by Bonnie Vanak
“Let’s talk,” he said quietly and she followed him to the kitchen.
He poured a fresh mug of coffee and handed it to her. “Black, right?”
Keira nodded and leaned against the counter.
“First, let me apologize for my friend. Stephen’s not very social in the morning. He’s more of a night owl.” His expression shuttered. She couldn’t tell what he thought.
He could want to kiss her again.
Or kill her.
Acid churned in her throat at the suspense. She set the mug down. “Spill it, Dale. What did he tell you?”
“He says you have demon blood inside you. A strong strain of evil demon blood.”
Oh, damn, this was worse than she’d thought. Everything inside her screamed to tell him the truth. But the cold look on his face and her fears kept her from doing so. She couldn’t face his rejection or worse if he knew the truth now.
I’ll level with him. Just not now, she thought.
“I must ask you some questions.” He walked over to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair. “Please sit.”
Keira sought refuge in a defensive attitude. “Interrogation time? After everything I’ve done, you’ve decided to treat me like a suspect? Or are you simply going to assume I’m guilty?” Bristling, she sat, fisting her hands beneath the table to hide their trembling.
Dale sat across from her, his expression neutral, but his posture commanding and powerful. “I don’t assume. But I want honest answers.”
Warily, she looked at him. “Go on.”
“Are you demon?”
“No.”
“Was either your father or your mother a demon?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been possessed by a demon?”
“No.”
“Have you ever held an evil thought about killing another and acted upon it?”
She considered. “I wanted to kill that ass who ran me off the road when I was driving to Virginia.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. You should have seen how I nearly wrecked my bike.”
“Keira, do you have demon blood inside you?”
Sharp, concise and commanding, Dale had turned from friend to a powerful military commander. The scrutiny made her squirm, lashed her with guilt and despair. Not now, she thought. Please, not now.
The best defense was offense, she remembered him saying while they’d watched a war movie the other night. Keira sprang to her feet and slapped the table, making the vase with fresh roses rattle.
“Damn it, Dale! I told you my parents were killed by demons and I’ve been hunting demons all this time, risking my hide to eradicate them. That vampire smelled demon blood, of course he’d smell it, after all the contact I’ve had with them!”
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t move a muscle. Dale remained still, his gaze penetrating and assessing. No emotion. The Mage was rock-solid.
While she was rapidly turning into an emotional mess.
“I want you to take a blood test.” He drew in a deep breath. Okay, maybe not such a rock. Hope filled her.
“A complex blood test that analyzes your paranormal abilities and determines exactly what you are.”
Keira stilled. “A test that will tell you if those abilities include demonic powers.”
“Yes.”
“No.” She shook her head, strands of hair tumbling down from her loosely pinned bun. “You talked of trust with your men, trusting them and how you created this bond. And you won’t share that trust with me, after we’ve worked together, fought together! Is your loyalty only to your team because they’re SEALs?”
“My loyalty is to the men and women under my command,” he said quietly, but a shadow crossed his expression.
“And I’m not on the team, not good enough to claim your loyalty and trust. Just good enough for making you dinner, a few fun nights out and movies shared with popcorn. That’s all.”
“Keira...”
The roses he’d presented to her with such a flourish seemed to mock her with their bright crimson and sweet fragrance. Crimson like blood...
With a strangled cry, she swept the vase off the table, sending it crashing to the floor.
Dale sprang up and ran to her, placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “Did you cut yourself?”
Why? Hoping to get a blood sample to analyze?
But she shook her head and wrapped her arms around her chest. “I’m going to my room now. Please, leave me alone,” she said dully.
He did not respond as she sped down the hallway.
* * *
She couldn’t hide forever.
Nor could she avoid him.
An hour later, she headed into the backyard. Picking up her spade, she dug in a frenzy and planted the remainder of the hydrangea bushes. Keira touched a leaf. Living things, those would ward off demon magick.
If only they could ward off other things, like distrust and suspicion.
He had a right to be suspicious, she reminded herself.
The sliding doors opened. Dale climbed down the deck steps and knelt beside her.
“I’m sorry I upset you,” he told her. “Allow me to make up for it with lunch?”
Suspicion filled her. Dale Curtis was a single-minded man.
“Why? Are you dining at a blood bank?”
“No. I do wish you’d level with me, though.”
“I leveled with you as best as I could.” True enough. “And now you want to take me to lunch?”
“I’d like to get to know you better.” Gray gaze steady, he studied her.
“More interrogation? As a navy SEAL commander questions a suspect?”
Dale sighed. “I want honesty from you and I’ll be honest with you in return. I like you, Keira. A lot. I like spending time with you, as a man does with a woman. It’s my day off. Let’s abandon our roles. No more SEAL commander, no more Luminaire.”
Understanding filled her. “And if I am a demon, the more time you spend with me, the more you’ll be able to tell what I am.”
“I know you don’t like worms in your food, so that’s a good start.” He smiled, then sobered. “No talk of blood, tests or demons. It’s Sunday, my day off, and it’s a beautiful day. I’d like to spend the afternoon with you. Thought we’d eat out and then bike ride at the beach.”
Tempting. She sighed. “I never learned to ride a bike.”
“You ride a motorcycle. Not much difference. I’ll teach you. You can learn this afternoon.”
“How hard is it?”
Impish light glinted his eyes. “They say it’s like sex. Once you do it, you never forget how.”
Chuckling at her blush, he touched her hand. “Come on. When you’re finished, have lunch with me. Let’s spend the afternoon having fun.”
“As long as there’s no demons in the restaurant.”
* * *
Dale chose a crowded diner by the beach. The diner’s other patrons were mostly navy personnel, some uniformed, crammed into the mulberry-colored booths near the window, or sitting on stools at the counter. The air was warm, and smelled of grease and fried food.
In a forest-green polo shirt that hugged his wide shoulders and khaki shorts that displayed long, muscled legs, Dale looked handsome and athletic. Every hormone within her sat up and saluted.
“It’s safe here. Nothing to worry about except clogging your arteries,” he assured her. “My men checked it out. Just burgers and sandwiches, though.”
Keira dipped a French fry into a lake of ketchup. “Good. I’ve lost my appetite for Italian. I’ll take a heart attack any day over meeting another demon.”
She wanted to tell him the truth. Maybe here, in the open where he couldn’t risk a meltdown. Or take out his gun and shoot her.
Two sailors perched on stools at the counter kept glancing at them and whispering. Dale’s jaw tightened. She caught the words commander and injured badly and back on duty.
Anger stirred inside her. Couldn’t he enjoy an ou
ting without everyone looking at him as if he were a specimen on display?
Keira pivoted and fixed a cold stare on the sailors. “Yo, Popeye and Bluto, want to quit ogling me? I know I’m cute, but this obsession of yours has to stop. I’m with this guy. Go chase Olive Oyl.”
Red-faced, they turned back to their meals. Dale gave her a brief smile. “You don’t let much faze you.”
“Just demon worms in my meal. Forget them. Tell me about being a SEAL. What kind of training does it require?”
He told her about BUD/S, the intense program all recruits entered to qualify as SEALs.
“Drown-proofing,” she murmured. “Sounds difficult.”
“It’s actually a good skill to learn for anyone who lives near water.”
“Do you dive a lot with your team?”
Dale’s expression shuttered. “Not me. I’m a commander, and I usually don’t accompany my men on missions.”
“Your missions require a lot from you.”
“Honor is our code. Death before dishonor, like many military branches. We believe it and live it.”
Keira gulped down her iced tea. “It also sounds very rigid and unforgiving. Mistakes are made. Can you ever forgive a big mistake?”
Dale looked surprised. “Of course. Mistakes are how we learn.”
“What about from someone who isn’t a team member? Could you forgive a betrayal from your family?”
“My team is my family.”
“Someone not your family, a friend perhaps.”
His mouth compressed into a firm slash. “Doubtful.”
Her own resolve wavered. She couldn’t tell him the truth, not now. Later, she promised herself. Dale would know the full truth.
They left the restaurant, drove to a public beach and parked. Dale retrieved the two shiny bikes he’d placed in the truck’s bed. After walking their bikes to the sand, they stopped at the shoreline.
“The sand, not the boardwalk?” she asked.
“Too crowded. You need space. These are mountain bikes, with wide tires. They’ll suffice.”
Keira looked down at the bright blue bicycle he’d borrowed from a neighbor and made a moue of distaste. “I don’t know about this....”
“The only way to learn is to get on. And if you fall, you fall on sand. Less injury.” Dale held out a hand. “Just like I showed you back home. You can do it.”
Keira depressed the ringer on the silver bell adorning the handlebars. Dale lifted his dark brows.
“Stop stalling.”
“I’m not stalling. Bells keep demons away.”
“You expect them to come racing along and knock you off your bike?”
“Nope. Figure I can do that all on my own.”
“Get on and start pedaling. I’ll be right beside you.”
* * *
Dale rode nice and slow, although he itched to speed down the beach at breakneck speed. Beside him, Keira wobbled precariously. Suddenly she hit a patch of loose sand and toppled over, crashing onto the sand. He stopped, concerned. Churning waves washed over her legs. “You okay?”
Sitting on the wet sand, she grinned. “I wanted to fall. Because I needed to know what it feels like.”
His heart kicked up a notch. Damn, she was so cute. His gaze dropped to those terrific legs, the sexy curve of calf and thigh. He wondered what it would feel like having those legs wrapped around his hips as he thrust deep and hard inside her....
Then she splashed the waves curling around her body. “Wow, this is great. Forget the bike ride. Let’s swim!”
After unfastening her sandals, she ran into the ocean and dived straight in.
Retrieving her bike, he parked it. Transfixed, he watched her frolic in the ocean as if this, too, were a new experience. Never had he met such a fascinating woman who embraced life and didn’t shy away from the unknown. Keira had a sense of adventure that refreshed his jaded soul.
Desire pumped through his blood as he watched her splash in the ocean, chortling with delight. Such energy and passion. Would she be like this in bed, tumbling with him in unbridled sensuality? Melissa had been cold and stiff, lukewarm at best.
With Keira, it would not be screwing, but making love. Slow and tender, and other times, hot and abandoned.
His hands tightened on the bike’s handlebars. And then he realized she had dived into the waves and had not emerged.
Panic clawed at him. Dale kicked off his shoes and ran into the water. He dived down, ignoring the stinging salt in his eyes, searching for her with all his senses. Then he spotted her hovering on the bottom. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and tugged her to the surface. The current turned wicked, wanting to drag them out, but he used all his strength, swimming parallel for a while, then aiming for shore in deep, strong strokes. When he hit bottom, he stood, righting her.
Like a mermaid, Keira twisted her long, dark hair and wrung out seawater. She looked as insouciant as if she’d emerged from a bathtub.
All the water made the white shirt transparent. He could see the outline of her breasts and the darkness of her nipples through the fabric.
Sexual frustration and anger bit him. He put his palms on her slender shoulders, feeling fragile bones beneath her skin. “What the hell were you doing down there?”
Wide green eyes stared at him. “Drown-proofing. You said it was a good idea for everyone who gets near water.”
His mouth dropped open, and then he began to laugh. Dale cupped the back of her head and lowered his forehead to hers. “You nutcase. You’ll be the death of me, scaring me like that.”
He lifted his head and studied her. Droplets clung to her long, dark eyelashes. Her emerald eyes glimmered like wet jewels. So sweet, and oddly naive and yet savvy, Keira was food for his jaded appetite. He couldn’t resist that mouth, warm, soft and glistening.
Dale kissed her, losing himself in the sensations, not caring that he was a navy commander on a public beach. Not caring that she’d waltzed into his life and spun him out of control.
Not caring about anything except the sweetness of her mouth, the hesitant flicks of her tongue against his, the richness of her fragrance.
Not caring about the demon blood surging through her veins...
Damn it. Breaking the kiss, he drew in a deep breath, noting the flush of passion tinting her cheeks, the confusion and desire shading her eyes. “Let’s get back to riding.”
This time, he remained behind her as she pedaled, her movements assured and confident now, her wet hair trailing behind her in the breeze. Dale concentrated on shoving aside burgeoning feelings for this pretty Luminaire. He was a navy commander first. His duty to his team came before romance and relationships.
But deep inside pinged a familiar ache. He was falling hard and fast for this woman.
And if she were a demon, he didn’t know if he could stand it....
He would find a way to test her blood. Somehow.
Chapter 17
Tuesday dawned sharp and clear. Keira rolled out of bed and jumped into the shower. Dale had already left for work. But when she came into the kitchen to grab coffee and a croissant, she spotted his neat, crisp handwriting.
Be at the base at 1100. The admiral will be finished with his tour by then and I’ll arrange a personal meeting.
He signed it Dale. And added a small smiley face.
The smiley face eased her nervousness.
In the mirror, she studied her appearance. The sleeveless floral dress was light and breezy, and the green and yellow contrasted well with her dark hair. A matching green sweater made her look more presentable for a visit to the navy base.
Dale left the keys to his Jag sitting on the breakfast nook. She adored driving the car, listening to its smooth purr as she accelerated. Heart beating hard, she drove to the base and at the gate, presented her ID.
The base was huge, intimidating, with hulking buildings that screamed military power. Keira tried to calm her racing pulse. She followed the directions Dale gave her and pulle
d up to the fenced compound housing ST 21. The sentry checked her ID, glanced at her with curiosity and waved her through.
After she parked, Keira left the Jag, keys jangling in her hand. The weight of several eyes rested upon her.
Electronic eyes. Cameras were posted around the compound’s entrance.
A concrete walkway, flanked by bushes, wound up to a steel-door entryway. Keira took a closer glance at the bushes and saw more cameras planted in the middle.
She waved at one.
At the door, a uniformed guard opened it before she could press the buzzer. Keira glanced at her watch. “You’re late. I expected someone to come out the moment I left the car.”
The man grinned, looking less severe and more boyish. “Sorry, miss. Would have, but the commander gave express orders to meet you at the door and not strong-arm you.”
“I’ll bet he did,” she murmured as he escorted her inside.
They passed through three locked doors and a series of security checks, including a metal detector. As the sailor escorted her down a hallway to yet another steel door, she joked, “Didn’t think you needed a metal detector here, with all the X-ray eyes under Dale’s command.”
The sailor flashed another grin. “The stuff up front is all show-and-tell for brass. Don’t need it.”
After they cleared the last steel doorway, they met with Dallas, one of Dale’s SEALs. Dressed in green battle fatigues, he looked harder and more lethal than the good-natured man who’d helped trap a demon inside the Italian restaurant.
Her escort bid her goodbye.
“Commander Curtis asked me to take you on a tour of the compound,” Dallas said.
“He’s not joining us? Too busy trying to make coffee?” she teased.
“Commander Curtis is on a conference call with brass in D.C., ma’am.”
Ma’am. Not Keira. The SEAL did not crack a smile. The man who’d jested in Dale’s basement had vanished, replaced with a military-erect professional. Keira swallowed hard. So different from the casual, friendly jesting she’d experienced.
Down a long hallway they walked as Dallas explained about the compound’s importance to the team.
“We train daily, on-site and off, when we’re not deployed. Air, close-quarters combat, diving, marksmanship and more. Training is essential to our survival.”