Page 40 of To Crave Darkly
I stared straight back and shook his hand. “Please, call me Lori.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lori.” God, his voice was sinful. And those dimples that appeared when he smiled were fucking lethal. They transformed his face from attractive to downright glorious. It looked like I won this little stand-off but something about the mischievous glint in his eyes warned me that more trouble would be heading my way from this one.
“Stop trying to get into her pants, Alec,” Fenris grunted, severing the tension tying Alec and I together. I turned to face him, and his chocolate brown eyes were warm and sincere. His brown hair fell to his shoulders in messy curls and a light stubble graced his jaw. He looked like the kind of guy that would be good to curl up and snuggle with. I bet it would be like being hugged by a bear. Not that I was going to get close enough to try. I was pretty sure he could kill me like a bear if I pissed him off.
Saskia leaned forward and grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry about Cassian. He doesn’t do well with change and having someone around to protect around the clock is definitely different. Especially for him. He’ll warm up to you eventually.”
Alec scoffed. “By warm up, do you mean from icy to frosty?”
“Don’t give her false hope. You know he barely stomachs us, and he’s known us for years.” Fenris turned to me with sympathy in his eyes. “Sorry darling, I don’t think he’s ever going to like you.”
The thought of a soulless killer hating me was not a comforting thought. “That’s ok. He doesn’t have to like me. He just has to keep me alive.”
“Well, he is the best with hand to hand combat and his natural healing abilities do come in handy, so out of all of us, he probably will keep you alive the longest.” Fenris joked, but I could hear the sincerity in his words.
One thing about what he said caught my attention though. “Natural healing abilities?”
Saskia bounced in her seat. She was going to be one of those people I could only handle in small doses. Way too much energy exuded from her tiny frame. “Ooh, you have no idea what we are, do you?”
I blanched. Did I really want to know? “Nope. No idea.”
Saskia squealed in excitement. I could feel the guys rolling their eyes at her enthusiasm. I guess explaining what you were to a newbie was not a common occurrence.
“Cassian is a dragon shifter. He’s great with weapons, hand to hand combat, healing and at being an arrogant asshat.”
I looked at Saskia. “So, his behaviour earlier was completely normal?”
Fenris gave a short laugh. “Unfortunately, yes. But don’t get hung up on it. He rarely joins us when we socialise. Mainly sticks to himself and lurks in the basement.”
Okay. Note to self: avoid the basement. And anyone who lurked anywhere was probably best avoided at all costs.
Saskia placed her hand on her chest. “I’m a fire sprite, so anything to do with fire is my jam.” Huh. That kind of made sense. She did seem like was going to explode all the time. “I also love cooking. I hope you like spicy food.”
I did actually. I loved any food that packed a punch. “The hotter, the better.”
She beamed at me. It was infectious and I found myself grinning back. Some of the tension I had felt upon entering the room was starting to dissipate. These guys seemed pretty normal. I relaxed a bit more into the sofa and turned to Alec.
“What about you?” I asked.
His luscious lips curled. He was one of those guys who knew he looked good. His clothes looked like they barely contained his muscular frame and his hair was dishevelled in an I-just-finished-fucking-and-rolled-out-of-bed way. I bet he was a god in the bedroom. He was made for sex. All those hard lines made for tangling with my soft curves. His sinful mouth on my hot skin. Fuck. When had it got so hot in here?
“What are you thinking about, Lori?” Alec purred.
Huh, what?
“Nothing,” I answered a fraction too quickly. “I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
Alec licked his lips and I tracked the movement. Was everything he did sexual?
A knowing smirk spread across his lips. I gulped. He knewexactlywhat I was thinking.
Saskia slapped his arm. “Stop harassing the poor girl. She’s been through enough already.”
Alec threw his hands up in mock surrender and I gave Saskia a thankful glance. I did not like how easily my brain had turned to mush around him.
“I’m a Hell Hound, which makes me great at hunting targets and finding things that don’t want to be found.” He leaned back on the sofa and gave me an eyeful of his toned physique as his shirt rode up exposing his skin. He really was laying it on thick. “I’m also pretty good with my hands. I can make a woman -”
A breeze flew past me with a whoosh and Alec suddenly doubled over grabbing his throat. Shit, he couldn’t breathe. I made to get out of my seat to help him but faltered at the sound of Saskia’s laughter.
