Defying the North Wind Read Online Free Page B

slow, shaky breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    Luca lowered his voice. “Who hurt you, cara ?”
    Her eyelids fluttered closed. “It wasn’t me. It was my sister.”
    “I’m sorry.” He loved his brothers. Watching them suffer as they hunted their tempest winds and battled their vices tore him apart. Now two were safe, but Luca knew his youngest brother, Soren, was spiraling into the depths of greed.
    “My father left when I was young. Skye was only a few years old. My mother…met a man a few years later.” Rayne pressed a palm to her belly, trying to calm the roiling inside.
    Luca grabbed her hand, tangled his fingers with hers. He wished he could go back and change things for her.
    “He was nice enough at first. But then I started hearing him and my mother fighting. She tried to hide the black eyes and the bruises. A few years later, he started hitting me. I had a smart mouth.” Green eyes shimmered. “He hit me where no one would see the bruises.”
    Luca fought to keep his touch gentle, but his gut was hollow. Did Rayne look at him and see the monster from her past?
    “I tried to tell mom, but she wouldn’t listen. Then when Skye was around twelve, my beatings eased up.” Rayne’s hand gripped his, her nails digging into his skin. “I should have realized, but I was just so damned thankful not to limp to school every day. Skye had always been quiet, shy, but then she became completely withdrawn.”
    Luca cursed.
    Rayne’s lips trembled. “The bastard was raping her. In the room next to mine, for months, and I didn’t know. I didn’t protect her.”
    Luca shook with rage. “Your mother?”
    Rayne tossed her head back and swallowed. “She had to have known. If he wasn’t in her bed, where the hell did she think he was? But in her usual fashion, she ignored it.”
    Luca cupped Rayne’s face. “It wasn’t your fault.”
    “Skye never recovered. I do everything I can to protect her. She likes her solitude, she’s so withdrawn.” Rayne lifted her chin. “Now you know why I won’t stand by and do nothing about the Venti Tempesta . It’s my duty to help as well. Please, let me help you catch Caecius?”
    Dio , she’d hit him a low blow. “Damn you.” How could he say no to the plea in her eyes? “Fine. We’ll carry out your plan, but only after we go through some contingencies. I will not risk your life. I will not let him get close enough to hurt you.”
    Her smile was blinding. “Deal, WindKeeper.”
    “And first we get some sleep.” He wouldn’t have her going after Caecius after being awake all night. A part of Luca wanted them to tumble into a bed together, to give him the chance to explore her toned, oh-so-tempting body. But she needed rest, so he thrust his own needs aside.
    “But—”
    He pressed a finger to her lips. “No buts. Rest or you aren’t part of the plan.”
    Her lips thinned but she nodded. “Okay, I’ll sleep, but after that we go catch us a bad guy.”
    ***
    “It’s perfect.” Rayne stared at the small, dead-end canal in the early morning light. Buildings closed in on all sides. “Despite being too pretty to be the perfect location for a trap.”
    Luca didn’t say anything. He was crouched by the water’s edge. Brooding.
    Yeah, he wasn’t seeing the lovely old buildings with their faded butter-yellow paint, or the arched windows, some filled with jaunty flower boxes. No, he stared at the still, murky water like it would give him the answers he needed.
    Boy, he did not like it when he didn’t get his own way.
    “Luca? It’s a good plan. I’ll find a boat and take it out on the Grand Canal. I’ll use my breeze to whip things up and put on a little show. Once I have Caecius’s attention, I’ll lead him back here, right to you.” She’d thought it through during the night. She’d found it hard to sleep knowing Luca had been in the bedroom next to hers. It’d been too easy to imagine his big naked frame sprawled in the small guest bed.