“They’re alive because of what I’m capable of. They should feel secure in the knowledge I saved their lives and never so much as singed a hair on their heads.”
Mac lifted his goblet and took another sip of his wine. “Was it their lives you were looking to save or was ithers?”
I kept myself immobile and my face impassive while inside a riot of emotions tore through me. I had kept my abilities secret from them as a defense mechanism, but I realized now my biggest weakness was walking around outside of me. Given her mortality, she was far more vulnerable than I. There had been no way to hide my need to keep her safe from them today; there would be no way to keep it from my more menacing enemies either.
“Her life is the most valuable and you know it,” I replied with a calmness I didn’t feel.
Mac took another sip of his wine while he watched me. “Yes, I do. You’re going to have to do some damage control tomorrow.”
“Play nice with the humans?”
“Are you capable of it?”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’ll see.”
The wry smile slipped away from Mac’s lips as he leaned back in his chair. “Would you like to move up the date of the mission?”
“No. We still have more to cut from the group who will be coming with us and River isn’t ready to go yet. Lucifer may be searching for her, but he doesn’t know she’s here. We still have some time.”
“Understandable.”
Mac leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. We spent another two hours talking about training, who he considered the best recruits out of the hundred and fifty who still remained separated for special training for the mission, and we discussed the upcoming journey into the interior wasteland of this country. A journey he would not be a part of as he would remain here to supervise the soldiers and demons left to guard the wall.
Finally, Mac rose to his feet and stretched his back. “I never thanked you for what you did earlier,” he said as he thrust his hand out to me. “It was a sight to behold, but one that kept many of us alive.”
I shook his hand briskly before releasing it. Excitement pulsed through me as thoughts of River filled my head while I walked with him toward the exit. “You’re welcome.”
I held the flap back for him and stepped into the night behind him. The crackle of the fire on the hill drew my attention to the flames leaping high into the air.
“How did it go?” Corson demanded from where he stood next to Bale beside the tent.
“There will be some damage control to be done, but he understands.”
“He’s a leader, of course he does,” Bale replied.
“Where is she?” I inquired, unwilling to wait any longer.
“She went to bed about an hour ago,” Bale answered.
I bit back a curse, gave a brief bow of my head to them, and ducked into the tent. I impatiently closed and buttoned the flap before stalking over to the thin material blocking me from her. I stood there, listening for any sounds of movement on the other side. It remained quiet, but I knew she was awake; I could smell the increasingly sweet scent of her arousal.
My shaft lengthened against my thigh as I waited to see if she would finally allow me to ease her body.
CHAPTER 35
River
I sat cross-legged on the bed, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of the white T-shirt I’d donned to sleep in. It was all I wore, yet it felt too cumbersome against my hypersensitive skin. The soothing sounds of Mac and Kobal’s voices drifted away and I realized they’d left the tent. My heartbeat picked up and excitement slithered over my skin when I heard the flap on the front of the tent lifting and falling into place again.
I didn’t hear Kobal’s footfalls, but he was out there; I could feel him. I stared at the flap dividing the two rooms, knowing he wouldn’t come to me. This was my decision to make; I would have to get up and go to him. Could I do that? Could I open myself up to him in such a way?
He could destroy my heart, shred it within his hands, but I wanted those hands running over me. If I opened that flap, I would be leaving myself open to heartbreak and misery, but I’d finally get the chance to ease this unending torment that had taken up residence in my body since meeting him.
Turning, I set my feet on the floor; my hands gripped the edge of the bed.
I should be strong enough to turn my back to the flap and shut him out. I should be strong enough to keep my distance from him and my heart protected. This man wasn’t human. He could wield fire with his hands, and I knew there was more I didn’t know about him, but I found myself not caring about any of it. Didn’t care he was the rightful king of Hell or that the man who’d had a hand in creating me, thousands of years ago, was his mortal enemy.
None of it mattered; I had believed him earlier when he said he desired me because ofmeand not because he was looking to stick it to Lucifer in some way. Kobal was many things, manipulative and spiteful were not among them. He didn’t play games. If he was going after someone, he went after them directly.
