The Keeper (3 page)

             
Lex was looking through the peephole.  She could see Jed sitting down and Donovan heading back to her door.  Shit.  This was not how she had planned on spending her day. 
She was not a sissy by any means and hiding behind this door wasn’t sitting well with her
-she could control herself for a few minutes.  Figure out what they wanted
.  She had no problem letting Donovan in.  As a matter of fact, he had been
in her apartment more times than
Jed and her father combined.  He was her best friend.  She couldn’t very well keep him out.  She looked again.  When he was about one step from the door, she opened it. 

             
He was across the threshold in a blur.  There was no way he was giving her time to close the door and she had already told him he was always welcome, so he didn’t have to worry about
being invited in.  Not that it
would matter.  She was his mate.  He didn’t have to be invited in, but she didn’t know that yet. 

             
She slammed the door and locked it, then turned and put her back against it.  Donovan was looking at her smiling.  “Sooo…”  He put his hands in his pockets and her gaze was drawn to the action.  He cleared his throat to get her attention back
up to his face
before he lost control and she caught a glimpse of the hard-on he was fighting.  If she kept staring at his pants, she was going t
o get an eyeful.  “Jed says
there’s a slight
possibility
you are mad at him?”  She smiled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. 

             
“There is that possibility, yes.”  She didn’t miss
the playfulness in his voice,
the humor in his eyes
, and she knew he hadn’t missed
the flash of amusement
in hers
.  He knew she wasn’t mad at Jed,
but he would never tell Jed if she asked him not to. 
Donovan smiled at her then and something in her belly fluttered. 

             
“Do you think you could forgive the guy?  He had his reasons, and right now we really need to talk to you.”  Donovan held his breath
wishing he could will her to let Jed in
.  The air in the room held the scent of arousal
.
  He noticed
i
t every time he smiled at her.  It was one of the reasons he smiled at her now.  He knew she had a hard time saying no to him.  It was also the reason he rarely smiled at her when he didn’t want something really badly.  It was becoming too hard to resist her.  Not that she had ever made a move to kiss
him
.
  At least, now he knew why.  The last friend she kissed had high-tailed it out of town.

             
He walked toward her, smile in place, and put a hand on either side of her
-tr
apping her against the door. 
She nodded, reached down
and flipped the lock.  Donovan didn’t take any chances.  He pulled her to him and opened the door.  Jed was standing on the other side looking worried.  Donovan tucked Lex under his arm and motioned for Jed to come in. 

             
Once all three were inside, Donovan released Lex and closed and locked the door.  He walked over and closed her curtains.  They blocked out all of the sun, just in case he or her father wanted to visit during the day. 

             
Donovan turned and leaned against the wall.  He knew that Lex and Jed had to get over whatever was between them before things could proceed.  He just hoped like hell they proceeded quickly.  He had wanted her from the day he met her.  A few weeks later, Silas had explained why.  He had also told Donovan about Jed. 
He wondered for a minute why Silas
had never told Jed about Donovan. 

             
Lex
sat in one of her chairs that faced the sofa.  Jed sat on the coffee table so their knees almost touched.  His hand reached for her and she pulled back.  “Lex, honey, I’m sorry.  I should have said something to you before I left.” 

             
Donovan noticed the look of hurt on her face and he would be willing to bet it had nothing to do with him leaving and everything to do with Jed not calling her at all in the last five years.  They had been friends from the time Lex was fifteen. 

             
“Doesn’t matter.  You could have called.  You could have written.  Hell, I know you know how to text.  Instead, I have to find out how you’re doing from Donovan.”  She leaned back and ran her short black tipped fingers through her dark red hair and stared up at the ceiling.  “I’m sorry I kissed you.  I don’t know
what came over me.  I promise
if you stay it will never happen again.”  It would take every bit of will power she had, but these were the only two people she trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt in this world other than her father.  There was no way she wouldn’t do what she had to in order for them to both stay in her life. 
She couldn’t handle either man walking out of her life for five more years. 
If that meant she could never kiss either of them, so be it.  It might kill her, but it would be worth it.  She closed her eyes
, lay her head back on the chair
and missed the look that passed between the two men. 

             
“Does this mean that I’m forgiven?”  He put his hand on her knee and noticed her whole body tense. 
She nodded.  Her eyes were still closed and Jed knew she didn’t realize that Donovan was standing behind her chair.  Looking over her. 

             
She could feel Donovan above her and knew there was something important she need
ed
to be discussing with them instead of fantasizing about them.  Damn it, she had to get her mind out of the gutter.  Slut indeed!  She opened her eyes and saw a look in Donovan’s that caused her heart to flip.  She put her hand to her chest to calm it and looked at Jed.  He wore the same expression.  They were looking at her like they were hungry and she was a nice, juicy hamburger.  Holy shit! 

             
“Uh, guys, you want to tell me what’s going on?”  She was thankful that her voice didn’t betray her fear.  This was Jed and Donovan.  There was no way either of them would ever hurt her. 

             
Jed took her hand from the arm of the chair and held it in his, while Donovan knelt at the side of the chair and put his hand over her forearm.
Donovan was the first to speak-
the look in his eyes changing from hunger to concern in a blink.  “Lex, how much has your father told you about the relationship between the Keeper and the Protectors?” 

             
“Not much.  He told me that the Keeper had two people to protect her and that’s about it.  I know the Keeper, I guess that’s me, is supposed to keep the peace between the Immortals.  I know that the ones who will protect me will help me do that, and that’s about it.  I’
ve tried to read the legend in the Book of Immortals, but Dad won’t let me anywhere near it.”  She looked between the two men.  “Why?”

             
Jed squeezed her hand. 
He couldn’t tell her of the pictures in the book.  It went beyond risqué and he knew Silas had enough trouble talking to her about sex. 
He could just imagine him trying to explain the drawings. 
“Honey, did your father tell you that Donovan and I
are the Protectors?”  She nodded
her head and he looked a
t
Donovan again.  “The Protectors are not only meant to protect you, but also to be your mates.” 

             
A look of shock was on her face as she looked between the two men just before her eyes narrowed and her left brow arched almost to her hairline.  “Explain mates.  Are we talking like
Grady’s
mates?  Like friends?” 
Grady was Australian.  He had a lot of mates. 
She looked back and forth as both men slowly shook their head.  “So we’re talking like…”  she waived her hand in the air trying to appear nonchalant while her heart was trying to beat right out of her chest, “mates as in
people who…”  Both men were now slowly nodding their heads.  “Oh, God.”  She stood quickly, breaking contact with both men.  “I need a drink.”  She brushed past Jed’s knees and walked into her kitchen.

             
Jed stood to stop her.  The last thing he and Donovan needed was a
drunk
, pissed off, confused Lex.  Donovan grabbed his arm and he turned to his friend. 

             
He spoke so quietly that he knew Lex couldn’t hear him. 
“She’s not talking alcohol.  She’s talking caffeine.  Trust me on this.  Do not get between her and caffeine.  She’ll castrate you.”  Donovan f
elt a shiver go up his spine at
the
memory of the one and only
time he refused to stop at Beans.  It was her favorite coffee shop, but the guy behind the counter had been coming on to Lex for the six months
and something about the kid didn’t sit right with Donovan
.  He refused to stop
-for her
own good-
and she had drawn a gun on him.  She didn’t point it at his head or his heart.
Nope, not Lex. 
She had pointed it at his balls.  He stopped religiously from that point on but had used
compelling
to keep the boy from making a move. 
He bought her an espresso machine not long after that.  He didn’t want her going in there alone. 

             
Jed noticed the conviction in Donovan’s tone and made a mental note to ask Lex about it later.  He had a feeling that it was not something Donovan wanted to talk about.  He was watching Lex move around her kitchen with her back to them.  When
she
finally turned around several minutes later she had a steaming hot mug of something in her hands.  He grinned. 

             
They were both smiling at her and suddenly her body felt hotter than the caramel macchiato she was holding.  She felt the familiar rush of liquid fire to her core.  It was the same that night in the elevator.  The only problem was that she really didn’t know what to do about it. 
Wel
l, she actually did know what to do about it.  S
he just didn’t know how to go about getting to that point. 

             
Donovan noticed Lex’s eyes grow wide.  She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.  He debated going to her, but noticed Jed’s hand at his side motioning for him to stay put.  Jed didn’t want to scare her. 
Donovan figured
they had already done that. 

             
Jed whispered to Donovan.  “Don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like wearing that boiling hot brew.”   Donovan started laughing. 

             
“She has a hell of an arm.  She could hit us from there if she wanted to and you wouldn’t be fast enough to get out of the way Fido.”    Donovan had said it quietly, but it was loud enough for her to hear. 

             
She started laughing.  She couldn’t help it.  Donovan was probably the only one besides her that could get away with calling Jed Fido and not get skinned alive.  She had to set the coffee mug down.  She was laughing so hard the liquid was sloshing over the sides.
  She looked back up at the men-who turned to each other confused-
and started laughing harder. 
Tears were rolling down her cheeks before she finally got herself under control.  She wiped a palm over each side of her face, not caring about her make-up.  “Sorry, it’s just that here I was worried about not kissing either of you and now I guess I’m supposed to let both of you…”   She suddenly got a little dizzy
-a lot hot-
and both men were by her side in less than the blink of an eye.  Boy, they were fast.  And hot.  “I need to go lay down.”  They both started her toward her bedroom.  “Alone.”  She started to walk away, but felt Donovan pull her arm back. 
She tensed to swing until h
e pressed her cup into her hand
and let her go.  She smiled back at him then turned and walked away. 

             
They both watched as she closed her bedroom door.  They held their breath for the click of the lock, but it never came.  Jed ran his fingers through his jaw length black hair while Donovan rubbed the back of his neck.  “Well,” Jed stared after her, “at least she didn’t lock the door.” 

             
Donovan let out a bark of laughter.  “You know as well as I do that
she
doesn’t have to lock a door.  I’ll bet you twenty bucks she
shoots the first person that walks through that door before she’s ready.”

Chapter Three

             
Lex looked around her room.  She really had no desire to l
ie
down.  She walked into her bathroom and closed that door behind her as well.  She
sat her cup on the ledge of the massive tub and turned on the water.  She
didn’t really feel like taking a bath.  She had to get out of here and she
knew
there was no way they were going to let her leave by herself.  She knew them both too well.  Leaving the water running, she walked back into her bedroom and threw on her leathers.  She needed to go for a ride.  It was the only time she seem
ed to be able to think anymore.  She closed the bathroom door again
with the water still running.  Hell with a wolf and a vampire she couldn’t be too careful.  She knew they would be able to hear the water, but hopefully it would mask her movements
.  Her father had a drain installed years ago when she had fallen asleep with the water running and it found its way into the office below
so there was no need to worry about water damage
. 
They wo
uld figure it out soon enough and she had every intention of being as far away as possible when that happened.  Her mind made up, she headed to her closet.