Grayslake: More than Mated: Unbearable Love (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

L
ily’s chest
tightened at the sight of the happy family. The man Eli called Brody lifted a pink-clad child high in his arms and swirled her around. By the gummy smile, Lily knew the baby would be giggling, and there was nothing as pure and wonderful as the laugh of a baby.

The woman beside him bounced a chubby boy on her knee. He was more stoic, but his eyes glinted with amusement despite his lack of a smile.

Caught up in their private family moment, Lily stared in awe until Eli opened her door and took her hand. When she looked at him, she saw passion and longing in his eyes. “That’s us next year, Lily. I promise, I’ll cherish and protect you and our children with every ounce of my existence.”

Her heart soared with happiness at the thought of a life with Eli, but her head couldn’t join in the celebration. It wasn’t as easy as a choice. His words sounded right and true, but given a moment to reflect, Lily had a vision of her father, and knew nothing about this would be easy. The last words she’d written in her blog surfaced in her mind.
Don’t settle for less than love.
She felt a strong connection to Eli, but was it love? Would she lay down everything to be with him? Could she demand the same from him?

“Lily, come meet my friends.” He squeezed her hand and pulled her to where Brody and his wife stood in front of their porch.

“Will they like me?” She’d never had to worry about that before. Being Becket’s daughter didn’t require people to like her. People feared her father enough to tolerate her.

“What’s not to like?” He stopped her a few feet from Brody and his wife and pulled her in for a hug and kiss that was too quick to give her courage. She’d grazed his lips before he pulled away. “I like you, and that’s all that matters.”

“I like you too, Eli.” They walked hand in hand to the smiling couple.

“Welcome, I’m Fawn.” The woman shifted the baby boy from her arms to balance on her hip. “I’m so happy to meet you.” Like they were old friends, Fawn slipped her free hand through Lily’s arm and separated her from Eli.

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Lily.” Lily watched as Eli pulled the little girl from Brody’s arms and cradled her against his chest. She was dwarfed by his size. “What are their names?”

Brody opened the front door and ushered the group inside. “Tater and Tot.”

“Wh…what?” Surely, he wasn’t serious. The look on her face must have been comical because Fawn and the men began to laugh.

“Stop calling them Tater and Tot. People will believe you.” Fawn looked at Eli. “If it’s okay with Lily, why don’t you hand her Taylor, and I’ll keep Tom. You two can head to the table to talk business while Lily and I get to know each other.”

Eli reluctantly handed the little girl to Lily. Taylor felt so good in her arms. Eli leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Next year, Lily.”

“Leave the girl alone before you give her heat stroke.” Fawn led Lily into a side room that smelled of wood sap and baby powder. She took a seat across from her host. “This is a new addition. My husband wants a large family. This year alone, he’s added three bedrooms and this recreation room to our little house. If it’s up to him, I’ll be in a perpetual state of pregnancy.”

“You and Brody have a great recipe.” Lily sank against the soft cushions and cradled the sleeping baby in her arms. Her little lips curled with each breath. “She’s beautiful, and your son…he’s so handsome.”

“Thank you. Taylor is all sweetness and light. Tom is an old soul. He’s a wise man stuck in his baby body.” The little bundle of pudginess sat on his mom’s knee and appeared to take everything in. The look on his face was one of serious contemplation. Lily could imagine him cataloguing every experience.

“They’re amazing.” She brushed her fingers across Taylor’s forehead, moving the little lock of brown hair that threatened to get into her eyes.

“They are everything. So…tell me about you and Eli.” Fawn set Tom on a blanket at her feet and placed a baby gym over him. Tom lifted his pudgy little fingers to the toys dangling from the bar. The red-framed mirror consumed him. Fawn stood. “Let me get you a drink. Soda?”

Lily tightened her hold on Taylor, hoping Fawn would leave the baby in her arms. “Yes, soda would be great.”

Fawn continued to talk on her way to a beautiful wet bar in the corner—all carved wood and granite. “I’ve never met one of Eli’s girls.” She popped the top of two soda cans and poured them into glasses filled with ice.

Lily’s inner fur bristled. “I wasn’t aware Eli had many girls.” Lily didn’t understand this possessive jealousy that ate at her the minute Eli’s name was mentioned in the same sentence with another woman.

“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean it that way. I have postpartum brain. I swear, childbirth sucks out a few brain cells.” She returned and set the drinks on the table that sat between them. “What I meant to say was that Eli has never introduced us to anyone, so you must be special.”

“So he says.” Lily warmed at the thought of being special. She liked the way it felt to be something other than an inconvenient girl. “I’m very fond of Eli.”

“You don’t have to tell me. You look at him like he hung the stars and moon.”

Lily giggled. “You mean to tell me he didn’t.”

“Is that what he told you?” Fawn shook her head. “They’ll say anything when they’ve found the one.”

“How did you know Brody was the one?” Lily didn’t have a lot to go on. She hadn’t met anyone that was fated and mated. The fact she could shift meant that her parents shared something special but not special enough to keep her mother happy for life.

“He made my skin burn, and I wasn’t sure if it was passion or anger. Then, I shot him and I realized I’d never be able to live without him.”

“You shot him?” Lily looked at Fawn in disbelief. Eli made her feel passion, heat, agitation, hope, and a lot of uncertainty, but she couldn’t imagine shooting him.

“Yes, it was an accident, but it was the turning point for us. We’d been lying to ourselves from the beginning, and then I found out he’d been my fated mate since birth. It’s a long story that I’d be happy to tell you about in the future, but that look in Eli’s eyes tells me this meeting is going to be quick, so I want details. Is Eli the one?”

What was she supposed to say? Did she admit to the truth she knew in her heart, or take the safe route and claim ignorance to the fated and mated phenomena? She sat taller. She would no longer deny herself. For better or worse, she would have Eli.

“He’s the one.” No words had ever felt so sincere. “This is all new to me.”

“Don’t fight it. Just go with it, and enjoy the journey.” Fawn glowed when she talked. Her journey was one paved in possibilities. Lily feared her journey with Eli would be paved in problems.

“Eli seems like a good man, but how can I be sure?”

“He’s a good man, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Do you feel it? When you look at him, does your body tingle with trust and quiver without questions?”

“My body tingles and quivers in his presence, but I think it has more to do with his kisses than his preordained perfect connection to me.”

“So, is he perfect for you?”

Lily considered her question. He was perfect for her but was she perfect for him? She was the one thing he despised—an Itan’s daughter. Before they moved forward, she’d have to tell him the truth. Just yesterday, she had given up all hope of ever finding love. Today, she wasn’t ready to jeopardize their chance by telling him about her father.

“He’s perfect for me, but I’m not sure I’m perfect for him.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

“I want him more than anything.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“What’s a good thing?” Brody asked as he and Eli entered the room. Brody sat next his wife whereas Eli lifted Lily and the baby into his lap.

“We were talking about wanting things.” Fawn ran her lips over her husband’s.

Lily couldn’t believe her new friend was being so candid, but she respected the honesty in her statement. Her time for truth-telling was coming.

“What do you want, baby?” Brody purred to his wife. The air sizzled with their heat.

“Time for us to go.” Eli lifted Lily to her feet and gently took Taylor from her arms. He kissed the baby on her cheek, and laid her next to her brother, who had fallen fast asleep.

Brody smiled. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” He turned back to kiss his wife and a jealous pang ran through Lily. She wanted what they had.

Fawn slugged Brody in the chest. “You’re awful, let’s walk our guests to the door.”

“Baby, look, the babies are asleep at the same time.”

“Take your wife to bed.” Eli pulled Lily into his arms and turned toward the door. “We can find our way out.” And they did.

When they reached the truck, Eli pressed her to its side and gave her a kiss that touched her very heart.

“I want you, Lily.” His tongue tangled hers and the heat of the kiss burned all the way to her toes. Every movement flamed the fires of her passion. When his palm grazed her breast, she held her breath.

“Here?” She said on an exhale.

“No, baby. When I claim you, it will be at our home, in our bed.” His body was hard all over and pressed hers into the cool metal of the truck. “I want you, Lily, but not here against the truck in Brody’s front yard. Let’s get your car and stop by the store for staples. Once we start, we may not come up for air for days.”

Goosebumps rose on her flesh. The damn man wound her up tight enough to snap, and then he backed off. He kept her on edge with his presence, his words, and his touch. And even though his hands were no longer on her body, she felt him long after they were gone.

“You’re driving me crazy.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait until I get you alone. I’ll drive you all kinds of places.”

“I take it I’m supposed to go along for the ride?” Eli helped her into the truck but not before grabbing a handful of her ass.

“You can ride or be ridden. I’m an equal opportunity man, Lily. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

Lily went back to chewing her lip. She was in way above her head, and yet, she didn’t feel like she was drowning. Maybe Fawn was right. Maybe she just needed to go with it.

“I have no experience.”

“I’ll teach you everything you want to know.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips and ran around the truck. When he jumped inside, his big grin floored her. “If I don’t know something, we’ll learn together.” Was this the same gruff man who told her he was a one-and-done kind of guy?

“Who are you?”

“I’m your future, baby.” He revved the engine and took off toward the bed and breakfast.

“You’re something all right.”

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the B&B. Her car sat unharmed, but their approach didn’t go unnoticed. Julia walked down the stairs and leaned against the little rental.

Eli growled. “I’ll take care of her.”

Lily’s hand shot out, stopping Eli from unbuckling his belt. “No. I need to take care of this myself. You can’t protect me from everyone.”

“Bullshit. I’ll always protect you.”

She leaned over the center console and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Give me a chance to take care of this. If it gets out of hand, you can rescue me.”

She knew by his huff that Eli wasn’t happy, but he was a man of his word. He’d told her he would give her anything, and he’d backed off and given her space.

“I’ll be watching and she better not do anything I deem threatening.”

“Stand down, caveman. I’ve got this.” She leaned closer and traced his lips with her tongue. God, he tasted so good. “Stay here.”

Lily escaped Eli’s last bid to pull her back into his arms and hopped out of the truck, wagging a finger in his direction. She blew him a kiss, and turned to face Julia.

She looked nervous. Leaning against Lily’s car wasn’t the nerves of steel woman she’d come to know. “What do you want, Julia?” Julia looked past Lily to Eli. “Besides him.”

“Why didn’t you turn me in?” She rocked back and forth on her feet.

“Is that what you wanted? Did you need attention so badly you had to attack my innocent clothes?”

“How can you be like that?” Julia raised her voice until Eli opened his door. Lily held up her palm, a wordless message asking him to stand down. “I lost my temper and took it out on you. If you’d done that to me, I would have torn you to shreds.”

“That’s where we’re different, Julia. I’ve learned to control my emotions.”

“Do you plan to tell the Grayslake Itan?”

“No. I understand you better than you think.”

Her lips quirked up into a cat-that-ate-the-mouse smile. “You’re right. You’re a lot more like me than I thought.”

“Wow, Julia. Did that hurt to admit?” It had to take a lot out of Julia to act in a humane manner, and Lily questioned her authenticity.

“It is a bit painful.” She peeked past Lily toward Eli. “So, he’s the one?”

Lily couldn’t hold in her excitement. Julia was an unlikely ally, and she wasn’t girlfriend material, but Lily was giddy, and she couldn’t hold her enthusiasm back. “Yes, he’s the one.”

“What will your daddy say?”

Lily choked on her reply. “What do you mean?”

Julia pulled something from her pocket and placed it in Lily’s palm. When she looked down, her driver’s license stared back. “Good luck with that, Lily.” She stared straight at the truck. “Does he know?”

A burning lump lodged in Lily’s throat. She’d have to tell Eli tonight and it would change everything. “No.”

“I didn’t think so. Looks like we both have a secret.” Julia turned and walked away, leaving Lily shaken.

Her mind filled with scenarios. She was so consumed with what ifs, she forgot he was waiting.

“You okay?”

Tucking her emotions away was her specialty. “Sure. We came to an agreement, of sorts. I’d keep you, and she’d keep her bad attitude.”

“Sounds like a great compromise to me. Are you ready to go to the store?”

Lily nodded and opened her car door. “Miller Grocery?”

“I’ll race you.” Eli was running to his truck.

The only thing racing in Lily was her heart. She put her car in reverse and backed out of the lot. In her rearview mirror, she watched as Julia brought her phone to her ear. Lily’s heart tumbled into the pit of her stomach.