“Are you all right?” he asked, his whole body trembling that he could have killed her. How the fuck did he lose control of his bike so easily? He thought back to the last job he was at with a poltergeist who played tricks on the house it haunted. Sonofabitch!
Shock blanched her face, and she pushed herself up, groaning, so he lifted her by her armpits to her feet as she weighed next to nothing. Her lips twisted, and she shoved him aside. “You almost killed me, you idiot! Why were you driving like a psycho? And why would you ride a motorcycle in winter?”
Gunn wiped a hand across his mouth, guilt chewing his resolve. Her brother had called him in a panic, insisting he come over right way and check on Cyra. There was dread in his voice over the phone like she had already been in trouble, so he did what any best friend would, he raced over. Hurting Cyra was the last thing he’d wanted when his intention was to protect her.
“I was at another job near my place, saving a possessed teen, but I think the bastard demon messed with my brakes. They snapped right in front of this house as my tires skidded on a patch of black ice.”
She tilted her head, studying him, the bridge of her nose creasing. The sight had him grinning because he’d seen the look before. The numerous times he’d been over to Chase’s place and she’d been there, she’d worn that look whenever she’d been telling her brother to back off and stop being so overprotective.
“That’s why you roared down the street from miles away,” she stated in her matter-of-fact voice.
Laughter bubbled in his throat. “Honey, it took me forty-five minutes to drive here. And I just avoided a crash with a car that had lost control and almost collided with me.” He moved over to his Kawasaki Vulcan and shut off the ignition. His insides curdled at seeing her red fenders scratched. And he’d just had her serviced. The tires had marked up the building, leaving black streaks across the brick. Looked like he was spending next weekend fixing his bike.
Leaning over, he checked the brake lines. Something had definitely chewed on them all right. Goddamn demons. Next time he crossed paths with one, it would pay.
Footfalls followed him. “Don’t call me ‘honey.’ Why are you here? My brother sent you, didn’t he?”
He straightened, rubbing his lower back, which ached from the earlier fall, watching Cyra pace in a circle. “Gorgeous” didn’t come close to describing her. There was a sense of classic beauty to her with her ivory skin and those stunning high cheekbones. His gaze settled on her pouty lips. Didn’t matter how many times he told himself to forget Cyra, she radiated something that called to him, an irresistible temptation he couldn’t get out of his head. She wasn’t flawless, because he had caught the slight limp in her walk. At first, he’d thought her injured, but Chase had told him she’d fallen off a swing as a child and broken a leg. But to Gunn, that made her unique and adorable.
Still, it was her shyness that undid him… Well, at least the shyness she exhibited whenever they bumped into each other. She would always look away, her cheeks blushing before she made a hasty retreat. But he never made a move on his friend’s sister. It was their rule, even if he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head for the past month since first meeting her.
Now she seemed a different person entirely. Fiery and ready to rip his heart right out of his chest. And hell, if he didn’t admire this side of her.
“Ass! I told Chase I was fine. But no, he had to send his macho friend over to check on the helpless girl.”
Gunn picked up his lasso, then clicked the button on the base of the weapon. The loop retracted into the rod. He jammed it onto his belt. “‘Macho’ isn’t how I’d describe Chase or other hunters.”
She glared his way, stealing any words away. “Yeah, right, so he sends you, who almost gets me killed. Great move. Don’t need a babysitter.” She tucked her long hair behind her ears and dusted the snow off her pants.
Yep, he shouldn’t have come on this mission. But the moment Chase had mentioned Cyra, Gunn’s mind had turned to mush. That spelled trouble, because Chase had already warned his friends to stay away from his sister. Hands off, unless it came in the form of looking out for her. That he could do. In fact, that was exactly what he was doing now: make sure she was okay, help her complete her first job, and head home. Since he’d first met her at Chase’s place, his insides had tightened. No one had ever affected him that way. He’d initially put it down to forbidden attraction—lust, crazy stuff. Yet over time, he realized it went deeper than that for Cyra. Her innocence, the care she showed when she patched up the hunters if they got injured, and her past called to him. She’d lost her parents at a young age, just like he had. Well, in his case, he was a loner. Still, Cyra might have her brother, but nothing compared to losing family and feeling alone in the world.
Fuck, he didn’t know why he let her mess up his head.
Plus, he’d noticed her stolen glances when they’d bumped into each other at Argos, and at Chase’s house. She always brushed him off. Perhaps she wasn’t interested, as indicated by the evil stare she was currently giving him. So he’d keep his distance. No flirting or imagining her naked. Nope. Hell, too late for the latter.
“And look what you did to this family’s house and yard,” she whispered loudly, glancing toward the front door.
Gunn shrugged. “Argos has insurance.” He patted down his jacket, which was sprinkled
