Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (43 page)

“Did you mean everything in your letter?”

“You read it?”

“Yes.”

“I meant every single word.”

“I want a promise from you, Lucian.”

“What?”

“Trust.”

He understood.

“I promise.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you. I’m not a ring kind of girl. This one is perfect.”

And that’s how he knew she was the real deal. When he and Wendy went ring shopping, she picked out the biggest one she could get her greedy little hands on. It was about showing off and being the center of attention.

Not his Bishop.

She was his beauty.

She calmed his beast.

Bishop pulled him to his feet. “Welcome me home, Lucian. I’m never leaving again.”

His heart skipped. “Are you saying that you’ll move in with me?”

She touched his scarred cheek. “I won’t have it any other way. I can’t live without you. I love you so much that it hurts. When I thought you didn’t love…want me …I hurt so much inside that I wanted to die.”

“I always want you, Bishop. I’ll die wanting you. There won’t be a day that goes by that the need won’t be there. With you, it’s all I live for each day.”

“Make love to me.”

Oh, he would.

Last time, she’d healed him. This time, he was going to show Bishop what lived in him—for her—and only her.

Scooping her up, he carried her toward the monstrous bed. When he put her on her feet, he had to know.

“How hurt are you?”

“My heart is dinged up pretty damn bad.”

He took that as his sign. He’d be slow, gentle, and make her feel everything she deserved.

Slowly, he pulled off the t-shirt covering her body.

She was a mess.

“Oh, Bishop, I’m so sorry.”

“Make the hurt go away, Lucian. I need you. Tonight, I need to feel.”

He dropped to his knees to work on her sneakers, jeans, and belt. When he got them all undone, he helped her slip them down her body.

There was a cut on her hip, her ribs were starting to bruise, and he craved kissing each and every one to show her what she meant to him.

It was tenderness.

It was her coming back, even when he didn’t deserve it.

He was going to give her the world.

It started now.

When she was free of her clothes, he slipped her panties down her legs. To say he wasn’t turned on would be a lie. As his fingers touched soft, silky skin, he knew this was going to be Heaven and Hell.

He was going to dine on the woman he loved, but be patient. He never was very good at holding back. Lucian Monroe was accustomed to just taking.

Now he was giving.

As he stood, Lucian reached around her back, setting the clasp on her bra free.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Yes, I need you. I need to feel. Make the fear go away. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and you’re going to be gone. I’m afraid you’ll leave me again, or tell me to go.”

He lifted her chin, and then kissed the tears on her cheeks. “I’m not leaving you. I promise.”

He picked up her hand and on the finger where her ring sat, he kissed the simple band.

“You belong to me. You’re mine, Bishop, and there’s no leaving. We’ll fight, argue, hell…throw shit at me, but you can’t leave. You’re going to be my wife. You’re going to be mine.”

“I always was yours.”

He believed it. “Let me show you what I feel.”

Gently, he lifted her to place her in the center of
THEIR
bed. He didn’t hesitate to join her. His mouth found hers, and he started there, sealing his promises with a kiss.

When she came alive beneath his fingers, he let his mouth trail lower, seeking what he wanted more than anything in the world.

Her.

His mouth teased, tormented, and nipped at her full breasts, and he wanted more.

Lucian wanted all.

He moved lower, gently parting her legs. This was what he craved. He was dying to know what she’d taste like on his lips. He bet she’d be sweet like that cherry soda.

With the tip of his tongue, he teased her.

She moaned.

It was music to his ears.

With renewed need, he dove in, feasting on everything Bishop had to offer him. Her hands found his hair, her legs were over his shoulders, and she was begging him to keep going.

He’d never stop.

If he could do this every day, he’d never leave this bed. In his mind, he could picture her with him, by his side for the rest of time.

Then he pictured her pregnant, carrying his child.

Suddenly, Graymoor didn’t seem so empty and like a prison. He could feel life coming back, and it was because of her.

Bishop was the answer.

When she shook, moaning his name, he nipped her, shoving the woman he loved over the edge.

She came hard, and he kept going.

It wasn’t enough.

He couldn’t satiate that need. He wanted to hear her breathy gasps over and over again as she shouted his name in release.

“Lucian!”

He couldn’t stop.

He wanted this never to end.

When he added the rough slide of fingers to the wetness, she shook.

“I am going to enjoy this every day for the rest of our lives. I’m going to wake up like this, go to bed like this, and devour my wife all night long. I’ve lived too long without you.”

He dove back in, all the while, struggling to get through the intense lust he was feeling. With each taste of Bishop, he wanted more.

He needed more.

She came again, and her breathy pleas made him crazy.

“Be my heart. Be my soul. Chase the demons away, Bishop.”

She opened her eyes through the pleasure. “Forever, Lucian. I’ll be yours forever.”

He slid off her body.

“I need to feel you beneath me. Tell me if I hurt you,” he said, pulling off his shirt, and then stripping from his jeans.

It felt like so many layers to get free from even to touch her.

He was desperate.

He was wild.

It felt like a fever was overtaking him.

When she reached out and ran her fingers over his erection, he moaned.

“I’m waiting for you, fiancé.”

His heart skipped. “Bishop, you’re my world.”

He climbed onto the bed and gently placed his body over hers. She winced a little, and he thought that maybe he should stop.

“I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”

“You won’t,” she offered, nothing but trust and love in her eyes.

When her fingers ran across his face, and to his lips, Lucian left a kiss on the tips.

“You’re mine.”

He slid into her.

She came again. It was the way he felt pushing into her, as the bulkiness of him was protectively over her body.

He didn’t move as she shook around him. “Jesus, that’s amazing,” he muttered in her ear.

Then he whispered his wildest dream. “Have my babies. Be the mother of my children. Give me life, Bishop. I’m tired of the cage. Set me free.”

She wrapped her legs around his hips. “Yes, Lucian. It’ll always be yes.”

He never wanted a woman like he craved her. There was something about that silky feel of her skin against his. Where his scars were rough, raw, and horrible, she was soft, sweet, and gentle.

She was everything he wasn’t.

They were the perfect whole package. Without her, he couldn’t live.

He couldn’t face the world without the woman he loved.

As he moved in and out of her body, she clung to him, enjoying what he was doing to her body.

It was Heaven.

“God! Bishop! So good.”

She couldn’t agree more. He was shaking, and she wanted to give him everything he deserved. As he kept the rhythm, holding out for her, she wanted him to fall.

Her mouth found his ear.

“Cum in me. I want to have your children. I want to be your wife.”

It caught him off guard, and he lost it.

The need, the words, and the heat sucked control from him as he buried himself into her body in one long stroke. There was something about the way she could always undo him. Bishop had that power, and he didn’t mind.

They both came.

They moaned.

Then they both found peace, wrapped in each other’s arms. It was the most amazing feeling.

They drifted, and he didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay this way forever, buried in her body. Finally, he rolled, so he could tuck her battered and bruised body beneath the comforter on his bed.

“Lucian?” she whispered. “Did you mean everything you told the media about coming back?”

He thought about it. “Yeah, I did. Why?”

“Because I’m going to help you find who hurt you. We’re going to fix Ravenswood together.”

He didn’t doubt it.

When it came to Bishop, she was strong enough to do it.

That was a fact.

Chapter Twenty

Saturday morning

When he woke up, she was still by his side. His heart did that little skip and then evened out. It wasn’t a dream.

She had really returned and taken him back. For a while, he’d believed it had been the booze and a figment of his imagination, but now that she was curled beside him, Lucian could finally relax.

His beauty had returned to the lonely manor.

As he stared down at his chest, her hand was there, and on it was his ring. That sight made him want to shout a chorus of hallelujahs to the heavens.

Somehow, he’d managed to score the woman of his dreams. When he glanced over at the clock, they’d only been asleep for a little over four hours, and he knew she needed to rest a bit, and then eat something.

He was in the mood to take care of his girl.

Lucian grinned.

Those words were music to his ears.

Gently, he slid her arm off his chest, and she repositioned herself. Lucian knew this was his opportunity to escape. Grabbing his jeans, he tugged them on, all the while watching her sleep.

She was gorgeous.

All that red hair—it fanned out around her like a halo. She was definitely his angel. He was going to protect and love her for the rest of his life.

When he looked for his t-shirt, he couldn’t find it, so he grabbed his hoodie off the chair. He thought about the people downstairs, and the eye patch.

Yeah, he skipped it.

It was time to move on with his life. The media, by now, was showing his face all over the city, and he didn’t care. Bishop loved him. She forgave him, and he wasn’t going to waste this last chance.

If she could see past his wounds, so could he. She simply loved him for him.

That was a beautiful thing, and he knew it.

Heading downstairs, he found Avalon, Jagger, and Maura in his kitchen. When he came in whistling, everyone looked up.

“Well, someone is in a good mood,” Jagger said.

Before he could make a crass comment about the likely reason, Maura put her hand over his mouth.

“He’s the host. Tread lightly.”

Jagger grinned from behind her palm. “Yes, Mom,” he mumbled against her hand.

“I am in a good mood. Bishop came home, she’s going to marry me, and I don’t have a Jack Daniels hangover.”

“What’s a hangover feel like?” Avalon asked.

“Shitty,” Maura replied. “That’s all you really need to know about it.”

Avalon laughed. “Thanks, Mom.”

Maura ignored her even when Jagger began snickering because he’d just said the same thing. Those two needed a mother, and it looked like it was her job.

“Where are Nate and Luke?” he asked, grabbing eggs from his giant refrigerator.”

“Warrant,” Maura said.

“Great. I think Bishop plans on working from her office today,” he stated.

“She’s still in danger.”

They all looked over at Avalon.

“You didn’t undo what’s coming.”

He stared at her. “I didn’t? What do you mean?” he asked, putting the eggs down onto the counter. “I got her to come back. Isn’t that what you said to do?”

He began getting worried.

“I told you that it’s not easy to undo fate once you change it. She’s in danger. In fact, so are you.”

He didn’t give a shit about himself.

Bishop mattered.

“I’ll keep her here where no one can hurt her.”

“Yeah, no you won’t,” she said from the doorway.

When he heard her voice, he glanced over at her. She was standing there in his t-shirt, and it made his heart skip.

“Baby.”

Bishop wandered into the kitchen, and Maura immediately handed her a cup of coffee.

Now this is what a hangover looked like.

“Take notes, Avalon,” she said, cuing the woman in. Maura could tell Avalon was using Lucian’s eyes to check the woman out.

“Ouch.”

Yeah, Avalon could say that again. Bishop wanted to puke. “My head feels like it’s going to explode, I feel like I went about ten rounds with Tyson, and I’m not hiding in your house.”

“Our house,” he corrected.

She smiled at him. “Okay, I’ll give you that one, but the other two stand as is.”

“Baby, if you stay here, I’ll hang out with you.”

She took the coffee and sat down. “I have to go into work. I have to find Silas and kick his ass, Nate and Luke are serving the warrant, and I already checked—Wendy was bailed out last night. That’s the potential for some sort of unrest. She’s going to be gunning for me here or at work, but at least there I don’t look like I’m hiding.”

Great.

His day was deteriorating, and fast.

“Bishop.”

“I tell you what, Lucian. Since, despite my appearance, I’m in a good mood, I’ll meet you half way. You said you wanted to work on the case, regarding the day you nearly died, so why don’t you come with me? Together, we can work from my office, but I can’t hide. That’s telling the killer that he’s got me running scared.”

“You should be scared,” he said.

The team took that as their sign it was time to go. They vacated, and fast.

It left Lucian and Bishop to finish their conversation.

“I don’t like this. We’re safe here. Nothing can get us behind Graymoor’s gate, and I kinda would like to have a fiancée longer than a day, if you know what I mean.”

She moved toward him. “When we get married, did you think I was quitting my job?”

“I thought maybe you would, since we’re going to start a family. It’s not as if you would need to work. I’ve made enough money to support us, plus with Graymoor…”

“Lucian.”

Her tone said it all.

He was dangerously close to crossing some line.

Lucian got it. His fiancée was warning him that he needed to tread lightly here. It was a short jump from beast to caveman. There was no doubt she’d kick his ass.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “You’re right. We’re not hiding. I’m trying, Bishop. I swear to God that I’m trying.”

She knew he was.

“I love you, babe.”

He opened his arms, and she went into them. The second he was against her, there was peace.

“Okay, we work from your office, but that’s it.”

She’d toss him a bone. Taking total control away from a man like Lucian Monroe would be a disaster. She wanted him to return to the man he used to be, so she had to accept everything about him, even if he was going to be possessive, bossy, and in charge.

“I have no idea where my truck is, so I’m not sure how I’m even getting to work.”

“Jagger had it brought to the parking lot at your office and courthouse. I can get you to work.”

“How?” she asked. “Do you even have a car?”

“There’s a garage behind the house, so yes, I have a car, but I was thinking something a little more fun.”

“Like?” she asked.

He grinned. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Then he kissed her.

Suddenly, he wasn’t really in the mood to make breakfast. She was against his body, and he was pretty sure there was nothing on beneath his oversized shirt.

“Maybe we can skip the breakfast that I was going to make, and instead, we can grab something to eat on the way to work?” he asked, running his lips across her ear.

“I might be interested in something like that,” she offered, stroking him through his jeans.

“Oh, Bishop, I can’t wait to get you naked. There’s something sexy about you standing here barefoot in our kitchen. It makes my brain do cartwheels.”

“It’s probably the Jack.”

No, it was definitely her.

“I think it’s you. A naked you is a thing of beauty, baby. I can’t wait to steal my t-shirt back.”

“Really? I can’t wait to be naked.”

He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips.

“You better hurry,” she offered, right before she bit his bottom lip.

Oh, he could hurry…

If that’s what she really wanted.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

Wendy Lockwood’s

Home

When they got there, the sheriff’s deputies were waiting. Alonzo Garcia looked like hell, since he’d been up all night, but that didn’t stop him from pulling a double to make sure the sheriff had backup.

Beside him was Reno Upton, holding the warrant for the Feds.

“Mayor Reed wants an update today,” Reno offered. “He was at work before dawn.”

Yeah, it was on Nate’s list of things to do now that the sheriff was down for the day.

“Thanks,” Nate said, pulling on his gear at the truck. Since they knew that Wendy was already out, she was likely to attack with those maniacal claws of hers, or worse…scissors.

They wanted to be ready for just about anything.

As they approached the house, they were scanning for anything that looked out of place.

The blinds on the big mansion were closed, so the woman was likely still asleep.

They’d give her the benefit of the doubt, especially since the media was filming from the street.

Nate knocked.

Nothing.

The team split up. He took the front of the house, and Luke took the back. It would be easier if they split up, in case Wendy freaked out, or tried to run.

From the com in his ear, Nate could hear Luke talking to him. When he heard it, he knew.

“Uh oh.”

“What?” Nate asked.

“We have an issue. I need you to get back here, and fast. It’s beyond issue. It’s now at problem.”

He motioned to the one deputy to stand down and the other to follow him. When he found Luke, he’d had to jump a fence to get to the backyard.

“What?”

“I found bloody footprints on the way out of the house. Check out the concrete.”

Nate did.

They weren’t fresh. They looked to be there for a couple of hours. The blood had gone from that bright red color to the oxidized brown.

This didn’t look good.

Blood was always the precursor to something no one wanted to deal with, but here it came—whether they liked it or not.

“We’ll go in through the back door,” he said, not wanting to give the media a show. Quietly, they checked the locks.

The door wasn’t secured.

Yeah, this was bad.

“Deputy Garcia, you have the back door. Don’t let anyone in or out without our permission.”

“On it,” he replied, taking his position by the door.

Nathaniel Carter knew the killer was likely long gone, but it was better safe than sorry.

Luke and Nate got ready.

They moved into their customary positions, Luke turning his hat backward as they prepared to go into Wendy’s home. He was going to take lead, and then stay low.

Nate would have his back, and high.

When they opened the door, the smell of death didn’t assault them. That shocked them both. Honestly, they were assuming it was going to be a full on bloodbath.

If there were footprints, there had to be blood somewhere. That was generally how it worked.

As they moved through the all white house, it didn’t take them long to clear the place and find where the blood had emanated from inside.

There was a door.

Where it led, neither knew.

Whatever the source of the blood, it was from that room. From the bloody prints in front of it, there was proof that someone had walked through blood. Not to mention, the smell was definitely distinctive. 

Luke got down and put his ear next to the door. He didn’t hear anything. Glancing back at his partner, he shook his head.

Nate called for the woman. “Wendy Lockwood! We have a warrant. We also found blood. We’re coming in.”

Nothing.

Yeah, this was getting more and more ominous.

It was time.

Nate turned the knob and they went in—guns up and prepared for the worst.

Only Wendy wasn’t going to put up a fight. That wasn’t ever happening again. What the two Feds found was probably the worst thing they’d ever seen in their lives.

There was Wendy Lockwood, and she was actually pinned to the hood of her fancy car with screwdrivers through her flesh. Whoever did that to her had fun. Her face was pummeled, and he’d cut her apart.