Benson: The woman is some kind of journalist. I couldn’t get close enough to hear their conversation but I got a positive ID from the restaurant staff.
A series of candid photos taken crudely on his phone soon followed. Lucian raised a brow. The woman looked to be a little older than Katherine. He zoomed in on her face and found a very familiar look of intelligent determination. The same look in Katherine had him smiling with an odd sense of pride. Yet seeing this young woman baring the same expression while meeting with the dubious Kyle Daxton, gave Lucian reason for concern.
Lucian: Where are they now?
Benson: They split after their meeting. I followed Kyle to another strip club then to the motel he’s been staying at. I doubled back to try to catch hold of the female's scent but she must’ve taken a cab. I couldn’t track her.
Lucian silently cursed. The bear shifter was formidable and committed, but he didn’t have the keen nose that a wolf had. He regretted not having the Alpha, Cayden on the detail.
Lucian: Fine. Forget her for now, keep eyes on Daxton. Let me know of any further developments.
Lucian wasn’t sure if the woman truly was a journalist or something else. The vampiric elders had a number of agents who were not hindered by the rising sun. Perhaps the woman with the intelligent dark brown eyes was more than what she would have others believe? Lucian doubted that Kyle Daxton knew anything about the supernatural world that existed alongside his own. He might’ve had an inkling or suspicion of what Lucian was. But he couldn’t know about the rules that forbid the connection of a vampire with a human with O negative blood. He doubted the man even knew his daughter’s blood type.
But if he were looking to sell him out, having used his daughter as bait then there was even more reason to be back at Tumbricane and away from the city as soon as possible. He needed distance from the human world and the prying eyes of any elders who would seek to determine his relationship with Katherine.
Lucian pocketed his phone and put on a flash of speed, almost knocking Katherine off her feet as he entered the bedroom once more. She jumped back at his sudden appearance.
“Do you usually whizz about the place like that?” She asked, picking up the earring back that she had dropped when he had barged in on her.
“My apologies, I did not mean to startle you,” Lucian picked up his suit jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
“I have a jacket you know,” she smirked, but willingly slipped her arms into the sleeves.
“I know. I just like seeing you wearing what is mine,” Lucian said honestly, drawing a small shy smile from her. He kissed her softly, unable to resist. “Come, darling. We need to be leaving.”
“Your car or mine?” Katherine snorted, “Or rather, your car or your other car?”
“What’s mine is yours, Katherine but we will be taking the Aston Martin,” Lucian smiled back at her ridiculousness, “I will have the Evoque fetched from your college parking lot in the morning.”
“Oh,” Katherine's smile faltered, a tremor of apprehension flitting across her face, “Ok, then. We had better get going then.”
The poker face slid back in place. He watched as it happened and she shut herself away from him. Whatever was going through her mind, whatever she was feeling, she had locked him out.
Lucian’s heart squeezed tightly in his chest. It was for the best he supposed.
He smiled softly and held out his arm to escort her to the car. Then he would see to it that she was safe from all those that would wish her harm.
Chapter Nineteen
Katherine
Damn did Lucian drive fast.
Katherine had spent the first hour of their journey fighting against her discomfort, she needed to keep her poker face again. She had let it slip and had shown Lucian too much of her vulnerability already. When they had turned off the interstate and his speed hadn’t decreased as they wove their way along the freeway she gave up trying to appear unfazed and eventually asked him to slow down.
He had the nerve to smile at her. Telling her he had wondered how long it would take her to voice her displeasure. Difficult bastard. He had slowed down, however, and brought her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles before returning his attention back to the road. She cursed herself when the simple touch of affection gave her a small shiver of warmth.
She had been staring out the window of the flashy and admittedly impressive car for a while now. Her mind racing with a whole host of unknowns. She had no idea what was happening between her and Lucian, what their relationship status was, but couldn’t bring herself to ask him. She didn’t even know what she wanted it to be so the prospect of asking him to lay it out for her when she had no idea how she would feel about what he said was terrifying. There were too many uncertainties for her to have any confidence that she would be able to keep control of the situation.
He had said, what was his, was hers. That terrified her and prompted huge warning signs to spring up in her mind. That was the kind of thing that people said to each other when they were in love or married. Did Lucian really feel that way about her? She couldn’t fathom why he might. Their chemistry was off the chart, that was for certain, but the fact remained that he was a centuries-old creature of the night and she was a woman in her twenties trying to make something of her life. She wouldn’t bury her head in the sand about their differences. Love didn’t conquer all and she wouldn’t plough everything she had into trying to make a relationship work. Because it wouldn’t work and
