Vadim opened the top to reveal a recent picture of her in Seattle. She wore modern jeans that cupped her ass and too-dark glasses that masked her glorious eyes. “She is beautiful—and so rare. A real purebred female demon.”
True. Although she had defects, she was still a purebred and beyond incredible. A mixture of kindness, femininity, and deadliness that formed the sexiest woman he’d ever met, and he’d lived nearly two hundred years. Nobody, not one woman, regardless of species, had ever come close to her.
Vadim lifted his head. “You’re a lucky man.”
Lucky? Hell, no. He’d been chasing her for so long, he had begun to despair that he’d ever catch her. Yet when the war had ended more than a year ago, he figured it was time for her to make a move. So when he’d been approached with an intriguing offer for his planekite resources by an outside partnership, he’d figured the timing was fortuitous as well as perhaps fated. He’d begun mining again, in Norway as well as Russia, to see if he could draw her out. Surely she felt safe enough, settled enough, to pick up the game again. And here she was on his island, just a few miles away, no doubt ready to meet him head-on. “Now here she’s come, trying to find me.”
“Why not just call you up?” Vadim asked. “Why the game of hunting you down through the mines?”
Ivan lifted a shoulder. “I guess it’s because she’s ready to kill me now.”
The smell of cooked meat and freezing snow permeated the small school kitchen, banishing the scents of blood and burned flesh. Daire had caught, skinned, and cooked a rabbit over the fire, and now only a small plate of meat remained in the room.
“Finish eating that bite, Cee Cee,” he rumbled, sitting next to her, the play of firelight dancing over the hard angles of his face and down his ripped torso.
She took another bite, trying not to grimace, and working hard to keep the food on the good side of her mouth before swallowing.
“Don’t like rabbit?” he asked.
“Don’t eat meat usually,” she murmured, eating more to regain strength. Wild rabbit was much greasier than she would’ve thought.
He chuckled, his broad chest moving nicely. “A vegetarian demon.”
She leaned her head back against the wall. “I hope it was really a rabbit and not some shifter.”
He snorted. “No such thing as a bunny shifter.”
She sighed. Shifters were either feline, wolf, or multis. “A multi-shifter could become a rabbit, I think.”
He shook his head. “When was the last time anybody saw a multi-shifter?”
She shrugged. “Bears. All sorts of bears.”
“Yep. Prevailing theory is that all multi-shifters evolved into some sort of bear.”
Maybe. She didn’t really care. “How bad is my face?”
“It’s killing me,” he deadpanned.
Humor bubbled through her, but she kept a smile at bay to avoid more pain. “Hilarious.”
“I’m the funny one,” he said, finishing his meal and wiping his hands down his destroyed pants before turning toward her. “Time to heal your face.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, trying to send healing cells to her temple. A nice tingle began under her skin for the briefest of moments and then petered out. “Darn it.”
“Okay.” Daire pivoted and drew her onto his lap, one arm cradling her shoulders and the other planted flat on her solar plexus.
She gasped and tottered on his lap, warming instantly.
He leaned against the wall and stretched out his legs, holding her securely. Warmth cascaded from his palm, and her stomach heated. “Draw strength from your center mass, right where my hand is heating you.”
He was giving her his strength. More than just her abdomen warmed. Her nipples hardened beneath the heavy clothing. She coughed. “No, I—”
“Now, Cee Cee. Worry about the rest later. Right now, let’s close the open wound on your face before you form scar tissue or lose any more blood.” His voice remained low and steady, but the clear tenor of command came through bright and clear. His hold was gentle but firm, and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere.