Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Lark had heard what those women in the bathroom were saying and it had taken every ounce of control he could muster to not rush in there and tell them exactly what he thought of their self-righteous bitch attitudes. They had no idea what it was like for halflings because of people like them.

He rubbed at the small bump on the back of his hand where his implant was. There had been a time when he'd been afraid every time he'd had to scan the damn thing. Rejected more often than not and kicked out onto the street to try and find what he needed on his own. The life of a halfling orphan.

When Ebony came out of the bathroom looking upset, he wanted to pull her into his arms, tell her it was going to be alright, but he held back, knew she wasn't ready to accept that from him. The best he could do was walk with her back out of the restaurant and hope that his presence would keep all the comments restrained until they were out the door.

He'd brought other halflings here when on a job, but he'd never noticed the talk or the looks before. Had they always been there, but he hadn't cared? Because it hadn't been her, hadn't been affecting his soulmate. He hated that he might have put the others through such uncomfortable situations unknowingly. When had he become so blind to the daily plight of the halflings? He'd thought he was giving them a great meal, a great experience on their journey. Perhaps he'd been wrong.

"Have a good night, Mr. Duport," the hostess said as they passed, and he had a sudden idea.

He stopped and swung around to face the woman. "Excuse me, Miss."

Her eyes brightened and she leaned forward to show off her cleavage while she gripped the edge of the podium. He could feel Ebony stiffen beside him. This woman was new here, he had to admit if he'd met her before Ebony had walked into his office and disrupted his life he might have taken her up on the offer she was presenting, but now all it did was make him think about what he really wanted, Ebony. No other could hold a candle to the desire that burned through him when he looked at her.

"What can I do for you, handsome?" the hostess asked, obviously assuming he was about to hit on her, despite the presence of Ebony.

"My wife would like a piece of chocolate cake to go, sorry I forgot to order before I paid at the table," he said it loud enough for most of the restaurant to hear him.

Ebony went even stiffer beside him at the word wife and the woman gasped and pulled back, straightening. Her face went red, and she stuttered a few words of understanding before rushing off to do as he asked.

He turned to Ebony while they waited. She was staring at him with a red face and blue eyes wide and still a little watery from the bathroom incident. Damn she was sexy. Even when she was embarrassed, and a little pissed, he was sure. There was a glint in her eyes that spoke of held back anger that was pushing the sadness away and that made him happy. Her bottom lip was trembling as if she wanted to spew all kinds of words but wouldn't in such a public place. She would never make a bigger scene, but he could see how much she wanted to tell him and anyone else listening that she most definitely wasn't his wife. His eyes locked onto her bottom lip, and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to taste it.

And why shouldn't he? She was his soulmate.

He still couldn't believe he'd actually found her. It had taken a day to get used to the idea, but he couldn't get her out of his head after kicking her out of his office. She'd invaded his every thought, his dreams too and when he'd woken rock hard and wanting nothing more than to drive into her waiting body, he'd known what everyone else talked about. Once you met your soulmate you were ruined for anyone else. He couldn't help but assume that she didn't feel it as hard as him only because she had half of her soul, but he was going to fix that. He wanted her to want him just as much, wanted their passions to match and wanted to give in to that ultimate experience of fucking his soulmate.

Damn, he was getting hard again and hoped no one noticed, luckily the restaurant was dimly lit, and the sun had set outside already.

He heard more than one whisper around them and decided to give them a show and treat himself to a little dessert too. He leaned forward and captured her bottom lip between his teeth. The reaction was more intense than he was expecting. Instant heat filled him, and a spark of electricity passed between their lips, making him want to take things all the way, right there. His hands grasped her shoulders, and he pecked her lips lightly, then pulled away. He turned and put her at his side, one arm around her back, holding her against him as if he'd done it a thousand times.

The way she allowed it made him think she was as affected as him from the kiss, pliant and curious. He wondered how long it would be until she trusted him enough to reveal the diagnosis that was in her file. It had to be what was behind her decision to find her soulsister, but why didn't she just say that? It wouldn't be the first time a dying halfling hired him for one last chance at saving their life by acquiring the strength of a full soul. Did she think she was being selfish, that she wasn't deserving of going after her full soul because of her condition?

The hostess came back still looking embarrassed and handed him the box of chocolate cake. "Have a great evening, Mr. and Mrs. Duport," she said, and it made Lark smile.

He led Ebony out of the restaurant feeling like he had just won an argument for her. She didn't pull away from the hand he kept on her lower back all the way to the truck and when he opened the door for her, she climbed in without a word. He handed her the cake and walked around the truck hoping she realized now that he would do anything to protect her from the prejudices that surrounded them.

"I hope you like chocolate, but if not, I'm sure Stone will eat it. He's a bottomless pit," Lark said as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"I do like chocolate," she said quietly and stared out the passenger window. After a few minutes of heavy silence she spoke again. "Why did you do that? Why did you kiss me and call me your wife?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"Because I felt like it," he said with a shrug. And because he wanted to make her feel special and important in that moment, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.

She turned to him then, her eyes flashing in anger. "And you do whatever the hell you want? Because you think you are better than us lowly halflings? Well fuck you, Lark, I am not yours to use, I am not your wife, and you may not kiss me whenever the hell you feel like it."

Lark's hands gripped the wheel and he stared ahead, not wanting to lash out at her. "You have no idea what I think," he said and sped down the road to his house.

When he parked in the driveway, she jumped out without waiting for Lark to open her door. He hurried out of the truck with gritted teeth, ready to chase her down but Stone opened the front door to let her in and she rushed past him and presumably up the stairs to her room. Lark watched her from the driveway, glaring. This wasn't his fault; she was assuming things about him and she showed zero interest in getting to know him despite the fact that they were destined for each other. She wasn't behaving at all like he'd expect, like he wanted, and it pissed him off. He thought of himself as a very good predictor of people's behavior but she wasn't like anyone he had ever met.

Lark stalked forward to the door. Stone still held it open, a beer in one hand and no shirt on. He had a dumb grin on his face that made Lark want to punch him.

"Well done, boss," Stone said with a mocking shake of his head.

Lark glared at his oldest friend. He trusted Stone with his life, but he didn't always like the way Stone butted into his business. "Stay out of it."

"Lark, you have to woo her," Stone said dramatically.

"No, I have to find her soulsister." And make sure Ebony lived long enough to be wooed.

"Oh! Threesome!" Stone said with a laugh.

"Watch it, Stone, that's my wife you're talking about," Lark snarled, not sure what to do with the angry jealousy that was welling up inside of him when Stone talked about Ebony. It wasn't that he really thought Stone was going to pursue her, they never went after the same ladies, it was the brotherly code, and she hadn't looked at Stone twice since they'd met. Lark didn't think Ebony was attracted to the goof, but all these new feelings needed an outlet, and better to be angry at Stone than at sweet, frustrating, Ebony.

"Oh come on, you can't tell me you haven't thought about it. I mean, Ebony is something sweet to look at but, damn, what if her sister is even hotter? Remember that chick we searched with, the short brunette with a bad attitude? What was her name?"

Lark knew exactly where his friend was going with this. "Janett."

"Yeah! Janett, well she was alright to look at, nothing special. I slept with her," he said the last with a huge grin. "But her soulsister, when we found her in Vegas, damn! That woman was like a goddess, all legs and short blonde hair, big blue eyes. Wow, she'd been even better in the sack. Her name was Bri, I think, or was it Lea…"

Lark rolled his eyes at his friend. "No."

"No?" Stone asked, already having forgotten the point of his little trip down memory lane probably.

Lark turned to his friend and met his gaze. "No, I know what I feel with Ebony, its intense and trust me, I want to deny it." Fuck did he want to, had tried all night last night and had hardly slept. "But it's there and I don't think there is any possibility that the other half of her soul holds even a fraction of the draw. She may only have part of a soul, but it's all mine," he growled and looked up the stairs. He wanted to rush up there and rip open the thin door that closed her off from him. He wanted to demand she give him all of herself, her passion and her pain, her entire being with nothing held back.

"I'm not sure if you're lucky or fucked," Stone said with a frown.

"Both," Lark said.

"Granger has been doing some recon, can't find any old boyfriends, no living relatives. Not on suppressants."

That didn't surprise Lark, she was pretty insistent that she did not do that sort of thing and she reacted to him with too much honesty to be jaded by past experiences.

"Her mother died of breast cancer when Ebony was seventeen, couldn't get good medical because she was living in the halfling district working at the hotel restaurant. Ebony worked there since she was fifteen cleaning rooms, I have no idea how she saved up all that cash, could be she was doing something illegal." Stone shrugged, none of them cared about illegal for the most part.

Lark gave him a disparaging look. Ebony was not capable of illegal even if it was pretty normal for people in her situation. More than likely she'd just gone without any luxuries or extras her entire life to save it up. Barely enough food, no new clothes or comforts. It made him want to shower her with everything and anything her little heart could desire.

Stone rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe she's just a saver, who knows. But one thing really interesting I found." Stone pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Lark.

Lark stared at the letter. It was addressed to Ebony at the hotel where she worked. He looked up at Stone with a raised eyebrow.

"Found it in her employee file at the hotel, opened. I'm guessing boss man didn't want to lose a good employee and never showed her. Check the date, it would have reached her right after her mother's death. Why he kept it, I have no idea. Maybe he would have given it to her eventually, maybe he just forgot about it?"

"Looks like we need to pay Mr. Glick a visit." Lark frowned down at the letter.

Stone's face lit up; he was never upset about the chance to put a little pressure on someone for information.

"Did Granger go to the orphanage?" Lark asked.

"Yep, withdrew everyone's rations and made the monthly deposit there and the halfling retirement community as well."

"Good, we will be out of town for a bit, I hope going early didn't mess with their routine."

"Granger didn't say they minded."

Lark nodded and started up the stairs. "Make sure the plane is ready early tomorrow, I'll want to arrive in Vegas before noon. We'll go see Glick in an hour."

"Sure thing, boss. Say goodnight to Ebony for me," Stone called after him, voice heavy with innuendo.

Lark ignored his friend's attempt at goading him. He stopped outside Ebony's door and knocked lightly.

He listened to her feet pad across the room and when she opened the door she didn't say anything, just looked at him, clearly still irritated by his actions in the restaurant. There was a smear of chocolate on her lip and the knowledge that she had immediately indulged in the cake made him extremely happy. He couldn't stop himself from reaching up and wiping the frosting from her lip and sticking it into his own mouth.

The shocked expression on her face was everything he could have asked for in response. "Are you going to share, or do I have to kiss you fully so I can get a taste of dessert?"

"I—uh—I—yeah, come on in," she stumbled over the words then moved to let him enter.

He was glad to see that his question had made her forget her earlier irritation. The cake was sitting on the bed in its open box, and it looked like she'd only taken a bite or two. He doubted she was saving it for him and that meant she was savoring it. His heart ached to think of how she had been living. He knew all about life without enough, without any extras or indulgences. He wanted to give her everything, anything. Until they were both old and grey. His eyes flicked back to her, searching for signs of illness. There was a slight darkness around her eyes, but that was likely just emotion, she was skinny, but most halflings were. Her hair was thick and shiny, her eyes a little bright for a halfling despite their pale color and he had to hope her diagnosis wasn't as bad as it seemed.

"Why are you staring at me? You can have some cake. I didn't think you wanted any, sorry." She looked uncomfortable and she wrapped her arms around herself.

He felt bad instantly, it hadn't been his intention to make another awkward situation for them. "I wanted to apologize," he said with a sigh. Apologizing wasn't his strong suit, but he had a feeling it would go a long way to easing things between them. "I shouldn't have taken liberties with your mouth in public," he said, his lip twitching with a held back smirk.

"Oh," her face flamed at the mention of their small kiss. "Thank you."

He crossed the distance that separated them and grabbed her chin. "We aren't in public now though," he said, a breath before his mouth descended to capture hers in a deep kiss.

This wasn't the playful tease he'd given in the restaurant; this one was everything a kiss should be. His mouth devoured hers and his tongue played against hers. She went stiff, unmoving, not responding but accepting. He kept it up, putting his hands on her lower back and gently massaging with his fingers, trying to coax a reaction. It was as if she had no idea how to respond, and that pleased the deeply possessive side of him.

He pulled away and gave her a thoughtful look. "Be ready early tomorrow."

She nodded silently, and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well, that answers that," he said to himself, not expecting Stone to be nearby.

"What's that?" Stone asked.

"She's definitely never been with a man, probably never even had a boyfriend."

"You'll have to be careful with her then."

"Indeed." Lark retreated to his office and thought about the situation. He wanted to be sure she was interested in him, but the fact that she didn't push him away wasn't enough. He was going to have to up his charm to get her where he wanted her and that wasn't something he was good at.