Deadly Attraction

“As will I,” Morgan told her.

She felt oddly choked up but managed to say, “I appreciate that, from all of you.”

“Well.” The general gave her a smile meant to comfort her, she suspected. And that did not bode well for her hopes of a reconciliation with Darien. In Morgan’s eyes, she saw doubt the Demon King would come around and forgive her this final time. “We’ll be on our way now. Rafe and Landford will continue to patrol on our side of the border, as a precautionary measure.”

“Tanner and I will agree upon shifts too,” she said, her voice reflecting her dismay. She couldn’t hide her pain over betraying Darien and losing his confidence in her—perhaps even his love.

“Be careful,” Morgan told her.

“We will.”

Jade walked back inside the cottage, securing the door behind her, since she didn’t anticipate any other visitors. Least of all Darien.

She stood in the doorway of her bedroom, her shoulder propped against the frame and her arms crossed over her chest. She stared at the enormous bed that took up a good portion of the room. It was her favorite piece of furniture in the cottage, for many reasons. Darien had given it to her and they’d shared several beautiful nights underneath those sensuous covers.

Pushing away from the doorframe, she strolled over to the bed and ran her hand over the satin sheets and the soft, suede duvet. In her mind’s eye, it was easy to conjure images of her and Darien making love. Their limbs entwined, their bodies joined, their lips and tongues twisting and teasing.

As her palm continued to sweep over the fabric, her gaze fell to her hand. She stopped stroking the duvet and removed Darien’s ring. A wave of emotion washed over her as she placed it on the mantle of the fireplace. Then she left the room.

Curling up on the sofa in the living room with a throw that matched the ice-blue drapes in color and was made of warm chenille, she rested her head on a pillow and closed her eyes. The consternation she felt over angering Darien and the tension and fear she’d experienced most of the night mixed with the physical fatigue from battling the fire wraith. Exhaustion consumed her, which she decided was a welcomed sensation. She was too tired to think, too tired to analyze, too tired to separate all her feelings.

So she concentrated on tamping them down and, shortly thereafter, fell asleep.

The next morning, however, she snapped awake with myriad things on her mind. She rushed about the cottage, cleaning herself up and changing clothes before riding into the village. Her first stop was the meeting hall, where she found Tanner.

Despite her emotional strife, she still had work to do.

“The demons Rafe and Landford will continue their patrols on their side of the boundary,” she told the other slayer. “But we should resume our watch as well.”

“I’m fine with sticking to nights, if you want days,” he said.

“Maybe we should change that up every other month. Hardly seems fair for you to always have night patrol.”

“I don’t mind,” he said in his usual calm, even tone. “Besides, I don’t have a spouse to spend evenings with, so it doesn’t really matter to me.”

She frowned. “I don’t have a spouse to spend evenings with either.”

“But you will when you marry the king.” There. A slight edge to his voice told her he was still wary of her decision. She could put his mind at ease, though.

“I highly doubt I’ll be marrying the king.” True, he hadn’t called off the engagement. But that was only because he currently wasn’t speaking to her.

A dark brow lifted and Tanner asked, “You backed out now that the fire wraith and his army are defeated?”

“No, I didn’t back out. But he’s extremely angry with me and I have a feeling that’s not going to change anytime soon.” Hadn’t both Morgan and Sheena said as much?

Her heart ached over the thought of losing Darien for good. However, Jade was terrified she’d cry a river if she didn’t contain her feelings. If the tears started flowing, she was afraid they’d never stop.

“I’m not sure what to say about that,” Tanner told her. “I don’t want you to be unhappy, Jade. But marrying the Demon King… That’s a little tough for the rest of us to process.”

“I understand. It’s been rather surprising for me too.”

He regarded her a moment, as though curious about her emotions. But then he asked, “What about that thing you said to the vampire before you killed him on the battlefield? I knew you were lying about Michael being a slayer in order to make it sound as though he was as skilled as the rest of us. But you said one of the slayers was part demon.”

“A demi-demon, to be exact.” She brushed the hair from her neck to show him the mark. “Apparently, some comingling of races occurred in my family a long time ago. My father was half-demon as well. We share similar traits.”

“Aside from dark hair and blue eyes?”

Jade focused on the pen Tanner had set aside when she’d entered the hall. She used her psychokinetic powers to lift it from the desk and bring it to her hand.