Page 4 of His Human Believer

Skylo bolts ahead of us into the house, claws clicking on stone. Mitry runs behind. Dagr brings in my suitcase. And I follow my best friend and her baby inside.

“Hannibal’s home,” Avery announces, leading me through the kitchen toward the open-plan front of the house. “He wanted to meet you with us at the station, but a colleague turned up and their meeting ran long.”

We walk through an archway into a wide sunlit living area with tall windows down one wall, dark furniture and a huge fireplace.

“Daddy, Aunt Margaret is here,” Mitry shouts.

“I heard,” Hannibal’s deep voice booms from somewhere I can’t see yet. “I’m glad she’s here for a visit.”

I laugh and blink into the brightness and walk in, happy to see Hannibal again. I may not essentially understand my friend marrying this male, but I do consider him one of the best of his species.

And even though the Hyrrokin are terrifying, I know that deep down their outsides do not match their insides. This is a species of great honor. I am lucky to have created friendships with many Hyrrokin over the years.

Oh, there are two Hyrrokin males in the room. This is not something I expected, but I take it in stride.

Hannibal crosses the floor with his tail flicking behind him in greeting. Dark red skin, black horns and fangs on full display because he’s grinning at me. He has Sela tucked against his chest in one enormous arm. “Margaret. It is good to see you again. Welcome to our domicile.”

He pulls me in for a careful one-armed hug, mindful of his claws and of the alert baby. I hug him in return, struck again by the gentleness of this particular Hyrrokin.

Then he steps back and gestures behind him. “I need to introduce you to my colleague. He is staying with us as well.”

I turn, slightly surprised to learn that I won’t be the only guest during my stay at the Hellstone residence, but curious to meet this new being. I had registered a second male in the room peripherally. Filed him under someone’s coworker. I look at him properly now.

And my brain simply stops.

Chapter Two

Margaret

This Hyrrokin male is taller than Hannibal, which I did not think was possible.

Hannibal is built like a soldier. But this one is built like something else entirely, lean and long. He’s bare-chested, which is normal for a male of his species, but for some reason I’m noticing his red chest when my eyes don’t normally linger on such things. His dark trousers are more formal than Hannibal’s and fit him so very well. His feet are bare, with silver-tipped toenails, because nobody on this planet wears shoes.

His head is smooth and bald, the way they all are, with two black horns curving back from his forehead. Black lips. A long folio is balanced in one massive claw, the kind only academics carry.

And he wears small, dark-rimmed reading glasses, perched right on the bridge of his crooked nose.

A fire-breathing devil in reading glasses?

I suck in a breath. Nobody prepared me for this. I’m not scared of this red-skinned Hyrrokin. Instead I’m instantly flooded with desire.

He’s been looking down at the folio. He looks up when I enter and goes completely still. Those black eyes fix on me. His heated gaze trails down my body from head to toe and back up to my face again. A thin curl of smoke drifts up from one nostril.

Oh my.

What is this? Am I…am I actually attracted to this male? How is this even possible?

I step forward and of course my purse chooses this exact moment to slip off my shoulder and hit the stone floor with a slap that echoes off every hard surface in the room. “Sorry…Sorry. That’s…hi. Hello.” Oh jeez. After fifteen years of interviews, depositions and live broadcasts I’m suddenly flustered by this one particular Hyrrokin.

“This is Dr. Vidar Coalstone,” Hannibal explains. “He’s a Senior Fellow at the Royal Hyrrokin Science Academy. Vidar, this is Avery’s best friend Margaret Reyes. She just got in from Salo.”

Vidar sets the folio down on the side table and inclines his head. “Ms. Reyes.”

Heat rushes through my body at the sound of that low, luscious voice. It’s a voice made for audiocasts. A voice I would pay currency to hear again.

“Dr. Coalstone.” I put out my hand, in greeting. “I’m here on vacation.”

He reaches out and his claw swallows mine completely, the silver tips brushing the inside of my wrist so gently. Oh dear gods. Now the heat from that instant connection spreads down my body and between my thighs.