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She slowly nodded, unable to argue against his logic. “When do we leave?”
The question was harsh, as if she had to force the words past her stiff lips. Valen felt a fleeting pang of annoyance. Had there ever been a woman so reluctant to spend time in his company? In truth, he couldn’t think of one.
Not until Peri.
“As soon as the sun sets.”
She squared her shoulders, no doubt stiffening her spine at the knowledge that she had no choice but to accept his help.
“I’ll need to pack a bag.”
“My driver will return you to your home and wait to take you directly to my private airport.”
She snorted as he took command of their upcoming adventure. “It’s nice to be the king.”
“Yes. Yes, it is.” He stepped close enough that he could see the shards of ebony deep in the vivid blue of her eyes. Exquisite, and yet there was a guarded wariness that refused to let him fully see into her heart. His attention shifted to the marks that were visible on the tanned skin of her upper arms. He lightly brushed his fingers over the bruises. “You’re wounded.”
“It’s nothing.” Her voice was thick with the awareness that pulsed in the air.
Valen took another step forward, their bodies a mere breath apart. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
“I’m doing fine.”
His fingers slid down to press his thumb against her inner wrist. Her pulse raced.
“Nothing will be allowed to harm you while you’re in my protection,” he swore in low tones.
Without warning, Peri jerked her arm out of his grasp, and with a toss of her curls was heading toward the door.
“I don’t need protecting, Valen. Save your heroics for someone who appreciates them.”
A wry smile tugged at Valen’s lips as she walked away. It’d been centuries since anyone had tried to put him in his place. At least anyone who’d survived such a perilous encounter.
“Why you, Peri Sanguis?” he whispered.
Chapter 9
Destiny huddled in the empty bathtub of the cheap motel, fully dressed, with the hexed dagger Brenda had used to try to kill Peri clutched in her hand. She was supposed to be well out of Wyoming by now. At least as far as Denver to catch a flight to her parents’ Florida beach house.
Instead she’d barely driven away from the ranch in Brenda’s beat-up van before she sensed she was being followed. At first she had no idea who could possibly be interested in her flight from the ranch. Everyone she’d known in Wyoming was dead. Then, a vague memory of Peri Sanguis returning from the dead floated up from the deepest corners of her mind.
Had the mage’s arrival at Wisdom Ranch been a dream? Or rather a nightmare?
No. She’d been real, Destiny slowly forced herself to accept. Peri had appeared from the darkness, asking questions as if she had any right to answers. Then she’d obviously done some evil sort of magic to try and make Destiny forget that she’d been snooping around like a scavenger picking over the bones of her long-forgotten family.
Typical.
Destiny had always hated the bitch. It hadn’t been fair that the younger girl had managed to master spells and enchantments that eluded Destiny no matter how often she practiced. And the entire coven had oohed and aahed over the potions she’d brewed. Destiny had been delighted when they realized that Peri was a mage. It not only excused Destiny’s inability to magically compete with a mere child, but it meant she had the pleasure of watching her die.
Of course, the bitch had to ruin that. Like she ruined everything. Brenda had barely managed to stab her in the heart when a blast of magic had knocked Destiny senseless. By the time she’d finally managed to clear the fuzz from her brain, Peri was gone.
At the time, she’d accepted Brenda’s claim that Peri was dead and her body hidden somewhere on the range. It was good riddance as far as she was concerned.
She should have known she couldn’t be that lucky. It was inevitable that Peri would stroll back to the ranch looking liked she owned the place while Destiny was cowering in a pile of hay. She even had a sinfully gorgeous man with her who made Destiny tingle in all the right places.
It also seemed predictable to Destiny that Peri would follow her when she fled the ranch. It was obvious she suspected that Destiny had something to do with the death of the coven.
That’s when she’d been struck with the bright idea to try to lose her tail.
