The Adversary
Page 12
“We’ve only got one bath area set up,” he told her, as he followed her. “And I’m afraid it’s a bit primitive. Liam constructed the shower—it took him a couple of hours. There are slats underneath that you can stand on so the water can run through, and wooden sides for privacy. There’s warm water.”
“How?”
“The Demonkind encampment had some solar heating camping bags they could spare. You fill the bags up, set them in the sun, and when the water’s warm, you can hang the bag on a hook and use a nozzle for a spray. Like I said, primitive, but effective.” He shook his head. “Technically it doesn’t follow the rules, since the bags are made of plastic, but since they already brought them in I decided we should make use of them.”
“I love it, I love all of it.” It was all completely different from the things that had furnished Hell House, new and even luxurious, and filled with a sense of their new community. Turning back to him, she beamed.
He smiled. “The guards are here too. I had them set up a ring of tents some distance away. But, we should be a bit quiet if we want to be private. If you want to cook something yourself, you’ll have to grill over an open fire, but otherwise we’ll have meals delivered. There’s food waiting for you in the ice chests.”
“I want all of it. Honestly…” She bit her lip as she confessed, “Hell House was wonderful. It really was, and so thoughtful, but I hope you don’t mind. I think I like this better.”
His smile deepened. “I think I like this better too. It will do very well for now. I enjoy the sound of the waves.”
“Me too. Okay, I have to get clean now.” She hesitated, looking at the baby.
“Go,” Dragos told her. “I’ve got him.”
She was still very tired, so she showered, washed her hair, and brushed her teeth with the spare economy of someone who wanted to go horizontal as soon as possible. She didn’t ache. The seraphim had been too generous for that. But she was looking forward to a good night’s sleep in Dragos’s arms.
After showering, she used two mirrors to check the back of her head. For something that was so painful, there actually wasn’t that much hair missing, just a chunk low in the back. She was pretty sure nobody would be able to see it when her hair was dry. And her hair grew fast.
She slipped on an oversized T-shirt meant to fit Dragos and in her new nightgown shimmied happily to the bedroom area. Rich patterned pillows and blankets covered a king-sized mattress.
Dragos lay stretched out, Niall resting on his chest. He rested with his eyes closed, but as she approached he opened his eyes and looked at her. He gave her a slow, sexy look. “Looking good, lover.”
Hop. Ta-da. Jazz hands.
Laughter suffused his expression. “Holy gods, I love you, woman.”
She fell to her knees at the edge of the bed and crawled toward him. “I might be kinda crazy about you too.” He lifted one muscled arm in invitation and she gladly cuddled against him. “I want to be on vacation. Can we just live in a tent by the water and be on vacation for a while?”
He exhaled slowly, eyes narrowed as he contemplated the roof of the tent. “Let’s negotiate. Define vacation. By the way, Liam’s going to stay for a couple of weeks until he can fly back to the crossover passageway on his own. He’s out enjoying the beach party now.”
“Yay for us, and good for him!” She bit back a yawn.
“And the sentinels stayed to help us for a couple of hours, more to socialize than anything else, but then they had to go back to New York. They said they had been gone long enough and to tell you they were sorry they didn’t stay to say goodbye.”
“Totally understandable. I heard them talking about reports and investigations. I’m sure we’ll see them again soon.” She yawned again. What would a vacation mean to Dragos? And how much could she wiggle out of this negotiation? “I want to go swimming with you, and I want to make love under the stars. I want to look up from a good novel and see you relaxing.” She rolled her head on his shoulder to look at his hard profile. “But I also don’t want you to feel trapped into doing nothing. Just—let’s have fun.”
What was she even trying to say? She pushed her lower lip out and pinched it with her fingers. Nation-building, managing different factions of the community, dealing with politics, breaking up the occasional fight between demesne representatives, building their permanent palace high over the water—all of that was fun to Dragos, and this whole land was his playground.
“Maybe I just miss you,” she confessed. “Maybe I want your whole attention on me for a little while. I guess I’m not over what happened.”
“Pia, it’s only been over for a minute. Of course, you’re not over it.” Moving carefully, he set the sleeping baby to the side. Then he rolled over onto her, pinning her with his weight, and laced his fingers through hers and looked deeply into her eyes. “I always miss you. I never stop thinking about you or wanting you. It doesn’t matter what else is happening. You’re always at the forefront of my mind. I never knew what loneliness was until you came into my life and taught me what it was like to love someone.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I can’t stand it when you go too far away.”
“I can’t stand it either.” He kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her mouth, her throat. “I hated that stupid little pup tent.”
A snort exploded out of her nose.
He gave her a lopsided smile. “But I do know now why you did it. Thank you for knocking Liam and me together.”
“Well, I didn’t know if it would work. And my shitfit was sincere.” She sniffed and raised her head to kiss his collarbone. “But you’re welcome.”
He stroked long, hard fingers down her torso and slipped them underneath the end of the T-shirt. He was a master of fire, raising it along her skin wherever he touched, and she gasped and arched as it pooled between her legs. “A week. Just you, just me, and the baby. And Liam whenever he wants to be with us. How does that sound?”
“It sounds heavenly,” she whispered. She let her fingers dance across his skin. “Late breakfast, cups of coffee in the shade.”
“Naps,” he said against her breast. “Very quiet naps, so no one else can hear….”
“Yes, please.”
“Morgan and Sidonie are going to stay for now. He and Graydon are going to supervise the excavation of the rest of the sinkholes, just to make sure there aren’t any other dangerous artifacts.”
“How lovely for them, but they need to leave our bedroom now,” she told him.
His chest moved in a chuckle. “I only meant that doesn’t need my attention.”
“Oh, I see! Well, then, I approve.” She slipped one hand between them and unbuttoned the waist of his khaki shorts. “What else do you want to tell me, my love? I want to hear everything you have to say. For years, and decades, and centuries upon centuries.”
“Everything I have to say will be I love you, just in different words and different languages, for the rest of our lives.”
Two “I love yous” in one night. That was quite a bonanza from Dragos, who didn’t say the actual words very often. Gleefully she hugged them tight.
“I am the richest, luckiest woman in the world,” she whispered.
Gently he parted her legs and pulled open his shorts. His beautiful cock spilled out, turgid and large. She took hold of it with both greedy hands, and he hissed. Then he eased inside her and they rested together that way for a while. Lowering his head, he breathed in her breath, exhaled into her mouth.
Sharing breath, sharing life. And when they moved together, it was the oldest, most primal, best dance in the world.
Everything was in motion. Nothing stayed the same.
She paid homage to it.
And how they danced.
Epilogue
The dragon flew into New York and landed at the top of Cuelebre Tower. Striding down to the penthouse, he poured two scotches. He left one on the table, took one for himself, and walked over to the ceiling-high windows to look out ov
er the city. The lights of New York at night were endlessly fascinating.
This was his city now. His to claim, his to rule. His birthright, given to him by the father who had killed him. And he would rule it with such savage efficiency the whole world would take note.
The penthouse door opened and closed. He didn’t look around. There was only one person who knew he was here.
“Thank you for coming,” Liam said.
“You’re welcome,” Azrael replied. Liam watched Death’s reflection as he picked up the glass of scotch and sampled it. “How’s life after death?”
Liam finished his scotch and set the glass aside. “It’s something to savor.”
“And how are you feeling about what happened?”
He turned. Azrael watched him, his green gaze inscrutable. “I feel chagrined, to be honest. No matter what I did, or how I fought, I could not shake Senusret’s grip on me.”
“Try not to take it too hard. Senusret had a vast amount of experience in committing his crimes. Not very many people could have shaken him off.”
“My father did.”
“Your father is—exceptional, and far, far older than Senusret was. And even some of the first generation of the Elder Races might have fallen prey to Senusret’s machinations.”
“I will never fall prey like that again,” Liam said. “And that brings me to why I asked you here.”
“I did wonder.”
“I want you to teach me everything you can. Every spell, every trick, every way there is to kill somebody. Nobody will take this city from me. And I figured there was no better person to ask than you.” Liam’s hard blue gaze was rock steady. “Will you do that for me, Uncle?”
Death smiled. How nice to be asked to participate in the development of the next generation.
“Sure,” he said. “Why not?”
Thank you!
Dear Readers,
Thank you for reading The Adversary! I hope you enjoyed returning to Dragos and Pia as much as I enjoyed writing them. They have been two of my favorite characters of all time, and they’ll always occupy a special place in my heart.
The Adversary is the conclusion of the story events that started in The Unseen. My plans for this story have changed considerably from when I first started writing it, but I am pleased with how it unfolded and hope that you enjoyed the additional time you were able to spend with Dragos and Pia, and their family.
Would you like to stay in touch and hear about new releases? You can:
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Please take a few moments to post an honest review of the story. Reviews help other readers find the books they like to read. I appreciate each and every review, whether positive or negative.
Happy reading!
~Thea
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