Which was why she needed to get him on that plane and get herself back to Greece where she could thank Petros for giving her an opportunity, and then hand in her resignation.
The sooner she could put this male in her past, the sooner she could try to build a new future. One that didn’t include lethally gorgeous Incubi.
“You need to regain your strength,” she pressed.
He gave a sharp, humorless laugh. “And you’re not offering?”
Sloane was unable to prevent the shudder of longing that raced through her body. Why was he tormenting her? Did he have any idea of what it cost her to deny his request?
No. He couldn’t.
To him, the feeding was nothing more than sating a need. While she was aching for something that could never be hers.
“I…”
“Well?”
She licked her dry lips, acutely aware of Tiege’s heated gaze as it monitored the sudden heat staining her cheeks.
“I thought Incubi avoided feeding from the same source. You know…” She coughed, feeling oddly reluctant to say the word. “Because of the…”
“Mating?”
Something painful sliced through her heart. Sloane grimaced, forcing herself to concentrate on angling the Jeep off the road and toward the empty tarmac at the back of the airfield.
“Yes,” she muttered, her voice thick with an emotion she didn’t want to name.
Perhaps realizing she was fragile enough to shatter beneath his mocking, Tiege sucked in a deep breath.
“I’ll worry about feeding later,” he muttered. “All that matters right now is getting to Jian.”
“Fine.”
“Park here,” he abruptly commanded. “We’ll walk the rest of the way.”
Sloane obediently stopped the Jeep and turned off the engine. They were still shrouded in darkness, but less than a few feet away the bright lights that surrounded the airport turned the night to day.
With a swift efficiency, she double-checked her weapons, holding her gun in one hand as she shoved open the door of the vehicle. She wasn’t worried about the human guards. She had enough demon blood in her veins to avoid their unwelcome attention when she wanted. But she wasn’t stupid enough to think that whoever was hunting Tiege wouldn’t have eyes watching the airport.
She could only hope that she and Tiege could slip past before their enemies realized that they were here.
“Let me go first,” she commanded in low tones.
“No way in hell,” Tiege snapped.
She turned her head to meet his dark scowl. “I’m your guard,” she reminded him. “It’s my duty to make sure there aren’t any traps waiting for us.”
The copper eyes flared with a fierce emotion. “You’re fired.”
“I’m…fired?” She studied him in confusion. She’d done everything in her power to protect him, including feeding him when that wasn’t in her job description, and now he wanted to fire her? Anger, and something that felt perilously close to betrayal flooded through her. “Why?”
He grimaced, no doubt sensing her pain. “Shit.” He glared at her in frustration. “Okay, you’re not fired. But you are about to get a new job title.”
His bizarre words only intensified her bewilderment. Why would she want a new job title? It wasn’t like she could become one of his Watchmen. Unless he meant he intended to make her a household servant?
No. Way.
She was a warrior, not a domestic drudge.
“What does that mean?”
He made a sound of impatience at her blatant suspicion. “We’ll discuss it later.”
She gave a shake of her head. “Did that ghost rattle your brains?”
“I spoke with a spirit, not a ghost,” he snapped, continuing to glare at her. “And she’s not the female responsible for rattling my brains.”
~
Tiege knew he was acting like a crazy man.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t think straight. Not when his emotions were tangled into a painful knot.
Right now he was running on primitive instincts. And those instincts demanded he keep this woman safe.
Perhaps sensing that she would be wasting her breath to convince him she should go first, she rolled her eyes. “Are you ready?”
“Wait,” he muttered.
Her brows snapped together, her expression concerned. “Did you see something?”
“No, but I don’t doubt they’re out there.” Flinching as the silver seared his skin, he looped the pendant over her head and settled the chain around her neck. The silver wouldn’t bother her. Then, pulling back, he studied the gem that settled between the gentle swell of her breasts. “I want you to head straight to the jet.”
Of course she couldn’t just accept his order. This female was created to be a pain in his ass.
“What about you?” she asked.
He shrugged. He couldn’t see the Watchmen lurking in the dark, but he could feel them. So far they were content to wait, but as soon as Tiege headed toward the waiting jet they were going to attack.
“I’ll transport myself,” he lied. Unfortunately, he was too drained to call on the power necessary to magically transfer himself from one location to another.
Her eyes narrowed. “No. I won’t go until I know you’re safe.”