He adjusted my pillow before lying on his side, head propped in his hand. “What’s on your mind? You’re anxious.”
“Maybe we should just lie here for a while and bask in our failures.”
He circled his finger around my navel. “I’m as satisfied as a man can be. Now tell me what vexes you.”
I crossed my ankles. “Blue and I did something today I’m concerned about. We went to see a sleuth and wound up releasing a chained woman. Well, she was in bear form.”
“And you were caught,” he said, twisting his mouth to one side.
“They weren’t too happy about it. Tensions flared, but nobody died.”
“Well, thank the heavenly angels for that. I wouldn’t envy the task of picking your carcass out of a bear’s teeth.”
I slapped his chest. “Who said I’d be the one to die?”
He arched an eyebrow. “How many bears?”
I stared up at the ceiling. “Just fourteen.”
He let out a single, sharp laugh. “Justfourteen, she says. And now you’re worried they’re coming after you. Is that it?”
“You know how fragile the male ego is. Normally I wouldn’t worry, but I’m going to be in Shifter territory for a while, and it’s possible I might run into them again. I’m not sure I’d even recognize all their faces. Everything happened so fast.” I turned on my side to face him.
“Worry not, lass. I’ll not let anyone harm you.”
My finger traced the raven’s wing that spread from his arm to his chest. “You would die for me?”
“That’s what heroes say, and I’m no hero.”
“Then whatareyou saying?”
He lifted my chin with the crook of his finger. “I’ll slay for you. Any man or woman who tries to end your life will answer to me.”
Those weren’t empty words. Christian had killed hundreds for Lenore.
“I’m not asking you to kill for me. I’m not asking you to do anything but… rub my feet,” I said on a stretch.
A crooked smile appeared. Christian kissed the tip of my nose before sitting up. “It looks like I’m not the only one who got my fangs into you,” he said, running a finger over a swollen mosquito bite.
“Apparently your blood wasn’t strong enough to heal the itch. What kind of Vampire are you?”
He pressed his thumbs into the arch of my foot and stroked all the way to the ball. “The kind who can make a woman orgasm from a mere stroke of his hand.”
I rolled onto my back so he could get a better angle. “Some days I wonder if I’m cut out for a job like this.”
“You pull your weight.”
I looked up at the ceiling where shadows danced. “That’s not what I mean. I’m not used to going to a job unarmed. If I didn’t work for Keystone, I would have taken on those bears. Every last motherfucker. Even if it killed me. We couldn’t even do that. Viktor’s expecting an investigation, not a body count. I’m going to screw this job up someday. Big time.”
“I’ll not lie,” he said, massaging my toes. “Going clean isn’t easy. I struggled with it for years when I worked as a guard not to kill the person I was guarding or their numpty companions.”
“What kept you from it?”
He rested my foot on his shoulder and rubbed my calf. “I suppose a desire to do something good in this godforsaken world. It’s an honor to guard another man’s life.”
“So you thought every life saved would make up for one you took?”
He kissed my ankle, his beard tickling my leg. Christian kept his eyes on mine even though I was half naked and open to him. “You’re fighting against instinct when you have rules to abide by. Once you master self-control, you’ll make the right choices in every situation. Even if it’s one that breaks the rules.”
