It would be a horrible way to die. Not even her bones would survive.
When two minutes past Witching Hour arrived, Darien gave Dallas a boost over the fence, where she scaled the chain-link, hefted herself over the barbed wire, and landed on other side with the nimble balance of a cat. As soon as she was clear of the fence, Darien gestured for Loren to hurry. She didn’t let herself think about how she would manage to maneuver her body over the barbed wire without impaling herself on it as she stepped forward.
Darien offered her a hand, but she shooed him away. “I can climb just fine by myself, thanks.”
Darien shot her a glare as she scuttled up the chain-link. “Accepting help from someone doesn’t mean you’re weak, Calla.”
“Thanks, Tips. I’ll keep that in mind.” She swore she could feel his death stare burning a hole in the back of her sweater.
When she reached the loops of spikes at the top of the fence, she froze. She was shaking so hard, the chain-link was rattling. Darien ascended to her side so quietly she didn’t hear him move, didn’t even feel the fence shift under his weight. He swung himself over the barbed wire at a near-invisible speed.
“You need to get over here, Loren,” he told her, his face level with hers as he held onto the fence on the other side. He made a show of glancing at his watch. “Unless you’d like to become a pile of ashes in T-minus ten seconds.”
“You’re not helping,” she seethed. Her limbs had turned to jelly.
“Get the fuck over here!” he snapped.“Now.”
“You don’t have to swear.” But she started moving, wishing she’d put on pants instead of shorts, as she reached the very top and swung a leg over the barbed wire.
“And you don’t have to whine,” Darien countered. “I can think of far better things for you to do with that mouth.”
That mouth he was referring to popped open in a gasp, and she winced as a metal spike snagged the flesh of her thigh. “Don’t talk to me like that,” she hissed, wobbling at the top of the fence.
But her cheeks were burning. And despite that she felt no sturdier than a leaf rattling in the wind, warmth pooled somewhere deep inside her as she considered the filthy details of what he had in mind for her mouth.
Was it wrong of her to want him to not only tell her what he had in mind, but toshowher?
She shoved the thought aside as Darien offered her a hand again. “I know you like it.” He practically purred the words. “If I didn’t think you did, I wouldn’t tease you so much.”
“Don’t read my aura,” she snapped, but she placed her hand in his—and then remembered the talisman that hung around her neck, which meant her tells had nothing to do with him reading her aura.
Damn it. He was good.
As if knowing exactly what she was thinking, Darien said, “I don’t have to read your aura to figure you out, sweetheart.”
Another spike bit into her palm, eliciting a hiss through her teeth as she lifted the other leg over, putting more of her weight on Darien’s arm than anywhere else. That arm didn’t so much as tremble under her weight. Cripes—how strongwashe? “I’ll have you know I’m not up to date with my tetanus shots.” Blood dribbled down her wrist and calf.
Once she made it to the other side and eased down to Darien’s level, he gathered her into the crook of an arm, holding her tightly against his chest. She was too surprised to say anything—or to ask him what in hell he thought he was doing—as he literally jumped, pulling her off the fence with him. Her fingers nearly came free of their joints as her grip was torn off the steel wire.
She landed right on top of him in the grass. The slayer gave a grunt like the wind had been knocked out of him, his legs tangling with hers. The forcefield snapped into place not a second later, and magic pulsed through the air so loudly, her arm hairs stood on end.
She pulled away from Darien, ignoring how the heat from his body affected her more than the fall from the fence, more than the magical barrier that had nearly singed her bones.
“Caligo’s tits,girl,” he swore, lifting himself to his feet. “The least you could do is try not to belt me in the face the next time I save your life.” He swept a hand over his hair, smoothing it out of his face.
Loren lurched to her feet, dusting dirt and bits of grass off her legs. “Don’t be such an ass and maybe I’ll consider it next time,” she said sweetly. She thought she’d felt a cheekbone under her elbow when he’d pulled her off the fence. Or was it his forehead?Serves you right,she thought, pressing her lips together to stop herself from laughing.
Although Darien was still glaring at her, she was starting to recognize when his teasing ways were creeping back into his carefully painted façade. A mischievous glint entered his eyes, and when he spoke again, his voice was so deep and smooth, it could almost pass for a purr. “Maybe I should teach you a lesson for talking back to me and spank your little ass.”
Loren blinked, her whole face heating up. “I dare you to try.” The words were nothing but near-unintelligible stammers.
Dallas was laughing so hard, she was snorting.
Darien quirked a brow, a smile teasing his mouth. “Sweetheart, youdonot want to make that dare.”
Loren cleared her throat, her eyelashes fluttering. “I didn’t mean to hit you on purpose—it was an accident. And a warning before you pulled me off the fence would’ve been nice.”
There was a slight quirk in his mouth that suggested he was enjoying himself more than he wanted to let on. “I could say the same about your bony elbows.”
