Lana's Calling: A Golden Hills Legacy Novel

by Nancy Glynn

  Seeing him like that drove her wild. She cupped his face and kissed him. He kicked the door shut and continued the kiss. “Do you hate me, Hunter?” she panted against his lips.

  “God, no. Come sit and talk to me. You look disheveled like an animal attacked you. Come here, honey.” He pulled her on his lap in the sitting room, caressing her face.

  “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Just some stupid ritual I had to endure.”

  “Jack’s ritual?” Concern filled his face.

  She nodded. “Part of my initiation into this town and running it.” She didn’t dare tell him of the struggle she had with Drake after the others had left, after she got dressed. He was not happy about her not performing the whole Great Rite with him, and wanted it. He threatened her he’d come to her in her dreams and to be prepared. She threw him across the room and warned him of never coming near her again, only in a professional manner, or she’d do worse. He just wiped the blood in the corner of his mouth and laughed.

  “Yes. It’s over now. I don’t want to sleep in my house tonight.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.

  “You’re staying here then,” he said against her hair. “You’re shaking.”

  “Why did you talk to me that way?”

  “What way?”

  “In your text, like you hated me.”

  He sighed and looked into her eyes. “I have my reasons.”

  “Reasons?”

  “Jack came to see me and put…let’s just say, I didn’t like the man I was after that visit. I was protecting you from me.” He kissed her forehead.

  “My father protected my mother from him for as long as he could…”

  “Until he couldn’t any longer?”

  “Right.”

  “Didn’t she have a cross to protect her?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t believe in God?”

  “Not really. Religion is strong in my family, but I just want to believe in myself. Is that so wrong?” she asked, eyeing his cross. “I see you’re a religious man.”

  His eyes dropped to his cross before looking back at her. “No, just a man of faith, a reminder to do good. Nothing more than that.”

  “I never knew that about you. What other secrets you hiding from me, Mr. Bane?” she asked, a cheeky grin forming.

  He laughed and hugged her to him.

  Her eyes glossed over the chain and widened at the realization.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing, just that I’ve had these strange dreams and remember seeing a gold chain…”

  “Damn. Jack was telling me the truth,” he said, looking at the floor.

  “What truth?”

  “Are these dreams of a sexual nature?”

  She nodded, blood rushing to her head.

  “Then you know now,” he stated.

  “But how?”

  “A talk for another time.” He kissed her again.

  Marietta walked in to offer food and drinks. “Oh, my goodness, Miss Lana! You okay?” The older woman ran to her. “Go on up and take a bath. I’ll run it for you. There’ll be fresh towels and a nightgown. I’m sorry, but you look terrible!”

  “Better listen to her. She’s the real boss around here.” He swatted her behind as she stood, taking Marietta’s hand.

  “Fine, but I don’t look that bad.”

  “No? Then what’s that blood on your face?” the housekeeper asked.

  “Blood?” She wiped at her face and found the red smears. “I’m not sure.” She thought back to the ritual and remembered when they did an inverted sign of the cross at the end before she got dressed. There must have been blood on their fingers. “I’ll wash it off. Thanks, Marietta.”

  “I’ll bring you dinner,” Hunter added before she left.

  “Wow, getting pampered is nice!” She mouthed thank you to him, and he winked.

  ***

  In the bathroom, she slipped on the cottony nightgown after applying lotion and powder. She brushed her waves to a silky sheen, pulling it to the side and closing her eyes. She realized now that Hunter had a hard time accepting her in the beginning because of her lack of faith. She saw where faith had gotten her mother and her father. Got them in a nice spot with Jack.

  “Lana?” his voice called out in the bedroom.

  “In here. You may come in.” She turned, with her brush in her hand, to see Hunter fill out the doorframe. He had put a tee-shirt on to her disappointment.

  “Need help?” He sat next to her on the cushioned bench in front of the mirror. He took the brush from her and slowly ran it through her hair.

  “That feels good,” she said, turning her back to him.

  “It’s so soft.” He brushed in tantalizing strokes down to the middle of her back. He then pushed it over her shoulder and kissed her neck, sweet kisses.

  With a pounding heart, her head fell against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Still sitting behind her, she scooted her back closer between his legs, allowing his kisses to trail to her face and then her mouth. He pressed himself into her behind through the thin material, squeezing her closer to his grinding hips. She guided his hands over her breasts, slipping them inside the neckline, their tongues in a heated dance.

  Their heavy breathing escalated to moans, needing to be satisfied. She stood and spun around, rolling the nightgown up and off along with her underwear, exposing herself for his famished eyes. He pressed his lips to her navel, cupping the soft flesh of her behind. Pulling him to stand and pushing his sweatpants down, she grabbed his shirt and yanked it up and over his head, his pendent shining in her face. She kneeled on the bench and kissed it, pushing him back down on the seat, and straddling him.

  Guiding him in, she slowly slid down and ground her hips, driving him insane with her deliberate movements. He took her lips in his mouth, sucking on them, his eyes closed in ecstasy. “Lana,” he whispered, grabbing her hips to grind them harder.

  She licked his face, his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, his eyes, sticking her tongue in his ear, bringing a loud groan from his throat. His sweat-soaked face pushed against her chest as she rode him, his sweaty cheek sticking to her breast, his hands slipping over her backside, his fingers gliding partially inside her from the back, extracting a low scream from her, buckling against his hand.

  Her head fell backward, bucking against him, needing release. She brought her mouth back to his, their tongues making frenzied love, moisture between their chests. Pulling back, she gave herself to him for full view, like an unwrapped gift for his eyes only, especially after unwanted eyes on her body earlier. This was for him and only him.

  And he took her in, every inch, traveling down to her navel where they were attached. “You torture me.”

  “Good.”

  He brought his lips to her breasts, suckling her, lapping at each one, heightening her flame, a fire burning below, needing to be doused, and erasing any touch Drake had put there. She cradled his head, not wanting him to ever stop. “Soon?” he asked, trying to control himself, a grimace of pain on his face.

  She barely nodded, a few more thrusts, closing her eyes and allowing the release she so desperately needed from this man from the first moment she set eyes on him. A tightening that nearly strangled her insides, clenching, and pulsating against him, and he met her, pulling her body deeper, burying himself until they stilled, rocking each other as if to never let go. Her body shivered against his in the aftermath.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up and in a warm bed.” He carried her to the shower and washed her down, climbing in with her, and sudsing her body. She took the sponge and returned the favor, soaping his muscular chest and hard stomach, his arousal growing at her touch. “You’re going to exhaust me,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She soaped him lovingly while kissing and rinsing each other off, licking, fondling, and rubbing skin against skin. He pushed her against the wet wall, grabbing her hair. “Bed, now,” he quietly growled into her throat before h
e turned off the water and dried her off.

  He carried her to her bed after pulling the blankets down and rolled her under them, following behind her, his body falling on top. She pulled his face to hers, giving him a soft kiss before becoming more urgent, her hand then stroking him as she wrapped her legs around his hips.

  In one swift move, he was inside, filling her up with his beautiful body again, his cross dangling in her face. She widened her legs to pull him in more, not being able to get enough. Never enough. “I’m sorry, Lana, but I can’t wait this time. You drive me crazy.” With that, he gave a final thrust to her satisfied body, cupping his behind to pull deeper.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I love every minute of you being in me.”

  He kissed her face and neck and lay on her moist body, his breathing trying to slow to a normal rate. “You’re so beautiful…so beautiful.” He pulled her head on his chest with her arm wrapped around his waist, and her leg curled around his leg as his hand tangled in her hair.

  “I love this smell,” she said, squeezing him.

  “What smell?”

  “You…us. It has a life of its own. Should bottle it.”

  “No way. I’m not selling us.”

  She giggled and snuggled closer, playing with his cross on his chest. “Have you always worn a cross?”

  He shook his head. “Not until my dad died. I felt like I needed to believe in something good.”

  “Well, my mom would have loved you. I hope I don’t corrupt you, Hunter.”

  “And how would you corrupt me besides sexually?”

  “Sexually? I corrupted you sexually? I don’t think so.”

  “Yes, not just my body. You’ve corrupted my mind, heart, and soul in ways I never knew existed.”

  “So, no old girlfriend did that for you?” she grinned, scared of the answer. The thought of him with someone else boiled her blood.

  “Nope. I mean, I’ve been with others, but no one like you. I’m sure you’ve been corrupted many times, though.”

  She sat up, feeling hurt at his words. “You really think that?”

  He sat up and hugged her to him. “No, baby. I just meant because of your beguiling ways. I’m sure you’ve been taken advantage of by some unworthy men.” He kissed her head, cradling her to him.

  “Thanks to Jack, I became beguiling sooner than a girl should be. He put thoughts in my head.” Tears sprang to her eyes.

  “I know about the thoughts Jack can put into one’s mind. Believe me.” He pulled her back down and yanked the blanket over their chilling wet bodies mixed with the cold wind blowing through the open window. “I know Debra came out of her coma. What happened?”

  She shrugged, not wanting to tell him the deal she made with Jack.

  “Not talking, huh?” He rubbed her face softly with his fingers.

  “I don’t think you’ll like what happened, so I’d rather not.”

  “What happened? Tell me,” he coaxed. “I won’t judge.”

  She shook her head.

  “Please, Lana? I want to help you. I know how Jack operates. I know firsthand what he’s capable of doing. Let me help you.”

  Wanting to tell him but not wanting him to know what the deal she had struck, she needed to distract him. Her hand found what it wanted, making his head spasm against the pillow, followed by a pleasured groan. She grinned at him and lowered her head until her mouth found what it wanted.

  ***

  After waking up to an empty bed, she found a note saying he had to go into the office for some last minute finishes on a project and that he’d see her that night at church. She smiled, stretching her body and reveling in the aftershocks of his touch all night. Her skin tingled at the memory, a throbbing ache becoming addicted and feeling insatiable.

  His mouth now knew every inch of her body, inside and out, more than any man had ever known. He devoured not only her body but her heart. Her soul wasn’t hers to give anymore. That would be something she could never let him know or lose him forever. How could his untainted soul intermingle with hers? It wasn’t how the human world worked.

  But she’d enjoy him for as long as she could, as long as he’d have her. When he discovered what she had agreed to do on a day of love, wedded bliss would become black mass, a dark day for Golden Hills at her hands.

  Diana had texted her to see if she was free to go flower shopping. Of course she was. It was the least Lana could do. After all, she was part of a ritual that burned pictures of her and her beloved, so she owed her that much. She only had so much time to give her today because tonight was mass.

  ***

  When she got back from a grueling day of flowers and invitations, feeling loads of guilt every time she looked Diana’s way, she jumped in the shower and got dressed.

  “Hey there, gorgeous,” Eric said, poking his head in the door.

  She turned and smiled. “Hi, yourself. Going to mass?” She eyed his slacks and button down shirt, as she smoothed out her nylons, drawing his eyes to her legs.

  “Yep. Need help with anything?” He walked to her, picked up the black pump after bending to the floor, and slipped it on her foot.

  “Thanks.” She put her other one on and smoothed out her sapphire blue dress. She grabbed the bottle of perfume on her dresser and spritzed it along her calves.

  “Are you trying to make me crazy?”

  “Don’t you have a fiancée waiting?”

  He stared at her and then chuckled. His eyes turned black as he leaned against her dresser. He took his glasses off and cleaned them with a handkerchief. “If you only knew what I had on my list. You’d be amused,” he said, glancing at her before putting his glasses back on.

  “I used to wonder, but now not so much.” She smiled and grabbed the blue cape her mother had worn, per Jack’s request.

  His eyes glazed over the cape. “I remember her in that. She was so beautiful, so innocent until he…” His jaw clenched.

  “Who, Jack?”

  “No…Christian. If it weren’t for him, she’d be alive today.”

  “Don’t say things like that.” She draped the cape over her arm, her purse on her other, and stood in front of Eric.

  “I see her in you so much, your expressions, your laugh, even the way you spray perfume on your legs. If I close my eyes, Daisy stands in front of me.”

  “Then don’t.”

  “I dream of you still, even in Diana’s house. It’s not just here.”

  “Eric…”

  “You made love to Hunter last night, didn’t you?”

  “Why would you ask such a thing?”

  “You weren’t here.”

  “I stayed there after a hard day.”

  “And he consoled you?”

  “What’s your point, Eric?”

  “I left my list in my nightstand in my room. You can read it if you want.” He moved closer to her and kissed her. Her hands pushed at his chest, but he was too strong, his grip too firm around her neck, forcing her mouth to his. His tongue rammed down her throat, moaning against her skin, his other hand slipping under her dress.

  “Eric, stop!” She lifted her knee up, bringing him to his knees to the ground in a groan.

  He laughed. “You’ll be mine sooner or later, Lana girl. It was always meant to be you and me. Jack wanted it that way. That’s what he promised me when…”

  “When what?”

  “Nothing. It’s all in the list. I do love how aggressive you can be. I want to wrestle that out of you in bed.”

  “Eric, stop it! You’re family!”

  “Not in my mind.”

  “That’s Jack doing that to you. Can’t you see?” Tears burned her eyes for a man she thought she knew.

  “You’re my Lolita, always have been.”

  She took a deep breath and stormed to the door, pitying him more than anything. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said, and walked out.

  “Lana!”

  ***

  At the church, cars hon
ked in the lot like it was a party. She didn’t see Hunter’s truck yet, which worried her. As she started for the doors, a man jumped out of his Benz, trying to catch up with her.

  “Lana, wait up!” a blond man said and recognized it to be Drake. He was out of breath. “Look, I’m so sorry for my behavior yesterday. I don’t always act like that. You have to know that wasn’t the real me. I’d never hurt you, Lana.”

  She exhaled before giving in. “Fine, apology accepted. I don’t think anyone around Jack is ever their true self.”

  “Thanks. At least it won’t be too awkward in our meetings and can start over.” He grinned, looking over his shoulder to someone coming up behind him.

  A big grin covered her face. “There you are! I was worried you wouldn’t…”

  Hunter ran to her and hugged her to him, almost pushing Drake out of the way. “Yeah, I was in meetings all day.” He pulled her face to his for a kiss, his black leather jacket crunching with each movement.

  Drake cut in. “Hey, good work on the train depot project, buddy. You have some good men on it.”

  “Thanks,” Hunter said, still looking at Lana.

  Drake cleared his throat. “Well, again, I’m sorry. See you inside, High Priestess.” Drake waved and ran through the double doors.

  Hunter froze at the words. “What’d he call you?”

  “I told you, I was in a ceremony yesterday and…”

  “Wait, he was there with you and saw you leave the way you did?”

  “It’s fine. Let’s go in. I know how you hate being here, so thank you for coming for me.” She kissed him again and squeezed his hand.

  He looked at the formidable church with concern. “It really makes my skin crawl to be in there, especially with someone I care about. I should be kidnapping you and taking you away.”

  “I don’t, either. I do what I have to do to take this town back in my father’s name. If he could stand in there without crumbling as well as my mother, who was religious, then so can I.” She wanted to jump for joy when he said he cared for her. Her heart was beginning to open wide. A permanent grin pasted on her face, making her cheeks ache.