Page 26 of Mated in Flames

A large part of me wants to.

“Are you going to head back home?” I ask Warwick, mentally shaking myself.

“Yeah, Dane’s waiting for me,” Warwick replies. He snorts. “You should have seen the way he glared at me!”

I smile, but it’s a little strained.

“He still doesn’t trust me?” I ask.

“Don’t take it personally,” Warwick says. “He doesn’t trust anyone. Even when we were kids, he didn’t have any other friends, and he was always suspicious of mine.”

“I guess your history wouldn’t have helped with that,” I murmur.

“No, it wouldn’t have,” Warwick replies quietly. Then he shakes his head and grins. “But, even before that, he was antisocial. With how responsible he is, you’d think he was the older one.”

I can’t help but laugh. Finding out that Warwick was actually older than Dane by two years had been a bit of a shock. Looking at the way they acted, I honestly would have believed that Dane was the oldest.

“That’s because you’re hopelessly immature,” I tease, laughing at him.

“I like to think that I just know how to have fun,” Warwick grins.

I laugh aloud. That’s another reason why I like spending time with Warwick. He has a wicked sense of humour, and he never fails to make me smile.

“Alright, I better go before Dane calls and demands to know where I am,” Warwick says, standing and stretching. He glances at the poison. “Thank you for giving this a go.”

“I’m going to succeed,” I promise him solemnly.

Warwick meets and holds my gaze. I can see his resigned acceptance of the fact that I might not be able to do it, as well as the slightest hope that I can. I’m determined to make sure not to let that hope down.

It’s going to be long and difficult, but I’ve studied toxicology for many, many years, and I know I’m one of the top professionals in my field. I can do it, I know I can.

“Thanks,” Warwick says finally.

He leans forward and presses his lips to mine in a soft, warm kiss that makes tingles dance happily down my body. I feel bereft as he pulls away, and I wish I can follow him and taste more of him. But now isn’t the time for it; we both have work to do today. Quite apart from working on the poison, I need to do my normal farm duties, which I’ve left until later than normal in order to collect this poison.

“I’ll see you later,” Warwick says. He winks at me. “I’ve got a picnic breakfast planned for tomorrow.”

I smile at him.

“I look forward to it,” I say.

He lets himself out, familiar with the layout of my house by now, and, when I’m left alone, I sit and look down at the innocent-looking vial sitting on my table. Warwick had said he didn’t think the poison was fatal to humans, that it would just make us sick, but he honestly didn’t know. Part of me wants to know, but I’m not really willing to offer myself as a test subject. Especially when there isn’t yet an antidote.

I itch to get working on it now. But I can’t. Not only do I have other things to do in order to look after the rest of my farm, the poison is untouchable for now. I don’t know how long it will take to hopefully cool down, but it’s probably a good idea to leave it for now and check on it later. Then I can finally get started.

I stand and stretch my arms over my head. It’s almost funny how quickly I’ve settled in here. But maybe it’s because I have something to look after. The animals, my father’s legacy, the phoenix brothers… they all need protecting.

And I’m going to look after them all.

---