Lucie shook her head and looked at her mother. “I can’t?—”
Freja narrowed her eyes at her. “A child of mine is telling me they can’t? We don’t know the meaning of that word.”
Lucie smiled. “I can’t do this in front of everyone was what I was going to say.”
“Oh … well, that’s more like it.” Freja looked at Derrick. “Take her someplace quiet where she can concentrate. Which way to the kitchen? We better get Jin her chocolate before she faints.” She stood up and winked at Hunter, letting him know everything was okay.
“I’ll show you and put some coffee on,” Jasper said, leading them toward the kitchen.
Derrick lifted Lucie up into his chest. He wasn’t sure what was going on but was doing what he was told. She curled into hischest as he carried her back to his bedroom. He took her in and shut the door behind him, then very tenderly laid her onto the bed and adjusted the pillows around her so she could sit upright.
He slid onto the bed and settled beside her, gently brushing his hand across her cheek as his gaze stayed locked on her green eyes. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m okay. I just need to do something.”
He waited patiently for her to explain. She didn’t know why, but she was embarrassed. “You once mentioned that I wasn’t feeling the soulmate connection because I didn’t see you as my mate. That isn’t entirely true … I—I’ve also built up my own little barrier in here.” She tapped on her chest. “To protect myself.”
“What happened? Why did you do that?” He could feel his anger rising at whoever hurt her. Who had hurt her enough to make her build up an emotional wall?
She looked into his amber eyes. “When I was ten and I came to visit you, only it wasn’t you I was visiting. But that moment really bothered me.” She watched as pain reflected in his eyes, and twinges of his grief began to spread through her again.
“I’m so sorry, Lucie.” Derrick looked away from her, ashamed. He was an idiot. Why didn’t he think about how he could potentially be hurting her? For one, he expected Ryan to be more accommodating. Though he couldn’t blame him either, because Ryan couldn’t risk Lucie falling for him. It was all a big mistake, and there was nothing he could do to change it.
Lucie took his hand as he turned back to face her. “We can’t change the past. You were too young to really understand the choices you were making and how they could affect others.” She smiled and bit her bottom lip. “I’m a bit nervous, to be honest.”
Smiling warmly, he leaned in closer to her, cupping her cheek. “Everything about you is me, and everything of me is you. There is no you and me. It’s now us and ours.” His eyes traveled to the lips he’d been craving to touch. Even though it was takingall of his self-control, he would wait a bit longer before he claimed them. He could wait until she was ready.
Lucie shocked him by closing the gap between them. She captured Derrick’s head with her hands and held him in place, her possessive nature pushing through. She gripped his silky hair, soliciting a low, throaty noise from him. Her first kiss. It wasn’t awkward. It didn’t feel weird … it felt right. And she was the one to initiate it.
She pulled her barriers down as she moved against his lips. She wanted to feel more. She wanted to belong to him. She wanted a connection like her parents. But she was shocked. As the barrier that guarded her disintegrated, it wasn’t pain that she felt. It was love. The feeling she had locked up tight was her love for Derrick. She didn’t understand the feeling then, only that it hurt when he brushed her off. Inside the barrier, she’d tucked away her feelings for Derrick.
He was pleasantly shocked when her lips crashed into his. It was like being liberated from a torturous situation as he tasted her sweet, soft lips. A strong warmth swelled inside his chest. He held her cheek tenderly in his hand as he continued to indulge himself with her lips. The feeling intensified, and he felt a rush of emotions, like floodgates were opening inside him. He realized that he’d only ever felt a fraction of Lucie. What he was feeling now was all of her … all her feelings for him. This was the greatest treasure he’d ever received. The feeling of the love of his mate. This connection would only grow after he marked her, and this realization excited him. How could life have worked out so perfectly for him, that Lucie would end up being his everything?
She felt it all. His love, his desire, and the depth of how much he cared. It all poured into her. And instead of getting jumbled up by words, it all made sense to her. She could understand him, understand his thought process. Her mother was right … this was a gift. She understood why he did the things he did, and shecould feel how much he longed for her. Then and now. It was like reading his personal diary.
His feelings for her poured through the bond, encouraging her, and she pushed into the kiss, deepening it. He responded instantly, pulling her closer as a quiet groan rumbled through his chest. The sound sent a thrill straight through her. He was just as eager, his mouth moving against hers with a hunger that made her pulse race. She finally broke their kiss for air. She leaned her forehead into his as they panted for air.
“This was way better than your dream,” Derrick said with a wry smile.
Lucie giggled. “Shut up.” She bit her bottom lip and nudged his nose with hers.
“I love you too, Lucie. You’re everything to me. So much that it hurts. The very idea of being apart from you makes me crazy.”
Lucie looked into his amber eyes. “I never realized I was already in love with you then. I guess it was our soulmate connection?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t feel it when I first met you. Of course, you were a drooling baby who needed their diaper changed.” Derrick grinned at her and sifted his fingers through her hair. “But after that … the more I was around you … I don’t know why, and I don’t care. All I know is that I’ve loved you since we were kids.”
“I’m still a bit in shock over all this. I can’t believe you’re my mate.” She raised her hand up to cover his, the one still resting on her cheek, and leaned into it. “Don’t leave me again.”
“My sweet Lucie. After this business with Beryl, we won’t be parted.”
Lucie began nodding absentmindedly and then stopped. Wait a minute. After this business with Beryl? She lifted her head and looked at him, confused. “Wait, what are you saying?”
“I’m sending you home.”
CHAPTER 22
“You’re sending me home?” Lucie shook her head. “Why? Don’t you want me here with you?”
