Chapter 34

Tayla swallowed a final mouthful of the steamy beef casserole. So mouth-watering and delicious, especially with the darn sexy Guardian feeding it to her. That sensual smile of his beamed and the hardness she currently nudged against while sitting on his lap, grew with each mouthful.

Was he ever sated? I sure hope not.

“You’re positive you don't need me to stay?” he rumbled, his voice a little hoarser than the mouthful before.

This marked Raven's first night back on patrol following his near-death episode. He would join River and Aric, heading out to fight Fallen, she guessed. He was a bit vague when it came to her questions about fighting. Maybe he spared her the gory details of his job or tried not scare her off.

“No, it's totally fine. EJ just gave me a heap of TV shows to binge on.” She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Some hot Guardian has been occupying all my time lately and I’m so far behind.”

He tightened his hand on her hips and nudged her butt firmly against his hardness. “Is that so? Well, I’m gonna have to take him out; I don’t like to share.”

Tayla laughed. God, this felt so good. And not only her current position, but the whole darn situation. She was so at home in this house, with his family, in their bed, that sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure it was actually real.

Yep, sure was.

Her gaze roamed over the others spread out around the oversized dining table as they finished their meals. Aric and River sat beside each other, empty plates in front of them, deep in conversation. Both of them dressed in what she now recognized as their fighting gear: black combat pants, muscle tees stretched tightly across their broad chests, and heavy boots. Were they discussing their strategy for tonight?

What was involved in hunting down a Fallen?

On the other side of the table, EJ stared at the screen of his cell phone, his thumbs frantically punching at the keypad, a wicked grin on his face. Lining up a little catch up of his own? Although EJ wasn’t on rotation, he was still heading into town. Two seats farther down sat Raine. She wasn’t heading into town with the others, but still wore a black form-fitting top and sprayed-on black leather pants with the highest fiery-red patent heels she’d ever seen, currently hidden under the table.

How the heck does she walk in those?

As though Raine could sense Tayla’s stare, she glanced over and gave a curt nod before sliding on a pair of fingerless gloves—also black leather.

A chorus of screeching broke out as chairs slid back from the table and the Guardians grabbed jackets from the backs of their chairs, almost in unison.

Tayla gawked at the weapons strapped to their bodies. My god. How many Fallen did they expect to encounter? On Aric alone, she saw two large knives strapped over his chest, some sort of handgun tucked behind his back, plus a belt around his waist with silver stars poking out the top. Those were the visible ones.

Raven interrupted her people watching when he gripped around her waist and effortlessly lifted her body off his, then eased her back on the chair.

“You sure you'll be all right?” he asked, standing before her. “I can stay. They're fine without me.”

She chuckled. “Raven, go. I’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”

“I can't help it.” He peered deep into her eyes for a moment like he struggled with his head and his heart—or another body part—and searched for the tiniest excuse to stay.

When he didn’t find one, he leaned forward and took her mouth in a hot kiss. Heat instantly flooded her core, speeding up her heart, her breath escaped her lungs, only to be left gasping for air when he pulled back.

“That should tide you over until I return,” he rasped. “Make sure you call if you need me.”

She nodded, not trusting her voice to work.

Raven gently kissed her again before he turned to face Raine.

“Raine,” he said with an air of authority in his voice.

She glanced over her shoulder and gave a curt nod, before pushing in her chair. “I will,” she replied and clicked off toward the kitchen.

She will, what?

****

Two hours had passed since the Guardians left to do their thing and protect the town. After giving up ten minutes into the latest episode of her favorite vampire brothers—even they couldn’t hold her attention tonight—she’d gone in search of something to do.

If only her mind would relax. A jumble of thoughts raced around competing for airtime, but only one thought stood out from the rest and kept screaming in her head: Take the leap and move in permanently with Raven. The idea had sprung in her mind during dinner and refused to disappear. Not wanting to freak out Raven, she’d pushed the thought aside to work through later.

But it wouldn’t go away. The voice constantly whispered in her ear, egging her on.

As a last resort, she’d grabbed her unfinished novel and settled into an armchair in the sunken living room, facing a warm and cozy lit hearth. Despite the soft leather, she couldn't get comfortable. She twisted and turned in every position conceivable, but each new pose irritated her restless body further, her mind unable to concentrate on the words, and she ended up reading the same sentences over and over again. Switching chairs made no difference. Eventually, she'd ended up where she was now, on the rug in front of the crackling fire.

But now, she was too hot.

Ugh!

Her cheeks burned as they faced the flames. Her knitted top itched as if made of sandpaper and every movement scratched at her hypersensitive skin. With a huff she gave up, shoved in a bookmark, and slammed the book closed on the wooden floor beside her.

What to do? What to do?

She pushed the urge to move in with Raven permanently out of her head. Clearly, she struggled with his absence after spending twenty-four-seven with him over the past week and a half. Maybe she should text him to say hi. No, he would take that as a sign she needed him to come home. Since being here full-time, Raven’s protectiveness hadn’t eased one little bit; in fact, it had increased. He kept going on and on about needing to keep her safe from the Fallen and that her Chosen soul was a prized bounty—which she wasn’t too keen to know. A couple of times, she’d heard him mumble something about Fate recalling her soul, whatever that meant. It wasn't like she was unsafe at the mansion. How could she be with all the protection spells Raven told her about? Plus, there was always one Guardian who stayed back…

Raine! Tayla jumped up from her spot on the floor and dashed off in search of Raine. A girly chat would cure her restlessness for sure.

Tayla caught Ellen in the hallway, running the vacuum over the rugs. “Hi, Ellen.”

Ellen smiled and pressed the red button on the vacuum with her foot, instantly silencing the noise. “Good evening, Tayla. Is the vacuum disturbing you? I can move to another area if you like.”

“What? Oh, no. No, the noise isn’t bothering me at all.”

She smiled. “What do you have planned for the evening?”

Ellen was easy to adore, in a sweet grandmotherly kind of way, with her immaculate hair in that fresh-out-of-curlers look. She’d changed since dinner, and now wore a simple black long-sleeve dress that reminded her of something out of the 1930s.

Come to think of it, all the clothes Ellen wore reminded her of the ’30s.

“Tayla?” Ellen prompted.

“Sorry, what? Oh, yeah, sorry, I was a mile away. I wondered if you knew where Raine was?”

Ellen nodded. “Of course, dear. She's down in the armory.”

“Oh great. Thanks, Ellen.”

“If you're going to see her, would you like to take some refreshments?”

“Yes, that would be great.”

Ellen moved the vacuum to the side against the wall and hurried off down the hall. She returned few minutes later with a tray full of all kinds of delights.

“Thanks so much, Ellen.” Tayla turned away, then realized something. “Ah, where exactly is the armory?”

“It’s in the basement, dear. Would you like me to show you?”

“No, no, that’s okay. You’ve done enough.” She smiled. “They're lucky to have you looking out for them.”

“You included, Tayla. And you are most welcome.” Ellen slightly bowed her head before pressing the red button on the vacuum to resume her duties.

Tayla gripped the handles of the tray tightly in her hands as she descended the stone staircase, determined not to have the two sodas fall, resulting in a fizzy explosion when opened. Curving around the last corner, a solid metal military-style door came into view. Tayla sighed with relief.

How did Ellen make it look so easy?

While balancing the tray, she thudded the bottom of the door with her foot. Ouch! Note to self, if it looks like solid metal, it’s probably solid metal.

Several clicks sounded like a code punched in, followed by a clunk as the lock disengaged. Raine pulled open the door, wearing a leather one-piece machinist apron.

“I come bearing refreshments.”

“Good timing.”

Raine took the tray from her and motioned for Tayla to enter.

She straightened her arms, and flexed her fingers to revive the circulation.

Tayla heaved the door closed and jumped as the lock automatically engaged. She gaped at Raine. Did she just lock them in?

“Don't worry; you can get out.” Raine slid the tray down on a nearby work bench and snatched a can of soda. It hissed as she opened it.

No explosion. Phew. One crisis averted.

“You been down here yet?” Raine asked, taking a sip.

“No.”

Biting into a sandwich, Raine strolled to the far end of the basement, motioning for Tayla to follow.

Raine explained all the ins and outs of the various contraptions. Tayla’s mind boggled at the extraordinary setup, and the fact Raine made—forged—weapons out of water. From a freaking fountain connected with the Heavens.

After a brief tour, Raine placed the plate with her remaining sandwich at the end of the long bench and carried on with her work. Tayla settled on a stool across from Raine, fascinated by the routine of cooling, hammering, heating, bending, cooling again.

Raine wasn't much of a talker so Tayla filled the silence with random ramblings, basically anything that flowed through her mind and out her mouth.

Which, right now, happened to be all about moving in permanently with Raven.

“And so, I want to surprise him and drop my key off. For good,” she mumbled, examining her uneaten sandwich.

“Yup,” Raine replied, neither agreement nor disagreement while removing a crystal-looking blade from the chamber.

No help at all.

“I've basically moved back anyway…”

Raine held the blade on the workbench and slammed a hammer along the length. Bang! Clank!

“…and the thought of being with him permanently…feels right.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Ugh! She wasn’t even listening. “Raine?” she raised her voice.

Raine paused and peered across the workbench at her. “Tayla. Just because you're a fragile mortal does not mean you can't go out and take what you want.”

“Okaaaay. Does that mean you think I should move in permanently?”

“I thought you already had,” she said with a deadpan expression before banging the long, thin, silver dagger-looking thing on the table in front of her.

Raine thought she already lived there permanently? She hadn't been back to her cabin since Raven had his episode, and EJ had collected her stuff from the cabin while she’d been at Raven’s bedside. Plus, she had thought about how things felt right staying at the mansion, being with Raven, being a part of this house. And she knew Raven would approve.

What did she have to lose? Her pride? Yes. Her heart? Also, yes. But she had so much more to gain. She grinned. Never again would she run from a measly fox or fear the immortal world Raven lived in. Instead, she was going to embrace it.

Tayla jumped off the stool. No longer able to suppress the urge to cut ties with her old, boring life. She would take control and start a new, fresh and exciting one with Raven.

“I'm gonna go drop off my key to the cabin. I won't be long.”

Raine froze mid-bang. Tayla spied her jaw flex on either side, as though she counted to ten in her head, trying to simmer a temper. “You should wait for Raven. Do it tomorrow.”

“It's only down the road. I'll be back in an hour, tops.”

Slowly, Raine shook her head.

“Come on, Raine,” she whined. “I can’t get the idea out of my head. It’s driving me crazy. It’s like a compulsion or something making me do it. I have to do it tonight, otherwise, I’m going to run around the mansion pulling my hair out.”

“Nope. Raven will have my wings when he finds out.”

“So…don't tell him.”

As soon as it came out of her mouth, she knew it was a stupid thing to say. She wanted to surprise Raven, but she couldn't keep it a secret from him and she sensed Raine wouldn't.

Raine rolled her eyes, as though impatient for the conversation to end. “You need to call Raven and tell him you're going first.”

“Deal.” She grabbed her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. “I'll text him now.”

“That's not what I said.”

She tried to hide her grin. “I know.”

****

Tayla rolled her eyes as her phone rang not even a second after she’d sent the text to Raven.

Raine stared at her, a raised eyebrow and an “I told you so” expression on her face.

Damn it.

Tayla turned her back to Raine to answer the phone. “Hey, Raven.”

“Tayla, listen, I know you want to go and I want nothing more than for you to move in permanently, but can’t it wait until tomorrow? I’ll take you to drop your keys off first thing in the morning.”

“I’ll be an hour, tops. I’ll be careful and keep car doors locked the whole way.”

“Locking the doors isn’t what I’m worried about, honey. It’s late. Plus, you won’t be able to spot the turnoff on your way back.”

She needed some of Raine’s badass confidence to win this battle. “Yes, I know it’s late, but it's just down the road. I promise not to pull over for anything and I'll take note of the turnoff when I get out on the highway. I'll remember it. Please, Raven, I feel like I have to drop them off tonight.”

She tuned out when Raven started listing all the reasons it wasn’t safe for her to be out at night unprotected. She was losing the battle.

Wait. Unprotected?

Raine peered up from the dagger in her hand and a lightbulb clicked on in Tayla’s brain. She met Raine’s gaze; she wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

“I'll take Raine with me,” she blurted out. “That solves the location and safety points. So…you good with that? If she comes with me?”

She heard Raven’s sigh through the phone. Yes! “Put Raine on for a minute, will you?”

Tayla passed the phone to Raine. “Raven wants to talk to you.”

Raine snatched the phone and put it up to her ear. “Yup.”

Gee, now would be a good time to have immortal hearing like the others. She practically bounced on her toes at the thought of closing that chapter of her life and beginning a new one…with Raven.

Raine shook her head, and with her free hand, resumed smooth upward strokes with the metal file. “Nope. I'm busy here.”

Tayla leaned closer and whispered to Raine, “It won't take long, I promise.”

Raine glared at her. “No can do.”

“Please, Raine.”

Raine held the phone away from her ear to address Tayla. “If I say yes, will you stop whining?”

Tayla squealed. “Yes.”

Raine pressed the phone back to her ear. “Fine. I’ll take her…Yup…got it.”

Raine handed the phone back to Tayla and she put it to her ear.

“Tayla, I want a text when you get to the lodge and another when you’re back safe. Straight there and straight back. This isn’t negotiable.”

“Deal.”

“Listen to Raine and…be careful. I don’t like this idea one little bit.”

“It feels right, Raven. You don’t need to worry, we’ll be back in no time. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Tayla disconnected the call and shoved the cell phone back in her pocket. “I'm going to run upstairs and grab my coat. Meet you in the garage?” she asked Raine.

Raine sighed heavily. “Yup.” She rattled off the code for the door, sliding her tools neatly into the leather satchel before rolling it up and securing it with a tie.

Tayla raced out of the armory.