Page 127 of Taste of Forever
“It’s okay.” Heather, my love, my betrayer, slid out of my lap. “I should have come to get you the moment he woke up.”
“No, no. You two deserve alone time while Laith recovers.” Thorne’s lips lifted in a rare smile. “It’s good to have you back.”
“Thanks.” I arranged the bedcovers to hide my erection. “So, clean-up at the scene went well, I imagine?”
Thorne rubbed his jaw. “Yes and no. We were in a rush to get you out because it was so close to dawn. So we had to do clean-up the following night and…” His eyes flicked briefly to Heather. “One of the bodies was missing.”
“What?” Heather and I said in unison. “You’re sure?” I added.
He nodded, regret souring his face. “It was obvious. There were drag marks and a blood trail that we definitely didn’t leave behind.”
“Who was missing?” I could hear the apprehension in Heather’s voice.
“The one who was working Laith over in the basement. Seemed like he was the one leading things.”
“Soren?” Heather’s apprehension turned to outright disbelief. “Only Soren was missing? You’re sure he was dead? What if he was injured but escaped?”
“He was dead before he hit the ground,” Thorne said. “I saw the light leave his eyes myself. There’s no possible way he left that scene by himself.”
“Fuck.” Heather drew her knees up, distress and confusion on her face.
I scooted until I was pressed to her side and draped my arm over her back. “Maybe the government picked up his body when he didn’t check in. An operative is essentially government property right?”
She didn’t look convinced. “I guess. But then why not recover all the bodies? Why not have the whole cabin taped off and guarded for an investigation?”
Thorne approached until he reached the foot of the bed. “I don’t want you to worry about it, Heather. It could have been some other person who took him, or he could have been dragged away by wild animals for all we know. Whatever the case, he’s not stalking you anymore.” Thorne’s lip curled into a snarl. “And he sure as fuck is not harming another vampire again.”
“Did you get their electronics?” I asked.
“Oh yeah.” Thorne’s fingers rubbed together like he was itching for a cigarette. “It’ll take a while to crack through all the encrypted shit but we’ll find out what they know about us sooner or later.”
“And Kalix?” I sat up higher. “Where are we on that?”
“Making progress, which we’ll catch you up on when you’re fully recovered.” Thorne settled for shoving his hands in thepockets of his leather jacket. “Get some rest. Plan your mating ceremony. Whatever you lovesick fools do.”
“Fucking a lot,” I informed him.
He rolled his eyes. “I figured.”
“Just wanted to make sure you knew.”
“I think I liked you better in a coma.”
“Nah. Come on, Dad.” I grinned. “Admit it. You’re happy I’m back.”
“And then you open your mouth and ruin it.” Thorne smirked. “Enjoy the time off. We’ll need all hands on deck once we’re ready to extract Kalix.”
“Anything I can do to help, let me know,” Heather piped up.
“Thank you.” Thorne gave her a grateful look before turning toward the door. “I’ll leave you two to rest?—“
“And fuck.”
With an aggravated groan, he left the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
Tension drained out of my body as I turned to Heather, the brilliant, gorgeous human who had taught me how precious life really was.
Clothes came off and limbs tangled in an unhurried, intimate dance. Feeling her bare skin in the low light reminded me of that night on the dance floor. Little did I know those slow, tentative touches and the unspoken language of our bodies would lead us to right here.
