Midnight Soul (46 page)

“Stop talking,” he gritted.

She did as told and looked relieved to do
it.

Noc took a deep breath and endeavored not to
lose his mind and fuck up like he did the night before.

When he got his shit together, he stated,
“Okay, I’m gonna make this crystal clear right now, Frannie, so we
don’t fall into this again. That means I want you listening close,
baby. Are you listening?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Right. Good. Here it is,” he began, took a
big breath and gave it to her. “On a night months ago, after me and
a bunch of folks I did not know saved a world, no matter what
happened just before, I sat down to wine and whiskey with a
beautiful woman and by the time I watched her walk out of that
room, she had me wrapped around her finger.”

He heard her intake of breath but he kept
talking.

“She didn’t know it and obviously
still
doesn’t know it, but since that day, it’s all been
about her. That her being
you
.”

“Noc.” His name came husky and sweet, it was
gorgeous, he loved hearing it, but he still kept at her.

“And now I’ll take the time to share that I’m
not that guy. When I’m with a woman,
I’m with that woman
. I
expect her to be with me too. If I have a woman in my life, it’s
about her, getting to know her, seeing where things are gonna go
and focusing on only that. It’s not about playing the field, being
sure to keep myself open so I don’t miss anything or getting as
much pussy as I can. It’s about her and me. Right now, I’m with a
woman.
Very
with her. And in that current scenario, Frannie,
I’ll repeat, that her is
you
.”

“All right, darling,” she said
soothingly.

“I’m not done.”

By the dashboard lights, he watched as she
closed her mouth.

He did not.

“So what I do with my time
is
your
business and what I do with my dick is
definitely
your
business, is that understood?”

A quick nod with her “Yes.”

“And I expect the same from you. I’m in your
business and that beautiful body of yours, Franka, is only for me.
You still with me?”

Now her “Yes,” came breathy.

He loved hearing that too.

But he still kept at her.

“And to demonstrate what I’m talking about,
no one has gotten what I’m gonna share with you, and no one is
going to get it except you. When I say that, I mean I haven’t
shared and I’m not going to share with anyone but you. I expect you
to keep this between you and me as well because it’s only your
business due to what you mean to me, who you are in my life, where
I’m hoping what we got is gonna go. Other than that, it would be
only Circe and my business.”

He gave her a chance to let that sink in, she
indicated it did by slowly nodding, and then he kept going.

“She approached me. You could call it coming
onto me, because mostly, in an inexperienced way, it was. I don’t
know why she did. Maybe she was feelin’ it after helping to save
the world. Maybe she was beside herself the world had been saved
and she wanted to celebrate. Maybe it was just the time for her to
do it. I don’t know what it was and I didn’t ask. That’s only hers.
I did know about her. Valentine told me everything about everybody
before she took me to that world. So I knew what her approach
meant, how huge it was, and what an honor it was she picked me.
Serious…and I am not saying this shit to make you feel better, it’s
just true…she’s not my type. She’s gorgeous and we shared something
that was intense and all good, but normally, I wouldn’t go there. I
went there with her because I knew what her choosing me meant for
her and I’d just put my life on the line to help save a continent.
I was feelin’ in the mood.”

“Of course,” she whispered when he took a
breath.

“That’s it,” he continued. “Before we took it
there, she made it clear she wanted no more and I made it clear I
was down with that because I felt the same. We parted friends.
We’re still friends. She’s phoned since I’ve been home but I’ve
been too busy to catch up with her. But again, she’s just a friend,
that’s all she is and that’s all she’ll ever be. We got what
happened between us in our history and it means something to me. It
was a beautiful moment in my life, her trusting me like she did,
and I hope I gave that beauty back to her. But then it was done.
And by the way, to make something else clear, you
are
my
type. That hair. Your eyes. That fuckin’ mouth of yours. Your neck,
which is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen on any woman. The
uppity cute shit you got going. Totally my type.”

When she got it that he was done speaking,
she said softly, her words carrying a shit ton of feeling, “Thank
you for sharing all of that with me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Frannie. The gig
is, you should expect that shit from me because that’s who I am to
you. I’m yours. I’m your guy. And there’s nothing of mine that’s
not yours to have.”

She leaned his way as far as her seat belt
would let her and put a hand his knee.

“I, well…that means everything to me, Noc,
and I wish you to know you should feel the same way about me.”

“I already do,” he returned.

He saw her lips tip up and he wanted to kiss
her, looking at her face, the relief there she didn’t hide, the
emotion she had for him she also didn’t hide, feeling her hand curl
on his knee.

But they weren’t done.

“Now we got that clear, what are you and
Valentine planning to do with Circe?”

Her hand disappeared from his knee and she
leaned away.

He caught it before it was out of reach and
pulled her back, resting both their hands on his thigh.

“You just told me there was nothing of yours
that’s not mine to have, sugarlips, so spill,” he demanded.

He watched her bite her bottom lip.

“Frannie…” he warned.

He watched her let her lip go and she drew in
a deep breath.

On the exhale, she said quickly, “The Lahn of
this world lives in this city.”

Noc’s eyes went directly to the ceiling of
the cab as his lips muttered, “Christ.”

“It’s the natural order of things,” she
defended.

He looked back to her. “The natural order of
things would put me with the Cora of that world.”

Her upper lip curled.

She knew of Cora of the other world. The
woman made the shit Franka pulled all her life to keep people
distant look tame. Cora of the other world wasn’t just a bitch. She
was a cunt.

She was also dead and Franka knew that
too.

“Well, that doesn’t bode well for our
futures,” she murmured, her eyes drifting away. “And I must say, I
have thought on this before last night and quite often today and it
troubles me.”

“Babe,” he called.

Her attention came back.

He studied her face.

Then he said, “You don’t know.”

“What don’t I know?”

Shit.

He released his belt so he could get closer
to her, curved her fingers around his thigh and lifted that hand to
hold her at the side of her neck.

“You…the you of this world, sweetheart, she
passed years ago. A boating accident when she was seventeen.”

Her gasp was audible.

“Yeah,” he said gently. “Valentine told me
last week.”

“That…I…” She shook her head and it took her
time to get it together. “This news…it’s peculiar. Before, I was
concerned about running into her and how awkward that might be. But
now, knowing this, all I feel is sad.”

“That’s because it’s sad, knowin’ a girl had
her life cut short before she even got a chance to start living it.
Fucks with my head, knowin’ that girl looked just like you.”

“Yes,” she agreed quietly.

“As sad as that is, Frannie, it still
balances shit out.”

“Pardon?”

“You and me. My destined mate of that world
is dead. The you of this world is also sadly passed. Think
Valentine told me this just so I’d know, because of that, there’s
balance.”

“Oh,” she whispered, and that was all she
gave him after that mammoth piece of news.

He grinned and teased, “Yeah. Oh.”

“Well, that’s one thing we don’t need to
worry about.”

He kept teasing. “Yeah, strike that off the
list of non-existent shit we should worry about since this just
works between us, what we got, so we really don’t have anything to
worry about unless you make it up.”

Her eyes narrowed.

He leaned close and touched his lips to
hers.

When he pulled away he ordered, “Leave Circe
alone.”

She drew both of her lips between her
teeth.

“Seriously, Frannie, let her live her
life.”

She let her lips go. “Valentine thinks—”

“I don’t give a shit what Valentine
thinks.”

“But, I agree and—”

“Then you’d be wrong.”

Her eyes narrowed again.

“You’re interrupting me, Noc,” she
warned.

“Babe, this is serious,” he returned.

“You are correct, it is,” she retorted. “Very
serious. And being serious, I wish for you to explain to me, right
now, why Circe is not allowed her happiness. Of the players in this
game of universe hopping, Finnie and Frey have found their bliss.
Circe and Lahn of Korwahk. Tor and Cora. Maddie and Apollo. And I
daresay, when you aren’t being vexing, you and me. So what of the
Lahn of this world and the Circe of the other? Are they not to find
their bliss?”

“If that’s gonna happen, let it happen.”

“Even if it were to happen without
intervention, by the time they get together, Noc, the Circe and
Lahn of the other world will have at least three children, that
being if Circe doesn’t deliver twins on her husband again, making
it four. The Circe and Lahn in this world already have to catch up.
There’s no time to waste.”

“You tell yourself that and Valentine tells
herself that so you can meddle, seein’ as you’re both addicted to
it.”

She pulled away from his hold, saying archly,
“And let us see, Valentine has meddled in precisely
three
relationships, my clothing and shoes yesterday being not an
unintentional fashion selection in the slightest. She planted me
where she planted me the
way
she planted me knowing
precisely what the results would be from her machinations. You may
disagree, for reasons unknown, but from the results…including
Finnie and Frey, Maddie and Apollo, and you and me…I would estimate
she’s quite skilled at what you call her
meddling
.”

Shit, she had him there.

“And do you think for even a moment that
Valentine or I would wish Circe harm or
do
that first thing
to harm her?” she demanded to know.

“Frannie, calm down,” he urged. “Of course
not.”

“Then I fail to see your problem with our
plan.”

He didn’t like it. But she was right, which
meant he had no choice but to live with it.

“Just, whatever you plan to do, be careful,”
he muttered.

She pulled away even further and snapped,
“But of course!”

“Baby, she’s spent her entire life being used
and violated by men. I’m the only man she’s ever chosen of her free
will. I’m protective of her and it’s partly because of that, partly
because I’m human, and lastly because I’m a man and I fuckin’ hate
that my kind has put her through a lifetime of shit. You say you’re
gonna fix her up with a huge dude that I can’t imagine looks any
less scary in this world than the other, I’m gonna react. Cut me
some slack.”

“And cutting you some slack would mean
allowing you your erroneous reaction, which was insulting, and
forgiving you for it even if you haven’t admitted you were in the
wrong and apologized,” she returned.

Noc fought a grin. “Yeah, that’d be what
cutting me some slack means.”

“All right, Noctorno, I shall ‘cut you some
slack.’”

He didn’t need to fight a grin anymore.

“Babe,” he said shortly. “Making something
else crystal clear right now, something I don’t want to tell you
again, I do not like being called Noctorno.”

“I have heard you say that, repeatedly. But
it
is
your name, it’s a regal, manly name, and when you’re
being vexing it’s mostly when you’re being very much
a man
,
and a high-handed one to boot, so that’s how I’ll refer to you. And
I will admit I’m not beneath using something I know annoys you to
do just that after you’ve annoyed me.”

Noc sighed.

Franka held his gaze.

“It’s good you taste so goddamned sweet, or
even with all the rest, you might not be worth it,” he
muttered.

“I do hope you jest,” she bit out.

“Just finding things that annoy you that I
can use after you’ve annoyed me.”

She glared at him.

Then she burst out laughing.

Noc stared at her.

Fuck, he’d never seen or heard her laugh like
that. Not like that. Totally giving into it. Totally giving him all
of it.

Christ, even her laughter sounded like a
purr.

Beautiful.

She was still doing it when she undid her
seatbelt and erased the distance between them, putting her laughing
mouth to his and sliding her hand up his thigh.

“I do believe you need to feed me, darling.
I’m quite famished.”

He couldn’t stay ticked. Not after what she
just gave him and now, with her mouth on his, hearing her humor in
her voice and seeing her eyes dance in the dashboard lights.

“Best get you to some food, then,” he
muttered, brushing his mouth against hers.

He was about to pull away when she caught him
with her hand cupping his cheek.

“We balance worlds,” she said softly.

He felt those words in his gut.

“Yeah,” he replied softly.

“You’re my type too, Noc, even though I
didn’t know it until I met you,” she shared.