Page 260 of Duty and Desire
The rain and cold disappeared along with her fear and sadness. Only passion and fire remained. She let him guide her, opening her mouth, wanting everything he was giving. Never had she felt this. Her body went from a slow heat to a full-on inferno, her thighs trembling for more of him. For all of him.
Headlights barely caught her attention. Then a door slamming. “What the hell?” bellowed a familiar male voice.
She jumped, fear instantly swamping her. “No.”
Noah released her and turned as Monte stomped toward them, fury morphing into red blotches on a face she’d once thought handsome. “What are you doing?” he yelled, arms swinging, getting too close.
Noah partially turned and punched him right in the mouth. Monte went down, splashing through a mudpuddle, his arms windmilling.
Abby gasped, her body chilling instantly. Horror caught her. Oh God. “What have you done?”
CHAPTER 7
Noah’s entire body was on fire for the small female, and he’d reacted instantly to a perceived threat. Once he’d knocked Monte down, by pulling his punch no less, he pivoted and put his body between the terrified human and the asshole on the ground. “Get up.”
The jerk shoved to his feet, brushing dirty water off his slacks. “Get away from my wife.” His lip had already started swelling, and his words came out with a lisp.
“Ex-wife,” Noah retorted, scanning the area. “Did you slash her tires?” No doubt the jerk had done so and then returned to save her. Or pretend to save her.
Monte’s eyes widened, fury and feigned surprise glowing bright in their blue depths. “Of course not. In fact, if her tires are slashed, it was probably you. Thinking she’d get in bed as a thank you, which obviously she would.”
Oh, the jerk was going to get hit again. “Lies smell like sulfur to me,” he muttered. To most immortals, actually.
“I’m sorry,” Abby said, scrambling to get out of the truck. “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to hit you, Monte.”
The panic in her voice nearly sent Noah over the edge. He pivoted and turned her fully into the truck before shutting thedoor before she could get out. Her fear smelled like lemons and awoke the beast deep down inside himself that had lain dormant since the last war. Since he’d last fought for home and family. “She’s afraid of you. I’m not. You want to come at somebody a decent size?” he drawled.
Monte brushed his dirty slacks. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
True. And he needed to rectify that. Noah reached for a phone in his back pocket and quickly speed dialed a number he’d just gotten. “I need help and will owe you one. Abby’s tires have been slashed, and I need somebody to get and fix her car. And I may need the name of a good lawyer.” He waited for the response. “Thanks.” Then he hung up.
Monte sneered. “Oh, you’re definitely going to need a good lawyer. You just committed battery.”
Noah shrugged. “I knocked you on your ass with one pulled punch. You sure you want your buddy the sheriff to know that?”
Monte’s nostrils flared. He faltered.
“Oh, I’ll make sure every detail ends up in my answer to the complaint,” Noah drawled. “In fact, I may even note that you cried like a baby.” Bullies always liked the darkness and not the light. “You want to play, asshole? I’ll write a blog and letters to the editor. And hey. Just how did her tires get slashed?”
“You did it,” Monte spat.
“Really?” This would be so much easier if Noah could just tear off the human’s head. But that’d scare Abby, and considering she’d just rocked his entire four-hundred-year-old existence with one kiss, he didn’t want her seeing that part of him. Not yet, anyway. “I guess we’ll see. That is, if you go crying to the police because of a simple fat lip.” He let the contempt he was truly feeling show in his expression.
Monte tried to look past him inside the truck, but Noah blocked the way. “Fine. We’re not done, asshole,” he spat, turning on his heel and stomping back to his car.
There wasn’t much chance of that. Noah waited until Monte had driven away before turning and opening his door. “Scoot over. Please.” He wasn’t a guy who said please very often, but it seemed like much had been out of Abby’s control, and he had to make sure she knew she had it. After she’d moved over, he paused. “This is up to you. You can take my truck, and I can wait for my friend to come for your car. Or I can drive you home. To either your home or mine.”
She blinked, her eyes huge in her pale face. “Your home?”
He held up a hand. “Guest room. It’s all yours if you want a safe place to stay.”
She scooted away. “Listen. You’re a nice guy, but you’re way out of your element. You have no idea who Monte is in this town. You just made a huge mistake, and it’s my fault. I can’t stay at your house.”
Great. Just wonderful. “Okay. I’ll drive you home.” He slid inside the cab, trying not to take up as much space as usual. He couldn’t help being big, even for a demon-vampire hybrid. Starting the ignition, he drove slowly away from the parking lot. “Though it’s going to be kind of lonely without Ivar there.” The ring of truth in his words caught him off guard. He had liked having the Viking around for a bit.
She wrapped her arms around herself as if freezing. “Oh, Noah. You just don’t get it. What are we going to do?” She released her torso and buried her face in her hands. “You’re gonna get arrested.”
He glanced sideways. She was incredibly small. Human and fragile. The idea that anybody would frighten her so much pissed him off beyond belief. It took several seconds for him to get his voice under control and not scare her. When he’d finally releasedhis death grip on the steering wheel, he turned to watch the road. “What exactly did he do to you?”
