Lucien (11 page)

Luc returned before she had a chance to finish undressing him with her mind’s eye. He handed her a small gift wrapped box, then sat down next to her. “Go on. Open it,” he said when she hesitated.

Elise shredded the paper and her eyes widened. Inside was a small jewelry box made of dark wood, its lid delicately etched with ivy and flowers. “It’s beautiful. Oh, but you—”

“Open it.” Luc watched her for her reaction.

Elise eased the lid open and released a silent ‘Oh’ as she recognized the melody emanating from the velvet lined box—Beethoven’s
Fur Elise
.

“Do you like it?” he asked after a moment.

“I love it,” she admitted, her voice thick with emotion. Elise turned to him, cradling the box in her lap, and beamed at him. “Thank you, Lucien.”

He picked up her left hand and lifted it to his lips. “No, darlin’. Thank you.” Then he pressed a kiss to the engagement ring and she sighed.

Luc was possibly the most romantic man she’d ever met.
Possibly
? No, he was. It was as if he had access to her fanciful dreams and knew
exactly
how to make her melt with spontaneous displays of affection that spoke straight to her heart and its hopelessly romantic nature. And by this time tomorrow, they would be married. Elise smiled dreamily and sighed. Again.

Life couldn’t get much better than this.

Luc knew he was grinning like a fool as he stepped out of the shower and walked into his bedroom. The music box had worked like a charm. Phase One was a success—just as he knew it would be. It wouldn’t be long before he had Elise right where she belonged.

He chuckled and contemplated Phase Two while he changed into a clean pair of jeans and long sleeve black shirt. He stepped in front of the mirror and finger combed his hair.

He opened a velvet covered jewelry box he’d picked up after yesterday and brushed a finger over the gold anklet sparkling inside. “One more day and she’s all mine.” He turned as someone pounded on the front door, then scooped the anklet out of the box and, slipping it into his pocket, headed for the front door.

Raven and Luc’s closest friend, Benajah Raine, were looking down the hall and hadn’t noticed the door was open. If he didn’t know better he would have guessed that they were brothers. They were around the same height with the similar coloring, but Ben’s hair was shorter. And they both had the same taste in clothes—faded jeans and a black shirt.  

“Think she’s taken,” Ben asked.

“God, I hope not,” Raven replied, then grinned. “I’ll go find out.”

Luc leaned out into the hallway. He smirked. A tall—over six feet tall—figure in an ultra-short miniskirt and three inch stiletto heels strolled down the hall. “You don’t want to find out.”

“I don’t?” Raven asked.

“Nope. You don’t.”

“Why not,” Ben asked, his eyes fastened on the figure at the end of the hall.

The object of Ben and Raven’s fantasies paused at the stairwell and glanced back, then winked. “Congratulations on the wedding, Luc.”

Luc chuckled as he heard Raven groan. “Thanks, Jackie. Like the new outfit.”

“Oh, thanks. You boys have fun.” Then Jackie was gone.

Luc leaned back and laughed at the looks on both men’s faces. “You don’t want to know because Jackie is a cop and a Jack.”

“A cop,” Ben asked.

“A Jack,” Raven repeated. “As in a male kind of Jack?”

“Yep.” Luc grabbed his keys then stepped out into the hall and locked the door behind him. “Who’s driving?”

“Chuck,” Raven answered. “Our friendly neighborhood cab driver.”

“Jackie is a he,” Ben muttered.

Raven snickered at Ben. “We hired Chuck’s chariot for the rest of the night.”

Luc nodded and locked up his apartment. “Did you eat dinner?”

“Nope. Chuck hasn’t either.”

“But he was so curvy,” Ben mumbled. “Feminine looking and… how could Jackie be a he?”

“Razors, blonde wig, a girdle, and drug therapy,” Luc said. “Lots of drug therapy.”

Ben trailed after Luc and Raven as they bounded down the steps to the cab.

“Luc, I found out what Moonbeam planned for Sister Elise’s entertainment.”

“Oh yeah?”

Raven nodded. “And you don’t want to know.”

Luc stopped beside the cab. “How many did she hire?”

“Hire?” Raven shook his head. “Moonbeam doesn’t have to hire them. When Moonbeam’s boys found out Elise was getting married, they volunteered.”

A fist of jealousy slammed into Luc’s gut and he willed it not to show, but he suspected Raven saw it. “How many volunteered?”

When Raven hesitated to answer, Ben said, “Twelve.”

Luc gripped the door handle. “Twelve?”

Raven nodded. “But there’s no need to worry. I know my sister and she’ll look, but she won’t touch.”

“Look?” Another fist—possessiveness—slammed into Luc’s gut.

Ben laid a hand on Luc’s shoulder. “Luc. Trust me. There’s no need to worry. Rave and I discussed it and we both agree that there’s no need to crash their party and bash some heads.”

Hours later, drunk off their respective asses…

“Shh.” Luc motioned for Raven and Ben to lower their voices. “Do you want us to get caught?” They’d drifted from the strip club to a sports bar to a dance club to a pool hall and as a result they were wasted, trashed, heavily intoxicated. As the midnight hour had approached and passed, every drink had turned into a toast and… well, Luc hadn’t been this drunk since the night he and Ben had graduated college.

Ben bumped into Luc and threw his arm around his shoulder. “Luc, you are the luckiest sonofabitch I know. Elise is entirely too good for you.”

Luc grinned and pushed Ben off him. “You can’t have her, Benny. Not now. Not ever.”

Ben shrugged. “I had to try. If you die, leave her to me in your will. I’ll take good care of her for you.”

Raven stumbled up behind Luc and Ben. “I got the rose. What next?”

Luc pointed at the back of his grandfather’s house. “We sneak into the house and leave a little present for my woman.”

Ben disappeared behind a bush to relieve himself. “What present?”

“Does Elise know you call her your woman?”

“Nah, but she will. Hurry up, Benny.”

“What present,” Ben asked again.

“An anklet I got her.” Luc patted his pocket. “I thought about giving it to her tomorrow night, but tonight’s better.”

Raven clamped a hand on Luc’s shoulder. “You know, you may just be good enough for my little sister, Brother Luc.”

“Thanks, Brother Raven.”

Ben staggered out from behind the bush. “How are we getting into the house?”

Raven and Luc looked at each other and said at the same time, “The balcony.” Then they both started off for the house.

Ben groaned and staggered along behind them. “Has it occurred to either of you that the balcony door is probably locked?”

“I can open it,” Raven announced.

“How,” Ben demanded.

“With these.” Raven whipped out his wallet and did something with his hands. “I never go anywhere without my lock picks.”

“Should I ask why you never go anywhere without your lock picks?” Luc asked.

There was a smile in Raven’s voice as he answered, “Do you want to know how many times Moonbeam has lost her keys? Or how many times I’ve changed her locks?”

“Forget I asked,” Luc muttered.

Ben ran up and slung an arm around Luc and Raven—it was a miracle they didn’t all fall down. “How are we getting up to the balcony?”

“There’s an oak tree at the corner of the house. We’ll use it to get the ledge, then mosy on down to Elise’s room.”

“And do we know which room Elise is staying in?”

Luc stopped, dragging Ben to a halt with him. “Damn.”

“What?” Raven turned around.

“I don’t know which room. We don’t have time to go through all twenty-rooms.”

“She’s in the white room,” Raven said.

Luc frowned. “Which one? The one with the yellow chair or the one with the blue chair?”

“Um… blue.”

Luc closed his eyes and visualized how to get to the white room with the blue chair from the front door. “Okay. Got it. It’s right next to my old room.”

Fifteen minutes later and without severe injury, Raven unlocked the balcony door and Luc slipped into the room.

“Wait,” Ben whispered.

“What?”

“The thorns. Take the thorns off.”

“Oh yeah. Good idea.” Luc leaned over the railing and broke the thorns off the rose. “Think I should leave a note?”

Raven lounged against the house and looked like a seasoned cat burglar. “Yeah, but nothing too mushy.”

Luc pulled the anklet out of his pocket and wrapped it around the stem of the rose. “Any suggestions?”

“Something short and to the point,” Ben said.

Ten seconds of silence and Luc smiled. “I know.” He went to the desk and found pen and paper, then penned the note.

“Someone’s coming,” Raven hissed.

“I don’t hear anything,” Luc whispered.

“Use the Force, Luc,” Raven replied. “We’ll meet you at the tree. Move it, Ben.” He snickered. “Or should I say Obi-Wan?”

“Obi-Wan,” Ben repeated. “I kind of like that.”

Luc nodded and folded up the note, then placed it on her pillow. “Until tomorrow, my lady,” he whispered, laying the rose with the anklet snaked around its stem on top of the note. He turned and headed for the balcony, but paused by the vanity.

He couldn’t help himself and he picked up her perfume bottle, then inhaled the sweet fragrance. He memorized the perfume’s name, then set it on the table and headed for the balcony. It wasn’t until he met up with Raven and Ben at the base of the oak tree that he remembered he hadn’t closed the balcony doors.

Then he heard Elise’s soft laughter drift through the cool night air.

Ben and Raven looked up and said at the same time, “Run.”

Elise helped tuck a slightly intoxicated Eleanor into bed, then slipped into her own room. A cool breeze hit her skin and drew her attention to the open balcony doors. She was almost positive they’d been closed when she left earlier. She glanced around the room before going to close the doors and that’s when she saw it.

A single red rose rested diagonally across the pillow. A bubble of laughter floated from her lips and she raced to the bed. A short gold chain was wrapped around the long stem. “Oh, how beautiful,” she whispered. “Oh… and a note.”