The eggshell had pale striations of color twining around the width and was so fragile it was transparent.
"Now we're going to do things my way, Kaderin."
Her eyes followed it as he tossed it up and down. "Just give me the damn thing."
"You never intended to meet with me." He looked infuriated with her. The sun had blistered his forearms and one side of his face. "And you kicked me." A trail of blood had eased down from the corner of his bottom lip.
"I kicked you in reflex." That was true. The basilisk had just burst through the rocks as if they were packing-peanut fillers and was on her heels. "For future reference, don't grab my ankle from behind when I'm being chased by things with long, prehensile tongues."
No matter what had happened between her and Sebastian, she wouldn't have tried to knock him out. Not to be a dragon's dinner or to burn in the sun any longer, although... "In any event, you deserved to be booted. You changed the terms of our deal when I was under duress! Not very gentlemanly."
"I feel less and less like a gentleman with you." The very delicate egg was flipping end over end in his palm.
"You could break that." She could scarcely breathe. "It's the last one." She was easing closer, tilting her head, studying for a way to seize it.
Something dangerous flashed in his expression. "Do you think to take it from me?" He dared her to.
She froze, having no wish to tangle with a vampire while keeping the egg whole. "But you have to hurry," she said desperately. "When Cindey gets here, she'll sing, and then you'll give it to her."
"I don't believe she'll be moving for some time after what you did to her."
"She's immortal. She'll shake it off. And she's hurt me far worse in the past. But she could reach us very soon. One pure note out of her pipes, and you'll be her slave forever." At that thought, Kaderin inexplicably craved kicking her again. Or a really well-placed bitch-slap. At her larynx.
"If you believe that, then you won't mind striking yet another bargain to get this prize."
"I've told you I will never sleep with you." A bead of sweat trickled down her neck, then between her br**sts. His gray eyes followed it greedily, then flickered with black. Storm over water. She shivered in the heat.
Even though his face was burned on one side and his hands as well, she was attracted to him and still aroused from earlier. Coldhearted? Once. Hot-blooded? He made her so. He alone could. And not just with sexual passion.
She'd enjoyed kicking Cindey's ass, and for some reason, she'd enjoyed that he'd seen her doing it.
"I want to spend a night with you, touching you," he said, his voice low. "That is all. However and wherever I choose."
She raised her brows. "So it'll be all about me? You say that now, but I know you think to seduce me to do more."
"No, I won't expect you to touch me whatsoever. I won't expect sex."
"The altruistic vampire. And you're just going to be doing these things to me and not reacting?"
He ran his free hand over his mouth. "No, I believe I will be reacting quite a bit. Let me worry about my reactions. You have my word. No more. No less."
She tilted her head. "And then I get the prize?"
"When I'm done with what I plan."
She didn't like how his words shot a spike of desire through her. "You might break the egg. Give it to me first."
"Not likely. I'll keep it safe, and you know you'll get it after. Unlike you, I keep my word."
"You won't go dental on me?" At his nonplussed look, she said, "No biting. Or I swear to the gods, I will bite you back, and you won't like it."
This seemed to amuse him for some reason. "No biting. I vow it, though I've always suspected you capable of checking me like that."
How could she do this? How could she not? For the prize, she could.
For her curiosity, she... must.
What would it be like to be a slave to his touch for one whole night? When she acknowledged her answer to herself, she glanced away and muttered, "I'm flying across the Atlantic tonight." She flushed, already imagining him in that lavish stateroom bed on the jet with her. "You could accompany me."
He was doing that hesitant-stepping-forward thing again. "You want me to go on your plane with you?"
"If you want to take your payment in the next twenty-four hours."
He crossed to her until they were toe-to-toe. "Why not let me trace you back across the Atlantic?"
"You can only go to places you've been before, and I'm betting you've never been where I'm going," she answered, gazing up at him. "Besides, I take flying time to rest."
She swallowed nervously when he rasped, "I wouldn't count on resting this evening."
Hours later Kaderin paced in the main cabin of the jet, furious over more things than she could process.
The first: Because of the Lykae's stunt, she was being forced into this situation with Sebastian. And she'd left the diamonds. Silly Valkyrie.
The second: Two of her half-sisters, her coven mates, had been wed, and she'd heard of it after the fact. They are so not getting gifts from me. Were her sisters that averse to her presence at weddings? Am I that dismal?
The third: As if she weren't already nervous about Sebastian coming over, now she kept thinking about his past. As in all wars, the Valkyrie had had a correspondent in the field covering the Northern War, and they'd learned that the Wroth brothers were brutal warlords known for their skill and ferocity. The brothers had bought their people a decade of freedom against a force much greater in number.
No wonder Sebastian had known how to fight so well.
The eldest - Myst's husband - was the most well known, but Kaderin had definitely heard of Sebastian as well. He'd been a master strategist, a harsh commanding officer, and a ruthless warrior.
She'd seen that authoritative officer side of him today, had heard it in the tone of his voice. And the way he'd eyed that trickling bead of sweat, his eyes so intent, let her know he was going to be ruthless with her tonight.
He'd be arriving within hours, but that fact hadn't sunk in until she'd told the pilots to delay their takeoff from San Luis until twenty minutes past sunset - and not to disturb her for any reason during this trip...
All of this was Bowen's fault. What in the hell was he even doing competing and why was he so determined to win? He was as unwavering as she was. A sinking suspicion came, and she rang Emma's sat phone, hoping to catch her in Scotland.
"Kaderin! It's so good to hear from you!" Emma said, sounding delighted. "Regin told me you were feeling again. Congratulations, Kiddy-Kad! That must be so cool, I've got so much I want to ask you about that, and, oh, oh, did they tell you - get this - I got married!"