Sweet Dreams (Sweetwater Book 2)

by Rivi Jacks

  He leans down toward me. “Strange hours for strange characters, my sweet.”

  I laugh and shake my head at his teasing.

  “You two seemed so involved I was beginning to think we were going to have to cancel the meeting,” Taylor says and gives me one of his dazzling smiles. I know now that his earlier evasiveness was his knowledge of this new danger I face, and his fear of what I might see in his eyes. I look over at Sawyer, and he grins.

  Lucas leans down again, speaking for my ears only. “I’d like for you to stay in the bedroom, get some rest and I’ll join you later.” I don’t argue. I’m exhausted, ready to fall into bed.

  We ascend the front steps, and he opens the door for me before turning back to the others. “We’ll talk in my study.”

  I walk through the house, relieved that Richael Scott is nowhere to be seen. Hopefully, she’s passed out for the night. Heading back to the bedroom, I don’t bother with turning on any lights as I plop down on the couch. I stretch my legs toward the cozy fire burning in the fireplace as I pull out my phone, seeing that Diane has called. I need to remember and ask Lucas if they found his phone. The one I threw at the Kihn earlier in the day. Was that just this morning? It seems like several days have passed since Lucas surprised me with the best date ever. I smile, determined to hold on to that memory and the other good ones we shared in Jackson Hole.

  Diane answers on the second ring. “What’s going on, Sofie? Jake canceled our movie date earlier, and he called me again a few minutes ago to let me know I probably wouldn’t be seeing him at all tonight since Lucas has called a meeting. What kind of meeting does a person call this late at night? Jake was trying to play it cool, but I could tell it’s something serious, and I suspect it’s about you.” She pauses to take a breath.

  “I’m so sorry, Di. I hate your plans were ruined.”

  “They weren’t ruined, it was just a movie. What’s going on, Sofie? It has to do with you, right?”

  Now, Diane is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. I know I’m prejudiced since she’s my best friend, but everyone feels that way about her. And I’m here to attest to the fact that there is no one more tenacious. I know it’s going to take some doing on my part to convince her nothing out of the ordinary is going on tonight.

  “It’s nothing other than dealing with the Kihn like usual.”

  “What? I know it’s more than that, Sofie. What aren’t you telling me?”

  Crap. She’s not going to make this easy. I try to think of something that will appease her. “It’s not anything that can’t wait until I see you tomorrow.”

  “You can’t do this to me. I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

  I laugh, trying to make light of it. “It’s no big deal,” I insist. “Do you want me to pick you up on my way to church in the morning? That way we can head on over to Lucy and Ben’s afterward.” I’m hoping to change the subject. “What movie are we going to see after Sunday dinner?”

  “I know what you’re trying to do,” she says. I hear her exaggerated sigh when I don’t say anything.

  “Okay,” I say placatingly. “We had to meet up with the Zelts to fill them in on everything about Lucas’s business trip to Wyoming.” This explanation sounds lame even to me. “Oh, Diane, Lucas has a couple visiting, and they’re staying with us, and you should see this woman.” I know a bit of gossip will distract her. “The couple is married, but she’s constantly coming on to Lucas—right in front of her husband.”

  “She is? How’s Lucas reacting to her?”

  “He really doesn’t act like he likes her. He seems genuinely irritated with her, but there’s some history between them.”

  “There is?”

  I may have to talk more about Richael Scott than I’d like, but at least Diane seems appeased with my explanation for the night. “She’s pathetic.”

  “Does she know you’re with Lucas?”

  “Yes, that’s why it’s so lame—that and the fact it’s so disrespectful to her husband.”

  I sit up straight when I catch movement beyond the wall of windows. “Di, I need to go. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” I keep my gaze trained on the woods beyond the yard as I stand and cross the room.

  “Okay. Have a good night.”

  “Night,” I say distractedly before hanging up.

  I know I didn’t imagine movement out there among the trees. I scan the area for several minutes and have just about decided it was Wolf when I realize I haven’t seen Wolf since we’ve been back.

  The sound of voices from outside has me holding my breath, straining to hear. Lucas has a flagstone patio outside his study which is in the room next door to our bedroom. I’m sure that’s where the voices are coming from. As hard as I strain to hear, I can’t make out anything being said. Moving quickly across the room, down the hall to the sauna, I carefully open the door that leads to the outside. I still can’t hear well enough and decide I need to get closer. The problem is, I’ll be seen since there is nothing to hide behind on this side of the patio.

  I quietly close the door and move back through the bedroom, stepping out into the hallway. I’ll go out the front door and head around to the side of the house. That should bring me close enough to hear.

  As I gently shut the bedroom door and turn, I come up short. At the end of the hall, near the open door of the guest bathroom, light streams out illuminating the embraced couple standing there. All I can see is the back of a man with a woman’s arms wrapped around his back. He’s tall and lean with shoulder-length white-blond hair, part of it pulled up into one of those man buns.

  As I’m taking this all in, he slowly turns his head to the side and then twists his upper body to look at me. His ice blue eyes slide down my body and then back up to meet my gaze. He’s gorgeous. I can’t help but stare right back, assessing his features he’s so striking.

  His mouth lifts in a slow smile while his eyes spark and glow as if from an inner light. It startles me for a moment and then the woman shifts, and that’s when I recognize Richael Scott as the woman in his arms.

  My mouth drops open, and my gaze flashes back to the man’s eyes. He grins, and I hear him laugh softly before giving me a wicked wink.

  I put my head down, mumbling, “Excuse me” and turn to hurry out of the hallway.

  Oh my gosh! That woman certainly has a lot of nerve or else she just doesn’t care if her husband catches her. And who the hell is that guy, and what is he doing in the house? Well, I guess it’s clear what he’s doing. And anyway, I don’t like the way he looked at me.

  At the last moment, I decide to go through the kitchen and out that way. I’m afraid Lucas will hear me going out the front door. I move stealthily through the rooms and let myself out the kitchen’s back door, immensely relieved I encounter no one on my way.

  Holy shit, it’s cold out here! I’m halfway around the house when I start to shiver. Why didn’t I think to grab my jacket? I could go back and get one of the coats that always hang in the sunroom but decide I won’t be out here long enough to warrant the time it would take.

  I keep an eye out for any Guard activity as I make my way around the house. It’s a quiet night. Eerily so.

  I move cautiously around to the far front corner of the house. There I spot a large bush close to Lucas’s study that I can hide behind. The outside light is on, so I move carefully, with bated breath, until I’m safely concealed behind the shrub. There’s no one outside anymore, but as luck would have it, one of the French doors is open.

  I can’t see into the room without getting closer and taking the risk of being seen, but I recognize Taylor’s voice as he says, “It should take three weeks for everyone to arrive. Another week to get all concerned up to speed.”

  “The one concern is having accommodations for everyone,” Max adds.

&n
bsp; “I don’t think that will be a problem.” I hear Lucas say.

  “What about Tristan?” I don’t recognize the owner of that voice. “You know he’s going to cause problems.”

  “I don’t know why you’re even considering bringing him in on this, Lucas.” Another unknown voice.

  “I don’t like the idea of him any better than you, Morten, but you can’t very well keep him out,” Taylor says.

  “I don’t like it. I don’t trust the bastard.” This sounds like another comment from the same voice Taylor addressed as Morten.

  “Tristan will do as he’s told,” Lucas says.

  “How can you say that, Lucas? Tristan is a loose cannon.”

  I’ve never heard any of the other supes speak to Lucas in that tone of voice, and the room falls silent. It’s a long drawn out moment.

  “I suggest, Morten, that you let me worry about Tristan,” Lucas says quietly, but it’s the type of quiet that has a dangerous undertone.

  There’s another space of silence.

  “I’m sorry, Lucas. I meant no disrespect.”

  A twig snaps somewhere across the yard from where I stand. I jump nervously scanning the woods beyond. It’s too dark to see anything out there, but I’m aware anyone out there can probably see me with the outside light being on. And of course, a supe doesn’t need light to see. I’m about to hurry back around the house when I hear the unmistakable closing of a door and can no longer hear any sound from the room. I sigh and turn to head back inside.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  I scream. And it’s not a little girly scream either. “Lucas!” My hand goes to rest over my heart. “Don’t do that!”

  He just looks at me and then raises an arched brow, waiting for his answer.

  I lick my lips nervously. “I’m—eavesdropping,” I say weakly. No reason to lie when he knows what I’m up to. Under his intense stare, I look away.

  “Hear anything interesting?”

  My gaze slashes back to his. “Some.”

  He shakes his head in resignation, and then he frowns. “Where’s your coat?”

  I shrug. What can I say?

  “Lucas,” Taylor calls out. “The Walker boys want to know if Sofie is okay.”

  I close my eyes and groan.

  Lucas laughs a low, sexy sound. “She’s fine, Taylor.”

  I cross my arms over my chest, hugging my arms as Lucas gives me a long look. “I should lead you back in through my study.”

  My mouth drops open, but I promptly shut it. I would die of embarrassment, but it’s probably what I deserve.

  Lucas reaches out and pulls me close. “Let’s get you inside.”

  We enter through the bedroom.

  I whine in protest when my phone alarm goes off the next morning. Rolling over, I reach for Lucas, but he’s already up and gone.

  He left me in the room last night while he went back to his meeting, and I’d fallen asleep on the couch. The sky was beginning to lighten when he carried me to bed. I know he rested for a bit because I fell back to sleep in his arms. I vaguely remember him kissing me before he left the room earlier, telling me he’d see me at lunch. I hope I get to see him before I leave for church. I bound out of bed with just that thought in mind.

  I hurry to shower and dress, choosing the new dress I found on clearance the last time Diane, and I went shopping. It’s a shade that nearly matches the silvery green of Lucas’s eyes. It’s my new favorite. I leave my hair hanging loosely down my back, and then head for the kitchen. Finding no one there, I decide to check Lucas’s study before making my way to the arena. That’s where I find him.

  “You know what I expect, and I won’t settle for anything less,” he says to whoever he’s talking to on the phone.

  I have a few moments to watch him as he talks. He looks good in his black jeans and T-shirt. I imagine the ripple of his abs under that shirt. His jaw has a light sprinkling of scruff that adds to his devastating good looks. His hair, the perfect length, just begs for attention from my fingers. Temptation never looked so good.

  He suddenly turns to look across the room, meeting my gaze. He then proceeds to rock my world with his lethal smile.

  I bite my lip and will my racing heart to slow. He motions for me to enter, watching as I cross the room.

  “I understand your point as you do mine,” he says into the phone as he motions toward his liquor cabinet in what I assume is an offer for a drink.

  Before church?

  Now that is something Sawyer might do, but surely, Lucas knows me well enough… Maybe he’s never been to church. My uncertain knowledge of vampires falls back on the movies I’ve seen. I shift, a little uncomfortable now. I know so little about him and his way of life, but I do know he’s a good man who cares deeply for supes and humans alike. And my spiritual beliefs recognize that as being enough.

  I don’t realize my face is revealing all of this as I work it out, and when I look back at him, he’s ended his call and watches me with a frown. He crooks his finger, and a slow, sexy smile pulls at his lips as I move into his arms.

  “You look beautiful.” He fists a length of my hair and raises it to his face, inhaling deeply.

  My arms slide around his waist, up his back as I press closer to his length. Standing on tiptoe, I place my nose in the hollow of his throat. “You smell delicious,” I murmur, kissing the enticing spot.

  The heat from his body, his delicious scent, and his devastating sensuality assail my senses, and I suddenly sway unsteadily.

  Lucas chuckles under his breath as he reaches to steady me. “I’m glad I get a chance to talk to you before you leave.” He reaches to tip up my chin.

  “You are?” The tone of his voice sobers me instantly.

  “Something’s come up, and I’m not able to make your family dinner today.”

  “You’re not?” I frown at this change of plans feeling an immediate disappointment.

  “No. I’m sorry, Sofie, it can’t be helped.” He releases me to step over to his desk, retrieving something out of one of the drawers. “My mother needs me to help with a situation, and I’ll be flying out as soon as I pack.”

  Oh. I wonder how long he’ll be gone this time.

  “I also need to make a side trip on the way, so I’m looking at being gone about a week.”

  A week!

  He moves back in front of me tipping my chin up once again. “My main concern is for your safety while I’m away.”

  “Lucas, I will be careful I promise, but I have a job, and I told you how I feel about my fear of the Kihn controlling how I live. You have to —”

  He places his finger against my lips effectively silencing me. “I’m not asking you to stay hidden here in the compound. But I do need you to promise me you won’t go anywhere without one of my men. Max and Taylor are staying here, and they and the Guard are all at your disposal.”

  I search his eyes, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so protected—so cared for. “I promise,” I finally manage to say softly.

  The tightened skin around his eyes relaxes. “Thank you.”

  “What about Jake or my cousins, will it be okay to go out with them?”

  He doesn’t hesitate before answering, “Yes, around town. That will look more natural to anyone watching you. But I think it will be best to have more than one with you if you leave the area, and at least one of those needs to be one of my men. I don’t think that is going to set off any—red flags.” He smiles as he smooths my hair back behind my shoulder. I feel right proud of my family knowing Lucas respects their ability. “And don’t go anywhere without Max or Taylor knowing. Understand?”

  “Yes. And I promise to remember my phone.”

  He run
s his hand down over his mouth, thoroughly amused now. “You will also have your… bodyguard.”

  “My bodyguard?” I exclaim. I keep forgetting about him. “Why do I never see him?”

  Lucas laughs softly. “You won’t see him.”

  Well, at least now I know for certain it’s a man. “Hey, where was he in Wyoming when the Kihn was getting up close and personal with me?”

  Lucas’s eyes quickly take on a disquieting gleam. “I didn’t think he was needed since I was there.”

  Oh, crap.

  “Not to mention, two highly trained soldiers.” He narrows his eyes at me before giving a thorough sigh, and then he pulls me into his arms. “I truly am sorry that I can’t make it today, my sweet.”

  “It’s okay.”

  He leans back, his lips twitching. “Is that right?” His eyes sparkle with amusement.

  “Yes. I’m disappointed, but there will be other family dinners.”

  His expression sobers. “I don’t like disappointing you, Sofie.”

  I place my hand on his chest. “Lucas, I’m disappointed you won’t be there today, but you haven’t disappointed me.” He tips his head to the side his expression thoughtful. “I just — I’m really going to miss you while you’re gone,” I say softly.

  His eyes are intense as they delve into mine, holding me immobile. The connection that immediately sizzles between us has my lips parting with a quick intake of breath. When his gaze slides down to my mouth, my tongue darts out to swipe across my bottom lip.

  He lifts a hand to slide it under the hair at my nape, swiftly pulling me close, capturing my gasp with his mouth. My hands slide up over his shoulders as his free hand comes up to rest on the side of my face. His fingers lightly stroke my jawline, sending shivers across my skin.

  When he sucks my bottom lip, I arch my body, encountering his bulging hard-on. Exhaling sharply, he seizes the opportunity to slide his tongue between my lips. His kiss starts slow and deliberate, almost reverent as his tongue circles mine, stroking and teasing.