Page 22 of Destined Dawn

Her eyes flick from me to him and back again. Then she flips forward onto her knees and shuffles towards me in the grass. She rests her hand against my cheek and then kisses me. A long deep, slow kiss. I reach for her, to drag her right up against me, already forgetting we have company, but sheshuffles away from me and towards him, and by the time my eyes are open again, she’s kissing him, that same slow deep kiss.

He does the exact same thing I did, attempting to hook his arm around her waist and drag her to him. But she’s up on her feet and brushing off dirt from her backside.

“Come on,” she says. “It’s freezing out here, and I didn’t go to all that effort to save you, Spencer Moreau, just so you could go and die of hypothermia.”

She begins to walk in the direction of the mansion.

I glare at the assassin and he winks again.

“Never mind. Next time,” he says, jumping up and I stumble up too, following after my mate as I shiver against the cold, clutching my disappointed cock.

9

Tristan

The front doorswings open and Rhi comes marching through, stamping her feet and blowing on her fingers.

“Jeez, it’s so cold out there,” she says, walking straight past me in the direction of the warm kitchen.

Renzo Barone follows right after her, whistling under his breath and swinging his arms. And after him comes my friend, completely naked and shivering violently. He slams the door behind him and we’re quiet until the assassin disappears into the kitchen.

“What the hell happened to you?” I ask. “Did he steal your clothes?”

“No,” he says, looking so pissed off I doubt whether that’s the truth. “I went for a run.”

“Without clothes? Without shoes?”

“I had to let the beast out. It was getting unbearable.” Heglares at me, his brow furrowed.

“What did I do?” I ask, pointing to my chest.

“Just get it over and done with, will you?”

“Get what over and done with?”

“The lecture about how stupid I am, how dangerous it is to let the beast anywhere near Rhianna.”

Now it’s my time to frown. “You said he wasn’t a danger to her.”

“Yeah, but none of you seem to agree with that.”

“If you say he’s not a danger, I believe you. Anyway,” I say, glancing at the kitchen door, “she looked perfectly fine. You’re the one who looks worse for wear.”

“I’m going to light a fire,” he says, stomping into one of the empty rooms that leads off the hallway, this one looking like some sort of parlor. He walks straight up to the fireplace, swiping a blanket that covers one of the old-fashioned couches as he passes and wrapping it around his shoulders. The grill is stacked with old rotten logs and he flings his magic at them. Immediately, flames leap up into the air, and he holds out his hands, groaning in relief.

“I’m so fucking cold I thought my balls were going to freeze solid and snap off.”

“Talking of blue balls …” I say, coming to stand next to him and digging my hands into my pockets, searching for an old joint and coming up empty. “Have you … you know … with Rhianna?”

“She’s pretty angry with me,” he says, bending and flexing his stiff fingers.

“I’m not sure that’s stopped you in the past. A hate-fuck can be pretty damn hot.”

“This is different. She’s different. And you know it.”

“Yeah,” I admit. I guess I do. I lay my hand on his shoulder. I know it’s bullshit, but I can’t help it, I’m feeling prettysmug that I’ve fucked her and he hasn’t. I also feel a little sorry for the dude. It must suck knowing everyone else is getting a piece of the girl and he isn’t. “She’ll come around, pal. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Yeah, she’s already beginning to. In fact, if freaking Barone hadn’t interrupted us …”