Destiny Bites

Chapter 6

Author: Reshenna Andrews

By the time Luc left his new lawyer’s office, there was just one way he could describe how he felt. Awed.

He had not realized how much could be done to prevent his greedy family from getting their clutches on his inheritance after he passed on. The mental pictures of the looks on their faces, when they heard the news, kept a satisfied grin on his face as he went to meet Jerrod in the foyer.

“Things went well I take it?”

Luc’s grin grew. “Oh yes. It was worth the extra time it took to talk to a psychiatrist. Having a professional stamp of approval that I was in sound mind when I yanked everything out of my family’s greedy little hands was a stroke of genius.”

Reaching up to lay his hand gently on Jerrod’s cheek, Luc’s grin turned into a soft smile. “Thank you Jerrod. I have not felt this happy in years. I had forgotten what the feeling was like.”

Jerrod leaned into the touch and started to reply when a low rumble interrupted him. Watching Luc blush in embarrassment, he chuckled. “I think it’s time we made your stomach happy too.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Jerrod tucked Luc’s hand in the crook of his elbow. “There’s a pretty good teriyaki bar just around the corner. Let’s get you something to eat and see how else I can help you.”

Jerrod’s choice of words brought a small frown to Luc’s face. “You should be hungry too. I haven’t seen you eat a thing all day.”

Escorting Luc into the small eating establishment, Jerrod grimaced. “Well, that’s something we need to talk about this evening. Just rest assured that I am not hungry and won’t be for a while. Can we leave it at that until later?”

Luc only nodded as he sat down. He was really looking forward to learning this secret of Jerrod’s. He had a feeling it was really important. And since Jerrod already knew his, he didn’t have to be nervous about their ‘talk’.

After placing Luc’s order, Jerrod leaned forward, elbows on the table, and asked, “So, what else do you need to accomplish today?”

Settling back in his chair, Luc looked up at the ceiling as he got his thoughts in order. “Actually I still need to find a good real estate agent. I don’t particularly want to live in that hotel for the next couple of weeks.”

“Why don’t you come and live with me?”

Luc’s eyes snapped down to pin Jerrod to his chair. Rearing back, bringing his hands up in a ‘I surrender’ gesture, Jerrod shrugged. “What? What did I say?”

Luc pursed his lips and frowned thoughtfully. “If I’m not mistaken, when you bumped into me walking towards the elevators, you had a hotel room key in your hand. If you have your own home, why would you be renting a hotel room?”

“Oops.”

Luc’s eyebrows rose and he bit back a smile at the sheepish look on Jerrod’s face. “Do I dare ask what you mean by oops?”

Jerrod rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the table. “Well, I…I was following you. I knew you were there and I wanted the chance to get to know you so I rented the room next to yours.”

“But you didn’t stay there. Did you?”

“Uh, no.”

Luc was losing the battle with the smile fighting to get free. “So you rented a hotel room and didn’t use it. Why? Did you forget you had it?”

“Uh, yeah. I did.”

Luc laughed.

Jerrod pouted. “Well, heck. I had such a good time with you that I didn’t want the night to end. It really threw me for a loop when you wouldn’t let me spend the night with you so I just went home.”

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Jerrod slumped down into his chair, mumbling, “You don’t have to laugh at me.”

Luc only laughed harder. By the time he got himself back under control, their food had arrived and Jerrod was still pouting. Smiling widely Luc leaned across the table and lifted Jerrod’s face so their eyes could meet. “You have to admit that it’s funny Jerrod. I can’t remember ever throwing anyone off so much that they forgot they spent money, especially the kind of money that kind of hotel charges. I am taking that as a serious compliment so quit your pouting. You’ll just make me laugh again if you don’t.”

The corner of Jerrod’s mouth twitched upwards. He liked hearing Luc laugh. He had the distinct feeling that his companion had not done a lot of laughing lately and, for some reason, it didn’t bother him that Luc was laughing at him. Maybe it was because he knew it was not done in a mean spirited way.

Shrugging to himself, Jerrod let his smile take over and sat up straight in his chair. Placing his elbows on the table and letting his chin rest on his hands, he gave Luc his best puppy eyed look. “So? Are you going to come live at my place?”

Luc was having a difficult time eating because of the laughter bubbling inside of him. He knew a lot of his happiness was caused by having the weight of stress he had been carrying around lifted, but being with Jerrod was causing most of it. And he liked the feeling.

Swallowing his mouthful, Luc cocked his head to the side and raised one eyebrow. “And how big is this place of yours? Do you expect me to share your bedroom? Do you have a guest room? What?”

Jerrod’s smile bloomed into a grin. “I will be honest and say that I would prefer that you share my bedroom, but that can come in time. I have a large enough house that you can choose between a few of the empty bedrooms and make it your own. I have a house full of people that work for me. Some live there on the property too and some don’t. So you would never be totally alone with me if that worries you. I won’t force myself on you Luc. But I have no doubt that we are meant to be together and I will do whatever I need to do to convince you.”

Luc blinked in surprise. He could feel the sincerity behind Jerrod’s words. The weird thing about them was that he felt the same way too. It wasn’t a bad feeling, even if it was a little scary. He had never felt this way before. Not even with the man he had professed his love to. He didn’t think this was just love. But what it was, he had no clue. Not yet anyway.

Putting down his fork, Luc looked at Jerrod for a long moment. “Alright. I will come to your place. I also feel there is something between us and would like to find out what it is. I will, however, expect you to keep your word. I would not react well if you did try to force something I’m not ready for. I have just regained my freedom after three years of a prison without walls and I will never go back into a situation anything like it.”

Smiling to take the sting out of his words, Luc continued. “It has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself and I want to make the most of it. And since I’ve enjoyed our time together so far, I am looking forward to more of it. At my own speed though. Okay?”

Jerrod nodded. “I can handle that as long as you don’t mind me trying to spoil you too.”

Luc nodded back with a mischievous grin. “I can handle that.”

After lunch they caught a cab back to Luc’s hotel and checked him out. As they drove to his home, Jerrod became Luc’s tour guide, pointing out places of interest as he directed their cab to take a few scenic routes on the way. When they finally pulled into the long driveway of his home, Jerrod smiled in satisfaction at Luc’s reaction.

Jerrod’s home was not as huge as some mansions Luc had seen but was large enough to house a family or two. The home sat in the middle of ten acres of wooded land, with only a couple of the acres immediately surrounding the house having been landscaped.

The front of the home had stone pillars gracing the porch and bay windows to allow plenty of light. Luc could see flowers and plants sitting on the bay window sills and hanging on each side. It looked very inviting. And magnificent.

“This is yours? This…this mansion?”

“It’s been in my family for many years. I have been blessed with enough resources to keep it in good shape and to refurbish it with modern items as we go along.”

Luc just shook his head as he stepped out of the car. “I can’t wait to see what the inside looks like.”

Letting one of his house boys take Luc’s luggage inside, Jerrod paid the cab driver and sent him on his way. Looping their arms together, Jerrod tugged his awed companion towards the front door. “I promise you a full tour later. Right now you look as if you need to rest. I’ll show you the rooms I have available and you can take your pick. Then you can unpack or shower or take a nap. Whatever pleases you will be fine. Come back downstairs when you are ready and I can introduce you to my friends and employees. After that we can have dinner and our talk.”

As much as Luc hated to admit it, Jerrod was right. He was tired. Even though it was a pleasant kind of tired, Luc knew he had better not push it. He didn’t want to have an attack in front of Jerrod. Or any of his household for that matter.

As the two smiling men entered the house, Heath watched from the sidelines, smiling in relief. It had been too long since his master had exhibited such happiness. Heath just prayed that Jerrod’s new companion was the mate his master believed him to be.