“Can you tell me what it was that made you so angry?” I asked.
“It is a matter that I will deal with,” he said in a tone that made it clear he had no intention of elaborating further. He kissed me again, not so lightly this time. “Do not worry yourself with this,” he murmured against my lips as he deftly slipped my shirt over my head, barely breaking the contact with my lips at all. A moan escaped me and I leaned into him as he deepened the kiss. His fingers moved deliciously against my skin as heat flushed through me.
But I had too many questions running through my head to enjoy the moment properly. I struggled out of his thrall and pulled reluctantly away from his kiss. He straightened and regarded me, smiling. “Is there aught wrong, dearest?”
“No, it’s just … You said you would deal with whatever it was yourself, but if it has something to do with my case I need to know.”
He laughed, tipping his head back. “Oh, my dear Kara, you never fail to impress me! Such dedication to your calling.” Then his smile took on a harder edge. “How is it that you were injured?”
I pulled the comforter closer around me, aware that he’d avoided giving me any information. “A demon—a kehza—attacked us,” I said. “But it wasn’t trying to kill us. I mean, it could have taken us out several times, and I suffered only a cut on my shoulder. And, to be honest, I think that was an accident as well. It was almost like I ran into him.”
His lip curled in an echo of a snarl. “You have the taint about you of an arcane attack. This angers me.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly thrilled that it happened either.”
He shook his head, hair cascading in silken perfection with the movement. “A higher demon would have known not to touch you.”
I blinked at him. “Huh? Why?”
“A syraza or reyza would have been able to sense my touch on you and would have known that you are not for any other to affect.”
I stared at him. “Wait. What? You’ve branded me or something?”
He brushed his fingers across my hair. “You are mine, Kara. I will not tolerate another molesting you.”
“What?” I screeched. “Yours? Only you can molest me?”
But the room was empty.
The door slammed open and Ryan stood framed in the doorway. “Kara! What’s wrong?”
I yelped and crossed my arms over my chest, blinking at him stupidly. “Um … am I awake?”
Ryan looked at me oddly. “You yelled something unintelligible, so I came in to see what was wrong. So, tell me, what’s wrong?”
I had to have been asleep if Rhyzkahl had been here. I glanced down and breathed a deep sigh of relief, lowering my arms. I was still wearing my shirt. “Nothing. It was just a dream.” Just a dream. Ha. Stop being stupid, I berated myself. Stop finding things to like about him.
I could see him tense. “What kind of dream? Was it a demon dream?”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “It was a Demonic Lord dream, yeah.” Then I froze, arm still raised. “What the hell?”
He stepped into the room. “What is it?”
I flexed my arm, then rolled my shoulder, reaching up with my other hand to feel the bandage.
“What is it?” he repeated, tone growing urgent.
I peeled the bandage off and felt the skin beneath it. “It doesn’t hurt.”
He gave me a puzzled look. “Your shoulder? You need to be careful of it. It still needs to heal.”
I shifted so that he could see my shoulder. “No, it doesn’t. It’s already healed. There’s not even a scar.”
“Let me see,” he ordered. I twisted around to show him the unmarred skin of my shoulder. I could feel small pieces of thread and flakes of dried blood around where the wound had been—blood that I’d been too exhausted to completely clean off earlier. But there was most definitely no wound anymore. No wound, no scar, no stitches, no deviation in the flesh of any sort.
He let out a low whistle. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never believe it.”
“And I’m glad you’re a witness to it.” I flexed my arm again, still not fully believing it. “How long have I been asleep?”
He glanced at his watch. “A few hours. I’d just dozed off on the couch when I heard you yell.” His mouth twitched in a smile. “Do you always wake up yelling?”
“No,” I said with a laugh, tossing a pillow at him. “But his lordiness also left me feeling fresh and rested.”
He peered into my face. “You certainly don’t look as exhausted.”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. “I’m not. At all. I feel like I’ve slept twelve hours.” Okay, so maybe there were some advantages to these dream visits.
Ryan yawned. “Yeah, well, I don’t. I’m gonna dig out and head back to my hotel room and hope that Garner doesn’t snore too loudly.”