Page 9 of In the Line of Fire
5
Soleil
Come home, peanut.
After parking my car a full mile away from the house I’d grown up in, I stared at the text from my dad one last time. I was certain that nobody had followed me when I’d circled back to where I’d left my vehicle, but I was still nervous about the possibility of bringing my trouble straight to my parents’ door. I’d paid cash for the decade-old hatchback a month ago, buying it from the previous owner so there wouldn’t be a trail of paperwork from a dealership leading back to me. I always kept it a good distance from where I was staying overnight so that the coven wouldn’t have a reason to connect the vehicle to me.
The odds of anyone knowing where I was at the moment were incredibly slim, but the dark practitioners who were hunting me had proven to be relentless. They wouldn’t hesitate to use my mom as leverage against me. Coming here was a risk; one I never would have taken without my dad’s urging. My dad must have thought the odds were on our side or else he wouldn’t have called me peanut at the end of his message. If he’d used honey instead, then I would’ve known they were in trouble. We’d come up with the code years ago, using what other people would see as a father’s nickname for his daughter to warn me had been my dad’s idea. I’d thought he was going overboard, but the code had turned out to be useful in this situation.
I wasn’t sure what had changed since we’d spoken this morning, but I was going to find out soon. Impatient to see my parents after such a long time, I cut through the woods and ran at my top speed since there wasn’t anyone around who could see me. About two minutes later, I was walking up the steps leading to their front porch.
As I was reaching for the knob, the front door swung open. My mom raced toward me with her arms stretched wide. I threw myself into her embrace, tears streaming down my cheeks. She was a touchy-feely person and never hesitated to show me how much she loved me. I’d gone far too long without feeling one of her hugs, and now that I felt her arms around me, I didn’t want to let go. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too, sweetie.” She sniffled, burying her face in my neck and inhaling deeply. Knowing that my mom was feeling this moment as much as I was, I didn’t tease her about not smelling like a baby anymore how I normally would have done. Instead, I stroked my hands down her back in a soothing gesture until she pulled herself together. After taking a step back, she patted my cheeks. “You look so beautiful. I can't believe it's been three years since I've seen this gorgeous face.”
“Much too long,” my dad agreed as he stepped forward to pull me into a hug now that my mom was okay. He squeezed me tight, lifting me off my feet with a mock grunt. “But it looks like you’ve been taking pretty good care of yourself, kiddo. I was worried you’d waste away to nothing without your mom around to cook for you.”
“Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?” I playfully punched him in the shoulder when he set me back down. “You must be losing your touch since I can’t tell.”
“Eh, I figured I’d go easy on you since it’s been so long.” His eyes were full of emotion—and suspiciously wet—as he grinned at me. “Your mom wouldn’t be happy with me if I scared you off too quickly.”
“Uh-huh.” I swiped my fingertips across his cheek after a tear spilled over. “Are you crying at the thought of all the burned food she’d serve you in retaliation for running me off? Or because you’d miss me too?”
He flashed me a sly grin. “Can’t it be both?”
“For goodness’ sakes, Hugh.” My mom’s voice was filled with exasperation. “Stop teasing the girl and let her into the house. We’re not the only people who’ve been looking forward to her arrival.”
My head reared back in shock, my eyes going wide. I couldn’t remember the last time my parents had someone over to their house. “Who’s here?”
“An uninvited guest who ate what should’ve been my leftover roast beef,” my dad muttered.
My mom laughed off his irritation, wrapping her fingers around my forearm to lead me into the house. “Ignore him. You know how your father can be.”
“Yeah, I do.” My dad’s tendency to be territorial over his food was far outweighed by his protectiveness. “Which is why I’m finding it hard to believe that you guys have a visitor, today of all days. I was already taking a big risk by coming here.”
“My presence doesn’t put you in more danger. It lessens the threat.”
The raspy male voice sent a shiver down my spine, even as the arrogance in his tone irritated me. I whirled around to confront the guy who’d invaded my parents’ sanctuary to shoulder his way into my predicament, but the words got stuck in my throat when I got my first look at him. Tall, dark, and handsome was too mild of a compliment for the man standing in the kitchen doorway.
He was so tall that there was only a couple of inches of clearance between his head and the frame, and he was built like a Mack truck with muscles on top of his muscles. His dark hair looked as though it was a month or two overdue for a cut, and my fingers itched to push back the lock that had fallen on his forehead. Dark stubble covered his strong jaw, and the lines of his face were utterly masculine. The emerald-green color of his eyes seemed almost too bright to be natural.
The impact of his gaze was overwhelming as it swept down my body. My breath caught in my chest, and my nipples pebbled. I’d never had such an intense and instantaneous reaction to a man before. I was cursing my body’s betrayal when flames swirled in his eyes and recognition struck. Damien Veles was here—and he was fated to be mine.
“Mate,” he growled, striding over to me.
I nodded and whispered, “Mate.”
“Fuck,” my dad groaned, his reaction reminding me that we weren’t alone, and I couldn’t act on the instinct to drag Damien to the floor.
His spicy scent hit my nostrils, and it took all of my self-control to stop myself from reaching out to pull him close. We continued to stare at each other as my mom squealed and clapped her hands, rushing over to hug me again. She turned to embrace Damien, and my dad pulled her back after just a few seconds. I’d always thought his possessiveness was kind of funny with how overboard he could be, but I’d been tempted to yank my own mother away from Damien, so the joke was apparently on me.
“It seems that Damien was right to come instead of waiting for your phone call.” She smiled up at my dad, quirking a brow. “And about Soleil being his fated mate.”
“I guess it’s not completely horrible that the big bastard is here,” my dad conceded with a frown. “At least now I can trust that he’ll do what it takes to keep Soleil safe.”
A muscle jumped in Damien’s jaw as he moved closer to me. I wasn’t sure if it was taking him as much effort as me to resist the mating urge or if my dad’s distrust bothered him. We didn’t know each other yet, but I already felt as though we were connected. I didn’t like the idea of him being unhappy. Brushing my fingers against his, I asked, “My dad said you’ve been searching for me for a long time?”
“Three years,” he rasped, interlacing his fingers with mine. “I caught your scent when I was visiting Carrick McMahon in Bear Creek, and it nearly drove my dragon into a fury when I lost your trail.”
