“Go to sleep, Kyllwood. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” His voice was already drowsy, and then he dropped into sleep, still holding her as tightly as she could ever want.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Paxton came awake instantly, as he always did, keeping his eyes closed and scanning the surrounding area for any threats. He was in a warm bed, and the scent of Hope was all around him—orange spice and vanilla bean. How she smelled like that, he’d never figured out. There was no bodywash or lotion that came close.
While his body was relaxed, his cock ached and throbbed. To be so close to her, all night, was more than his body could take. He took a deep breath, feeling her snuggled against him. In the night, he had rolled onto his back, and she had curled into his side, one thigh over his leg, her hand splayed on his abdomen. Her face was tucked into his neck, and she was breathing softly. She had all but wrapped herself around him during the night, as if she didn’t want him to go.
He had no intention of going anywhere.
He could hear the icy snow falling outside, and he could hear the guards near the lake patrolling the territory. The soldiers in the trees didn’t make noise, but he could sense them. Would they report back to Zane that he’d stayed the night? He didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t care.
Clothing rustled at the other end of the house where Libby must have been getting ready for the day. His hearing was shockingly good; it had saved his life more than once.
Slowly, the hand at his abdomen curled and traced his abs. “You stayed all night,” Hope murmured, her lips soft against his skin.
He was planning to stay forever, but he probably shouldn’t tell her that, at least not yet. She still thought she was going to go save the world on her own or with their mortal enemy, but she was wrong. That wasn’t going to happen.
She lifted her head and blinked, her eyes drowsy and her pert nose wrinkled. “We need to talk.”
Those were the last words he wanted to hear, but the first ones he’d been expecting. “Go ahead and talk.”
She licked her lips. His entire body shuddered, and he fought a groan. She sighed. “When I was in the dreamworld the other night with Drake, I learned a few things. When I told you that the Kurjan nation was at war, I was right.”
He was unable to stop himself from smoothing an arm down her back and curling it at her waist, pulling her even closer to him. She was so soft and small. He hated having to fight her to keep her safe, but he’d do what he needed to do. The idea that she’d met with Drake by herself irritated the hell out of him. She was fragile, possibly human, and she had to be more careful. He’d been as patient as he could be with her, but no more. She’d be tough to lock down. He’d do what needed to be done. “Good. If they’re at war, they’ll leave us alone.”
“They’re not leaving us alone.” She stretched against him like a little cat, nearly killing him. “Ulric is searching for enhanced females, and he was behind the attack on the Seven. Drake wants to take him out, and he is willing to help us to do it.”
Paxton would trust Drake as far as he could throw him, but he forced himself to listen. He needed to get all the facts. “Tell me more.”
She bit her lip. “Drake is willing to help us with the final ritual. In fact, he’s more than willing to betray Ulric, but we need to provide proof to him that we actually know what needs to happen at the ritual.”
“We don’t,” Paxton said shortly. Her fingers traced little patterns on his abs, and he was about to lose his mind. It felt right to be talking over strategy with her in bed, but it was downright painful to remain relaxed and not roll her right over and finish what they’d started the night before. She was everything he could ever want in the world. He wanted to give her space and time to figure that out, but even he had a limit. It was quickly approaching.
“We have to figure it out, Paxton. It’s the only chance we have.” She avoided his gaze as if she didn’t quite want to look him in the eye.
He stiffened. “Hope, what is it?” She began to push away from him, and he held her in place. “You’re not moving until you tell me.”
Exasperation had her blowing out air. “I don’t like this whole bossy, dominant, alpha, I’m-a-vampire-demon-hybrid bullshit.”
“Yeah, your body says otherwise.” He wasn’t letting her off the hook. “Whatever you’re not telling me, you need to say right now.” He shrugged. “Or later. Either way, we’re not moving till you do.”
She rolled her eyes, temper darkening her cheeks to damask pink. “Fine. Drake wants us both in the dreamworld tonight so we can plan. Come with me, or I’ll go myself.”
He didn’t like that. Being threatened wasn’t his thing. However, he also wasn’t going to let her go in alone. “Okay, tonight at midnight. We’ll go talk to the Kurjan and see what he thinks. If he has a plan, I’ll listen to it, and then we can take it to both kings.” It was the right thing to do, even though the last person he wanted to see in the entire world was Drake.
Hope smiled. “See? Was that so hard?”
Paxton didn’t really have an answer for her. He didn’t like any of this.
She cleared her throat. “He still wants to kill you, and I know you want to end him, but you both have to agree to a truce until we kill Ulric. Then maybe we can broker another truce.”
There would be no truce, and if Drake found a chance to kill Paxton, he’d take it. Yet Paxton didn’t want to remove that glimmer of hope from her pretty eyes. “Okay.”
Her gaze studied his face. “You’re still pale. How are you feeling?”
“Weird,” he admitted. He still had cuts and bruises from the brawl with Paelotin, and yet he didn’t feel weak. He just couldn’t quite get his healing cells to work. It had to be whatever drug was still in his system. His gaze traveled across her face. She was adorable in the morning, and his heart thumped. Hard. He leaned down and kissed her nose. “Do you want to finish this or what?”
Her eyes widened, and panic glowed in them. He could barely keep back a laugh.
“No.” She scrambled away from him, and he let her, glancing at the clock. He was probably already late.
Allowing her to escape him for now, he got up from the bed and reached for his jeans. Within minutes, he was dressed and turning to look down at her. “I’m having more blood taken by Emma, and then Paelotin and I are going to have another chat about my real father.”
“Thank goodness it wasn’t my dad.” She blushed and hugged the pillow. She looked a little lost and a lot vulnerable and adorable.
He snagged the pillow and tossed it away before grabbing her arms and hauling her toward him to plant one hard kiss on her lips. “We’re not done here, Hope. Don’t think for a second that we are.”
With that, he released her, exited the bedroom, and strolled through the house, smiling at Libby, whose jaw dropped when she saw him. “Morning, Libs.” It was rare to see the shifter speechless, and he enjoyed every second. He was outside and headed down the snow-covered street before he heard her move. He didn’t envy Hope the morning discussion. But what did he know? He’d never had a girlfriend, and he’d never really had a morning after, so maybe women liked to talk about that stuff. He had no idea. What he did know was he didn’t have anybody to talk to.