“Everything we’ve seen points to a small nest, but watch your backs. I don’t want any surprises.”
Brock nodded and hefted his weapons bag onto his shoulder. “We’ll be in and out before those suckers know we’re there. You sure you don’t want to come with us? I know how much you love to clean out nests.”
“Not this time. I have plans tonight.” Something a lot more pleasant than killing vampires.
He gave me a knowing smile. “Have fun.”
Brock left as Chris walked into the living room we’d turned into the main control room of the command center. Chris spotted me and headed over to where I stood.
“Hamid called. He and Ammon will be here tonight, and they want to talk about the situation in Seattle.”
A teenage girl had gone missing two days ago, and the body of another girl had been found in a restaurant dumpster yesterday, drained of blood. Seattle news stations were already talking about a serial killer, but we knew different. So far our guys in Seattle hadn’t been able to find a trace of the vampire responsible.
“What time will they get here?”
“Late, I think. You have somewhere to be?”
“I’m taking Sara out.”
He smiled broadly. “Well, it’s about damn time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just that most males date the girl before they start going into rages and chasing her across the country.”
I scowled. “In case you haven’t noticed, the last few months haven’t left a whole lot of opportunities for dating.”
“True.” He sat on the edge of a table. “Where are you taking her?”
“I don’t know. Wherever she wants to go. I thought it would be good for her to get out of the house for a few hours.”
Chris nodded in understanding. “She still having a rough time with her Fae training?”
“Yes.”
Rough didn’t exactly describe Sara’s Fae training. In addition to freezing the pool, she’d managed to blow up the gazebo near the lake, create a thunderstorm on the back lawn, and awaken a water dragon sleeping at the bottom of Eldeorin’s small lake.
Her training with me was going well, and she continued to surprise me with how fast she picked up the new strikes and kicks I’d taught her. She still didn’t like the strength and cardio workouts, but I made her do them every day. I was pushing her hard, but she had a lot of missed years of training to catch up on. I’d rather I be the one to get past her defenses instead of someone out to kill her.
This afternoon, she’d been unusually withdrawn in training. Normally, I could coax a few smiles from her, but she’d been too distracted today to even notice my attempts.
Tonight I planned to take her somewhere nice, just the two of us, and enjoy some good food and conversation. And hopefully get her to tell me what had upset her earlier.
“Have fun.” Chris smiled slyly. “I’ll let Hamid know you might be a little late.”
“Thanks.” I headed to the door. “Later.”
When I got to Eldeorin’s, Jordan informed me that Sara was in her room. I went to my room to change and grab my leather jacket, and then I knocked on Sara’s door.
It took a minute for her to answer, and her tangled hair and wrinkled shirt told me she’d been in bed. Her lips parted in surprise, and then her eyes slid down my body to somewhere in the vicinity of my abs. Heat filled me at the realization she was checking me out.
I cleared my throat softly to bring her attention back to my face. I held back a smile at the pink in her cheeks.
“Grab a warm coat. We’re going out,” I told her.
Her eyes widened hopefully. “We are?”
“If you’d rather stay –”
“No!”
I chuckled as she sped to the closet to grab fresh clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Her eagerness told me I was right, and this was just what she needed. I needed it too. Our first date was long overdue.
In no time, she stood in front of me again, her face flushed in anticipation. She pulled on her coat as we walked to the stairs.
“Where are we going?”
“I thought you might like to go out to dinner for a change.”
We reached the foyer, and I opened the door for her. Her eyes lit up when she saw my Ducati.
“That sounds nice,” she breathed.
I helped her don a helmet, explaining how to use the built-in mic so she could talk to me on the ride. Then I straddled the seat and patted the spot behind me.
When she climbed up behind me and her arms slipped around my waist, I forgot all about dinner. I just wanted to ride for hours with her holding on to me like that.
I drove us through the gates and turned toward Santa Cruz. I wished we were going farther than that. Riding my bike had always been one of my greatest pleasures, but nothing came close to having Sara hugging my back, her thighs pressed against mine.
“You okay?” I asked when she began to fidget a few minutes into our ride.
“Yes, but I should have brought gloves with me.”
I reached down and laid a hand over one of hers. Damn, she was like ice. I didn’t need gloves because my Mori kept me warm. I should have reminded her to bring some for herself.
I needed my hands to drive, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her being cold all the way to town. An idea came to me, and I slipped her hand into my jacket pocket. The heat from my body would keep it warm there.
Following my example, she did the same with her other hand. I smiled when I heard her sigh happily.
“Better?”
“Much better.”
Her hands rubbed against my stomach as she warmed herself, and I found it hard to concentrate on the road. I inhaled slowly, glad she had no idea about the effect she had on me. As our bond grew stronger, so did my need for her. Every touch from her was pleasure and torture, and it killed me not to be able to be with her as I longed to.
My Mori grumbled unhappily as I denied us yet again. It didn’t understand or care about our human emotions; all it wanted was to be with its mate.
Soon, I said to myself as much as to the disgruntled demon.
“Where are we going anyway?” Sara asked.
“Santa Cruz,” I replied, glad to think about something else. “What kind of food are you in the mood for?”
“I love Italian, but I’m not picky if you want something else.”
“Italian it is.”
I knew the perfect place. Chris and I had found an authentic little Italian restaurant last week, and my first thought had been to bring Sara there. I’d seen her and Nate go to dinner a few times at an Italian restaurant in New Hastings so I knew she liked the food.
The place was already busy when we got there, but I managed to get us a table for two by the window. A waiter hurried over to bring rolls and fill our water glasses while we looked at the menu.
“I’ll have the linguine,” Sara told him quietly.
I handed him our menus. “Lasagna for me.”
The waiter left, and Sara chewed her lip, something she did when she was nervous. She looked at the tablecloth, out the window, at the dining room – anywhere but at me. Her shyness was endearing, but I wanted her to be comfortable with me.
“This seems like a nice place,” she said.
I picked up a roll. “It is. I’ve been here before.”
“Oh.”
“I came here with Chris last week,” I said casually as if I hadn’t noticed the flash of jealousy in her eyes. Tearing apart my roll, I smirked at her. “You should grab one of these before I eat them all.”
She laughed, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight. I smiled and ate half my roll while she buttered one for herself.
“Mmm, this is amazing.”
My mouth went dry at the look of rapture on her face, which made me think of things that definitely had nothing to do with food.
Jesus, get a grip. I reached for my water as I searched for something to say.
“I talked to Tristan today. He said Sahir is hoping to use Hugo and Woolf to patrol the grounds.”
Her face lit up. “I heard that too. They’ve been great with him ever since the night of the attack. I’m glad they don’t have to be caged all the time now.”
“You miss them, don’t you?” I said, hearing a little sadness in her voice.
“Yes,” she replied wistfully. “But I know Sahir is taking good care of them. He doesn’t have a lot to do without Minuet and Alex there.”
“The wyvern didn’t go as far as you think.”
Her eyes rounded, and I nodded. “They’ve spotted him twice in the mountains near Westhorne. Sahir thinks he’s found a cave to live in, and there is plenty of game for him to hunt. They’ve been too busy with everything else that’s been going on to try to catch him. So far he’s kept out of sight of the humans, and Tristan said he’s going to leave him alone for now, unless he poses a threat to people.”
She smiled fondly. “The night of the attack he could have hurt a lot of people, but he only went after the crocotta and vampires. I hope that means he’s no longer a danger to humans.”
“We’ll see.” Only Sara would have a soft spot for a creature that had tried to burn her.
The waiter brought our food, and I started on my lasagna. I soon noticed Sara wasn’t eating much. Instead, she was looking around the dining room with an almost sad expression.
“Heavy thoughts?” I asked, wondering what had changed her mood.
She gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I was just thinking about New Hastings. It seems like forever since I was there.”
“Do you still miss it?” I asked. Her whole life had been in that little town with Nate and her friends. She had only left to keep them safe.
She toyed with her pasta. “Yes, but not as much as I used to. I miss Remy more than anything, but even if I was there, I couldn’t see him.”
Her voice grew sad as she spoke about her troll friend. There was nothing I could do to fix the rift between her and the trolls, but I could be there for her.
“We can go back again when it’s safe. And trolls live a very long time. I’m sure you’ll see him again.”
Her eyes grew misty, but she looked happier as she resumed eating.
“Other than Maine, where would you like to go?”
She’d been furious when I said I was taking her away. I suspected she’d only said she didn’t want to travel out of anger. Sara was too curious about the world to spend her life on one continent. And there were so many places I wanted to show her.
“Everywhere.”
I gave her a questioning look, and she laughed.
“Okay not everywhere, but there are so many places I’d like to see. Europe, South America, Africa. Sahir told me so much about Africa that I won’t be happy until I see one of those sunsets he described.”
“I think you’ll like Africa. It has more wild animals than even you can tame. And I think we can find you plenty of pretty sunsets.”
I pictured her face when she saw Kenya. The Masai Mara National Reserve had some of the best sunsets in the world, not to mention an abundance of wildlife. It was one of a hundred places I couldn’t wait to show to her.
She sipped her water thoughtfully. “You’ve been all over the world. Do you have a favorite place?”
“I was usually too focused on my missions to enjoy a lot of the places I visited.” Until I met her, I never realized how much my life revolved around my work. I still loved being a warrior, but she was my life now.
“Maybe we can go back and visit some of them. You can show me Russia.”
The thought of showing her my homeland and introducing her to my parents filled me with pleasure. “I’d like that.”
She smiled happily. “Tell me about a few of the places you do remember.”
I wiped my mouth with my napkin and sat back in my chair. “Let me see. I remember hunting down three sati in the Hunan province in China. They went into the Tianzi Mountain, and we had a devil of a time finding them in there.”
“Sati?”
“Think of a gray, hairless chimpanzee with six-inch claws and fangs, and a taste for anything warm-blooded.”
“Ugh. I hope you got them.”
“We did, but it wasn’t easy. It rained, and there was a dense fog over the place the whole time we were there. The sati were able to blend in perfectly. There were four of us, and it took us three days to locate and kill them.”
“Sounds like fun,” she said dryly.
I shook my head. “That actually wasn’t the worst part. We took the dead sati back to the village that had asked for our help. They threw a huge feast to celebrate, and guess what was on the menu.”
“No!” She made a face. “You ate it?”
“It would have been an insult to the village not to.” I shrugged, trying not to laugh at her look of disgust. “Tasted like chicken.”
She pretended to throw her napkin at me. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
I put a hand over my heart. “Every word is true.”
“Was Chris there?”
“No, that was before I came to this country and met Chris.”
She leaned forward eagerly. “Tell me about another place you’ve been. And you can leave out the parts about eating.”
I chuckled and told her about the week I’d spent in Venice, hunting down a sea serpent that had made its way into the canals. After that I regaled her with tales of some of my South American adventures. She listened raptly, asking questions and laughing at some of the stories.
“Did you find it boring here in the US after all your travels?”
“I thought I would, but America surprised me. Once I lived here a few years, and Tristan and I became friends, I decided to stay.”
She laid down her fork with a sigh. “It must have been something to watch how much the world changed in the last two hundred years. You lived through the Industrial Revolution, the invention of cars, airplanes, television, everything.”
I gave her a playful scowl. “Are you calling me old?”
She gave me an impish grin. “Well, you did go to Woodstock.”
“True. Now that was an unforgettable time.” I smiled as I remembered the craziness of that weekend. “The sixties were the best decade for music.”
“How can you say that? The seventies had the best music.”
“Says the girl who was born when?” I teased.
“Hey, I know good music when I hear it,” she retorted. “Some of the best musicians might have started in the sixties, but they didn’t get really good until the seventies.”
“Like who?”
“Fleetwood Mac for one. Their earlier stuff is good, but Rumors was their best album. And Eric Clapton didn’t go big until he went solo in the seventies.”
I nodded. “They’re good, but what about musicians like Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, or the Who and the Stones? I could name dozens of bands that did their best work in the sixties.”
She rested her arms on the table, and the gleam in her eyes told me she was ready to argue. We went back and forth, and I enjoyed the debate immensely. Sara knew her music, and she argued as passionately about the subject as she did about everything else she believed in. I could have sat there and talked to her all night.
The waiter came out to ask if we wanted dessert, and instead of declining as most women did on a date, Sara asked for a big piece of tiramisu. When he laid the large serving in front of her, I raised an eyebrow.
“You want some?” she asked, picking up her fork.
“No thanks. Never cared for it.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “How can you not like tiramisu? It’s the best dessert ever invented.”
She took her time eating the dessert. Watching her close her eyes and savor each bite, I decided I liked tiramisu after all. When she slowly licked the spoon clean, I made a note to bring her here often.
“That was great,” she said as we left the restaurant.
“So what would you like to do now?” I asked when we reached the Ducati.
Her eyes lit up. “We aren’t going home?”
“Not unless you want to.” If she kept looking at me like that, we might stay here all night.
“Can we ride around and see the city?” she asked hopefully.
I looked at her bare hands. “Are you sure you won’t be too cold?”
She pulled on her helmet. “Not if I can use your pockets again. How is it that you’re so hot…? I mean your skin is hot when mine is cold,” she stammered.
I didn’t need to see her face to know she was blushing again. Grinning, I fitted my own helmet over my head. “My Mori controls my body temperature. You’ll be able to do that too, eventually.”
“That’ll come in handy,” she mumbled.
I sat on the bike, and she climbed up behind me. When she wrapped her arms around me and slid her hands into my pockets, I loved how natural it felt. She was still shy about intimacy, but we’d come a long way since our first meeting in that club in Portland.
I took my time driving us around the city because the temperature had dropped since we’d left Eldeorin’s.
“You’re not cold, are you?” I asked her.
She tightened her hold on my waist. “No, this is great. It’s not as cold at this speed.”
“We’ll go slower on the way back.” I mentally berated myself for not thinking about how cold it would be for her on a bike. “I should have taken one of the SUVs instead.”
Her helmet moved between my shoulder blades when she shook her head. “I’d rather ride a motorcycle than in a car. Greg used to give me rides on his bike, and I loved it. I asked him to teach me to ride, but he didn’t want to upset Nate.”
Hearing about her love of motorcycles pleased me. “I can teach you, if you still want to learn,” I said, turning us toward the Boardwalk.
She let out a short laugh. “You’ll let me ride your motorcycle?”
I chuckled when I pictured her trying to handle my bike. “No, I’ll get you something smaller and less powerful than the Ducati to start on.”
“When can we start?” she asked earnestly, pulling another laugh from me.
“Let’s focus on your training right now. Besides, I need to find the right bike for you first.”
I was already thinking about models that would comfortably fit her smaller frame. Ducati had some smaller models, and so did Harley Davidson. Although, I’d have to start her out on something with a lot less power.
“What is that?” Sara asked, interrupting my train of thought.
“That’s the Boardwalk,” I said as we approached the amusement park. “The rides are closed, but I thought you might like to walk through it.”
“I’d like that.”
I parked the bike, and we walked through the park. Sara didn’t want to stop at any of the attractions until we found a funnel cake vendor.
“I’ve never had a funnel cake before,” she told me.
“We can’t have that.” I pulled out some money as she happily told the man what she wanted.
She grinned at me as she held up the chocolate-covered cake. “Thank God for a high metabolism.” She took her first bite of the cake and made a happy sound. “This is so good. You sure you don’t want some?”
“No, thanks.” Watching her enjoy herself was enough for me.
She bit into it again. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
My breath hitched when her tongue came out to lick her lips, and I wanted to pull her to me and kiss every bit of chocolate from her mouth. I spotted a dribble of chocolate on her chin and reached out to catch it.
Her eyes followed my thumb to my mouth, and I thought I heard a small intake of breath when I sucked the chocolate from my finger.
“You’re right; it’s delicious.”
I took a piece of her cake and ate it, not because I wanted it, but to keep me from grabbing her and making out with her right there in front of everyone.
She quickly finished her cake, and we resumed our stroll to the end of the Boardwalk. She turned to start back, and I stopped her.
“Let’s take the beach instead,” I suggested.
She nodded, and we made our way down to the sand. Before we’d gone ten feet, I brought up her training, hoping she’d tell me what had been bothering her.
“How is your training with Aine coming along? You haven’t talked about it much.”
She heaved a sigh. “That’s because there’s not much to tell. I stopped blowing up stuff, so that’s a good thing, I guess. I don’t understand why I can heal things but I can’t do anything else. Sometimes it feels like I’m going to explode if I don’t use my power. It’s so frustrating.”
I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to have all that power inside her, especially now that it had gotten stronger. I wished there was something I could do to help her, but her sylph friend was the only one who could help her with her power.
“Is that why you were upset when you came to training today?” I asked.
She was quiet for a moment. “We were working in the lake, and I was trying to make waves. It used to be so easy for me, and now I can’t do it without worrying I’ll hurt someone. Aine kept telling me to try again, and I got so frustrated and angry I…yelled at her. And then Eldeorin showed up and asked what was wrong. I got so upset, and that made the two of them fuss over me. I yelled at her, and she tried to make me feel better. I feel awful about it. She’s been so good to me and I yelled at her.”
I stopped walking and pulled her around to face me. “Aine understands what you’re going through. I only wish there was something I could do to help you through this.”
Her eyes met mine. “You are doing something. I needed this.”
She turned away and we started walking again, but I couldn’t stop thinking there was something else on her mind. Was she homesick? Did she miss Roland and Peter? Or Nate?
“What else is troubling you?”
“Nothing,” she answered, but I heard the hesitation in her voice.
“Liar,” I challenged her.
“It’s just that there’s not much to do at Eldeorin’s. I have my training during the day, but it’s kind of boring at night. I’m not used to being idle.” She kicked at the sand. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
I looked at her bent head and wanted to kick myself. How could I not have noticed how unhappy she was? As work demands had increased, I’d started going to the command center more often. I would have asked her to join me, but I’d thought she preferred to stay at home with Jordan.
“It’s not nothing if it’s bothering you. I know I’ve been spending a lot of time next door, and I’m sorry for leaving you alone so much.”
“It’s not that,” she replied quietly. “You have an important job to do, and I don’t want to be coddled or entertained. I just need something to do. I need to feel useful.”
We found a wharf and turned onto it. The wind had a chill to it, but she didn’t seem to mind.
I thought about what she’d said, and it bothered me a lot to hear she didn’t feel useful. The last thing I’d wanted was to make her feel that way.
“You and Jordan don’t have to stay at the house all the time. You can go next door whenever you want.”
“Oh.” She said the word so softly it was almost lost on the wind.
I glanced at her and caught her look of surprise. I’d invited her to see the command center, hadn’t I? The answer to that question made me feel like a total ass.
“The work we’re doing concerns you, too. I’m sorry you thought I didn’t want you there.”
Her lips curved into a small smile. “I should have asked instead of assuming it was off-limits.”
We reached the end of the wharf, and she went to the rail to look down at the waves. Watching her, I was reminded again of how at home she was near the ocean. It also reminded me of another day on another wharf and of our rocky start.
I went to stand beside her. “You’re not planning on jumping, are you?”
She smiled and shook her head then took a deep breath of ocean air. The wind tossed her hair, and she held it to the side with one hand as she stared out over the dark water. She looked almost content. I hated to make her leave, but we’d been away too long as it was.
“We should be heading back,” I said regretfully.
Her smile dimmed a little. “Okay.”
She was quieter on the ride back to Eldeorin’s, not saying much until we pulled up in front of the house.
“I had a great time tonight,” she said as she pulled off her helmet. “Next time I’ll remember to bring gloves.”
I could still feel her hands against my stomach as I moved closer to smooth her hair. “I don’t mind if you forget them.”
Her lips parted, and she trembled slightly under my hand. “I guess I should go in. Jordan’s probably waiting to grill me about every detail,” she said in a breathless voice that made my pulse quicken.
I smiled and lifted her chin. If Jordan wanted details, I’d better make this kiss worth talking about. My stomach fluttered in anticipation as I lowered my head.
“Good, you’re back at last.”
I swore silently as Sara jerked away from me and whirled to face the faerie who stood several feet away, looking far too pleased with himself.
“What are you doing here?” Sara demanded, sounding as unhappy as I was to see him.
He gave her a smile that was too familiar for my liking. “I’ve been thinking about the problems you’ve been having with your magic, and I have an idea that will help you.”
She didn’t return his smile. “That’s great, but shouldn’t we talk about it tomorrow when Aine is here?”
He walked toward her, and it was all I could do not to growl at him when he took her hand.
“This is not part of Aine’s training,” he said with a gleam in his eye. “It’s time for you to start your training with me.”
Then they disappeared before my eyes.
