Lightning Game (GhostWalkers #17) -Christine Feehan Page 0,167
visitors, it was all Jonquille could do not to have a complete breakdown. She just sat on the bed with him and cried. Diego didn’t say a word, just sat across the room looking at his brother as if Rubin had died. Rubin kept his arm around Jonquille and his eyes on Diego. In the end, the three of them just stayed silent that first hour’s visit, other than her silly weeping, but it was intense. And she felt love in that room.
Everyone was wonderful at the Fontenot household, but there were too many people, and Jonquille was just grateful she had Rubin back and they were finally in their own home. She couldn’t breathe with so many people around her. Diego brought groceries and did most of the cooking for them. He was a rock they both leaned on. She didn’t want Rubin to do anything but rest and recuperate.
She realized why Diego and the others on his team watched over him so closely. He was a brilliant surgeon. He did what others couldn’t do. She doubted if anyone else could have saved Roch Fontenot, or even if they would have had the strength and endurance let alone the knowledge to do so. He also had the tenacity to keep going when others would have given up. She would have given up. She knew she would have. Even after all the work Rubin had done on Roch, when she arrived and saw what a mess the man was, she thought the case was hopeless and Rubin was risking his life for nothing. Rubin’s team understood what they had in him. He didn’t want to be treated any differently, she could understand that as well, but he was different and he had to come to terms with that.
“Lightning Bug, stop looking at me like that.” There was a trace of amusement in Rubin’s voice.
“How am I looking at you?” She knew. Her heart was in her eyes. She adored him and she didn’t try to hide it. Diego wasn’t out on the porch to make it into a joke. They weren’t in their bedroom to make it sultry and sensual. She didn’t care what he thought. The sun rose and set on Rubin for her. It always would.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to get used to it, honey,” she said softly. “I’m always going to look at you this way because it’s the way I feel about you.”
Lightning flickered across the bottoms of the purple-blue clouds roiling overhead and this time, she felt the answering jolt in her body. Her hair moved subtly, lifting toward the sky, and the little fireflies began to dance around her midsection.
“I’m going to have to walk out into the meadow until the storm passes. You stay here, Rubin,” she directed and went to push up on the arms of the wooden rocking chair. The rocker had been hand-carved by the two brothers. She loved it so much. It was her favorite piece of furniture.
Rubin put his hand over hers. “Stay there, Jonquille. We can practice right here. The water, you, perfect attraction for lightning.”
Trepidation seized her. Her tongue touched her lower lip. “You’re too close. So is the house. One miss and our beautiful home is toast.” And so was he. Her man. Her everything. She’d come too close to losing him already. That miss was too near. How did one tell a strong man no? Her heart began to accelerate like a race car out of control. She almost started hyperventilating. “Rubin …”
“Lightning Bug.” His thumb slid over the back of her hand in that mesmerizing and soothing slide. His voice was pure velvet. “This is what we do. We’ll just sit here and play. It’s relaxing. Think of it like a video game.”
“I don’t play video games.” She tried to glare at him, but she’d found that it was impossible to glare at Rubin ever since she’d nearly lost him. “This is dangerous and you know it. That lead stroke is going to come straight for me. I don’t care if the military wants a weapon and you’re supposed to be helping them figure out how to develop one, I don’t want to take a chance with your life.” There. She’d said it and been straight to the point.
The lines in his face softened. The expression in his dark, dark eyes was suddenly unfathomable, but it made her stomach do a slow somersault.