Edge of Night (34 page)

“Good.” Despite the weirdness of the occasion, her aunt and uncle reached out to hug her goodbye, entangling them in a three-way embrace. The message couldn’t have been clearer. They loved her no matter what, even if she did things that upset them. Erin closed her eyes as a lance of pain hit her heart.

Uncle Darren ruffled her hair and kissed her temple, stepping back. Aunt Angela squeezed her tighter. “I hope you know what you’re doing. There are other Magickals—”

Erin huffed in the older woman’s ear. “Stop that. Don’t think you can try to foist a werewolf on me to take my mind off the vampire.”

Her aunt held her away from her and winced because that was clearly what she’d intended to do. “We’ll expect you both next week. Dinner.”

“Great. We’ll see you then.” Clamping her hand around Luca’s wrist, she hauled him in one direction while Angela dragged Darren the other way.

Erin didn’t say another word until she’d picked out and bought her strawberries. Luca did his stoic bodyguard routine while she ignored him in favor of fruit. Probably not the nicest thing to do, but holy shit, her worst nightmare about their affair had just hit the fan and splattered.

She sighed when she met his gaze. “They are going to harass me to death the next time they get me alone. They love me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to get an earful about the evils of bloodsuckers.”

Luca took the case of strawberries from her too, and given his vampirism, he had no trouble handling the load. “Their assuming we’re dating means I can protect you while you’re at their house, and on the way there and back. You’d rather they assume you’re dating Gregor? After his involvement with Jack and Selina, you can bet your ass they know who he is.”

“I know,” she groaned. “That’s why I let them think we’re dating.”

He glowered at her. “It’s hardly the end of the world.”

“Not yours, anyway.” The wind kicked up and blew a few escaped curls into her face, and she shoved them back. “Let’s put the stuff in the car and then get some breakfast. Brunch. Whatever. I’m hungry.”

Well, that had gone about as badly as Luca might have expected.

Darren Kerr had been pleased to have his stepson working on Luca’s FBI team, had been grateful for that team’s work in catching the serial killer who’d almost ended his life, but the thought of Luca dating his niece had clearly crossed a line he didn’t like.

Hardly surprising, considering the centuries of conflict between the vampires and werewolves. It shouldn’t get under his skin, but it did. More because it upset Erin than because he felt slighted by the Kerrs’ reaction to him. Old prejudices died hard, and Luca had his doubts that
any
man who tried to date one of Darren’s nieces would be welcomed with open arms, regardless of species. The wolf epitomized overprotective father figure.

Luca stowed Erin’s purchases in her car. He’d kept his senses wide open the entire time they’d been at the market, and the cacophony of voices, noises, and scents had given him a pounding headache. It had faded slightly now that they were in the parking garage. The only beings he could sense nearby were Gregor and Balthasar, though how his familiar had found his way to this part of town, he didn’t know. Probably used an invisibility spell and hitched a ride in either Erin or Gregor’s vehicles. Luca rubbed a hand over his forehead, though it did little to alleviate the pounding in his skull. “Where would you like to eat?”

“Are you sure you want to go out?” The way her blue gaze zeroed in on his hand told him he’d given himself away. “We can just head to the café now.”

“No, let’s eat here.” Call him selfish, but he knew the moment they got to her business, she’d be pulled away to handle one of the million details that went into her work. He’d known she was a talented chef, but the last few days had shown him more about the restaurant industry than he’d ever imagined existed. Holly and Erin worked their asses off, and their operation was impressive. Still, he wouldn’t mind a few more minutes of having her to himself.

Her lips formed a thoughtful moue. “There’s a place around the corner with some amazing clam chowder. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Do they have good coffee?” Caffeine might help with the headache, and if it didn’t, he’d like the jolt of energy anyway.

“Better than the nastiness Gregor made this morning.”

That wasn’t saying much, but he smiled at the disgust on her face. She hadn’t finished the travel mug she’d brought with her. In fact, he didn’t think she’d taken more than two sips. He set his hand on the small of her back, steering her toward the garage’s exit. “Sounds good to me then.”

“You’re not hungry?” The sound of traffic almost drowned out her question as they made it back out onto the street.

“I’m not a picky eater. And if my favorite chef says it’s good, then I know I’m in for a treat.”

“I’m your favorite chef, huh?” The pleased note in her voice made him wish he could see her expression. He’d bet her features had the same soft shyness she’d worn when he’d given her the bouquet of flowers. She was sweetness and fire all rolled into one irresistible package. He couldn’t get enough of her, and not having to limit his access to her this week had only increased his addiction. Returning to his own bed in his own house after this was all over was going to be an empty, lonely experience.

He stroked his fingertips against her back, and was rewarded with a subtle shiver from her. “Yes, but don’t tell any of my aunts. Each of them would swear
she
made my favorite foods.”

“You’re cheating on your aunts with me?” She bumped him with her shoulder.

He smiled, though he kept his gaze moving over the throngs of people rather than looking at her the way he wanted. “I’ve never cheated on a woman in my life.”

He felt her searching his face. “You know, I actually believe you.”

“I’ve never cheated on you.” He didn’t know why, but he needed her to know that. There’d been no one except her in the year they’d been sleeping together. He hadn’t wanted anyone else.

Stopping dead in the middle of the sidewalk, she turned to stare up at him. Emotions flitted across her expression so fast he couldn’t decipher them. He could sense her turmoil, but didn’t know what, exactly, had caused it. A shudder ran through her, and then she jerked around and strode into a building. “This is the place.”

He followed her, sensing no threat coming from inside. Mostly Normals, a few Magickals, none who paid them any undue attention.

They’d already ordered by the time she spoke to him again. “We didn’t have an exclusive relationship. It wouldn’t have been cheating.”

He plucked a roll out of the breadbasket and spread butter on it. “Still, there’s only been you since we met. You should know that.”

“I…haven’t been with anyone else either.” Her shoulders scrunched uncomfortably. “It’s not like either of us had time. It doesn’t—”

“It does mean something,” he interrupted, and couldn’t prevent the edge of impatience to his voice. He was damn tired of being told what they had meant
nothing
. That was such bullshit. He’d had enough women in the last century to know the difference between something and nothing. This was something special. “Busy or not, if either of us wanted to sleep with someone else, we could have. But we didn’t.”

“No. We didn’t.”

He offered her a grin that he knew would grate on her nerves. “And it seems we’re officially dating.”

As expected, she reacted like he’d stabbed her with a hot poker. “Just because we told my aunt and uncle—”

“No, it’s because we’re out on a date.” His gesture encompassed the restaurant.

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, her eyes going round. “Well, shit.”

He doubled over with laughter. The stunned look on her face should have been insulting, but it tickled a perverse funny bone inside him. After a moment, she joined him, giggling while her lovely eyes danced with mirth. She shook her head at him, but then their food arrived and it was every bit as delicious as she’d promised. They kept the rest of their conversation to neutral topics—the new tearoom Holly wanted to launch, hilarious mishaps on the cases Luca had worked over the years. Erin especially loved any story where her cousin had been involved.

“You seem very close to your family,” he observed. It was obvious she adored every single one of those she claimed as her own, and he guessed their resistance to her dating him was one of the real issues holding her back from wanting more. Luca’s lips curved in a wry grin at the thought of what his father and uncle would say if anyone intimated that a Cavalli wasn’t good enough.

“I am.” A smile softened her face. “Family means everything to me.”

He arched an eyebrow. “A sentiment that would make any werewolf—or vampire, for that matter—proud.”

“So I’ve heard.” She waved her spoon in the air.

Sitting back in his chair, he took a sip of his coffee. “You never talk about your parents though. I’ve heard a lot about your cousins, your aunt and uncle, but…nothing of your parents. For someone who adores her family so openly, it seems a pretty glaring oversight.”

She shrugged. “Mom passed away when I was a baby, so I never knew her. There’s not much to talk about when you only vaguely know of someone’s existence. I won’t lie, though—there was a gap in my life without her. I saw what other girls got to do with their moms, so I wished she’d been around for that, but I had a pretty happy childhood anyway.”

“Your father was good to you, then?” These were questions he’d never felt he was allowed to ask. Delving into the personal was off-limits, but he’d already moved in with her, so he might as well risk it.

“He was a very good man.” Affection shone in her expression, as if the memories fell on the sweeter side of bittersweet. “He tried hard to be everything I needed—a mom and dad at the same time.”

“He didn’t succeed?”

“Oh he did, for the most part.” Her shoulder rolled forward, her fingers fiddling with her napkin. “I think I haven’t talked about him much because…well, it’s only been about six years since he died and the grief was pretty fresh when I moved here. Especially for Aunt Angela. Dad was her only sibling, and they were pretty tight. Talking about him seemed to hurt her, so I just learned not to.”

He could understand that. Any mention of his mother had stung for several years after she passed. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d thought about needing to tell her something, only to be assaulted by grief when he remembered she was gone. “You can talk about him with me. It won’t hurt me. It might be good for you too.”

“Maybe.” She smiled. “I still miss him. He’d have been really proud of everything Holly and I have done.”

“If my experience is anything to go by, I think you’ll always miss him. It’ll just be less painful to think of him as time goes on.” He set down his empty coffee cup. “It’s been over twenty years since my mother died, and I was a lot closer to her than my father. I still think about her, and my aunt tells the best stories of when the two of them were young. A
long
time ago.”

“But your aunt doesn’t like to be reminded of how long ago any more than she’d like to know she’s not your favorite cook. Am I right?”

“Exactly.” He winked at her. “But I meant what I said about your father. I wouldn’t mind hearing about how little Erin grew up.”

“Thank you for the offer. I’ll consider it.” She wagged a finger at him. “You’d better not ask my aunt to pull out any pictures of little Erin when we go for dinner.”

“Oh?” He chuckled. “Were you an awkward child? Bad teeth? Big hair?”

“I’ll never tell,” she said archly.

He pressed a palm to his heart. “Ah, now that’s not nice. If there were any pictures of young Luca, I’d show them to you.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “I had 80s hair about fifty years too early. And I still have big teeth. Want to see?”

She scoffed, but her lips quivered as if she was suppressing her amusement. “Easy to say, since you don’t have anything to show me to prove it.”

“I could make so many ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours’ jokes right now.” He shook his head, and they both dissolved into laughter.

Just then, the waitress arrived with the tab, and he snagged it before Erin could. Her eyebrows winged upward. “I said I’d buy you brunch.”

“For our first date?” He tsked. “Sorry, I’m a little too old-fashioned for that. This one’s on me.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Fine. I’m going to the restroom, then we need to head to the bistro.”

“Sure, no problem.” He tossed enough cash on the table to cover the bill and a generous tip, checked his senses again to make sure there was nothing untoward in the crowd. Nothing he didn’t expect. The person paying the most attention to Erin was him. He rose to follow her to the dim hallway that led to the ladies’ room, waiting outside the door while she did her thing. Watching her walk away from the table had kept his gaze glued to her round ass. His palms itched to shape themselves around those lovely globes. Just thinking about it made his cock chafe against the confines of his slacks.

She opened the door, gasped and fell back a step when she saw him there. He crowded her into the room, then shut and locked the door behind them. He caught her mouth in a kiss and drove his tongue between her lips. Curling his hands over her backside, he groaned at the feel of her.