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“He was annoying. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken care that no one will ever come here again.” Charlie nodded at her. “That is if you decide you don’t wish to come to the castle and live with Duncan. And myself, I guess. I’d like for you to be there. Both of you.”
“Is that man dead?” Judith told him she’d taken care of him, but not killed him. “By taking care of him, I’m assuming I don’t want to know what that means.”
“I don’t mind telling you that he’s currently in the middle of his street in front of his house, dancing. I also don’t mind telling you that he’s buck naked, and tossing dollar bills into the air as he does it.” She grinned at him. “I don’t think he’s going to be collecting on innocent people again either. He was never turning in the money you and Sara gave him.”
“I figured he wasn’t. Not an honest man, then?” She shook her head. “Do you usually take care of nasty men by making them dance naked in front of their home?”
“No, usually I just kill them. But I didn’t want you to think badly of me on our first meeting.” He grinned back at her. “You’re going to be a lot of fun, aren’t you? My sisters, the other birds, they will have a wonderful time teasing you too, I’m thinking.”
“I’ve not had a great deal to be funning about, I think.” She told him she was so deeply sorry for that. “You know, I think you mean that. I mean, you’re not just mouthing the words because you think I need to hear them, are you?”
“No. I’d never do that to you. Or your wife. But I do want to warn you, I will tell you the truth. So be prepared for it.” Charlie stared at the woman. She was someone he could trust. Someone, he thought, he could depend on no matter what was going on. “I will protect you, with my entire being, should you need it. I won’t allow anyone to harm or take advantage of you ever again.”
“Thank you.” He finally closed the door. It was a good feeling, not having to worry about someone barging in on his and Sara’s life. Charlie looked around his home, the one he’d been living in for some time now. “I hate it here. It was all we could get into when the cottage fell down around our ears. We didn’t know what to do when we heard that our daughter was dead. Felt it like a dagger in our hearts.”
“We didn’t know you were around, or we, all of us, would have found you sooner. There wasn’t anything in the books about you. I think now it was to keep you safe. So no one would come for you to take over the lands and such she’d left behind.” Charlie told her he’d thought that was it. “If you come back with us, both of you, you’ll be safe. I’d like, and I’m sure the other birds would like to hear of Dante when she was younger. The queen was such a wonderful person. She gave her life for the people in the keep that day. She knew the king of that era would have surely killed her for her lands and monies. Dante decided to go in her own way. But she made sure the people were well beyond the hands of anyone that came around.”
Charlie knew his little girl would have done everything in her power to keep people safe. He also knew Dante didn’t contact them for the sole reason to keep them out of harm’s way. She was and would always be the best part of Sara and himself.
As they joined Sara and Duncan in the little room that served as several rooms at once for them, he sat down on the couch alongside Duncan. He and Sara were talking about the castle. Oh, how he wanted to see it.
“I was just telling Duncan about his mother when she was a child. Even then, she was set on making people’s lives better.” Charlie agreed and had to smile when his wife continued. “There was this man who lived across the way from us. He’d been down on his luck for some time, and Dante gave him her pin money. But she did it in a way I don’t think he realized she’d helped him.”
“I have a man much like that one near where we live. He is forever calling me up and telling me that he’ll do this or that if someone comes onto his property. I have told him of the six thousand acres that divide us, but he just won’t stop. I think he’s a lonely man who needs to talk to someone. I give him that.” Judith told Duncan she’d take care of him. Charlie’s mind jumped to where Duncan’s went, and he asked her not to kill him. “I think, as I said, he’s lonely.”
“I wasn’t going to murder him. I was just going to talk to him.” She looked at him, and Charlie felt his face heat up from her look. “I’m not a monster. Unless, of course, he needs his ass kicked. Then all bets are off. I’ve not had a tasty meal as my bird in a long time.”
He wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. Charlie wasn’t even sure if she had a sense of humor. But when she winked at him with a devilish smile, he knew he was never going to play any kind of betting game with her. He’d not just lose his clothing, but she might well make him dance in the street naked himself.
Chapter 3
Jude was trying her best to remain calm. Since the first time she realized what he was to her, Duncan had been right there. It didn’t matter if she was just going into or coming out of the bathroom, he was standing just outside the door. If he didn’t leave her alone to give her time to think, she was going to be a widow before she ever claimed her mate.
“Do you need anything?”
No, she told him, then stopped walking to the kitchen. He ran into her from behind. Okay, she thought, I’ve had enough. She turned toward him and let go of her temper. “Go the fuck away. I mean it. You’re too close. Too much. Just leave me to think, or I swear to you, I’ll take flight and leave you here on the ground.”
“I’d find you.” She growled at him and desperately wanted to hit him. But he didn’t seem to be bothered by her anger or her telling him to go away. “I’d like a kiss. If you think you can give me one without taking my lips off.”
“I might well yet do that.” He simply grinned larger at her. “Look. You’re driving me insane. I’m not usually so closely followed when I’m working. I want to make things absolutely perfect for the party. I can’t get shit done if you’re right on my fucking heels all the time.”
“You kiss me, and I’ll leave you alone for a little while.” She asked him how long was a little while. “Good question. Thirty minutes. I’ll leave you alone for thirty minutes, then come back for another payment. I think that’s a fair trade. Don’t you?”
“No. A fair trade would be me having Piper blow her breath over you and ending everything that is bothering me.” Duncan told her Piper would not do it; she liked him. “Not as much as she does me. Now, one kiss, and you’re going to go and find yourself something to do that does not involve walking all over me when I stop.”
As soon as he pulled her into his arms, she knew this was a mistake. He was going to take so much more from her than just a kiss. Which, she thought, was going to be nothing like a touching of the lips. Wrapping her arms around him as he bent her to his body, Jude felt the warning signals go off everywhere in her mind.
“Judith, I’ve loved you all my life.”
His mouth grazed over hers, the barest of touches. The heat was there, along with so much passion, she was almost giddy for him to taste her. As his lips hovered over hers for a scant second, just enough for her to want to beg him t
o kiss her, he took her lips with his, and Judith knew she was never going to get enough of this man.
The kiss stole her breath. It made her heart skip several beats as he held her to him. Needing something to hold on to, she curled her fingers into his hair. Held onto any part of him she could hold. She felt his tongue, all but begging for entrance. Not only did she allow him in, but welcomed him with her own.
Nothing in this world or any other could have prepared her for the devastation his mouth did to her body. Even when he lifted his head, just for the briefest of moments, Jude wanted more. Needed more of anything he was willing to give her. As he dipped his head, taking her mouth once again, she felt the air move around her, the ground beneath her feet shift. Jude thought for sure his kiss had ended all life as they knew it.
The second kiss was everything. Jude felt her body tighten with a climax. The kiss taking her to peak was scary when she thought of what he’d do to her when they made love. Duncan lifted his head once again and held her to him while she got herself under control. Telling her heart it was all right for it to continue to beat while inhaling slowly, she felt Duncan set her up on her feet and hold her. Her nostrils filled with not only his scent but the smell of her own lust as well.
