than pleasant at the moment, Drina froze, but if it was bad, Harper didn’t seem to care. When he deepened the kiss, she sighed and allowed him to ease her back on the bed.
“Geez, guys, really? Right there in the bed beside me?”
That husky growl from Stephanie made them both stiffen, and then Harper straightened, bringing Drina upright with him again. They turned to peer at the girl together.
“How are you feeling?” Drina asked quietly, as Harper released her.
“Thirsty,” Stephanie said on a sigh, sitting up as well and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“Blood thirsty or water thirsty?” Drina asked at once.
Stephanie hesitated, and then sighed and admitted, “Maybe both.”
Harper immediately stood to return to the cooler and brought back a bag for the girl, only to pause. “We don’t have straws. Mirabeau was just stabbing the bag and letting it pour down your throat.”
Stephanie immediately tipped her head back and opened her mouth, apparently willing to go that route to get what she needed. When Harper hesitated, Drina realized what the problem was and stood to take the bag from him. He had no nails. She did. She positioned the bag over Stephanie’s mouth and quickly stabbed the bag, then squeezed to force the liquid out more quickly as the teenager swallowed over and over.
“More?” Drina asked when it was empty. When Stephanie paused to consider, but then shook her head, Drina tossed the bag in a garbage pail that had been positioned between the two beds, picked up a second glass of water from the bedside table, and offered it to her.
“That was some crash,” Stephanie muttered as she accepted the glass.
“The brake lines were cut,” Drina said quietly as Stephanie took a drink.
“Nice,” the girl said dryly, and glanced to Harper. “So who have you pissed off besides Drina?”
“He didn’t piss me off,” Drina said at once, and when Stephanie snorted, added, “Well, perhaps I was a bit frustrated after we returned from Toronto when he seemed to be avoiding me, but I wasn’t pissed off. . much.”
Harper chuckled and slid his arm around her. “Well, don’t worry. I’ve come to my senses. I won’t be dragging my feet or avoiding you from now on, so you won’t be pissed off or frustrated again.” He smiled wryly, and added, “At least not about that.”
“So you’re ready to accept her as a life mate?” Stephanie asked with a grin.
“Do I have a choice?” he asked dryly. “She just is.”
“Hey! You’re blessed to be my life mate,” Drina snapped, punching him in the stomach for the crack, and with more than just a teasing force behind it.
Harper winced and shook his head. “I don’t know. A lifetime of your fiery Spanish temperament? I think it’s more a curse than a blessing.”
“Don’t listen to him, Dree,” Stephanie said with amusement. “He’s just winding you up. It used to bother him that Jenny was such a cold fish. He likes your passion.”
“Really?” Drina asked with interest, but her eyes were on Harper, noting the way his eyes had widened with surprise, as if he’d just realized the truth of those words himself.
“Oh, good, you’re up.”
Drina glanced over her shoulder to see Mirabeau entering the room.
“How are you two doing? Do you need more blood?” Mirabeau asked.
“I think we’re good at the moment,” Drina answered for both herself and Stephanie.
“How about food then?” Mirabeau asked. “Alessandro and Leonora brought a big batch of spaghetti and a bunch of garlic bread for everyone, and we’re going to eat before we start Tiny’s turn.”
“Is there Parmesan cheese?” Stephanie asked.
“Freshly grated,” Mirabeau assured her.
“Yum.” Stephanie was off the bed at once and hurrying for the door.
Smiling wryly, Drina started to follow, but slowed, her smile widening when Harper caught her hand in his. It seemed he’d meant what he’d said. He’d come to his senses and wasn’t going to fight their being life mates.
Drina paused at the head of the bed in Mirabeau and Tiny’s room, and then glanced around to watch the rest of the crew file in. There was Mirabeau and Tiny of course, Stephanie, Anders, and Teddy Brunswick, and then came the people she’d never met until little more than half an hour ago-Alessandro and Leonora Cipriano, and Edward and Dawn Kenric.
Alessandro and Leonora, both olive-skinned and sporting long, dark hair, were similar enough in looks that they could have been brother and sister, but a brother and sister would never find any and every excuse to touch each other. Nor would they look at each other the way these two did, devouring each other with bronzed brown eyes full of love and desire.
In contrast, Edward and Dawn Kenric were fair-skinned and fair-haired. They were also more conservative in behavior. They still shared the same touches and exchanged passionate looks, but only when they thought no one else was looking.
Harper had told Drina that Edward had been the most arrogant, annoying bastard he’d ever known, until he met Dawn, but that finding her had changed him considerably, and he now actually called him a friend.
Altogether, what they had was a small army in that room, Drina thought grimly as she took in their numbers. That being the case, she wasn’t terribly surprised when Tiny suddenly said, “Surely it isn’t necessary for all of you to be up here? Shouldn’t some of you be downstairs watching the doors and windows?”
“Most of us will go downstairs once your turn is under way,” Edward said, reminding the mortal of what they’d apparently decided earlier. “Then we’ll take turns watching over you until it’s finished.”
“Yeah, but why are so many here for the start?” Tiny asked with a frown. “We don’t need this many people, surely? Even little Stephanie here could probably bench-press me with one hand.”
Seeing the distress on Mirabeau’s face, Drina said, “Maybe, but you’re a big guy, Tiny, and pretty strong for a mortal. Once the nanos hit, you’ll be even stronger. And in pain. .” She shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid but thinking they’d be lucky if he didn’t toss someone out a window in his distress.
“Don’t worry, son. It will be all right,” Leonora Cipriano crooned and moved over to hug the big man and pat his back as if he were a five-year-old who needed soothing.
Drina glanced to Harper in question, and he murmured, “She’s eighty-six or thereabouts, just turned the summer before last.”
Drina nodded with understanding. The woman might look twenty-five now, but in her head, she was still the grandmotherly old woman she’d been before her turn. To her, Tiny was just a boy.
“Well, let’s get to it,” Teddy said bracingly, as Leonora released Tiny and stepped back to Alessandro’s side.
“Right.” Tiny glanced to Mirabeau, and seeing the worry on her face, reached out to caress her cheek. “It’s all right, Beau. By this time tomorrow, it will be over. Or maybe the next day,” he added with a frown. “Marguerite told me that different people take different lengths of time to turn.”
“That’s true,” Harper murmured.
Tiny nodded and glanced around. “So, you’ll need some rope, right?”
“All taken care of,” Kenric announced. “We brought chain. Speaking of which, we left it in the garage. I’ll go get it.”
“Chains?” Tiny asked, eyes widening as the Englishman hurried out of the room.
“Si,” Alessandro began, nodding. “The Lucian, he say is best we-”
“Rope is sometimes used, but chain is better,” Leonora interrupted, slipping her hand into her husband’s and giving a shake of her head when he glanced to her in surprise. She then turned back to Tiny, and added, “They used rope for me and I snapped the tie on my right wrist before the end of the turn and I was just an old woman, so when Lucian suggested chain, it seemed a good idea.”
“Right,” Tiny repeated weakly, but he was starting to look a bit gray around the gills, and Mirabeau was beginning to wring her hands with worry as it was brought home to her what a dangerous endeavor the turning could be.
Edward hadn’t dallied about collecting the chain. Leonora had barely finished speaking when he returned with several lengths of heavy-duty chain made up of large, thick links. Even Drina had to bite her lip when she saw it. An elephant would have had trouble snapping them.
