“I will. And hopefully when I go out hunting prey tonight the demon will make an appearance and I can send him to the underworld to you.”
I want you to hold off on hunting evildoers until the demon is taken care of. Since you’re now bonded to your mate, you not only risk your life, but hers as well.
“I’m immortal.”
Yes, but remember the last demon had a spelled dagger that left my warrior weak and vulnerable. If not for a protection spell I put over his house using the demon’s blood, he would have been too easy to kill.
“I’ll do as you say.”
Tor felt Anubis’ presence leave the temple. He wasn’t exactly pleased with the god’s edict of no hunting until Tor had taken down the demon. He was used to taking the initiative rather than sitting around doing nothing, waiting for the bad guys to come to him. And not being able to hunt meant he’d have a long night ahead of him before he could see Kenna again. He couldn’t show up at her place after they’d made plans to meet the next day. She’d wonder at the sudden change. Plus, she might think he moved a little too fast if he came across as demanding all of her attention all of the time. He knew what she meant to him but she didn’t have a clue.
Tor left the small temple and headed downstairs to the living room where he had a fifty-five-inch LCD television. He’d watch some movies to help the time pass before he was tired enough to go to bed.
As he looked through his collection of DVDs, his thoughts kept straying to Kenna. The more he thought of her the more he remembered how she tasted, how it felt to sink his body into hers. The sounds she made as she came. He longed to be with her, to have her always at his side. He craved her touch, and would for the rest of his very long life. His feelings for her had gone from simple attraction to full-blown love in a matter of days.
Maybe it had a lot to do with the bond that had formed between them, but Tor knew he didn’t want to go back to his old life of being alone. Kenna completed him, made him feel things he hadn’t felt in thousands of years—longing for someone to share his days and nights with being one of them.
Tomorrow he’d take the steps to bring Kenna into his world and permanently into his life. He wanted her living under his roof where she’d be better protected from the evil Tor knew all too well lurked outside, just waiting for a chance to strike at the next victim. She’d already experienced it firsthand, not that she remembered. He wanted to shelter her from it so it would never happen again. He would always be one of Anubis’ warriors, but he now had a duty to protect Kenna, his mate, as well.
Kenna found she didn’t know what to do with herself after Tor had dropped her off at home. She prowled around her apartment missing him like crazy. No other guy had she obsessed over as much as she did Tor. Some great sex and now she wanted to hang on to him and never let him go. Neither of them had even discussed the future. She didn’t even know if Tor wanted a serious relationship with her. And it was way too early to think about bringing up the topic of marriage.
She went to her bedroom and decided she might as well pack a bag for her weekend at Tor’s. The first thing she did was head to her underwear drawer. Though she wasn’t one for dressing overtly sexy, she did like to wear slinky undergarments. Nick called her the closet slut, that deep inside she wanted to show off her body. She did, but only to the men she slept with. And right now that man was Tor.
Kenna pulled out some of her skimpiest lingerie. She had one set in particular she wanted to take. After lifting it out of the drawer, she held it in front of her. It was a red satin baby doll with black lace trim along the hem and a sweetheart neckline. The straps were black and thin with tiny black satin bows partway up. A red satin G-string completed it. It was one of Kenna’s recent purchases and she hadn’t had a chance to wear it yet. She had a feeling Tor would like to see her in it. She knew she’d love it when he stripped the baby doll off her.
Once she finished packing, Kenna took a long, hot shower. She washed her hair, shaved her legs and lathered herself up with her vanilla-scented body wash. Letting her hair air-dry, she applied lotion to her body. Now she was all set to see Tor the next day.
When the hour grew late enough, Kenna went to bed. She thought she might have a hard time falling asleep, since she was more than looking forward to the weekend starting, but that didn’t happen to be the case. Sleep claimed her in a matter of minutes.
Then she dreamed about Tor, but it wasn’t a sexy, fun one. This dream was a borderline nightmare. One she tried to wake herself up from but couldn’t. In it, a strange man threatened her, demanding she give him something. What, she didn’t know. All she knew was he frightened her. Tor appeared on the scene. Some of Kenna’s fear dissipated, knowing he’d take care of the man who threatened her. Tor would keep her safe.
That soon changed when Tor’s body blurred and he shifted into a creature straight out of a horror movie, something half-human and half-animal. He stood taller than his normal height, was more muscular with his body completely covered in black fur. His tail swished behind him as he curled the upper lip on his muzzle and growled much as Tor had done while they’d made love. Somehow she’d even added his Egyptian heritage, because the creature he’d become wore a snow-white kilt as they did in ancient times, complete with gold armbands around his furred biceps.
This new Tor focused on the man and grabbed him by the throat. With a flash of a gold dagger, Tor cut the stranger with it, and the man yelled in fear before he literally disappeared. Tor turned toward Kenna, the dagger still in his hand. Blood marred the gold of the blade, dripping as he walked closer. There was more blood than there should have been. It didn’t seem to stop.
Kenna told him to stay back, but he kept coming. His gaze snagged hers and she couldn’t look away, felt trapped, unable to move. In a deep, gravelly voice, he said, “You are mine.” He then lunged at her.
She screamed, which woke her up. Kenna lay still on the bed, her eyes trying to focus in the darkness as her heart beat at a fast rate. She panted in fear, afraid to move. It was only a dream, she told herself. Tor was not the creature she’d seem him shift into while she’d slept. That was only the stuff of horror films, or her dreams, apparently.
Once she could breathe again without sounding as if she’d just run a marathon, Kenna got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She splashed cool water on her face. She rarely had nightmares. And of course it would figure when she did it would be an exceptionally bad one. She just hoped she’d be able to go back to sleep.
Kenna headed to the bedroom and climbed into bed. She closed her eyes and once again the creature Tor had become rose in her mind. It’s not real, it’s not real. She could tell herself that, but the fear was still there. Not about to let the nightmare win, she rolled over to her side and pulled the extra pillow to her chest, holding it tight. She would not stay awake. She needed to rest. She wasn’t going to ruin tomorrow by being tired from lack of sleep.
It took a few hours, but Kenna finally was able to push the memory of her bad dream aside to find the sleep she needed. As she drifted off, she thought of Tor and how good it felt to be held in his arms.
Kenna awoke in the morning, grateful her nightmare hadn’t returned. She stretched and sat up. The small sliver of sunlight that shone through the crack in her drapes told her the day was already a bright one. She threw back the covers and got out of bed.
After a stop in the bathroom, she headed for the kitchen. It was a little after ten. She decided to make herself some breakfast, then get dressed and ready for the day. Standing at the open fridge, Kenna saw she had all the ingredients to make a veggie omelet. She took out everything she needed and shut the door with her hip.