| |
His teeth chattered as if it was below freezing, but the cold didn’t penetrate our crystallized skin. I crossed and put my hand on his shoulder, the shakes gripping his muscles sending waves up my arms and when he glanced up at me, I saw the depth of his relief under the annoyed glare.
“I didn’t know,” I said, trying to diffuse him.
He took a breath that expanded his chest and he stood, towering over me. “Well, now you do,” he said and stormed away.
I trotted after him, catching up and matching his stride.
“So, what next?”
“I have two deer to clean,” he said.
“That’s not...”
He interrupted me, swinging into my path. “I know that’s not what you were asking and just as soon as I’m done, we can talk about what’s next, but for now, I’m going to do something normal and mundane before I step back into the save-the-world mode.”
He got right in my face, the biting anger sparked in his eyes and my hands clenched. I wanted to hit him, and at the same time, I wanted to kiss him. The juxtaposition of opposite emotions rippled through me and I reached out, pulling him to my lips.
My hand laced into his thick hair, forcing him to stay in place, to kiss me back even though he tried to break my grip. It took a few seconds and then I found myself wedged against a tree, his kiss hot and deep and his hands already yanking my shirt out of my pants.
He broke the kiss and glared at me, his hands freezing before they found my skin. “You are infuriating,” he whispered and stepped away.
His brash attitude sparked the frustration in me as well and I stomped past him in the direction we were heading without another word. Truth of the matter was, at that moment, if we had dropped to the forest floor, I would have let him take me.
I guess living through an encounter with an archangel made me just a wee bit reckless. I should be glad Damian stopped, but for some reason, it just fanned the flame in the middle of my body, tightening my muscles. His silent denial burned my skin as I imagined the sun would.
The flap of wings filled my ears and I didn’t have a chance to turn completely before the talons grabbed my waist, lifting me off the ground and speeding me to the entry of the garage where the two gutted deer carcasses lay. He dropped me and I landed in a crouch looking up at the graceful curve he made in the sky above. He didn’t stay and transform like I expected, instead, he let out a loud and intimidating screech before swooping up and diving into the woods like a bullet.
I stared at where he disappeared, my heart leaping into my throat as his warning call penetrated my mind. I took an indecisive step toward the woods and stopped to listen, closing my eyes in concentration. Battle sounds reached my ears and my gaze snapped open. I reacted, letting my savage heart take control.
The sight of a demon wielding a knife in Damian’s direction ripped a snarl from my throat and I lunged through the air, my teeth tearing right through the bone, severing the arm holding the knife. I slid to a stop on four large white claw-clad paws and turned, aware that I was no longer in human form, and the fear I saw in Damian’s expression matched that of the demon. I snarled and attacked, ripping the demon’s head from his body in one snap of my jaws. It rolled away and I sank my teeth into the decapitated body, shaking it back and forth. My battle cry bounced off the trees and I tossed the body away, turning my gaze to Damian.
He stood frozen to the spot and I approached, adopting a more casual gait. He stared at me and I rubbed against him, bringing my gaze to his. His fear transitioned and he dropped to a squat, taking my head in his hands.
“Naomi?” he whispered and I chuffed back, leaning into the fingers that scratched gently behind my ear.
The scent of his blood filled my senses and my gaze dropped to the slash in his shirt, the blood soaked edges of the fabric bringing another panic attack. This time when I reached for him, it was my beautifully manicured hand that touched him. He still held my head between his palms and he tilted my chin up.
“I’ll be fine,” he said and glanced toward the demon before bringing his gaze back to mine. “We need to go before more of them come.”
I nodded and we both stood, sprinting toward the house. Damian hung the deer up in the large walk in refrigerator at the back of the garage and locked the door, before leading me inside.
The atrium was dark and he crossed, placing his hand on a spot on the wall behind a large plant. A light filled the room, scanning his palm and I cocked my head in his direction.
“I’m the only one that can get in right now,” he said to my quizzical gaze.
The mural slid on hydraulics, revealing a metal door. Damian swung it open and gestured for me to head down the stairs. I didn’t hesitate and at the landing below, I glanced up in time to see him punch a combination. The whir of the hydraulics sounded until the scenery above locked back in place.
Damian unbuttoned his shirt as he descended, wincing as he pulled the fabric away from the skin. When he reached me, he peeled the shirt off his shoulders and stared down at the nasty welt traversing his chest. He sighed and met my gaze, his mouth working but no words came out.
“What was I?”
He laughed. “A massive Siberian tiger,” he said and led me into the living room. “And you scared the shit out of me.”
“But my paws were white.”
“Yes, a White Siberian,” he said and sat on the couch. “It is by far the biggest and rarest of all the wild cats and you dispatched that demon like he was nothing more than a giant stuffed animal.” He met my gaze. “Maybe you should be the one teaching me things instead of the other way around.”
I smiled at the awe in his eyes. “Do you need me to get anything for that?” I pointed at his chest and he looked at the seeping scar.
“I guess I should get cleaned up,” he said and stood, heading out of the room without further comment.
The shower went on and I looked around the room. Last night’s escapades down here were a blur and I wondered if it would be like that every day. I do remember the carnal electricity between the two of us and my gaze traveled over the murals landing on one that made my heart stop.
It was a winter scene with a white Siberian tiger crossing a meadow and a hawk soaring in the sky.
I turned crossing the expanse and stepped into the bathroom. “You painted those murals?”
He turned his head toward me, looking over his shoulder and away from the pulsing spray of the shower and his eyebrows rose. “What?”
I crossed opening the glass door. “The murals?” I asked and my gaze couldn’t help but wander down to his hard smooth ass. I felt the smile and blinked, looking back into his eyes.
“What about them?”
“You painted them, right?”
He nodded.
“You painted us,” I whispered and his gaze traveled toward the door, the crease between his eyes deepened and then it smoothed and his eyes widened returning to mine.
“The tiger,” he said.
“And the hawk.”