The Breed Read Free

and womanizing—if you believed the
interplanetary press.
    As far as I knew he and my father had never
reconciled before Dad died and he hadn’t come to see Mom when she
was sick either. In fact, in the fifteen years since he’d first
been sent away to school, my once-dear brother had become little
more to me than a handsome stranger. So why was he bothering me
now?
    “What do you want, Lukas?” I said, blocking
the doorway to the penthouse.
    “Just to see you, Sis.” He stroked a strand
of hair that had gotten loose from my bun out of my eyes and looked
at me seriously. “I told you I’d come visit you in a year—so here I
am.”
    “Here you are,” I said, still not moving.
When I thought about it, it had been exactly a year since my
mom’s funeral. Something I’d been trying not to remember all day.
And now here Lukas was, reminding me. Thanks a lot, big
brother. “Why a year?” I asked.
    “Because it’s just enough time.” His black
eyes were suddenly pleading. “Come on, Lexie—let me in.
Please?”
    It was the ‘please’ that got me. Lukas never
asked anybody for anything—he preferred to just take what he
wanted.
    “All right.” I stepped to one side grudgingly
and gestured for him to precede me into the penthouse. “But you
can’t stay long—I’m really tired tonight.”
    “Long day at the office?” He strolled in,
hands still stuffed in his pockets, and looked around. “Looks like
you did some redecorating.”
    “Mom did it the year before she died,” I said
shortly. “If you’d come around more often you might have
noticed.”
    “I couldn’t.” He turned to face me, his
handsome face twisted in a look of regret. “I wanted to,
Lexie—believe me I did. But I couldn’t come see you while Mom and
Dad were still alive. Not after…” He shook his head. “I just
couldn’t.”
    “Why not?” For some reason his words seemed
to tap into a deep well of hurt inside me—a reservoir of anguish I
hadn’t known existed until now. “Why, Lukas? I know Dad died
suddenly and you two still weren’t talking when he went. But that
last year with Mom was really hard . She had a stroke and she
could barely talk…” I had to turn my back for a moment to compose
myself. God, what was wrong with me? I was never this
emotional!
    “Lexie?” he asked hesitantly.
    “She asked for you, you know.” My voice came
out sounding muffled and weak but when I turned around I tried to
keep my expression calm.
    “She did?” Lukas’ face was hard. “What did
she say?”
    I frowned. “It was difficult to understand
but mostly…mostly I think she was trying to say she was sorry for
something. I…I told her I would tell you if I ever saw you again.”
I looked down at my feet, encased in shiny black leather Prada
pumps that hurt but made just the right statement with the slim
black pencil skirt and severely cut black suit jacket I was
wearing. I had the sudden urge to kick the painful shoes off and
just go barefoot but I looked up at Lukas instead.
    He was watching me with real pain on his
face—a genuine emotion that surprised and moved me. “I’m sorry,” he
said softly. “I know you don’t understand. But I came here to
explain. I hope after tonight we’ll know where we stand.”
    That sounded vaguely ominous but before I
could say anything else he came forward and hugged me—surrounded
me, really, since he was so big.
    If I was startled by his embrace, my reaction
to it surprised me even more. I actually hugged him back. I put my
arms around his waist and buried my face in his broad chest, not
caring that my red lipstick might be staining his collar. Even
though I was wearing heels Lukas still stood a head taller than me
and the feel of his arms, like warm iron bands holding me close,
seemed somehow completely perfect and right. I breathed him in,
filling my lungs with his spicy scent and for the first time in I
don’t know how long, I let myself relax.
    “Lexie…Lexie,” he