Chapter 684 Chapter 684
With a smile, he walked over to the door and came out. “I no want to disturb you on the phone.”
Deva inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled. “I just called my mom.”
“All is okay?” He focused entirely on her face.
She nodded. “Yes. They’re getting all set up for the Christmas season.”
“You have big family?
“I have three younger sisters, my mom and dad—and a few aunts, uncles, and cousins.”
“That is nice for you. To have family, ja?”
She remembered he only had his sister left. No clan. Just his sister. “It is most days.” She grinned. “Three younger sisters can be…”
He grinned. “I know how sisters be.” He nodded his head slowly. “My sister okay now as she has grown. When she was little, it was—” He waved his hand around. “I do not know the word I need.”
“Drama? Fits, crying, and spurts of really loud joy?”
He laughed. “Ja. Drama. Lot and lot of drama. She make my mother so, ah, not mad, but another word for that.”
“Flustered. Annoyed.” Deva leaned back against the glass.
“Ja. That.” His smile faded slowly, and she could see he was lost in memories.
She didn’t want him to remember the bad, and she knew that there had been a lot of it. “I had to tell them I wasn’t sure I’d be home for Christmas.”
He inhaled a deep breath. “Aiden Tomas is Christmas present for all shifter kind.”
Deva nodded. “That he will be, but we can’t tell them about it.”
“No.” His brows creased. “Is good to let them live in a happy place.” He motioned between them. “We do work so they live happy place.”
“Yes.” She hadn’t thought of it that way. “Listen, after we get Aiden Tomas and burn his buildings to the ground—” He smiled at her. “I’m sure we’ll get a break to go home or whatever—” She had to look away for a second, not sure where her brain was going with this. Clearing her throat, she looked back at him. “I know you don’t have a clan here, you and your sister.” He held her look without movement. “Maybe—” She shrugged. “We’ll have to get permission, of course, from my clan Alpha, but maybe you and your sister could—” She scowled at the deck for a second. “Or-or any other lynx shifters; if your men are, you could come to spend some time on my clan’s land.” She had just invited the man home for the holidays. Her heart was racing. She hadn’t thought about that before it came out of her mouth. Where had that come from? Yes, it would be nice to be with your own kind for the holidays, but…
“You make my heart grow, my beauty Deva.” He smiled at her. He reached out and touch her cheek. “I no know if this good idea. The king say to stay out of eyes so we know is safe.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “For you to ask makes me happy man.”
Internally, she rolled her eyes, not sure what part of this was worse. The fact that she had invited him home to meet her family or that he was talking all sappy. Even with half the words in his sentence missing, it was emotionally sappy. “We’ll, uh, play it by ear then.”
His brows creased again. “I no know…”
“We’ll see what happens at Christmas and then decide.”
“Ah, ja. We can do that.” He smiled again. “I break word to you again. Now.” He touched her chin and lifted it.
Before she could sort through what he’d just said, his mouth touched hers. He kissed her fleetingly a few times and then paused and looked at her with their faces a few inches apart. This is the moment she should have backed up or stepped sideways because her back was against the glass, but she didn’t. Instead, she held his look and stood there, barely breathing. He lowered his mouth to hers again, and this time his kiss was more demanding. She leaned into it and didn’t care that she was helping him break his promise. A part of her needed this. Her cat was right there and not hesitant in any way. All of the questions she’d been asking herself seemed to melt away the longer the kiss went on.
When he stopped, she realized her hands were in his hair, and her body was pressed up against his. Slowly, she moved her hands to his shoulder and intended to drop them away completely when he wrapped his arms around her and held her, resting his head on top of hers. She inhaled slowly, and every poor in her body filled with his scent. It was warm and inviting. Turning her head, she rested her cheek against his chest and could hear his heartbeat. The rhythm of it was oddly comforting.
“Is hard, my Deva, for me to let you go.” His voice was deeper, his accent thicker, and it sent a shiver through her.
“We’re stuck on a boat full of people, Taggart.” Her own voice was breathless.
He chuckled softly, and it vibrated against her cheek. “That is good for icy shower.” His hold loosened.
She looked up at him. “A cold shower.”
“Cold shower.” He nodded. “You go rest. I take watch for Tripp. Illias say we be at dock before morning.” He dropped his hands away from her, and she felt a chill without his body against hers.
“Okay. I’ll go find an empty spot and lay down.” She hugged her waist. “Wake me up before we’re there?”
He nodded and put his hands in his pockets. “I do that.”
They stood there like that for a few awkward silent moments, just looking at one another, and Deva wondered what was next for them. Once they were off this yacht and at the safe house, would he still keep his distance and give them a chance to get to know each other? What did she want? Him to keep his distance or not? The answer seemed to change every few minutes. She had turned into one of those wishy-washy women. How had that happened?
“You stand there and look lost and make me want to hold you more.” His voice was a whisper.
Deva sucked in a breath. “I’ll go in.” She turned to go to the door and then stopped and looked at him. “Stay on the yacht, Taggart. No jumping off, please.”
His grin was fast. He put his hand over his heart. “I promise. No swim tonight.”
“Okay. Good.” She moved over to the door grabbed the handle fast, and went in before she did something stupid and stayed out there with him.
“All good?”
She jerked her head up to see Calla standing there. “Uh, yeah.” She pointed to the glass. “Just—” She snorted. “Taggart.”
“He seems like a good guy.” She yawned. “There are so many bodies down there, and each one is breathing at a different time, and I can’t sleep with so many out-of-synch breathers.” She shrugged.
Deva looked around. “We could dim the lights in here and crash on those.” She pointed to the cushioned benches lining either side of the area.
Calla nodded. “One breathing is better than too many.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s the worst thing ever to need silence to sleep.”
Deva went over and looked at the switches on the wall. “I have three younger sisters. Silence is not something I know very well.”
Calla laughed. “I’d need earplugs.”
Deva tried two of the switches, and the lights went off in the center of the space. She slid the dimmer switch down, and the pot lights around the outside dimmed. “This good?”
“I’m good with light, just not sounds.” Calla went over to the bench and sat down. “Now, if I can just not think of that Christmas op, I might sleep.”
Deva went over and sat down. She looked out on the deck to see Taggart standing looking over the railing. “Christmas is going to be a special one.” He had said we. We do the work. He hadn’t tried to exclude her in any way. That meant something to her. That he thought of her as an equal. She knew Calla was thinking about getting Aiden Tomas, and Deva wanted that too, but her Christmas wasn’t going to be like any other one had been. She’d invited a man she didn’t know anything about home.
Her cat stirred in a subtle way, just to let her know she was there. Deva sighed and internally admitted that even though she didn’t know much about him, there were times when she felt like she’d known him forever.
From a distance he was Taggart from the international team that had done all these stupid heroic things. Up close, when she could taste his scent, he was the other piece of her that she hadn’t realized was missing until now.
Squeezing her eyes tight, she blew out a breath as quietly as she could. They needed to get off the boat.