He nodded, even though Marian couldn’t see him. After I was abducted, how did things go at Britchett Falls?
The best we can figure is that when Margetta took off, her spell broke. Chase took his troops straight in and offed at least thirty Invictus. And you’ll be happy to know he had his men take those stupid wraith youths back to Wraith Island. None of them had actually completed the forging of the Invictus bond by the time Chase got to them.
He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Thank the Goddess for that. His gaze tracked Olivia. He was frowning, still in shock that he felt no pain. By all the elf lords, had a blood rose really come to him?
Please let Chase and Sawyer know that I’m good, but that I have something critical I have to deal with before I can get back to either of them.
Got it. And Mastyr?
Yes? He really didn’t want a show of sympathy, and he cringed waiting for it.
Whatever you’ve got going on, don’t fuck things up.
At that, he laughed and ended the conversation.
Having taken care of business, he turned his attention back to Olivia. The water seemed to be calling him as well.
He rose up and headed toward the ocean. Once there, he dove in, and it felt so good. The temp was icy cold, but his skin was on fire from having made love to Olivia and taken her blood. A swim was just what he needed.
As soon as she saw him, however, she headed the opposite direction. He gave her the space she so clearly needed.
He swam beyond the breakers and floated on his back, staring up at the stars. When was the last time he’d done something like this? And how strange to think that a couple of hours ago, he’d been battling the Invictus in Britchett Falls.
The needs of his realm threatened to fall on him hard again. But with a new issue to resolve, as in what to do with his newly arrived blood rose, he shunted everything aside just to give himself a moment to ponder the conundrum of Olivia.
He didn’t want the connection. After his wife had been killed, he’d promised himself not to get involved with another woman. But Olivia wasn’t just any female; she had the power to resolve his chronic blood starvation forever. And that was not a small thing.
He backstroked a few yards and floated some more, until he heard the wolf barking.
Lifting his head, he saw that she was at the shoreline, barking at him and pawing at the sand. His heartrate ramped up. What’s going on? Trouble?
No. I want you here.
Why?
Just come. She pawed the sand a few more times and added a series of stronger yips.
Curious, he swam swiftly to shore, catching a ride on a couple of waves until he could stand up and walk through the surf.
She sat on her haunches, staring up at him. But even in her wolf form, her gaze drifted all over his body, lingering more than once on his cock. Of course the cold water wasn’t helping a proper presentation, but she’d already seen and felt him so she could let her memory figure things out.
As he left the water and drew close, he was about to ask her again what was going on, when she charged him. She turned at the last second and nipped the back of his knee.
“Ow! Hey!”
She turned and spread her front legs, butt in the air, tail wagging.
Well, hell. She wanted him to play.
He took her cue and charged her back. She spun and took off on a hard lope across the wetter part of the sand, running as fast as she could. Some long-forgotten part of him awakened in that moment, and he ran after her, putting on some of his vampire speed.
But every time he thought he might catch her, she bounded thirty feet in the air, hit the side of the cliff with both back paws simultaneously, then bounded off in the opposite direction. She raced across the sand.
He’d b
een running so fast he could hardly catch his breath, but he didn’t stop. The chase had worked his blood up and he followed her, his lungs pumping to keep up with how much he exerted himself.
But he still couldn’t catch her.