“Pleasure to meet you,” she said, her voice a little breathy. I was happy that even a woman who was well and truly into women was having trouble sounding normal or not drooling when confronted with Lance.
He nodded in response.
Apparently, badasses didn’t actually verbally greet people anymore, they just nodded. And it worked for him in a big way, somehow he pulled it off without looking like a rude asshole.
I couldn’t decide whether he actually was a rude asshole or just super mysterious and damaged.
The hotness was distracting.
Maybe that was the point.
“And thank you,” Eliza said, not at all perturbed by the lack of response. She threaded her hand in mine, which was all clammy because of my body reacting to Lance. “For doing this for Elena, Nathan,” she clarified. “We can’t tell you how much we appreciate you getting our nephew back to us.”
There was never a point when we spoke about Nathan being their ‘nephew,’ but he just started calling them his ‘aunts’ at some point within the first month of meeting them and they acted like family from the start.
It was natural.
Lance nodded again. “We’re gonna start installing security shit,” he said by answer.
Again, that response to my friend’s heartfelt thank you should have cemented his place in the asshole hall of fame. Somehow it didn’t.
Another awkward silence.
“Um, yeah, okay, do you need help or anything?” I asked, looking from the wires and things in his muscled arms and back to his face.
Eliza snorted. I glared at her.
“You don’t even know how to use your TV remote,” she teased.
“I didn’t mean helping them hook up the system,” I snapped, forgetting all fond feelings toward her. “I meant like help with the boxes.”
“We’re good,” Lance barked, some kind of emotion in his previously flat voice. My eyes went to him immediately, and my stomach dipped at the hardness of his jaw.
Apparently badasses didn’t appreciate women questioning their badass ability to carry boxes.
“I’ll take that help,” Luke’s voice sounded from behind us, smooth, warm, nothing like Lance’s. “Here’s somethin’ you can hold onto.”
He came into view holding possibly the cutest baby I’d ever seen. Mine included. I was not blinded by motherly love when Nathan was born. Of course I adored the absolute heck out of him since I locked eyes with him, but I was also able to admit that he wasn’t adorable. Nathan was kind of weird looking as a baby. He grew into his features once he was about two. Robert was happy about that, about Nathan finally inheriting ‘his genes,’ and I couldn’t decide whether that meant his features or his whiteness.
The kid in Luke’s arms was beyond beautiful. And not really a baby, I guessed he was about two, with a full head of hair, wearing a white tee, ripped blue jeans, and frickin’ Timberlands. I’d never seen a grown-up male look like cool—present company excluded—let alone a kid. And there was not a stain on that shirt. Or the beautiful kid.
Of course, looking at his mother and father who may or may not be vampires, for all their flawless beauty, it did make sense.
“Yes, I can definitely help with that,” I said immediately, smiling and holding my hands out to the baby. “What’s his name?”
“Rogue,” Luke said as he gave him to me, grinning with warm eyes.
Rogue. Of fucking course.
He immediately cuddled into me, seemingly not upset about being handed to a stranger. He was heavier than he looked and didn’t realize how much I missed that heaviness from when Nathan was little. He never let me carry him anymore, which was probably good since he was getting big and my upper body strength left a lot to be desired. I leaned in and inhaled the baby scent that attached itself to every child that left them when they turned about four. It was rare, pure and beautiful.
Calming.
Maybe because I associated it with a kind of safeness. Whenever things got bad with Robert—which was often after I gave birth—I would sneak into Nathan’s nursery, pick him up, hold him into my chest and inhale. He was the thing that saved me and made me strong enough to leave Robert.
“I’m Luke,” the man himself said, holding out a hand to Eliza, jerking me out of my baby scented coma.
She took it, blinking rapidly. “You’re security guys?” she clarified, looking between him and Lance.
Luke nodded.
“Wow,” she replied.
I laughed, now able to do things like that knowing Nathan was inside the house most likely on a sugar high with Karen and that I was holding a baby, in front of a man who only glared and grunted words but somehow made me feel immensely safe.
Luke laughed too seemingly not offended by Eliza’s response, then again, being that hot I was sure he was used to it. “I’m gonna get this system hooked up, might be a bit noisy, but Rosie is comin’ out with Polly in a couple of hours with all sorts of food, drinks, and shit. Just thought I’d give you some time to prepare, make sure all furniture is bolted to the wall,” he joked.