The Brightest Night (Origin 3)

“That’s all?”

He nodded.

I had a feeling there was a lot more to that story. “How did the talk go with Daemon?”

“I know you were irritated about being iced out of the conversation with him. I’m sorry for that,” he said, and surprise flickered through me.

“Yeah, well, I was irritated.”

“I can’t blame you for that.” He continued dragging his finger along my skin above the collar. “Daemon needed to get what he had to say out of him, but you didn’t need to hear it.” Luc’s lashes swept up and his gaze pierced mine. “Because you already knew what he was going to say, Evie.”

I thought that over. Luc was right. I did know.

“And I know you feel guilt for what you did to him in the woods. You don’t need him compounding that by running his mouth, and I don’t need to throw him through a wall because he’s hurt your feelings.”

Shifting my gaze to the tree above, I saw that the bird was gone. “He told Kat about what happened. She said he’d eventually forgive me.”

“He will.”

Another yawn climbed its way out of me. “Do you really think that?”

“I do. Right now, he’s just worried about Kat and their child and their friends, but that will change once he sees that won’t happen again.”

How Luc could be so confident about that amazed me, but even if he was right, I would never be fully accepted.

Pushing aside the disappointment and lingering hurt, I said, “Being iced out did irritate me, but I also got it. That’s why I didn’t say anything yesterday.”

“I know,” he said. “But I still needed to say something. There was some other zone-related stuff Daemon wanted to talk about.” He’d gotten the neckline low enough that when I glanced down, I saw the scallop edging of my bra. “He wouldn’t want to have that conversation around anyone he didn’t know.”

“Or trust?”

“I trust you, Evie. So does Zoe. Anyone who knows you does—”

“Grayson?”

“Well…” He bit down on his lower lip. “Everyone who knows you except Grayson.”

I snorted.

“But those who don’t know you? Like Daemon? They don’t.” Luc was as blunt as he could be. “But once they get to know you, they will. We just need to respect that they need time.”

I was only mildly annoyed with his logically sound answer. “Did you and Zoe take Logic 101 classes?”

Luc chuckled as his gaze traveled to where his finger was slipping just an inch under the collar of my shirt. “Yes. We took one in between Killing Our Enemies 101 and Being Sexy as Hell 401.”

“Oh my God.” Only Luc could make a joke like that.

Grinning in a wickedly devilish way, he dipped his head, kissing where his finger had just passed. A pulse of shivery heat traveled from where his lips touched my skin to every point in my body.

“And while we wait for them to get right with their lives, that doesn’t mean I can’t fill you in,” he went on to say, pressing another kiss where my heartbeat was skyrocketing. “But first, I have an important question for you. One that I really need you to think long and hard about. Okay?”

Knowing Luc, I had no idea where this was heading. I also wasn’t sure I could even repeat my name when I felt the wet heat of his tongue against my skin, but I murmured something that sounded like a word from the English language.

Luc lifted his head as he shifted so that he was above me, the bulk of his weight resting on his arm and the heady warmth of him settling over me. “Are you religious?”

His question caught me so off guard that my thoughts cleared. “Uh, no? I mean, not really?”

“Well, I am.” A pause. “Because you’re the answer to all my prayers.”

I stared up at him.

“You know what else?”

Lips curving up at the corners, I resisted the urge to tackle-hug him. Barely. This was the Luc that had been missing after he’d taken the Source from me, this playful, irreverent side of him that simmered under the surface even in the direst of circumstances. This was what had been absent.

“What?” I whispered, voice a little thick with the unexpected burst of emotion.

“I was feeling a little off today, but now, with you, I’m definitely feeling turned on.”

“Oh my God.” I laughed.

“Tell me, Peaches, are you a parking ticket?”

“How are you going to turn that into a cheesy pickup line?”

“Because you have fine written all over you.”

“That was the lamest thing I’ve heard.”

“Are you sure?” His hand slid down my waist to my hip, leaving a riot of sensations in its wake. “What about this? Is your name Google? Because you have everything I’ve been searching for.”

I was grinning like there was nothing wrong in the world, and I had him to thank for that. “Okay. I was wrong. That was the lamest thing I’ve heard.”