Page 63 of Nora
“Thank you,” she said. The look he gave was intense. She thought he might say more, but instead, he leaned down and gave her one last kiss. Then, rising, he pulled on enough clothing to be decent and slipped across the hall to his own room.
Once alone, Nora lay in bed, cataloging how her body felt. A little sore, a lot relaxed, and very well sated. She smiled at the thought. Then that smile faded. She didn’t—and wouldn’t—regret whatever this was between her and Lucian, but how would she explain it to her friends? There was no way she’d be able to hide it from them. The participants, people she barely knew, wouldn’t be a problem. But her friends were a whole different story. Truth be told, it wasn’t Cyn and Devil she was worried about. Six was the issue. It wasn’t hard to imagine Six going after her cousin. Nora could all but see her accusing him of all sorts of things, from taking advantage of her to being an asshole for starting something he’d walk away from. None of that was true, but she doubted she’d be able to get Six to listen to reason. At least for a little while. And the last thing Nora wanted was for Lucian to feel even more judged by his family.
She was pondering whether to tell Six ahead of the party on Saturday to give her a few days to calm down when her phone dinged with a text.
Reaching over, she grabbed the device, then smiled as she read Lucian’s message.“I know you’re over there fretting about what to say to Violetta about us. Stop. We’ll be fine.”
She wasn’t so sure of that, but Lucian was using words likeusandwe. At least she wouldn’t be alone in facing her best friend.
“I’ll bring you a breakfast sandwich,”he added. And that, right there, was one of the reasons she was falling for him. He might be gruff, but once he’d realized his familyhadn’tsent her, he’d shown her he cared in all sorts of ways. Including bringing her breakfast so she could have a few extra minutes to lie in bed. And a few extra minutes to wrangle her hair. He’d made a rat’s nest of it with his fingers during the night.
“Thank you and yes, I’m glad you aren’t going to abandon me to the she-wolf who is your cousin. Six is my sister in every way but blood, but she does tend to get het up about things.”
“She’s Italian. She almost has to. I’ll be there in eight minutes with your sandwich.”
She groaned. She needed to get out of bed. It wasn’t that she took long to get ready, but it was her hair. Maybe she’d just throw it up into a bun and be done with it. It would be in horrendous shape come nighttime. Then again, the idea of sitting in front of her fire later tonight letting it dry—with a glass of wine and Lucian—was appealing.
Decision made, she slipped from bed. Tying her hair up with an elastic she’d left on her bedside table, she hurried into the bathroom and jumped into a quick shower. She was toweling off when Lucian knocked. Donning her robe, she rushed to open the door.
The second she had the knob turned, he pushed the door open and walked inside. He took one look at her, pressed her against the wall, and leaned down for a deep kiss. The door closed, but Nora was more occupied with the kiss, and how good he smelled, to notice anything more than the distinctive click.
Too soon, he pulled his head back, but kept his body pressed to hers. “Food?” he asked, holding up a bag. “Egg and cheese croissant with one of those soy sausage things they make for you. And a cup of fruit. Although where they are getting fruit this time of year is questionable, and it’s sort of anemic.”
She smiled up at him and traced the line of his jaw with her finger. “Thank you,” she said. “As much as I’m enjoying this, you need to go.” Two lines appeared between his eyebrows. “If you don’t, not only will you be late, but I will be even later than I already am.”
He let out a dramatic sigh, reminding her he really was Six’s cousin, and stepped away. Handing her the bag, he placed one more kiss on her forehead, then reached for the door. “I told people I spoke with you before breakfast, and you were running late because you hadn’t slept well.”
“Again, thank you.”
His gaze held hers, then he tore it away and walked out the door. She remained leaning against the wall, holding her breakfast sandwich bag, catching her breath. Not that she hadn’t wanted to stop the killer before, but now she was even more motivated. Spending the rest of the session with Lucian—andnothaving to chase a murderer—was now her priority.
And if she wanted to have her way, she had a few things she needed to get done today.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Lucian was walkingtoward the woods with Anne, Jean, Jonah, Cencio, and Collin when he caught sight of Nora hurrying toward the portable clinic. Under the pretense of checking his boots, he squatted, keeping his eye on her until she was safely inside. Not that he thought anything would happen to her, as all their suspects were currently occupied. But he let out a sigh of relief when the clinic door closed behind her and he knew she was inside, warm, and alone.
Turning, he trailed the group to the ropes and trust course they’d modified to train both the dogs and the handlers. The mile walk gave him plenty of time to think, although he wasn’t so sure thinking was such a good idea. His mind didn’t seem to want to let go of that moment when Nora had texted him and told him she was going after the killer. During his career with AISE, he’d been in any number of hairy situations. But none of them had had his heart racing as fast as Nora’s text.
Everything he’d said to her later that night, about starting to feel again, was true. When he was with her, he felt as though he was waking up from a long, dark slumber. He’d gotten used to being numb and shutting people out, and these new feelings weren’t always comfortable. But he wasn’t going to shy away from it. Over the past few years, he’d let all the little and not-so-little injustices in his life take him to a place in his mind that wasn’t healthy. Why it started so many years after Alessandra’s death and the debacle with AISE, he didn’t know. But the more time he spent with Nora, the more clearly he could see that he’d allowed himself to grow into a man he didn’t much care for. Nora wasn’t his salvation. Only he could save himself. But her presence, her consistent kindness, helped.
He smiled to himself as he walked. Norawasintrinsically kind. But that was not to be confused with being a pushover, because she was anything but that. Her gentleness and her empathy extended to herself. And she had a quiet strength that was easy to overlook unless you ran up against it. And he had. When he’d been less than welcoming, she’d never lost her temper with him, but she also hadn’t let him treat her poorly. It shamed him to think about how quickly he’d lashed out at her and how easily he’d made her out to be the bad guy—or gal.
He exhaled into the frigid morning air. Yes, he could, should, and wanted to, be a better person. For himself. For her.
When she’d asked him to go after the killer, something inside him had roared to life. She trusted him—trusted that not onlycouldhe do the job, but also that she could ask it of him. It had been a long time since anyone other than his employees had requested—or expected—anything of him. That was his own doing, of course. Yet she’d asked. And without a speck of doubt in her eyes that he’d do this for her. A sense of power had washed through him in that moment. Not over her or the situation, but within himself. Hecouldbe a man she depended on without question. And that was a heady thought.
She might think this was a momentary thing between them—a brief affair during the session—but that wasn’t okay with him. He wasn’t thinking forever or planning weddings, but he’d been given this opportunity. It was a gift he wasn’t going to squander. His business was his own to do with as he pleased. And after his dinner with the couple in Boston on Saturday night, he had even more options. He didn’t have any specific ideas yet, but he had the beginnings of a few percolating in his mind.
Now, if they could just catch their killer.
He eyed the people walking in front of him. Collin was out of the suspect pool—he’d been with Lucian when Nora had seen the killer scurrying from the hall. That left Jean, Jurgen, and Angelo. Angelo and Jean were built similarly, both a couple of inches below six feet and, though fit, on the stockier side. Whereas Jurgen was taller and leaner, closer to six foot one. He hadn’t caught a glimpse of the man the night before, but Nora had.
He was still a half-mile from the start of the course, so he pulled out his phone and texted her.“Who was the person built like?”he asked.
Her reply was instant, letting him know she’d been thinking about it, too.“I don’t know. It was dark, and he was far away. Definitely not lean, but he was wearing a bulky coat, so hard to know if it was the person or the puffer. Also, the cameras showed nothing.”
“Nothing?”
