Immortally Yours, An Urban Fantasy Romance (Monster MASH, Book 1) (20 page)

My feet felt like lead. Rodger was practically skipping.
 

Galen was trying to change things around here. And I was happy to see some of it. I was. But he needed to know when to quit.
 

The night was growing colder by the minute. I didn't think I'd ever get used to the chill of limbo after dark. We didn't pass many people as we made our trek back. No doubt most were in their hutches staying warm. I walked with nervous anticipation swirling in my belly. Rodger whistled the theme song from
The Price Is Right.
 

Light glowed from inside the immense red tent. The flaps hung closed. "Yo, Galen," Rodger called.
 

I wasn't that polite. Heart hammering, I flung the flap back.
 

Galen stood just inside, looking breathtakingly gorgeous in those damn midnight-black combat fatigues. He trained his eyes on me the same way he had right before he went down on me in the minefield. It made me feel exposed, naked, and sexy as hell.
 

I broke contact.
Think of something else
. Like Jeffe on the floor next to Galen. The sphinx bent over stacks of note cards, his tail curling around a cardboard box filled with even more cards in neat, rubber-band-bound stacks.
 

Galen moved toward me with all the grace of a predator. He knew I'd be back. His manner said it all. I silently cursed myself for making it so easy for him.
 

He scooped a bowl off the edge of the couch as he approached.
 

"Blueberry?" he asked, lifting the bowl to me like he was offering the apple from the forbidden tree.
 

Oh yeah. He was good. And judging from that sexy grin, he didn't doubt my answer.
 

"I didn't come here for treats," I said, realizing too late that I hadn't quite turned him down in the way I'd hoped.
 

He fixed those damn blue eyes on me and the raw hunger I saw in them sent needles of anticipation down my spine. "I'm glad you came," he whispered, closing the distance between us.
 

I remembered exactly how it felt to be in his bed together and so did he.
 

"I missed you," he said. He looked like he could eat me alive.
 

His breathing grew heavy as he slid a ripe blueberry between my lips.
 

It was luscious and sweet. Perfect. I hadn't even known I wanted it. Now I could hardly think of anything else.
 

But even as I savored it, I knew it was trap. I raised my eyes to his. "You always get your way, don't you?"
 

"Not always," he said slowly. His lips curved in the barest hint of a smile. "But I sure as hell try."
 

I'll bet. I trailed a finger down his battle fatigues. "You think you're so smart."
 

"He's very smart," said Jeffe, almost giddy.
 

My stomach quivered. I'd forgotten about the sphinx. And about Rodger.
 

"Get a room," my buddy whispered not so quietly in my ear as he slid past me. "How's it going, slick?" Rodger asked the sphinx, strolling over.
 

So much for showing Galen he wasn't all that and a box of crackers.
 

I tilted my head to the side. "I'm not here for what you think I'm here for," I said, wincing inside as I said it. Color me smooth.
 

No question Galen had me rattled, but did he honestly think I was going to hand my life over to him just because we'd connected on a soul level? Or because of the chemistry between us?
 

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Then why are you back?"
 

"Okay, how can I say this?" I wondered aloud, my face warming. God, what would it be like to touch him again? To be alone in that bedroom again? To have one more chance?
 

It didn't matter. That wasn't the point. I was here to tell him to stay out of my business. I paused to gather my wits. "I know we've shared some things. And I like you. I do. But I don't like it when you push me. I'm not going to put up with it—anytime, anywhere, and especially not in bed."
 

That hadn't come off as steely as I'd wanted, but damn it, he was way too close and way too large and way too
male
for me to keep my focus.
 

"Fine." He gritted his jaw. "I think I can handle that."
 

"Really?" I asked, wary. Maybe we had a shot at this yet.
 

I wanted to believe he meant it.
 

"I won't push," he said. "You'll see soon enough that the first prophecy has come true."
 

And just that quick, hope crashed and burned. "I should leave," I said, turning to go.
 

"Wait." He touched my arm. "Stay. I want you here. We all do."
 

"What? So I can watch Jeffe address postcards?" I asked.
 

Jeffe's head cocked up at the sound of his name. "See how I write. Are they not beautiful?" Bold geometric designs edged the cards. He'd drawn scarabs, lotus flowers, and, of course, the occasional guard sphinx. "You don't just want to write a name. You want to draw symbols for good luck and prosperity."
 

Rodger stood over the sphinx. "I think you've got something there."
 

Jeffe tilted his chin a little higher. "Tomorrow I start writing questions for trivia night! I am in charge as long as no one gets eaten."
 

Nurse Hume burst through the front flap, holding an empty milk crate. His hair was pale, his skin was pasty, but his face was alive. "I just mailed batch six!"
 

A cheer went up from the group.
 

Come on. They must get thousands of entries every day. "He might not even win," I told Galen.
 

"But I might," answered Hume. His cheeks took on a flush I'd never seen before. "Imagine how I'd look in a brand-new silver Camaro."
 

"They might even let you pick the color," Rodger suggested.
 

I was all for roses and sunshine, but, "Don't you people realize we're in the middle of a war zone? We have jobs to do."
 

Hume clucked his tongue. "Well, aren't you a buzzkill?"
 

"You've got to be kidding me." I looked to my friends for support. Naturally, they ignored me.
 

Hume gave a small smile as he bent down to take the almost full box from the table.
 

"I've gotta get out of here," I said to myself more than anyone. It was too much too fast and if I wasn't careful, I was actually going to join in.
 

I was aware of every muscle as Galen stood and closed the space between us.
 

"I'll walk you home."
 

I took two steps back. "Let me rephrase that. I want to get some distance from you."
 

He stood over me, determined. "Let me be blunt. There are assassins after you."
 

I cleared my dry, aching throat. He would have to remind me. I glanced past him, hoping Jeffe and Hume hadn't heard. We didn't need any more rumors floating around. "I thought you said I'd be okay in camp."
 

"With protection after dark," he said. "I don't want you going home alone to night."
 

I didn't want to be alone to night, either. My belly tanked and my breath caught. What would have happened with this man if we hadn't met this way?
 

Forget it. There was no use wishing for things I couldn't have.
 

I stood in the open doorway. "Rodger, I need a bodyguard."
 

Rodger was stretched out on a colorful rug, admiring Jeffe's artwork. "Come on. We just got here."
 

Galen braced an arm on a tent post. "Are you afraid of what might happen?" he asked, a bit too amused for my taste.
 

I looked past him to the colorful Moroccan lights swaying in the cold breeze from the night. "Of course not."
 

Not in the way he thought. Maybe I'd been without a man too long, or maybe I was just in denial. But Galen was exactly the kind of strong, sensitive, braver-than-death guy who made me want to forget just how responsible I was.
 

Yet he was too dangerous. He was getting too close.
 

And he was stubborn as hell.
 

"Let's go," I said, before I changed my mind.
 

We walked across camp in silence, his boots crunching in the dirt along with mine. The moon was purple to night. It hung, large and luminous, over camp.
 

The air blew colder than before. I could almost feel the heat burning off him. He was close enough to touch. I missed that about him. Touching him. Kissing him. Making him gasp.
 

It was completely insane because I couldn't get attached. He didn't belong here. He'd eventually realize his theory was bunk and despite the current paperwork mix-up, he would be leaving this place, returning to the front lines or to whatever secret missions he ran.
 

For as much as we were both a couple of control freaks, neither one of us could control that.
 

When we reached my tent, we found Marius on the bed, his eyes closed, blocking out the world.
 

Galen stood at the threshold. "Let me in."
 

I wanted to. I deserved to have someone. Hell, he did, too.
 

"I can't," I said as I slipped through the door.
 

Chapter Thirteen

The next day I didn't hear anything from Galen. I tried to tell myself it was a positive step. Maybe he had finally given up.
 

But I missed him. I didn't know what he was thinking.
 

I refused to ask Rodger where was going, and where he'd been when he came back, humming. And Rodger didn't even tell me.
 

He'd lain off the alcohol, which surprised me. He wrote pages and pages to Mary Ann. At this rate, she'd know more about what was going on than I did. I was feeling hopelessly out of the loop.
 

The next day I was halfway through folding a stack of laundry when Horace popped up outside my screened window. "I've been asked to bring you these."
 

"What?" I asked, unzipping the window flap.
 

The sprite tossed a stack of paperbacks on top of my whites.
 

I grabbed for them. "Lora Leigh, Charlaine Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon." And they were new.
New books
.
 

Rodger sat on the bed behind me, polishing his boots. "He misses you, you know."
 

I held the books to my chest. "How did he know I have a serious romance addiction?"
 

"I might have told him."
 

"Rodger!"
 

"It's not a big secret. Besides, he could have seen those authors on your shelf."
 

Maybe. "How did he even find these?" I asked, giving in to some serious book fondling. There were no bookstores in limbo.
 

"VIP interdimensional lending library," Horace said. "Want me to take them back?"
 

"No." I held them tight. "Maybe I'll skim a few." The books felt new, smelled new. Their spines were perfect.
 

The sprite nodded. "Okay well I have to get back to the construction site."
 

"I don't even want to know," I said, lining my new books up on my bed.
 

That didn't stop Horace from telling me. "We're refurbishing the burned-down VIP showers over in the minefield."
 

"Why?" I asked slowly.
 

Rodger gave Marius's footlocker a guilty glance. "Our vampire buddy needs some privacy."
 

I planted my hands on my hips. "Are you saying this because he superglued your sheets to your bed?"
 

"No," Rodger said, "that was just to get back at me for the cuff links. I get that. This is different. Galen's in charge. In fact, wait up, Horace. I'll go with you." Rodger dragged on an old pair of tennis shoes. "We've got some blackout curtains, some mirrors for the ceiling. Hume says he may be able to win a clock radio."
 

It was like I'd been dropped in an alternate universe. "Why are you doing this? Galen's not even part of this camp."
 

Horace notched his chin up. "Yes, he is. Do you know he leaves me pennies every day?"
 

Well, if that was all it took... "I have pennies."
 

He flashed a hand. "Save them. I don't want reluctant charity."
 

I wasn't reluctant. I just didn't realize how things could change.
 

"You know hope isn't always a good thing," I reminded them. I wanted things to get better. I did. The small improvements were nice, although it burned me up I didn't think of them first. But giving Marius a spot to call his own, or Jeffe a trivia outlet, or Hume a reason to be optimistic didn't mean Galen was right about everything.
 

In fact, he was proving himself to be the type of guy to force change. Sure, that was good when it came to cheering up Hume or giving Jeffe his own trivia night (lord help us on that one). But it could spell disaster if he tried to force any prophecies.
 

I'd made that mistake already.
 

I stifled a groan. It was just so unexpected. Galen was supposed to be a killer, a brutal special ops soldier, not
this
.
 

"Just don't expect me to join the party," I said, grabbing up a copy of
No Mercy
as they barged out to the minefield.
 

***

By evening, I'd come to realize resistance was futile. Marius's new "lair" had been cobbled together on the flat strip of space between our hut and the tar pits. And so I went out to investigate.