As we lay recovering in each other’s arms, I realized that the tiny peek I’d already been given might be the only one I’d ever get, real or imagined. But a smile tugged at my lips despite the little seed of hopelessness that was stil buried deep inside me. If I never got to have Bo in that way, never got to experience what loving him without al these other circumstances would be like, I’d always have that one moment in time. It was as real to me as if it had actual y happened and no one could take that from me. No one.
“How do you feel?” Bo said, pressing his lips to my temple.
“Perfect.”
“You are perfect,” he whispered against my hair.
I smiled again. He always knew just what to say.
“How about you?”
“As long as you’re in my arms, I’ve got no complaints.”
Unbidden, an image of Annika flitted through my mind. It aggravated me that she was able to ruin such an intimate moment even when she wasn’t in the room.
Reluctantly, I pushed myself up onto one elbow, staring down into Bo’s handsome face.
“I guess now I can drink from Cade without having to worry about kil ing him,” I teased, only partial y in jest. That would always be a very real concern for me.
I was loathe to see a cloud of displeasure push the peaceful tranquility from Bo’s face.
“Is there something else about me drinking from Cade that you don’t like? Something you’re not tel ing me?”
For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw evidence that I’d struck a nerve, but it was gone so quickly it made me doubt that I’d seen it at al .
“I just don’t like it. That’s al .”
I nodded, studying his face. It gave away nothing.
“Wel , if we have any hope of stopping Sebastian, it has to be done.”
“I’m stil not convinced that it’s the only way.”
“Wel , as soon as you think of another option, just let me know,” I said sitting up. “Until then, this is the best source of information we’ve got.”
I knew Bo couldn’t argue. We’d found Devon hidden in an abandoned mine because of what I’d seen with Cade’s blood. There was no doubt in my mind that Cade was right about this being the way to stop Sebastian. If Bo stil had reservations, I had a feeling they were rooted in something else, maybe something he just wasn’t wil ing to tel me.
I slid off the side of the bed. “Come on,” I said, holding my hand out to him. “Let’s change clothes and get this over with.”
With a put-upon sigh, Bo took wrapped his fingers around mine and we set about changing into less burned and tattered attire. Once that was taken care of, we went out to the living room together.
Only it was empty.
“Did Annika come back with you?”
Bo’s smooth brow puckered the tiniest bit.
“Yeah. I guess she went to get some rest,” he said a little too nonchalantly.
“Did something happen?”
Bo shrugged his wide shoulders and shook his head, again leading me to believe there was something he wasn’t tel ing me.
I debated the wisdom of continuing to pry, but that little green monster poked his ugly head up and the words were out before I could stop them.
“She wants you back, doesn’t she? You two had a thing before and she wants you back.”
“Ridley, don’t—”
“Bo, I’m not saying that you feel the same way, but at least be honest with me about it.”
Bo tipped his head to the side, his lips thinning. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it, but I wasn’t letting him off the hook.
When I raised my eyebrows in question, Bo ran a hand through his hair like I’d seen him do a hundred times.
“Yes, I think we were involved in some sort of…
relationship, but it’s over and there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“But you’l agree that it seems that she wants you back, right?”
Bo rol ed his eyes, hating that I was forcing him to admit something he’d rather just ignore.
“She knows that we’re together,” he hedged.
“But she wants you back regardless.”
Bo sighed.
“Ridley—”
“Just admit it, Bo. She’s trying her best to get you back.
Excluding me, talking about the good old days, it’s a classic female maneuver.”
Bo smiled at that, reaching out and winding his arm around my waist.
“It is?”
“Yes,” I snapped.
“Have you done things like that before?” he taunted.
“No,” I said imperiously. “I’ve never had to.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes.”
Bo threw back his head and laughed at that, a sound that flooded my body with a warmth that seemed to radiate from my heart.
“I love you. Did you know that?”
And just like that, my pique was gone, washed away by the reminder of the love we shared. It was moments like those that made me realize I had nothing to fear from Annika, despite her conniving ways. Nothing could touch our love.
Nothing could hurt it, kil it, change it. Al that was happening around us seemed only to make it stronger and I felt sil y for thinking otherwise.
“No more than I love you,” I countered.
“Ah, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” he said, brushing his lips over my cheekbone and the tip of my nose before kissing me lightly.
Just as he drew me into his arms for a deeper kiss, a low drawl interrupted the moment.
“Are you ready now?”
It was Cade. He stood at the edge of the living room, looking sleepy and tousled. He also looked very much like a model in his sleep pants and nothing else. He had to know that coming to me bare-chested in front of Bo was not a good idea.
“You couldn’t get dressed before you came downstairs?”
Bo snapped.
“I tried to get her to feed earlier, but she refused. She told me to go to bed so I did. She woke me up. Not my fault she’s stubborn.”
Yawning, Cade ambled into the living room, stopping in front of the sofa to stretch. I couldn’t help but admire the way the muscles moved beneath al his tanned skin, but stil , he wasn’t Bo.
To my right, Bo made a growling sound.
“What do you mean she woke you up?”
Cade shrugged, casual as ever.
“She needs my blood. I don’t know how I know. I just do. I can feel it.”
Glancing at Bo, I could see that he liked that answer even less.