“Okay.” Mary Jo looked a little hurt, but there wasn’t anything Araminta could do about that. She didn’t want to drag her friend into the middle of this war she found herself embroiled in. Then her friend’s expression changed. “You said we when you called. Did you bring a man home with you?”
Araminta knew she looked guilty. She was no good at lying, not to Mary Jo who’d known her for so long.
“Well then, that’s okay. As long as you call me later with more details.” Mary Jo came over to her and bumped hips. “You go, girl.”
“It’s not like that,” she blurted out.
“Well, if it’s not, it should be. You deserve to have some fun.”
Araminta didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her life was spiraling more out of control with every passing second. “Where’s Percy?”
Mary Jo snorted. “He’s currently sunning himself on my bed and showing his indifference to the world.” Her friend was the only other person who appreciated Percy’s unique personality.
Araminta hurried down the hallway and everything inside her settled when she saw the big black cat sprawled out over Mary Jo’s heirloom quilt, looking every inch like the conqueror of the world. She went to him and he turned his head away, letting her know he was displeased with her for leaving him home alone.
“Hey, Percy.” She scratched him behind his ragged ear and he deigned to swivel his head and peer at her with his piecing green eyes. “Time to go home.” He didn’t stir and she knew she’d have to carry him if she was going to get him to move.
She scooped him up, loving the heavy weight of him, the comfort of his warm body against hers. She was chilled to the bone.
Mary Jo was waiting by the front door for her. “You sure you don’t need any help?”
“I’m sure. And thanks for everything.”
Her friend shook her head. “You’d do the same for me. Call me,” she ordered.
“Tomorrow,” Araminta promised. This would be over by then one way or the other. If she was still alive, she’d call Mary Jo.
She could sense her friend watching her, so she forced herself to take her time as she walked down the driveway, around the white picket fence and up to her own front door. Araminta only hoped that Mary Jo’s curiosity didn’t get the best of her. The last thing she needed was her friend coming over and running into one of Hades’ demons. That would be a little difficult to explain.
She fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door. Percy was a dead weight in her arms and she knew it would take at least a week of his favorite cat food, the expensive kind, before he forgave her for leaving him behind. He had to have been frightened when whoever it was had broken into the house.
She shoved the door open and stepped inside.
“Where the hell have you been?”
She jumped about a mile in the air and inadvertently crushed the cat. Percy hissed his displeasure and vaulted from her arms to land agilely on the floor and scurry away. Rough hands grabbed her and pulled her against a rock-hard chest. Immediately the familiar scent of a hot afternoon in the desert filled her nostrils. It was earthy and elemental and all Leander. She threw her arms around Leander and held on to him, needing the support, both physically and emotionally.
Leander was almost out of his mind with worry. Araminta hadn’t been here when he’d arrived. When he’d seen the police vehicles leave the street, he’d made his way through the backyards of all the houses on the street, avoiding several small dogs until he’d finally reached Araminta’s home. He’d knocked, but she hadn’t answered. Terrified for her safety, he’d forced the back door open and rushed through the house calling her name. Before he could launch into a full-blown panic—an up until now unknown emotion—he’d heard the front door open.
He closed his arms around her, his panic receding with each second he held her. She was safe. Hades hadn’t gotten to her in the time they’d been apart.
Her face was buried against his chest and he thought he heard her sniff. Worry assailed him. Was she crying? She’d already dealt with so much, and this fight had barely started. He tried to ease her away so he could look at her, but she clung even tighter.
He rubbed his hand up and down her spine, soothing her as best he could. He brushed his lips over the top of her head and rocked her gently in his arms. His fellow warriors would bust a gut laughing if they could only see him now. Him, the king of the beasts, tamed by a small human female.
A nasty hiss sounded from his left and he glanced at the back of the sofa. A huge black cat with a ragged ear sat there glaring at him. “This must be Percy.”
Araminta nodded, gave another suspicious sniff and stepped away. He studied her critically. In spite of everything, she was holding it together admirably. He immediately missed having her in his arms, but he knew they had to get down to business. There would be time for pleasure if they survived. No, when they survived. He would accept no other outcome.
Her eyes were moist, but she blinked hard several times and offered him a faint smile. “I had to go over to Mary Jo’s place next door to get Percy. He’s not exactly happy with me at the moment.”
Leander walked over the sofa and squatted down beside it. He held out his hand to the cat and waited.
“Percy doesn’t really like people.” Araminta hovered behind him and he could sense her uncertainty.
“I’m not a normal person,” he reminded her. He gave a loud purr and the cat canted his head to one side, studying him. Leander made the sound again and Percy stood and leapt down to the bottom cushion of the sofa. Seconds later, the cat began to purr and butted his head against Leander’s outstretched hand.
Araminta gasped. “He likes you. He rarely comes to people at all. Usually, he’ll turn his back and give the cold-shoulder treatment.”
Leander scratched the cat behind the ears and slowly stood. “He recognizes a fellow cat when he sees him.”
Araminta looked startled, then her lips tilted upward. It was astonishing to see the change that came over her entire face. Her gray eyes brightened and her skin took on a rosy glow. She opened her mouth and laughed. The sound rushed over his skin like velvet, stimulating every nerve ending and stirring his blood.
He reached out, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Chapter Ten
One second Araminta was laughing, the next she was being kissed senseless. There was a sense of urgency from Leander that pulled her in and shoved aside everything else. She gripped his shoulders and then slid her arms around to his back, wanting him closer. Her breasts were plastered against his chest as their mouths melded together. Tongues twined and heat raced through her veins.
In the short time they’d been apart she’d worried about him, which was ridiculous when she thought about it. Leander was an immortal warrior, strong and more than capable of protecting himself. She’d seen the way he’d handled those big, ugly demons that had attacked them back at the garage. It was herself she should be worried about. She was human and had no experience with defending herself. She was totally dependent on him and her wits to survive this ordeal.
Leander’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once, stroking her arms and rubbing her shoulders and back. Finally, they landed on her butt and he lifted her into the cradle of his pelvis, rubbing her sex against his rather impressive erection. Her feet were dangling in the air, but she wasn’t afraid he’d drop her. His strength was enormous.
She tore her mouth from his and left a trail of kisses down his thickly corded neck. “This is crazy.” And it was. With everything she knew from her dreams and writing her books, Hades or one of his representatives could arrive any moment. There was no time to indulge in passion.