Page 42 of A Lion's Heart
“I’m on your comlink,” he said. “I’ll send you the address of a place to stay.”
Decan nodded and then looked to Gold and Keller.
“First thing in the morning,” he said. “That’s how long you’ve got to come up with a damn good reason for why you weren’t with her.”
Keller shook his head. “We were doing what we came here to do. Babysitting wasn’t part of the deal.”
“This is my operation. Whatever I say needs to be done, gets done!” Decan yelled.
“It was Mackey,” Gold said. “We had him.”
“I don’t give a damn! She could have been killed!” Decan continued.
“It’s been a really fun night, but I’m kinda hungry and tired, so can we wrap this up and reconvene in the morning?” Kyss asked from where she leaned on the second vehicle.
Nisa had never felt as out of place as she did at this moment. She was barefoot, in a shifter’s arms and remaining totally silent. How the hell did she get here? And where was the Nisa Reynolds that swore she could handle a mission on her own?
“First thing in the morning,” Decan repeated and then yanked the passenger side door open and deposited Nisa into the seat.
She immediately slid to the side and familiarized herself with the dashboard controls of this foreign vehicle. Decan slammed one door and then the other as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Sit back,” he told her.
Nisa paused and then decided to do what he’d said. There would be time for her to speak her mind, soon.
The vehicle took off quickly, moving even faster than the one that had brought them here in the first place. They drove through the city, into the almost pitch blackness of territory unknown to her, before finally coming to a stop. Decan stepped out and before he could get to her door Nisa got out on her own. Her feet landed on a grassy surface, and she looked down to see long blades of grass passing her ankles. Decan walked in front of her, going up the steps of what appeared to be an old wood house. Vines wrapped around the railing of what used to be a porch. Ivy stretched up the front walls like fluid arms and circled around the windows and roof so that the wood barely showed anymore. The place looked more like a grass hut now. He opened the door and waited while she entered, before closing it again. She followed him to the back of the dwelling where he opened another door and walked them down a flight of stairs.
Here, there was light and furniture and warmth. She almost sighed in relief at the sight of a small bathroom and a shower stall.
“Go ahead,” he said, his voice seemingly loud in the closed space. “I’ll be here when you get out.”
Nisa didn’t know what was happening to her. She was actually standing there searching for words. There was so much to say to him. So many questions and so much to tell him about what she and Kyss had learned about the Ruling Cabinet, but she did not say a word. She simply turned around and walked into the closet-sized bathroom.
Decan watched her.
Leaning against the doorjamb after opening the door, he just watched.
Her body was tight in all the right places, plump in the others. There was power in her legs, her calves moving up to her thighs. Her arms were long and strong as she lifted them over her head and let the spray of water hit her sides and her back. Soapy lather ran down her body in silken stretches that made him jealous all over again.
Wasn’t that how he’d felt as he’d run from that ballroom and headed to the elevators to follow her scent. Someone was touching her. They were feeling her and taking what was his. The sensation had quickly turned to rage when he’d seen the rope go around her neck and knew the human had planned to kill her. Now, Decan was back to not knowing what the hell he was feeling where she was concerned. Actually, that wasn’t true. The bulging in his pants said he was definitely aroused and the sheer reluctance to letting her out of his sight again had him standing there while she bathed and watching like some perverted stalker.
“It’s a good thing I’m not modest.”
He heard her words and blinked when he realized she’d shut off the water and stepped out of the shower stall. Naked.
“The towel is behind the door,” she continued.
He nodded and moved further into the small room so that he could push the door closed enough to pull the towel off the wire hook.
“Thank you,” she said when he handed it to her.
“You’re not modest around me,” he told her. “Because you know there’s no need.”
She’d bent over and began rubbing the towel down her legs. Standing again she tilted her head as she stared at him.
“You have no idea what I know,” she replied.
“You know there’s something between us. It’s been there since the moment I first saw you.”
