Garrett kept an eye on the door. Dessie was only a room away now. “Honey, half of the Realm is your family.” She was related to both the vampire and demon ruling families.
“I know. Give me a call later, and I’ll report in on this book as well as any info I have from covert assets. We’ve reached out to those in Kurjan and Cyst camps, and I’m expecting to hear from at least five of them by end of day today.” She leaned up and pecked him on the cheek before hustling out with the book.
The door to the examination room opened, and Dessie walked out, her hair on top of her head and her eyes weary. She was pale and hitched along as if she’d strained her lower back. She rubbed her hands down her arms as if she couldn’t warm herself.
“I’m not taking very good care of you, am I?” he murmured, reaching for her.
She snuggled right into his chest with a small sigh. “I don’t think that’s your job.”
Fire flashed hot and bright on his palm, and he jerked it off her. Slowly, he turned his hand to see the Kayrs marking deep and black, a swirl of lines with aKin the middle–back at full power. Wanting to be pressed to her flesh.
His chest heated, and his heart thundered as the beast at his core sprang to life. Snarling and needing to mark her. Again and again, until it stayed. Forever.
She leaned back to look into his eyes and then stepped away. “Sorry about that. I guess I needed a hug.” She stilled. “What is that look on your face? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong.” He’d been drawn to her the second she’d walked into that diner, and he’d known. Deep down, he’d recognized exactly who she was, even though none of it made a lick of sense at the time. The truly male part of him, deep down in his soul, had claimed her before his brain had caught up. Even so, he hadn’t given her a chance to truly decide, and she deserved that. “We need to have a little talk.”
“About what?” She rocked back on borrowed shoes.
For one thing, they needed to buy her some of her own clothes. Then they had to figure out the trigger in her brain, because he had no intention of wearing a shirt at all times for the rest of his life. But right now, she looked exhausted. “Let’s get you some dinner. You must be starving.”
Emma bustled through the door, a tablet in her hands. “Good. You’re still here.”
Garrett tucked Dessie against his body and wrapped his arm over her shoulders, holding her tight. Her shivering subsided. “What did you find?” Now they could get on with things.
Emma looked up, her gaze concerned. “The tumor is in hyperdrive now—I think its growth rate sped up even more after the book triggered a reaction.”
Garrett sucked in air as his blood heated. “Makes sense. If she’s getting close enough to learning the truth that the Kurjans programmed her to black out, killing her with the tumor would be the next step. How do we reduce it?”
Emma shook her head. “I have no idea. We’ve run every test we can find except one, and nothing. There’s nothing odd in her blood or genes that we can find.”
Dessie sagged against him. “What’s the one test left?”
Emma winced. “A biopsy tomorrow. But with an unnatural tumor like this, I can’t guarantee the results. We have no idea what’ll happen when I poke the mass.”
Dessie sighed, feeling fragile up against him. “We know what will happen if you don’t. Let’s do this.”
The beast deep down inside him roared in fury.
* * * *
Dessie finished the grilled salmon with a side of cheesy noodles and sat back, sipping on an excellent merlot in Garrett’s breakfast nook. Mellow waves sparkled outside beneath the full moon, giving the night an otherworldly beauty. She wasn’t normally a merlot fan, but this one tasted more like a cabernet. Garrett had been quiet during the meal, lost in his own thoughts.
That was all right with her. She went over her day and what she’d learned from Hope. About how the young woman thought portals worked. Plus, the symbols and text from the many chapters she’d read before losing consciousness twisted and combined in her head, creating a story. She’d always been able to break codes that way, and deciphering an ancient text was much the same.
She’d been studying about the portals, and she was almost there. Could almost figure out how to control them. How to open them and, more importantly, how to close them. Was it possible to lock Ulric away for good? If so, the directions were in that tome. While she couldn’t cognitively remember those symbols on that last page, her subconscious was working on the puzzle.
“You’re quiet,” Garrett mused, gaze fully on her now.
She jumped. “So are you. I was just thinking about having my brain prodded by Emma.” There was no other option. “Let’s hope she has steady hands.”
“I think we should try and mate again first, but that has to be your decision. The first time, it surprised us both. The second, you were caught in the middle of passion when you asked. This time, it has to be your decision.” He took a healthy drink of his wine.
Awareness tingled through her on the heels of surprise. “My decision?” Was that her voice? Breathy and deep?
He held up his right hand, palm out to show the stunning marking of a jaggedKin the middle of complex lines. It was beautiful and dangerous in a way she felt to her soul. “This is forever. Even if we have to keep trying every minute of every day, once you consent. But if you do, if you agree to be mine, then it’s forever. So take your time and think it through.”
“Your marking is beautiful,” she breathed.
