When he tilted his head to the side, a strand of hair fell forward to curl at the corner of his eye. It was so endearing she almost awwed out loud.
“I’m happy, really and truly happy,” he said. “Which is something I haven’t been since I was a child. It’s also a little odd considering we’re in the middle of nowhere and Savages could be crawling up our asses as we speak.”
She shut down the image of Savages tiptoeing toward the barn her mind conjured. “I’m really and truly happy too.”
“Then let me poke and tickle those bits.”
Willow laughed and shoved him away. “I’m not sure about the Savages, but there is straw crawling up my ass, so no more poking and tickling until we have a bed.”
“We haven’t had one yet; why start now?”
She shot him a look over her shoulder as she rose from the straw. “It will be fun to try something new.”
He laughed and watched as she sauntered out of the pile. Straw stuck in her hair, and imprints of it marred her pristine skin as she brushed it away. He knew they had to go, but he couldn’t stop himself from lying back, folding his hands behind his head, and admiring her supple body as she shook the straw from her hair. With the early morning sun illuminating her, she was magnificent.
“Are you getting up?” she asked.
“One part of me is already up and admiring the view.”
Willow rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help smiling as she gathered her clothes. She loved the give and flow of their relationship and his playful banter. She loved that he was more than her mate; he was also her friend and someone she could trust.
When she finished dressing, Declan groaned and rose. As much as he would have enjoyed another hour with her in the straw, he had to admit he was a little tired of being poked in the bits too.
Willow bent to lift the sword carefully from where she’d hidden it while he dressed. He understood the expression on her face as she examined the weapon; the thing scared and amazed him too. He’d never seen anything like it and, as far as he knew, there shouldn’t be anything like it in existence.
However, it did exist, and there was a good possibility it was a demonic weapon. He much preferred it in their possession, and not that of their enemies, but he didn’t like how attached Willow was to it. She’d checked on it a couple of times throughout the night.
He walked over to stand beside her and held his hands out for the weapon. She hesitated before placing it in his palms. He had yet to touch it, but the second it connected with his skin, he sensed the power in it. It was forged to destroy.
“Do you think there are any other swords like it?” she asked.
“We might never know.”
When a car door slammed outside, Declan’s head shot up. Willow bit back a gasp when color flooded his body again. When it happened before, the color took time to seep through him, but now it was like a switch flipped, and the red and black hue instantly suffused him. His eyes burned like fire, and he bared his fangs.
Declan handed the sword back to Willow. “Go around the driver’s side of the truck,” he told her.
Willow clutched the sword before her as they separated to edge around the vehicle and toward the front of the barn. She listened for more noises as she scented the air, but the song of the birds and the crisp, spring air were the only things she detected. That didn’t mean the Savages hadn’t sent someone else to attack them while they remained hidden nearby.
Declan didn’t sense any hostility from whoever was outside, but when it came to Willow, he wasn’t going to let down his guard. He reached the door as Willow stepped out from the other side of the truck. From their positions, they could take out whoever came through the door.
The hinges of the door squeaked as it started to open. Willow stepped closer and raised the sword as a hand gripped the edge of the door and pulled it open. It rattled in its frame while the light illuminated a blond man standing on the other side.
She released a strangled cry and lowered the sword to throw herself into her brother-in-law’s arms. Her impact caused Brian’s breath to umph out of him, but he lifted her off her feet and hugged her. She’d spent a lot of time annoying him over the years, but his hug was full of love as he crushed her against him.
“Thank God,” he breathed in her ear.
“I told Vicky to keep you away,” she said.
“When was last timeeitherof your sisters listened to anyone?”
Willow leaned back to take in his handsome face, platinum blond hair, and ice-blue eyes. “Please tell me Abby’s not here.”
“Again, I ask you, when was last time either of your sisters ever listened to anyone?”
Willow’s heart sank. “I don’t want her here.”
“On that, we can agree,” he said as he set her down. “Are you okay?”
