Aiden cleared his throat, breaking her from her worried thoughts. She noticed the identical expressions of concern he and Jace shared.
“Dana, we’re not going to let anything happen to you.” Aiden’s tone held fierce promise.
It took a moment to realize he’d misinterpreted the source of her anxiety. It wasn’t her life she was stressing over—for once. It was his. But how could she tell him that without revealing her feelings? Feelings she couldn’t explain much less understand.
Averting her gaze, she nodded. The sense of hopelessness remained, but she chose to direct her frustration at the true idiots responsible—the hunters. If she ever crossed paths with one of the sons of bitches she’d give them a piece of her mind. And the toe of her pointiest boot up their ass.
Chapter Seventeen
An impatient rap on the bathroom door interrupted Aiden’s shower. Ducking his head around the curtain, he bellowed, “What?” to be heard over the running water.
“Dude, hurry up. I’ve gotta go.”
Growling, he did a perfunctory rinse to remove the suds and flicked off the faucet. He yanked the towel hanging from the shower rod and secured it around his waist before bundling his clean clothes under his arm. Stepping from the bathroom, he exchanged places with Jace. The door shut and locked, followed by the unmistakable sound of the shower starting up.
“You lying sack of shit.” Grumbling, he stalked down the hallway and nearly collided with Dana as she left the kitchen.
She stared intently at his chest for a moment before looking away. He didn’t miss the vivid flush creeping up her neck or the way her nipples hardened against her silky purple top.
“There’s, uh, coffee ready if you’re interested.”
“Thanks. I’ll come back in and get some after I get dressed.” He scratched his left pectoral and Dana’s focus returned to his chest. She licked her lips before scooting past him.
Rather than torturing himself further by continuing to stand in her hallway with a raging hard-on, he abandoned the house for the tent. He quickly dressed and sat on the edge of the air mattress to pull on his socks and shoes. The tent flap rustling announced Jace’s return.
“Enjoy your stolen shower, ass—” Aiden broke off when Dana sidled into the tent.
“Is this a bad time?”
“No. Come in.” He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Wow, it’s pretty spacious in here.”
“Sorry it’s such a mess.” He gave the small mountain of dirty clothes a guilty glance.
“Would you like me to throw those in the wash?”
He jerked his head around. “No.”
Her mouth crooked in a grin. “Honestly, my laundress skills are better than my cooking skills. Besides, I was planning to throw a load in before leaving for work. I’ll just add yours to it.”
Before he could reply she swiveled and ducked past the flap. She returned less than thirty seconds later with a white laundry basket.
“Really, I don’t want you to feel like you have to—”
“Don’t worry.” She plunked the basket on the edge of the air mattress. “Accepting my offer to wash your stuff doesn’t automatically make you a slave-driving jerk.”
“Err…”
Her laugh floated around him, sweet and intoxicating. Just the sound of it made his heart do a funny little flip-flop. She brushed her hair behind her ear before reaching out and squeezing his arm. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist teasing you.”
Giving into his overwhelming need to touch her, he curled his fingers over the delicate hand resting on his biceps. He nuzzled her forehead. “You can tease me all you want, sweetheart.”
Dana pulled back slightly. Her free hand crept between them and wrapped in the front of his shirt, startling him. With a persuasive tug, she coaxed him closer and nibbled on his bottom lip. His breath lodged in his throat. He was almost afraid to move for fear of her putting a halt on her unexpected but very welcome kiss.
Her lips rubbed over his before parting. Heart thundering, he waited for her next move. It took every ounce of control he possessed not to let his beast exert its dominance. This might be his only chance to prove to Dana that their relationship could be one of equality. Hell, he’d happily relinquish control to her now and then. Particularly if she was in a frisky mood like this. Her tongue ventured inside his mouth, and after the briefest hesitation, slicked over his in open invitation.
Jesus, how could he resist?
Groaning, he cupped her face and kissed her back with all the hunger pent up inside him. Her arms wrapped around his torso, hugging him tight, almost as if she didn’t want to ever let him go. The idea was fanciful, but he wished with all his being that it held some truth.
His cell phone went off, making Dana jump. She jerked her gaze toward his duffle bag, where his phone was buzzing impatiently. Her hands fell away. “You should probably get that.”
“If it’s important, they’ll leave a message.” He bent to kiss her again, but she took a step back and smoothed her hair nervously. Judging from her guarded expression, her mood had shifted from wanting to devour him alive to wanting to run out of the tent as fast as possible.
He was going to kill that damn caller.
Stalking to his phone, he flipped it open and growled into the receiver.
“Sheesh, Fortune, wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”
Claudia. Didn’t that figure? Only it didn’t make any sense, seeing how she didn’t know his cell number. Or so he’d assumed. “How the hell did you get this number?”
“I have my sources.”
The sound of rustling drew his attention to the far side of the tent. Dana was frantically tossing his and Jace’s clothes into the laundry basket. She glanced up and caught him watching her. Giving him a wavering smile, she balanced the overflowing basket on her hip and dashed through the tent flap.
A tapping noise came through the receiver. “Hello? Anyone there?”
Yeah, he was most definitely going to strangle Claudia. “What do you want, Knoxville?”
“Well, I had some interesting news to share, but since you’re such a cranky prick, guess I’ll keep it to myself.”
His grip vised tighter around the cell phone. “Spit it out.”
“Jeez, no wonder your little sacrifice is falling at your feet. You’re such a charming bastard. Meet me in an hour at Twelve Mile and Main. There’s a divey hotel on the corner. Pull into their parking lot.”
“Damn it, Claudia, what is—” A click followed by dead air interrupted his demand. Glaring at the display on his phone, he flipped the cover shut and shoved the cell in his pocket. He was half tempted not to humor Claudia’s mysterious request, but if it had anything to do with Kinnit and the disappearance of Tucker, he couldn’t afford to blow her off.
Abandoning the tent, he took the stairs up to Dana’s front door and entered the house. A quick glance down the hallway confirmed that Jace was still occupied in the bathroom. Aiden stepped into the kitchen and followed the sound of splashing water. He discovered a small utility room tucked on the other side of the pantry. Dana stood in front of the washer, measuring soap. He coughed loudly to be heard over the dispensing water and Dana’s arm jerked, dropping the cap of soap into the filling tub. She stared at him accusingly over her shoulder and he grimaced.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” He maneuvered next to her and reached into the washing machine for the cap bobbing amongst the suds. Shaking the piece of plastic off, he settled it on the ledge near the dials. “I have to run an errand. Shouldn’t take me more than a few hours.” If Claudia wasn’t sending him on a wild-goose chase. “Have Jace drive you in to work. I’ll meet you both at the gallery when I’m done. In the meantime, do you need me to pick anything up for you while I’m out?”