Page 53 of Princess Claimed

But on the personal side, we’re nearly home, and I can’t wait to see her again. Nineteen hours have passed since Phil grabbed her and ran from that charity gala. She must be miserable. Lonely. Bored out of her mind. She and Phil barely look at each other, never mind talk.

Crusher enters our quarters first.

“What the—” Crusher stops, blocking my view through the doorway.

I deke around him. Phil is leaning against the back of one of the leather sofas, and Ana’s sitting at its other end, stiffly, like she’s posing for a formal portrait or something. Her cheeks are flushed. So are Phil’s. Have they been arguing?

“Something wrong?” I ask as I pass Crusher.

Crusher shakes his head slowly, clearly baffled, so I shift my focus to Ana. She stands as I cross toward her, and I lift her into my arms.

“I missed you,” I whisper into her hair. She smells amazing. Like springtime. Like Ana. But also, like…like sex? Lust and happiness rise inside me. Our desire for each other is so strong the scent of it surrounds us always.

“I missed you too.” Her voice stirs my need.

I do hate that there’s even a chance she might still be in danger, but I also love how it gives me an excuse to keep her here with us longer.

I glance up. Phil is unbelievably tense, his hands gripping the back of the sofa like he wants to tear it to pieces. He must be angry that Ana and I shared some tender words, reminding him how far my emotional guards have slipped. He can be such an asshole. I hate that she was stuck here alone with Phil, enduring whatever bullshit he undoubtedly tossed her way.

“Why did Diederik summon her?” Phil asks gruffly, and I set Ana back down on her feet.

“Fucker wouldn’t say,” Crusher responds as he strides toward us. “Nothing specific. But something felt off.”

“Off how?” Ana turns toward Crusher.

He shakes his head. “Probably nothing. I’ll feel better when we know for sure if Rasputin was possessed, and by what.”

Ana looks up at me and I shake my head.

“Until Blade figures it out, you should stick with us here,” Crusher says.

Inhaling a deep breath, she turns and smiles softly at him, clearly trusting his judgment. I don’t love the way she looked to him, but glad she’s not demanding to leave us this very moment.

“What did you find out?” Ana asks as she sits back down.

“Not as much as I’d like.” I consider how much to share.

Phil leaps over the back of the sofa, landing right next to her, so hard her body bounces. Glaring up at me, Phil crosses his arms over his chest. “Get on with it.”

Flame plops into a chair near the sofa, then turning toward Ana and Phil, he grins. “What the fuck is going on between you two?”

“Nothing,” Phil replies quickly, and Ana looks down.

Crusher grunts. Coming up behind me, he sits on the sofa that’s facing Ana and Phil.

I sit next to Crusher, and he looks at me expectantly, but I’m still not sure how much to share. I don’t want to scare Ana, but at the same time, I don’t want her to feel safe enough to leave us.

“I don’t have all the answers yet,” I say carefully, “but a lot of what I’ve learned isn’t great.”

“How so?” Ana clasps her hands on her lap.

“Some signs point to a very powerful demon.”

“A dead demon,” Phil interjects, but his fingers touch the place where he was stabbed.

I frown. Does his wound still hurt or… It could be relevant, but I don’t want to ask him right now.

“You killed the demon’s host,” I clarify. “It’s likely your actions banished the demon to its rightful realm, but given that it saved Rasputin from multiple assassination attempts, and kept him alive for so many years…” I leave that thought unfinished.

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