the stove. She also found some crackers to go with it. As she stirred the soup, she thought about their next step. The first thing was to find a vehicle and get back on the road. Getting to Quinn was even more important than before. Because someone obviously didn’t want that to happen. This was the second attempt on her life. Well, both their lives.
She’d thought the first attempt, at her house, had been the demon Sallos’s doing, but now she wasn’t so sure. What if someone else wanted to stop her from finding Quinn? It obviously wasn’t the Crimson Hall Cabal. No, they wanted her to get to Quinn so Ronan could take the key for them. So, if not them, then who?
“Smells good.”
Ivy swung around to see Ronan leaning casually in the kitchen doorway. He’d slipped on a pair of pants, but forwent a shirt. And she couldn’t stop herself from gobbling up his hard pecs, flat stomach and the dark line of hair that arrowed down to the waistband of his pants. Her fingers itched as she remembered tracing a seductive trail down that path.
“It’s mushroom. All I could find. There was tomato but I hate tomato.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He came all the way into the kitchen and sat at the little two-seater table.
Ivy turned off the stove, and then poured the soup into two big bowls. She set the bowls down on the table along with spoons and the box of crackers.
She expected him to pick up his spoon and start eating, but instead he stared at her expectantly. She stared back, not sure what he wanted her to say. It wasn’t like she’d had a lot of experience in morning afters. She usually didn’t sleep with men. She’d had sex, but she’d usually kick them out afterward. It was interesting that sleeping beside Ronan had been more intimate than any of her prior sexual escapades.
After another minute, Ronan sighed, then picked up the spoon and began to ladle the soup into his mouth. He grabbed a couple of crackers, crushed them into the soup and continued to eat. She followed suit, until a few minutes later they both had empty bowls.
He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “So I figure we need a vehicle.”
“I was just thinking that.”
“There’s a small barn in the back. I’ll check it to see if there’s anything that’s useful.”
She nodded. “We need to get back on the road as soon as possible. That second attack tells me that we are on the right track to Quinn.”
“I know.” He pushed back his chair and stood. He left the kitchen and returned to the den, she assumed to put on a shirt and his boots. After another minute, she heard the back door open and close.
This gave her time to go back into the den, get her boots and gear—and her mind—back together. Nothing was going to get accomplished with her fantasizing about Ronan’s body and remembering how it felt as he filled her tight. She had to put her mind where it needed to be: on finding Quinn. Nothing else was important. No matter how much her body told her otherwise.
Ronan marched across the back lawn to the barnlike building. Anger made the muscles along his jawline jump. He supposed he shouldn’t have expected anything other than the cool reception she’d given him. It wasn’t like she was going to prance across the kitchen floor and fling her arms around him to kiss him. It was just that he thought maybe something had changed last night, was hoping that something had shifted between them.
He didn’t want it to be just sex between them. He wanted more from her.
But wanting more from the ice-queen demon hunter was a lesson in futility. It wasn’t going to happen. And he had to get that through his head. He was a means to an end for Ivy. And that was all he was ever going to be.
The door to the barn opened easily and he stepped in. It smelled of mildew and old hay but also had the unmistakable odor of motor oil. He smiled when he saw the vehicle barely visible in the shadows. He hoped it would run.
He approached the car, a two-door Ford T-Bird, running his hand along the old hood. The windows were cranked open and he peered inside at the dark leather interior. He smiled again. He really liked old cars. This one was a classic and it looked like the owner took real good care of it.
“Is it drivable?”
Ronan swung around to see Ivy standing in the open doorway. “Looks to be in good condition.”
“Can you hot-wire this thing?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah, no problem. It’s a lot easier to hot-wire old cars compared to new ones. All I need is a screwdriver.”
She moved along one of the workbenches, searching the surface for tools. She found what he needed, picked it up and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed as he took it. There was an electric jolt between them.
Ronan’s eyes came up and locked on hers. “Ivy, maybe we should—”
“No need to talk about it.” She went to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Last night was more than just sex.”
She didn’t deny it, just stared into his eyes.
“I think we should talk about it.”
She shrugged. “Why? What does it matter? Does it change our plans?”
“No.”
“Then why can’t we just leave it be?”
“Because it matters.” He tugged her closer to him. “You matter. I want you to know that in case, you know, anything happens.”
“Fine. I know it. Thank you.”
He wanted to shake her. She was so exasperating. He leaned down and covered her mouth with his. He kissed her hard, snaking his tongue between her lips, tasting her, possessing her.
She moaned into him, fisting her hands into his shirt. She gave just as good as he did. Trading stroke for stroke, nibble for nibble. They kissed until they were both breathless.
Ronan pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
She was silent for a moment, but he could tell she was thinking, considering her next words. She sighed, and then said, “Fine. You matter to me, too. There, are you happy now?”
He pulled back and smiled, then chucked her chin. “Yup.”
She shook her head at him. “Great. Now get this car running and I’ll go get our gear. I want to be out of here in the next ten minutes.”
He saluted her. “Yes, sir.”
She turned on her heel to leave, but he saw her grin before she exited the barn.
True to Ivy’s command, they were back on the road within ten minutes. Ronan had easily hot-wired the old T-Bird and they were cruising down the main road in the baby-blue car. Ronan was grinning the whole time, clearly enjoying the fact that he was driving the classic car.
She couldn’t care less. It was a vehicle and it would get them from point A to point B. Point B being, hopefully, where Quinn was located. She almost felt frantic now that she was so close. This was the best lead she’d had on his location in the past three years. Everything else had been rumors or mistaken identity.
She was still trying to decide the first thing she was going to do when she saw Quinn again. Either hug him or punch him in his pointy chin. Right now she was still fifty-one, forty-nine, the former being the punch.
If only it was that easy with another man.
She glanced briefly at Ronan. He’d made her admit something she wasn’t quite ready to cop to. But his kiss had been fierce and it had pulled at something inside her. It had been more than a lusty punch in the gut; it had tugged at her heart. Just a little, mind you. But it was enough that she couldn’t ignore it.
And the feeling wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. Especially since she was still saddled with the cambion for another few days at least. Once they found Quinn, then what? Would he go his own way? She hoped
