at the moment. More like blown away. She couldn’t think
straight, not with his taste still on her lips and those green eyes still
locked with hers.

“You need to sleep. Dane said your body needs rest to heal.
Nica’s gonna have a go at repairing the damage to your arm tomorrow. Then you
should be able to take Alex and Amy back to your house until they get used to
us. I’ll have to add on a room and another bathroom for the kids at my place
eventually. Probably get started on that later this week so it’s finished
before the weather gets bad in October and November. Kaine and I shared a
bathroom but with two kids, I’m guessing we’ll need the extra space.”

Pulling back, he pressed one index finger under her chin to
close her still-open mouth. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m pretty handy. The
renovations will be done before you know it. Get some more sleep now. I gotta
catch a few hours myself but I’ll be back before you miss me. Sleep well,
Gracie.”

Then he left without looking back.

She consciously had to force her mouth closed as the door
shut behind him.

The man was crazy. He must have hit his head during the
rescue. He couldn’t actually be serious.

What the hell did a man like him want with someone like her?

And wouldn’t it be lovely if it were true?

* * * * *

“I know it’s small, but until we figure out what our next
step is, we’ll just have to make do.”

Grace opened the door into the tiny home she’d been staying
in before they’d gone to rescue Alex and Amy and walked into the living room.

Glancing behind her, she saw Amy step into the house, her
gaze checking out everything.

As if she wanted to be sure she had all the exit points
memorized.

“I thought you could have the bedroom there,” Grace pointed
to the door leading into the bedroom next to hers. “Alex and I can share the
other one.”

“Or Amy and me could share a room?” Alex’s voice held an
excitement she’d rarely heard from him. “That would be okay, wouldn’t it? Like
at— Like before?”

Grace held her breath, waiting to see what her daughter
would say.

Amy hadn’t spoken more than a few words to her since this
morning. The
strega
, Nica, had done another round of healing on her arm,
smiled at her and declared her good to go. So she’d dressed and told her
children they were leaving. Luckily, Kaisie hadn’t been around to argue with
her.

She’d actually been surprised to find him MIA and tried not
to let herself be worried about that.

Now Amy surprised her. “Sure, Alex. We can share a room.”

Okay, she’d called that one wrong. Let’s see what else she
could screw up.

“I thought maybe we could go shopping—”

“Hey, Kaisie.” Amy’s expression transformed with her smile.
It only lasted a few seconds, but it made Grace’s heart stop briefly. She
wanted the girl to smile longer than a few seconds. “I didn’t know you were
coming. Are you going to stay for a while?”

And could the girl make it any more obvious she’d rather be
anywhere but with Grace?

Not that Grace could blame Amy for being hero-struck. If
someone had told her Kaisie could leap tall buildings in a single bound, she
wouldn’t hesitate to believe it.

But if someone had told her that same man would look at her
as if he wanted to strip her naked and toss her on the nearest bed again, well,
that would be just a little too much to ask. Because he’d already done it once.

Could he really have feelings for her that were more than
physical?

Just the thought that he might made her giddy. Could she
allow herself to even consider it?

Gods, she wanted to. But if she let herself dream, and those
dreams didn’t come true, what then? She had two children to think about now.
She couldn’t let herself be distracted. Not even when she burned watching the
man walk into the house she wouldn’t allow herself to think of as her home.

“Actually, I’m here to take you all back to my house.
Figured I’d save your mom the hassle of cooking tonight.”

“Cool!” Alex chimed in. “Will Kaine and John be there too?”

Seems Alex had joined the Hail-Kaisie-the-Hero campaign as
well.

“Yep, they will. And Cat and her parents and a few other
people. And your buddies from school, Jason and Mikey. They’ve been asking
about you.”

“Really?” Alex’s expression lit up as if he’d won the
lottery. “That’s awesome! Mom, isn’t that great? Kaine told me Jason and Mikey
were okay but I didn’t think they’d want to see me after… you know.”

Yes, she knew. After Alex’s kidnapping.

Kaisie must have done some slick talking to get the boys’
parents to agree to come. If anything had happened to either of those boys, she
was sure their parents would have hounded Cole to get rid of her.

She forced a smile, which wasn’t as hard as she’d thought it
would be because her son looked so damn happy. All because this man had invited
them to dinner.

And damn the man because he had her over a barrel. There was
no way she could say no.

“It is. Thank you, Kaisie, for inviting us.”

His grin said he knew exactly what she’d rather be saying to
him. Then again, maybe he didn’t know as much as he thought he did.

“You’re very welcome. And since I know Amy needs some
clothes, I thought I’d drive you guys to the store. Don’t get too excited. It’s
just Target and the grocery store, but I figure we can get everything everybody
needs in one stop.”

Grace slid a glance at Amy. Target was probably a far cry
from the clothes her father had been buying for her but for now it would do.

For years, Grace had shopped in New York City and never
looked at a price tag. She’d learned from her mother. And she’d been able to
afford it. The trust her grandmother had funded for her had more than enough
money to sustain her and the children for years. And she’d carefully hoarded
the money Ettore had given her as well. She hadn’t had the luxury of being
noble about where the money had come from. Only that she had enough to care for
Alex. And now for Amy.

“Sure, Target’s fine.” Amy shrugged as if it didn’t matter
where she bought clothes. And maybe it didn’t. Maybe she wasn’t one of those
girls who cared what label was sewn into her clothes.

Grace hadn’t learned enough about her daughter to know yet.

As if he’d read her mind, Kaisie changed the subject. “Alex,
how’re the crutches going?”

Her gaze swung back to her son. Dane had started Alex back
on his treatment, the serum she’d developed from Dane’s mate’s blood. Evie had
agreed to continue to donate the blood that kept Alex from wasting away from a
disease no one had been able to diagnose.

“They’re going great.” Alex’s enthusiasm couldn’t be
contained and the tears pushed their way to the surface now. He’d been in that
damn wheelchair for more than a year and she’d despaired of him ever getting
out of it.

Now he was walking with crutches. The daughter she never thought
she’d see was in her care. And a man she couldn’t stop thinking about, who’d
made her feel like a desirable woman instead of a piece of property, stared at
her with a look in his eyes that made her believe he wanted to get her alone.

Her head should be spinning. She couldn’t let it.

Because it could all come crashing down in seconds when
Ettore regrouped and came after the children.

And he would. Kaisie had to know that. She had to take the
children underground. Get them away from the den where there were other
children who could be hurt.

But she didn’t know if there was anywhere she could take the
children and Mara that they’d be safe.

“Hey, kids. Why don’t you go out and get in the car. Your
mom and I will be out in a few.”

Amy shot her a quick glance that Grace couldn’t read before
she headed toward the door. “Come on, Alex, I’ll help you get in.”

Kaisie waited until the door shut behind the kids before he
spoke. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling fine.” And physically she was, except for the
stress making her head throb. When she shook her head, she felt sharp jolts hit
her temples. “This isn’t necessary, Kaisie. You don’t have to do this. We’ll be
fine, until…”

He lifted his eyebrows and continued to stare at her,
waiting.

Finally, she sighed. “You know we can’t stay here. It’s not
safe for the
lucani
or the kids. We need to disappear, Kaisie. And we
need to do it soon.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he raised his eyebrows.
“Do you feel better now that you got that off your chest? Can we go shopping
now?”

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and she tried to
ignore the urge to throw something at his head. “Damn it, Kaisie, ignoring the
situation won’t help. We have to leave. I have to take the kids and go.”

“Yeah, you do. We’re
going
to the store. And tonight
you’re coming to my house for dinner. And if we’re lucky, the kids will fall
asleep early and you and I can spend some time alone.”

Her mouth opened but her brain wasn’t processing fast enough
to come up with a response to his wanting to spend time alone with her.

Yes, she wanted that too. Which was just crazy. A
relationship between them was crazy. And yet, here he was, acting as if it was
a done deal. “You’re crazy.”

Kaisie shrugged. “Been called it enough to make me think
maybe there’s something to it. But it doesn’t mean I don’t know what I want.
Which happens to be you. Don’t ask me why. Not now. We don’t have time to get
into it now. We will later, trust me.” He shook his head and that wry smile she
adored transformed his expression. “I’ve come to understand you well enough to
know you’ll probably talk until you’re blue in the face. But it won’t change
how I feel. That’s just the way it is.”

She wanted to throw her hands in the air then tear out her
hair. “I just don’t understand.”

Sighing, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
“Grace, do you want me? And be honest because, like I said before, we’re not
kids anymore. We don’t have to be afraid to say it.”

The flush on her cheeks when she thought about how much she
did want him must have given him his answer because he smiled again, this time
the most flat-out-sexy smile she’d ever seen on a man. It literally made her
sex clench and her thighs quiver.

She couldn’t get her vocal cords to work, however, and she
didn’t know what she would’ve said anyway. She didn’t think she’d be able to
say anything rational.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes. So be forewarned.” He leaned
toward her, coming so close and yet not close enough. “Try to run and I’ll
catch you. I’m much faster and I’m motivated. Try to hide and I’ll find you.
I’ve got a great nose and you smell fucking great.”

Her mouth dropped open at the raw sensuality in his words.
No one had ever spoken to her the way he did. Her heart pounded against her
ribs and her mouth dried.

“How’s your arm?”

She blinked at his abrupt change of subject. “Huh?”

“How does your arm feel?” He spoke slowly, each word
distinct.

“Fine. It feels fine.”

“Good.” He nodded. “I don’t want you lifting anything at
all. You point, I’ll pick it up. Now we better go before the kids wonder where
we are.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hustled her out
the door.

* * * * *

“So, I guess that didn’t suck too badly. See, you’re just
gonna have to learn to trust me.”

Kaisie stood by the dishwasher, piling pots and plates and
bowls in haphazardly as Grace sat at the table watching him with narrowed eyes.