Alrik turned and followed along the cliff before disappearing around the bend.
Abby fidgeted then moved to sit Indian style. When that didn’t bring any comfort, she kicked her legs out in front of her and crossed her ankles. Time seemed to slow after he left. She was never one to idle, always preferred to keep moving.
The peaceful quiet of the woods didn’t help that any. The wind blew by rustling the leaves of the trees creating its own form of music. She sighed with disgust. This was no good. Sitting alone left to her thoughts to fill the silence.
She probably lost her job. If she made it out of this ordeal then she might be able to explain to Stan and get her job back. He was a good teacher but harsh. He’d probably make her redo her entire internship and that’d leave her back at square one working towards her supernatural medical examiner’s certificate. God, she wanted it so badly she could almost taste it.
She wanted that laminated badge with her picture and name on it. The one stamped ME on it by the state. Not her intern’s badge. She wanted to finish her autopsy training and be in there with the victims, finding cause of death, and helping detectives like Mike to find murderers. She wanted to be someone who helped to make things a little better in the world. She didn’t want to stand by as bad things happened. She could do something to help and she wanted it so bad she could taste it.
With a grunt, Abby fell back against the slab of rock and stared up at the strange sky. Out of all the doubts she’d ever entertained about her job, she never once figured she might get her dream job because a sexy demon would kidnap her. Yup, can’t say that ever crossed the mind, she thought.
Maybe not being smart enough for the job or not being able to stomach what she saw—those were legitimate fears she’d had. The thought of a cursed psycho storming into her house and kidnapping her into a dimension filled with different kinds of demons never entered her mind. Not even once.
What that meant for her was almost too scary to think about. Could she really be that powerful? If the queen was as powerful as he said, and if she sent those birds with the deadliest storm ever after them, then she must be. That meant she might be more powerful than the queen and the thought terrified her. What if when she finished harnessing her power to get out of the rift it went to her head? What if it corrupted her or changed her? She didn’t want to change. She was perfectly happy how she was.
Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. She’d been stuck in a rut, bored when not working, and living without really living life. Her daily routine had consisted of getting in her internship hours and staying at home. Ever since she’d been out of college her relationship with her best friend Jenna had even started to deteriorate. If anything, they should be spending even more time together what with all the free time Abby had.
Well, she was certainly living life now just not in the way she’d ever thought possible. Now she was in a strange world with a strange man. No, a demon, she corrected. Alrik was no man. He was too powerful, too mysterious, too sensual, too dangerous...too everything to be a man.
And, he kissed her like she had always wanted to be kissed. Heck, like any woman would want to be kissed at least once in their lifetime. Like she’d been his air. Once his lips touched hers, something zapped between them, something too powerful to be contained. Her stomach fluttered and she ran her hand over it to settle it. Her lips felt suddenly dry and she darted her tongue out to wet them. She wanted that again. She wanted it so badly it was a physical need telling her to go after him and make him kiss her like that again. She wanted to see what else he was capable of, and discover what other passions existed between them.
A twig snapped nearby. Abby jumped up, her gaze searching in the direction of the cliff where Alrik had disappeared behind. She held her breath as her heart thumped in her chest. She despised the jumpy feeling she got every time Alrik left her. Her instincts were on full alert, preparing her body for fight or flight mode. She recognized it which only made her eyes widen further to see what had made that noise.
The sound of leaves rustling came and then Alrik stepped around the bend of the cliff. Her breath wheezed out of her in a long rush, and she collapsed on the rock as her muscles relaxed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked his voice curt.
Abby sighed and pushed herself back up. When she looked at him her breath caught in her throat. He was shirtless, again, and very wet. His hair was slicked back over a set of broad, hard shoulders. Water dripped down his chest and dampened the top of his pants. He must have just done a quick wash and pulled his pants on. Saliva pooled on her tongue.
“Abbigail?”
Her gaze met his eyes which were dark again. Well, they were always dark, but they had fire to them now as they did after he’d kissed her. Breathing suddenly became a difficult task as her chest squeezed tight.
“You startled me, that’s all.”
“Pull your gaze away, Abbigail.” It was a command. God, his voice sounded so deep and husky.
Easier said than done though she didn’t say so. She couldn’t help but be fascinated with the hard play of muscles on his chest. They looked soft to the touch yet hard at the same time. She found herself wanting to run her fingers over his stomach and find out which it was.
“What are you doing?”
The edge in his voice brought her gaze up to his again. His eyes were wide, his body language tense. It was then she realized she’d gotten up and started walking to him. She stood only a few feet away and had no recollection of moving.
She swallowed and looked back at the rock she’d just been sitting on then down to the ground where she stood. His question left her fumbling. How did she explain that she’d wanted to touch him so badly that she’d just marched right on over to him without even realizing she was doing it? That couldn’t be explained without horrible implications on her part. So, she said something else.
“I like your chest.”
Oh my god! her mind screamed. What the hell did I just say? A hot blush crept over her cheeks. “I mean…” her eyes followed a droplet of water sitting in the hollow shell at his collarbone. He moved a little and the drop went running down his chest and over one hard, defined pectoral muscle. Between her legs, she grew tight and hot.
Alrik eyed her warily then pulled his wet shirt on over his head. The shirt clung to him in ways that fascinated her. It fit along his arms like a second skin, showing to perfection his cut biceps. What a shame, though, to cover such beauty.
“Perhaps you are tired. Did you eat?”
“No, no I didn’t.” She’d been too lost in her thoughts.
He shook his head at her and grabbed the food off the ground, shoving it in her hand. “You’ll eat as we walk. We have to get moving while it’s still light out.”
“Why is your shirt wet?” She couldn’t help but ask. The wet shirt clinging to him bugged her. He’d come back without it on, yet it was wet. As his dark eyes narrowed on her, she knew she must be steadily making a fool out of herself.
He grabbed his supplies and sheathed his swords over his back. “I washed it.”
“Oh.” Of course he did. The idea of him soaping his own clothes in a cold lake made her smile. He cut a look to her catching it.
“What?” He sounded defensive.
Her lips twitched. “I didn’t know you could do laundry. Bet you miss your slaves for that.”
His gaze dimmed and she knew she’d said something he didn’t like. “Slaves didn’t do my laundry but servants did. Let’s move.”