Текст книги "Chains of Frost"

Автор книги: T. A. Grey

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-one

Chloe woke up from a horrible nightmare. She’d been attacked and bitten by some nasty green demon. It’d cut her stomach open and she’d died while writhing in agony.

She sat up in bed, looking around frantically. It took a second for it to register that she was in Tyrian’s room. Well, she supposed she was making some leeway with him then.

Grimacing, her stomach tight with pain, she dropped her legs to the floor.

“What the...” She looked down at her stomach and gasped. Holy shit, it’d been real!

Suddenly, everything flashed in her mind, coming together like a puzzle. She remembered the incredible sex with Tyrian. Her hand fluttered to her neck. He’d bitten her. He’d told her about the crow brand on his back. He’d actually opened up to her. And she liked him even more now.

Dammit.

She stood from the bed, wincing. The door flew open and the man of her thoughts was there, a frown on his face. She loved that frown; it was so much better than seeing the passive, stoic look he usually had. She smiled at him and stumbled into his arms. His came around hers easily. She was definitely making progress.

“Wanna tell me why I feel like a baby trying to walk for the first time?”

“It’s from the trauma. You were poisoned by an idummi. Nanu saved you before any serious damage was done. You were given painkillers and a sedative to help you sleep. You are probably just feeling the after effects from that.”

“What kind of serious damage?” she asked quietly. His eyes widened. A dark look

flashed over them, and then she knew.

“I almost died, didn’t?” He nodded. Chloe gulped and looked away as tears pooled in her eyes.

“Lily is here.” The tears dried up just like that.

“What? How? When? I want to see her now.” She started for the door, but he stopped

her.

“You should not see her while naked.”

Chloe looked down at herself and grinned. She looked at the bathroom, which seemed

miles away and shrugged one shoulder. “I can’t do it.” Her legs were going to give out at any second she knew it.

“I will help you,” Tyrian said, his face pulled back into that unreadable mask she hated.

Chloe glared at him, wishing she could figure him out, then nodded. He scooped her up as if she weighed nothing and took her into the bathroom. He set her on the toilet before he started filling the bathtub. “Do you think you can bathe by yourself in the tub?”

Chloe debated it then lied, “No.” His shoulders bunched up.

“Fine.” He picked her up again and set her into the hot, steamy water. Chloe sighed in bliss and wanted to close her eyes and go back to sleep. The soft rustle of a washcloth across her ankle had her eyes flinging open.

“Oh, you don’t have to—” It was a weak protest to say the least.

“It was my duty to protect you. It would be my honor to care for you now.” Chloe’s

eyebrows shot up. She’d never heard of such a duty before, but seeing the Commander of the Atal Warriors on his knees cleaning her was priceless. She nodded for him to continue, feeling every bit like a queen, and laid back to watch him.

He soaked the cloth until it bubbled with white frothy suds then cleaned her feet. She giggled and squirmed away, but he only snatched her foot back with one big hand and cleaned it until she was full out laughing.

“Stop it! Stop it, please!” Shaking his head grimly, he finished with the other foot. Chloe smiled languidly at him. “You know you’re very handsome.” His head stopped shaking, his brow furrowed. “Oh come on, you must know you have a killer body. What’s with the gauze on me, by the way?”

He soaped her calf and knee, gently removing the wet gauze as he did. “Our healer Nanu had to make specific cuts in order to drain some of the blood from your body,” he said, soaping the cloth again. “Warriors are not attractive, Chloe. We are scarred and imperfect.” His words were laced with ice.

Chloe lifted her free knee and poked him in the chest with it. “Don’t get grumpy.

Besides, I completely disagree. Scars are a sign of your strength and courage, the pain that you’ve endured. It’s made you stronger which, at least in my eyes, makes me want to kiss you silly.” The washcloth splashed into the water. He quickly grabbed it, but not before she saw him staring at her sex, which was parted open from her knee poking him. He finished her other leg and removed the gauze behind her knee.

“The new moon has passed,” she said softly, thinking about how the edginess was no

longer there. “I would still have you, Tyrian.” Was she laying herself out there? Yes. Was he going to reject her? She was certain. So why the hell was she doing it? She had no flipping clue, but it might have something to do with the way her heart skipped every single time she was around him.

His jaw flexed in the barest of movements. “That is not a good idea. I’ve already decided that you and I will no longer...participate in those activities.”

“Oh please, as if I haven’t heard that before. I don’t understand you, Tyrian. I like you. I actually like you. I think there was a reason my papa left me to you. Against all his teachings about raising self-serving, independent woman, he left me to you, gave me no choice in the greatest event of my future. Papa wouldn’t do that for nothing, wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t for a great reason.” She hoped.

“People make mistakes all the time.” He grabbed her hand and started soaping and

rubbing her hands and between her fingers. She moaned as her muscles relaxed blissfully. Chloe watched him work, then squinted as she realized his cheeks held more color than usual.

“Do you become flushed from feeding?” His eyes jerked to hers.

“What do you mean?” he asked icily.

She ignored his unwelcoming tone and traced her fingertips over the heat of his cheek.

“You’re flushed. Is it the bath water? Or am I just that sexy? Maybe it’s from when you drank from me?” A flush of her own crept over her cheeks.

He looked down at her stomach and started washing it gently. “The water.”

“Oh,” she said softly. “So you actually brought Lily here?”

“Yes.” She smiled again. He had no idea how sweet he was. He was trying so hard to

come off as mean and uncaring but instead she saw his caring nature in spades.

“Do you feel well enough to go back to Telal’s? The demon has news for us. I would like you to be there in case he has any questions for you.”

Chloe nibbled on her lip and wondered what Lily would think of meeting the infamous demon—a whole year before she would be his.

“Yes, I should be good to go. Do you really think he’ll be able to help us figure out how to kill this demon that’s following me?”

Tyrian nodded. “If anyone can, it’s him. He knows more about myths, legends, and

demonic lore than anyone I know.”

“Oh, so he’s like a librarian type.” Chloe had a hard time picturing the blue-haired, golden-skinned demon reading a book. He looked too hardcore, like he should be riding a motorcycle in a black leather jacket, while drinking a beer and smoking a cigar at the same time.

Though now that she thought about it, he was wearing an expensive looking suit when she met him. Guess he really was more of the stiff type. What a shame. Lily always loved men in leather.

“Yes, he comes from a royal family in the nether-realm. That, too, is one of the reasons he has been allowed to stay atop the rift.” Chloe tried hard to picture the stiff demon with her wild, bold sister and couldn’t. It’d be a mess of a relationship, if that was even what they tried to have.

Chloe relaxed and enjoyed the feel of Tyrian’s hands soaping and cleaning her. She felt weak after being poisoned; she shivered at the thought. It would take awhile before her body was back in perfect working order.

When his hands dipped into her hair, she let him dunk her then shampoo and condition her hair. The feel of his strong, sure fingers massaging her scalp so gently, flared pulsing warmth inside her. She wanted, envisioned, prayed that his hands would dip down to cup her breasts, follow the trail of her stomach to her sex.

If her sisters would have told her two weeks ago that the Commander of the Atal

Warriors would be cleaning her and shampooing her hair in a few weeks, she’d still be on the floor laughing. It was amazing how quickly she was softening towards him, much faster than he was to her. But she wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop it or not.

She’d always been a risk taker, and that part of her now said ‘jump!’ ‘Take the leap!’ The bad part was her heart was entirely in on it too, happy to let herself go completely with the cold warrior. She’d seen those beautiful, warm glimpses inside him but it wasn’t enough. Could she get him to open completely? A part of her swore the he was dying to. In the warm, gentle caresses over her body, in the way he’d warmed to her even if he didn’t realize it.

“You are clean,” he announced. He didn’t meet her eyes as he scooped his arms under her and started to lift her.

“Wait!” He hesitantly turned to her, his face mere inches from hers. Her heart fluttered, stomach clenching with desire. Chloe licked her lips and said, “I need something else from you.”

Ice froze over his eyes.

“No. I shall bring Draven or Rayn or anyone else you wish here for you. I will not be doing that with you. I advise that you find a partner to secure your daily needs. I can’t do it.” He sounded almost desperate.

Honestly baffled, Chloe ran her hands over the wisps of hairs that fell over his cheek.

“Why?” He closed his eyes as if in pain then set her back in the tub. Her stomach tightened with that alarming feeling and quickly she added, “And don’t lie. Please.”

He stood completely and walked to the door. She thought he was leaving but he turned back at the last second. “A warrior does not tell his secrets to those who could use them against him.”

“But I would never hurt you.”

He looked away, a haunted look coming over his face. “One doesn’t always plan to hurt, but does anyway.”

“Please, tell me what you’re talking about. I wouldn’t hurt you. I told you...I care for you.” She hoped it was as simple as that because with the way her heart was beating it was telling her a different story.

“Some men are only so strong, Chloe. I’ve experienced my limit. By taking the

responsibility of you on, by doing what you want me to do...I just can’t. What you ask of me is impossible.”

Water sloshed as Chloe pulled herself out of the tub. “What are you talking about? Is this about your family and that, that room down the hall? Tell me about it because whether you like it or not, I’m not going anywhere.”

Jaw twitching, he shook his head, hard and brief. Chloe marched up to him, blood

coming to a boil. “Tell me, dammit! I have a right to know what the heck is going on here. I was uprooted by strange men from my hotel. I have been taken from my life. I had a job with customers I adored and who loved me. I had a nice life, but now I’m here with you, with some crazing demon thing after me, and you can’t even tell me why you won’t sleep with me!” She was fuming, her chest heaving, and hands curling into shaking fists. She realized one fatal flaw in what she said. He had slept with her. Several times, in fact. But he’d only shared one thing about himself with her. That was what she wanted. To know about him.

Tyrian stared at her, his eyes the coldest she’d ever seen. He turned on his heel and strode out of the bathroom. Chloe’s jaw dropped and she pattered on wet feet after him, uncaring of the water dripping over the floor.

“Stop right there, vampire!” She had no idea why, but he actually did. He turned around to face her and she saw the stress lines forming around his eyes and mouth. Her heart almost melted. She didn’t want to fight with him. She just wanted to know.

“Enough with the vague allusions. Just tell me, please, what your problem is. Tell me why you have a child’s room over there and a woman’s room with a painting of you in it.

Explain to me why sleeping with me is so horrible. Don’t you see that I don’t want anybody else? I don’t know anything about anyone else here except your damn frimar, a nd I don’t swing that way. Just tell me, please.” Chloe folded her arms across her stomach, feeling hopeless and dejected.

The longest minute of her life passed and she shook her head, close to tears, when he finally spoke.

“Maria and I married before the Great War, when demons roamed the earth next to

vampires and shapeshifters, and used magic to blend in with humans. There was no such thing as an Atal Warrior then. My father married a loose woman named Akiro. She had a litter of children but only me with my father. I don’t think he loved her so much as was infatuated with her. She had this way of stringing men along, always desiring her, always needing her,” said Tyrian in icy tones.

He walked to the window and looked out at the sky, his hands pulled behind his back in that familiar way. Chloe sat on the bed and waited, listening.

“I don’t know when the affair started, or perhaps it just never stopped, but when my father found out he was...furious. He might have killed her if she hadn’t left. And she did leave, with her demon lover. My father started the war after that.” Chloe gasped, her eyes huge in her face.

“Your father started the Great War because his wife left him for a demon.” The rumors were true then. The war wasn’t started because the demons were violent. It was one man’s vengeance.

Tyrian looked at her with a bitter smile on his face. “Yes, he did. See, father was charming. He could get anyone to do anything he wanted except, of course, my mother. Before I knew it, I was one of the highest generals in the newest organization, the Atal Warriors. We started a war with the demons, pushed every last one of them back into the rift.”

“What happened if they didn’t go?” Chloe asked.

“We killed them,” he said simply. “The demons grew to hate the Atal Warriors,

understandably. Some sought revenge specifically on my family. They succeeded in killing my father, but not me. Instead, they killed my wife, Maria, and my son, Aidan.”

Chloe gasped and at the sound, Tyrian rounded on her, towered over her, and said, “I keep their rooms as a reminder. See, you are but a child, an infant in my world. You just turned 29 years old,” he laughed, the sound bone chilling. “I have had to live for nearly fifteen hundred years. If I didn’t have those rooms to remember them by, I’d have nothing. I’d forget as all beings forget with time. And I can never forget them, Chloe. Not even for you.”

Chloe came to a stand, grabbing on to his shirt. “But I don’t want you to forget. I just wanted to know why, Tyrian. I want to know more about you.”

“Why, because you care? People who care are just setting themselves up to be hurt. Just leave me alone, Chloe. I don’t want you.” His cruel words were a slap to the face. Chloe blinked and felt the wetness escaping her eyes. He walked away and was nearly out the door when she ran after him, grabbing his arm and spinning him back around.

“You’re just trying to hurt me. You’re trying to push me away, but it won’t work.”

“And you have silly, romantic notions in your head.”

She didn’t know what to say to that, because he was right. So she went on her toes, pulled his head down to hers, and kissed him. He struggled against her, trying to pull away, but she held tight. Her lips clinging fervently to his, desperately trying to tell him that it was okay, that she wanted him still, no matter what.

He snapped. His tongue parted her lips and thrust inside, tasting her and filling her over and again. Chloe moaned and tore the knot free from his hair so she could grab fistfuls of it. He tasted decadent, like some sexy concoction that shouldn’t be natural.

Suddenly, hands grabbed her naked ass and lifted her, spun her so she slammed into the door. Her legs scrambled to wrap around his strong thighs, her core thrusting towards him, needing him.

“I should turn you around and fuck you like a dog. Is that what you want? My cock to appease your appetite?” Chloe saw the anger in his eyes, hot and smoldering.

“I want more than that and you know it. There’s more between us.” Tyrian slammed his hand against the door by her head. She didn’t jump.

“There is nothing between us but this.” His hand reached between them to cup a breast, his fingers naturally latching on to her nipple. Chloe couldn’t stop the moan that left her, didn’t even want to.

“There is more, Tyrian. And there could be a lot more, if you let yourself go with me.”

She cupped his face gently, trying to show him how much she wanted him.

“There will never be more between us, Chloe.” He reached between them and fumbled at his pants with quick, jerky movements. In seconds, his zipper was down and his cock sprang free. “Nothing more than this,” he said, then plunged inside.

Chloe moaned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing them chest to chest.

He took her body hard, ruthlessly. Her ass beat against the door and she didn’t even care how loud they were being. There was no stopping the cries that left her throat or the savage grunts he made as he hit deep inside her again and again. Harder then quicker.

“This is all there can ever be,” he said in her ear.

“Feels so good,” Chloe gasped, feeling him pistoning through her wet sheathe. “If this is all you’ll give me, then I’ll take. I’ll take you anyway I can get you, baby.” His hold tightened on her ass, gripping each cheek like they were some anchor that kept him leveled on earth.

“Chloe,” he whispered, raggedly. The word held so much meaning, so much pain, that

Chloe pulled his mouth back and kissed him.

She kissed him hard and long. When she pulled his tongue into her mouth and sucked on it, she started coming. Tyrian tore his mouth away so she could scream. And scream she did. His name, over and over again as her body shook and exploded into a million pieces all around him.

His hips slapped against her faster. His fingers dug like sexy points into her ass and kept her still for his thrusts. As the last ripple of her orgasm faded, his began. He cried out, the sound magic to her, a sound she would never forget. So precious was it to see him lose control. He started shooting hot jets inside her and she wiggled closer on a moan, not wanting it to stop, wanting him to fill her deeply and forever.

When he was done, he pulled out, breathing hard. His hands were shaking as he put

himself back in his pants. He didn’t look at her as he moved her away from the door.

“Tyrian?”

“Get dressed. I’m sending Lily up. We have to go see Telal.” His voice sounded dead, empty. Chloe had a feeling she’d just pushed him even farther away.

As the door closed, she wanted to curl up and cry.

* * *

“So how do you feel knowing you’re about to meet the demon, as in the demon you’re supposed to be Protected by?” asked Chloe. Her previous argument with Tyrian, if that’s what one called such a thing, still lingered over her like a dark rain cloud. But at seeing her sister, she perked up immediately. Lily had that effect on people.

Lily always had the ability to smile and make everyone around her feel lighter, happier.

Maybe it was her passive, daydreamy-type personality or the way she smiled at you like you delighted her silly.

It was hard to feel serious around Lily when she was wearing a long billowy skirt with large purple flowers on it, and a strappy shirt that tied behind her back and showed off all of her bare skin. It was also bright pink. Her white flip-flops topped off the look. And they were in a chilly castle in Norway, yet she acted like this was Palm Beach.

Her sister was a curvy woman with a fuller figure and her arms and back were sexy

enough to show off. Chloe totally wasn’t jealous. Even her hair looked wilder than usual. She’d inherited the wild, curly mane from their mama. And hers was dark, too, like papa’s.

Lily kicked her feet out and swung them off the edge of the bed. “Ecstatic! I can’t wait for my 29th birthday. Why do you think I chose this shirt? Demon’s are known for their sexual prowess, you know.” She wiggled her eyes brows.

Chloe laughed. “So what, you’re eager to seduce the demon, then?”

Lily arched a brow and said, “I did some research into him after I got Papa’s will. I’m interested to say the least. I don’t think I’ll have to seduce him. He’ll see me and what’s not to like?”

“True,” Chloe agreed.

“So what’s he like anyways?” asked Lily, her eyes wide.

Chloe bit her lip, trying to think the best way to word it. “He might not be how you imagined. He’s kind of a stiff.”

Lily’s nose wrinkled. “Stiff as in a corpse or the business kind?”

“The business kind.”

“Dammit, I knew something like this was going to happen. I guess I’ll just have to loosen him up a bit,” Lily said with a wink. Chloe had forgotten how good it felt to be around her sister.

She missed them both so much.

“Have you heard from Willow?”

“Yeah, she called me once to say she was headed off to Russia and that the shapeshifter was hot on her trail. Don’t tell her I said so, but she’s totally into him.”

Chloe snorted. “Oh, come on. An Alpha? No way. You must have been talking to

someone else.”

“I know, right? Trust me. She didn’t have a nice word to say about him. She hates him. I also know she’s already slept with him, and judging by how adamantly she denied liking it, I’d say she loooved it. Probably even wants a few thousand do-overs.”

“Wow, in a way it’s almost a cruel fate. She’s so stubborn, I don’t know how she’ll be able to put up with him.”

“She’ll find a way. I had a dream about her a few days ago. I think she and the Alpha will do fine, once he catches her that is. She’s playing the extreme version of hard-to-get. Though he probably likes it. It’s a good challenge for them both.”

“I thought Alphas like him liked submissive women,” Chloe said.

Lily smiled big. “I know. That’s what makes this all the better. Willow says he keeps trying to best her, but she keeps coming out on top. Seems like he’s getting angrier about it by the minute. When he finally does catch her, and according to my dream he will, they will have some interesting times together.”

Since she was young, Lily always had these dreams that acted more like visions. They used to only have about a 40% accuracy rate, but since she’d gotten older, it was now more like 50%. Lily liked to call it her “hit or miss visions.”

Chloe finished dressing in a sexy black dress with ridiculously tall heels and black stockings. The whole thing with Tyrian earlier really rubbed her the wrong way. She didn’t know if she wanted to hit him or...well, hit him. But it wasn’t in her nature to give up. So tonight, when they get back from visiting Telal, she was going to seduce him.

She even debated asking Lily to make one of her aphrodisiac concoctions, but how was she supposed to slip that to a vampire? He didn’t drink anything that wasn’t from a vein. She shivered at the thought, remembering when his fangs at sunk into her. Her body began to warm so she quickly blocked the image.

“Have you dreamt of your demon?” asked Chloe.

“You look killer, by the way. Add some mascara from my purse and it’ll be perfect. He won’t be able to resist you. My demon? Well, I did have an interesting dream with him. I was licking his body up and down and he was in chains on a bed or something. I couldn’t really make out his face or anything. He was kind of blurry.”

Chloe gasped. “Lily!”

“What? You wanted to know, don’t interrupt a sexy story. So then, I remember he tore through them like they were plastic except they were old-fashioned prison manacles, and he came after me and took me so passionately. I’m certain I came a dozen times. Now I don’t know how much of that is true, but I sure hope the orgasm part is,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “So enough about me. You’re the one who’s actually been living with her Protector. How’s it going?”

Chloe turned to her sister and almost wanted to cry. She didn’t know where to start, so she just started talking. Soon Lily had her sitting next to her on the bed with an arm wrapped around her as she spilled everything from their first sexual encounter with the vampire commander to his past and up to their “thing” this morning.

“Sounds to me like he’s crazy about you.” Chloe couldn’t help it, she laughed hard. If only Lily had been around these past few days.

“No, he’s not and a part of me keeps feeling like a complete fool every time I talk to him.

I’m starting to think that maybe I should just turn my back on him and try to make it with one of the other warriors. But there’s just something about him, Lily. I feel like I can’t walk away.”

“I understand,” Lily said, holding her close. “I think you two are going to be great together. Just keep pushing him. He’s strong, he can take it.”

“But what if he hates me for it in the end?” Chloe asked, her eyes haunted with pain.

“Have you had a dream about us?” She couldn’t keep the hope out of her voice.

Lily pulled back. “Um, no, no.” Chloe glared at her.

“Yes, you did, Lillian Bellum. Tell me now and do not lie, no matter what.” Lily cringed.

“Fine, fine. I had two dreams. One was of you and Tyrian in the snow, fighting.”

“What were we fighting about?”

Lily shrugged. “I didn’t hear anything like that. It was like watching a movie with the sound muted, minus any subtitles. It looked emotional though, deep. You both looked so...in pain. He didn’t look anything like how I saw him when I met him downstairs. He’s all aloof and cold. There was none of that in this dream.” Chloe shuddered, her stomach filling with that horrible warning feeling.

“And the other?” Chloe asked, feeling more miserable than before.

“I wasn’t going to tell you. I was going to mention it to him, because I didn’t want to worry you any. Plus you know these things aren’t always accurate.” Lily smiled at her but Chloe couldn’t make herself do it back. She felt hollow inside, numb.

“Just tell me.”

Lily dragged in a deep breath. “I saw you die. A demon was fighting you, and it killed you.”

Chloe’s eyes shot wide. “Say what? Do you think this is because I nearly died by that demon yesterday? When did you have that dream?” Chloe said, desperate to know. She had to know. She grabbed Lily’s arm in firm grip, her eyes frantic and wide.

Lily’s smile relaxed her infinitely. “Just last night. Don’t worry, that’s all it was.”

Chloe sighed. “Thank God.”

A knock sounded at the door and Chloe knew who it was. “Just tell me one more thing, and be completely honest, Lily. Do you really think I should pursue him? I don’t want to get hurt,” she whispered.

Lily smiled gently. “Sometimes we have to experience the bite of pain before we can feel the love. I say do it. If you want him, then go get him, Chloe.”

Chloe threw her arms around her sister. “Thank you, Lily,” she whispered. Lily squeezed her one last time and then they answered the door.

The warrior, Rayn, was there. Not her vampire commander. He smiled like a male alley cat at Lily and looked her up and down. “Are you sure you won’t let me take you out, beautiful?

I would love to show you a good time.”

Lily winked at him. “I know you would darling, but I already have a man.”

Rayn cocked a brow. “Who? I’ll fight him for the rights to you any day.” He said it in mock seriousness that sent Chloe and Lily into giggles.

“His name is Telal Demuzi. If you wish to fight with him, make arrangements so I can be there. I wouldn’t want to miss that.” Rayn’s brow skyrocketed to his hairline.

He shook his head and held out his hands. “The demon? Damn. Grab on, we’re meeting

Tyrian downstairs first.” Chloe and Lily each grabbed a hand. Rayn grinned at Lily and pulled her close to his chest.

“You smell nice, lilit.”

Before Chloe could ask what that word meant, her body tingled from head to toe, and the hallway dissipated around them like sand dropping, and then a new room appeared. A room filled with weapons.

“Whoa, what’s this place?” Chloe asked and went to the walls covered in weapons from axes and swords to guns and throwing knives. She even saw a few grenades and laughed.

“The armory,” Rayn replied.

A door opened and Tyrian and Henry came in. “You’re back on command duty while I’m

gone. If anything happens, notify me,” Tyrian said. Henry bowed swiftly.

Tyrian gaze shot to her like a magnet. He zeroed in on her like she was the sole focus on his mind. It made her stomach flutter, her pulse race. His eyes heated, scorched over the fitted dress she wore, lingered on her black stocking legs.

He’d changed and now wore a tight, black t-shirt instead of his usual long sleeves. Chloe licked her lips at the play of muscles in his forearms, at the thick veins that ran over his arms and into his finely sculpted hands. Just as quickly, his eyes darted away from her and were back to the distant, unfazed look he always wore.

“You’re drooling,” Lily teased in a whisper. Chloe glared at her but pulled her gaze away from the man constantly occupying her thoughts. “Don’t worry, he is totally drool-worthy.”

Tyrian picked up a wicked, curved knife from the wall and two guns that he tucked into places around his cargo belt. When Chloe blinked, she realized she couldn’t even see them. It was like they were never there.

“How do you do that?”

She was surprised that he bothered to answer her. “I have an enchantment on certain weapons so that I can carry them but they stay hidden to others.” Oh, so that explained how he managed to have a massive double-bladed axe back at the hotel.

“But you don’t have those kinds of powers.”

“Draven does. He can make nearly anything invisible. Let’s go,” he commanded. Rayn

had to touch each of them for this to work.

“I’ll need one of the beautiful ladies to cuddle close to me, so the others can touch my hands for this to work,” Rayn said, sounding immensely happy as he smiled at Lily.

Lily smiled back at him, but pushed Chloe into him. Her arms naturally went around him in an awkward hug. She looked up at Tyrian and saw his nostrils flare, so she stayed where she was. Damn right. Lily took hold of Rayn’s hand and saddled up next to her. Tyrian was next. He took his time, almost as if it pained him to move close to her.