The Wells Brothers: Luke (28 page)

“It would appear so.”

“That’s creepy.  Why?”

Some of the tension eased from
Luke.  “No idea.  It could be just a sticky-beak, or something more sinister.”

“Sinister?”

“We don’t know, Mikki.  We’re just
taking precautions.”  Sliding his hand beneath hers, he gave it a gentle
squeeze.  “We’re not telling you what to do, okay?  We’re just saying don’t go
outside at night alone.  And…”

At his hesitation, she eyed him. 
“And what?”

“Mikki…”

Oh yeah, he wasn’t happy, she
could see it.  Cripes, was he that worried she’d fire up?  “Just tell me, Luke.”

“Fine.” He shoved his hand through
his hair, dropped it back onto his lap.  “We don’t want you wandering away from
the mansion alone during the day, either.”

“We have to have an escort?” 
Annoyance prickled through her.  “During the day?”

“We’re concerned, Red, that’s
all.  We’re just trying to protect you.”  He was visibly searching for the
right words.

Right then, she realised that he
was treading carefully.  “Geez, I’m not about to jump all over you.”

He shot her a glance.

“Really?  You think I’m going to
wig out because you’re concerned about our safety?”

“Some women would take it as an
insult to their intelligence and independence,” he replied.

“An intelligent woman in this day
and age would take into account that they’re in a strange place, in the middle of
nowhere, with a peeping tom around.”

Luke relaxed.

Mikki scowled.  “Doesn’t mean I’m
not miffed that I have to have someone escorting me.”  She brightened.  “What
if Aunt and I went together?  We wouldn’t be alone then.”

He closed his eyes briefly. 
“Mikki…”

“And we’re fine alone if we stay
around just outside the mansion, right?”

“Right.  But as for the first suggestion,
no,” he said firmly.

She sighed.  “Okay.”

“Thank you.”  Lifting her hand to
his mouth, he brushed a light kiss on the knuckles.  “You’re taking this better
than I’d hoped.”

Dropping her feet to the floor,
she partially turned in the chair to look at him.  “You really don’t know me
that well, do you?”

“I kind of thought that’s what
we’re doing, getting to know each other better.”

“Then you’ve a long way to go.”

“Not really.”  He looked blankly
at her.  “I know we vote for different political parties - which, I have to
say, any discussion of will definitely have to stay out of the bedroom.”

“That’s a given.”

“I know you secretly want to keep
Duchess.”

“What the - how did you know?”

He tapped the side of his nose, winked. 
“I see things.”

“Let’s not go there.”

“I know you read romance.”  He
waved the book in the air.

She grabbed it off him.  “So
what?”

“I know you’re loyal to your friends,
enjoy hanging around with your family, and you and Elspeth are close.”

“That’s just the tip of the ice
berg.”

Luke’s gaze wandered over her
face, the amusement fading away to be replaced with a seriousness that wasn’t
something she was used to seeing in him, yet was fast realising could come and
go whenever the occasion called for it.  Luke might be a happy-go-lucky man,
but he also had a solemn side.

This, apparently, had just become
one of them.

Getting up, he caught her by
surprise by pulling her out of the canvas chair and sitting down, drawing her
down onto his lap.

“Luke!”  Alarmed, she tried to get
up.  “These chairs aren’t made to take two of us!”

“It’ll be fine.”  The man had a
grip like iron, holding her effortlessly on his lap.  “Now lean against me and let’s
have a serious chat.”

“We’re going to end up on the
ground,” she warned.  “Arse first.  And you’ll hit harder because you’re under
me.”

“Don’t make sexy suggestions right
now, this isn’t the time for it.”  He winked.  “That can come later.”

“Luke,” she growled.

“Red,” he mimicked, before growing
serious again.  “I’ll take the risk.”

“Just don’t say I didn’t warn
you.”  Warily, she eased against him, waiting for the canvas chair to
collapse.  When it didn’t, she relaxed.

Mmm, his chest was warm, his body
supportive.  She sat slightly higher than him, able to look down to watch his
face, curious as to this sudden graveness.

“Okay,” she said.  “I’m ready. 
Hit me.”

Rather than twist that with his
usual sexual innuendo, Luke said quietly, “We’ve kind of known each other for
several years.  We’re getting to know each more other now.  It’s what I want,
it’s what you want.  We’re going to disagree, it’s a given, but I’m hoping we
can be honest with each other, work out our differences.”

Okay, this was not what she’d ever
expected of Luke, but she’d caught glimpses of this several times since they’d
come to the mansion.  The mature side of him complimented the light-hearted,
roguish side, and she found it just as attractive if not comforting, like she
could crawl into his lap, be held securely in his arms, tell him her troubles,
and he’d help her find a way through it.

Through life with him by her side. 
Holding her hand, listening to her, laughing with her, teasing her.

Something warm curled deep inside
her heart, started to blossom as realisation of what he’d come to mean to her
in such a short time spread through her subconscious.

“Red,” Luke said softly, “it’s too
soon to say this, I know, but what I’m feeling for you… I haven’t felt like
this with another woman.  You’re special.  I’m so damned glad we ended up here
together because it gave me this chance to be with you.”

Swallowing the sudden lump in her
throat, all she could do was nod.

“I’m not asking for declarations
of devotion,” he continued.  “I just want you to promise to give this a good
go, to not give up on me with the first boneheaded thing I say or do.”

Heart swelling, Mikki could only
nod again.

For several seconds they looked at
each other, and she could see the warmth in his eyes, something deep inside the
brilliant blue depths that called to her, tugged on her heart-strings, a reflection
of what she was feeling.

Luke’s gaze dropped to her lips.

She needed no second bidding, lowering
her head the small distance separating them to kiss him lightly, then a little
deeper, his taste seeping into her as he kissed her back with a tenderness that
held the hint of restrained passion.

When their lips parted, she leaned
her forehead against his, looking deep into his eyes.  “I expect the same from
you.”

“You’ll get it.  You’ve got it,”
he corrected.

“Don’t give up on me.”

“Not even when you’re doing
something boneheaded,” he agreed.

“I don’t do boneheaded.”

“Yeah, you do, but that makes two
of us so it’s cool.”

She smiled at him.  “You’re lovable.”

“I know, right?”  He grinned
smugly.  Then there was a crack, the chair started to tip sideways as a leg buckled,
and he said, “This might be one of those boneheaded moments.”

Mikki tried to scramble up but it was
too late.  The chair tipped over, spilling them out, their legs in the air.

As the chair rolled away, they
both dropped their legs to the veranda and looked at each other. Luke grinned,
Mikki giggled, and he shuffled over to lie beside her, took her hand and rested
his head back on the veranda.

“Okay,” he said.  “I’m man enough
to admit you were right.”

“And I’m woman enough to accept
that acknowledgement.”

“Yep.”  With a happy sigh, he
tugged her hand up to his mouth to brush his lips across her knuckles.  “My
woman.”

The sound of footsteps across the veranda
had them both tipping heir heads back to see Aaron gazing down at them.

“Hi,” said Luke.

“We’re having a moment,” Mikki said.

Aaron looked at the broken chair. 
“Okay.”  He walked back into the mansion.

“Man of few words,” Mikki
observed.

“Yup,” agreed Luke.

She turned her head to look at
him, that swell of emotion filling her, making her want him in every way
possible - spiritual, emotional, and physical.  “Luke?”

“Yep?”

“Want to fool around tonight?”

~*~

The night was late.

Mikki, after carefully checking
once more that Duchess had re-settled on her stretcher, quietly shut the door
on her sleeping Aunt and kitten before tip-toeing down the hallway, sneaking
past the open door where Aaron and Ryan slept and passing Luke’s room.

When she got to the end of the
servants’ hallway, she turned into the other hallway and was met by Luke.  He
grabbed her hand, leaned down to give her a kiss and started moving her quickly
down the hallway.

“What’s the rush?”  Mikki was
almost running.

“I want to strike while the iron’s
hot.”

“Is that a metaphor for smacking
me while I’m horny?”

He snorted a muffled laugh.  “I
meant, before you change your mind.”  Emerging into the huge main room, he
flicked on the torch.

“You’re a little desperate, aren’t
you?”

“You have no idea.”  The look he
cast her over his shoulder held carnal promise.

Oh boy
.  “I won’t change my
mind, trust me.” 
Not in this lifetime
.

“If you did, I’d probably curl up
in a ball and cry.”  He led her towards the stairwell door.  “Then I’d need a hand
job, I’m so hard for you.  Just so you know.”

“You sweet talker, you,” she said
a trifle breathlessly, her secrets already moist for him.

Opening the door, Luke winked
knowingly at her.  “Running a little hot, are you, Red?”

“You have no idea.”

He laughed softly, then his gaze
went past her and he groaned.  “Oh no.”

Turning, Mikki watched Dog sit
down right behind them, looking quizzically up at Luke and her.  “He can’t
watch, he’ll go blind.”

“Wait here.”  Luke shoved the
torch into her hand.  “I’ll take him back to my room and settle him down.”

“Will he howl?”

“Not as loudly as I will be
shortly.”

“That’s not exactly comforting.”

“Trust me, he’ll be quiet once I
settle him on my stretcher.”

“Wow, you’re sacrificing your bed
for him?”

“For us.”  He gave her a quick
kiss, a little tongue, a whole lot of heat.  “Keep that engine revved, Red,
I’ll be coming back for you.”

Amused and more than a little
turned on already, Mikki watched as Luke and Dog disappeared into the first
hallway.

Humming, she waited, doing an idle
flick around with the torch to check for any ghostly image that just might
happen to float past.  No sense wasting a perfectly good few minutes.

The torchlight cut through the
darkness of the barren room, sliding over the wall and the bulk of a small item
lying on the floor near the far wall.

Curiously, Mikki trained the
torchlight on it, but was unable to figure out what it was.  Crossing the room,
she was surprised to find it was the journal lying open face down.

“What the…”  Picking it up, she
looked at it.

She’d had it that evening, had
been sitting on the bottom step of the staircase as she’d debated what to do
next, then had placed it down on the thick newel when her aunt had called to
her.  How on earth had it gotten over to the wall?

Frowning, she swung the beam at
the wall, and that was when she noticed what appeared to be  crack.  Reaching
out, she ran her finger down it and the wall swung open.

Startled, she found herself
looking at a dark figure.  Her first thought was
hells bells, a ghost!
 
The figure stepped forward, the torch beam revealing it to be dressed in black
pants, bulky black jumper, black sneakers, black gloves and a black balaclava
that only showed the eyes.

The prowler!  It had to be the prowler!

Mikki opened her mouth to yell a warning
to Luke, only to have the figure leap forward and slam a hand over her mouth,
then a fist slammed into the side of her head.

Stunned, she staggered.  The
figure blurred, something slammed into the back of her and she was shoved
through the opening in the wall.  Hand to her head, shaking it to clear her
vision and thoughts, she looked up in time to see the wall swing closed behind
them, the figure in black moving swiftly, shoving her around and placing something
sharp at her throat.

“I swear to God,” the figure
breathed hoarsely,  “I’ll slice you from ear to ear and no one will know you
lie in here.  Then I’ll go after your aunt, your boyfriend.  You want them
dead?  They won’t hear me coming.”

“They will.”  Frozen on the spot,
clutching both the torch and journal, Mikki swallowed hard.  “Security-”

“Have been watching outside, they
have no idea of this secret passage.”  The figure propelled her forward. 
“Walk.”  When Mikki baulked, the knife at her throat dug in a little harder. 
“I won’t warn you again.”

Heart pounding, scared, Mikki
moved forward slowly.  “Where are we going?”

“Never you mind.”

As they moved along she was able
to see that they were in a passageway, the walls a dingy white now layered with
dust and cobwebs.  One particularly long cobweb hit her right in the eye and
she stumbled, scraping it away with a shudder.

“Keep going,” came the gruff
order.

Trying to identify the person,
Mikki listened hard.  “Who are you?”

“Like I’m going to tell you.”

It seemed familiar, but the hoarseness
as whoever it was tried to disguise their voice made it almost impossible.  Yet
still so familiar…

The point at her throat pricked in
warning.  “Faster.”

She had no idea where they were,
but they were going in a straight line, the tunnel stretching away before
them.  The only sound in the air was their breaths, loud in the narrow
passageway, their footfalls dull.  Or maybe it only sounded dull because her
heart was beating so loudly in her ears.