After I hung up, I burst out, “I’m not giving you up!”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized I meant them. The past few days had reminded me exactly how miserable I’d been without Bones. Return to my empty life just so everyone around me could feel more comfortable? No thank you.
Bones laughed grimly. “Too bloody right. I’m not going away just because they might not give us their blessing.”
“I’m not just going to quit, though.” Subconsciously I’d already made that decision, too, but I hadn’t voiced it until now. “This is more than a job to me. I’m able to make a difference in people’s lives who don’t have anywhere else to turn, Bones. I know I need to deal with Don and the guys, but I’m not leaving unless they force me to.”
“Bloody hell.” Bones sighed. “If you want to continue your crusade to rid the world of undead murderers, you can do that with me. You don’t need them.”
“But they need me. If they leave me no other choice, I’ll go, but I will fight to make them reconsider.”
He stared at me with a mixture of frustration and resignation. Finally he threw up his hands.
“All right. I’ll have to think on what to do about that, and Ian as well, though we have a little time with him. Perhaps a month, if luck holds. Don’t tell your boss who I really am yet, if your bloke hasn’t figured it out. There are some details I need to settle first before they realize you didn’t kill me in Ohio after all.”
“What details? With Ian?”
“Not Ian. Don. Interesting bloke. Been doing a bit of research on him the last several months. I’m waiting to confirm some information, and I’ll tell you when I have it.”
Don? “What information?”
“I’ll tell you when I have it,” he repeated. Then he changed the subject. “You know I’ll follow you over there, but how secure is this building of yours? If they tried to force you to leave, where would they take you? The airstrip?”
“Yes, they’d try to fly me out, if they were going to get rough. Planes don’t normally take off there, so if you see one taxiing, chances are I’m on it.”
“You don’t have to go in, but I can see you have your mind set to it. Think for a bit, though. If they can’t persuade you to relinquish me and they reckon you’ll try to escape if they hold you, what’s to stop them from simply killing you? I can guarantee that no plane will take off with you on it, but I don’t fancy you walking into what could be a trap. How certain are you of these men?”
I did think about it, coldly and impersonally. Then I shook my head.
“Unless they’ve exhausted all other options, they won’t pull that trigger. They’d try to salvage me first. If I started killing people, then they’d try to take me out, but otherwise... no. That’s not Don’s style.”
I met his eyes, because I wanted him to see mine when I spoke this next part.
“When I left you, I thought it was the only way to save you and my mother. Really I did. But over the years, I’ve gotten to know Don. He can be a callous son of a bitch, but he’s not the cold-blooded creature I first thought him to be. Don wouldn’t leave my mother defenseless if I took off with you, no matter that he threatened to do that when we first met. Yes, he’d kill me if he thought I would destroy his operation, but he’d only do it as a last resort. I’m not afraid of going in, but as I said, I’m not going to give you up just because Don won’t like that you’re a vampire and I’m dating you.”
Bones came over to me. Very gently, he caressed my face. Then his hand slid into my hair and he leaned down. When his lips closed over mine, I let out a soft moan.
The instant jolt going through me could have been from his power, since my lips tingled on contact with his. But I thought it had to do with something else, especially when I felt a stronger surge as his tongue rubbed along mine. I pulled him closer, until our bodies were pressed together as tightly as our mouths. All at once, the need I’d suppressed for years came roaring to the surface. My hands tightened on his shoulders, and then raced around with a sudden frantic urge to feel more of him.
Bones’ arms moved to my back to crush me almost bruisingly against him. His mouth ravaged mine with a hunger that made my pulse skyrocket and a ravenous throb erupt below. He must have heard it, smelled it, because he rubbed his groin into mine with a hard, friction-filled stroke that almost had me climaxing where I stood.
I tore away from him. Either I did it right then, or I was never going to. Bones held on to my arms while the bright green blaze of his eyes seared into mine. His hands were flexing on my skin, like he was fighting whether to yank me back or let me go.
“If I kiss you again, I’m not going to stop,” he said roughly.