Born in Blood (The Sentinels #1)(62)

“She’s terrifying,” he countered, giving an exaggerated shudder.

“You think I can’t be terrifying?” she asked, only partially teasing. “You haven’t seen me mad yet.”

Hmm. His gaze briefly flicked to the crimson flames of her hair. He’d already discovered the passionate nature beneath her facade of calm. He didn’t doubt for a second that included a temper that could flay him alive.

“And I don’t intend to,” he warned, brushing his thumb over the lush curve of her lower lip. “I am, after all, completely adorable.”

“What you are is full of shit,” she corrected dryly.

His bark of laughter echoed around the secluded alcove. “Possibly.” Ignoring the gazes from his fellow cops, which ranged from disgust to blatant envy, he steered Callie toward the path leading up the bluff. “Did she give you the name of a store?”

“Two. Victoria’s Boutique at the Plaza and the Paris Gallery in Independence.”

She easily jogged up the steep incline, the sway of her ass encased in the tight jeans sending a sizzling heat through Duncan’s body. Oh, he wanted his hands on the rounded derriere, preferably as she was riding him to oblivion. Or maybe while she was on her hands and knees as he took her from behind.

“Duncan? Is something wrong?”

Callie’s question intruded into his sinful fantasy, forcing him to realize that they’d reached the top of the bluff.

Damn.

He hadn’t responded to a woman with this sort of mindless lust since . . .

Since never, he was forced to concede.

Not even during his crazed, hormonal teen years.

Clearing his throat, he tapped the name of the salons into his phone’s GPS, feeling a heat crawl up the back of his neck. Thank god, Callie was a diviner and not a psychic.

She’d push him back down the bluff.

Head first.

“All set,” he muttered, lifting his gaze to meet her puzzled frown. “Let’s go.”

She followed in silence, allowing him to settle her in the front seat of his car and take off at a speed considerably less reckless than when he’d arrived. She wasn’t obeying his order, merely trying to figure out why he was blushing like an idiot.

Thankfully her lingering scrutiny was distracted as he turned onto Broadway and made his way to the Plaza.

Pressing her nose to the window, she appeared fascinated by the Spanish-inspired buildings and exquisite fountains that were a trademark of the area. At night the neighborhood was bathed in stunning lights and the air was filled with soft jazz, but during the day it was the domain of the upscale shoppers.

With a low laugh, Duncan pulled into an underground parking lot and turned off the motor.

Callie turned to meet his smile with a frown. “What’s so funny?”

He slid out of the car, not surprised that Callie was already standing near the hood by the time he’d shut the door. She might be forced to travel with a guardian, but that didn’t mean she meekly depended on a man.

If anything, she fought for every inch of independence she could claim.

“You look like my five-year-old niece, Tabby, when I take her to the carnival,” he answered her question, placing a gentle hand on her elbow as he strolled toward the nearby stairs.

“And how’s that?”

“All wide-eyed wonder.”

A faint smile tugged at her lips. “I don’t often leave Valhalla and when I do it’s rarely for pleasure.”

A deep, aching regret clutched at his heart. Her words were simple, spoken without bitterness. But to a man who’d grown up surrounded by loving family and a community who’d easily accepted him, it made him want to hit something.

What kind of world forced a little girl to remain hidden behind protective walls or risk being attacked by small-minded vigilantes?

He had an easy answer.

It was the same world that would happily demand her help when her “curse” could help solve a murder.

With an effort, he squashed his surge of anger. He couldn’t change Callie’s past. All he could do was try to show her that there were good and beautiful things to be discovered beyond Valhalla.

They stepped onto the sun-drenched street just a block from their destination.

“You’ve never been to the Plaza?” he asked as they strolled along the sidewalk.

“Not.”

“We have time if you want to look around.” He nodded toward an exclusive jewelry store across the road. “Maybe do a little shopping.”

The sun glinted off her reflective glasses as she turned in his direction. “You assume because I’m a woman I must love to shop?”

He leaned down to steal an all too brief kiss. “Absolutely, sweetheart.”

Chapter Eighteen

Callie did her best to hide her smile as she planted her hands on her hips.

Deep inside she had to admit that she was enchanted by Duncan’s teasing. She’d never spent her days indulging in light flirtations like other young girls. Not because she didn’t want to, but people treated diviners differently, even among high-bloods. It might not always be suspicion, but at the very least . . . wariness. And Callie was by nature more serious than many of her friends.

Now she couldn’t deny a giddy enjoyment at being treated like a pretty woman who’d caught the attention of a virile, drop-dead sexy man.