God, I sounded weak even to me.
The waiter returned with our order before Jordan could answer me. She took a drink of soda and thankfully changed the subject.
“Did you hear the Council is sending two more teams here to help with the hunt for the Lilin?”
I nodded. “Sara told me Nikolas called Lord Tristan last night to request them. They’re taking this demon very seriously.”
“When Nikolas Danshov asks for backup, you know it’s bad,” Jordan said wryly. “And you don’t have to call him Lord Tristan. He hates that.”
“I’ll remember that if I ever meet him.”
She picked up her sandwich. “What I’d like to know is where they are planning to put all these warriors. The safe houses are already full.”
“I guess some of them can bunk at the command center for now.”
We had one free bedroom at the main house, plus the large couches in the living room. And Mason and I had a comfortable couch in the guesthouse someone could use. Warriors were used to less than ideal sleeping conditions. They’d make do until something better could be arranged.
Jordan smirked. “If any of them are super hot, I might volunteer to share my room. You know how much I like to help out.”
“Such a giving person.” I grinned and sipped my soda.
“Beth?”
I looked over my shoulder at the sound of the male voice calling my name, and it took me a few seconds to put a name to the face of the blond man walking toward us on the sidewalk.
“Adam, hi.”
He stopped outside the iron fence that encircled the tables. “I didn’t expect to see you again after you broke my heart the other night.”
I laughed softly. “Jordan this is Adam… I don’t believe I know your last name,” I told him apologetically.
“It’s Woodward.” Adam smiled at Jordan. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You, too,” she said, shooting me a look that said I had some explaining to do.
“I met Adam at Luna,” I told her.
Jordan unabashedly gave him the once-over, taking in his lean physique, artfully messed hair, and glasses.
“What do you do, Adam?” she asked when she’d finished sizing him up.
“I’m a finance major at UCLA.”
“Smart guy, huh?”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “I like to think so.” He looked at me. “Did you hear Luna got shut down after we were there?”
I feigned surprise. “No. Why?”
“I heard it was because of all the underage teenagers, but I don’t know for sure.”
He looked like he was about to say something else, but he faltered, his hand gripping the top of the fence for support.
“Are you okay?” Jordan and I asked at the same time.
Adam waved off our concern. “It’s nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix. I think I’ve been partying a bit too much since Wes came to visit.”
A dark-blue Mercedes stopped on the street behind Adam. The passenger window rolled down, and I could see Adam’s friend Wes behind the wheel. His eyes met mine, and he smiled.
“Beth, right? Fancy meeting you here.”
I nodded. “Small world.”
“Indeed.” Wes looked at Adam. “You ready?”
“Yes,” Adam replied. He stepped closer to where I sat, his expression hopeful. “I can’t leave without asking you to have coffee with me this week. As friends,” he added when I opened my mouth to answer.
I smiled apologetically. “I wish I could, but…”
“But you are involved with someone.” He didn’t try to hide his disappointment.
“Yes.”
He looked at the waiting car then turned back to us. “It was nice to see you again. And to meet you, Jordan.”
“Nice meeting you, too,” she said.
I had my hand resting on the fence. Before I could react, he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it. “Until next time.”
“Wowsers.” Jordan waggled her eyebrows at me after Adam had gotten into the car. “I might need to consider higher education if all the college boys look like those two.”
“Adam does seem to have it all. Good looks, personality, and intelligence.”
“Not everything. He can’t have you because you’re involved.”
I made a face at her, and she snickered.
“Sorry. My bad. You’re temporarily involved with a sexy-as-hell warrior who makes mere mortals swoon. And whom you’ve been in love with since you hit puberty. Did I forget anything?”
I crossed my arms. “Just eat your lunch.”
* * *
I walked into the guesthouse and came up short at the sight of the person sitting on the couch, reading a book.
“What are you doing in here?” I demanded.
“Hello to you, too, roomie.”
“Roomie?” I croaked.
Chris took his sweet time setting the book down on the coffee table. Following his movements, I spied the duffle bag sitting on the floor beside the couch.
He smiled, looking completely at home. “One of the Las Vegas teams is staying at the command center until we set up some extra safe houses in the city. I offered up my room to Abigail. It was the least I could do.”
“Why didn’t you take one of the couches in the main house?” I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. This place was my refuge. How was I supposed to relax – or sleep – with him in the next room?
“Those are taken.” He patted the armrest. “And I like this one.”
The door opened behind me, and I turned to see Mason enter the house. He looked from me to Chris.
“What’s going on?”
Laying my shopping bag on the table, I said, “Chris is going to crash on our couch for a few days because the main house is full.”
I expected Mason to ask why Chris couldn’t stay somewhere else, but he only nodded.
“That explains the extra bikes parked by the garage. Guess it’s going to be crowded here for a while.”
He walked past me toward his bedroom. Before he went inside, he looked at Chris. “Just try to leave some hot water for me in the morning. And for God’s sake, don’t touch her milk or coffee if you value your life.”
I stared at him as he entered the room and shut the door. Since when was he okay with Chris moving in? Where was my best friend who always had my back, especially when it came to Chris?
Chris chuckled, drawing my attention back to him.
“What?” I snapped, feeling like I’d been ganged up on.
He stood, holding his hands up as if to ward me off, a small smile playing around his mouth. “If it really bothers you, I can find a spot in the house somewhere. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
His offer deflated my anger, and I was suddenly ashamed of my rudeness. “No, it’s okay. You can stay.”
“It’s not like we’ll be here that much anyway,” he said, looking far too pleased by my concession. “And being work partners, this will be more convenient for us.”
“Great,” I muttered, trying not to think about being around him night and day.
I started toward my room and stopped when a new thought occurred to me. “I was supposed to go on patrol tonight with Raoul. Does our new working arrangement mean I can’t do that anymore?”
“For now, Jordan is taking your place on his team. We’ll go back to regular patrols once the Lilin threat is gone.”
“What will we do tonight then?” I asked, and regretted it immediately when he gave me a slow smile.
“I’m sure we can think of something to occupy us.”
I sighed because I’d walked right into that one.
This was going to be a long few days.
Chapter 10
Chris
I pulled on a pair of jeans and combed my fingers through my damp hair one more time before I opened the bathroom door. Walking into the living room, I went to find a fresh T-shirt, and I grinned when I saw the wrinkled contents of my duffle bag.
When Sara had told me Geoffrey’s team would be staying at the house for a day or two, I’d immediately offered up my room to Abigail and threw my things in the bag to move to the guesthouse. I wasn’t above using any excuse to spend more time with Beth.