Page 65 of Obsidian Prince

Finally, exhaustion dragged her under its spell.

Chapter17

Morning Revelations

Liliana woketo a knock on the door, confused at first because she wasn’t certain if it came from her front business door or her back home door. The muscular form of Alexander Bennett moved quietly around the room.

Liliana looked backward in time a bit with her fourth eyes so she could see more of him walking around naked, then shirtless. It was a sad thing to cover up that many beautiful muscles.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek where it barely stuck out above the covers. “I’ll get it. It’s Runningwolf. We’ve got a standing eight o’clock meeting here to go over the plan for the day.”

“On Saturday?”

“I called him back to duty when I first got up. He must have already been up to get here so fast.” Alexander knelt down beside the bed so they were face to face.

Reflexively, Liliana, shifted her first eyes’ gaze to his right shoulder as she always did when people tried to make eye contact, but found it wasn’t that strong a compulsion. She could look at his cheek or his lips. He had very nice lips that made her think of how they felt on her skin.

His big hand pushed her messy jumble of hair aside, baring one of her second eyes. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his warm breath making her shiver. “Someone gave me some good advice about how to deal with the awakening forest and the angry Green man.”

Liliana smiled, warmth filling her from toes to hair.

Alexander kissed her on the neck before he left the room to answer the door.

With her fourth eyes, Liliana watched him go. His backside was as magnificent as his chest. She stretched lazily, warm and happy and drowsy, starting to doze back off as she watched him.

Alexander bent to pick up his shoes from the hallway as he walked. He dropped them neatly under the little bench by the front door in their usual place.

Lieutenant John Runningwolf saluted smartly when he opened the door. “Good morning, sir.”

Alexander returned the salute before inviting the young soldier in. “Coffee?”

John grinned. “Yes, sir, absolutely and always.” He doffed his cap and tucked it under a strap on his shoulder as he came in. “Sergeant Giovanni and that civilian Detective Jackson are fairly certain now that the Kodiak-kin was a copycat. He’s had no contact that we know of with any of the victims, other than those last two.”

Alexander walked into the kitchen while they talked. “The culprit’s a Green man who recently woke up. He’s probably not even from this century, so Jackson’s not going to find anything on him.”

In the kitchen, her prince went to pull open the refrigerator. There was a scrap of black satiny cloth and lace hanging on the handle.

Liliana giggled, awake now, so she got up out of bed. The interaction in the next room was far too interesting for her to sleep through it.

The colonel paused for only a moment. He removed the panties, tucked them in his pocket, and opened the refrigerator door as if nothing happened. “We’ll need to go to the Bones Creek forest, in the area where the killings took place.” His voice hadn’t changed.

John’s cheek made an odd sort of tick. He started to snicker, but Alexander stared at him in a way that made the smile vanish. He cleared his throat, “Um, sure, um, yes, sir.”

“I intend to use my bond with the land to wake up all the sleeping Fae in the area and lay down the law. Those people don’t know the rules, or the changes that time has made.” Alexander poured a glass of orange juice for himself. He punched buttons on the front of an express coffeemaker on his counter.

John held out a hand. “They don’t know the land has a ruler, now.”

“Exactly.” Alexander placed a mug of hot coffee in his outstretched hand.

The young soldier walked around the kitchen island to a barstool. He paused for a moment, staring at the living room.

Liliana wondered what he was looking at and looked herself. A blender was shattered all over the floor by the island. Liliana’s new black dress was half on the arm of the couch, half on the floor. Her bra hung from the corner of an end table.

“I’ll need you and Nudd there,” Alexander said, ignoring the direction of his Lieutenant’s gaze. “Brief Detective Jackson. I want her to know what’s going on. It’s an asset having someone in local law enforcement who knows what’s really happening. She can provide cover when necessary. The press already thinks we caught the killer. Best if we can keep it that way. I’ll take care of the Green man, myself, if she approves.”

Alexander bent down, picked his dress shirt up off the kitchen floor. He folded it in half neatly on the kitchen counter. “Inform Siobhan as well. This is an official court action, so we’ll need our Guardian.” Alexander paused for a moment. “And Pete. He’s off today, but he’ll come in if you tell him its related to the recent killings.”

John nodded, still staring at the mess of Alexander’s usually photo-ready living room. “Pete, okay. Sure. Um.”

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