“You’re an empath?” Well, that could explain why she clung to me when we talked to Roark. “But, you’ve been okay since we got here.” She nods.
“I also have a photographic memory, but I’m not much of an empath. I can’t read people very well. It’s hard to determine if they’re sad or bored, or whether or not they’re angry or simply irritated. They mostly feel the same.”
“That’s why you were so nervous when we were talking to my other brothers outside?”
“I was afraid of being overwhelmed by their emotions, but for some reason, your being with me kept them from my mind. I didn’t feel anything.”
“So, right now you can’t feel any emotions from me?”
She shakes her head, finally looking at me with a tiny smile. “No. I just feel calm. Like I’m just...me.” Knowing that I give her that sense of peace has my animal preening with pride. “I’ve been this way since I was a child, so I learned to stay away from crowds, especially those filled with people I don’t know. Acting out and throwing tantrums wasn’t Mother approved.”
“It must have been lonely growing up away from people.”
“I had one friend who didn’t let my ‘affliction’ keep him away.” I’m so focused on her friend being male, that I barely notice how she called her gift an affliction. Is that how her parents treated it?
“They didn’t help you learn how to use it?” I can’t believe they left a child to deal with such a powerful gift like that. No child would have a clue how to handle feeling such strong emotions, much less what they were.
“It wasn’t really something useful.”
“Bullshit!” I snarl, the beast inside just as offended as I am for our little bird. “It’s amazing,” I soften my tone when she flinches away. Holding her face in my palms, I smooth away the worry lines from under her eyes. “What you have is special. You were trusted with the feelings and emotions of others. I’m in awe.”
“You’re not disappointed I’m such a mess?” she asks sincerely as if she can’t believe I accept her for who she is, just the way she is. For someone who’s strong enough to come away from that kind of treatment, she’s more delicate than one would expect.
“Oh, little bird,” I smile then place a kiss on her tiny little nose. “You are perfect.”
“Why do you call me that? Little bird? You realize I’m a bobcat, right?” I can’t help but chuckle at her question, the way her brow raises is cute. I just had her and I’m ready again.
“From the moment I heard your cousin say your name, you were my little bird, my lark.”
“Oh,” she whispers, her face blushing with a smile. I did that and I’m damn proud to make her look at me that way. “That’s really sweet.”
“Don’t let my brothers hear you say that,” I run my thumb over her bottom lip and she nips at it.
Leaning forward I take her mouth in mine, slowly enjoying the taste of her.
351
Larken
“I’ll live anywhere you need to be,” he confesses when his lips leave mine.
“I can’t tear you away from your club,” I protest. It’s a sweet gesture, but because of my cousin, I know a few things about motorcycle clubs and how close they are. I’d hate to be the reason he’s separated from them.
“You won’t be. The club already secured you an apartment, so we’ll live there for now.”
Does everything always seem so easy for him? “We don’t even know each other’s full name.”
“Haught Ackerman. Only X and Roark know me by that name. You’re the only one I want to call me by my given name, Larken Nance.” He knows my name?
“How?”
“They told me who I was picking up,” he answers. “Well, Lars Nance. Never expected my life to change with a simple escort job, but I’m thankful as fuck it did.”
“Me, too. You’re sure living with me won’t cause problems with your club?”
“Our club, and no, it won’t. They’ll understand or I’ll make sure they do.” he winks, running his nose along my neck to where his mating bite lies. A shiver runs through my body as he licks it slowly. He makes me feel so alive.
“Need you, little bird.” Haught rolls me under him and joins us together slowly, gently this time and I’m soon lost in everything that is him.
“That’s all,” X tells Etienne’s two prospects when they finish moving the last of the empty boxes out of my apartment. “You’re done.” Without a word, they nod and leave, waving to me as they pull away from the building.
“You guys finally decide to sell me your land?” some obnoxious little man calls out from the sidewalk to my apartment.
Haught and I are standing at the entrance and my mate moves to stand in front of me, his hand reaching behind to hold onto my hip. The three remaining brothers also step my direction as if forming a circle of protection around me. The stranger doesn’t look like trouble, but I got a strange, menacing feeling before I was blocked by Haught. As soon as he touched me, the feeling was gone.
“Don’t know what makes you think that, Dick,” X speaks up, moving closer to the man. Grabbing Haught’s cut, I peek around his arm to get a better look.
“Stay put, little bird,” he warms, mumbling lowly enough for only us to hear. One look from them and I happily agree.
“The fact you’re moving into an apartment says a great deal,” the man smugly smiles, and it isn’t a pretty sight. I don’t need my gift to tell this person is up to no good. “Tells me you lot are about to move on to newer pastures.”
“Asshole thinks he’s going to get his way,” the prospects named Trick and Eliot laugh loudly, thoroughly
