Fearless (4 page)

Abby stood motionless, pizza in hand. He knew what he was
talking about. He knew literary techniques. No longer just a hot body, he had a
keen mind. Nothing turned her on more than intelligence. She was so screwed.

“Did you hear me? It’s triggering the imagination of its
readers to realize their fears.” Demetrius frowned slightly at Abby who still
hadn’t moved. He wiggled the book at her, waiting for her to take it.

Abby slowly took the book. Her hand fell heavily back to her
side, the book bonking against her thigh. “Oh, I heard you.”

Chapter 6

Abby took shallow breaths, unwilling
to press her body any more to Demetrius’ than it already was. They were
squashed into a corner by a deck and a garage. She mashed Tawa against the
wall, and the hippo complained in some ancient language. Sounded a little like
Greek but not quite.

The man on the deck told his dog to hurry up and finish his
business. The dog, of course, took his time.

Abby could hear Demetrius’ heart. It annoyed her it was much
calmer than hers. Her stomach quivered and her hands clenched. No matter how
she was breathing, she could smell that masculine woodsy scent that she had
come to know as his. Even though he had been using her soap in the shower, he
still smelled like he had just come out of the forest. He was as hard and solid
as a great oak too. Yet cut in the most appealing of ways.

She glanced to see him looking at her. A smirk quirked his
lips and he leaned against her more. Abby wanted to look away, but her head
refused to move. Those lips of his were a crime. Too full and sensual to be a
man’s, but so fitting for the fae. What would it feel like to have him kiss
her? Would he be tender? Or would he be as wild as he was when fighting?

The dog finally did his thing and trotted back to the house.
The man muttered and shuffled inside, shutting the glass doors and locking
them. The outside lights turned off.

Abby and Demetrius stood where they were for another minute.
Their gazes locked. Goose bumps freckled her arms as he bent his head. He was
going to kiss her. Oh, how she wanted to taste that fire.

My face is squished
. Tawa grumbled.
This is only
the first house of the night
.
Let’s get moving
.

Tawa’s sharp voice was enough to knock some sense back into
Abby’s head. She pushed her way from their hiding spot and took a deep breath
of cool night air. She needed to focus on the matter at hand and not the
gorgeous man her hands wanted to be exploring at the moment.

“This one’s in the basement. Let’s avoid going through the
rest of the house in case anyone is still awake. There’s a window to the basement
right there.” Abby pointed to it. She stiffened as Demetrius laid a hand on the
small of her back. His hand was hot, or was that just her?

“I won’t fit through the window. We can go through the back
here. No alarms, right?”

“No alarms, but we’re not taking the chance that anyone’s
still awake. I can take care of this one myself.” Abby marched forward and
worked the window open.

“You’re not going in without me.” Demetrius’ tone was one
that demanded her to obey. She ignored him. When she sat on the ground and slid
her legs in through the window, he grabbed her arm. “Not without me.”

“I’ve been doing this for years without any help. It’s just
one monster.” Abby tore her arm from his grasp. “You go prance around the yard
or whatever it is you fairies do.” She slid the rest of the way in before he
could snatch her again. “Oh, be careful. The dog left something nasty out
there.”

Demetrius cursed at her and stuck his head through the
window. “I have a blood debt. I will not have my honor insulted by being ignored
or belittled like this.”

“Yes, yes.” Abby waved a dismissive hand at him and let her
eyes adjust to the darkness of the basement. There was only one child in the
house. Mark had sent her a note with the boy’s address and nightmare. Furry
critter in the basement ready to yank him down there and eat him. She heard a
noise to her left. Her palms glowed and her blades slid free. She gripped them
tightly.

The ceiling wasn’t high and she could see nothing her height
or taller. Another noise and she looked down. A monster the size of a rabbit
hopped into view. It was all eyes, ears, and mouth, and the rest of it was
covered in dirty purple fur. It growled and left a big pile of slobber on the
floor.

“Lovely.” Abby wrinkled her nose. She could step on the
thing and be done with it.

There was another noise to her right. Then one in front of
her.

Several growls echoed the first creature’s, and nearly two
dozen of the critters hopped into view. Each of them a color of the pastel
rainbow.

What do you see
?
How many
? Tawa asked.

“Rabid jelly beans. A whole freakin’ basket full.

“Get out of there now!” Demetrius bellowed, trying to grab
Abby from the window. His broad shoulders prevented him from slipping through.

Abby ignored him. She stood with knees bent, ready to spring
into action. She nearly gagged from their fermented musky scent as it
threatened to stick to her throat.

A swarm
.
Best strategy is to keep moving and use
broad, sweeping strikes
. Tawa instructed.
And don’t give them a chance
to jump on you all at once
.

“Really? I thought that would be the best plan, considering
how fuzzy and cute they look.” Abby swiped at the first brave beast that
pounced at her. She sliced it in half, and it fell like mush to the floor.

“Dammit, Abby! Get out!” Demetrius snarled, pounding at the
sides of the window. He then let out a roar of frustration and disappeared from
sight.

With a squealing cry, the monsters attacked. Abby spun fast,
low to the ground. Her glowing blades made it look like the circle was
unbroken. Many of the creatures met the same fate as the first beast, but two
landed on their target.

Abby screamed as their long teeth bit into her. One managed
to scrape against bone. She skewered the monsters and three more launched
themselves at her.

Abby
! Tawa cried.
Retreat to higher ground
.
Go
for the stairs
!

A violet monster attached itself to Abby’s ankle as she dove
over the horde and landed in a somersault. She didn’t land on both feet, but
stretched the leg out that the critter clung to and smacked it on the cement floor.
It squeaked, but didn’t let go. It gave two others the opportunity to jump on
Abby’s back.

The basement door burst open, and Demetrius flew down the
stairs. With his first strike, he squashed the one latched on to Abby’s ankle
and then yanked the others off her back. As if with the same motion, Abby
turned and slammed her swords through the pair of beasts. Black blood formed
shiny puddles.

Demetrius leapt over her and to one side to crush a
turquoise one. Abby pushed herself forward on her knees to skid across the now
slick floor. She swept her blades out to the sides and killed most of the
remaining monsters. Demetrius smashed the last two with a victorious grunt.

They searched the basement in silence for any beasts that
might have been hiding. Not finding any more, Abby limped to the center of the
room to face Demetrius. She felt as though she might topple over from blood
loss at any moment, but sheer will kept her standing. He was still breathing
heavily as he eyed her wounds.

“I told you I could take care of it,” Abby said as her
swords disappeared.

“And I told you not to go in without me.” His reply was low
with his displeasure.

Neither of them moved.

So now that you saved Abby’s life, your blood debt has
been paid
.
You can go home now
. Tawa’s voice was crisp and
business-like.

Abby’s stomach flipped. She bit the side of her tongue to
keep herself from begging him to stay.

Demetrius stared at her for another few seconds and then
shook his head. “Abby would have killed them all eventually. Her life wasn’t in
any danger. My blood debt still stands.”

Abby wanted to grin and throw her arms around him. Her mouth
twitched and her body relaxed. No matter how good she thought she was at hiding
her emotions, she spied his little smirk as he offered his arm to help her up
the stairs.

Chapter 7

“Burrows lives in Wisconsin. Only
six to seven hours in the car.” Abby limped into the kitchen area. The washer
swished quietly in the corner. She was a fast healer, but she’d be feeling the
wound on her ankle for days. She tried not to wince as she balanced to make
herself a sandwich.

“No.” Demetrius shook his head and grabbed a stool from in
front of the island to slide it around to her. He took her firmly by the hips
and sat her down on it. His hands stayed upon her, and though she threw him a
furious look, she didn’t tell him to take them off. “You need to rest and heal.”

“I consider sitting in the car for hours on end resting.”
Abby was very aware of his body behind hers as she opened the peanut butter jar
and plopped a big blob onto a slice of bread. “You just don’t want to sit in
the car for that long. You can stay here and rest.”

“I’m not leaving your side again.” His hands tightened on
her. “And we wouldn’t need the car. I can take us north in a matter of minutes
through the Ways. Once you’re healed.” His woodsy scent enticed her, whetting
her appetite for something other than a sandwich.

“We can’t waste any time. Children will die if we don’t do
something about this now.” Her knuckles turned white with her grip on the
butter knife. She twisted her head. Her mouth a butterfly’s breath away from
his and her eyes not meeting his intense gaze. “I can’t let any children die.”

Demetrius pressed his chest to her back. His nose grazed
hers and heat raced through her veins. The throbbing in her ankle was forgotten
as a new ache blossomed between her legs. She needed to keep her mind on what
needed to be done to stop the monsters. She needed to turn her head just a
fraction of an inch more.

“We won’t let any children die. We’ll go, but let me handle
everything. I can carry you.” His fingers stretched over her hips, slipping
under the hem of her shirt to touch bare skin. She sucked in a breath.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Abby snorted, immediately regretting
how unattractive that was. She set down the knife and turned, intending to put
a few inches more between them and tell him to quit treating her as a fragile
doll. His mouth immediately mashed to hers and words were forgotten. His tongue
parted her lips, demanding entrance. She didn’t deny him. A wanton whimper
escaped her, and her heart hammered in her chest.

His hands eased upward, taking her shirt with them. When his
thumbs skimmed the underside of her bra, she managed to find her voice. “We don’t
have time for this. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

“We have time.” Demetrius insisted, kissing down to her neck
and nibbling upon her sensitive flesh. She gripped his biceps and clenched her
thighs.

“We need to go.” Abby’s voice wobbled. She should be pushing
him away. Not just because she had a job to do, but because this could never be
anything other than a fling. She was one of the Fearless. Her duty came first
and it would claim her life sooner than later. He was one of the fae. His world
wasn’t hers. He would leave after his blood debt was paid. And she didn’t do
flings. Already she felt too much for him.

“We have time.” He repeated, arousal making his voice
deeper, more gravelly. His mouth met hers again, and then he paused to smile in
that sexy way of his and said, “We have to wait until the wash is done. Can’t
leave without Tawa.”

No, they couldn’t leave with Tawa. The tension between Abby
and Demetrius was smothering at times, and he was her only gulp of fresh air,
but no matter how much her body cried out for his, she couldn’t do it. A
warrior she might be, but she didn’t know how to defend her heart. He was too
easy to love.

She gasped. He seemed to think it was from his touches and
pressed himself more firmly to her. Abby had thought the L word. No. This
couldn’t happen. Not now. Not ever.

She pushed him away, shaking her head. “No. No, we can’t do
this.”

“Abby.” He breathed out her name in worship and nipped at
her ear lobe as he attempted to pull her back to him.

“No.” Abby pushed harder and yanked herself from his arms. “Don’t
touch me. Keep your mind on what we need to do. We’re leaving once Tawa is
clean.”

Demetrius didn’t fight her on it and didn’t get angry. He
stepped back, brows furrowed. She turned away from him so he couldn’t see her
tearing up. She hoped he didn’t see her hand shaking as she went back to
preparing her sandwich.

Chapter 8

“Don’t puke on my boots.” Demetrius
wasn’t smiling, but she could still hear the amusement in his tone and wanted
to smack him for it.

“I’m not going to puke.” Abby leaned against the trunk of
the tree, waiting for the world to right itself. In the Ways, she couldn’t tell
up from down or that there was solid ground under her feet. Demetrius hadn’t
been bothered by the Ways at all. Of course, he had been traveling them all his
life, but she still wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing just
how badly her mind had been tossed around on their short stroll.

By the sounds your stomach is making, I think you’re
going to puke
, Tawa said.

“I’m. Not. Going. To. Puke.” To prove her point, Abby
straightened up and pushed away from the tree. She swayed a bit, but held
herself up. Walking, well, that was going to be another story.

“It’s a wonder you’re still conscious and sane. The Ways
have driven humans to worse things than puking in the grass.” Demetrius smirked
a bit this time.