Charlie knew his little girl would have done everything in her power to keep people safe. He also knew Dante didn’t contact them for the sole reason to keep them out of harm’s way. She was and would always be the best part of Sara and himself.
As they joined Sara and Duncan in the little room that served as several rooms at once for them, he sat down on the couch alongside Duncan. He and Sara were talking about the castle. Oh, how he wanted to see it.
“I was just telling Duncan about his mother when she was a child. Even then, she was set on making people’s lives better.” Charlie agreed and had to smile when his wife continued. “There was this man who lived across the way from us. He’d been down on his luck for some time, and Dante gave him her pin money. But she did it in a way I don’t think he realized she’d helped him.”
“I have a man much like that one near where we live. He is forever calling me up and telling me that he’ll do this or that if someone comes onto his property. I have told him of the six thousand acres that divide us, but he just won’t stop. I think he’s a lonely man who needs to talk to someone. I give him that.” Judith told Duncan she’d take care of him. Charlie’s mind jumped to where Duncan’s went, and he asked her not to kill him. “I think, as I said, he’s lonely.”
“I wasn’t going to murder him. I was just going to talk to him.” She looked at him, and Charlie felt his face heat up from her look. “I’m not a monster. Unless, of course, he needs his ass kicked. Then all bets are off. I’ve not had a tasty meal as my bird in a long time.”
He wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. Charlie wasn’t even sure if she had a sense of humor. But when she winked at him with a devilish smile, he knew he was never going to play any kind of betting game with her. He’d not just lose his clothing, but she might well make him dance in the street naked himself.
Chapter 3
Jude was trying her best to remain calm. Since the first time she realized what he was to her, Duncan had been right there. It didn’t matter if she was just going into or coming out of the bathroom, he was standing just outside the door. If he didn’t leave her alone to give her time to think, she was going to be a widow before she ever claimed her mate.
“Do you need anything?”
No, she told him, then stopped walking to the kitchen. He ran into her from behind. Okay, she thought, I’ve had enough. She turned toward him and let go of her temper. “Go the fuck away. I mean it. You’re too close. Too much. Just leave me to think, or I swear to you, I’ll take flight and leave you here on the ground.”
“I’d find you.” She growled at him and desperately wanted to hit him. But he didn’t seem to be bothered by her anger or her telling him to go away. “I’d like a kiss. If you think you can give me one without taking my lips off.”
“I might well yet do that.” He simply grinned larger at her. “Look. You’re driving me insane. I’m not usually so closely followed when I’m working. I want to make things absolutely perfect for the party. I can’t get shit done if you’re right on my fucking heels all the time.”
“You kiss me, and I’ll leave you alone for a little while.” She asked him how long was a little while. “Good question. Thirty minutes. I’ll leave you alone for thirty minutes, then come back for another payment. I think that’s a fair trade. Don’t you?”
“No. A fair trade would be me having Piper blow her breath over you and ending everything that is bothering me.” Duncan told her Piper would not do it; she liked him. “Not as much as she does me. Now, one kiss, and you’re going to go and find yourself something to do that does not involve walking all over me when I stop.”
As soon as he pulled her into his arms, she knew this was a mistake. He was going to take so much more from her than just a kiss. Which, she thought, was going to be nothing like a touching of the lips. Wrapping her arms around him as he bent her to his body, Jude felt the warning signals go off everywhere in her mind.
“Judith, I’ve loved you all my life.”
His mouth grazed over hers, the barest of touches. The heat was there, along with so much passion, she was almost giddy for him to taste her. As his lips hovered over hers for a scant second, just enough for her to want to beg him to kiss her, he took her lips with his, and Judith knew she was never going to get enough of this man.
The kiss stole her breath. It made her heart skip several beats as he held her to him. Needing something to hold on to, she curled her fingers into his hair. Held onto any part of him she could hold. She felt his tongue, all but begging for entrance. Not only did she allow him in, but welcomed him with her own.
Nothing in this world or any other could have prepared her for the devastation his mouth did to her body. Even when he lifted his head, just for the briefest of moments, Jude
