by Sharon Kay
Using the moment of surprise, she whirled him around and pinned him against the wall, facing her, her dagger point resting between his ribs.
“Changed my mind.” Her voice was low with a don’t-fuck-with-me tone. “Why are you here?”
“I’m looking for a special someone.”
“Who?” Ria pushed her blade deeper, piercing his jacket. Two tiny down feathers floated from the jagged edge and danced in the frigid air.
He smirked. “Probably no one you’ve seen. Or maybe you’re looking for one of them, too?”
Them? “Tell. Me. Who.” Ria growled and jostled her knife.
The scaly scrape of rough skin on brick was her only warning. His tail cracked the cold air like a whip and she ducked, just in time. Her scarf hung suspended from its pointed tip, falling into two red arcs as the point sheared through it.
“That was Prada, asshole!” She lunged forward but he anticipated it, dodging to the side. That damn tail reached for her even as he moved away. It sliced through the air toward her ankle, forcing her to drop and roll. A Deserati’s tail was brute muscle and could easily fling an opponent across a room. Or an alley.
Scrambling to her feet, she assessed him. Time to get fancy.
She launched her body into a spin, moving faster than he could track. She knew he couldn’t follow her motions. She’d never met anyone who could. Holding her dagger out, maintaining her rotation, she sliced downward, catching every vital organ. The tail, too.
“Ugh.” She stopped and looked at the mess of red blood and tail pieces. She kicked it all together in a pile, then summoned a ball of demon fire. The orange spark grew to the size of an apple, bobbing in her palm. She tossed it on the remains and Mr. Frat-boy-demon was ash in under sixty seconds.
She pulled out her phone and fired off a quick text to Mathias. Stopped to chat with a stranger. Sent him on his way. With her brother’s extreme sense of smell, she knew he’d been aware of her presence all day, and had picked up on the Deserati, too.
He texted back immediately. You good?
Never better. Going to check in with A. She walked back to her plain, boring car and headed home to her apartment. Arawn needed to know about this ASAP.
CHAPTER 9
“YOU LEARNED QUICKLY.” WHAT ADULT has never wrapped a gift? Gin dug her keys out of her bag as Mathias held the door for her. She’d had so much fun with him, she decided not to overthink it. Money had to be tight in a family of six kids. A tiny bell hanging from a red ribbon jingled cheerfully, the sound echoing in the quiet afternoon.
The bell’s jingle turned to a metallic clunk as Mathias’s broad shoulder brushed against the door. “That damn toy elephant was a pain in the ass. I feel sorry for the kid who has to unwrap that thing. It’ll take all morning.”
She gasped with mock indignation. “Don’t be a Grinch. You had fun using a whole roll of tape on one gift. I know you did.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, but the gleam in his eye betrayed his amusement. “Don’t go telling everyone.”
“You’d be surprised at how fast kids can tear off wrapping paper. I remember in our house, growing up, the floor was covered with it in less than ten minutes.” She unlocked her car and the lights flashed once. She caught Mathias frowning at it.
“What? I know it’s small, and you’re…not…” She chewed her bottom lip and studied him. He had to be six foot four. Maybe they should’ve taken his car.
“No, that’s not it.” He shook his head. “The car suits you.”
“Suits me, huh? How?” She let a note of challenge creep into her voice.
He paused at the passenger door and winked at her. “It’s a VW Bug. Bugs like dirt. You like dirt.”
She opened her mouth, about to protest, but then closed it abruptly. She folded her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “Yes. Yes, I do. You can tell a lot about a region from studying its dirt.”
He winked at her across the Bug’s yellow roof and then clambered into the passenger seat. She hopped in and cranked the engine, turning as he banged his knee on the dashboard.
“I’m sorry.” She bit her lip. “I know it’s a tight fit.” Oh my God, did I just say that? Her cheeks heated. “I mean…” Shit, I’m making it worse.
A devilish grin played across his face and she knew he’d followed her train of thought to double-entrende-ville. “Next time, we’ll take mine.” He winked. “It’s bigger.”
Oh. My. God. His deep voice rumbled, and those intense hazel eyes made her stomach do a triple flip. He seemed to fill up her little car completely. His shoulders were wider than the seat and even with it pushed back, his hair brushed the roof. He exuded large, masculine, protective heat. She wasn’t the least bit cold.
Turning on the radio for a distraction, the jingling strains of “Marshmallow World” met her ears. Her mind found the beat without even trying, envisioning dance steps to match the old song. She took a deep breath, the crisp cold air snapping at her senses. He’s just a guy. She snuck a glance at him. A mysterious and freaking gorgeous one, but still, just a man.
Nearing campus, she spotted the brick facade and white columns of the English building and pointed to it. “That’s our English building. Did you know it’s haunted?”
He leaned forward to stare at it. “You don’t really believe that shit, do you? Ghosts? What’s next, vampires and witches?”
I didn’t until a few months ago. “Yes, I do, actually. How do you know they don’t exist?”
“They haven’t been substantiated by science. Not ghosts or vampires.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Touche. But my friend Cassie is a grad assistant there, and she swears she hears doors slamming when no one else is around.”
“Probably just regular people. Aren’t there like forty thousand students here?”
She laughed. “Pretty close. Someone’s done his homework.”
They stopped at a red light and he turned to face her. “Do you want to do something tomorrow?”
She flicked a glance at him before the light turned green. “Like a date?”
“Yes, like a date.” The warm tenor of his voice was hypnotic. It lulled her, making her want to do whatever he wanted, and was so sexy she just wanted him.
“Okay.” It was about the only word she could manage.
He chuckled. “Okay. I’ll take okay.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I have tickets to tomorrow night’s show of Vôo de Dragão.”
“Vôo de Dragão?” Her tongue tripped over the awkward pronunciation. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she wasn’t always up on the social scene and could’ve missed an event in the end-of-semester crunch.
“It’s an acrobatic show that I saw in Brazil. The crazy shit they do—you have to see it to believe it.”
“They went from Brazil to here? Champaign, Illinois?”
“They’re trying to get a foothold in the US. Gotta start somewhere.”
She nodded. “Makes sense.” She shot him a quick smile and found his sexy eyes piercing her. Like he expected her to say yes. As if I’d say no! She rolled her lips into her mouth to stop a grin. “I’d love to go.”
“I’m driving.”
“Oh.” She giggled. “Right. We established that.” Yours is bigger. Stop it, Gin! Being in the small space with him was making her want to say all kinds of inappropriate things.
“Yep.” He made show of stretching his arms and bumping into the Bug’s ceiling.
A horn beeped behind them, and she looked up to see the light had changed to green. Guiding the car forward, she took a couple calming breaths, trying to block out her wandering thoughts.
“Maybe we should pick up your car now.” She shot him a grin. “I’d hate to be the reason you get a neck cramp. Then you can follow me to my place so you know where to pick me up tomorrow.”
He draped an arm on her headrest and sifted his fingers through her hair. “If my neck, or anything else
, gets a cramp from this matchbox car, you can massage it out.”
What? Gin’s eyes widened. Thank goodness the coffee shop was on this block. Massage. Him. Whoa. Reasons why that would be the best idea, or the worst idea, bounced back and forth in her mind.
His voice alone sent shivers down her back, but the best kind. She’d felt his biceps during their dance, but getting her hands all over him would be…
Get a grip, Gin. She parked behind his car.
“Gin?”
“Oh!” She shook her head, trying to find a shred of rational thought. “Yes. Massage. I probably suck at it, but sure.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “So, I’m following you?”
“Um, yeah. Yes. It’s close. See you in two minutes.”
He got out of her car and she stared unabashedly at the way his jeans fit his perfect butt. Before he opened his door, he shot a smirk in her direction, as if he knew she’d been looking. Busted. Oh well. She smiled back at him, though he probably couldn’t see through the glass. When his headlights lit up the street and the engine roared to life, she pulled out.
At her building she pulled into her spot, hopped out, and walked over to his car. “So, it’s not much.” She swung her arm wide, indicating the three-story structure and parking lot. “Basic student apartment. At least I don’t have roommates.” She stepped close to where he leaned against his car, hands in his pockets.
The street lamp above them flicked on. He glanced up at it and at all the lights nearby, studying them. She’d never paid much attention to streetlights, unless it was to complain that one was burned out.
His attention turned to the main entrance of her building. “Is there a lock on that first door?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s something.” He frowned.
“It’s pretty quiet around here. Everyone else in my building is a grad student, and we’re all too busy to have parties.” She toyed with the decorative buttons sewn on the backs of her gloves.
He turned molten eyes to her. “You can never be too careful.”
His stare burned her, making her throat dry. God, she needed a drink of water. Or maybe something stronger. She swallowed hard. “You know what’s better than Brazilian rocket fuel?”
“Better than that? Tell me.” His voice was a low murmur and he reached for her hand, pulling her a fraction closer. He wore no gloves. How is his hand so warm?
“Their pecan hot chocolate,” she could only whisper. “They sell it. I have some inside.” Her heart thudded in her chest. She leaned closer. Was she really about to say this? “I could make us some.”
“Sounds good.” His free hand lifted a lock of her hair and slowly wound it around one finger. “But I want something else first.”
Oh. My. God. The heat in his look told her everything she needed to know, but still, she needed to ask. “What is it?”
He tugged her hand and she moved automatically into him, just as if he were leading her on the dance floor. Holding her hand to his chest, he said, “I think you know.”
He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers, leaving a tingle of electricity in their wake. Pulling back an inch, he whispered, “You know exactly, because, you want it too.”
A whimper escaped her throat. She would’ve been embarrassed, but she was too turned on to care. Pressing flush against him, she tilted her head up to meet his lips.
His kiss was soft and sweet. God, yes. She hadn’t stopped thinking about his lips since he’d eaten the cranberry muffin in such a sensuous way that morning. He had to have been teasing her. And damn, it worked. Her tummy flipped like a hundred fireflies were zooming around inside. Mathias was about to short-circuit her brain with his raw, sensual heat.
His tongue teased lightly at her lips, and she opened for him without hesitation. She hadn’t thought she was cold, but now, she couldn’t get close enough to the warmth of his body and mouth. His tongue licked slowly along hers, sensuous and deliberate, tasting like the peppermint candy they’d eaten while wrapping gifts. A tendril of need sparked deep inside her.
His hand dropped to the small of her back and held her tightly, while he drew her other hand around to his side. She slid her hand up his chest and even through her gloves, the hard wall of his chest beckoned to her. His whole body was a cage of muscle surrounding her, and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on his skin. Need to get indoors. Winter required too many damn clothes.
She pushed up on her toes, taking over the kiss, exploring his mouth. The velvet thrusts of his tongue shortened her breath. The spark of need ignited into a fierce hunger that surprised her, but no way was she stopping to question it. She kissed him harder.
His hand dropped to squeeze her ass and she couldn’t suppress a moan. He flexed his hips, his arousal proudly evident. She ached to palm him. Hell, she wanted to reach inside those jeans and feel every inch of him.
She moved her hand down from his waist, over his hip, trailing the edge of his pocket. Stopping, her fingertips lingered on the fabric. A few more inches and there’d be no turning back.
Mathias broke their kiss. “Jesus, Gin.” His voice was rough.
She peeked at him through her lashes. “I think I know exactly what you want,” she whispered, mimicking his words.
He rocked his hips again.
She met his lips, sucking at his lower one. Her palm tingled as she started to drag it down the straining denim of his jeans—
A frantic, high-pitched barking jerked her lust-fogged brain back to her apartment building. What the hell? She looked around. The noise was coming from behind Mathias, but she couldn’t see over him or his SUV.
His arm wrapped around her, holding her to his side. Somehow in the blink of an eye, he had shifted from sexy kisses to a man on a mission.
“That sounds like—” she tried to move around to the front of his car, but he wouldn’t let her. She strained against his hold. “That sounds like my neighbor’s dog!”
The tiny Westie burst into view, running faster than Gin had ever seen, and…bloody? “Muffy! Oh my god!” Gin broke from Mathias’s arms and ran toward the terrier.
The dog beelined for the main entrance, where Gin’s neighbor Cassie flung the door wide. “Muffy? Muffy!”
Cassie dove for her pet, landing in the soft snow and scooping her up. “Oh my god. What happened?” Her long, dark hair cascaded over the dog like a shield as she cradled her.
”I don’t know. All of a sudden she was running into the yard, barking.” Gin knelt by her friend, peering at the trembling bundle of white fur. White and red fur.
The door flew open and another neighbor, Tina, rushed out with a towel. “I heard barking and looked out and saw you guys. What happened? Is she okay?” She handed the towel to Cassie, who wrapped it around Muffy.
Tears ran down Cassie’s pale face. “She got out. She always tries to but I can usually catch her before she makes it through the last door.” Cassie sniffed. “I only had to grab my coat and her leash and I was coming out to find her. Oh my god, what could’ve done this to her?”
Gin rubbed Cassie’s back. “I didn’t see any other animals, but she definitely got into a fight with something. Can you get a closer look?”
Cassie tried to position the dog to better inspect her, but Muffy only yowled and struggled. “I-I can’t do this.”
“Then we should take her to the vet.” Gin said.
Cassie nodded. “Can you drive us?”
“I can drive,” Tina said. “All of us will fit better in my car.” She darted a curious glance at Mathias.
“Oh, this is Mathias. Mathias, this is Cassie and Tina.” Gin said. He looked a bit skeptical. “We’ve actually all been neighbors for like, three years.”
He nodded as if her answer satisfied him. But somehow, she didn’t think he’d be satisfied with anything but his own discernments.
“Okay, you girls go to the vet. I’m gonna have a look around.”
“Be careful. It might
be coyotes,” Tina said.
“Or a wolf,” Cassie whispered, eyes wide.
He folded his arms across his chest. “It was probably a larger dog and if so, the owner needs to know what happened.” He looked at Gin. “Call me when you get back?”
“Sure.” She met his eyes. They looked safe and calm, level-headed and intelligent. Clearly settled down from their kiss. Then again, an injured animal running onto the scene would take things out of the hot-and-heavy zone. “What if it’s a whole pack of coyotes?”
“Even if it’s a pack, they tend to avoid people.” He held her stare, eyes glinting in a way she hadn’t noticed before. “I’ll be fine.”
The edge in his voice left no room for argument. Plus, he seemed like he wanted to go searching for…what? Coyotes? Or trouble? Either way, he looked ready for anything. Made sense, for a guy about to interview with campus security. She straightened from her crouch next to Cassie. “Okay. I’ll call you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Coyotes. Shit. Mathias could throw a coyote as far as he could smell one, which was pretty damn far. No, the little white fuzz ball in Cassie’s arms had been attacked, but not by any native carnivores.
Its wound bore the distinctive burnt-flesh scent of a hellhound.
Fuck!
He watched the women climb into Tina’s Toyota SUV and drive away, then punched a quick text to Ria: Hound. Get here now.
Two seconds later his screen flashed with her reply. On my way. G okay?
Yes. In Tina’s car, going to vet. He could tell that the two humans were frightened for the animal, and bore no ill intent. He’d let Gin go with them, knowing Ria had Gin’s phone tapped.
Gin’s phone. Whoops. Ria’d heard the entire convo, or rather lack thereof, between him and Gin before Moppet—or whatever its name was—had run onto the scene.
Oh well. He and Ria were adults. It was just that working together was new. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked a circle around the sturdy brick building. He liked working with his sister. Arawn had always kept her on Torth, a tight rein Ria had chafed at.
