“Can you get out of here?” I gestured at the door behind her.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Whenever it’s happened before, I haven’t tried leaving the place where I ended up. It’s weird. You can’t actually touch me, but Rasmus could.” Her cheeks flushed again, which made me wonder exactly how the vampire had touched her.
“It could be an effect of the magic-blocking cuffs,” I pointed out, irritated as all hell that she couldn’t touch me. Not that I wanted her to right now. Not in this context anyway. Under different circumstances, I very much did want her hands on me. And vice versa.
“Try walking through the door.” It was hard not to let frustration bleed into my voice, but the clock was ticking, and if I couldn’t find a key to unlock my cuffs, we were fucked.
Raven spun on her heels and did as I asked. I held my breath as her hand went straight through it, and before I could say a word, she’d disappeared.
Several minutes passed before she reappeared with a huge grin on her face.
“It worked!”
I exhaled in relief. If she could search this place undetected, we might have a fighting chance of escaping.
“You need to look for a key to unlock our cuffs. We don’t have long.”
She nodded without hesitation. “Your father told me he wants my magic, although he didn’t explain how he planned to get it.”
I shook my head dismissively. “That’s not important.” It was better if she didn’t know about his sick scheme. While I knew the soul-bond heightened the attraction between us, I doubted she’d be on board with being forced to have sex for science. No sane person would be.
“What’s important is that I release my magic as quickly as possible.” The pressure keg building inside my chest was close to exploding. If I didn’t expel some energy soon, I might end up burned to a crisp.
“I’ll go see what I can find,” she said, but before I could suggest the best place to search, she’d vanished, leaving me alone once again.
I sat back on the cot and waited impatiently for her return, but it never came.
14
Maverick
The safe house had a small closet full of clothes in all sizes, but none of the pants were large enough for a bear of my stature. I forced a pair of black sweatpants over my thick thighs and then cursed when the cheap fabric split.
Damn it. This was fucking ridiculous! I couldn’t be naked around humans; I’d attract too much attention.
“Need a hand?” The vampire stood in the doorway with a smirk. His red eyes scanned my bulky frame, lingering on my dick. His blatant stare irritated me, and my bear growled, angry about his dominance being questioned.
I pushed down my instinctive need to assert my alpha status. As much as it pained me to admit it, we needed the vampire.
“Nothing fits,” I gritted out, tossing the now ruined pants to the floor. I made a mental note to tell Boon to stock bigger sizes in our safe houses. Shifters were typically smaller than me, but some, such as bull shifters, could be bulky, so they would need XXXL pants.
“You are bigger than the average bear,” the vampire agreed, still smirking. I had a feeling he wasn’t referring to my inside leg measurement.
Ignoring his blatant interest, I grabbed a towel from the bed and wrapped it around my waist. At least I didn’t feel the cold. If we needed to leave this cabin, I could shift into my bear until I found clothing that fit.
“I can magic you some clothes.”
I’d forgotten he had that ability. Maybe he wasn’t such an asshole after all.
“Sure, that would be helpful. Thanks.”
Magic washed over me. The towel slid to the floor as a pair of skin-tight leather pants materialized. The butter-soft material hugged my legs and butt, leaving very little to the imagination.
Was he fucking with me?
“Perfect.” With one last smirk, the vampire asshole sauntered back into the living room. I examined my reflection in the cracked mirror hanging on the closet door. Fuck my life. Now I looked like a walking ad for a fetish porn site. But I supposed it was better than being naked.
Zane’s choked laughter when I rejoined the others suggested otherwise.
