come this time. She loved it when he gave himself to her like this. It was like controlling a force of nature.
With a sigh, she rested her forehead on his shoulder and gulped in some much-needed air. His hand caressed the back of her neck, his thumb circling her spine. “See? Much better skin to skin.”
She reluctantly climbed off him. “We still haven’t talked.”
“We can do that while we eat.”
She headed back to the bathroom and heard the knock on the door that heralded the arrival of their food. The tantalizing smell of barbecue made her lick her lips and hurry to clean up.
When she emerged, Vadim was uncovering plates on the small table and setting out silverware and water glasses. He was fully dressed in his shirt, tie and pants.
“It smells good. What did you order for me?”
“Ribs, curly fries and beans.”
“Really?” She smiled at him. “Does it come with a side of you lecturing me about my eating habits?”
“No, just eat.” He shook out his napkin and sat opposite her. “You need your strength.”
“What do you have?”
“Some grilled halibut, mashed potatoes and asparagus.”
“Of course.” She would’ve said more, but she was too busy devouring the ribs, scooping up beans and eating fries with her fingers. She’d probably need another shower after this. Vadim would be amazed...
“How did you manage that?” She gestured at his clothing. “You love having a shower. I can’t imagine you got dressed without one.”
“It’s an old Fae spell.”
“Can you show me how to do it?”
“If you wish. But eat your dinner first. We’re running out of time.”
“We still haven’t talked.” Ella pushed open the door into the hospital and Vadim walked through beside her.
“It’s difficult to have a conversation with someone eating ribs with such gusto.”
She stopped and faced him. “Don’t you want to discuss our relationship?”
He pressed a hand to his heart. “Words every male, both human and Otherworld, is just longing to hear.”
“But you said you wanted to talk!”
He sighed. “And you’ve been avoiding me all day. Why now? What do you want, Ella?”
“It’s more a question of what you want.”
“I want you. That’s it.”
“But what about the logistics? What about where we’re going to live, how often we see each other, what we tell our friends and family, or colleagues?”
His expression tightened. “You’re so fucking contrary. At one moment you’re pushing me away and telling me not to get in your space, the next we’re setting up home together?” He shook his head. “You’re the one who seems to have the problems with this, not me, so why don’t you work it out? If you don’t want me at your place in Tiburon, what do you want? Should I stay in the city and you can just join me at my hotel when you can’t do without the sex?”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, Ella. You know that.” He started walking again, his last comment thrown over his shoulder. “When you work out how I’ll fit into your life, let me know.”
She let him leave, her heart stuttering, her breath uneven. Didn’t he understand? She
He was waiting for her by the door, his head lowered, his gaze averted.
“I’m sorry, Ella. I keep forgetting that for you this is an extremely difficult transition.”
She stared at his blue-and-yellow tie until the pattern blurred into a swirl of dots.
After a long moment, he sighed and held open the door. “Shall we go up?”
She forced the words out of her mouth. “Will you come with me to my parents on the weekend?”
He hesitated, one hand braced against the frame. “If you want me to.”
“Yeah.” She swallowed hard. “You can use your charm to distract my mom from complaining about me.”
His smile made her feel loved, which was ridiculous. “I’d be more than happy to do that. Let’s go and check on Brad Dailey.”
As Vadim approached Brad’s room, his Otherworld senses came to high alert and he studied each person in the hallway with all his unique abilities. Beside him, Ella reached for her weapon. Delia sat by the door, but she didn’t look up as they approached, her gaze seemingly fixed on some pleasant faraway memory. Vadim touched her shoulder.
“Delia?”
She didn’t respond. The kick of Otherworld magic hit him hard.
“Ms. Walsh, get out of the way.”
He didn’t wait for Ella’s indignant reply, just pushed in front of her and tried to force the door open. Dark magic shot up his arm, making him clench his teeth. If a human had touched the handle, the person would probably be dead now. He focused on the door and pushed the power back out, turning the spell on itself and blasting through it. Inside, someone was screaming like a wounded animal.
“Ella, call security!”
The room was in chaos, the bed halfway across the floor. Brad was no longer sedated or secured to the gurney. He stood on the windowsill, his scarred face free of bandages and contorted in agony.
Vadim held out his hand. “Mr. Dailey, calm down. Whatever is wrong, we can fix it.” As he spoke, he sent calming magic toward Brad, but he appeared to be impervious to it.
“I’m a
“It’s not that bad. Your face can be altered again. We’ll find the best plastic surgeons in the world to work with you.”
He heard Ella and someone else approaching down the hallway and motioned for them to stay put at the door. He advanced toward Brad, still holding out his hand.
“Please get down, Brad.”
“You’re fucking lying! That SBLE doctor said plastic surgery wouldn’t work! That I’d be like this forever!”
He swung his fist and it went right through the glass with an ease that surprised Vadim. Cold air rushed through the hole, and the rest of the window simply gave way, sending slivers of glass exploding in all directions. Even as he instinctively covered his eyes, Vadim was moving forward. He grabbed for Brad’s skinny, tattooed ankle, but Brad slipped from Vadim’s grasp, throwing himself forward into the night.
Vadim came down hard on his knees and shards of glass pierced his skin. Why hadn’t he been able to keep hold of the man? What malign magic had held him at bay? From below came the sound of screaming and the wail of an ambulance. He pushed himself upright and looked out of the window. Brad lay sprawled on the unforgiving ground just in front of the ER, surrounded by a cluster of people who were either running around like ants or looking up and pointing.
“Are you okay, Morosov?”
He looked over his shoulder to see Ella advancing cautiously toward him.
“Stay over there, Ms. Walsh. There’s glass everywhere.”
She ignored him and came across to his side. She looked out of the window.
“
