Fucking hell.
Literally.
“Yeah. This is home sweet home,” Rhys calls from the vicinity of her room.
I stride down the dark hallway and lean against the doorframe while Aric mumbles about being able to cross the whole damn house in six fucking steps.
I’m pretty sure he’s testing his theory, if the loud clomping is any indication.
The real problem is… there isn’t one picture of the girl who lives in this house. There’s a fine portrait of a rather pretentious-looking woman hanging near the door, but there are no prideful displays of the beautiful and strong woman before me.
“I was right! Fucking six.” Aric grumbles.
I don’t turn to tell him six of his dragon steps equals about twelve human steps. Rhys scurries around her small room, glancing toward the window more than once as if she’s worried the boogeyman is going to leap out and grab her.
Too bad something way more fucked up has already descended into her life. And the two fucked up bastards are now helping her look for a gods damned cat.
When did I get demoted like this?
Ripping open the drawers of her dresser, she shoves some articles of clothing into an emptied out bookbag. Shirts, shorts, jeans, and socks. Lastly, she grabs a handful of undergarments. Hot pink lace spills out of the side of her bag, and I can’t stay still any longer.
I wander over, one silent step at a time, kneeling before her until the tiny scrap of fabric dangles off my fingertips.
“This is what you pack when you’re on the run?”
Rhys’s gaze starts at my chest and slowly caresses my body until she’s staring into my eyes, each of our blue gazes in a battle of wills. Her gaze is like a touch of hot, powerful magic tingling across my flesh.
Warmth works into her cheeks, nearly the same color of the sexy thong. “It’s rude to paw at a woman’s underwear.” She snatches the lace from my finger and shoves it down deep into the little bag.
The hiss of a cat punctuates her words, as do the thudding footsteps of Aric. The asshole isn’t even trying to be quiet with his approach.
“Packing the essentials, I see.” He grins, the smile more feral than a stray cat.
“Almost done,” Rhys tells us before slipping her cellphone into the front pocket of her bag.
“Like fuck.” Aric’s growl bounces off the white walls of the bedroom. Moving into the room, he reaches for the bag and hauls the phone out of it before breaking it in half as if it were a measly twig instead of the metal and glass that rains to the floor in little clatters.
“What the hell, asshole?” Rhys snaps, pushing against Aric’s chest like she’s a god that can move mountains.
I roll my eyes as I watch the shitshow, but Aric’s molten gaze is already spitting hellfire. He loves the challenge.
“Who do you have in this life that you’d call anyway?” he taunts. He’s not wrong.
All he has to do is walk forward, and Rhys stumbles back.
“You’re not going to need a communication device where you’re going,” he promises.
“Bad reception,” I joke, attempting to dilute the thick tension in the air, but it falls on deaf ears as an angry mewling hisses through the room.
The small gray cat Rhys named after my father slinks out from under the bed to weave between her legs, his tail wrapping around one shin. It stands before her like a guardian, and I find a new respect for the tiny creature. It’s loyal, which is one of its only redeeming attributes. Why humans are determined to keep pets, I’ll never understand.
“What do we have here?” Aric stoops and hauls the cat up by its scruff, letting it dangle in front of his face as he studies the feline with drawn brows. “Looks like a snack.”
“Give me back my cat, or there’s no way in hell I’m going with you. You almost had me fooled, but you’re nothing more than a fucking psycho!” Rhys accuses with a hard glare in her eyes, but I see the sliver of fear for Loki in her steadfast gaze. It would take Aric no time to crush the thing. If he shifted, he’s right, the cat would be no more than a tasty morsel for his dragon.
Fuck knows he’s eaten far less savory meals in the pits of Hell.
“You don’t have much of a choice, kitten. Stay here and you die.”
