Page 44 of Feral

“Oh,” I replied and managed a shaky smile. “That’s good. Alright then, I’ll tell her this when I report in.”

“She might already know but aye, it would be good to tell her all the same.”

We stood there, both us glancing at each other and then away. I fidgeted with the strap of my tote and Fraser rubbed his palm on his pants leg.

“Well,” he said with a clearing of his throat, “we should get to the train station.”

Chapter Ten

Fraser

AftergettingDaphnesettledin the first class sleeper I’d booked, I had to call my brother and confirm that my hunch was correct and we were dealing with an artifact. But I held back what I’d learned at the fight club until I could be there to make sure he didn’t blow a gasket. One of the few things he would lose it over was the thought that anyone even loosely connected with artifacts was having a go at us. I saved the fact that I was bringing home a mate that Angus and the rest of my brothers hadn’t met for last.

A mate that was already starting to turn my head and soften my heart, two things I had to keep a firm hand on or risk letting this entire charade get way out of hand.

After the call, in which I’d uncharacteristically allowed Angus to pass the phone around to our brothers and our gran just to kill some time, I wandered around the entire train twice, checking on anything I could think of to make sure no one had followed us. I had no idea what I was looking for, but I needed something to do. And if this rogue group of agents was indeed keeping track of my clan, they could be here. Several times the hair on my neck stood on end, but when I turned around, there was nothing there. Even with that, I couldn’t forget that just a few feet from me was my mate. It was torture fighting the instincts to feed her and then bed her and I cursed my infernal biology that made us like this.

After nearly two hours I found myself outside of our cabin, and I couldn’t find the strength to stay away any longer. I slipped inside to find Daphne nibbling on the end of a pen. She had that wrinkle at the top of her nose that I already knew signaled that her curious mind was working on something. Her lips moved as she read and then scribbled it down in her notebook. I could watch her do this all day for some reason, and I’d never once had any interest in book stores and such. That was my younger brother, Liam. But to be able to watch her thoughts spinning behind her eyes like this, to see the moment when she realized something, that slow smile that she was getting right now…I’d brave the smell of dust and leather any day.

I shook myself, realizing that I’d been staring a bit too intensely and snapped the door shut. Daphne jumped up, eyes wide and looked around.

“Oh my, what time is it?”

“Past noon.”

It was an effort to stop myself from asking if she was hungry, but as it turned out, I didn’t have to.

Daphne pushed the button for the waiter and a few seconds later, someone knocked on the door.

“Can I help you?” said the woman.

“Yes, I’m starving,” Daphne said. “Can I get a roast beef sandwich on rye please?”

“Certainly, fruit or chips?”

“Oh um…” she bit her lip.

I knew that look. Mundane women got it when they were sure they shouldn’t eat the “unhealthy” food in front of a man. It was rubbish and annoying. If Daphne wanted chips, she’d get them.

“She’ll take the chips,” I cut in, “and I’ll have the same.”

“Very good. Water to drink?”

Daphne nodded and the woman slid our door shut.

“I…why did you do that?” she asked.

“Order for you?”

“Yes, it was…well, a little unexpected to say the least.”

“In a bad way?”

She bit her lip again and I wished she’d stop. I wanted to be the one nipping at her pillow-soft lips, to feel them wrap around my…

I shifted and took a seat opposite her but next to the door so I could be as far from her as possible. I had to maintain control.

“Not in a bad way,” she finally answered. “It felt like you were taking care of me.”

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