Out of the blue, he kissed her hard. “That is the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,” he said against her lips.
His kiss gentled, his lips becoming soft velvet as he delivered an unspoken apology before settling back in the seat. And yes, she should be irked by his arrogant insistence that she heed his warning, was still a little annoyed by the fact that he’d basically blackmailed her into joining her treasure hunt. But God, she’d been alone for so long, had been so lonely she sometimes ached.
No matter how attentive Val was, how many people she surrounded herself with, she still felt that yearning she couldn’t banish no matter how busy she kept herself. Now she understood the shadows in her mother’s eyes. At the time, Serena had been too young to know what made her mother cry when she thought she was alone, but the closer Serena got to Josh, the more clearly she understood.
The only person who had ever made her mother’s shadows recede was Val. Serena’s heart thudded against her rib cage at the sudden suspicion that threaded its way into her mind. Her mother… had she been in love with him?
Val had been married, living only a few miles away. Serena didn’t remember any inappropriate contact, but her mom definitely lit up when her Guardian had come to visit.
“Hey,” Josh said, tilting her face up to his with a finger beneath her chin. “We’re here. Where are you?”
The taxi had pulled to a stop halfway up the curb, and she’d barely noticed. Seemed her trip down memory lane was bumpier than the streets of Alexandria.
“I guess I was spacing.”
Josh paid the taxi driver and reached for her knapsack. She figured that since he’d bullied his way along, he most certainly could carry it. With a grunt, he heaved it over his shoulder alongside his own.
“What do you have in this thing? I think it weighs more than you do.”
She laughed as she got out of the vehicle, glad she’d thrown on a light sweater to counter the cool morning. “Maps, tools, water, snacks.”
“You’re one of those always-prepared people, aren’t you?” He made it sound like a bad thing.
“Maybe. I also brought my flask. Never leave home without it.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Whiskey?”
“Of course.”
“That’s my girl.” He dug into the pocket of his backpack and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Squinting into the sun, he popped them on. “Guess this proves I’m not a vampire, huh?”
God, he was perfect. Even the aura of danger that surrounded him appealed to her basest feminine instincts, because this was a man made to protect what was his, and what she wouldn’t give to be his…
Well, she’d give anything but her virginity.
“It was just a dream,” she muttered.
“Did I bite you?”
She swallowed, the memory heating her far more than the Egyptian sun. “Yes.”
He gazed out over the tops of the palms lining the horizon, not looking at her. “Did you like it?”
“Yes,” she whispered, her mind replaying the moment his fangs had penetrated her. God help her, she’d loved it.
“Then I’ll have to remember that.” He turned to her and smiled, a dark, erotic smile that took her breath. “Because make no mistake, Serena. I do bite.”
Serena hurried ahead of Wraith to the catacombs entrance, and he hung back a little, mainly to keep an eye out for danger, but the view wasn’t bad, either. From her hiking boots to her olive drab cargo pants and fitted T-shirt, she was sin in adventure gear. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail, and all he could think about was winding the thick hair around his fist while he kissed her. Undressed her. Pounded into her as he had in the dream
Afterward, he’d take her again, feed from her, and take her once more. Twice more. He could spend days with her…
His gut clenched. He couldn’t spend days with her, because she might not have days after he took her charm. There was an expiration date on her life, and he was the one stamping it there.
He shoved the thought aside, because thinking about the consequences of his actions was a waste of energy and time, and besides, why should this be any different from anything else he’d done?
It wasn’t.
She looked back over her shoulder at him, her full lips parted in a sultry smile.
It wasn’t.
It didn’t take long for Serena to arrange access into a private area of the catacombs of Kom El-Shuqafa. The man she’d spoken with had been hesitant to let Wraith tag along, until Wraith explained that he was her assistant, though he had to admit that the way she’d flirted with the guy had probably helped. And it had torqued the shit out of Wraith. Why, he had no idea.