Page 114 of Red Fury

I finish making the cappuccino and put the cup down in front of her.

She gets a look of revulsion and shudders. “I hope you’re wrong. He gives me the creeps.”

“He’s a self-serving asshole. I’m almost hoping I get another shot at him.” I push her coffee cup a little closer to her.

“I hope I never see his face again. Thanks.” She pulls it all the way to her and takes a sip, groaning. The sound shoots straight to my cock. “That’s good.” She takes another sip, licking the foam from her lips.

I glance down at my boxers. The last thing I need is an erection right now. I turn back to the machine, getting to work on my own cup, trying to get myself back under control. Jesus, you would swear I was a teenager again.

This is exactly why I slept on the sofa.

Shadow

A chill races down my spine just thinking about Kozlov coming after us. My mind goes straight to his fangs. To how the asshole bit and drank from me without my consent. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to shake off the feeling of being hunted.

I hate it.

A dragon shouldn’t feel this way. We are the apex predators. At least, we would be on a fair playing field.

“We’re both leaving for our respective islands this afternoon,” Fury says. “So Kozlov, hopefully, won’t get to us in time.” He sighs.

“I hope so, too,” I tell him. “I wish we were more prepared for this. We’re flying blind, and the thought of facing creatures we know nothing about terrifies me more than I want to admit.”

“It would be good if we were prepared,” Fury agrees. His jaw clenches as he stares out the window. “I don’t know the first thing about vampires. How to fight them. What theirweaknesses are.” He shakes his head in frustration. “Up until recently, we didn’t even know they existed beyond books and television. Problem is, I don’t watch much television and I’m not much of a reader.”

“That gives me an idea.” I dash back into the bedroom, grabbing my cell phone from the bedside table. “Maybe I can find something useful. Let me Google vampires,” I say as I slide back onto the stool.

I start scrolling through the search results, reading aloud. “Okay…so, their weaknesses are… The first one they have listed is sunlight. They supposedly burn in the sun, and if exposed long enough, they’ll turn to ash.”

Fury frowns, turning from where he’s making coffee. He looks at me for a few seconds before turning back, giving me a great view of all of him. I hate his abs and those broad shoulders. I hate how good he looks in those low-riding boxers that show off that whole “V” thing perfectly. He’s all muscles and tats. It doesn’t help that I find it super sexy that he knows his way around a fancy coffee machine.

I force myself to concentrate on my phone, reminding myself that he’s still off limits. If I didn’t know it well enough for myself, he went and made it crystal clear earlier as to where we stand with one another. Especially after that stinging comment.

“You say that sunlight kills them,” he says, the machine hissing as he froths milk for his coffee. “When I met with Kozlov for the first time, it was in his office. He has these huge windows that let in all the sunlight. That can’t be a weakness if he sat there like it was nothing. The guy has a tan.”

“That he does. Okay, so sunlight isn’t a problem for them, which sucks.” I scroll down to the next item. “Garlic. It supposedly repels them. Awesome. We’ll add plenty of garlic to our eggs this morning, which will end up repelling everyone we come into contact with today. I doubt garlic will help us.”

Fury looks over his shoulder and throws me a half-smile that hits me low in the belly, sending heat spiraling through me. Damn him and his effect on me. I force my attention back to the phone yet again.

“Holy water can burn them and even kill them if ingested,” I read the next line with obvious skepticism. “That seems far-fetched. Since we don’t have any holy water lying around, I might not look too much into that one.”

“What else?” Fury asks, moving around the counter with his coffee.

“The other way to kill them is with a wooden stake through the heart.”

Fury lets out a short laugh. “A stake through the heart would kill anyone.”

I can’t help but laugh too, some of the tension leaving me. “It has to be wooden to work, according to this article.”

“Noted,” he says as he sits down next to me on a barstool, so close that I can feel his body heat. The scent of him – something wild and masculine with a hint of smoke – fills my senses.

Arghhhhh! Why does he have to smell so good along with everything else?

“Decapitation is next on the list,” I say, glancing up at him.

We both burst out laughing, harder this time.

“Decapitation will kill anyone,” I say, rolling my eyes. “This is ridiculous.”