He shook his head. "I'm only stating fact. You leave and I will bring you back here. In chains if need be." She gave him a suddenly droll look that reminded him of Chris. "Will you punish me too?"
"I think you're a little old for that. I also think you're smart enough to know how stupid it would be for you to leave here while Stryker and his men are salivating to find you again."
Cassandra hated the fact that he was right. "Can I at least call my father and tell him where I am so he won't worry?"
He pulled the cell phone off his belt and handed it to her. "You can leave it in the living room when you finish."
He turned and opened the door. "Wulf," she said before he could leave.
He faced her.
"Thank you for saving me again when I know it must burn every part that you did so."
His look softened. "It doesn't burn every part of me, Cassandra. Only you do that." Her jaw went slack as he left the room and closed the door behind him.
She stood dumbstruck as those words whipped through her. Who would have thought her Viking warrior could have a more tender side? But then she ought to know the truth. She had seen his heart in their dreams. Dreams that were real. In those few precious hours, she had glimpsed the man's heart. His fears. Things he kept guarded and secret from everyone, except for her…
"I must be out of my mind," she breathed. How could she feel any tenderness toward a man who made no bones about the fact that he killed her people? And in the back of her mind, she wondered whether Wulf would kill her, too, if she turned Daimon.
Wulf let out a long, tired breath as he entered the living room where Chris was lounging on the couch. Just what he needed, one more person tonight who couldn't do what he'd been told. Thor, didn't any of them have a lick of sense?
"I thought I told you to pack."
"Go pack, brush your teeth, get laid. All you do is tell me what to do." Chris flipped through the channels on the TV. "If you would look at my feet, you will see that I'm all packed and am just waiting on my next order, thank you very much."
Wulf looked down to see a black backpack in front of the couch. "That's all you're taking?"
"Yeah. I don't need much, and whatever else I need I'm sure I can buy since the Council knows that I am the charmed one who has to be humored lest the big bad Norseman go a Viking on their heads."
Wulf tossed one of the cloth sofa cushions at him. Gently. Chris tucked the pillow behind his back and didn't respond as he continued to flip channels. Wulf sat down on the other sofa, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the woman he'd left in his guest wing. He was so confused where she was concerned, and confusion wasn't something he had much experience with. He'd always been a basic man. If he had a problem, he eliminated it.
He couldn't eliminate Cassandra per se. Well, he could in theory, but that would be wrong. The closest he could come would be to toss her out the door and let her fend for herself or hand her off to Corbin. But Ash had charged him with her care and he didn't believe in passing his obligations off. If Ash wanted him to watch her, there must be a reason for it. The Atlantean never did anything without a damned good reason.
"So how much does Cassandra know about us?" Chris asked.
"It appears everything. Like she said, she's an Apollite."
"Half."
"Half, whole, what's the difference?"
Chris shrugged. "The difference is I really like her. She's not snotty like most of the other rich ho’s in my college."
"Don't be so disrespectful, Christopher."
Chris rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I forgot how much you hate that term."
Wulf propped his head against his hand as he watched the TV. Cassandra was different. She made him feel human again. Made him remember what it was like to be normal. To feel welcomed. Those were things he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Good grief. You two look like Village of the Sofa Damned."
Wulf leaned his head back to see Cassandra standing in the doorway. Shaking her head at them, she came forward and handed him the phone.
Chris laughed and turned the sound down. "You know, it freaks with my head to see you here in my house."
"Believe me, it freaks with my head to be here in your house."
Chris ignored her comment. "Not to mention how weird it is that you remember him when you come back into the room. I keep feeling the deep need to introduce the two of you."
Wulf's phone started playing Black Sabbath's "Iron-man." He picked it up and flipped it open. Cassandra walked over to sit near Chris while Wulf answered it.
"What is she doing here?"
Cassandra frowned at Wulf's gruff question. "It's security calling," Chris told her.
"How do you know?"
"The song. Wulf thinks it's funny that it plays 'Iron-man' for my escorts. They live in the security house that's down the estate not far from the gate. Someone must have pulled in to the driveway and buzzed for entry."
And she thought her father was paranoid about security. "What is this place, Fort Knox?"
"No," Chris said earnestly. "You might actually break in or out of Knox. The only way out of here is with at least two guards trailing you at all times."