Tomorrow night, she’d have Kane Fletcher exactly where she wanted him and the territory of Louisiana would finally know what real power looked like.
Chapter Seventeen
Kane had shooed Edward out as soon as he could, but considering he had been the one to ask Edward to gather the files, he couldn’t exactly kick him immediately back out the door, especially since, as usual, his clerk had gone above and beyond.
Destin Jourdain had been correct when he’d stated that Kane had no idea what the witches wanted, or what the shifters wanted for that matter either. How could he expect to come to the table offering cooperation when he had no clue what that cooperation might entail – for his people or theirs?
Thanks to Edward, he now had a starting point, a few carrots to dangle. And speaking of dangling carrots…
Kane bounded up the stairs, once again the eager puppy as his mind imagined Sophia waiting for him in that giant marble tub full of steaming water and a thick froth of bubbles. The mental image had him quickly toeing off his boots just outside the door and yanking off his T-shirt in preparation to join her. After all, the tub was more than big enough to comfortably accommodate two.
The door was ajar, the dim light within flickering, suggesting she’d lit candles, and he could hear smooth jazz playing at a low volume. He had a thought to creep in slowly, surprise her, but then changed his mind. He’d heard from Jamie not too long ago that Sophia had had a few incidents controlling her dragon when startled, and while he wanted to see her dragon, he wasn’t too keen on having that happen in his bathroom while he was running away from a well-targeted fireball aimed at his ass.
Rapping gently on the door to announce his presence, he pushed it open fully. The sight that greeted him had him audibly gulping. Sophia was laid back in that froth of bubbles, her eyes closed, hair that had escaped her ponytail clinging damply to her neck, her skin glistening golden in the soft glow of the candlelight.
The reality was so much better than he could have imagined. Before he knew it, he was hovering over her, inches from the top of her head, his own eyes closing as he breathed in the intoxicating scent that was his dragon.
If he’d expected her to open heavy-lidded eyes and greet him with a sexy little quirk of her lips, he was very,verywrong. She’d fallen asleep, he realized too late, his presence startling her awake with a lurch that sent the top of her head bucking into his nose with a crack that had him tumbling back onto his ass as blood poured from his nostrils. The sharp pain enough to have him seeing spots.
Well, at least she hadn’t loosed her dragon on him.
Cupping his hands around his nose to staunch the bleeding, he looked up to see Sophia quickly getting to her knees, water and bubbles sloshing over the edge in a wave as she gazed upon him in horror, her own hands rising to cover her mouth. “Oh, my God, Kane! I’m so sorry.”
Waving her concern away, only displayed a bloody palm that had her looking even more horrified. “I’m fine,” he said in an attempt to reassure her that failed miserably as his voice emerged sounding nasal and congested.
“You are not fine,” she countered, more water sloshing as she hurriedly stood and stepped out of the tub, kneeling naked by his side.
Kane’s eyes were riveted to a glistening pair of breasts, patches of foam still clinging enticingly in a few spots. His injury was completely forgotten for the moment as Sophia tugged his hands away from his face to replace them with a wet washcloth she held tenderly against his nose.
Prying his gaze back up to her eyes, he said longingly, “This is not how I imagined this going.”
Sophia let out a little chuff of laughter and shook her head. “You and me both.”
Loathed to place his bloody hands on her skin, he moved his head away from the careful press of the wet cloth. “It should have already stopped bleeding,” and then, in case she’d forgotten, “vampire. Super healing and all that.”
She nodded, her lips still turned down in a worried frown. Wanting nothing more than to lift her mood, he added, “Unless of course, you’ve been harboring fantasies about playing a nurse.” He wiggled his eyebrows, pleased to note that the pain in his nose had considerably lessened. “If that’s the case, I’ll gladly let you treat all my aches and pains.”
Her cheeks pinkened a bit and a noticeable sparkle brightened her eyes as she teasingly asked, “What sort of aches and pains?”
“At the moment, I seem to be suffering from an uncomfortable stiffness.”
Her merry laughter was music to his ears, and even better were the kisses she planted on his lips between chuckles. Against his mouth, she said, “Let’s get you into the tub and cleaned up, see what we can do about that stiffness.”
Kane eagerly launched to his feet and extended his hand to help Sophia rise before remembering it was covered in blood. Rapidly snatching it back, he uttered, “One second,” and lurched toward one of the dual sinks. A quick scrub later, and he turned to find Sophia already waiting for him in the tub, her own hand outstretched in invitation.
He shucked his jeans in record time, grasped that warm, wet palm in his own, and joined her.
A naked Kane was a sight to see, Sophia thought as her eyes greedily drank him in. All that bronze skin, that beautifully muscled form, and a thick, heavy erection jutting proudly from his hips. Her mouth went dry, a little shiver of anticipation racing over her skin as he stepped into the tub.
As soon as he was seated, she moved into his lap, her hand gripping the nape of his neck as she moved to kiss him. Her nose bumped his and she heard him hiss. Jerking her head back with a wince, she gasped, “Sorry, sorry.”
Kane’s fingers gently touched her chin, his eyes meeting hers as he said with a sincerity that practically had her heart singing, “I’d endure any pain to kiss you.”
His mouth met hers, his arms wrapping around her and hugging her close as his tongue swept inside to taste her. Sophia moaned in her throat as her fingers tunneled into his hair, pulling free the band that held the locks back from his face. A thick, silky swath fell forward, caressing her cheek and a clicking purr rumbled through her chest as her dragon writhed within.
“I love that sound,” Kane breathed against her mouth, his fingers at her lower back pressing her even closer.
His lips moved to her jaw, down the line of her throat. She could feel the sharp point of a fang skimming down her jugular but she wasn’t afraid. The thought of him biting her only increased her excitement and she tipped her head back with a gasp as her fingers fisted in the cool silk of his hair, urging him on.
