Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(49)

I wanted to kiss him because Neil being out here and involved in some flick watching was perfect. He would still be able to hear me if I yelled, but his senses weren’t what they used to be. Since he stopped taking Daniel’s blood, he’d become more of a regular wolf than the superpower he had been. I wondered if it hurt him. I knew he’d been proud to be so strong. Now Zack was the one taking the vampire blood and reaping the benefits. As for Lee, he was a freak of nature and didn’t need anything to help him out. I bet it bothered Neil to be the weakest in his pack.

Danny knelt down. “Sarah says she needs me. God, I hate the magic crap. Give me something to behead any day of the week. I love you, Z. I’m going to fix this. I’m not going to let Dev die on us. You get some rest. I’ll tell you what we find out in the morning.”

I nodded and let my arms wind around his broad shoulders while he kissed me soundly. Dev was right behind him. When Danny left to join Sarah, Dev scooped me up and started to carry me toward the bedroom. “I’ll be right with you,” he said to the group. “I want to tuck my goddess in and say good night.”

Declan snorted. “I will bet that is what you want to do. Take your time, brother. I will do your part while you say good night.”

Dev pushed through the door and carried me to the bed. He crawled in with me. His eyes practically ate me up. “I love you, Zoey. I will fight this. You know I will, don’t you?”

Those stupid tears were back, clouding my vision. “I know. I love you, too.”

“But if anything should go wrong…”

“Don’t.” I didn’t want to hear any of it.

He put a finger on my lips to silence me. “You should know this. If anything goes wrong, I have a will filed on our plane. Albert has all the information on the attorney. It leaves everything to you. Daniel knows where all the money is. He knows how to run the businesses or he knows who to call. He can handle everything, but you will be well provided for.”

“I just want you.” I didn’t care about the damn money or the club or any of it. It wouldn’t mean anything if he was gone.

He pushed me back onto the bed. “I know. But I want you to be happy, Zoey. I want you to go on with Daniel and I want the two of you to raise this baby if anything should happen to me. Now get some sleep and before you know it we will be crawling into your bed and begging you to do all manner of dirty things with us.”

He kissed me and pushed himself up. I was suddenly in the presence of Bris. His eyes and demeanor changed faster than I had ever seen it.

“Goddess, I have only a moment while my host is disoriented,” he explained. “I am not foolish. I know you plan something with the Hunter. I know him well and he would not have spoken with you had he not intended to use you. I won’t tell my host. I know you seek to help him, but be careful with the Hunter. He isn’t evil but he is a predator.”

“I have his oath that he won’t harm me,” I said.

Bris nodded. “Excellent. He won’t break an oath. Good luck, goddess.” He went still for a moment and then his smile was sweet. I knew that Dev was aware now. “I have no intention of leaving you either, goddess. I will do whatever I can to keep my host healthy. You have my vow.” He leaned over and kissed me, running his hands over my nipples and making me wish we had more time. “Sleep well,” he said before walking out.

I frowned after him. Every nerve ending in my body was ready for more of his touch and he told me to sleep well. I was suddenly glad I had somewhere to be because I would never be able to sleep now.

Lying back on the big bed, I waited for the sounds in the outer room to die down. After a long while I heard Sarah say good night to Neil and the outer doors close. When I was certain Neil had time to retrieve his bit of home, I climbed carefully out of the bed and made my way to the small backpack I’d stored in the closet. I pulled out my cut-off denims and black tank top and, more importantly, my Nikes. I’d brought along a couple of articles of clothing from home strictly for comfort. I knew the denim would be an odd sight in this world, but it was better than running around in a dress I’d already tripped in once tonight. I wasn’t going gallivanting through the woods looking like a refuge from Shakespeare in the Park.

After getting comfy, I opened the chest at the end of the bed. It was stuffed full of Dev’s two favorite things—sex toys and weapons. I ignored the vibrators despite the awful state that mean old fertility god left me in and went straight for the guns. After I retrieved my Ruger, I found the cold iron rounds and loaded up, shoving an extra clip in my pocket. I didn’t care who knew I was carrying here since they didn’t exactly have a concealed handgun law, so I slipped a shoulder holster over my tank top. Never one to rely on merely one weapon, I strapped on two thigh sheaths for the knives I selected. One was cold iron because it worked like magic on faeries and the other silver because that worked on just about anything else. Once I pulled my hair into a ponytail, I was ready to go.

I was pulling the curtains shut in case Neil looked in on me when Barghest and Shuck popped their heads over the window sill. I put a hand to my lips and the dogs stayed silent. As quietly as I could, I threw a leg over the opening and suddenly found myself in Herne’s strong arms. He lifted me to the ground and had a smile on his face as he steadied me. “This is an interesting costume. It will make it much easier to move than your dress. Are you ready then, Your Grace?”