The Wishing Stone Read online

  Lara awoke, and he smiled down on her. Her arms came up to encircle his neck as her mouth met his in a welcoming kiss.

  “What took you so long?” she asked in a husky, sleep-tinged voice.

  “I can see that you were pacing the floor waiting for me.” A low chuckle accompanied his words.

  She sat up and the crumpled newspaper in her hand crackled as she moved. Placing it on the coffee table, she rubbed the newsprint off her hand onto her faded blue jeans before looking up at him. “I’ll confess I drifted off to sleep reading the news and the want ads.”

  “What are you reading the want ads for? Looking for another man?” He growled playfully, hugging her close.

  “Absolutely not; I imagine I will have my hands full with just you.” She shyly gave him a kiss. “I was checking to see if there was any work out there for me. It’s about time I got back to the grindstone; I’ve been off long enough.”

  “You already have a job. You work for me.” As her mouth opened to object, Lucien continued, “I have more than enough work to keep you busy for quite a long time.”

  At her doubting look, he softly assured her, “I have a specific job that only you can handle for me. I want to help a hospital in a small village that is in dire need of new medical equipment. Sadly, they are—and have been—lacking in the modern technology that the more state-of-the-art hospitals have, and which would help save the lives of many of their patients. I want you and Ethan to take over the task of determining exactly what they do need, and also to make certain that they receive it immediately.”

  A low grumble sounded from Lara’s stomach, interrupting him, and a blush stole across her face. Lucien smiled. “Grab a sweater and we’ll walk to the nearest restaurant.”

  The late night was clear and cool as the couple walked hand in hand down the tree-lined street in front of her apartment building. The houses were all dark, but the street lights were bright. Every once in a while, a car would pass them, but otherwise they had the sleeping street to themselves. Lara drew closer and curled up against Lucien’s side, his arm encircling her shoulders, her arm around his back.

  Neither of them brought up the previous night’s discussion, but Lucien planned to talk about it later, hopefully when they were lying sexually spent in bed.

  Turning the street corner, Lucien came to an abrupt halt. Their way was blocked by two gang members, obvious by the colors they wore. The heavier of the two arrogantly brandished a large black revolver and waved it threateningly.

  “Gimme all your money,” the youth demanded.

  Lara began to tell the young men exactly what she thought of both of them and their futures until Lucien shoved her, sputtering, behind him.

  He turned to confront their attackers. He gave them each a disbelieving once over, especially since the one holding the gun did indeed have killing on his mind.

  “I really don’t think you want to do this,” Lucien countered the youth’s demand.

  The two gang members looked at each other and laughed. The heavy one turned back and again demanded, “Gimme all your money now, then I won’t have to shoot you or your bitch.”

  Lucien began to advance on them, again shoving the still outraged and hissing Lara behind him and out of harm’s way.

  The gunman began to panic. Sweat streamed down his face. His feet shuffled back and forth. Then, all of a sudden, his sweaty, shaking finger pulled the trigger. The sharp report of the gun was deafening, causing Lara to cry out in a combination of fear and rage.

  When Lucien continued toward them, the gunman fired a second time and then a third. When their target failed to fall, terror replaced the hard expressions on the boys’ faces.

  A glint of the moonlight captured the sharp white fangs Lucien displayed, and the gun dropped from the boy’s hand as he took off. The second boy ran screaming in the opposite direction, jumping over bushes and trampling flowerbeds.

  The sight elicited a deep chuckle from Lucien. Shaking his head in disgust, he looked at the windows of the many houses around them. Curtains in some of the windows moved, but no one dared to venture out.

  “Cowards,” he muttered in disgust.

  Kicking the discarded weapon into a storm drain, Lucien assured himself that no one would find or ever use it again. “Maybe the lads will find another line of employment now.”

  He turned back to Lara only to find her crouching on the sidewalk, her hands covering her face. He grasped her shoulders and pulled her back up to her feet.

  “Why did you do that? You could have been killed!” Lara’s eyes and hands frantically searched for wounds on his chest.

  Tipping her chin up, Lucien met her gaze. “I have already explained it to you, sweeting. It is very difficult to kill me since I am, technically, already dead. I just wanted to distract their attention away from you before you could cast any more aspersions on their families.”

  Lara shook her head, obviously not appreciating his quirky sense of humor. She lowered her eyes to the black shirt that spanned his chest. A soft gasp escaped her mouth as her fingers went to the fine linen fabric and through three perfect holes, left by the bullets.

  Staring intently at her fingertips, she said, “There’s no blood.”

  Turning her toward the diner, Lucien prodded her on to the smell of food. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, I think your noisy stomach needs some attention.”

  Nodding numbly up at him, she kept her feet moving.

  As Lucien and Lara entered the diner, the patrons looked up silently and then went back to their eating. Finally, they were seated in a booth in the once again noisy establishment. Lucien ordered for her since she still appeared to be in a daze.

  While they waited, neither said a word.

  The food finally arrived and Lucien prompted every bite into her mouth until he was satisfied she had enough to sustain her and her stomach for the night. He then signaled to the waitress for their check. Leaving enough money to cover their order, plus a sizable tip for the waitress, he escorted Lara back out into the night.

  Lucien noticed that as they neared the spot their would-be attackers had stood, Lara began to shake uncontrollably. He had to quickly get her home. Holding her near, he closed his eyes and traced them both back to the safety of her small apartment.

  Only when she finally realized they were safely in her apartment did her shaking subside. Then she started to rage about the rabble that was allowed to walk the public streets, accosting law-abiding citizens.

  Rubbing her arms, Lucien once again tried to still her many concerns.

  With a deep breath, Lara let all her anger go with the last of her tirade, but she still couldn’t tear her gaze from the front of Lucien’s shirt. That’s when the undiminished truth finally sank in. It tore her heart in two as she envisioned what the real life—the mortal—conclusion to their night would have been.

  Winding her arms around his waist, she hopelessly lost herself in his strength. “Please don’t...leave me...like...the others,” she cried into his shirt. “Everyone that I’ve dared to love dies.”

  “I won’t ever leave you,” Lucien promised, placing tender kisses on her tear-filled eyes.

  Afraid he would disappear; Lara wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to his solid form. She tilted her face up for his soothing lips. The smooth commanding pressure of his mouth stilled her trembling as they met. Urging her lips apart, his tongue entered to caress hers in a silent dance.

  Lara splayed her hands on Lucien’s chest as the inner heat seared her body. Wanting and needing to feel his bare skin, she began to slip open each button of his shirt until her fingers felt the crisp hairs of his chest. She pushed the shirt over his shoulders and down his arms, and pressed her mouth to a flat copper nipple. The tip of her tongue flicked over it until it was rigid with the same desire consuming her.

  ****

  Lucien’s hands busily pulled off her sweater and then impatiently began opening the small buttons of her blouse. He finally
ripped the remaining three buttons off, so that his view of her was unhindered except for the flimsy lace bra. The sight of her breasts encased in the constricting material made him groan. He bent to follow the outline of one erect nipple with his lips.

  Frustration and need gripped him as his hands molded the material-clad mounds. He wanted her naked. He ripped the sheer material off her body, leaving her exposed.

  “I’ll buy you more,” he muttered as the torn fabric joined the growing pile of ruined clothes on the floor.

  His fingers traced the two puncture wounds that Steven had left, and he vowed the other man would pay for them. Picking Lara up, he carried her to the bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed before discarding the last of her clothing. His gaze swept over her body, allowing her to see the need that possessed him.

  Lucien’s black shirt and pants joined the pile of hastily discarded clothing, and he eased down beside her on the cool, clean sheets.

  The friction that had started between them earlier began to feed into red hot flames as they explored the secrets and treasures of each other’s bodies. His mouth softly kissed her breasts, suckling and nurturing each nipple while her fevered moans spurred him on. It had been such a long time since the first time he had seen and immediately wanted this woman, and Lucien didn’t want to rush her, no matter how his body rebelled at his attempt to slow it down.

  Lara’s mouth sought his as his hand moved down between their bodies, seeking and then encountering the soft nest of curls that shielded her very warmth. Parting the soft folds, he was encouraged by the moisture waiting just for him. Sliding his finger into her passage, he felt her muscles contract around it, causing him to swell further with sweet anticipation.

  Her hand slid between their bodies until her fingers wrapped around his stiff burgeoning shaft, making Lucien draw in his breath in sheer ecstasy.

  Spurred to the point of almost spilling his seed in her hand, Lucien quickly settled himself between her outstretched thighs. He thrust into her very core until he was fully sheathed deep in her wetness.

  Propped motionless on his elbows and fighting to still his baser instinct, he stared into her eyes, wanting to make sure she wasn’t hurt by his swift intrusion into her dewy, tight opening. When she hesitantly began to move her hips, he then took over.

  He slowly entered then withdrew while Lara’s nails in his back urged him to quicken his pace. Gradually, he increased his tempo and had her begging for more. Her muscles began to contract around him, and Lucien lifted her hips to take more of him. He moved fast and deep, taking them both to the edge and then over the precipice and into oblivion.

  When his breathing finally returned to normal, Lucien moved over to her side. Lara curled up against him with her head on his shoulder and her legs entangled with his. Her rapid heartbeat brought a smile to his face as he smoothed her brown hair.

  “I’m sorry that I rushed you, love. Next time, I promise it will be slower and sweeter,” he murmured while his fingers traced the sleek curve of her side.

  With a completely satisfied smile on her lips, Lara glanced up at him through her lashes. “It was perfect,” she sighed contentedly, leaning over to place a kiss on his chest.

  As their gazes met, Lucien began to lightly kiss her features, savoring the taste of her. When his lips skimmed over her neck, the throbbing vein beckoned him. Ignoring the temptation, he continued downward until he came upon her breasts.

  Lovingly his mouth kissed one peak, then the other, before his tongue worshipped the mounds. Her moans and pleas fell on deaf ears. This time he would make love to her the way he had originally wanted to. Slowly and deliberately, he tasted each and every part of her body, making his shaft ready to explode with the want and need to be back inside her.

  Only when Lucien was settled between her thighs would he allow himself to answer her many demands. Staring down into her passion filled eyes, he felt his control begin to slip as her muscles gripped his thick pulsing length. Plunging in and out, he met her at the pinnacle and the fireworks exploded, sending them both hurtling into ecstasy.

  “You are my life!” he groaned as his seed spilled into her womb.

  As the last shudder raked his body, he eased to one side and gathered Lara in his arms. “It’s getting closer to daylight.” Reading her mind, Lucien kissed the top of her head before she could voice her disappointment and then traced them both to his own large bed back on Maui.

  At her startled gasp, he looked down at the naked woman held securely to his side and a deep chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Didn’t you ever wonder how I got into your bedroom? Or for that matter, how we got back to your apartment after the diner tonight?”

  Lara nodded her head.

  “Well, this is how we get around.” At her still worried expression, he softly asked, “What is troubling you, little one?”

  “What am I supposed to wear?” she whispered. “We didn’t bring any of my clothes along with us.”

  Laughter burst from him, even though he tried hard to contain it. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything you need.” Kissing the top of her head, he laid his head back against the feather pillows. “Now you can go to sleep, sweeting.”

  Chapter Nine

  Hours later Lara woke, and she was still right next to Lucien. Her eyes slowly worked their way over his naked body, taking in every curve and muscle on display. The mere sight of him took her breath away as she remembered that he truly had wanted her.

  Only her.

  Happiness welled within her as her lips tasted the cool skin covering his broad chest. The fact that she didn’t feel a heartbeat or that his skin wasn’t warm like hers made no difference to her. She loved him no matter what new and different things she found out about him. She had already witnessed what a good person he was, and that was the most important thing to her.

  As her lips moved up his chest to his neck, Lara planted tiny kisses marking her path. Moving up the tilt of his chin and then on to the high cheekbones, below his normally solemn dark eyes. When her lips met his eyelids, she felt the movement of his long lashes and his gaze lifted to hers.

  A smile greeted her as Lucien’s hands encompassed her waist. Gently, he lifted her until she lay completely on top of him. The pressure of the hardness of his rapidly swelling shaft against her belly had Lara chuckling.

  “I see, or should I say, feel you have the same idea that I do,” she quipped, undulating her hips against his arousal.

  “It feels good to wake up with you beside me. I just think it would be better if I were inside you.” He gave a slight thrust of his hips.

  Straddling him, Lara positioned herself over his erection and slowly slid down until he was completely engulfed in her very depths. Teasingly, she began to move.

  He groaned and stared up at her as her nipples jutted impudently, daring to be touched. His fingers reached up to play with them, and her hips ground against his. Lucien pulled her body down to meet him as he rose up to take a nipple in his mouth.

  The feel of his lips, then his teeth, as they lightly grazed the tight buds had Lara’s insides screaming for more. Her hips moved faster, trying to fulfill the release her body craved, searching for the ecstasy that awaited them both.

  Lucien rolled her beneath him. His mouth teased her other nipple as he picked up the tempo of his thrusts. In and out, Lara met him thrust for thrust, and then with a cry from her and a groan from him, they peaked high in the heavens and slowly began their descent.

  Moments later, she was cradled in Lucien’s strong arms. Her fingers played with the crisp hairs that matted his muscular chest. “Did I tell you it almost killed me to leave you that note?” she confided, softly.

  Lucien’s mouth tightened. “I trust you will never again leave me another one.”

  “I promise I will never do that again. From now on, we will talk things over before either one of us walks out on the other, promise?” She gazed up at his hard profile.

  He solemnly gave
his word and then playfully slapped her lightly on her bare bottom.

  “Up, my little sprite,” he directed. “The sooner I dress, the sooner I return.”

  Moving to his closet, Lucien opened the sliding doors, revealing the vast array of black shirts and black pants.

  “Why do you only wear black?” Lara asked curiously as she lay there, propped on an elbow.

  “My life is very bleak and I dress to fit it.” A wry smile kicked up the corners of his mouth. “You might also say that it saves time deciding what to wear.”

  “Well, if there is one thing I am going to do, it is to get you some different colored clothes. From now on, your life is going to be a bright one,” she declared, sitting up and pulling the sheet up to cover her nakedness.

  After slipping his shoes on and checking a side table for the newspaper, Lucien sauntered to her side. “I will be gone for only a short time.”

  “You’re not going to leave me here without a stitch of clothing to put on, are you?”

  “I’ll go by your apartment and gather up your things. Then I’ll be back, so that we can spend the entire night together,” he promised.

  “Why can’t I come with you?”

  Lucien hesitated. “I need to make another stop, and I don’t want you in any danger.” Placing a kiss on her forehead, he added, “The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get back.”

  Annoyed at herself for being so impatient, Lara smiled up at him. “Then you had better leave.”

  He vanished, leaving her alone in his bed.

  Rising, Lara went to his closet and took out one of his black shirts then headed into the bathroom. The absence of mirrors was noticeable, but she ignored that and turned on the faucet in the shower. Wanting to be ready when Lucien returned, she lathered up and began to hum to herself as she washed. The upswing her life was taking truly gave her something to sing about.

  Rinsing off, she reached for the towel that hung next to the shower door. An eerie feeling of another presence in the room had Lara clasping the towel tighter to her breast. “Are you already back, Lucien?”