Page 19 of The Demon's Fire
“Cut the shit. Enough.” Kole grumbled, striding to his desk, cutting off any personal discussion. “This doesn’t interest Chief Maxwell.”
Passing near Skyler when she exited, Bounty leaned close, cracking her lips to show the points of her fangs. “That’s the kind of male he is.” She turned on her heel, strutting out, closing the door with a bang.
Okay. Bounty had overheard their earlier conversation.
Kole growled. “It’s unhealthy to get on her bad side. Sure, she badmouths me, doesn’t listen, sasses, cusses, orders me around. But she’s feral when it comes to protecting her Firebrands. Including me.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” Skyler eyed Kole, trying to see the man behind the wide shoulders, muscular build, fire-gold irises ringed with black, and masculine, brutish face.
When the commander caught her, she snapped her eyes away, appearing to study the room.
While Kole read and reread the same pieces of paper, frown lines formed creases above his nose. “Bounty, get in here. Is this what you were given?”
“Yep. Straight from the high comm’s office. He said it came from her admin assistant.” The vampire had an ear-to-ear grin, wiggling an irritating thumb in Skyler’s direction.
“This is what you want to see?” Kole pinned Skyler with a disbelieving stare. “The ylven Inimicus Ceremony? The demon Genesis Rite?”
Bounty put a hand on the back of Kole’s chair. She asked Skyler, “Any changes?”
“Absolutely not. My father’s journals are my guide. This was his agenda when he first visited Scath as a new CLO. I want to retrace his steps. No alterations. Am I clear? How hard can it be to follow directions?”
Skyler held out an upright palm before the commander opened his mouth again. “Matter settled.”
Kole exchanged a glance with his vampire assistant. “Make the arrangements, Bounty.”
“Already made, Commander.” She did a little dance step when she left the office.
Strange.
Kole pushed out of his chair to open a drawer, removing a fresh pair of black cargo pants along with a matching tee. He unfastened his sheath, loaded with knives, and stripped off his bloodied, torn shirt.
Skyler watched as he bared rippling, rock-hard abs and a muscle-padded chest with its inky runes dipping into his waistband. Her attention flipped to his Phoenix brand. Its head rested at the top of his enormous upper arm, its wings wrapped around a thick bicep, its talons reaching his elbow. It was the fierce symbol of a Firebrand warrior. She swallowed, her mouth dry.
At a sink, Kole dampened a cloth and washed off blood. While she was mesmerized, he began to unzip his pants. “No peeking now. I’ll blush.”
Skyler bounded out of her seat, giving her back to him.
Rude. Crass.Barbarian.
But she was glad she had turned away from Kole. With the sound of his pants brushing down his legs, Skyler palmed her cheek. Her face was warm.
I would have peeked.
“You can look now. If you want to change to something more sensible, I promise to keep my eyes closed.”
“Not another word about my clothes.” Skyler smoothed her stylish, expensive skirt. It was her armor, a symbol of her success.
Bounty interrupted, slipping through the door, escorting a man inside. “The healer’s here to stick it to the chief.”
“Getting a blood sample isn’t necessary since I know my heritage. My Aeternal ancestry is only several centuries old. I have no mage DNA.”
“There are no exceptions, Chief Maxwell,” explained the healer, withdrawing a syringe along with a vial from his case.
“Very well.” She removed her jacket, tossing it onto a chair, her foot tapping while he extracted blood.
****
Alarik, the director of the Ministry of Well Being, sat at the head of a large mahogany table in his conference room.
