“Agreed.” Russell stood. “I’ll go topside for a few minutes so you can dress.”

She quickly relieved herself in the stream, then dressed and braided her hair.

Russell teleported back in and reassembled his handguns at vampire speed while she ate a breakfast bar. Then he put on his coat and armed himself.

She sipped some water, then cleared her throat. “Do you have my knives from last night?”

“Yes.” He retrieved them from his coat pocket and set them on the table in front of her. “Are you sure you want to do this? I can always zip through the camps alone if you need a night off.”

She recalled his reference to the rough time she’d had last night. Was that why he’d let her sleep late? When she thought about it, she had acted terribly shaken afterward.

“I’m all right.” She noticed he’d cleaned the knives for her. “I knew from the start that this could be dangerous. I’m still as committed as ever.” She glanced up and met his gaze. “We’re partners.”

His eyes searched hers.

What would it take to turn those eyes red and glowing? She shoved the thought away and quickly sheathed the knives. “We should get to work.”

“Good.” He levitated to get his crossbow and quiver.

“Why do you use arrows when you have so many guns?” she asked.

“They’re quiet, so they don’t announce my presence.”

“Do you ever use your cowboy pistols?”

“No, they’re antiques.” He swung the crossbow and quiver over his shoulder. “I would never take them into battle.”

“Then why do you have them? It’s not like you to keep anything unpractical around here.”

With an annoyed look, he extended a hand to her. “I don’t explain myself. Let’s go.”

With a sigh, she walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’ve known you five days now, but I hardly know you at all.”

He took hold of her waist. “That knowledge is not necessary for the completion of our mission.”

She snorted. “You know all about me. You know how my family died. You know what kind of life I live. You even know about my fear of heights.”

“I know you’re engaged.”

She swallowed hard. “I never officially agreed.”

His hands tightened on her waist. “Your cousin expects you to go through with it.”

She frowned. “We’re not talking about me. It’s you I don’t know anything about.”

“I don’t explain myself.”

She swatted his shoulder. “You’re the most stubborn, exasperating man!”

His mouth curled up. “And that’s all you need to know about me.” He teleported, taking her with him.

After a few minutes of studying the campsite, he declared nothing was going on.

“I can’t smell anything.” She gave him a wry look. “Other than you.”

“Is it that bad? I shower every night.”

She shrugged. “It’s not bad at all.”

He gave her a dubious look. “I don’t smell like a sack of blood?”

“You do a bit, but you also smell like the cave and your soap.” And a gorgeous hunk of man. “So why do you want to kill Han?”

He scoffed. “You thought you could just sneak that in?”

“It was worth a try.”

“I have my reasons.”

“Which are?”

“I don’t explain myself.”

She rolled her eyes.

He grinned and took her to the next campsite. Same story there. Nothing happening.

“So why do you have the cowboy pistols?” she asked.

He gave her a bland look. “Are you going to nag me all night?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.” What she really wanted to ask was, why did his eyes turn red? Did he truly desire her as a woman? But since she didn’t dare ask, she was pestering him about everything else. “Are you really a cowboy? Do you know John Wayne?”

“He’s dead.” Russell made a face. “But then, so am I.”

“You’re not dead.”

“Undead,” he muttered. “Whatever the hell that means. I’m dead half the time.”

“You mean alive half the time.”

His mouth twitched. “If you say so, Pollyanna.”

“So why do you have the cowboy pistols?”

With a frustrated groan, he pulled her into his arms. “How do I shut you up?”

Kiss me. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t explai—” He stopped when she placed a finger on his lips. His eyes darkened, and he grabbed her wrist to move her hand. “You should stay away from my mouth. I have fangs, you know.”

“I like to live dangerously.”

His eyes turned red. He released her abruptly and walked away.

She’d done it! Just by touching his mouth? Her skin tingled at the thought that she could so easily affect him. Who was she kidding? He affected her, too. Her heart was pounding, and there was a strange, fluttery feeling in her stomach.

But was it fair to torment him this way? “I’m sorry.”

He kept his back to her. “The pistols belonged to my great-grandfather, Johann Hankelburg. They’re Colt Single Action Army revolvers, issued to him in 1873. After his service, he settled in Colorado and started a small ranch. The Big H, he called it, for he had dreams of making it big. Over the years, the ranch grew.”




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