Warrior (Relentless Book 4)

I opened the refrigerator door and studied the contents. No milk, no eggs, no bread. We really needed to order some groceries today. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to help me with my current dilemma.

I pulled on some clothes and quietly let myself out of the apartment – and tripped over the massive body lying in the hallway. I smothered a curse and managed to catch myself before I hit the wall and woke up the whole floor.

Hugo raised his head and stared at me. He and his brother had been beside themselves when Sara came home almost two weeks ago. At first, they’d refused to let her out of their sight, and I’d had to endure two hellhounds sleeping in our bedroom.

After three days, even Sara agreed our apartment was too small for them, and she’d made them sleep outside the door. They didn’t like it, but they had the run of the whole place now, and people no longer jumped when they ran into one of the hounds in the hallways.

“Morning, boy.” I walked past him, and a few seconds later, I heard the scratch of his claws on the floor as he followed me. Woolf stayed in his spot on the other side of the door.

It was early, so not a lot of people were on the go yet. The few I saw looked amused when they spotted my furry companion. No matter where Sara and I went on the grounds, one of the hellhounds was with us. It was like the pair of them had decided I was Sara’s so I belonged to them too. Sara thought it was adorable. Whatever made her smile was okay with me.

I entered the dining hall and went to the buffet to pile food on a tray. Soon I had enough French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, and hash browns to feed a family of four. I added some fresh milk and orange juice because Sara liked them both, cutlery, and a blueberry muffin.

Hugo whined. When I looked at him, he licked his chops and wagged his tail so hard his whole body moved from side to side.

Shaking my head, I grabbed half a dozen sausages and tossed them to him one at a time. When he was done, his tongue hung out and he gave me a toothy grin that would make a vampire wet his pants.

“Is this some kind of male bonding thing?”

I spun to glare at the blond faerie standing several feet away.

Hugo growled, and Eldeorin waved a hand at him. The hellhound sat back on his haunches, staring straight ahead as if he were in a trance. One of Eldeorin’s “waking dreams,” if I wasn’t mistaken.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, not happy to see him but not entirely surprised he was here. He’d shown up immediately after we got home, having gotten word somehow that Sara was in trouble. He hadn’t stayed long, but he told us he’d be back when it was time to resume her training.

“Just checking in on my little cousin. I’m happy to see she looks much improved.” He smirked. “I never would have pegged her as a stomach sleeper.”

“Stay the hell out of our bedroom,” I growled at him.

He chuckled. “Chill out, warrior. I have better things to do than watch you two make little demons. There’s this pair of French twins who can –”

“Faerie,” I ground out.

He rolled his eyes. “Bonded males. No fun at all.”

I laid my tray on the nearest table. “Is there a reason for this conversation other than to annoy me?”

His expression grew serious. “There is, actually. I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what Sara can do. I plan to resume training with her when she’s recovered from her ordeal. Physically she is ready, but emotionally she has some healing to do first.”

I nodded gravely, thinking about all the nights she’d woken up screaming my name in the last two weeks. I’d hold her and talk to her until she calmed, and then we’d make love. Afterward, she’d fall asleep again in my arms.

It had taken her almost a week to talk about what had happened that night with Elena, and her nightmares seemed less intense since she’d opened up. Last night she hadn’t woken at all, and I hoped the worst was over.

“I know the Master is dead, but there are others out there who will fear Sara if they learn what she can do. By Fae standards, she’s still a child, and we protect our children.”

My stomach tightened. “She won’t go to Faerie.”

“I know. That’s why I’m here to offer my protection.”

“What kind of protection?”

He smiled. “Relax. I have no plans to hang around here. I’m going to ward this valley against vampires. Someday, when she’s strong enough, I’ll teach Sara to do it. Until then, I’ll take care of it. It won’t harm your demons or affect your people in any way.”

“That’s very generous of you.” Even with all the additional security measures at Westhorne, I worried this place wasn’t safe enough for Sara. There were a lot of vampires gunning for her, especially after she’d killed their Master. It was one of the reasons she’d agreed to take an extended trip to Russia with me this summer. The other reason was that my parents were dying to meet Sara. If we didn’t go to them, they’d come here.

Eldeorin shrugged. “As I said, we protect our children. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take care of the wards. And then I might visit those charming French twins…”

He disappeared mid-sentence. Hugo let out a snort and sniffed the air with a low growl.

“Yeah, I don’t like him either.” I picked up my tray. “Let’s go feed our girl.”

The apartment was quiet when I let myself in. I left Hugo and Woolf guarding the door. They were a wonderful deterrent to a well-meaning uncle and grandfather who loved to visit unannounced.

In the bedroom, I set the tray down on the nightstand. I sat on the bed and leaned down to the shape buried beneath the covers.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

“Too early,” she groaned from under the blanket. “Go away. I don’t want to get up.”

I laughed and pulled the covers down, revealing sleepy green eyes and tousled hair. Unable to resist, I leaned in for a quick kiss.

“Who said anything about getting up? I thought we’d have breakfast in bed this morning.”

Her eyes widened, and she smiled. “You made breakfast?”

“No. All we have in the fridge is apples and an open can of tuna. Although, you do like tuna, if I remember. Maybe I should see if we have saltines.”

She laughed and sat up, propping herself against the pillows. She was wearing my blue T-shirt again, and my body warmed at the sight of her in it.

“I don’t think Oscar will be happy if we eat his tuna.” Her stomach growled noisily. “But something smells amazing.”

I set the tray down on her lap. “Your breakfast.”

She stared at the food and burst out laughing. “Are we expecting company, or are you trying to fatten me up?”

“No and no.”

I broke off a piece of bacon and put it to her lips. She ate it obediently, and I picked up a wedge of French toast dipped in syrup.

She smiled. “Mmmm, I could get used to this.”

“Good, because I like doing it.”

“But you have to eat, too.” She lifted a forkful of eggs to my mouth and grinned when half the egg landed in my lap. “Oops. Maybe we should feed ourselves.”

Chuckling, I ate the food left on the fork, and we started on our large breakfast. When she was done, she leaned back into the pillows with a contented sigh, leaving me to finish the meal. I loved moments like this when she looked happy and unburdened by bad memories.

“You remembered!”

She reached for the wrapped blueberry muffin, her smile doing funny things to my stomach. She leaned across the tray and pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

I smiled. “I think you might have said it a few times last night.”

Her cheeks went an enticing shade of pink that told me exactly what she was thinking about. God, what had I ever done to deserve her?

Averting her eyes, she pushed the tray off her lap and climbed out of bed, holding the muffin. I followed her into the living room, watching how close the bottom of my T-shirt came to her curved behind.

I need to buy smaller shirts.

“Breakfast, boys,” she called as she removed the plastic wrap from the muffin.

I heard a small shuffling sound and a squeak near the large teak chest under the window. The chest used to hold weapons, until Sara had decided it would make the perfect home for the three imps I’d discovered under her bed as we were packing up her old room. As I’d stared at the imps, she’d explained how they’d stowed away in her boxes from Maine and had been living in her room ever since. She’d given me a pleading look I could never refuse, which was why I now lived with a trio of imps.

In our world, imps were considered vermin, but Sara treated them with the same kindness she showed every other creature she encountered. She’d even named them, and unbelievably, the little fiends responded to their new names.

She knelt on the floor as a six-inch, pale, bald demon stepped out from behind the chest. She’d made a small hole in the back for them to get in and out of their new home.

“Verne, why am I not surprised to see you first? I swear you have a hollow leg.”

The imp looked down at the legs showing beneath his loincloth. He shook one leg then the other before he frowned at Sara, who laughed softly.

“Never mind.”

She broke the muffin into three pieces and held one out to him. I watched in wonder as he walked over and took it from her. The first time she’d done that, I’d been worried the little demon would bite her. But he’d seemed as taken with her as everyone else was.

“Where are Eliot and Orwell? Ah, there you are.”

Two faces peeked out from behind the chest. More shy than the first one, they hesitated before creeping forward to get their food. The three of them scurried back into their home with their meal.

Sara went to the kitchen to throw the plastic wrap in the garbage, and I glanced around the apartment that was now full of her things. A drawing of her father hung on one wall, and photos of him, Nate, Roland, and Peter adorned the mantle. A red throw hung from one arm of the couch, and one of her paperbacks lay beside mine on the coffee table where we’d left them when we went to bed last night.

All the years I’d lived here, this had been my private place to unwind and keep my possessions. But I’d never realized what was missing until Sara moved in. Now, it felt like a home.

She came up behind me and slipped her arms around my waist. “You look deep in thought.”

I smiled and turned to wrap my arms around her. “I was thinking about all the books you brought with you. How many classic authors do you like?”

“I don’t know.” She furrowed her brow. “Why?”

“You already have Hugo, Woolf, Oscar, Verne, Eliot, and Orwell. I’m wondering how many more pets you plan to get, and if we’ll need a bigger place.”

She laughed and tugged me over to the couch. “No more for a while, I promise,” she said as she pulled the throw over her bare legs.

I sat beside her and lifted her legs onto my lap. “So what are your plans for today?”

“Jordan and I are getting together with Chris for archery lessons at ten. Then I have lunch with Nate, and I’m spending the afternoon with Emma. We’re going to the lake to paint. Well, she’ll paint. I’m going to draw.”

“How’s Emma doing?”

Emma looked healthier than she’d been when we found her, but she was withdrawn and she had regular anxiety attacks. Not that anyone could blame her after what she’d been through. Sara spent a lot of time with her and was slowly pulling Emma out of her shell.

Sara sighed. “Good, but I’m not sure she’ll ever feel completely at home here. She says she’d like to find some small place to settle in when she’s ready to leave. She seems so lost. I want to help her, but I’m not sure how.”

I rubbed her leg. “You’ve been a great friend to her, and I can see a difference in her since we got home. It’s going to take a while after all she’s been through, but she’s strong.”

“She is.”

I didn’t like the sadness that had crept into her voice, and I had just the thing to cheer her up. I’d planned to give it to her tonight, but now was as good a time as any.

“Wait here.” I lifted her legs and stood.

“What are you up to?” she called when I went into the bedroom.

I opened the top drawer of my dresser and retrieved the brown manila envelope I’d placed there yesterday evening. Thinking of her reaction when she saw what was inside, I smiled as I returned to the living room.

“You’re looking very pleased with yourself,” she said when I joined her on the couch again. Her eyes went to the envelope, and she gave me a questioning look. “What’s that?”

I handed it to her. “Open it.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she took the envelope and opened it. I watched her face closely when she reached inside and pulled out several sheets of paper.

She stared at the first one for a long moment before her mouth fell open and her gaze flew to mine.

“Is this…?” Her voice cracked as her eyes began to shimmer with tears.

“…the deed to your building in New Hastings,” I finished for her. “Nate and I talked, and he was thinking about selling. So I –”

She launched herself at me, straddling my lap to kiss me until both of us needed to come up for air.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she sang, hugging me tightly. “I can’t believe you bought me a whole building.”

I nuzzled her throat. “I’d buy you a whole block if you asked me to.”

“I don’t want a whole block.” She lifted her head to look at me. “Why didn’t you guys tell me?”

I lifted a corner of my mouth. “And miss out on that reaction? Not a chance.”

She looked down at the papers that were now slightly crumpled in her hand. “When can we go visit? It should be safe there now, right?”

“How about this weekend?”

Her head whipped up. “Are you serious?”

I nodded, and she squealed. This time she tossed the papers on the couch before she took my face in her hands and kissed me senseless.

“Thank you,” she whispered against my lips.

“No thanks necessary.” I gave her a lazy smile and settled my hands on her hips. “Just kiss me like that every day for the rest of our lives.”

“Deal.”

She laid her head on my shoulder, and I rubbed my hand up and down her back.

“My mother called again this morning. She’s dying to meet you. I’m not sure if she’ll be able to wait until this summer.”

“I know I said I wanted to wait to talk to her in person, but we can call her today if you think that’ll make her happy.”

I smiled, thinking about my mother’s reaction when my mate called her.

“Yeah, that will make her very happy. And maybe she’ll stop calling me at 5:00 a.m.”

Sara chuckled. “Well, she has waited a long time for her son to find a mate.”

“So have I.” I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “I waited almost two hundred years for you. I just didn’t know what I was waiting for until I found you.”

She gave me a teary smile. “I bet you never expected it to be this crazy. Was it worth it?”

“Every. Single. Second.” I punctuated each word with a kiss.

She toyed with the hair at the back of my head, sending a shiver through me. I could live a hundred lifetimes and never tire of her touch.

“When I look back at everything that’s happened, it feels unreal sometimes,” she said. “It’s been an adventure, hasn’t it?”

I kissed her mouth and her throat, and her breath hitched when my lips found the swell of her breast. I lifted my head to smile at her. A familiar fire burned in her eyes, and an answering one blazed inside of me.

“No, moy malen’kiy voin. Our adventure is just beginning.”