Warrior (Relentless #4)(215)

When we entered the house, Sara was nowhere in sight, although I could sense her nearby. I talked to Chris and Geoffrey for a minute, and then I called Vivian to fill her in on what Madeline had told us about the Master. We talked for a few minutes, and then I went to look for Sara.

It wasn’t hard to find her in the den off the main hallway. I entered the dark room and sat on my haunches in front of the couch where she lay.

“Why are you hiding in here alone?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

“If I was hiding, I’d be behind the couch.”

I smiled at her attempt at levity. “You’d never hide behind a couch.”

“True,” she said with a sad smile. “There is no dignity in lying in dust bunnies.”

“Want some company?”

I’d understand if she wanted to be alone, but the pain I felt through the bond told me that wasn’t the case. She was hurting, and all I wanted to do was ease her pain.

“Behind the couch?”

“Wherever you want.”

“Yes,” she said softly.

She started to sit up, but I had other plans. The leather couch wasn’t really big enough for two people, a fact which worked in my favor. I lay on my side behind her, using one arm to pillow her head and wrapping the other around her waist to pull her back against me. Her curves fit my body like she’d been made for me.

“Comfortable?” I asked when she relaxed against me.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Do you want to talk about her?”

At first, I didn’t think she was going to respond. I was content to hold her until she was ready to talk.

“She wasn’t what I expected. I pity her. Except for Adele, she has no one, and she spends her life running and afraid and regretting the love she gave up. I think of her and I realize how lucky I am to have you and everyone else in my life.”

“That’s not luck,” I said. “You have so many people who love you because you’re a good person. Madeline was always selfish. She proved that when she left home the way she did, and with her behavior since then. I’m not saying she deserves the things that have happened to her, but I do believe she brought most of them on herself. That you can feel sad for her after all you’ve been through shows how kind you are.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

She drew in a deep breath. “How do you always know when I need you?”

My heart squeezed, and I pulled her closer. “When you’re hurting, I feel it.”

“You do?”

I smiled at the wonder in her voice and leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Yes. So don’t ever try to hide your pain from me.”

“Why can’t I do the same with you?”

“You will, someday.”

One day soon we were going to complete the bond, and nothing would ever come between us again. She would never have to question my love for her because she’d feel it without me uttering a word.

She snuggled closer to me. “I love you, Nikolas.”

I cupped her chin and turned her face toward mine. “I love you too, moy malen’kiy voin,” I said before I kissed her tenderly.

She closed her eyes. After several minutes passed, I thought she’d fallen asleep, until she spoke softly.

“What do we do now?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “But we’ll figure it out together. Like you told Madeline, you found her when no one else could. We’ll go back to California and come up with a plan for what to do next.”

Maybe we could enlist the help of her friend David. He’d proven to be an invaluable ally, and he was the one who’d ultimately lead us to Madeline. If I could convince him to work with Dax, there was no telling what the two of them could do.

“I don’t want to go back to California.”

Her hoarse declaration took me by surprise. “Where do you want to go?”

She turned in my arms until she was on her back. Lightning lit up the room, revealing the tears gathering in her eyes.

“Can we go home?”

Home. I had a sudden image of her things spread around my apartment. Our apartment.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

I lowered my head to brush my lips across hers. Her hand came up to hold the back of my neck, and the tender kiss turned into a sensual exploration that left us both breathing a little faster.

She protested softly when I broke the kiss, but she deserved a lot more than heated groping on a couch. Tomorrow, we were going home. Tomorrow night, I was going to make love to her in our bed and sleep with her in my arms. And that was worth waiting for.





Chapter 42





I stayed with Sara until she fell asleep, and then I went to notify the pilot we would be flying to Boise instead of California. After that, I called Raoul and asked him to have our things and Sara’s cat sent on to Westhorne. He was also going to take over running the command center, but they were going to move it to Los Angeles now that they didn’t need to be close to Eldeorin’s house.

“You coming with us to Westhorne or heading back to California?” I asked Chris after all the arrangements had been made. All we were waiting for now was word from the pilot that we could depart.