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Adryan.
He wanted to be with me every step of the way. Hell, I was pretty sure if Adryan could permanently secure me to his side, he’d do it without a second thought. In fact, he’d tried that arrogant, chauvinistic bullshit with me plenty of times, but if we were to be together, we had to work as a team. I wasn’t a piece of property, and he didn’t own me, even if he thought otherwise.
I rolled my eyes but still smirked, because for as insufferable as he was, I still loved him with every part of me.
But for this instant, as a grown woman, and an independent one at that, I’d had to do things on my own, and one of those things was dealing with my uncle's home and finalizing everything.
I found myself looking at the two men Adryan had sent over to make sure things went smoothly. AKA—to kill anyone who tried to hurt me, per Adryan’s words. Although the men in question looked human, I was pretty sure they weren’t. I knew they weren't vampires—what with the whole glowing ball of danger in the sky that didn’t faze them. But other than that, I didn’t know what they were.
They noticed Adryan’s car and gave a nod toward it, then got into their own vehicle and were gone.
The car came to a stop at the end of the driveway, and for a moment it just idled, the windows tinted so dark I couldn’t see inside. But I knew Adryan watched me. I could feel his stare, practically hear his growl for me to come closer.
The driver-side door opened, and I snapped my focus to the sunset. It was already well below the horizon, but there was still that lingering glow that—from what I’d learned about vampires—didn’t burn them to a crisp like in the movies, but did suck the energy right from them until they were so weakened they were easy as hell to kill.
So my heart was obviously in my throat as I looked back at the car and watched Adryan straighten to his nearly seven-foot height, a cell phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low and characteristically deep, but I heard his conversation well enough.
“I know you don’t want me there… yeah, yeah I know I’m a pain in the ass.” He exhaled. “You love me anyway.” He chuckled when I scowled.
I assumed he was speaking with his sister, Luna, because he didn’t joke with anyone, and the only time I heard the L-word leave his lips was in reference to me, and more recently his family. But hell, I still felt a twinge of jealousy.
“He’s well though?” Adryan asked about Lennox, and although I didn’t know his nephew, I’d heard about the awful circumstances regarding his injury. “Yeah, Luna, I know… as well as can be, given the shit that went down.” The deep sigh that left him was one of annoyance. “Well, keep me posted, yeah?”
Adryan stared at me as he spoke in sure, quick responses to his sister. “Yeah, put your annoying-as-hell mate on the phone.” A moment of silence passed where Adryan slowly grinned at me, causing all kinds of fluttering to happen in my belly. “Banner?” he said in a hard, all-businesslike tone, his body visibly tightening. “Any news on your end on the Odhran situation?”
Just hearing about the wolf made me think about Larkin. God, she’d looked so sad and battered, on the verge of being broken in that cell. I didn’t know what had happened to her after we left. Adryan had told me Odhran was her mate and had been searching for her for “a long-ass time.”
He’d told me Odhran had never given up on finding her, and sure as hell wasn’t going to stop now that he was so close. The confidence in my vampire’s voice had reassured me slightly, but Adryan hadn’t seen the bruises on her body, her dirty shift, the way she’d had dark circles under her eyes or been too thin.
I wanted to help her. I wanted to find her too even if we’d only shared each other’s company for a short time. But I didn’t have to ask Adryan. He’d called up his soldiers, barked out orders to go back into those underground tunnels and search for Odhran and Larkin, as well as any other Otherworld creatures trapped there.
He’d been thinking about others, and I fell in love with him so hard in that moment.
But there hadn’t been anything left in Vermont, the fire and smoke damage causing things to collapse and getting through to the tunnels almost impossible. I wanted to believe Larkin had gotten out safely, that Odhran had recused her. I wanted to believe that so badly that I’d asked Adryan if he’d stop searching for them. His reply had been sure and quick and without hesitation.
“Fuck no, I’m not giving up. I’m a stubborn bastard, princess.”
I listened to him speak with Banner about any and all new information his soldiers had found, heard the deafening silence of Adryan staying quiet as he listened to whatever Banner was saying. At the end of it the conclusion was the same between both men.
They wouldn’t give up until Odhran and his mate were found.
Once the call was ended, Adryan tucked his cell back into his pocket, and I could see the snarl on his face as he looked toward the glowing sky. He promptly lifted his hand and gave the setting sun his middle finger, which would have been humorous if I wasn’t nervous as hell for him, given he was outside before the sun had fully set and feeling the remnants of the heavy conversation he’d clearly just had.
As I stood there for a moment and just appreciated the sight of him, I knew that although he might be arrogant and self-righteous in the most annoying—attractive—ways, regardless of his “faults,” he was mine and I was his.
He kept his sunglasses on and smoothed a hand over his jaw, which was covered in a trimmed black beard. I’d joked about him growing one out and how hot it would make him.
Of course the cocky bastard had scoffed and informed me I already found him hot, yet over the following week he’d let it grow in. Even now, despite his arrogance, he still did things to please me.
Hell, I’d find Adryan hot if he was covered in dirt and wearing a stinky-ass burlap sack, but I’d never tell him that. That would just make his ego even bigger, and that’s the last thing anyone needed.
As if he knew what I was thinking about, his smile was slow and satisfied. The arrogant, hot-as-hell bastard.
The sun fully set, dusk turning into evening. I found myself moving toward him. Adryan took off his sunglasses real slow, real sexy-like, and then really nailed it home when he gave me one of those devilish winks.
I grew wet, achy, and ready to have him fuck me right here as a last parting gift to this place. I walked to him, my heart beating harder and faster the closer I got to him. I smelled him before I reached his big, muscular body, a rich and intoxicating scent that reminded me of spices, clean sweat, and burning embers.
He held his arms open, all smugness leaving his face as pure, unadulterated heat and raw, filthy need now replaced it. I let my gaze lower to where I saw the monstrously thick erection tenting his slacks like a third limb. Adryan was long and girthy, wider than my wrist, the length of my forearm. It was a ridiculous size, one a man shouldn’t have realistically, one that wasn’t humanly possible. But he wasn’t human, was he?
