Blood's Fury (Deadly Beauties 1)

"Shit, hold on. I'm coming," I yell out.

Leaping out of the tub, I wrap up and ignore my chattering teeth while rushing to open the door. My jaw tries to hit the floor when I see Kane wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to his body.

"You're wet," he chuckles out, looking too damn good to be anything less than a hallucination, and I'm worried I'm still in the frigid water... dreaming - possibly drowning.

"You're… here," I murmur in breathless disbelief, blinking rapidly to make sure I haven't gone crazy.

His smile almost makes me lose my footing, and he scoops my soaked body up to walk farther into the room.

"I'm here. I took a plane to Washington last night when I hadn't heard from you. Then you told me you were here, alone, so I rented a car and drove like hell."

My eyes water. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. Even though it's not safe for him to be here, I still want him with me.

He stands me up in the bathroom and hands me another towel.

"Thank you," I murmur as the first tear falls, and he wipes it away while bending down to kiss me.

"Dry off, and I'll go grab us a plate of food from the diner next door."

My stomach growls as if on cue, and he smiles. I skip telling him the part where I haven't had anything but beef jerky and water for a few days.

"Sounds nice."

He smiles, and then he ducks out, giving me a chance to panic as I rush around to start rifling through the few clothes I packed.

Damn. Not one sexy pair of underwear.

Since my wardrobe is lacking, I opt to go with a pair of pajama shorts, a long-sleeved, tight-fitted shirt, and no panties.

I dab on a little makeup, and then I quickly dry my hair, using a little bit of magic, but not so much that it's obvious. As soon as I spray myself down with some fruity fragrance, the door swings open to reveal Kane carrying a bag of food.

"So, I got us some breakfast for dinner because it was the only thing on the menu that looked promising."

"Sounds good," I murmur while walking into his view, and he smiles when he sees me.

"For the record, I knocked on five doors before I found you. The clerk wasn't very helpful."

I laugh a little while sitting down at the small table by the window.

"Considering you only had fifteen rooms to choose from, I don't think that task was too daunting."

He smiles, and then he pulls his chair closer to me while wrapping his arm around my back.

"I'm glad I'm finally seeing you again. I shouldn't have been missing you so much so soon," he softly confesses.

I instantly dissolve under his gaze, and then I take a deep breath, hoping I don't say anything stupid.

"I missed you, too."

His smile grows, and then he leans over to kiss my cheek before scooping a pile of eggs on his fork. He's human, but he's my hero right now. I didn't want to be here alone, and now I don't have to be.

"So how long are you staying?" I ask curiously.

"Until you find your mom."

My eyes widen a little. He can't be here for all that. We already have changers in our midst, and despite Thad's claim of clean-living, I'm not going to wave my human in front of his face.

"Um, I don't know how that will work out. It's been a little... hectic around here. Besides, I'm sure you've got a lot going on back home."