Warrior (Relentless #4)(174)

“I promise.”

Heb entered the room carrying a tray of food. He smiled and laid it on the coffee table, telling us dinner would be ready in an hour.

I heard Sara’s stomach growl as Roland and Peter went for the food. Grabbing a napkin, I placed some canapés on it and laid it on her lap.

“Thanks,” she said softly and began eating.

Roland looked at Tristan. “So what happens now? Are you all going home?”

“Sara has to stay here to train with the faeries,” Tristan said. “Jordan and I will return to Westhorne after Christmas. Nate too, unless he wants to stay here.”

Jordan’s face fell. “I thought I could stay here with Sara.”

Tristan shook his head. “Sara will be busy training, and Nikolas is staying with her. You need to continue your own training.”

“But I can train here with Sara,” she protested.

Sara gave me a nervous look. “I have to do faerie training and Mohiri training?”

“We’ll pick it up where we left off.” I’d either make her a warrior, or too exhausted to think about running off again.

Chris laughed. He knew me too well. “I smell payback.”

Jordan gave Sara a pleading look. “You want me to stay, right? We can train together.”

“Yes.”

Tristan picked up a canapé. “We’ll see. I’m not sure of the wisdom in keeping you two girls together. You seem to have a remarkable talent for attracting trouble.”

I couldn’t agree more, but I also knew how close Sara and Jordan were. I couldn’t be with Sara all the time and run the command center, and Jordan would be a good companion for her. Especially since Roland and Peter had been ordered by Maxwell to go home after the holidays.

Jordan grinned. “At least no one could ever accuse us of being dull. Besides, Nikolas will be here. How much trouble could we get into?”

If I’d been eating, I would have choked. Almost everyone in the room howled with laughter, everyone except Sara and Jordan.

“You might want to think about sending a unit here for backup,” Chris joked to Tristan.

“You may be right,” he agreed.

“Everyone’s a comedian,” Sara grumbled.

Something told me there’d be no mistletoe kisses for me if I made the remark that was on the tip of my tongue. I wisely kept silent.

Like Tristan had said to Sara once, a good warrior knows when to retreat.





Chapter 33





Sara yawned behind her hand and smiled at something Roland said. It was late, almost midnight, and Nate, Tristan, and Chris had already retired for the night. I’d expected Sara to go to bed hours ago, considering how tired she was, but she seemed determined to stay up with everyone else.

I took her hands and tugged her to her feet. “Come on,” I said, leading her from the room.

“Where are we going?” she asked without resisting.

“You’re going to bed. Everyone will still be here in the morning.”

Roland and Jordan hooted as we left the room. The fact that Sara didn’t blush at their teasing comments told me how tired she was. She was quiet as we walked up the stairs and stopped outside her bedroom door.

When she turned to me, I pulled her into my embrace. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and we stood holding each other for a long moment.

“It’s late. You should get some sleep,” I said softly.

I was reluctant to let her go, but we’d have all day tomorrow together. Even with everyone here, Eldeorin’s house was big enough for us to find a few minutes alone together.

“Stay.”

My stomach did a little flip at her unexpected request.

She quickly blushed and looked at my chest. “I don’t mean…”

I tilted her face up and brushed her lips with mine. “I know.”

As much as I wanted her, I knew she wasn’t ready for anything more intimate. When I made love to her, it would be she who initiated it, and she wouldn’t be falling asleep on her feet.

I opened her door and followed her into the room, closing the door quietly. She turned around and faced me, twisting the hem of her sweater in her fingers and looking so endearingly flustered I couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“Get ready for bed. I’ll just stay until you fall asleep.”

She smiled and grabbed some clothes, going into her bathroom to change.

I walked around the room, looking at her things: a sketch pad on a small table, an iPod and ear buds on the dresser, a hoodie slung over the back of a chair.

At the balcony, I stopped and listened to the Pacific through the slightly open door. She’d told me once how much she loved the ocean, and I never realized how much she must have missed it in Idaho.

The bathroom door opened, and I watched her enter the bedroom and look around for me. My eyes moved up her bare legs to a familiar navy blue T-shirt that hung almost to her knees. If it hadn’t already been my favorite shirt, it was now after seeing her in it.

“I wondered what happened to that T-shirt,” I said.

She toyed with the bottom of the shirt, and I almost didn’t hear her response.

“It’s really comfortable.”

I stalked toward her, and she backed up. When we got to the bed, I didn’t miss her small intake of breath when I reached around her.