My cheeks heated because his jibe reminded me of the changes to my body, the curves that had appeared overnight, and the pain of the curse that had started months ago.
“Fine. I’ll be more careful.”
He opened his eyes and speared me with fire. “I did what was right.”
I swallowed hard and nodded because that dog, that poor dog, had a right to live too. On impulse I reached up to caress his cheek in apology. His breath exploded from his lips in a sharp exhalation, and then his eyes fluttered closed. Physical contact that people took for granted was a rarity between us. My chest tight, I trailed my fingers across his forehead, stopping at the base of his horns. They’d grown over the past month, from nubs of around three inches to almost twice the size. They curved away from his face, smooth, beautiful, probably lethal. My fingers ached to touch them, to know what they felt like, and on impulse I did just that. Tentatively, reverently, I ran my fingers over their bony ridges.
Azazel’s body tensed and a low moan escaped his parted lips. Something inside me leapt at that sound, pouncing on it like a cat chasing a dapple of sunlight. I curled my hand around the horn, caressing its length and running my thumb over the blunt tip.
A growl vibrated in Azazel’s chest, low and hungry and deliciously terrifying. Heat pooled in my belly, unfamiliar yet strangely compelling.
His eyes snapped open and this time there was only darkness, obsidian and devastating. My breath hitched and my heart stuttered. This was something new, something primal, something I wasn’t ready for. His hand whipped up to grab my wrist, and he wrenched my hand away before vanishing in a swirl of shadow.
He appeared across the cave a moment later, his back to me, shoulders heaving.
I’d done something wrong. “Azazel?”
“Don’t ever do that again.” His voice was alien, harsh and guttural, and real fear skated up my spine to grip my scalp with lethal talons. “Promise me,” he demanded.
I’d hurt him. I’d hurt him by touching his horns, and it had felt good to me. My stomach roiled with nausea. “I promise.”
* * *
“Anya? Anya, I’m hungry.” A small hand patted my cheek and sweet breath ruffled the hair at my crown. It was a familiar tiny hand, one I’d woken up to find tangled in my hair on more than one occasion.
Gemma patted me again. “Anya.” Her tone was soft and plaintive.
“Okay, okay, I’m up.” I yawned and opened my eyes, buying time to figure out what the heck I’d be feeding them for breakfast.
“Gemma, you want a biscuit?” June held up a cloth bundle. “I packed some of your favorites.”
“The oaty ones?” Gemma’s face lit up in anticipation.
“Yep,” June said.
Gemma scampered off toward the big sister offering to feed her.
I mouthed thank you over Gemma’s tousled head and June shot me a smile. I loved these kids, but if it were left up to me to remember to feed them three meals a day they’d starve. The whole maternal thing just wasn’t in my genes. June, on the other hand, was a natural. Neddie followed Gemma over to June, but Stefan remained curled in a ball. That tyke would sleep forever if allowed.
At fifteen, June was the oldest of the kids. Then Stefan, who was ten, and finally the six-year-old twins, Neddie and Gemma.
Helgi threw some dried beef my way. “Chew on that and get your arse in gear. Vesper seems to think we can make it to the Furtherlands by nightfall if we move all day.”
“What about fuel?”
“Half a tank,” Helgi said. “But with you guys in the air we should be golden.”
I pulled back my hair and straightened my clothes. Azazel wasn’t nearby. Now that he was free from Illyrian’s enchantment, I’d have sensed if he were, so, where was he? My heart lurched with panic. What if he was gone again?
“Anya? You all right? You’ve gone all pale.” Helgi scrutinized me with hawk-eyed regard.
“I’m fine. Just tired.” I glanced across at the mercs standing near Vixen, passing around a water bottle.
Azazel would be fine. He could handle himself. “Where’s Vesper?”
Helgi jerked her head to the east. “He said there’s a watering hole that way. He took the rest of the water bottles to fill up.”
So, he was in human form again. Hopefully that meant he was mostly healed. “I’ll go check on him.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
I needed to tell her about Azazel. Keeping another secret from her was not an option, but I needed to get Azazel’s okay first.
“I’m fine. Get loaded up; we’ll head off as soon as I get back with Vesper.”
The watering hole was more a lake than a hole and only a quarter of a mile away, if that, but Vesper was nowhere to be seen.
Shit.
Wait. Were those clothes heaped on the ground? Yep. Vesper had to be close by, and he was naked.
My skin pricked and then the water in front of me erupted, spitting out a bronzed Adonis. Vesper swept his wet hair off his forehead and stood waist-deep in the water. Droplets skated over his taut, muscular pectorals and ripped abdomen before merging with the water that lapped at the tantalizing V between his hips.
Look away, dammit. Look away.
“Eyes up, voyeur,” Vesper drawled.
Shit. I focused on his amused face. “Okay, exhibitionist, was it really necessary to go skinny-dipping right now?”
He snorted. “I needed to wash the stench of smoke from my skin.”
“Seriously, you’re a dragon. Doesn’t the stench of smoke come with the territory?”
He strode toward me, and the water level dropped sharply. Fuck. I turned my back quickly but not quickly enough, and... Oh. My. God.
“It doesn’t mean I have to put up with it,” Vesper said. “Besides, water is healing to my kind.”
It was? Well, that was a new piece of information and kinda contradictory because fire and water didn’t mix. The rustle of fabric followed. Thank
