her shoulder. “Why don’t you see if you can find Vadim and make sure you both come in to work tomorrow by nine.”
She met his gaze. “I’m sorry, boss. We really fucked up.”
“We’ll go over it tomorrow with the rest of the team and work out what we can do next.” He turned her toward the door. “I’ll take care of things here. You get some sleep.”
He seemed remarkably calm, but then he hadn’t been the one directly responsible for the security of the patient. What a mess they’d made of everything. She found her backpack under one of the chairs, then picked it up. Her shoulder and knee hurt from hitting the floor too hard, but that was the least of her problems.
She checked her cell. There were no messages, only the realization that it was four o’clock in the morning and she had to find Vadim. Her skull felt as if someone had tried to take it apart with a pair of rib spreaders and no anesthetic. It was hard to sense anything through her pain.
He was hurting too. But where was he? Back in his hotel? She focused in harder. No. Then where?
She felt him staring at the sea. He was definitely on the other side of the bay. But how was she supposed to get there at this time in the morning?
She found a quiet spot near the elevators and made sure her backpack was secure. Closing her eyes, she focused on her mate and willed herself to get to him. The slither of sand and pebbles against her knees and the smell of the sea crashed over her. She tried to right herself and ended up on all fours, with both hands buried in the scummy wet beach.
When she looked up, Vadim was sitting to her right on a large rock. There was no way he could’ve missed her ungainly arrival, but he betrayed no interest in her presence. That was good, right? She brushed the sand off her jeans and stumbled and slithered across to him. Luckily, the rock was large enough to accommodate them both, so she sat down.
It was a beautiful spot. Above them rose the steep cliffs of Belvedere. To the right was the picturesque nighttime sparkle of Sausalito and to the left the orange pillars of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city beyond. She drew in a slow breath. She usually forgot to appreciate what an amazing place she lived in. She risked a glance at Vadim’s profile. He looked remote and almost too pretty to be real.
“I’m not surprised you’re mad at me.” He didn’t react, so she carried on. “I should’ve been quicker to respond.”
“I’m the one who failed, and you damn well know it.”
“Morosov, I was there. I felt the power being used against you, against
“You don’t understand. I’m not supposed to be vulnerable, I’m—”
“You did your best, right?”
He said nothing, his mouth a hard line as he returned his attention to the spectacular view.
“You told me that sometimes Otherworld power is diminished in this world.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then isn’t that what happened to you? You’re still incredibly powerful. That’s why they still had to send everything they had against you?”
“I should’ve known what they planned to do. I should’ve realized that Adam was testing the extent of my abilities when he first turned up.”
“Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” She poked him in the arm. “Let it go, Morosov.”
“They killed her with my magic. That makes me responsible for her death.” He shuddered and Ella poked him again.
“Don’t be such a wuss. So they turned your own weapon on you. It happens. You still aren’t to blame. What I don’t understand is why they thought it necessary to demonstrate such power to achieve one death.”
He sighed. “Because they’re fucking crazy?” He stared out over the sea. “If I was in Otherworld, I could destroy them all.”
“But if you go back there, you’ll be executed.”
He looked down at her. “Who told you that?”
“Rossa.”
His mouth quirked at the corner. “That makes sense.”
“Are you intending to sit here all night?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Let’s go home instead. There’s food there, or at least I think there is.”
“I don’t have a home.”
This time she punched him much harder. “Oh, for God’s sake, lighten up, Morosov. Let’s go.”
She grabbed his hand, and the next minute they were in her kitchen, the lights were on and Vadim was delving into the fridge.
“You lied. There’s nothing here to eat.”
“Try the freezer.”
He complied and she looked over his shoulder as he surveyed her collection of saturated fatty goodness with an air of horror.
“Come on, partner, let yourself go for once. A Hot Pocket won’t kill you.”
“How about I make us an omelet?”
“If you can make it quickly, go for it. I’m starving.”
He took off his coat and jacket and loosened his tie. “Make some toast.”
By the time they’d finished eating, it was almost five in the morning, and the sunlight was beginning to filter through the gray, foggy skies.
Vadim stretched and rubbed his eyes. “I left my car at the hospital. We’ll need to get the ferry in the morning.”
“Or use magic.”
He almost smiled for the first time. “You like that mode of transport, then?”
“It’s pretty cool.” She waited until he set the dishwasher running and then took his hand. “We have to be at work by nine. If we use the ferry, we’ll get much less sleep.” She led him toward her bedroom. “We need our sleep.”
He already looked exhausted. Had the struggle with the Otherworld sect drained him so completely? Or was it more a case of hurt pride? Ella pushed on his chest until he sat on the edge of the bed. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt and then knelt to unbuckle his belt. His hand covered hers.
“You don’t need to do that. I can just...”
She bent her head and kissed the bulge of his cock. “I like doing it. Shut up.”
He sighed as she slowly unbuttoned his pants and drew down the zipper. Underneath, he wore tight blue cotton boxers that now strained to contain his growing erection.
“Nice.” Ella dropped a kiss on the crown of his wet cock, which had already escaped the waistband of his boxers. “Now, be quiet and let me concentrate.”
She helped him ease out of his pants, socks and shoes and then returned her attention to his cock, sliding her hand inside his boxers at the back to stroke and cup his awesome ass. His hips jerked forward.
“Ella...”
There was a note of uncertainty in his voice that she’d never heard before. She kissed his shaft through soft cotton that did nothing to hide the length and girth of him, nibbled at the dampening fabric until his hand clenched in her hair, demanding more, trying to direct her mouth to more needy places.
“Patience is a virtue, Morosov.”
His answer was a low growl in Fae that made her nipples ache and her lady parts ready for action. But this wasn’t about her. It was about giving him something she’d never attempted to give a man before...
Love, caring, support? She didn’t want to name it. That screamed of some sort of permanency or security or
That was it. Sex made everything better.
She slid her thumbs down the sides of his boxers and pulled them off. A birthmark in the shape of a black
