Warrior (Relentless #4)(178)

“Lucky him,” Sara muttered.

Jordan let out a small laugh. “Sara was in the middle of the pool, and it took her a while to get free. She’s still a bit peeved.”

Sara scowled at her. “You would be too. I think my butt is still numb.”

A chuckle escaped me, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from dropping to her jean-clad backside. I was tempted to ask if she needed me to warm her up, but her glare stopped me.

“I suck. I can’t even control my own power anymore,” she grumbled, disheartened.

“It’s only your first day of training, and Aine said it wouldn’t happen overnight. Give yourself some time to get used to it.” I laid a hand on her arm. “You can do this.”

She gave me a grateful smile. “Thanks.”





Chapter 34





“Everything we’ve seen points to a small nest, but watch your backs. I don’t want any surprises.”

Brock nodded and hefted his weapons bag onto his shoulder. “We’ll be in and out before those suckers know we’re there. You sure you don’t want to come with us? I know how much you love to clean out nests.”

“Not this time. I have plans tonight.” Something a lot more pleasant than killing vampires.

He gave me a knowing smile. “Have fun.”

Brock left as Chris walked into the living room we’d turned into the main control room of the command center. Chris spotted me and headed over to where I stood.

“Hamid called. He and Ammon will be here tonight, and they want to talk about the situation in Seattle.”

A teenage girl had gone missing two days ago, and the body of another girl had been found in a restaurant dumpster yesterday, drained of blood. Seattle news stations were already talking about a serial killer, but we knew different. So far our guys in Seattle hadn’t been able to find a trace of the vampire responsible.

“What time will they get here?”

“Late, I think. You have somewhere to be?”

“I’m taking Sara out.”

He smiled broadly. “Well, it’s about damn time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just that most males date the girl before they start going into rages and chasing her across the country.”

I scowled. “In case you haven’t noticed, the last few months haven’t left a whole lot of opportunities for dating.”

“True.” He sat on the edge of a table. “Where are you taking her?”

“I don’t know. Wherever she wants to go. I thought it would be good for her to get out of the house for a few hours.”

Chris nodded in understanding. “She still having a rough time with her Fae training?”

“Yes.”

Rough didn’t exactly describe Sara’s Fae training. In addition to freezing the pool, she’d managed to blow up the gazebo near the lake, create a thunderstorm on the back lawn, and awaken a water dragon sleeping at the bottom of Eldeorin’s small lake.

Her training with me was going well, and she continued to surprise me with how fast she picked up the new strikes and kicks I’d taught her. She still didn’t like the strength and cardio workouts, but I made her do them every day. I was pushing her hard, but she had a lot of missed years of training to catch up on. I’d rather I be the one to get past her defenses instead of someone out to kill her.

This afternoon, she’d been unusually withdrawn in training. Normally, I could coax a few smiles from her, but she’d been too distracted today to even notice my attempts.

Tonight I planned to take her somewhere nice, just the two of us, and enjoy some good food and conversation. And hopefully get her to tell me what had upset her earlier.

“Have fun.” Chris smiled slyly. “I’ll let Hamid know you might be a little late.”

“Thanks.” I headed to the door. “Later.”

When I got to Eldeorin’s, Jordan informed me that Sara was in her room. I went to my room to change and grab my leather jacket, and then I knocked on Sara’s door.

It took a minute for her to answer, and her tangled hair and wrinkled shirt told me she’d been in bed. Her lips parted in surprise, and then her eyes slid down my body to somewhere in the vicinity of my abs. Heat filled me at the realization she was checking me out.

I cleared my throat softly to bring her attention back to my face. I held back a smile at the pink in her cheeks.

“Grab a warm coat. We’re going out,” I told her.

Her eyes widened hopefully. “We are?”

“If you’d rather stay –”

“No!”

I chuckled as she sped to the closet to grab fresh clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Her eagerness told me I was right, and this was just what she needed. I needed it too. Our first date was long overdue.

In no time, she stood in front of me again, her face flushed in anticipation. She pulled on her coat as we walked to the stairs.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought you might like to go out to dinner for a change.”

We reached the foyer, and I opened the door for her. Her eyes lit up when she saw my Ducati.

“That sounds nice,” she breathed.

I helped her don a helmet, explaining how to use the built-in mic so she could talk to me on the ride. Then I straddled the seat and patted the spot behind me.