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He heard her call to him. When he turned in her direction and she saw he was on the phone, she made a never-mind waving gesture with her hand. She then pointed in the direction of the backyard.
He watched her for moment as she went outside. Because of the sliding glass door, he could see she was headed to what he soon realized was a fire pit. She then crossed to a woodpile, returned and stacked some logs, kindling, and wadded up newspapers.
To Chase, he said, “She’s building a fire.” She lit a match and moved around the pit, setting the dry paper on fire.
He headed slowly toward the glass door, the phone still to his ear. She’d put on a dark blue, pullover sweater that showed off her blond hair.
The fire was starting to blaze and she now had a brush in her hand, working out the tangles from her damp hair.
She wore jeans again and with what he knew about her already, he was pretty sure she had a stack of them in her closet and not much else. She wore running shoes, probably another staple in her wardrobe.
Sweet Goddess, she was beautiful, with strong cheekbones and large, green eyes. Her brows were arched and suited her face really well. She had full lips. He’d loved feeling her lips beneath his own. And he loved that she still showed fur on the backs of her hands. He had the sense she liked the fur even though it wasn’t the usual thing to always have it on display.
Of course this led him to think about the other places she sprouted her fur and decided the next time he sexed her up, he would kiss that line of fur that went from hip to hip.
“Zane?”
Chase. Right. Sweet Goddess. One look at Olivia and he’d forgotten Chase was there. “Anything else?”
He heard Chase chuckle. “You tell me?”
Zane turned away from the sight of Olivia by the fire and focused on the matter at hand. “I’m going to stick around here for now. I need to find out more about this woman. FYI, she lives across from the Elf Lords Hideaway.”
“Barker’s Bend?”
“Yep. And can you take lead for the next few hours, field the calls from the Communication Center? I’m thinking at some point I’ll want to take Olivia into the mountains to confer with Luther. She hasn’t presented herself.”
“Shit. No kidding, but then she’s half-human. Maybe she doesn’t know the rules.”
“Maybe. But my gut tells me it’s something else. Not sure. And if you want to know what she looks like, I’m pretty sure she’s related to Luther.”
“She’s a beauty then.”
Zane felt a ripple of anger that Chase would actually comment on Olivia’s looks, whether he’d actually seen her or not. “You don’t need to be talking about how pretty Olivia is. Got it?” Had he just spoken those words? What the hell was wrong with him?
He was pretty sure he heard Chase stifle his amusement. “Good to know. Consider the subject off limits. I’ll contact Marian and let her know what you’re up to.”
“And give Sawyer a shout as well.”
“Will do. And Zane?”
“Yeah?” Chase wasn’t given to offering advice, but the question seemed geared that way. Zane was already annoyed. “What’s on your mind?”
“Take your time with this one.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
“I mean, don’t rush her off like you do all the others. She’s here for a reason and it might just have to do with Emily.”
Zane was thunderstruck. Chase knew better than to mention his wife’s name. The topic was forbidden. He was about to come down like fire on fuel-doused charcoal, but he realized the line was dead.
Smart move on Chase’s part. Zane was ready to start shouting at his second-in-command.
But why had Chase said that to him? He didn’t really rush women off; he never got involved in the first place. The weird thing was, though he’d just met Olivia, he already felt involved. Maybe that’s the way it was when a blood rose showed up, a sense of engaging whether you liked it or not.
With his phone tucked back into his leat
hers, he stood at the backdoor. Olivia was actually sitting down enjoying the fire and she had a couple of beers perched on a small table between two wood Adirondack chairs. The picture appealed so much to who he was that he was stunned all over again.
