Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(116)

“It isn’t hard when you know what to do.” I ran my hands through Daniel’s hair.

“He loves her,” Neil explained. “If he is given any kind of a choice, he’ll always choose her pleasure over his base instincts.”

Nim looked down at us with a tiny smile on her pixie face. “I want a vampire to bite me, Arawn. It looks like fun.”

Arawn’s smile was indulgent. “I’m sure if we survive the next few hours that Zoey would be happy to find a vampire to bite you, dear. You’ll more than likely find the experience pleasurable, and I would like to watch you.”

Daniel pulled away from me slightly. “Thank you, Z.”

“Do you feel better?” I asked, searching his face.

He leaned over and kissed me. “I’ll feel better when we’re away from this place. I feel stronger though. The death lord won’t need to kill me. I do want you to change your clothes as soon as possible. I don’t like you smelling like another man.”

“Then we should get moving,” Nim said cheerfully. “Chima will have lots of clothes for Zoey to wear. She’s close to your build. She’s probably at the palace with her father, but she always leaves some stuff at her country home as well.”

“Chima is King Angus’s daughter?” I asked as Daniel helped me get up.

The Hunter nodded. “She’s his only child and a great friend of ours.” He looked at Arawn. “I still think it would be better if I took Her Grace and pressed on to the palace.”

Daniel growled and shoved me behind him. Neil came to his side in a show of force.

“I don’t think the vampire will allow it, Hunter. He seems to have had enough emotional activity for the night,” the death god said. “Chima will have a way to contact her father at her country house. We’ll have to settle for that. This should all be over tomorrow afternoon. Now let’s move.”

Neil looked back at me. “I just climbed all the way up here and now I have to go back down?”

I looked at him with sympathy because I hadn’t been forced to climb and I would ride back down on Danny’s back. “Sorry, buddy.”

He shook his head as we began to descend. “When I get home, I’m going to hole up in the penthouse and eat ice cream and watch TV for a month. I won’t get off the couch. I’ll just sleep there, too.”

“I’ll be right there with you,” I promised as Daniel did his best impersonation of Tarzan.





Chapter Twenty-Eight





I woke up and stretched, feeling every pull in my muscles. The night before weighed heavily on me. I hadn’t slept well. Dreams of being separated from Dev had plagued me. We’d been gone for several days and I wondered if he was waiting for us to come back or if war plans consumed his every moment.

I glanced up, the daylight that filtered through the heavy curtains making everything seem a little gauzy and unreal. Daniel lay to my right, his handsome face relaxed in sleep though he made none of the little sounds or movements normal people made when they slept. Daniel didn’t move. He didn’t give off heat. I loved Danny, but I loved to sleep with Devinshea. He held me, moving beside me all night, keeping me warm and letting me know he was there. Daniel couldn’t hold me. If he tucked a hand around my waist, I wouldn’t be able to break free until he was awake. It was just another way we needed Dev to complete us.

I wasn’t sure what time it was but guessed it had to be afternoon. We’d managed to make it to Chima’s country house just before dawn. Country house was a misnomer. The place was huge and befitting the daughter of royalty. The staff had been asleep, but the steward had admitted us and given us rooms. They were apparently used to ascended gods joining the king’s daughter in the middle of the night. We’d been told that Her Royal Highness was in residence but had gone to bed and would receive us in the morning. They tried to separate Danny and me from Neil, but we had set them straight. Neil was asleep on my left side, his senses ever ready to take care of anything that came our way.

“Go back to sleep, Z,” he commanded when I sat up in bed. “It’s too early to get up.”

“Can’t.” I crawled out from between Neil and Daniel. I covered Danny back up with a comfy quilt. He didn’t need it, but it made me feel like he was more comfortable. My stomach rumbled the whole time. “I’m too hungry. Danny got to eat and I saw you chase down that little furry thing while we were in the forest. I need food. You can stay here, sweetie. I’ll just pop down to the kitchens and be right back.”

Neil huffed and got up. “Not a chance in hell. Maybe if we were home I would let you run around on your own, but here you just get into trouble.” Neil yawned widely and stretched his magnificent body. “Pass me my clothes. Yours are on the end of the bed. Apparently this Chima person is about your size.”

Chima’s style made me think Xena: Warrior Princess. I dressed in soft animal skin trousers, a linen shirt, and a matching vest. The clothes were functional, and they fit like they were made for me even in the chest. She’d even given me a pair of comfy boots. I was going to kiss Chima when I saw her. Neil and I were dressed in quick order and made our way down to the dining room.

This house was much more elegant than Arawn/Roarke and Nim’s cabin. The wood floors gleamed with care and at places were covered with finely woven rugs. There were paintings on the walls that told me Chima had spent her share of time on the Earth plane. She’d collected a couple of Picassos I suspected some museums would kill for. I was looking forward to meeting her. Nim was nice but spent too much time looking at my boobs to be counted as a girlfriend. If I managed to get along with King Angus’s daughter, that could only help Seelie/Unseelie relations.