LUCAS Read online

  He walked over to his horse and examined the saddle and bridle. The leather straps would do for shackles. Carefully, he removed the saddle and worked the pieces of leather free he wanted to use.

  Grabbing hold of the back of his collar, Anderson was roughly dragged to the edge of the cave. This particular wall must have been used for tools or to hang utensils. The pioneer style hooks jutting from the stone surface would work nicely.

  Etienne tied Anderson like a calf for branding and secured him to the wall. When the piece of shit came too, he would have no idea where he was, if it was day or night. All he would be able to do was panic in the dark stone room waiting for God only knew what. Perfect. He might think Kensie managed to overpower him and now held him captive. Little did he know a much more dangerous creature held him.

  Before he left the cave, he rigged a battery-powered light to a tree root that hung through the ceiling. He sighed, his kingdom for an outlet. He could do so many thrilling things with a few watts of electricity. Oh, well. He was sure he would come up with other equally painful options.

  As he left, he tapped Anderson’s forehead again to wake him. He waited by the entrance until his victim looked his way and then he flashed his eyes and fangs. A shrill scream of terror was his reward. He never tired of that. For good measure, Etienne laid out a sheet with a variety of torture devices for his victim to fantasize about. His personal favorites were the testicular crusher and a male chastity device that consisted of a penis harness, scrotum stretcher, and a ten-pound ball and chain. Those always got the male victims sweating. In about an hour the timer he rigged would turn the light on and show Anderson he was completely fucked.

  All right, time for a nice ride around the ranch. He wanted to see what Lucas had gotten for his money.

  *****

  Two hours later, he returned to the cave. Anderson was sniveling like a pussy. Excellent. He never actually used any of his torture devices, well, except to torture the victim into thinking he would. Even he couldn’t bring himself to be that vicious.

  The scuffle and plod of horse hooves warned Anderson his time was up. Etienne calmly dismounted and stared. Anderson wiggled his body trying to get as far from his captor as possible. Etienne knew he was a striking figure, at six feet four with wide shoulders, lean hips and muscles that seemed to ripple even as he stood still.

  He radiated menace and evil, filling the cave with its essence. Vampires had the ability to effect the vibrations they emitted. Normally Etienne emitted a friendly, charming, warm vibe. He truly liked most of humanity and enjoyed their company. But he turned on the menacing vibes in a petrifying way when he chose to. And he chose to make Anderson wet himself.

  Taking slow, menacing steps he stopped next to the quivering man and carefully described each torture device and how it was applied. By the time Etienne loosed the last leather cord, Anderson was shaking so hard his teeth rattled.

  Anderson never saw him move. But somehow, he found himself dangling inches off the ground by his collar. Evil red orbs stared directly at him, latched onto his freewill and hijacked his mind.

  Etienne breathed deeply, smelling Anderson’s terror. His victims always wanted to fight and remain in control. Defeating his power was out of the question.

  Etienne’s free hand shot out and grabbed his victim’s jaw in a steel grip. A crack echoed through the cavernous space as his jawbone snapped. Anderson moaned but he continued to look Etienne directly in the eye.

  “You will become the biggest humanitarian in history. First, you will join the army and remain enlisted for as long as they will have you. You will vehemently request every possible deployment the military will allow you to take. If you survive that, you will spend the next ten years working with Doctors without Boarders.

  “After that, you will join any other humanitarian organization that will take you. You will cease all association with any and all general public medical hospitals, clinics or offices within the boarders of the United States. You will cease being a doctor unless it is with the military or a humanitarian organization.

  “You will never set foot in Minnesota or Texas ever again. You have no desire to ever see Kensie or her sister Jojo again. If you ever try to see either of them without their invitation, you will become violently ill. That illness will not be relieved until all thoughts of seeing either of them without permission fades from your brain.

  “You will not utter a bad word about Kensie to anyone, ever. She is the best doctor that ever walked the planet and the loss of your job at the Mayo Clinic was entirely your own fault. These orders will remain with you until you take your last breath. If you defy these orders by contacting Kensie or attempting to see her in person, every bone in both your hands will immediately fracture. If you continue to defy my orders by actually seeing Kensie in person, you will instantly forfeit your eyesight and the ability to speak. This condition will remain permanent for the rest of your existence.”

  Etienne felt his fangs emerge slowly. He tilted his head just right, so the light from the bulb made them glisten. He made sure Anderson saw the entire show. Pulling his lips back, he hissed into Anderson’s face, the little coward to pass out. Rolling his eyes, he sighed. The weak humans in the world today took all the fun out of being a vampire. Oh, well. He sank his fangs deep, drinking his fill. There was no need to dull the pain, that idiot wouldn’t feel it anyway. When he was satisfied, he roughly pushed Anderson away and mounted his horse bareback. Apparently, he owed Lucas a saddle.

  Flicking a finger, he floated Anderson and began his ride back to the house.

  Lucas met him with a truck and he dumped Anderson’s body in the bed. “Any idea where his car is?” Etienne asked.

  “We found an abandoned vehicle a few miles away. We’ll stop there first and try his keys to see if it’s his. After that what’s the plan?”

  Etienne grinned. “He has an interesting life ahead of him. But since he isn’t allowed to enter Texas, we should dump him at the border.”

  Lucas nodded. “Let’s get started. I’ll call Kensie along the way and fill her in.”

  Chapter 19

  Hours later, Lucas and Etienne returned. Dr. Anderson was gone for good and he would never bother her again. Kensie hated the fact she brought that kind of danger near her sister.

  Etienne reached for her hand and lightly kissed her knuckles. “It has been a pleasure to be of service. Sleep well. I will see you in the morning.”

  “Good night, Etienne, and thank you again,” she said as he bumped knuckles with Lucas and left the room.

  “Are you ready to go to bed as well?” Lucas asked

  “Absolutely.” Kensie gazed into his eyes as she reached for his hand. “I’ve never shared my heart with a man. I never felt the desire to cultivate a love affair. But with you Lucas, I want to take that chance. I want a normal, loving relationship. And I want it to be with you.”

  Lucas gripped her hands tighter. “Are you saying you want to go steady or do you mean you’re ready to do the ritual with me? I don’t want to make the mistake of assuming.” His eyes bounced back and forth and desperately searched her face for the answer. He was afraid to hope for too much so soon.

  Kensie brushed Lucas’s hair from his face as she gazed at him with her incredibly expressive eyes. She’d captured his heart with her gaze the first time she knocked him flat. If she were truly accepting him, he would be the happiest man on the planet.

  “I studied the ritual and considered all my options. Then I asked myself what I honestly wanted.”

  “And?” he asked hopefully.

  “I choose you, Lucas.” She reached up and gently cupped his face. “I’m ready to do the ritual and start my life with you.”

  He flashed one of his heart-stopping, dimple blazing smiles. Then, he slid to the floor and knelt on one knee. “Kensie,” raw love and yearning roughened his voice. “We only met a couple weeks ago. Are you sure? Absolutely sure? I can wait, you’ve already been through so much today.”


  She put one gentle finger to his parted lips. “I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I wasn’t sure and completely ready.”

  Lucas wrapped his hand gently around her wrist and pulled her finger away. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m ready to drag you off to my bed right now, but I need to talk to you about something important first.”

  “All right.” Kensie settled back to listen.

  “A shifter is long lived and generally lives about fourteen hundred years. We age normally until we are twenty-five or so. Sometimes we stop aging a few years earlier or later than that, but always in our twenties. We continue to look the same age until we hit nine hundred and then we very slowly start to age again. That being said, since you’re in your mid-thirties, you will go through a conversion where you will regress to the way you looked when you were in your twenties.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes became huge.

  “For the most part it shouldn’t be too painful unless you’ve had an injury between that age and now. Reversing and injury is a bit more painful. I need you to know this before we go forward so you have every piece of information.”

  “That’s quite a bombshell to drop on a lady. Not that any woman would be angry to look like she was twenty-five again. I just wasn’t expecting anything like that. As far as I remember, there shouldn’t be any injury to reverse so I think we’re pretty good. I haven’t changed my decision, unless you have?”

  Lucas whooped, jumped to his feet, and pulled her into his arms to swing her in a circle.

  When he finally stopped twirling and set her down, she stretched on tiptoe and kissed him gently. “I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

  Rumbling joyously, Lucas scooped her into his arms, cradled her like a precious treasure against his chest. Marching toward his room, he stumbled when her lips exploring his neck, instinctively found the spot she would mark him and she playfully bit down. Holding her fast, he kicked the bedroom door closed almost breaking it from its hinges.

  He gently laid her on his bed and watched her sink into the soft mattress. Reluctant to let him go, she drew him down with her.

  Lucas followed eagerly. Drinking in the sight of his mate, safe, unharmed, and in his bed. Things could have taken a much darker turn.

  His finger trailed the side of her neck, his thumb brushed the hollow in her throat, traced the swell of her breast. The passion in his eyes made her shiver.

  Everything she’d ever wanted shown in his gaze. There was no rejection, no judgments, just sweet love and passion.

  Her body shook with arousal, but he didn’t move; he simply continued his slow inspection of her from head to toe.

  “What are you doing?” Kensie asked, her voice husky.

  “I’m committing you to memory,” he said as he searched her face. “The golden flecks in your brown eyes. The blush of your cheeks. Your lips parted and waiting for my kisses. I want to remember every tiny detail of this moment.”

  His passionate memorization swelled her heart and set her body on fire.

  After fifty years, combing the world for his mate, he was finally about to achieve the moment he’d waited for. He never imagined his mate would just suddenly appear at his home. But here she was.

  Slowly, he worked his gaze back to her eyes and claimed her lips again. When he broke for air, he forced himself to push from the bed to light the candles he kept sprinkled around the room. Emma, his mother, made them especially for him. A perfect blend of floral and spice she developed as an aromatherapy, which calmed and healed.

  When he turned to join her, she took the air from his lungs. Kensie stood next to the bed, gloriously naked.

  She crooked a finger for him to move forward. She made very short work of his clothes. Buttons flew into every corner of the room and his zipper didn’t fare much better. Screw it, he could buy new clothes. This new self-confident, Kensie was sexy as hell.

  Sporting a wicked grin, she pushed him onto the bed. Laughing, Lucas caught her on the way down. For the fourth time, she landed full body contact, on top of him.

  Pushing on his chest, he finally relented and let her sit up. Waggling her finger, she said, “No touching, keep your hands to yourself.” She smiled and her eyes danced.

  She positioned both knees on either side of his thighs, and studied him as thoroughly as he had her. Starting at his strong jaw, she ran both palms down his body, enjoying every dip and muscle. She particularly liked the ‘V’ in his lean hips. Running a single finger down each side toward her ultimate goal, she slowly traced the ‘V’ to his engorged erection.

  The pads of her fingers skimmed his cock, and she felt the hard length of him jump as he sucked in his breath. With every caress, his dick twitched and bounced under her seeking fingers. She traced the length of him with one finger from bottom to top before gently wrapping one small, warm palm around him and cupping his sac with the other. Lucas jerked when she lower her lips to join the fun and gave him one long lick. That was it. Game over. He swallowed his tongue. He didn’t know if he would be able to last as her lips and tongue began a delicious torture that felt oh so good.

  He panted and clutched the sheets in a death grip, barely holding his shit together. What had Cade advised him before he left for Texas? Oh, yeah. Think of something disgusting to prevent cumming too soon. With her hesitations and inexperience, the last thing he wanted to do was deny her this freedom to explore his body. On the verge of ripping the sheet to shreds, he tried to think of anything that would assist him in holding his release.

  Those yellow cartoon guys that are on everything. Minions, that’s it.

  That thought only managed to make his wolf salivate. The goofy wolf hunkered down on his front paws with his butt in the air wagging his tail like a crazed pup ready to play fetch.

  Shit, that didn’t work.

  Wait! That gay ranch hand Roy, naked. ACK!

  It worked, but now he had the visual stuck in his head and if he didn’t do something about it, his flag would be half-mast.

  He yelled in surprise when she took him deeply into her mouth. Took him all the way to the back of her throat and sucked hard. Problem solved.

  Mon amour, you need to stop. I can’t take anymore.

  After a few minutes of her loving and teasing, he hit his limit. He couldn’t take her ‘no touching’ rule any longer. “Please, baby. Let me touch you.”

  She sucked in her cheeks and released him with a pop, “You’re such a man, you always have to be in control,” she laughed.

  He latched onto her hips while she kissed her way up his heaving chest. He felt her warm breath on his neck as she inhaled his scent before laying claim to his lips.

  Slowly he ran his palms to her hips, up her stomach, to her ribs, and worshipped her body. “Hold on, mon amour.” In the next blink, she was flat on her back.

  “How the heck do you do that?”

  “I got skills, babe.” He grinned from ear to ear. “Mad skills.”

  Now it was his turn to taste and torment. He felt his hunger flare in his eyes, making them glow hotter, as he lowered his head to take a lick of one puckered nipple. How could he not when they screamed for his attention?

  Lucas slowly laved her right nipple while he teased the left with his thumb and forefinger. With a circle of the taut peak one last time with his tongue, he took her into his mouth, and suckled deeply. Kensie arched off the bed, encouraged him to take more. Lucas’s wolf rumbled long and low in his chest in total ecstasy and bliss. Releasing the right breast he turned his attention to the left, there was no playing favorites. Everyone got a turn, as he left no spot on her lovely skin untouched.

  With one last pull on her breast, he kissed his way to her weeping core. Lucas gently nipped and laved her inner thigh, drawing a gasp from Kensie as he inched closer to his goal. He glanced up and held her gaze as he took one slow lick. Her body clenched as her hips moved in time to his attentions. He took his time, tongue plunging deep, alternated with small circles around h
er clit, almost bringing his mate off the bed.

  Kensie’s moans of pleasure were music to his ears, but he wanted her to scream his name. Adding further stimulation, Lucas sucked her nub and inserted one finger. He stole another glance at her face, and caught her chewing her lip in her struggle to stay quiet. Quiet wouldn’t do. “Let go for me, cher.”

  There was a small tug on his hair. That’s right, sweetheart, just hang on for the ride.

  Lucas…

  Her head pressed deeply into her pillow, and her body arched, begging for more. He pushed her climax higher and higher by adding a second finger, while his thumb worked its magic on her nub. His fingers thrust, moved in a rhythm designed to not only please his mate, but wipe every other male from her memory. After tonight, he wanted no one else to exist for her.

  Lucas knew she was close; her hips bucked wildly as she tried to find final release. Suddenly her channel clamped down on him as she came hard, and screamed in ecstasy.

  “That’s it, mon amour.”

  She was so beautiful with that sultry look of satiation on her face. He loved the way she responded to him. His wolf howled in satisfaction at its mate’s climax.

  Smiling like the Cheshire cat, he kissed his way back up to her lips, and settled himself in the cradle of her hips. Goddess, he’d never been so painfully aroused.

  “Are you ready, mon amour?”

  “Yes,” she said with complete resolution in her voice.

  “Will you give yourself, body and soul, to complete this man and his wolf?

  “Will you unite your life with mine, bond your future with mine, and merge your half of our soul to mine, and in doing so complete the mating ritual?” Lucas and his wolf watched her intently, and waited for her to respond with the ritual words.

  “I will give myself, body and soul, to complete you as a man and his wolf.

  “I will unite my life with yours, bond my future to yours, and merge my half of our soul with yours. I will complete the mating ritual with you,” Kensie stated in a strong, resolute voice.