Page 34 of Quest of the Wolf

The cave was magical and weird, the eyes still glowed on the robot’s head, and the creepy bats might return at any time, but I nodded to him. The setting wasnotromantic, but he… he kind of was. And I was relieved to see him healthy, aside from the bite marks in his leg. After his help with my cousins, I owed him something too. Something more than a pelting with crickets.

I set the sword aside and leaned toward Duncan. Our lips met, perhaps with more eagerness than I intended. But I’d missed him, and I didn’t mind in the least when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. His taut naked body was hard against mine, his powerful arms protective and comforting.

As his lips and tongue teased mine, sending streaks of hotpleasure through me, I shifted my grip to his shoulders, grasping him and thinking of more than kissing.

The hard cave floor littered with metal shouldn’t have made me imagine getting horizontal, but it might be worth it to be with him in this private spot. Magically weird or not, we had the cave to ourselves. And despite his cocky arrogance, Duncanwascharming. Charming, sexy, and hot. Even better, he thoughtIwas hot, and he kept helping me with my increasingly chaotic and dangerous life. By the moon, I was falling for him. I?—

A muffled honk traveled through rock and the waterfall to reach us.

Duncan broke the kiss and looked toward the exit tunnel. My grip tightened on his shoulders. I didn’t want to stop kissing, but the way Duncan frowned in the direction of the honking made me believe he knew who it was—and didn’t think it was anyone good.

“It might be Jasmine,” I said, though I didn’t want her interrupting our romantic interlude. Besides, I’d left her quite a ways back. I hadn’t known I would end up more-or-less following the logging road to this spot.

“It might be Radomir or, more likely, his henchmen.” Duncan sighed and released me.

“The overly muscled ones hopped up on potions?”

“Yes. We wouldn’t want them walking in on us, and it’s quite possible they could. If I’m not too far away, they can track me through the control device.” Duncan waved to the scar on his forehead. It had stopped glowing, but that probably didn’t negate anything.

“Better than through a burning esophagus, I suppose.”

He looked at me.

“Rue made me a potion to find you. I can’t recommend the taste. Oraftertaste.”

“Worse than chocolate-covered crickets?”

“Much worse. I wouldn’t pelt a van with it. It might be acidic enough to destroy the paint, if not eat through the frame entirely.”

“Your willingness to gulp down such a thing on my behalf is touching.”

“Well, there wasn’t a warning on the label.” Maybe I would suggest a pulsing red Mr. Yuck sticker to Rue.

More honks sounded. Insistent honks.

Sighing again, Duncan picked up the medallion and my sword, and clasped my hand to lead me toward the waterfall entrance. “Let’s find out if we’re in trouble.”

“I usually am. Especially lately.”

He smiled sadly at me and didn’t disagree.

12

After we steppedout from behind the waterfall, Duncan paused to fetch his shoes and clothes from a log. He hurried to dress and also picked up the magnet I’d seen earlier. After stuffing the heavy cylinder into a jacket pocket, he grasped my hand again and headed up a treed slope. Maybe he knew the way to the road.

Another honk sounded.

As we climbed, I braced myself for truckloads of bad guys. If Duncan hadn’t been holding my hand, I might not have headedtowardthe road. When trouble honked, it was a good idea to go in the other direction.

“Did you know there were werewolves in the area when you were in that cave?” I asked as we navigated through ferns and over logs.

“Yes. A bonded pair, I believe. I didn’t recognize them but wondered if they claimed this territory for themselves. They didn’t follow me into the cave to discuss it. They did start howling a lot whenever the guardian robot beeped.”

“Isthatwhy they were howling? I assumed you were irritating them.”

“Moi?” Duncan touched his chest, the medallion dangling from his fingers. He’d given me back the sword after we clambered out of the cave.

“Yeah, you. You were at least irritating the robot. I trust you were the reason it was beeping.”

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