“Hours. We had to go in the wrong direction for quite a while, then I zigzagged, and finally we ended up here. They won’t track us.” He grasped her arm and gently swung her to the spongy ground with easy grace.
“What is that smell?” Her feet hit, and she grabbed his arm to regain her balance. Her leg muscles shook and protested. Had her thighs ever been this sore? Fogginess still filled her brain.
He grasped her shoulders and turned her toward a small pool surrounded by large, round rocks. “Hot springs. We both could use heat and some muscle relief. Do you need assistance?”
The male should be exhausted. She paused and limped around to face him. “You okay?”
His green eyes had lightened to the color of the deep embers in a dying fire—wild and mysterious. Scratches marred his forehead, chest, and upper arms—definitely from tree branches. As she watched, they slowly healed and closed. The demon had impressive healing skills. “I’m fine. There was a disturbance in the atmosphere about an hour after I started running, so I’m thinking your people are on the island.”
Island? Made sense. They were on some sort of island surrounded by sea water but large enough to have that lake in the middle. Her breath caught. “Then they’re coming.” She couldn’t let Logan take out the few remaining soldiers. How was she going to save them?
“No.” He gestured toward the pool of rocks. “I led them in two different directions and up a mountain for a while. They won’t track us.”
Her people could track anybody—even without the powder. “They’ll find us.”
His grin flashed quick and slightly arrogant. “Not a chance. I scaled down a cliff and crossed another lake. Even if they conduct a grid search of this sprawling island, they won’t find us before we’re gone. Now get in the hot water, Mercy.”
She wanted to protest his bossiness. Nobody ordered her around. But the idea of warm water over her aching body was too much to resist. She gingerly stepped over moss-covered rocks and slid into the pool. The soothing sensation and warmth were immediate and she groaned, moving across the small pool to sit on a ledge. Her thin bra and panties immediately turned almost translucent, so she ducked farther down in the water. It was bliss. Pure, heavenly bliss.
Logan remained in place, his head lifted, his eyes shut, and his senses obviously on full alert as he scouted the area.
In his boxers, he was the most masculine male she’d ever seen. Even his legs were powerful, although a scar marred the front of his right leg. His time in battle had been on the front lines, without a doubt. The roped muscles along his arms led to that impressive chest and down incredibly ripped abs. She tried not to look lower. She really did. She failed and took a peek.
Wow. Just wow.
Heat rushed into her face, and she turned to look at the quietly lapping waves in the bay. Where did this water go? Which ocean? “Do you have any idea where we are?” she asked, keeping her face turned to the freedom of the water that must lead to the open sea.
“Maybe.” He entered the water quietly, sending ripples across her skin.
She couldn’t breathe. He was just so much. She’d been wrapped around him, and her body still tingled from the contact. What would it be like to have the freedom to touch him completely? Head to toe? All of him? The female deep inside her, the one she tried to rule with logic and duty, itched to explore him in every way. “Where are we?” Her voice emerged way too breathy. God, she hoped he couldn’t guess her thoughts. He didn’t need one more advantage in this power struggle between them.
She didn’t seem to be winning, either. Not even close.
“I’d just be guessing as to our location.” His sigh as he sat lower feathered over her skin, even across the small pool.
She shivered and covered the motion by turning back toward him.
He sprawled in the water, which covered him almost to his chest. His head went back onto the rocks, and he visibly relaxed, that longish hair curling around his shoulders. Even at peace, he didn’t seem very peaceful. That tension always surrounding him remained, permeating the soft steam rising all around them.
His stamina was impressive. He’d run all day while she’d slept, sprawled on his back. “Thank you for, well, today,” she said. She could at least show decent manners before they started arguing again.
He barely nodded, his head still at rest. “Not a problem. Moving was faster with you on my back, and it helped you to warm up.”
A wish caught her, one she didn’t want, that she’d like to be his friend. His protectiveness, even though they were enemies, gave her a warm feeling she had never experienced. What would it be like to be on the inside of Logan Kyllwood’s world? To feel safe and shielded by such power? His psychological profile proved he was loyal to the core.
What would that mean to a woman? One who could draw out that smile he’d only shown once? She could show him that life could be fun for the sake of fun only. From her research, it looked like he followed duty only. She could show him delights in other worlds he probably had never imagined.
But it could never happen. The Seven must be stopped, and her destiny was already charted. It had nothing to do with the Key birthmark that sometimes pulsed with its own energy. Period.
“You’re thinking very loudly over there,” he murmured.
She blinked. “Can you read my thoughts?”
“Dunno, but I’m not. What’s on your mind, darlin’?”
She liked the endearment, even though they didn’t know each other well enough for such intimacy. The Key on her hip flashed hot for a second, and she bit back a gasp. That had only happened a few times in her life. “I’m not your darlin’,” she said. Dumb line. Real dumb line.
“Okay,” he said, unmoving.
