The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld #2)(82)

I want to come here if ever I die.

When have you ever been good?

I'm good. Sometimes.

"Thank you, Anya. For coming with me. For comforting me."

"My pleasure." She and Lucien popped back into William's kitchen. The sexpot was still sitting at the table, but Anya's gaze snagged on her lover. Lucien was watching her, heat in his eyes. Heat and awe and appreciation.

"And where did you guys go?" William asked.

"Nowhere." She concentrated on William, Lucien's stare making her squirm in her seat. "So where are your women this morning?"

"Sleeping. Vamps need their beauty rest."

Lucien's eyes widened. He must not have encountered one before.

"Vamps as in vampires or vamps as in conquests?" She looked William up and down, but he wasn't marked. Granted, his legs were covered by black silk pants. "I'm guessing conquests. You don't look like you've been nibbled on - at least, not by anyone with fangs."

"Oh, I've been bitten, just not anywhere you can see. Unlike you," he added with a smiling glance at her neck.

Lucien had been in the process of drinking his juice, which he promptly choked on. Grinning, Anya pounded on his back. "I think you shocked him."

"Not possible," William said, studying Lucien. "We could hear the two of you going at it like rabbits. Stunned the hell out of me, but I have to say, making this little minor goddess beg for it was a nice touch."

"Thank you," Lucien said when his coughs subsided. But there was warning in his tone.

"I'm not minor, you dirty man-whore!"

Winking, William propped his elbows on the tabletop. "So what's going on? You know I love for you to visit, Anya, but why are you here and why are you being chased by the demon of Death?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but Lucien placed a restraining hand on her arm. When she glanced at him, he shook his head.

"I'm not going to tell any secrets, Flowers."

"Oh, secrets. Tell." William clapped.

She wanted to, she wouldn't deny that. She never kept anyone's secret. Where was the fun in that? Still, she remained quiet. For Lucien, anything. By this point, she wasn't surprised that even her naughty side wanted to impress him.

"We simply need to borrow some items from you," Lucien said.

"Like?"

"Actually," Anya said, "we'd like you to be our tour guide through the Arctic circle."

"Anya," Lucien warned.

"Well, I would. He lives so close he spends a lot of time there. He knows the lay of the land. And that's not really giving away our secret, now is it?"

"Why do you want to enter the Arctic?" William shuddered. "It's colder than a witch's - unmentionables. And I should know!"

"I'm on vacation and feel like touring a few glaciers," she replied flippantly.

"You hate ice. You spend most of your time in Hawaii."

"We'll be fine without a guide," Lucien interjected. "Clothing, blankets and snowshoes should do."

"I'm not taking you into the Arctic," William said with a shake of his head. "I just got back from a trip there and I need some serious R and R."

Lucien shrugged as if he didn't care one way or the other. "Then we are agreed. Anya and I will go alone."

"The hell we will." Anya slapped her hand against the tabletop, rattling the dishes. "Willie will guide us wherever we want to go and he'll do it with a smile on his face. It will save time and he'll be a good soldier to have with us if a fight breaks out with you-know-who. Hydra," she added dramatically.

"You want to fight Hydra?" William paled. "I'm not going near that bitch. I lost sight of her a few years ago and that's the way I prefer it."

"Never thought I'd meet a woman you wouldn't screw." Anya forked a square of pancake. She lifted it to her mouth, saying, "For that matter, I never though you'd meet a woman you wouldn't screw. And speaking of that, where exactly did you come across Hydra? And how'd you escape alive?"

"I saw her twice, both times in a different location out there in the ice. And I escaped alive only because she couldn't bear to mar my gorgeous mug, but it was a close call," William muttered.

"This is good," Lucien said with a nod of his head.

She knew he was referring to the Hydra sightings, though he probably wished William hadn't been quite so successful in escaping, and couldn't contain her own excitement. But she wasn't done with the questions, either. "Why do you go out there, anyway?" she asked. "You've never said."

"It's close enough to my home that immortals try to hide there for a sneak attack. At first I wasn't sure if they'd come for Hydra or me - we both have our share of enemies - and after a while I just stopped caring. Anyone sneaks out there, I go after them."

"Who are your enemies?" Anya wondered aloud.

"I, uh, have a little problem with desiring mated ladies," William said, "and their spouses would like nothing more than my demise."

"You will stay away from Anya," Lucien growled.

What a sweet, sweet man, she thought, grinning and patting his hand. Lucien reached under the table and gripped her knee in an iron-hold, a command for her to hush. She didn't. "Last time I'll ask you nicely to take us," she told William.