Lure of Forever Read online

  Lucas pulled her back into his side. The bewilderment and slight hurt in her voice sliced through him, reaching deep inside his soul. Or at least, where his soul would be, if he hadn't lost it centuries ago.

  "Who's to say she isn't worried, Chere. Sex is life-affirming and the man she's with is no ordinary man. "

  Coralie’s eyes grew huge as she looked up at him, and Lucas’s protective instincts kicked in anew. When she looked at him like that, he wanted to rip the world apart to keep her safe. And to keep the people she loved safe.

  "What do you mean, he's no ordinary man?"

  "Relax. She's not in any danger. It seems when Ion said he'd keep an eye on her, he took it literally."

  "Jerry is having sex with Ion? How is that keeping her safe? Marnie will kill her. Damn it, I'll do it myself. This is not funny, Lucas…"

  She glared at him, her whole body shaking with indignation and he sobered.

  "Damn it, what is with you men? Does commitment mean so little to you, that Ion can just throw his marriage vows to the dogs? Even Jerry will be mortified when she finds out."

  "Coralie, Ion would never betray Marnie. Don't judge all men by whomever the bastard is who hurt you in the past." He cupped her face in his hands and brushed a kiss on her nose. "Ion sent his beta, Jenkins. Jerry couldn't be in safer hands, even if Ion himself was there."

  "Oh, right, sorry." She mumbled the apology into his chest. "I have a silly habit of assuming the wrong thing. I can't seem to help it."

  "You're not the only one."

  Lucas took her hand in his, not liking the tightness in his chest one bit. This little human got to him in ways he could not explain. The last time he felt even remotely like this had been centuries ago, when he was still human. Emotions had no place in any of this. He had a job to do. He could not afford to have his action dictated by the need to keep Coralie safe or to live up to the hope he glimpsed in her eyes. And as much as he would like to drain the bastard who hurt her so badly in the past, he didn't think she'd think too highly of him, if he gave into the rage burning a hole in his gut.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Coralie kept her finger on the buzzer this time, all too aware of Lucas's amused presence behind her. He'd said they were finished, for pity's sake, so what was taking Jerry so long? It took seconds to shimmy into underwear and a top––unless, of course, shifters gave you the same kind of mind-blowing, limb-weakening orgasms that vampires seemed to. She shifted away from Lucas's cool presence at her back and cursed her traitorous hormones, which had heat climbing into her cheeks and moisture seeping into her knickers. Lucas chuckled behind her and she turned around to glare at him, but her smart retort died on her tongue.

  The genuine smile on his face took her breath away. He was devastating enough when he was broody, but that open smile and the twinkle of amusement in his green eyes made her wish he would smile more. Her heart gave a suspicious little lurch and she dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans to stop herself from tracing the laughter lines around his eyes. Now was not the time to get emotional over him. He's a vampire, remember.

  But her silly little heart wasn't listening. She just stood grinning at him like some girl on her first teenage crush, and his smile deepened.

  "Keep looking at me like that, Chere, and we won't make it in to see your friend."

  "Promises, promises," she grumbled under her breath, and Lucas chuckled again whilst pulling her back into him. He nuzzled into her neck and Coralie sunk into his embrace.

  "That's better, Chere. Relax. After all, we want Jerry to believe that you fell head over heels in love with me and that's the reason you haven't been around."

  "Oh, she'll never believe that. I don't do men and I certainly don't fall that easily." The words tumbled out far too breathlessly and Lucas's hold on her tightened. He nipped her earlobe playfully and Coralie didn't quite manage to suppress a shiver in response.

  "So you say, mon coeur, but your body tells me otherwise." His tongue traced the shell of her ear and his hand wandered underneath her t-shirt, skimming the underside of her breast. Her nipples tightened in response and she could feel his smile in the butterfly kisses delivered along her neck and collarbone. Her head fell back and Lucas caught her moan in his mouth. He moved her sideways to deepen the kiss, whilst his other hand delved underneath the waistband of her jeans. She instinctively spread her legs to give him better access and he broke the kiss, his now dark green eyes twinkling in approval.

  "That's it, let me in, Chere."

  The growled words settled low in her core. His fingers delved underneath the elastic and she moaned her words of denial, "Lucas, we…we can't," even as her body went up in flames, feeling his fingers sinking deep into her wet core. His harsh breath skimmed across her neck and her hands grabbed his hair and pulled him closer, as his thumb settled on her clit and she moaned her need into his shoulder.

  "Do…don't stop, please."

  Lucas moved her into the shadow of the stairwell, where the harsh fluorescent lighting didn't reach, with a strained, "I've no intention of stopping."

  He increased his pressure on her clit and inched her against the wall, until he surrounded her. Arousal overtook all reason and Coralie rubbed her aching breasts against his chest. He groaned his approval, his fangs glistening white in the dim light. Coralie shuddered in sensual overload when he pulled her shirt up and bit her nipple through the lace of her bra. He soothed the sting with his tongue, his strong sucks shooting down to her clit. She almost screamed in disappointment when he pulled his fingers away. He smiled at her and shook his head at her fevered moans of denial.

  "Shh…I got you, Chere."

  He pulled both their jeans down with movements too fast for her to catch. The cool air hit her heated flesh when he raised one of her knees. Pushing her underwear away, his cock slid into her, the cool stretching sensation alone almost sending her over the edge. She clung onto his shoulders as he thrust into her, his tongue mirroring the actions of his dick buried in her so deep, every movement hit her womb and stroked along her G-spot. She screamed her release into his mouth and his hands on her hips tightened as he groaned his own climax.

  Lost in the aftershocks zinging through her body, Coralie missed Jerry's door opening. In the blink of an eye Lucas had them dressed, and Coralie found herself staring into the confused eyes of her best friend.

  Heaven only knew what she must look like. Probably quite similar to Jerry, who looked her up and down with an incredulous expression on her flushed face. Wearing nothing but a man's shirt, the long legs Coralie envied bare, Jerry looked as though she had just fallen out of bed. Coralie's blush deepened, recalling Lucas's earlier words. Clearly Jerry had just fallen out of bed with the half-naked hunk standing behind her. Jenkins's amber eyes held a hint of his wolf as he ran his gaze over Coralie's body. His nostrils flared and he smirked, before Lucas's growl wiped his face free of any expression.

  Jerry's eyes widened at that growl and Coralie wished the floor would swallow her up. Good God, in all the time they’d known each other, she'd walked in on Jerry more times than she could count, but never the other way around. Talk about embarrassing.

  Before Coralie could force any words past her lips, still swollen from Lucas's kisses, Jerry laughed and drew her in for a hug.

  "Don't just stand there, you ninny. I reckon you've given the neighbors enough to talk about for one evening. Come in and bring Mr. Delicious in with you." Jerry glanced up at Lucas with a coy smile whilst pulling Coralie into the flat. "You must be something to get Coral here all hot and flustered."

  "Jerry, please, this is embarrassing enough." Coralie rolled her eyes at her friend.

  Jerry responded with another gale of laughter.

  "Really, Coral, the hallway? And there I was thinking you were a lights-out, under the sheets only, kinda girl." She shut the door and beamed at Lucas. "Well, whoever you are, I like you already for helping Coral relax a bit. It's been far too long since she's let her hair dow
n…or should that be her knickers out?"

  Lucas pulled Coralie back into his arms and chuckled into her shoulder. Great, they all found this highly amusing and she just wanted to die on the spot. Was it possible to die of embarrassment?

  "Lucas de Tourneau." Lucas extended his hand towards Jerry, his free arm keeping a possessive hold around Coralie's waist. "And the reason Coralie here has been missing in action for a while. We were in the neighborhood and she wanted to stop by. Hope we didn't interrupt your evening."

  Jerry's eyes widened at the use of Coralie's full name and Coralie could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Damn the man, though strangely enough, hearing Lucas say her full name in his to-die-for voice had long since stopped annoying her. Quite the opposite, it was way too sexy, and the blasted man clearly knew that.

  "Um, yes. I met Lucas…"

  "Whilst she was serving me the most delicious espresso," Lucas interrupted Coralie and whilst she hated him lying to her friend, Coralie took heed of the warning squeeze from his hand and nodded.

  Jerry's frown changed to a delighted grin.

  "Wow. Well, good for you. I've been telling Coral for years that boring place she works in ought to be at least good for picking up some hunk. Seems that jerk on the boat did you a world of good after all."

  "Jerk on a boat?" Lucas echoed her words, his chest shaking in silent laughter behind Coralie.

  "Yeah, well, that's girl talk. Just want to know what got into you, Coral."

  "Clearly I'm doing a Jerry," Coralie replied, pointedly looking towards Jenkins, who had a hard time keeping a straight face, his amber eyes sparkling with dry amusement.

  "Oh, touché, Coral. Lucas, you're definitely good for her." Jerry laughed and slapped Coralie on the arm playfully. "You know me, Coral. Never could resist a knight in shining armor, or shiny tool belt even. My car broke down and Jenkins here is ever so handy with his…errr… tools."

  "So it seems," replied Coralie, amusement getting the better of her too. Clearly she had now landed in a carry on film.

  "Glad to meet you." Jenkins's deep voice boomed through Jerry's tiny hallway.

  "Shh, you'll wake her up." Jerry admonished the small mountain of a man, and Jenkins looked as abashed as a six-foot, muscled shifter, wearing nothing but low-riding jeans, could look.

  "Sorry, though to be fair if that insistent doorbell didn't wake her up, then I'm sure my voice won't."

  "She's used to the doorbell, you big lout. She's not used to your big mouth."

  "Well, excuse me, but you liked my big mouth just fine ten minutes ago."

  Coralie blushed, observing the play between her friend and her newest hunk. If only she could do a Jerry and be that carefree. Jerry had absolutely no problem keeping sex separate from her emotions, something Coralie had never been able to do. And if the silly little lurches her heart kept inflicting on her were anything to go by, she still couldn't do it. Of all the stupid things she'd done in her life, falling in love with the undead would be the stupidest of all. Not that she was falling in love with him. Not her, not ever.

  Her heart gave a little bump when Lucas pulled her back for a second, as she went to follow Jerry and Jenkins into the living room. He searched her face with a whispered, "Are you OK, Chere?" She told herself it didn’t matter. It meant absolutely nothing.

  ****

  Lucas leaned against the doorframe and watched Coralie and Jerry whispering together, like schoolgirls. Completely engrossed in their discussion, they paid no attention to the ringing phone. Jenkins casually checked the caller display, before just as casually disconnecting the phone. The sleight of hand was so well masked, even Lucas almost missed it. He nodded his approval at Ion's second in command and breathed a sigh of relief. With Jenkins firmly installed in Jerry's life, Coralie's friend was safe, at least until she decided to ditch the shifter. It would be more difficult to monitor her as securely without Jenkins here in her flat.

  Lucas had no doubt that Jerry would move on soon. The blonde Barbie lookalike with a figure to match exuded sexual confidence in a way that completely overshadowed Coralie's quiet passion. In fact, the two of them seemed as far from related as chalk and cheese, yet the deep friendship they shared was obvious. Lucas could read Jerry like an open book. Behind the bubbly personality and sexual aggressiveness lurked a deeply unhappy woman, who had been worrying over Coralie almost as much as his little human had worried over her, albeit for different reasons. Seemed both women had been badly hurt by the men in their lives. Lucas unclenched his fists at the thought of any other men touching Coralie. She was his, at least for the moment, and if the possessive look in Jenkins's eyes when he looked at Jerry was anything to go by, the shifter felt the same way about Coralie's friend. His wolf's low growl, only audible to Lucas's sensitive hearing, staked his intention as clearly as though the man had put a ring on the woman's finger.

  Poor sod. He would have his work cut out trying to tame that one. And he wouldn't give up. If Jenkins's wolf had chosen Jerry, and she refused to mate with him, Jenkins would be left pining after her forever more, with no chance of even enjoying casual sex with anyone else. Not for the first time, Lucas was glad he wasn't a shifter. The whole idea of mating for life was all well and good, but he didn't do forever—at least not where women were concerned.

  Besides, the whole having to drink their blood to survive thing tended to be a huge stumbling block and even if that wasn't the issue, the fact that he didn't age and the woman did—merde, he didn't need those particular memories now. He smiled grimly seeing Jenkins saunter over to the kitchen table and nuzzle into Jerry's neck. She shrieked in mock surprise and melted into him, her hand running up his leg, until it cupped his cock. She smiled up at Jenkins saucily and Coralie rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  Amusement bubbled up in Lucas, seeing Coralie's predictable reaction: a slight flush had crept up her neck, and she averted her gaze as Jerry and Jenkins kissed. As passionate as she was with him, her natural shyness was very much in evidence right now, and unwanted affection made his chest tight. If only he had more time to indulge himself and to coax the passionate and confident woman hiding inside her out into the open. He couldn't offer her forever, but he could certainly do that much for her.

  He smiled as her expressive eyes connected with his and her blush deepened. As refreshing as it was to not be able to read her, he dearly would have liked to know what made her so agitated right now. Her eyes widened at the same time as he felt a small hand creep into his.

  "Who are you and why do you want Auntie Coral naked?"

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lucas looked down into the deep blue eyes of a little girl, clutching a tatty teddy bear to her chest, and was momentarily lost for words. Jet-black hair framed a little pixie face. Clad in pink spotted pajamas, her face was far too serious for someone so little. In fact, she frowned at him, and Lucas's scalp prickled as his well-honed instincts kicked in. What the fuck was she? He forced a smile on his face and carefully removed his hand from her grasp.

  "Mummy says that's a bad word. She'll tell you off for using it…"

  "Lucas, don't swear in front of Suz." Coralie's sharp retort broke the connection and Lucas shook his head.

  "I didn't say anything, Chere, she…" But Coralie wasn't listening. She seemed to light up from the inside out as he watched her crouch down in front of the little girl.

  "Did you have a bad dream again?"

  Thankfully, Suz stopped staring at him and the little pink creation nodded at Coralie.

  "Suz, what are you doing out of bed?" Jerry asked from behind them. She pushed Jenkins away and rushed towards her daughter, scooping her up in a big hug. Jenkins too approached, and pushed Suz's fringe out of her eyes.

  "Hey, sleepyhead. Need me to chase away the monsters again?"

  Jerry frowned at him and pushed him away.

  "There are no such things as monsters. Suzanne does not need her overactive imagination encouraged."

  "I wasn
't." Jenkins took a step back, his hands raised in the age-old gesture of surrender. "It just helps her to go to sleep, and I…"

  Jerry all but threw her daughter at Coralie, who looked as astonished at her friend's outburst as Jenkins was.

  "She's my daughter and no one is going to tell me how to deal with her. No one." She paused briefly to drop a kiss on the little girl's brow. "Auntie Coral is gonna tuck you back into bed, sweetie. Aren't you, Coral?"

  "Yes, of course," Coralie responded immediately and smiled at Suz, who popped her thumb in her mouth and rested her head on Coralie's shoulder. Suz's wide-eyed stare stayed on Lucas until she and Coralie crossed the tiny hallway and disappeared into the room opposite. He whistled under his breath and turned his attention back to the scene unfolding in the kitchen.

  Something wasn't right here. Jerry's body shook in fury, and if looks could kill Jenkins would be dead six times over. The man himself kept a wary distance from the pacing woman.

  "Jerry, what is this all about? I would never presume to tell you how to raise your daughter. I was only trying to help."

  "I don't need any help. There is nothing wrong with her, nothing at all." Jerry had stopped pacing and sat down heavily on the kitchen bench.

  Jenkins glanced towards Lucas and shrugged his shoulders. No clues there, then. It would be up to Lucas to probe deeper.

  "I think we all need to calm down here." Lucas approached the trembling woman with his most seductive smile in place. He ignored Jenkins's frown and focused all of his attention on Jerry. When she raised her head to look at him, he knew he had her. He put one hand on either side of her face and Jerry blinked once, all her attention focused on him. Her body went limp. Lucas ignored Jenkins’s curse behind him.

  "Listen to me, Jerry, you will not remember this. Now tell me, who thinks there is something wrong with Suz?"

  "I…I do. She talks to herself and she sees…" Jerry's voice broke on a sob and Jenkins swore again.