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Morio was zonked out, too, next to Smoky and Rozurial. Zach was driving, and I sat in the front, next to him. As he navigated the chilly spring night, I watched his hands on the steering wheel. I was tired—exhausted, really—but I was also hyped up on adrenaline. Sleeping would be difficult. I leaned closer to him.
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I whispered.
He glanced at me, then back at the road. “Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“What about Chase?”
Taking a deep breath, I forced the air out of my lungs and said, “This is my choice. I choose to be with you tonight, if you’ll have me.” My voice trembled a little. Would he still want me, after all this time and frustration? I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to get involved.
But Zach merely smiled. “Delilah, I always want you. Never worry about that.” And it was set.
We rode in silence until we arrived home, and then Smoky and Menolly set off for the portal with the spirit seal. Camille and Morio were too exhausted from their magical work to help, and I was just too beat in general.
The lights were on in the living room. Iris had waited up for us, even though we had told her not to. As we came in, she gave me an anxious look. I gave her a slow smile and a nod.
“We found the seal, and it’s on its way to . . . its new home right now.” I still didn’t like talking about Queen Asteria in front of Vanzir.
Roz seemed to sense my hesitation, because he clapped Vanzir on the shoulder. “Let’s go. We’ll hole up at the local dive I’ve taken a sublet on for the month. Girls, we’ll be out of your hair for the night. Call us tomorrow when you want to talk. I’ve got my cell phone with me.”
As we waved them out of the house, Camille shook her head. “Need sleep. I’m about to crash. Morio’s not much better. Smoky has a key. Lock the door when you go to bed.” Dragging themselves up the stairs, my sister and her fox demon disappeared for the night.
“Delilah, before you go up, there was a call for you while you were out.” Iris handed me half her sandwich. I must have been eyeing the food with a little too much gusto.
“I don’t want to hear it unless it’s an emergency.” I tapped Zach on the shoulder. “Go on up and wait for me.” He obligingly left the room.
Iris shook her head. “It wasn’t Chase,” she said, frowning. “It was Sharah, and she said it was important.”
“Did she say it was an emergency?”
“No,” she said slowly, then frowned. “But she sounded worried. You’re not going to call her back?”
“Tomorrow morning. If it’s an emergency, she’ll call again. Meanwhile, I’m going to go relax, enjoy myself, and sleep for a gazillion hours,” I said, running my hands through my hair. I needed a shower, and then I needed something a whole lot more sensual than a bunch of nasty water splashing over my body. “Zach’s staying,” I added.
Iris smiled slowly. “We live in troubled times, Delilah. Don’t deny yourself the luxury of companionship out of fear or misplaced guilt. You and Chase have a great deal to talk over again before you can make any final decisions, but until then, if I were you, I’d consider myself a free agent.”
Free agent. Not sure I liked that term, I merely gave her a peck on the cheek and headed upstairs to the man who was waiting for me with open arms.
CHAPTER 18
As I approached my room, music filtered out from beneath the door. “Magic Man,” by Heart. Zachary must be listening to the playlist on my MP3 player. I opened the door to find him sitting on the window seat in my bedroom, one knee pulled up to his chest. His other leg hung over the edge, and he tapped the floor with his foot, keeping time to the music.
The lights were off, and he was staring out the window, his regal profile framed in the glow from the hallway behind me. When he looked at me, his mouth beckoned, full and sensual, and the dusty summer wheat of his hair was tinged with gold, fringing his collar.
I caught my breath as the scent of his leather jacket flooded my nose. Even beneath the dusty coat, I could see every outline of muscle. The image of his puma self up on the mountainside burned in my mind. The memory of racing up the rocks by his side ran through my veins, and from somewhere, deep inside, Panther growled in recognition.
It had been a long time since we’d been alone together without a chaperone. I slowly moved toward him, skirting the bed, keenly aware of the covers falling to the floor, of stepping over my pajamas and the other dirty clothes that lay scattered around the edge. He swung his head toward me, silently waiting as I approached.
As I closed the distance between us, I thought about Chase. I could still stop before I screwed things up even further. I could call him and beg him to talk to me. I could tell him that I missed him. Hell, I could even go find Erika and kick her butt and scare the hell out of her.
But I didn’t want to do any of those things.
I was tired of thinking, tired of dealing with hurt feelings and jealousy, and I hated the jealousy that had grown in me. It bordered on insecurity, and that was one trait I didn’t want that I’d inherited from our mother. I didn’t like the feeling it left in my heart. If Chase wanted Erika, he was welcome to her. Right now, I didn’t want to deal with any of this crap; all I wanted to do was . . .
“Delilah,” Zach’s voice curved around me, husky and low. He was suddenly standing and with one stride, planted himself in front of me. He slowly reached out to caress my throat. I shivered as he ran his finger down my neck, over my shirt, between my breasts.
“Don’t say a word. Don’t ask about anything,” I said. “Just kiss me.”
