"She's with her husband," Justin growled. "Obviously he was a possible life mate to her too. She's made her decision. I--why the hell are you shaking your head?"
"Because you're wrong," Lucian said. "As usual."
Justin scowled at him and then hissed. "See the guy with silver-blue eyes there?"
"Justin, ninety percent of the people in the room have silver-blue eyes," he pointed out with amusement.
"The one on the couch that isn't related to you," Justin growled.
"You mean Gia's life mate?" Lucian asked mildly.
"No, I mean Holly's husband," he said with frustration.
"The only man on the couch is Gia's life mate," Lucian informed him.
"What?" he asked with confusion and then turned to look at the trio again. James Bosley? Gia's life mate?
"Yes," Lucian said in answer to his unspoken question.
"So Gia turned him?" Justin asked slowly, trying to absorb what he was being told.
"No. Holly turned him," Lucian answered.
"What?" Justin faced him again. "Why?"
Lucian released a long drawn-out sigh and then shook his head. "I suggest you gird your loins and ask Holly. I am bored with this conversation now."
"Gird my loins?" Justin asked with disbelief. "Who even says that?"
"I do," Lucian growled and strode around him to enter the room and join his wife, Leigh, by a table filled with appetizers.
"They were in a car accident. James would have died. Holly felt responsible so turned him."
Justin turned to glance at the woman who had spoken. Decker's mate, Dani, now stood on his right side.
Anders's mate, Valerie, now appeared on his left and added, "She called Gia for help after turning him. Gia couldn't read him, so, here they are."
"Why?" he asked worriedly.
Both women laughed.
"Why do you think, Justin? Go talk to her." Valerie gave him a push.
Justin took a step, and then turned back suspiciously to the two women. "Are you guys setting me up or something?"
They exchanged a grimace and then Dani said, "The boys told us what they did in California. How they told you everything Holly hated were things she liked."
"We were pissed," Valerie added. "I mean, we get that they both wanted to pay you back for how you tormented them when they were trying to win us, but what they did didn't just affect you."
"It affected Holly too," Dani said solemnly. "And that wasn't fair. Besides, while you torment the men every chance you get, you are always sweet to us."
"Yes," Valerie agreed. "Now, get over there and put the poor woman out of her misery. She's worried sick that it's too late and you won't want her anymore."
"She really doesn't get this life mate business," Justin muttered.
"No. She doesn't," Dani agreed. "But then it's hard to comprehend when you're new to this stuff. And she has had a lot to absorb in a relatively short space of time."
"It should help now that you can tell her about life mate sex and show her what that's all about," Valerie pointed out.
"Can I?" Justin asked uncertainly, and then pointed out, "She's still married."
"Yeah, but technically the law only applies to mortals," Sam said suddenly from behind him.
"What?" Justin turned to peer at Mortimer's mate, wide-eyed. The woman was a lawyer, she would know these things.
"I read up on the law last week after you told me about your situation, and an immortal is only forbidden to use his influence on a mortal, and interfere in a mortal marriage," Sam explained, and then pointed out, "Holly, and now James, are both immortal. So, technically, the council couldn't punish you for wooing or life mate sex or--"
"But Holly was immortal almost from the start," Justin said with a frown. "I mean, she was immortal before we even exchanged a word. So the minute she was immortal, it was no longer a mortal marriage," he pointed out. "Does that mean I could have gone all out to try to win her? Used life mate sex and everything and the council couldn't have done a damned thing? It wouldn't have been breaking the law?"
"The way the law reads, yes," Sam said almost apologetically.
"Well, why the hell didn't Lucian tell me that then?" Justin asked plaintively and turned to peer at the man. Lucian Argeneau met his gaze across the room and gave him a smile a shark would admire.
"Um . . . this is just a guess," Valerie said with amusement, "But I'm thinking maybe you gave Lucian a hard time when he met Leigh?"
"Oh yeah," he muttered.
"Justin," Marguerite said quietly.
Justin turned to find the woman standing next to Dani and raised his eyebrows in question.
"It is better it worked this way," she assured him solemnly. "Holly is an honorable young woman. Nanos or no nanos, and life mates or not, she would have suffered terrible guilt at breaking her marriage vows with you."
"Right," Justin said on a sigh as he realized that probably still held true. He could now claim her as his life mate, but claiming her physically was probably still out of the question until she was divorced.
It didn't matter, he thought grimly. She was his, and if they had to wait to celebrate their union physically, then he would wait. It would probably kill him, but he would wait.
"Go talk to her," Valerie suggested.
Nodding, Justin stopped stalling then and entered the room, heading straight for the couch.
"Holly," he said solemnly, and then quickly shifted his attention to her husband as the other man suddenly stood up.
"Justin Bricker?" the fair-haired man asked.
Justin nodded slowly, half-expecting the man to pop him in the nose for stealing Holly from him. Instead, he grinned and took his hand, pumping it in enthusiastic greeting. "I'm James Bosley, and it's such a pleasure to meet you. Holly's told me a lot about you. Gia has too. Thank you so much for saving her life that night at the cemetery . . . and for everything else."
"Er . . ." Justin glanced to Holly to see that she was biting her lip anxiously, then to Gia, who was smiling and nodding, and managed a weak smile of his own. "You're welcome. My pleasure."
James nodded, and glanced from him to Holly before prodding gently, "I suppose you two want to talk."
"Yes," Justin said firmly when Holly hesitated, and then held his hand out to her.
Smiling nervously, she accepted it and stood, allowing him to lead her out of the living room and then outside.
"So, Gia and James," Justin said as he pulled the door closed behind them.
"Yes," Holly said with a crooked smile.
"How did that come about?" he asked curiously.
Holly took a deep breath and then told him what had transpired since she'd left the nightclub and caught the bus home. She told him how right they all were about trying to live with someone when you could hear their thoughts, about the argument in the car, the accident, calling Gia and her talk with James about being Gia's life mate. Holly told Justin everything right up until Gia had announced they were to fly to Canada for dinner at Marguerite's.
"And here you are," he said with a faint smile. They had been walking as they talked, making their way around the house, and were now in the backyard.
"Well, we didn't--" she began, but he stopped walking and turned to take her hands.
"Before you say anything else, I need to tell you that Valerie told me you were worried I wouldn't still want you. Holly, you're my life mate. I want you for my life mate. I will always want you for my life mate."
"Oh," Holly breathed. "I want that too. That's why I--"
"But it's more than that," Justin continued. "At first I wanted you just because you were my life mate. I mean, I didn't know you," he pointed out wryly. "But as I got to know you, the life mate part mattered less and less. Not that it isn't really important," he added quickly. "I mean it is important, but I started to see you as you rather than just as my life mate . . . if that makes any sense at all. Jesus, I'm screwing this all up," he muttered with frustration, and then s
hook his head and said, "Anyway, I came to realize you really were made for me. We're both city types, we both love to dance, and taking chances . . ." He shook his head. "And there's so much I love about you. Your quick wit and ability to learn fast, your honor, your wild side, even your temper."
"I--"
"But I especially love your stubbornness, your determination to do the honorable thing and hold to the vows you made no matter the temptation," Justin continued determinedly. "So I want you to know, I will abide by your desire to stand by your vows. I won't try to tempt you to break them. I'll not touch you or kiss you or do anything that might lead to our--"
"James and I are divorced," Holly blurted almost desperately.
Justin paused, his mouth still open, and then snapped it closed and stared at her blankly. "What? How? I thought James just told you about him and Gia and that you flew here . . . You didn't fly here?" he asked when she shook her head.
"Of course, we did," Holly said softly. "But we didn't fly directly here. I didn't want to show up and say "Hey, Justin. We can be life mates . . . just as soon as I'm divorced." She grimaced even as she said it, and then admitted, "I wanted to come to you free and able to accept your offer, if you still wished to claim me as a life mate."
She smiled and added, "James and Gia understood when I explained it. They also were rather eager to have the divorce done and over with as well, so instead of flying straight here, we flew to New York first."
"New York?" he asked with confusion. "Why?"
"Because Lucian said Bastian could help us get a divorce much more quickly than through normal channels," she explained.
"And he did?"
"Two days," she said with a grin.
"Two days?" he asked with amazement. "Is it legal?"
"He says it is," Holly said with a shrug. "And the papers that were waiting for us when we landed two hours ago look pretty official. He's sending the originals by mail, but faxed us copies as soon as he got them so that we could see them," Holly added.
"You're divorced," he muttered, hardly able to believe it.
"Yes," she said solemnly, and stepped forward to clasp his face in her hands. "Justin, I spent so much time fighting my attraction to you while we were together that I wouldn't even let myself really see you. But then, when I got back home, all I could see was you. You were constantly in my thoughts. A song would play on the radio that had played at the club, someone would go by walking their dog, I'd pass a bowling alley, or a convertible would drive by and I'd think of you. Everything reminded me of you and I compared everything James, and every other man I encountered, did to how you would do things, and they always came up short."
She closed her eyes briefly and then continued, "And every night, I remembered our shared dreams and not only longed for more of them, but constantly wondered if it would be as good in reality." She opened her eyes, smiled crookedly and admitted, "Actually, it wasn't just at night. It was during the day too. I fought so hard to get away from you and then all I did was think of you and miss you," she admitted with a wry curve of the lips. "I don't want to fight us anymore, and while I appreciate your willingness to abide by my wedding vows and yes, I would have felt I had to . . . well," she smiled widely, "Now we don't have to."
"Now we don't have to," he echoed, and then scooped her up in his arms and carried her around the building and to his SUV.
Holly didn't ask questions until they were both in the car. But as he steered the vehicle up the driveway, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"I bought a house when I got back from California," Justin admitted, and then added quickly, "I know you might not want to settle here. You have to finish your courses in California and get your accounting license, and both our families live there too, but . . ." He glanced at her and smiled crookedly, "I was hoping someday you would come to me, and I didn't want our first time together to be in a hotel like a cheap date, or the Enforcer house with everyone there." Frowning, he quickly added, "Not, that I was presuming that we would--" He fell silent and glanced at her worriedly when Holly put her hand on his leg.
"I don't think you were presuming," Holly said solemnly. "In fact, I think that's about the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."
Justin smiled widely, his relief obvious. "I'm a pretty sweet guy."
Holly burst out laughing, but nodded. "And funny too. You always make me laugh. Sometimes even on purpose."
"Ha ha," he said with a smile, and then squeezed her hand as he turned his attention back to the road. It wasn't long though before they were turning into a driveway. It seemed the house he'd bought wasn't far from Marguerite's, which was nice. She'd liked the woman.
Curious, Holly peered at the house ahead, her eyes widening. It was a contemporary design, all red brick and windows. It was beautiful.
"I haven't done much decorating yet," Justin said quietly as they got out of the SUV. "I only got possession earlier this week." He glanced to her and added, "And I kind of hoped you might--I thought maybe you'd like to help," he finished.
"I'd love to," Holly assured him softly as she joined him at the front of the vehicle. Her gaze slid over the tall windows that ran the length of the front of the house. They revealed high ceilings and spacious, unfurnished rooms. She glanced to Justin though when he took her hand. She found him smiling down at her.
"Do you know how lucky I am?" he asked suddenly, squeezing her hand.
"As lucky as me," she said, but Justin shook his head.
"Luckier," he assured her solemnly as he led her to the front door. "It's very rare for an immortal to find a life mate while as young as I am."
"Young?" she asked dubiously as he unlocked the door.
"Yes." He glanced to her with surprise as he pushed the door open. Seeing her expression, he added, "Well I'm--for an immortal, I'm--God! You think I'm old," he moaned with dismay.
Holly chuckled, and stepped in front of him, to tangle her hands in the front of his shirt and pull him close. "Maybe, but that's okay. You're my old man."
Justin groaned and then scooped her up into his arms.
"What are you doing?" she gasped with surprise, clutching at his shoulders.
"Sweeping you off your feet?" he offered hopefully.
Holly chuckled, and leaned her head against his shoulder, her arms tightening around him in a hug. "I do love you, Justin Bricker."
Pausing, he bent his head to kiss her gently. "And I love you Holly soon-to-be-Bricker."
"Is that a proposal?" she asked, wide-eyed.
"What? You thought you could just have your wicked way with me without buying the cow?" he asked indignantly as he started walking again, carrying her through the entry and starting upstairs to the second floor.
Holly laughed and shook her head. "You're crazy."
"About you," he agreed, stepping off the stairs and starting across a large open loft. "By the way, did I mention that while I haven't done much decorating, I did buy a bed?"
"Oh," Holly sighed. "You are a clever man."
"Your clever man," he assured her and she nodded.
"Yes, my clever old man," she teased and Justin groaned as he carried her into the bedroom.
Want more Lynsay Sands?
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Lady Adela, abbess of Godstow, frowned down the length of the table at the nuns all seated for the nooning meal. Sister Clarice, Sister Eustice, and Lady Rosamunde were missing. It was not unusual for Sister Clarice to be late. The woman was late for everything. Most likely she had forgotten to fetch the incense for the mass that would take place after the meal, and had gone to retrieve it. Sister Clarice always forgot the incense.
As for Sister Eustice and Lady Rosamunde, however, the two were always punctual, as a rule. However, they had not been at the morning meal either. Come to that, they had not been at matins, lauds, o
r prime. At Godstow, it took an emergency to keep a nun from mass, and this would be no exception. Sister Eustice and Lady Rosamunde had been in the stables through the night and well into the morning, working over a mare who was having difficulty birthing her foal.
But surely they were not still at that! she fretted, then glanced sharply toward Sister Beatrice, who had stumbled over the passage she was reading. Seeing that Beatrice along with all the other women were peering up the table at her, Lady Adela arched an eyebrow questioningly. Sister Margaret, the nun seated on her right, made a motion with her hands. Margaret held one hand up, the fingers fisted but for the baby finger, which hung down like the udder of a cow. With her other hand, she imitated the motion of milking.
Adela blinked, then realized that she had picked up the pitcher of milk and held on to it, thoughtlessly, as she worried about the missing women.
Passing the pitcher to Sister Margaret, the abbess gestured to the others to continue with their meal, then rose and moved to the door. She had barely stepped into the hall when she spotted Sister Clarice hurrying down the corridor, a slightly guilty flush on her face. Unable to speak during mealtime, Lady Adela once again arched an eyebrow, demanding an explanation of the woman's tardiness.
Sighing, Clarice raised her hand and propped two fingers upward until they were inserted in her nostrils, somehow managing an apologetic look as she did so.
The action was a pantomime to announce that she had forgotten to provide incense for mass--as Adela had suspected. Shaking her head, the abbess gestured for Clarice to continue on to her meal; then she made her way out to the stables.
The building was silent but for the faint rustle of hay as various animals shifted and glanced curiously toward her as Adela entered. Gathering the hem of her skirt close to avoid trailing it through anything unpleasant, she made her way down the rows of stalls until she reached the last one. There, Sister Eustice and Lady Rosamunde were kneeling by a panting mare. She stood for a moment, peering affectionately at their bent backs as they toiled over the laboring beast; then her mouth dropped with dismay as Sis Eustice shifted and she could see exactly how Lady Rosamunde was toiling.
"What in God's name are you doing?"
Rosamunde stiffened at that horrified exclamation from behind, her head whipping briefly around to see the abbess gaping at her with dismay. Then she swiftly whirled back to soothe the mare as the animal whinnied, its muscles shifting around her hands.