He was glad to know she was safe, but wished she was here. If she was a Lycan, she could have been here to witness this.
But she wasn’t.
She was human. A fact that he kept forgetting.
“You’re texting her, aren’t you?” Adrianna said. She had crept up behind him and he’d been so distracted he didn’t realize she was there.
“Fucking Gio.” Despite his promise, Gio had let it slip to his sisters that Lucas had been at Muccino’s with a ‘gorgeous brunette’. “Yes.”
“I’m so happy for you!”
“She’s human, you know,” he said glumly.
“So?” she asked. “Only you cared about that part.”
That made him wince, the reminder of how much he hated humans. Well, he hated humans with the exception of one beautiful and stubborn detective.
“And everything is going well between you two?”
“So far,” he said. “I’m just … I’m not sure what to do. Especially, you know, telling her about the clan.” The words came out of his mouth, but he wasn’t surprised. Adrianna was his twin sister after all, and he could tell her everything.
“Just take things one day at a time, Lucas. You don’t have to commit. I mean, you might not even get to that point, right?”
His wolf growled in protest, not liking those words that implied Sofia wouldn’t be around for too long. Damn, if he wasn’t gone already, his wolf was certainly head over heels. For a human, of all things.
“Looks like Darius needs me.”
He followed Adrianna’s gaze. Darius was by the buffet table, trapped between Isabelle and his cousin, Maxine Muccino. The look on his face made Lucas feel sorry for him. “Go rescue your mate,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’ll talk to you before you leave.”
He watched his sister as she walked over to Darius and the two girls, grinning to himself. If there was something he was glad for, it was that tonight they were all here. Even Grampa Noah and Grandma Callista. His grandfather was a quiet man and they hadn’t had a chance to talk yet. Lucas was trying to avoid him, because the old man was sometimes too perceptive.
He lingered another hour, chatting with various members of his family, especially those who lived far way like Uncle Rafe and Uncle Matt and their families. Finally, he was ready to leave and sent a text to his driver to bring the car around.
“Lucas.”
He turned to face Darius, who had caught up to him as he was leaving. “Hey. Sorry, could you tell Adrianna I had to go?” He knew he was being a coward, but he didn’t want to talk to Adrianna about Sofia. He couldn’t lie to his sister, but he just wanted Sofia to himself for a bit longer.
“Of course. But I actually wanted to talk to you. About Adrianna.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes, she is all right, but …” He took out something from his pocket. A velvet box. “I was hoping to speak to you and your father.”
Lucas didn’t need to know what was inside. “You don’t have to ask me or Papa for permission. But you do have my congratulations.” Adrianna was going to be thrilled and he felt genuine happiness for his sister.
“Thank you. I mean, she needs to say yes first.”
“She’ll say yes,” he said, but Darius almost seemed … nervous? “And my father will definitely give you his blessing.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“I look forward to calling you brother.” And he meant it. He owed Darius for saving Adrianna’s life, more than once. They shook hands and Lucas bid him goodbye before slipping out of the house and into his waiting town car.
The drive back to Manhattan was uneventful and quick. He was looking forward to getting home and getting some sleep—because that would mean it would be tomorrow and then he would be seeing Sofia again.
They had already crossed the Lincoln tunnel when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Sofia.
“Hello,” he greeted as he answered the phone.
“Hey, you. How was the party?”
“It was fun. But I’m on my way home now, since it was getting late. What time should I pick you up tomorrow?”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “I was hoping you’d want to stop over tonight. Here. At my place.”
The invitation surprised him. Of course, he was as eager as she was. “I’ll be there in ten.” He gave the directions to his driver and in no time, he was at the entrance of her building. She buzzed him in and he took the steps two at a time, all the way to her fourth-floor walk-up, not even breaking a sweat as he made it to her front door. He didn’t need to knock as she opened it.
“Hi.” She stood in the doorway, her fingers playing with the tie on her robe.
“Hi.” God, he didn’t realize just how much he missed her until this moment, when her scent enveloped him. She looked absolutely beautiful, her face free of makeup and her long hair tumbling down her shoulders.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “I missed—” His mouth went dry when she dropped the robe. She was wearing a pair of white lace panties and a bra, as well as matching stockings that went up to mid-thigh.
They didn’t even make it to her bed.
Chapter Seventeen
“My, don’t you look like the cat that got the cream,” Sergeant Winters said as she stopped by Sofia’s desk.
“Hmmm?” She looked up from her
