He’d taken her punches before; he’d prefer not to do it again, but she was the most tempting woman he’d ever encountered. The slender curve of her neck, the delicate arch of her cheeks, and the enticing glimpse of her shoulder as her shirt slid down a little served to make it impossible to resist her.
Unable to stop himself, he leaned closer and inhaled her crisp, floral scent. She reminded him of spring, sunshine, and sunlight dancing through the leaves of the trees. There was so much beauty in the spring.
What would she do if I stroked her cheek?The possibility of touching her caused his mouth to go dry, and he shifted uncomfortably when he realized he was growing aroused. He would have to watch it, or these vamps would smell it on him.
That possibility doused some of his lust, but it was impossible to rid himself of all of it when she was nibbling on her bottom lip so enticingly. Finally, the pages stopped ruffling, and he shifted his focus to the notebook. It was easier to keep himself in check when he had something else to focus on.
“Here,” Brie said and pointed at the notebook.
He frowned at the roads sketched onto the page. “What is this?”
“It’s a town in Connecticut, and this”—she pointed to a road titled North Street—“is our destination.”
Instead of feeling enlightened, he was becoming more confused. “What’s there?”
She glanced over at Cabo, who had turned to study them. Their eyes met and held before he glanced at Zina, then shifted his attention back to Brie. He closed his eyes and gave a small nod.
Brie was the one in charge who led them to the stones and retrieved them, but she wouldn’t reveal more without their blessing. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize them or make them uncomfortable.
“The eighth stone,” Brie said before she could change her mind.
“The eighth what?” Asher asked.
“Stone,” Cabo said. “You do know what a stone is, right?”
“Of course, I know what a stone is,” Asher retorted before realizing he might not.
He had no idea what would make any stone more important than another, unless it was in a druid circle. There were hundreds of millions of rocks in the world, so why would one of them be any more important than another?
“Just checking; you didn’t know what Scout’s honor was, after all,” Cabo reminded him.
Maybe not, but Asher did know what the middle finger was, and he gladly gave it to the burly vampire. “I know this one.”
Cabo grinned back at him. “That’s my favorite symbolic gesture too.”
Asher couldn’t figure out if he liked the vampire or wanted to punch him, so he shifted his attention back to Brie. “It’s the eighth stone of what?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Brie admitted, “but I know it’s important we find it and the other two remaining stones.”
“Remaining stones? So you already have seven of them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just know I’m meant to find them and they can help with the demons. What exactly they can do remains a mystery to me. Once I have all ten of them, I’m hoping I’ll figure that part out.”
Or she’d have a vision reveal the answer to her; they’d gotten her this far, after all, and had done it in gradual steps. It only made sense they’d show the next part too.
“I know they once helped defeat the demons,” she admitted.
Asher’s jaw nearly dropped. “Are you kidding?”
“No.”
“How do you know about any of this?”
Brie’s eyes fell to her hands and the scars around her wrist. She wasn’t wearing her windbreaker yet; she’d put it on before going after the stone, so her short-sleeved shirt revealed the scars encircling her wrists.
