Page 80 of Helsing: Demon Slayer
Dianne gripped her courage. “Do you really love me?”
“Let me show you how much,” he said, his gaze predatory. A moment later, he’d crushed her against his chest and captured her mouth with his.
Dianne’s head swam, this time from his intoxicating kiss, the sheer pleasure in feeling his lips against hers, the taste and scent of him, the feel of his pectoral muscles molding her suddenly sensitive breasts against their hardness. Her breathlessness increased. Desire shot through her, pooling in her core. Small desperate sounds escaped her, and she snuggled against Ryan, trying to get closer. The cold soaked into her, chilling her bones—but the warmth of Ryan’s body? It was the only thing anchoring her to reality. To safety. To him.
He opened his thighs, pulling her hips into their cradle with one big hand. A hand that felt like he could break her, and yet she knew without a doubt would always handle her with the utmost care. As if she were precious and should be cherished.
Something, a feeling rather than a sound or visual cue, caused Dianne to pull away. Around the amphitheater, luminous figures watched over them with wise gazes, deep and understanding. They hovered over the landscape, moving with the rain and air currents, as if nature itself subtly responded to their presence. The rain fell but not on them. It moved through the air around the figures, bending like light through glass.Although they glowed softly, they pushed back the encroaching murk until the area that formed the amphitheater vanquished the shadows. The world felt safer, calmer, even if danger lurked beyond their cool silver radiance.
Dianne didn’t just see the newcomers, she sensed them. A warmth spreading beneath her skin, pushing back the exhaustion, the ache, the chaos. The transformative serenity that had filled her in Medugorje returned, as if something greater than Ryan and her surrounded and blessed them. Blessed what was between them. Something raw, unfinished, but powerful—almost sacred—waiting to be built and filled, just like this place.
Against the hush of the rain and the beating of her heart, Dianne heard delicate music, aching with longing. After a moment, she recognized the melody she’d first heard in the mountains of Bosnia waiting on the Virgin to appear.
“What are they?” she asked in a reverential voice. “Angels?
He answered without taking his gaze from the ghostly figures. His voice was quiet, lower than usual. Almost awed.“I don’t think so.”
“They’rezana,” said a male voice from several tiers below them on the slope.
When Dianne shifted to look down at him, she recognized András, who’d been on the team that rescued Ryan and her in Shkodër. He continued speaking as he moved toward them, his long legs taking swift strides. “Powerful Albanian spirits who protect the land—guardians of warriors like Mihàil.”
András exhaled, steam curling into the air like smoke. “And now, apparently, Ryan, though why, only the Archangel knows.” His tone carried an edge of wry amusement—as if to soften his implied joke about Ryan.
TheElioudwarrior stopped one level down from them, his steady gaze telling Dianne that, despite his joke, he considered Ryan his brother-in-arms. His entire body radiated heat, sending steam in a dense cloud on a current of cool air.
Dianne looked around. Thezanahad disappeared. As their luminescence faded, the shadows crept back, though softer now, less oppressive. The air felt heavier, the rain returning with full force. Behind the giantElioudwarrior came Beta, his wife, whom Dianne had grown quite fond of over the past weeks in Fushë-Arrëz. The hawk-eyedElioudfemale nodded at Dianne, a tiny grin at the corner of her mouth as she took in Ryan and Dianne’s intimate posture.
Beta’s grin widened, sharp and knowing. “Wrestling?” she asked, tilting her head, looking between Dianne and Ryan, who shifted and ducked his chin.
Dianne noted Ryan’s reaction. She’d seen how he’d reacted around Beta before. He might not care about the opinion of most people, but he definitely held Beta in high regard.
Beta shook her head. “I donotrecommend it. Mud gets into the most uncomfortable places.”
Ryan grinned at her before turning back to Dianne. “Put your arms around my neck,” he said, sounding as lighthearted as she’d ever heard him.
Dianne hesitated. “Are you sure?” she asked, hiding her sudden self-consciousness in concern. “What about your arm? Or your side?”
Ryan shook his head, watching her. “Can’t say I’ve ever felt better. Not since our frequencies have merged.” His tone was so light, so matter of fact, that it threw her off. “I guess you’re good for me.” He grinned at her.
Still, Dianne hesitated.
Beta rolled her eyes, something that Dianne wouldn’t have thought possible for the acerbicElioudfemale.
András grinned, utterly unhelpful. “Need some assistance there with your woman,Demon Slayer?”
Dianne let out a mock-insulted huff and threw her arms around Ryan’s neck. Ryan’s grip tightened around her hips, urging her legs around his waist. Dianne, her face burning in the misty air, wrapped them around his midsection, felt his large hands cup her buttocks to stabilize her. And then he leveraged himself into a standing position as if she weighed nothing.
“Good to go, Helsing?” asked András. “Would you like your Disrupter, too? Or are your hands too full?”
“Well, if I must ….” Ryan caught the combat shotgun that András tossed to him, his other hand forming a firm sling under her derriere.
Beta picked up the Glock that Dianne had put down while Ryan kissed her. “I will keep this for you. This slope is steep, and Helsing might lose his footing. I would not want him to lose his head also.” She flicked a glance at Ryan that spoke volumes.“Although, frankly, that may already be a lost cause.”
Dianne felt a lightness settle over her—a quiet thrill of acceptance. She hadn’t realized until now how much she’d feared rejection. Now she wondered what Olivia would say—about her chief of security falling for her sister, but especially about the tether to Abaddon.
They made it down to the highway without any further banter, András stalking through the night radiating heat and intensity. Beta followed behind Ryan and Dianne, illustrating the concept “head on a swivel” as she continuously scanned the landscape around them, her eyes narrowed and the scent of ash mixing with her exotic perfume. Dianne couldn’t see Ryan’s expression, but from his alert posture and the way his own head moved, she knew that he’d gone into Ranger mode.
Near the entrance to the pass-through beneath the road sat one of the few vehicles, a Toyota Land Cruiser 70 series, that the Kastriotis’ people had gotten running. András got into the driver’s side while Beta held the rear passenger door open for Ryan, who settled Dianne into the seat. She handed the Glock back to Dianne along with a fresh clip.
