Page 75 of Shadow Boxed


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“Again?” She lifted her head. “What did he want this time.”

The question stirred a laugh from him. The way she’d phrased it suggested Benioko had simply rung him up on the telephone, rather than teleporting into his dreams.

“He warned me of a fishing vessel approaching the Harbinger’s grave site. Told me the vessel could not be allowed to fish. That any fish caught would be infected and escalate the apocalypse.”

She frowned, staring directly into his eyes. “That sounds like your subconscious at work. You said O’Neill was concerned about that possibility.”

“Exactly. It was my subconscious. Too bad Wolf can’t see that.” Tired of talking about death, he threaded his fingers into her hair and brought her head down, until they were lip to lip. Kissing Demi always took his mind off death.

Aaarrrrrggggh

The seething growl came seconds before Trident launched himself at Aiden’s head.

Son of a bitch.

He twisted to intercept the feline, but Demi was closer and snatched the cat out of midair, then clamped it to her chest. She squirmed her way from beneath the covers and out of bed as Trident writhed and growled in her arms. No doubt she was worried Aiden would kill the damn thing if he got his hands on it.

She wasn’t wrong.

“I’ll take him down to the basement,” Demi said as she shuffled out of the bedroom with the feline equivalent of a Tasmanian devil locked in her arms.

“Just so you know, you jackass,” Aiden raised his voice, “if she has one scratch on her when she gets back, you won’t live to see daybreak.”

Once again, that monstrosity of a cat had cock blocked him, and totally wrecked the romantic mood.

After ten minutes of waiting, he swung out of bed. Demi must have gone to Kait to get patched up. Which meant that ratty bastardhadscratched her. Or bit her. Or both. Either way, his morning nookie had just been thoroughly torpedoed.

He wanted to strangle the creature for hurting the sweetest woman alive. But he couldn’t, he wouldn’t, because she loved the fucking thing.

He followed the rich scent of fresh coffee to the kitchen, where he found Cosky standing in front of the percolating coffee pot with a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and an expression of disgruntlement on his face. Looked like the cat had cost Cosky his morning nookie as well. Just as well. There should be a law forbidding Cos from committing hanky-panky with Kait while Aiden was still in the house.

“Let me guess: Trident drew blood and Demi went to Kait to get patched up before I could see the damage.” He tried not to smirk. “How bad did the damn thing get her this time?”

Cosky just glared back. “You two need to find a new home. And take that hairy bastard with you.”

“Huh...funny you should mention that. Demi said the same thing,” Aiden said as he picked up the steaming carafe and filled a cup with the aromatic black brew. “I’ll talk to Wolf today about snagging some land. But we won’t be able to build until the snow thaws. Unless we can find something to rent, you’ll have to put up with us for a while longer.”

Cosky grunted and took a sip from the mug. The annoyance slowly faded from his face. Aiden wasn’t sure whether it was due to the coffee or the news he’d eventually get Kait to himself again.

“You taking the first chopper up to base with us?” Cosky finally asked, his tone almost civil.

“Yeah. I need to talk to Wolf.” He watched Cosky pour another mug and add two spoonful of sugar and about a pint of milk to the cup. His sister did love her cup of morning cream with a dab of coffee in it.

“Chopper will set down in thirty.” Cosky picked up the cups and left the kitchen.

Knowing that Demi, who was a self-acknowledged coffee snob, would refuse the percolated stuff, he sucked his cup down in record time and booked it back to their bedroom. Demi was cuddled beneath the covers again, her eyes closed, breathing easily. With any other woman, he’d have suspected she was pretending to be asleep, in the hope of avoiding an argument about the cat. But Demi didn’t avoid the tough discussions, and she did love her lazy mornings. Plus, the woman could fall back asleep in the blink of an eye.

He pulled back the covers to get a look at her arms and face. There were no signs of scratches or bites. Nothing but smooth, soft skin. But then, Kait’s healing would have erased any signs of bloody furrows or teeth punctures. Still, during the attack Demi would have felt the sting of Trident’s claws as they dug in. He winced with sympathy. She really needed to let go of the beast.

He dressed in his usual BDU of tactical pants and t-shirt, then sat on the chair in the corner to pull on his ass-kicker boots. Before leaving the room, he headed over to the bed to kiss Demi goodbye. At least the furry little demon didn’t interrupt him this time.

She sighed when he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Her hair brushed against his lips in a silky, rose scented caress. She whispered something, but it was so soft he couldn’t hear it. He could guess what she’d said though. Same thing she always told him in the mornings.

“I love you too,” he whispered back. The words were second nature now.

Chapter thirty-three

Day 35