Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Tucker

I carry Jack to one of the upstairs guest rooms, being careful not to jostle him too much. He lost a lot of blood, and every grunt of pain that escapes him makes my chest tighten.

Scottie's ahead of me, opening doors, making sure everything's ready for us. She's focused, moving with purpose, but I don't miss the tension in her delicate shoulders.

Something has her on edge, and I've got a theory on what it is—or rather, who it is.

Downstairs, Zane and Huntley are talking, their voices a low rumble that I can barely make out, even with my heightened hearing. Scottie didn't want Huntley to come back here with us and she shut down the moment Zane laid his king card and overruled her objection.

Dad says the three of them used to be tight, but she's been cold toward him ever since we left the compound.

When she looks at Zane, I smell her hurt and confusion.

When she looks at Huntley, there's nothing in the air except anger and betrayal.

There's a story behind that and by the way Zane was eyeing the two of them, he's just as baffled by it as I am.

I lay Jack down gently, pulling the covers over him while Scottie adjusts the pillows. "I'll see what we have in the kitchen and bring you up a tray. Any requests?"

"Any chance I can get nachos and beer?"

She chuckles and shakes her head. "Once you're able to get downstairs to the table, we'll go full pub night. Until then, stick to a healthier selection."

"Then I leave it to you, kid. I'm not fussy. I'm also not that hungry. Take your time."

She finishes settling him in and we step out into the hallway, leaving Jack to rest. As soon as we close the door, I lean against the wall. "Thanks for taking such good care of him, beautiful. It means a lot."

She fingers a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear and sighs. "He's taken care of me more times than I can count. Anytime Francesco and Da were away from the compound on one of their Fondatori trips, Jack watched over Zane and me. I might not have had a mother growing up, but I had three fathers."

He chuckles. "I can't imagine that was easy."

She shrugs. "Honestly, it was amazing."

When the familiar tang of sadness and loss hits my nostrils, I change the subject. "So, what about Huntley? My dad said Bran and Francesco brought him back from one of their outings when he was a teenager, and your twosome with Zane became a threesome."

Her expression tightens. "There was trouble with his family back in Europe and he was left orphaned. Francesco knew Huntley's parents and took him in."

"You grew up with the three of you tight, then?"

"I suppose."

"What happened?"

Her back stiffens, and she doesn't look at me as she passes and moves toward the next guest room. "Nothing worth mentioning. Lies were told. Things got… complicated."

Complicated. Fair enough.

She leads me to the next room down the hallway, opens the door and motions me inside. The room is elegant and yet masculine, the soft shades of gray and the deep oxblood red of the Vasari colors creating a dramatic effect.

It's nicer than any hotel I've ever stayed at, but that doesn't interest me. There's only one thought pumping adrenaline through my bloodstream right now. "And where is your room?"

She chuckles. "Back the way we came and across from the office."

I swagger forward and rest my hands on her hips. "We could save on laundry by sharing."

Scottie lets out a surprised laugh, the sound light and warm. "As committed as I am to lowering my carbon footprint, I don't think that would be wise."

"Wisdom is overrated. We will be amazing." I can feel it in the way her eyes meet mine, in the way her breath hitches when we're this close.

She bites her lip, her gaze steady. "Tucker, this is crazy. It's not natural."

I lift one shoulder. "Not for normal humans, but we live in a world of magic."

"Is that what this is?" Her gaze narrows as she studies my expression. "And please, don't lie to me."

I bristle at the thought. "Why would you think I'd ever lie to you, beautiful?"

"Past experience."

The more I learn about her past experiences, the more I realize how desperately she needs a good man in her life. "Scotland, you don't know me well yet, but I assure you, I will never lie to you. I may not tell you everything and bare my soul, but I'll never lie."

She studies me for a moment longer before smiling, a little softer this time. "That is both attractive and refreshing."

I should leave her comment and simply take the win.

I can't. Not when she's standing this close, her scent wrapping around me, her voice soft and full of curiosity. "On a scale of 1 to 10, just how attractive is it?"

She bites her bottom lip, craning her neck to look up at me. Her body sways forward, making contact from our thighs right up to where her palms lay flat against my pecs. She's warm and sexy and even though she can kick ass, she's soft and curvy in all the right places.

She knows I'm totally checking her out and her feminine scent grows stronger. "Do all women fall for this cocky charm of yours?"

"Not all, but then again, I've never been as sure about any woman as I am about you."

Her brow arches. "Why are you so sure? What is this?"

I ease back and hold one palm up between us. "Try something with me."

After a moment, she nods and then mirrors the gesture.

My hand is massive when pressed up against hers, but the moment our palms touch, magic arcs, and a kaleidoscope of fluttering makes my heart beat faster.

Scottie sucks in a gasp, and I know she feels it, too. "That's so crazy."

It is… but it's also incredible. "I don't know for sure, but I have a theory about what's happening."

"All right. Let's hear it."

"My father held the power of the Sacred Squire when he and my mother made me. I carry it in my DNA. That same power is now embedded in your cells. I think there is a resonance of magic between us that just feels right. It's like the pull of a magnet."

"So, it's not a genuine attraction?" she says, disappointment obvious in her tone.

"Not at all, beautiful. It's more than attraction. It's the pull of a magical bond uniting two halves into a whole."

She eyes me up warily and I worry about where she'll land on this. "But that doesn't mean we have to give in to the pull, does it?"

"No, we don't have to. You are an independent woman and can make your own choices. But while we don't have to give in, we both want to, don't we? Aren't you aching to feel what it would be like? To explore this connection?"

Her lips part slightly, and for a moment, neither of us says a word. The air between us is charged. Whatever magic is pulling at us, it's insistent and getting stronger.

She glosses her lip with her tongue, and I watch that little pink tip teasing me as my cock demands more space behind the fly of my jeans. "My life is a mess, Tucker… and I make poor decisions when I'm hurting."

I pull her into my arms and reach behind her to shut and lock the door. "I'm a big boy, beautiful. We can just feel good for a while and see where that takes us. No strings."

"No strings," she repeats, her head falling back as her eyes roll closed. "Then make me feel good. Even if only for a little while."

Scottie

What am I doing? I met Tucker yesterday and I'm giving in to a magical pull I know nothing about. I replay all the logic I can muster in my mind, but my body is telling me a much more compelling story.

Da would never begrudge me a moment of respite.

Is it so wrong to want to forget for a while? The loss and heartache will be there waiting for me after, but for a moment, I could be free.

Whatever is happening between Tucker and me, it's powerful. It's also sexy and soothing, and I can't bring myself to want it to stop. As crazy as it seems, from the moment I first saw him, this has felt like an inevitability.

Tucker's muscular arms are banded around me, his massive hands splayed as they roam up my back and over the rounds of my ass. "What are you hungry for, beautiful?"

What am I hungry for?

"Everything. I don't want to think. I want to be swept into the oblivion of pure rapture. Eat me, fill me, fuck my mouth, hammer inside me—no boundaries. I want to be a dripping mess and forget my own name."

A graveled groan fills the room as my feet come off the floor. "As long as you remember my name, we're good."

He carries me through the room in three swift strides and sets me down in the ensuite bathroom. "First, we wash away the damage of the day. Then I promise to have you dripping and messy for the rest of the night."

Sounds perfect.

For a big man, he's incredibly fast because before I have time to blink, he's got my shirt over my head and is kneeling before me, tugging my pant legs and socks off.

I'm left in my bra and panties, but based on his grin, that's intentional.

He reaches back and grabs the collar of his T-shirt behind his head, yanking the strained cotton free. The pose gives me a glorious view of his flexed abs and the bulging muscles in his arms. Holy shitballs…

Tucker shirtless is breathtaking.

He's chiseled like a god and that V of sin… I may be pregnant just from looking at him.

He takes in my wide eyes and waggles his brows. "But wait, there's more."

He pops the fastener of his fly and opens the front of his cargo pants, dropping them to the marble floor. I've got the full-frontal effect now, because without boxers to take off, he's fully naked. Heat blooms over my skin as my breath catches in my throat.

He is honed to performance perfection.

Muscled forearms, thick biceps, moguled abs, and that cock… "Now that is a thing of beauty."

He chuckles. "Glad you like what you see."

"Do you always go commando?"

The wink he flashes at me ignites a fire in my ovaries. "I'm a free-baller. The boys like to breathe."

Holy hell. "It's not bad for quick access, either."

He chuckles, toeing his pants across the floor to land with my discarded clothes. "There won't be anything quick about this. After watching you fight, I'm hoping you have the same strength and stamina with your clothes off as you do with them on."

As he reaches past the glass door to start the water, I unclip my bra and dangle it to one side on one finger. "No one has outlasted me yet."

He straightens and his warm, caramel gaze locks onto my breasts. I brush my fingers over the peaked tips of my nipples and his eyes flip to bright gold again. "Is that a challenge?"

I shove my panties down my hips and step out of the slip of cotton when it hits the floor. Biting my bottom lip, I duck under his arm and into the shower. "Come wash off the grunge of our day. I want to get to the fucking part."

"Yes, ma'am."

I step under the heat of the spray and tilt my head back. Water soaks my hair, and I run my hands over my head, washing away any vampire blood and bits that splattered on me.

I still can't believe Zane exploded one of his men on me.

And the ruined agony in his gaze as he realized he'd shown me the beast he'd always been so careful to hide.

I'm sorry. I denied my feelings for you, terrified that one day you would see my true nature unleashed or fall prey to it.

He spoke into my mind, which both thrilled and terrified me. Why would he trust me with his secrets now? What's going on with him?

"Everything all right, beautiful?"

I open my eyes, and reality comes crashing back to me. Tucker is the man I'm naked with. I have no business thinking about Zane or any other man. "Sorry. My mind started spinning there for a second."

"No apology necessary. Do you want to slow this down and take a raincheck?"

I take in all that sculpted perfection and glance down at his cock. He's solid and that steel rod of bliss is standing straight and ready. "No rainchecks. You promised to make me forget my own name, and I'm hoping you'll use this bad boy to do it."

He grins. "I'm a man of my word."

But as he steps closer, the water pressure fluctuates, and the shower runs cold. I squeal and turn off the tap, giggling. "That was refreshing."

The sound of water running downstairs explains it.

Tucker grabs a huge, puffy towel and wraps me in it. "Looks like we weren't the only ones who thought cleaning off the gore of the night was a good idea."

"Not an issue. I'm just as happy having you dry me off and warming me up."

He flashes me a sexy grin and continues to dry me off. His hands are massive, and he runs them over my shoulders and down the sides of my ribs. He focuses on drying my chest and then takes special care of each of my breasts.

"These are lovely, by the way."

I chuckle. "Thanks. Glad you like them."

He continues with his efforts, pressing the fabric of the towel over my belly and down my thighs. He kneels for my calves and ankles, but too soon, he's standing again.

After wrapping the length of my hair in the towel and squeezing out the excess water, he wraps the towel around the back of my shoulders and backs me up against the wall.

"All dry?"

"Oh, no. You missed the spot where I'm the most wet."

He looks me up and down and smiles. "Then I better take care of that."

"You should. Just to be thorough."

His hand slides between my legs and he quickly finds my clit. I'm swollen and slick with arousal and when he rubs the pad of his fingers over it, I drop my head back and close my eyes. "Yeah, that's the spot."

He slicks his fingers into the moisture of my folds at the same time he rubs his thumb over my clit. "You're not just wet, beautiful. You're dripping for me."

Yeah, I am. It might be embarrassing, except there's something about the way his touch zings through my cells that tells me he's just as crazy turned on as I am.

Who knew squire magic could be so fun?

I decide to test that theory and reach between us, wrapping my fingers around the stiff shaft of his cock. "Oh, fuck," he groans, rocking into my hold. "If your hand feels this good, I'm going to lose my mind when I sink inside you."

"I'm losing my mind now. Come inside me."

He shifts forward, sandwiching me between the towel and wall at my back and the wall of muscled perfection at my front. "A gentleman gets his lady off first."

I writhe against his fingers, riding them as I stroke him from base to tip. "I'm no lady, Tucker. Fuck me like you mean it."

"As you wish." Losing his hand stroking my clit is a tragedy, but he soon grips both my thighs and lifts my legs open around his waist. He pins me against the wall and a moment later, I'm sinking onto the most exquisite cock I've ever taken inside me.

Inch by delectable inch, he fills me, stretching me, as the magic we share dances in my cells and lights me up.

Another rush of arousal warms my core, and he groans, using the moisture to slide deeper.

"You feel incredible," I breathe, my head spinning.

"Right back at you," Tucker grunts, thrusting his hips to nail me against the wall.

I grip the corded muscles of his shoulders and ride the wave of pleasure as my pussy throbs, squeezing his cock. A breathy moan escapes my throat, and I rake my nails over his skin. He drives faster and deeper and I can't take it.

I arch off the wall as my orgasm hits and my insides grip and pulse, milking his perfect cock.

"Oh, angel, I can't…" Tucker's hips lock and he throws his head back, and then the magic dancing between us goes wild. With each surge of cum filling me, another wave of bliss hits. It's beyond pleasure.

It's magic.

I'm lost in the shared release and it's a good thing he's as strong as he is because him holding me up is the only reason I haven't melted into a puddle of orgasm bliss at his feet.

Breathless and panting, I collapse forward and lay my head on his shoulder. "What the hell was that?"

Tucker wraps his arms around me and staggers back until his naked ass is perched on the bathroom counter. "I don't know, but I say we do it again."

And again. And a few more times after that.

I'm about to say so when something inside me shifts. It's a strange, disorienting feeling…

Tucker tenses. "What? Did I hurt you? What's wrong?"

I wriggle in his arms, and he eases out of me and sets me down. The towel we used is on the floor, so I scoop it up and wrap it around myself as I jog into the upstairs hall.

I curse the moment I realize what it is. "Zane is gone. He and Huntley have gone off without me. Hurry, get dressed."