Taking a deep breath only fogged his mind further, since he sucked in a lungful of her. Turning his head, Laif tried again and this time a little of the haze cleared. As his mind gained control over his traitorous body and he was thinking somewhat clearly again, he forced himself to see her as just a woman, nothing special. Nothing to get all worked up about. He simply ignored his heart protesting that she was something special.
The fiery redhead stood up and glared down at him with unadulterated contempt. “Look, Slick, I’m not some distressed damsel who needs saving. Thanks all the same.”
“Laif,” he said, standing as well and towering over her in the process. Not that she was short exactly; he’d put her at about five-seven, but at six-foot-three he was more than a head taller.
“What?” She raised a lovely arched brow and crossed her arms across her chest, clearly wishing she was anywhere else.
Drawing on the Craig charm he grinned. “I’m Laif. And these—” he nodded toward the stairs— “are my parents. Regan and Lydia Craig. Mom, Dad, this is the ungrateful woman I saved from a dangerous alley tonight.”
“You saved—” she sputtered. “I’ll have you know I didn’t need saving. I was perfectly fine walking home in that alley. I do it almost every night.” She balled her hands into fists and fixed them on her shapely hips, growling, “The big jerkface expects me to be grateful.”
Deep, billowing laughter sprung from Regan, and Laif glanced over as his mother elbowed his father in the ribs.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, “this one’s quite a lass.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Lydia asked, stepping toward the woman who still hadn’t given her name.
She turned toward his mom and smiled. “I’d love some water. Slick here dragged me around for miles. Couldn’t even offer me a kind word, better yet a drink of water.”
Muscles clenched his jaw. Impertinent woman. Can’t show an ounce of gratitude for the fact that I helped you, can you? No, I’m dying of thirst because I had to exert myself while being saved. It didn’t matter that he had dragged her for miles and that he was thirsty as well, he didn’t like her attitude. But no way would he let her go one more moment without water.
Laif grabbed her hand and hauled her off to the kitchen. The glass tumbler he slammed on the counter nearly cracked. As he grabbed a bottled water out of the fridge, the woman said in a thickened Southern accent, “From the tap is good enough for the likes of lil’ ol’ me.”
Frustrated and angry beyond what was probably warranted, and more at himself than her for letting her get under his skin, Laif snarled, “Why use a glass at all, just stick your head under the faucet.”
Her shoulder rose in a shrug and she stepped to the sink, held her long braided hair out of the way, and lowered her head, taking a lengthy drink. She straightened, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and sighed. “Now that’s good water.” She winked and a small smile lit her lips. “And it’s free.”
Need and longing slammed into him even harder when she smiled. Again, the sense he knew her engulfed Laif. He wanted to touch her. Needed to touch her. Anywhere. He shouldn’t be reaching for her. His hand lifted anyway.
Fighting instinct that demanded he claim her, make her his, when his hand reached her face, instead of stroking her soft skin, he pinched her chin between thumb and index finger and sneered. “What’s your name, woman?”
The pads of his fingers burned where they touched her skin. This close, her scent about drove him to his knees. He wanted her like he’d never wanted before, and it infuriated him.
This wasn’t him.
Laif Craig was nothing if not level-headed and calm. The one to whom everyone turned in a crisis because he could analyze everything in a cool manner. He rarely gave in to his emotions, especially anger. Spending one's life avoiding weaknesses to keep others safe didn't generally lead to feeling an almost uncontrollable lust.
As his fingers relaxed just a touch, her eyes clouded, and her lips parted. A rush of breath blew across his cheek shooting his need to heightened proportions.
“Memphis,” she whispered.
“Huh?” He swallowed and took a step closer to her, the slight brushing of their bodies sent a tremor through him.
“My name is Memphis McLoughlin and I need to get home,” she rasped out.
His gaze lifted from her full lips to moss-green eyes and he swallowed again. “Maybe I don’t want to take you home.”
She smiled, slow and feminine. “Well, Slick, as pretty as you are, and you are awful pretty, I don’t spend the night with men I don’t know, even if their mommy and daddy are around. So, either take me home, or I’ll walk, but I’m not staying here with you.”
Laif shook himself from her spell and moved away. What was he doing?
“I believe it would be best for all concerned if I drove the lass home,” Laif’s dad said from the doorway between the kitchen and family room.
Memphis straightened her spine and smiled warmly at Laif’s dad. “Mr. Craig, I’d appreciate that very much.”
With a scowl, Laif snatched up the bottled water and twisted off the top. “I’ll take her since I’m going home anyway.”
Memphis stared at him. “You don’t live here?”
He tilted his head and watched as she seemed to relax just a little. “No. Not for about twelve years now.”
Her brows came together in a show of confusion. “Then why bring me here in the middle of the night?”
Why indeed? Maybe, since he’d felt that zing from just touching her, he knew that this meeting would forever change his life and that taking her to his place, or hers, or anywhere they might be alone would be the biggest mistake of his life. Not an answer he was willing to give. Calling on every ounce of calm he could muster up, Laif shrugged. “It seemed safer.”
Her features relaxed and the transformation from anger to, well, not joy, but somewhere in between, was breathtaking. “So, you weren’t planning on me thanking you by putting me in your bed?”
Laif felt the heat spread up his neck, cover his face, and sting his ears. He couldn’t believe it, he never blushed. How do you like that? he thought. This woman sure hits at the core.
“Son, maybe you should stay the night and let me take her home. Then we can drive in for the meeting with the governor together.”
Thanks, Dad, Laif thought as Memphis visibly pulled back again. His parents’ money obviously didn’t impress her in the least. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect. “I left the blueprints at my house, so I have to go there anyway. Sorry, I woke y’all. Kinda figured to be in and out without you being the wiser.”
His dad grinned at that. “Figured as much. A word alone first.”
Laif’s shoulders slumped and he felt like a boy being summoned for a lecture. “I’ll be right back,” he said to Memphis before following his dad down the hallway leading to his office. He knew what his dad would say before he even stopped and turned to face him.
“So, you’re attracted to the lass.” No question there, his dad could read him well enough. A blind man would be able to tell.
Laif sighed. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find her attractive.”
“Lad,” his father started, “you’ve found many women attractive. This is different.”
He’d always been able to tell his dad anything, but at the moment, he had no desire to discuss the pull this woman had on him. “I’ll be fine.”
“That may be, but there are times when all you know and understand as right becomes difficult to remember.”
“I remember this talk, Dad. I know all about sex.”
Regan raised a brow. “You do, do you? And when, may I ask, did you become an expert?” There was a definite bite to his voice.
“I didn’t say I was an expert,” Laif said with a bite of his own. “But I have a pretty good understanding about how everything works and fits together. And quit looking at me like that, you’d’ve known if I’d ever had sex with an
yone. I haven’t forgotten the rules. You and Mom have drummed it in our brains enough over the years. Anything that weakens the senses welcomes the Night Shadows to take control.”
And the thought of sex with Memphis had definitely weakened his senses. Memphis was turning him into a drooling idiot. And if not sanctioned through marriage, sex allowed all kinds of demons in for someone like him.
His father shook his head. “You think you know, but you’ve no’ really been tested. I’ve a feeling this lass is gonna test ya beyond anything you’ve ever endured.”
Laif raised one shoulder in a half shrug. “Maybe. But I’m not a kid. I can handle her.”
Regan looked at Laif. Seemed to study him, making Laif uncomfortable. It was never good when a parent stared with that look.
“She’s just a woman,” Laif said, not believing his own words. “I’ve handled women my whole life. Wrapped many around my little fing—”
“Enough.” Regan Craig cut him off with a roar. “You think this is a game? We’ll see how well you play, boyo, when you dunno’ know the rules.” With that, he wheeled around and left his son alone.
Laif rubbed his hands over his face as his mind reeled. He understood the rules. Right? You don’t do anything to weaken the mind, body, or spirit. What other rules could his dad have been talking about? There had to be something Laif didn’t understand for him to storm off, but why not just explain? It wasn’t like his dad hadn’t ever been mad at him before, obviously, he had, but never to the point that he wasn’t willing to finish a conversation. As he started down the hall to find his dad and ask what other rules, he heard the front door open.
There was no way he’d let her get away before he’d had a chance to find out who she was and what she was doing in that dark alley…with weapons.
By the time he made his way through the door, she’d already passed the fountain and was stalking down the driveway, hips swinging to the beat of a seductive drum. He shook his head, attempting to dispel her allure.
“Wait up,” he called out.
If she heard him, she didn’t let on, just continued on her way as if she didn’t have a care in the world. He sprinted after her, thinking only to stop her from leaving. As he reached for her arm, she pivoted to the left and punched him in the kidney as he passed.
Staggered by pain and annoyance, he straightened and hollered. “What was that for?”
Green eyes hinted at humor, but she kept the smile from breaking free. “Reflex. Sorry.”
He squinted at her, weighing her reaction, and decided against calling her a liar. Instead, he asked, “Why were you in that alley?”
The humor in her eyes disappeared. “Why were you?”
“Do you always answer questions with questions?”
“Do you?”
Laif growled. “Just answer the question. Why were you in the alley?”
Memphis shrugged. “Heading home from work.”
Was she insane? Granted, Austin wasn’t the crime capital of the world, but people still got raped and murdered in the city. “Who in their right mind takes that kind of shortcut at two in the morning? And what’s with the mid-evil weaponry?”
With a gasp, her hand went to her dagger. “You can see them?” she whispered.
She had to be some kind of nut. A beautiful one, but a nut nonetheless. “They’re not invisible, you know. Of course, I can see them.”
A wave of her hand drew his attention back to her face. She no longer seemed concerned about her dagger and short sword.
“Look, Slick.” She studied him from head to toe and Laif’s heart beat faster. It irked him that he wasn’t sure if she liked what she saw. “I appreciate the white knight routine and all,” her tone said she anything but appreciated it. “But I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time and I don’t need a pretty, rich boy to sweep in and try to protect me. Thanks all the same.” She spun on her heel, the long rope of red hair practically slapping him in the face.
He was stunned and at a total loss for words. Never had a woman dismissed him as if he were no better than the scum scraped off her shoes. Oh, she’d pretended to be somewhat polite about it, if you called her sardonic voice and name-calling polite, but he’d caught the haughty look she tried to hide under that beautiful smile.
He considered letting her walk home, figuring it would serve her right, but thirty years of training held the gentlemen in place. With a great deal of irritation, he spat, “I’ll drive you home and then you never have to see me again. Sorry to take the time out of my night to try and save you.”
Without waiting for her protest, he snatched her by the elbow and dragged her to the side of his car. After opening the door, he shoved her inside, closed the door, and rounded the hood.
The need to protect her warred with his need to drop her on her ungrateful butt and tell her to get lost. By the time he had settled himself behind the wheel and asked for directions, he had worked himself into a black mood.
Chapter 2
What a night, Memphis thought as she hiked the stairs to her apartment. Her blood still revved through her veins in an energized race after the face-off with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Laif Craig was something else. And with her history, someone she should push out of her head and forget all about.
Too bad for her, she thought as she brought up a picture of him in her mind’s eye. Dark hair, black as pitch, hung loosely over a high forehead and curled at his neck and around his ears. A square jaw added masculinity to high, defined cheekbones. And those eyes. The same glacial blue she’d seen in pictures of the Arctic.
Her heart sputtered in her chest, caught in a frenzy of longing and fear, two feelings she had no use for. She’d been down the path of longing once before and refused to visit it again. So what if he was beautiful? Not in a pretty, feminine way, but in a god-fallen-to-the-earth kind of way.
She shoved away the attraction and concentrated on the here and now as she removed the slender key from her boot and slid it into the lock. The buzz of air-conditioning welcomed her home, and she breathed a grateful sigh. Summer nights in Austin, Texas were brutally hot and humid, and after chasing demons for miles, she appreciated the finer things of life, such as air-conditioning and a long shower.
She dropped her key on the wooden TV tray used as a console table near the front door and unhooked the centuries-old dagger attached to her thigh. The weapon reflected her heritage. A heritage of guardianship, of battles. Of war.
A guardianship she would honor all her days. But how could Laif see her dagger and short sword? She had protections on all her weapons so she could fight without interference from do-gooders and the cops. He shouldn’t have noticed it. Maybe she’d have to tighten her protections on them. She’d do her door and apartment again too. Wouldn’t hurt.
The phone rang and she checked caller-ID before she answered, “Hello, handsome. What are you doing up so late?”
“I wanted to talk to you, but you haven’t been answering the phone.”
“Of course not, I’ve been out looking for the bad guys. But that doesn’t answer why you’re up so late.”
She sat on the couch and slipped the zipper down on both boots, kicking them off. Arching her feet, Memphis appreciated the sweet relief.
“It’s not too late.”
Memphis laughed. “It’s not? I’d say one a.m. is pretty late for you, young man.”
“Aw, Mom. I’m almost a teenager. Can’t you give in sometimes? I mean, you were already killing Night Shadows when you were my age.”
“Only out of necessity.” Memphis detested this part of being a mom. She knew she had to let Callan in on the battles she fought soon, but she didn’t have to like it.
“Mom,” he whined.
“How about when you can say Mom without whining, we’ll talk.”
He sighed. “Mom.”
“Yes?” Leaning back, she closed her eyes and basked in the chance to talk to her baby.
“I’ve been training as long as I
can remember. Don’t you think I could go out with you at least once when I get home?”
No, she thought, but said, “We’ll see. Now, tell me about Disneyland and California Adventures. Are you having fun and minding Joan?”
She grinned as she pictured him rolling his eyes. “I guess. I’m a little old for this stuff, and Kiley has wanted me on every stupid kid ride with her. It’s embarrassing.”
“Liar. You’re having the time of your life. Joan texted me pictures of you and Kiley, and you looked like you were floating along on cloud nine or screaming your head off in utter joy.”
“Well, I guess it’s not too bad, but she’s not big enough to ride any of the cool ones. She was terrified on Splash Mountain and then she had to hold my hand on everything else today,” he groaned.
Memphis shook her head, picturing little Kiley following Callan around and smiling up at him with her huge doe eyes. At eight, the girl had her son wrapped around her little finger. She wondered if he’d notice Kiley when he grew up, or if he’d always think of her as a little sister or a friend of the family, instead of the beautiful neighbor girl Memphis was sure she’d turn into.
“So,” Memphis said, “your missing me and wanted to talk, or did something happen?”
“Naw.” His voice now sounded tired. “I just wanted to make sure you made it home a’right. I don’t like knowing you’re out there and no one’s around to watch out for you.”
Tears formed behind her closed eyelids and her heart swelled to the point of bursting. “Oh baby, I love you so much. You are my whole world.”
“I know, Mom. I love you too.”
She sniffed and leaned forward in the chair. “How ‘bout you call me every morning when you wake up and you’ll know I’m home safe?”
“Okay. I’m going to sleep now, ‘cause Kiley’s gonna want to get up early and ride all the princess rides today. I’m gonna need lots of sleep to handle that.”
Memphis laughed and stood. “Good night, my white knight.”
In The Dark (The Guardianship Trilogy Book 1) Page 2