Page 8 of Inflamed By an Incubus

“You’re free of that place now, Evelyn,” he whispered. “You’re free of that part of your past. It was just the stress of the moment that made you forget a few details.”

He heaved another sigh and his fingers lingered on her cheek.

“I’m sorry too. I’ve been under a lot of pressure recently and I’m tired. Maybe I need a break.” He smiled softly and shrugged. “Or a drink. I could buy you a drink as an apology.”

“Cafeteria beer? I’ll pass.” She gazed at the servers, seeing beyond the array of blinking red, green and orange lights in her mind, to the world out there. “I just want to be back on the streets. I want to leap back into my work and forget about what happened… which is ironic since I hate forgetting.”

She chuckled.

Archer’s steady gaze drilled into the side of her face.

She kept hers locked on the servers, a heavy feeling settling inside her again. She hated being inactive. It gave her too much time to think and she kept finding herself mulling over all the times she had felt there was something wrong with her.

That she wasn’t right.

“How about we get some decent beer then?” Archer’s hand dropped to his side and he gave her a stern look. “I’m not taking you on patrol, but we could gather some intelligence… something not dangerous… like a trip to Switch or Underworld.”

Two nightclubs run by non-humans.

She gave him a sly smile. “I could use a cold beer.”

He smiled right back at her, shook his head and then nodded towards the door. “Come on then. We can walk. Fix this flat butt of mine.”

Evelyn slid a sidelong look at it as he walked past her, rounding the end of the row of desks. It wasn’t flat at all. She wasn’t sure how he did it, but he could sit in a chair most of the day and not ruin one hell of a fantastic backside. She wasn’t the only one who stole a peek at it either. Several of the women in the room also tiptoed to see past the monitors to him as he strode towards the door, a sensual shift to his movements that made him look like a panther on the prowl.

On a satisfied sigh, she pushed to her feet and followed him, resisting the temptation to continue admiring the view.

“Swing by my quarters first? I need to grab some things.” By things, she meant her favourite tranquiliser gun, just in case things got a little wild.

Archer nodded as she fell into step beside him, and she led the way to her quarters in the dormitory wing of the enormous building. She ditched her water bottle and grabbed her holster, wrangling her arms into it so her pistol sat snug against her ribs, and then turned back towards Archer where he waited in the doorway.

He reached around to his left, unhooked her black leather jacket and tossed it at her. “Might want to cover that piece.”

She slipped her arms into the worn leather and smoothed it over her ribs so it concealed her weapon and then grabbed the pack of darts from the side table near him. He waited for her to pocket them and then turned around and stepped back into the cream hallway. She closed the door behind her and followed him down through the building, across the large bright foyer and out into the night.

The air was cool against her damp hair and she breathed deep of it, savouring it as if it was a fine wine, not thick with the scents of London. She glanced back at the elegant sandstone building as they left it behind, a place that had been her home for years now, since Archer had saved her life the first time.

“Let’s cut through here.” Archer pointed to the park and she immediately went on high alert, her focus narrowing to the shadows that clung to the trees.

If Archer switched his focus to looking for danger, he didn’t show it. He casually jammed his hands into the pockets of his black combat trousers and tipped his head back to gaze at the night sky.

“I’m not sure how you can be so calm about walking through a pitch-black park.” Evelyn scanned the darkness, her cheeks warming a little as she tried to pick out whether anyone was lurking in the patches of black beneath the trees. She absently touched her face when it grew hotter and her head felt a little foggy.

What was wrong with her these days?

She kept feeling flushed, hot all over, and she was starting to worry that her wound was infected even though the doctor at her latest check-up said she wasn’t showing any signs of infection.

“You all right?” Archer stopped and caught her arm. He pulled her around to face him, a soft look of concern etched on his face as he studied her. When he lifted his hand and touched her cheek, she almost gasped. It was so cool against her flesh, a blissful relief from the heat that scalded her cheeks. “Maybe we should forget about getting a beer and head back. You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine.”

She locked up tight, her muscles clamping down on her bones as movement just beyond him caught her eye and she looked there. Her gaze collided with that of a man who was running right at Archer’s back and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

He was handsome.

Gorgeous even.

And strangely familiar.

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