The Burning Claw
Page 28
He sat down at the bar and Sally swallowed painfully before walking over to him and asking “What can I get you?” She noticed Jericho stepping closer to her.
“I’ll take whatever your most popular beer is on tap and I’ll have a side dish of you.”
Sally had started to grab a cold glass but froze when his words registered in her brain. She looked up at him and, for the second time that night, her breath stuck in her throat as her eyes met a pair of glowing ones. Before she could say anything, Jericho was there pushing her behind him. He was growling, honest to goodness growling, at the other man.
“Mine,” Jericho rumbled. “I’ll be happy to get that beer for you.” Jericho spoke to her but didn’t turn away from the guy on the other side of the bar. “Beautiful, could you go down and get us more pretzels and chips?” Jericho asked her in a completely different voice.
“Um, sure,” Sally said, though unsure if she should leave the two guys alone. When she didn’t move, Jericho turned and walked over to her, the other man’s eyes trained on her.
“Hey,” Jericho said gently as he placed a finger under her chin and turned her head to face him and tilted it back so she could look up at him. “You okay?”
“His eyes were glowing,” she whispered softly. Jericho’s eyes widened briefly but then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and chuckled. “I think your imagination is getting the best of you. I’ll deal with 007, while you get those things, okay?”
She nodded before turning away and hurrying to do as he asked. By the time she got back, the other man had moved away from the bar and now sat on the opposite side in the far right corner.
After the five o’clock rush died down, and before the eight thirty rush began, Sally walked over to where Jericho was refilling salt shakers. “What was up with that, earlier?”
“Going to have to be a tad more specific, sweetheart.”
Sally rolled her eyes. He had a thing about nicknames. “The whole mine thing. It sounded as if you were, I don’t know, like, claiming me or something.”
“I was,” he responded as if it were no big deal.
“Don’t you think you ought to speak with me about it before you do that?”
“We’re talking about it now. I want you to be mine.”
His bluntness threw her off guard. “We’ve only known each other for a few days. How can you possibly know that you want me to be yours?”
“Sometimes you just know things.”
She wanted to stomp her foot at his infuriating calmness. Why was he so calm? He was changing the dynamics of their relationship and hadn’t even given her a chance to process it. “So you want to what? Be together?”
“In the biblical sense?” he asked with a grin. “Definitely, but I can wait for that until we’ve known each other a tad bit longer.”
“How generous of you,” she huffed. “Did you ever think that I might not want to be with you?”
Jericho moved faster than a human should be able to. One minute she’d been standing with her hip cocked against the wall just in front of the doors that lead to the back, and the next she was pushed through said doors and up against a wall. Jericho’s body, his very male body, was pressed very closely to hers. Sally had to tilt her head back in order to see him, and that brought her lips in dangerous proximity to his.
“Do you want to be mine?” he asked and she shuddered as his hands gripped her hips.
“I don’t know,” Sally admitted.
“Let me help clear the confusion for you.” He spoke low and his voice rumbled against her chest. Suddenly his lips were on hers. He was kissing her. Holy freaking fairy babies, Sally thought, though where the idea of fairy babies came from was about as clear as the Mississippi river. His firm, yet very soft, lips began moving against her own and she couldn’t help but to reciprocate. His tongue swiped out and brushed her own lips causing her to gasp. He took full advantage of her opened mouth. Wow. Her mind shattered and all she could think was wow. Jericho was kissing her. She shouldn’t be letting it happen, not after only knowing each other a few days. She should be sensible and push him away and declare the need for them to get to know one another—that would be the safe thing to do. But she figured she’d already strayed a little bit too far away from safe when she’d decided to work in a bar.
Sally pushed safe to the back burner and instead focused on the strong arms wrapping around her. She let her mind fully appreciate the warmth of his mouth, the firmness of his toned body, and the unbelievable amount of attention he was paying to every part of her mouth. The dude was as good a kisser as he was a bartender and that was saying something.
“Did that clear things up?” he asked, his breath every bit as ragged as hers.
“Clear?” she responded dumbly.
“Be mine,” Jericho said possessively as he pressed a kiss to her neck.
Okay, that was nice, Sally sighed. “Alright.”
The devilish grin that spread across the handsome man’s face before her made her even more weak in the knees than she’d been previously. “Perfect,” he murmured as he ran a thumb across her thoroughly kissed lips.
As she stared up into eyes that seemed to once again be glowing, Sally couldn’t help but feel as though she’d just made a deal with the devil. A very handsome, sexy devil, but then, what other kinds of devils were there? Who would make deals with an ugly devil?
Cyn was tired. In all the centuries of her long life, she could remember only a handful of times when she’d been bone tired; she’d have to add this time to the list.
“How are you holding up?” Thalion asked her as he handed her a bottle of water. She took the offering from him and drained it.
“It’s been three days and we’ve seen no trace of them. We’ve searched a dozen lairs,” she pointed out unnecessarily. “Where could they’ve all gone?”
Thalion shook his head and for the first time he looked frustrated and tired. He’d been so strong, so relentless in his pursuit, and Cyn had always admired that about him. Thalion was focused. He was not an enemy anyone would want to have. “Something had to have happened. They must have been ordered to go deeper into hiding.”
“How are they feeding?” she asked.
“I’ll take whatever your most popular beer is on tap and I’ll have a side dish of you.”
Sally had started to grab a cold glass but froze when his words registered in her brain. She looked up at him and, for the second time that night, her breath stuck in her throat as her eyes met a pair of glowing ones. Before she could say anything, Jericho was there pushing her behind him. He was growling, honest to goodness growling, at the other man.
“Mine,” Jericho rumbled. “I’ll be happy to get that beer for you.” Jericho spoke to her but didn’t turn away from the guy on the other side of the bar. “Beautiful, could you go down and get us more pretzels and chips?” Jericho asked her in a completely different voice.
“Um, sure,” Sally said, though unsure if she should leave the two guys alone. When she didn’t move, Jericho turned and walked over to her, the other man’s eyes trained on her.
“Hey,” Jericho said gently as he placed a finger under her chin and turned her head to face him and tilted it back so she could look up at him. “You okay?”
“His eyes were glowing,” she whispered softly. Jericho’s eyes widened briefly but then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and chuckled. “I think your imagination is getting the best of you. I’ll deal with 007, while you get those things, okay?”
She nodded before turning away and hurrying to do as he asked. By the time she got back, the other man had moved away from the bar and now sat on the opposite side in the far right corner.
After the five o’clock rush died down, and before the eight thirty rush began, Sally walked over to where Jericho was refilling salt shakers. “What was up with that, earlier?”
“Going to have to be a tad more specific, sweetheart.”
Sally rolled her eyes. He had a thing about nicknames. “The whole mine thing. It sounded as if you were, I don’t know, like, claiming me or something.”
“I was,” he responded as if it were no big deal.
“Don’t you think you ought to speak with me about it before you do that?”
“We’re talking about it now. I want you to be mine.”
His bluntness threw her off guard. “We’ve only known each other for a few days. How can you possibly know that you want me to be yours?”
“Sometimes you just know things.”
She wanted to stomp her foot at his infuriating calmness. Why was he so calm? He was changing the dynamics of their relationship and hadn’t even given her a chance to process it. “So you want to what? Be together?”
“In the biblical sense?” he asked with a grin. “Definitely, but I can wait for that until we’ve known each other a tad bit longer.”
“How generous of you,” she huffed. “Did you ever think that I might not want to be with you?”
Jericho moved faster than a human should be able to. One minute she’d been standing with her hip cocked against the wall just in front of the doors that lead to the back, and the next she was pushed through said doors and up against a wall. Jericho’s body, his very male body, was pressed very closely to hers. Sally had to tilt her head back in order to see him, and that brought her lips in dangerous proximity to his.
“Do you want to be mine?” he asked and she shuddered as his hands gripped her hips.
“I don’t know,” Sally admitted.
“Let me help clear the confusion for you.” He spoke low and his voice rumbled against her chest. Suddenly his lips were on hers. He was kissing her. Holy freaking fairy babies, Sally thought, though where the idea of fairy babies came from was about as clear as the Mississippi river. His firm, yet very soft, lips began moving against her own and she couldn’t help but to reciprocate. His tongue swiped out and brushed her own lips causing her to gasp. He took full advantage of her opened mouth. Wow. Her mind shattered and all she could think was wow. Jericho was kissing her. She shouldn’t be letting it happen, not after only knowing each other a few days. She should be sensible and push him away and declare the need for them to get to know one another—that would be the safe thing to do. But she figured she’d already strayed a little bit too far away from safe when she’d decided to work in a bar.
Sally pushed safe to the back burner and instead focused on the strong arms wrapping around her. She let her mind fully appreciate the warmth of his mouth, the firmness of his toned body, and the unbelievable amount of attention he was paying to every part of her mouth. The dude was as good a kisser as he was a bartender and that was saying something.
“Did that clear things up?” he asked, his breath every bit as ragged as hers.
“Clear?” she responded dumbly.
“Be mine,” Jericho said possessively as he pressed a kiss to her neck.
Okay, that was nice, Sally sighed. “Alright.”
The devilish grin that spread across the handsome man’s face before her made her even more weak in the knees than she’d been previously. “Perfect,” he murmured as he ran a thumb across her thoroughly kissed lips.
As she stared up into eyes that seemed to once again be glowing, Sally couldn’t help but feel as though she’d just made a deal with the devil. A very handsome, sexy devil, but then, what other kinds of devils were there? Who would make deals with an ugly devil?
Cyn was tired. In all the centuries of her long life, she could remember only a handful of times when she’d been bone tired; she’d have to add this time to the list.
“How are you holding up?” Thalion asked her as he handed her a bottle of water. She took the offering from him and drained it.
“It’s been three days and we’ve seen no trace of them. We’ve searched a dozen lairs,” she pointed out unnecessarily. “Where could they’ve all gone?”
Thalion shook his head and for the first time he looked frustrated and tired. He’d been so strong, so relentless in his pursuit, and Cyn had always admired that about him. Thalion was focused. He was not an enemy anyone would want to have. “Something had to have happened. They must have been ordered to go deeper into hiding.”
“How are they feeding?” she asked.
