The Blackstone Lion: Blackstone Mountain Book 5 Read online

  “Georgina?” came Matthew’s voice through the receiver. “Is everything okay?”

  “I … so sorry to call so late, but I’m in a bit of a bind.” She quickly explained to Matthew what happened with “the deer.”

  “That’s terrible,” Matthew said. “Are you and Grayson okay? You’re not hurt are you?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine. I just can’t get the car to start.” Georgina bit her lip. “Sorry, I didn’t know who else to call. Do you happen to have the number of the garage in town? J.D.’s Garage? Kate took me there, but I can’t find the number.”

  “I’ll do you one better,” Matthew said. “I’ll send someone to come pick you up and take you home. Let me call Luke.”

  “What?” What was he saying? “You don’t have to! I mean, sorry for the bother! I can call J.D.—hello? Matthew?” The line went dead. She gave the rear tire a kick. “Crap!”

  “You said a bad word, Mommy!” Grayson said from inside the car.

  Double crap. She walked around the rear passenger side, opened the door, and slid in next to Grayson. “Sorry. I’ll put a dollar in the swear jar when we get home.”

  “Are we going to stay here all night, Mommy?” Grayson looked worried.

  “Oh no. Uh, Luke is gonna come get us.”

  “Luke?” His eyes went wide.

  “Yeah. Say,” she reached for the light overhead and flipped it on, “why don’t we do some drawing while we wait for him?” She put the activity tray over his car seat and grabbed the coloring books and crayons she kept in the back, setting them up for Grayson.

  As she sat there, Georgina contemplated what had happened. Whoever tried to run them off the road did it on purpose. But why? Did The Chief find them? The thought made her blood freeze. But it wasn’t like the last time they had been taken. For one thing, if The Chief wanted them back, they wouldn’t be here waiting inside the car.

  The truck just drove off. What was going on? Georgina racked her brain, trying to figure out the answers.

  After twenty minutes, a pair of headlights coming up in the distance made Georgina look up. For a moment, fear gripped her. What if that truck was coming back? However, as the lights came closer, she saw the familiar sight of Luke’s truck. She breathed a sigh.

  The truck made a U-turn and stopped behind her car. She saw Luke get out of the truck and plod toward them.

  “You okay?” he asked as he bent down to peer into the car window. “What happened?”

  “Luke!” Grayson cried, waving his arms. “Mommy almost hit a deer!”

  Luke peered at her, a blond brow raised. She sucked in a breath. “I didn’t want to hurt it.”

  “All right then. Why don’t we get you into my truck and back home?”

  “That would be great,” she said. She felt vulnerable, being out here, knowing someone had tried to hurt her and Grayson. Despite her embarrassment at having Luke, of all people, come here to rescue them, his presence was oddly soothing.

  She unbuckled Grayson and helped him, while Luke opened the door and grabbed the seat. After getting Grayson set up, they were on the way. They weren’t too far away and were outside her door in less than fifteen minutes, which was a good thing because the ride was silent and uncomfortable.

  “Thank you,” she said as she unbuckled her belt. “I’ll take him in.” Except she was barely out the door and Luke was already taking Grayson out of his seat. She caught up to him outside her front door. “I said I’ll take him in. You don’t have to do that.”

  Grayson’s arms were wrapped around his neck. “You’re so tall, Luke!”

  “Do you mind?” Luke said, looking at the door.

  She shrugged and grabbed her keys, then opened her front door. He let her in first and followed behind her.

  “Say goodnight to Luke and get ready for bed,” Georgina said.

  “Do I have to? Can Luke and I play in the backyard for a bit?” Grayson said with a big yawn.

  “It’s much too late for that, young man,” Georgina said with a wag of her finger.

  “Aw …” Grayson pouted and then wiggled out of Luke’s arms. “Can’t you stay, Luke?”

  “Luke’s leaving,” Georgina stated. “Now, scoot, young man! I’ll come and tuck you in when you’re dressed and ready, okay?”

  “All right. G’night Luke!” Grayson said.

  “Good night, Grayson,” Luke replied. Grayson took off and disappeared down the hallway.

  When Georgina was sure Grayson was far away enough so he wouldn’t hear, she turned back to Luke. “Thank you again. I’m sorry about this whole thing. I told Matthew I just needed J.D.’s number and that he—”

  “Why’d you call him?” Luke said.

  “Huh?”

  “I said, why did you call Matthew?” His jaw was tense as was his entire posture.

  Her brows knitted together. “I didn’t have anyone else to call.”

  “You have my number.” He took a step forward and loomed over her.

  She shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you.”

  “But you’d bother Matthew?”

  “Yes, I—” She cleared her throat. He was so close to her, she felt tiny next to him. Was he trying to intimidate her? She squared her shoulders. “Why should I call you? You’ve made it crystal clear you don’t want to be around me.”

  He frowned. “I have?”

  “First, you didn’t want me to cook you dinner. And then you didn’t want to stay for coffee. I haven’t even heard from you since then. You wouldn’t even be here if Matthew didn’t call you.” She put her hands up. “It’s all right, really. I know when I’m being a bother.”

  Luke’s hands caught hers so quickly, she didn’t even have time to blink. “It’s not what you think.”

  “It’s not?”

  “It’s just … I can’t.”

  “Can’t what?”

  She let out a small squeak when Luke pulled her to him. There was no time to protest or say anything else as Luke’s mouth devoured hers and his body crushed her to him.

  The shock as their lips touched sent tingles across her skin. His demanding lips moved over hers in an expert caress, coaxing her mouth open. His beard tickled her, but it was much softer than she’d imagined. When his tongue touched hers, her knees went weak. He must have felt her body going limp because he slid his palms down her back, over her buttocks, and to her knees, then lifted her up off her feet.

  Luke carried her over to the dining table, planting her on top, all the while not breaking the kiss. Damn, how could one man kiss so good? He moved between her legs, pressing his hips into hers. Oh double-damn. That was not a banana in his pocket. She raised her knees and wrapped her legs around him to pull him even closer.

  His fingers dug into her hair, freeing it from the bun she usually wore. He groaned against her mouth, sucked on her bottom lip, then tugged at her scalp. Triple-damn. Her panties were soaked. She let out a moan and raked her fingers down his back.

  Luke froze, which made her stop. He disentangled himself from her and stepped back. Wait, did she do something?

  “Mommy, what are you doing on the table?”

  Oh God. Grayson. “Umm, nothing,” she said, sliding off the table and smoothing her hands down her blouse and pants. “I mean, there was, uh, a mouse. And I jumped up. On the table.”

  “And Luke’s still here!” Grayson ran over to him. “I thought you were leaving! Can you tuck me in, too?”

  “Er, I think we should go to bed. Luke probably has places to go.” Georgina quickly picked Grayson up and whisked him back to his room. She didn’t know how it was possible, but her face still felt flush. Hopefully, Grayson didn’t notice. It was a good thing Luke’s super hearing picked up on him before he saw … anything.

  Grayson hopped in his bed, and Georgina arranged his blankets over him. He let out a yawn. “G’night, Mommy. See you in the morning.”

  “Good night, sweetie.” She kissed him on the forehead, got up, and turned the lights off be
fore leaving. When the door shut behind her, she let out a long sigh. The adrenaline—from the kiss and having Grayson walk in on them—rushed out of her body and left her drained so bad she had to brace herself against the wall.

  She touched her lips, which felt branded even now. Luke kissed her. And she kissed him back. It really happened. He said he can’t. Can’t what? And what did this all mean? This was all so confusing. A good night’s sleep might do the trick. How could she even sleep after that kiss?

  Maybe an hour or two of TV might help. Some trashy reality show should keep her mind off things. When she walked out to the living room, however, she got the shock of her life.

  “Luke?” He was standing in her living room, in the same spot she’d left him. “What are you still doing here?” She’d fully expected him to walk out and leave, like all the other times.

  “I couldn’t go.”

  “You couldn’t?”

  He shook his head and walked toward her. “Not without telling you something.”

  Her heartbeat sped up. “What’s that?”

  “You’re not a bother,” he said. “You could never be a bother to me.”

  “Luke—”

  He silenced her with another kiss, one that was gentler. His hands cupped her jaw, tipping her face up to meet his. Firm lips moved over hers in a sweet caress, and when he pulled away, she was breathless.

  “You owe me a dinner,” was all he said.

  She blinked. “I do?”

  “You offered to cook me a thank you dinner,” he reminded her. “I don’t recall saying no.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “So, what time’s good tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Around seven?”

  “Good. I’ll be here.” He pivoted on his heel and headed to the door.

  Georgina watched, her body frozen. When the door closed, she staggered back against the dining room table.

  Luke was coming over tomorrow. For dinner. Or was it a date? Would there be more kissing involved? On other furniture surfaces, she hoped. But Grayson would be here. Surely he expected him to be around. Should she make other arrangements? For a moment, she considered running after him to ask, but her legs weren’t working. Oh God, this was too confusing. Maybe she should just tell him not to come. Sure, she was attracted to him, but what would become of this?

  But she didn’t want to cancel. She wanted to see him again and definitely kiss him again. And maybe even more.

  Georgina sank down in a chair and then banged her head on the table. Good grief, why did this have to be so complicated?

  Chapter Eight

  As Luke walked back to his truck, his lion purred with pleasure. Now that was new. He huffed and got into his truck, then drove off.

  He had tried to stay away from Georgina. Really, he had. She had enough going on and so did he. Christina said they were working on finding him answers about his pride, but they were still reading through all of Dr. Mendle’s diaries. Apparently, there was over twenty years’ worth of information they had to sift through.

  He still kept going on his nightly patrols and tried to avoid going to their house. But his lion wouldn’t let him sleep, not until it knew Georgina and Grayson were safe at home. But aside from that, he avoided her.

  But then the call from Matthew came.

  His animal went crazy, knowing they were stuck on the side of the road, alone and vulnerable. And of course, jealousy had reared its ugly head, which was fucking insane because Matthew would never cheat on Catherine. But it had stung, knowing she had called another man first and not him.

  And then there was that kiss. He didn’t know what had come over him, but when she said she was a bother to him, it had irked him. More than irked him, actually, and he wanted to show her she wasn’t a bother.

  That kiss had shaken him to the core, and in that moment, he was done. Done fighting with himself, his animal, with fate. Surely, if he was a terrible person and didn’t deserve some happiness in this world, he never would have met Georgina. He was man enough to admit it scared the shit out of him—that something so good and pure was within arm’s reach.

  But there was also the possibility it could be taken away from him. Georgina could reject him and realize he wasn’t worth it. He didn’t want to bait-and-switch her, so he decided the only way to go was to come clean and if she didn’t want any part of him, then he could at least have that definitive answer.

  Tomorrow would be the day. Dinner, at her place. He frowned, realizing another factor. Grayson. While he enjoyed the boy’s company, it was going to be difficult to talk to Georgina with him in the same room. An idea struck him.

  He pulled over to the side of the road and took out his phone. Hopefully it wasn’t too late.

  “Hey, sorry, I know you’re probably in bed by now, but I need a favor.”

  The next day after work, Luke took advantage of the employee shower facilities at the mines. After washing up, he got dressed in his best clothes. With a frown, he stared down at his red flannel shirt and least-faded pair of jeans. He only threw stuff out when it was falling apart and avoided shopping like the plague, but now he wished he had taken the time to find a new shirt at least.

  After he finished, he drove to Georgina’s and arrived there exactly five minutes before seven. As he pulled up in front of her house he saw a familiar silver Prius arrive at the same time. Good. She was here.

  “Luke!” Sybil said in an excited voice as she exited her car and ran up to him. Much to his surprise, she threw herself into his arms and squeezed tight. “I’m so happy for you! It’s her, right? She’s the one? Georgina is your mate?”

  “Yes.” Sybil was smart, of course, and he knew she would figure it out. He had never asked her for a favor, after all. “But she doesn’t know. Yet.”

  She ran her finger across her lips like she was closing a zipper. “Your secret’s safe with me! Just go get your girl, okay?”

  Hopefully, with Sybil’s help, that was going to happen. “Thanks for coming on such short notice,” he said as they walked up to the front door.

  “For my brother,” she chuckled and hugged his side, “I’d do anything.”

  Luke gave her hair an affectionate ruffle, then rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened.

  “Luke.” Her voice was low and breathy, sending desire straight to his cock. She looked beautiful, as she always did, but she definitely dressed up tonight. Her brown curls were carefully piled on top of her head, and though her red dress was modestly covering her shoulders, chest, and went down to her knees, the fabric clung to her every luscious curve.

  He swallowed hard. “Georgina.”

  Georgina’s gaze landed on Sybil. “Oh, hello Sybil.”

  “Hey, Georgina,” Sybil greeted. “Guess what? I’m your babysitter for the night.”

  Georgina’s face turned from confusion to surprise. “A babysitter?”

  “Well, technically, I’ll be taking Grayson out to the movies.” She looked up at Luke, then back at Georgina. “If it’s okay?”

  She hesitated. “I don’t know. We didn’t really plan for this.”

  “I heard about what happened to Penny,” Sybil began. “Don’t worry, you know I’ll be able to handle him.”

  “I guess, but—”

  “Luke! Luke!” Grayson came running over to them. “You’re here! Mommy said you were having dinner with us.”

  “Hello, Grayson,” Sybil said, bending down to his level.

  “You remember Sybil, don’t you Grayson?”

  “Hi, Miss Sybil,” Grayson said in a shy voice.

  Sybil chuckled. “Hey squirt. I think you should call me Auntie Sybil.” She gave Luke a sly smile. “I mean, that’s what you call Kate, right?”

  “All right, Auntie Sybil.”

  “So, Grayson,” Sybil began. “I have a problem I was hoping you could help me out with.”

  “What is it?”

  “I really want to see that cartoon superhero movie that’s o
ut. Marvel Man.”

  His eyes went wide. “Marvel Man? I saw the trailer the other day! It looked so cool!”

  “It just opened today and,” she pulled out two pieces of paper from her pocket, “I scored these for tonight! You wouldn’t happen to be interested—”

  “Oh Mommy, can I go watch the movie with Auntie Sybil, please?” Grayson looked up at his mother with pleading eyes.

  Georgina looked at Sybil. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “It’ll be awesome, right, squirt?” Sybil held up her hand and Grayson gave her a high-five. “And we can have hotdogs and popcorn for dinner.” She winked at Grayson.

  “Yay! I’ll go get my shoes!” Grayson ran off, skipping happily as he disappeared into the house.

  Georgina opened the door wider. “Let me get my purse and get you some money for the tickets and—”

  “Nah, it’s my treat,” Sybil said, then let out a sigh. “To be honest, I really need tonight to just relax and not think about anything. Work’s been hectic.”

  Grayson came back seconds later, his shoes on his feet and jacket in his hand. “Let’s go Auntie Sybil! We can’t miss the previews!”

  Sybil laughed. “All right, squirt, hold your horses. Let’s get you strapped in.”

  They transferred Grayson’s car seat over to Sybil’s car and secured the boy inside.

  “Thanks, Sybbie,” Luke said.

  Georgina chuckled. “Sybbie?"

  “Luke was about five or six when I was born,” Sybil began as she walked over to the other side of her Prius. “Mom said he couldn’t pronounce ‘Sybil’ so he would call me Sybbie. And the name stuck. Well,” she slipped into the driver’s seat, “we’re off.”

  “Have fun!” Georgina leaned down and peered into the back seat. “Be good!”

  Grayson waved his hand. “I will!”

  As soon as they drove off, Georgina turned to Luke, hands on her hips. “That was rather sneaky,” she said, an eyebrow raised.

  “Should we call them back?” Luke asked.