Bearly Enough (20 page)

Lucy looked down at her hands, wringing them in her lap.

She didn’t know how to respond to that. Was Stone telling
her that he loved her?

That would be completely crazy.

They barely knew each other.

And he was holding her captive in his house!

But Lucy had never been in love, had barely even known the
love of a parent, so she probably wouldn’t know love if it jumped up and
slapped her in the face.

Lucy decided to barrel past Stone’s comment. “So what do I
do?” she asked again. “Risk death or resign myself to a life in this tribe?”

Stone ran a hair through his messy hair and stood up from
the bed. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing,” he muttered as he paced her room.
“Most people in this tribe are kind and have good intentions. And even though
Jeremy is being a complete asshole, he’s a much better leader than our last
one.”

Lucy somewhat doubted that. It just seemed that Jeremy was a
more passive type of evil; but she let it slide.

“Well, that’s really great. I’m so glad everyone is nice,”
she said sarcastically, “So, I should just settle into an entirely new life at
the drop of a hat.” She felt the anger building up within her again. “And what?
I have four weeks to meet someone? What if I don’t meet anyone?”

Stone froze and gave her a meaningful look.

She didn’t like that look one bit.

It was implying too much.

“You know I can’t just decide that!” she exclaimed.

Stone’s eyes were burning with passion. “I think we could
make it work.”

“Do you realize what you are suggesting?” she whispered,
rising so that she was facing him. “You’re suggesting that we spend a lifetime
together when we barely know each other.”

“But I already know the women in this tribe,” Stone argued,
his voice rushing out quickly. “I already know that you are nothing like them!”

He moved closer toward her, and Lucy recognized his look.

That I’m-going-to-kiss-you look.

“Oh no,” she said quickly, backing up. “That’s only going to
make this more confusing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said huskily.

“You know
exactly
what I’m talking about.”

When Stone didn’t make a move to step back, Lucy went toward
him, placing her hands squarely on his chest—which of course was warm and
muscular—and pushed him toward the door.

“Out.”

Stone didn’t budge.

“I mean it. Out. I can’t think clearly with you being like
this,” she waved her hand at him.

At first, she thought that Stone wasn’t going to listen, but
then he seemed to concur, and he slowly backed out of the room.

Sighing, Lucy shut the door, and then leaned against it,
closing her eyes.

“This isn’t going to work,” came Stone’s voice through the
door a minute later.

Lucy jumped.

“What the hell are you still doing out there? Go away.”

She marched to the bed and sat down.

She looked around the room but there was no way to escape.
If only there were some way that she could get to Gabby just to talk things
over. She knew what Gabby would say though – Gabby would want her to join the
Virtus tribe.

And Lucy just didn’t know if she could do that.

Her mind drifted back to Stone.

Annoyed, she forced herself to think back over her options.

She
hated
Jeremy. She hated everything that he stood
for and everything that he was making her decide. How had her life taken such a
dramatic turn?

Stone crept into her thoughts again.

She forced him out and tried to focus on the decision at
hand.

Even if she chose to stay among the Cruentus, she didn’t
have to decide on Stone overnight. She had four weeks to decide if he was the
right
mate
for her. And then what? They got married?

Jeremy promised that she would be treated like a princess,
whatever that meant, and that she would be rewarded.

She wondered what kind of reward, but ultimately that didn’t
matter.

Again, she thought of Stone.

Oh, screw it.

She ran to the door and threw it open to go find him.

She cried out in surprise when she saw Stone still standing
right outside her door.

“I was waiting for you,” he said gruffly, grabbing her
tightly and pulling her body to him.

Yes.

She gave in.

This is what she needed right now.

A distraction.

She kissed Stone aggressively, not resisting or pushing back
this time, but instead instigating. Stone let out a sound of surprise, and then
he pulled her to him with even more power and desire.

Lucy felt small and petite in his arms, safe.

Protected.

Something about the way Stone’s mouth eagerly kissed her,
and the way his hands roamed over her body—she always felt that he was
protecting her.

His hands ran down the small of her back then squeezed her
ass hard, making Lucy cry out with need and desire. She slipped her hands under
his shirt, running her fingers under his chest to feel his warm body.

They were both panting now and Lucy pulled back, just for a
minute, to look at him.

Both of his eyes were as dark as night, and that stopped
Lucy in her tracks.

“Wait,” she gasped, “What am I doing?’’

“Don’t stop,” Stone begged, grabbing her hand and pulling
her back to him.

“No. No. I can’t.” She staggered back a few steps, hearing
her heart hammering in her ears and listening to her own raspy breaths.

“I need to think, Stone. This won’t help me.”

Before she could say or do anything else, she slipped back
into her room and closed the door.

Lucy stayed in her room the rest of the day, grateful for
the snacks that Karina had left her. She thought briefly of asking Stone to
call Karina back over, but then she stopped herself. She liked Karina a lot,
but she wasn’t sure where that might lead her, and Karina had already shared
that she found Stone to be a great guy.

Karina would be all in favor of her staying.

And hooking up with Stone.

It was hard not to have any contact with Stone, but she
forced herself to stay in her room for the night, and she tossed and turned
restlessly, anxiously awaiting the sunrise.

She lay in bed as the sun began to rise.  She looked
out the window and wondered if she was any closer to a decision. She had
thought a lot during the night, but every time she felt close to a decision,
something changed within her and she talked herself out of it.

There was a knock at the door.

“Lucy, please,” Stone called through the door. “I know you
don’t have much time and I promise not to kiss you.” There was a pause. “Not that
I don’t want to,” he added. “I made breakfast. Please come down and eat with
me.”

Lucy’s stomach growled.

If Stone promised no funny business, there seemed to be no
harm in eating with him. And she couldn’t avoid him forever.

Plus, overnight she had recalled the tragic story he had
shared about his sister, and Lucy felt for him. As tough as he seemed to be,
there was clearly pain there.

She climbed out of bed and opened the door.

Stone stood there, looking ridiculously sexy, wearing a
faded gray t-shirt, black jeans and no shoes.

What was it about him and no shoes?

And why did it make him even sexier?

“I suppose I could do breakfast,” she said slowly, tugging
at the hem of the t-shirt she slept in. Stone noticed as well, and his eyes
moved over her body, making her feel desired. “I need a shower first.”

Stone nodded. “I’ll see you downstairs,” he said quietly,
his two different hued eyes burning with desire, just as they had the night
before.

Oh shit, she was in trouble.

As soon as Stone was gone, she hurried down the hall to the
bathroom, took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. She used the razor in the
shower, and hoped that it was meant for her.

She rifled through the small bag of clothes Karina had left,
and realized that she had no black options.

“That sucks,” she muttered to herself. She wasn’t used to
wearing colors, and she had also been without makeup these past few days; she
felt bare without her dark kohl liner.

She would have to deal.

She dressed in a pair of navy blue sweat pants and a long
sleeve yellow shirt.

It was bright.

Really bright.

Tying her hair up in a knot on top of her head, she made her
way downstairs.

“Wow,” Stone said when she walked into the kitchen area.

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

“That shirt is very, um, yellow.”

“I know. It’s so not me,” she moaned, feeling like her
old-self again, for about five seconds.

Stone cocked his head to the side. “I like it. Yellow suits
you.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously. “I thought you
liked me in my black?” she teased.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you were
very
sexy in your
black, but colors suit you too.”

Lucy gave him a little smile. “Thanks.”

She looked at the table before her and her eyes widened in
shock. “This is a ton of food,” she exclaimed. “And it looks delicious!” Then a
thought occurred to her. “Where did it come from?”

“I made Torin take pity on me,” Stone laughed. “He brought
over some food late last night.” He motioned for Lucy to have a seat. “Sit
down.”

He stood there for a minute, seemingly unsure of what to do.
“Umm, can I get you something to drink?” He moved into the kitchen. “Water?
Orange juice?”

Lucy was impressed. “Orange juice, thanks.”

Stone poured two glasses and put one before Lucy.

She began to help herself to the spread that was laid out.

There was a small plate of scrambled eggs, as well as bacon,
toast, fresh fruit, and muffins.

Lucy took a muffin and sniffed it—blueberry. “Don’t tell me
that you baked muffins?” she asked incredulously.

Stone shook his head and grinned as he took his seat. “My
mother. She had just left a dozen with Torin.”

Lucy nodded, wondering what kind of people Stone’s parents
were. They had obviously raised two sons who seemed very different, plus they
had dealt with the death of a child.

Her heart ached for them.

“So, I guess you want to talk about what I’ve been
thinking?” Lucy asked, stuffing a forkful of eggs in her mouth.

“Nope. We don’t have to talk about that at all,” Stone said
easily.

That made Lucy even more suspicious.

“You must want to talk about it.” she said continuing to
eat.

Holy crap, was she hungry. She hadn’t even realized it.

Stone just shrugged again. “It’s not going to do any good
for me to talk to you and try to convince you one way or the other.” He did
look carefully at her. “Just remember that you are in a time crunch.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “I know,” she muttered, “How could I
forget?”

She was still struggling, and knowing that she had to decide
so soon made it even harder. How the hell was she supposed to make such a
decision and make it so quickly? It was downright insane.

“Look,” she ventured, “I know that Jeremy is your friend and
all-’’

“He’s not my friend,” Stone said quickly. “He’s the alpha.
Two different things.”

Lucy peered at him, unsure if she believed him.

“Jeremy is Torin’s friend, but he’s not mine. That doesn’t
change the fact that I have to respect him and listen to him if he gives an
order. They are two different things.”

Lucy chewed a piece of bacon, reflecting on what Stone had
said. “And how did he get to be alpha?” Lucy asked.

Stone waved his hand at her. “It’s boring policy stuff. The
council decides who would be a better leader. I guess you could say that Jeremy
was already a
stand out
. There are some people who just have that
quality
in them.”

“Do you want to be an alpha?” she asked.

“Not really,” he gave her a hard look. “But who cares about
what I want. Right now, you are the most important thing.”

Embarrassed, Lucy looked down at her plate. She wanted to
ask Stone something, but she felt silly even asking.

“Do you know any more about the umm, details that Jeremy had
mentioned.”

“Your rewards?” Stone asked.

Lucy ducked her head, nodding. Why was she embarrassed to ask
about this? If she was going to pop out babies for this tribe, then she
deserved to know the details.

“Jeremy shared that information with me, and it’s only fair
that you should know. He made it clear that finances would not be a concern for
you and your mate. You wouldn’t have to work, as you know, and could focus on
your family and pursue any hobbies you have.” He took a deep breath. “For each
child you give birth to, fifty thousand dollars will be transferred into a
savings account for them.”