Point of No Return by Tara Fox Hall Page B

stopped myself,
saddened.
    Devlin touched my arm gently. “Yes, like
them, though Lash and I have been together for some sixty odd
years, Sar, not ten.” He paused. “To us.” I raised my glass, as he
raised his. “To having you in my bed, where you belong,” he said,
his eyes full of desire.
    Angry at my remembering Theo, I added
wickedly, “To you having me everywhere in your bedroom, and to you
being where we both think you belong.”
    Devlin gaped a moment, then his eyes changed
from slightly molten gold to hot burning pools of pure wanting. He
cast his eyes around, then began to get up purposely.
    Whether he had been going to take me right
over our table in front of everyone or lead me to the back room, I
never knew. For at that moment, a man walked out from the back room
with a bunch of his buddies rubbing his jaw, furious.
    “God damn him! He interrupted our game an
hour ago, too!”
    “Come on,” one of his friends said cunningly.
“Let’s get the guns from the truck. We’ll wait until he’s busy with
that whore, and then blast him to Hell.”
    “Yeah,” another laughed. “A bullet or two in
his ass is going to cramp his style.”
    The five of them walked outside.
    Devlin glowered, then got to his feet. “Sar,
stay here. If you hear gunfire, duck under the table. I need to get
the bears, and head those men off before they get back—”
    “If Lash is the best, can’t he defend
himself?” I asked. “Can’t you just warn him?”
    “He’ll kill them; he’s been in a foul mood
for days. As for warning him, I’d have to interrupt him and get
close enough he’d hear me over the music. If I startle him or her
as they’re mating, either might strike.”
    “You don’t have to worry, I’ll wait in the
car,” I said, getting to my feet.
    Devlin sat me back down forcibly. “That’s
exactly where I don’t want you. Stay here, where you’re safe.”
    I nodded grumpily.
    Devlin headed outside a moment later with
Vince and Kev. There were no shots, but a minute later, the three
of them came back in. Vince had a spray of blood across his face,
but otherwise they seemed unmarked. Kev and he left, and Devlin
came back to the table.
    “Lash should be done shortly,” Devlin said,
sitting back down. He stuck the cork in the bottle, then handed it
to me. “I want to get you home. We have unfinished business,
Love.”
    The last thing I wanted at the moment was
more sex. I nodded anyway, playing along.
    Lash came strolling back, grinning hugely,
until he saw us. “What’s the problem, Dev? Kev and Vince left
before finishing their game.”
    “It’s time to go,” Devlin replied. “You
ready?”
    Lash cast a longing glance backward. “I
suppose,” he hissed. “She is on the clock. Let’s go.”
    The ride home back to Hayden was uneventful.
As soon as we’d parked, Vince and Kev left without a word. Lash
followed Devlin and I inside, then upstairs. I watched him with
alarm, until he went into the room beside Devlin’s.
    “He lives here with you?” I said, as Devlin
led me back to his bedroom, then shut the door.
    “Yes,” Dev said, stripping off his shirt, and
tossing it aside. “It’s safer for everyone. He can hear if I’m in
danger. Serena’s is the room next to his. Titus and Leri used to
share the one beyond that, at the end of the hall. There are more
rooms beyond the kitchen, where the rest of the guards sleep.”
    “I don’t feel him. Titus, I mean.”
    Devlin led me to the fireplace. “Sit, Love.”
He began to build a fire. “As for Titus, he put a buffer on his
room. Think of it as ‘blackness-proofing’. I’m used to the feel of
a demon nearby, but I’d never be able to have anyone living here
with me if he hadn’t. Lash and the other weres are uncomfortable
around demons, as a rule, so that was easiest.” He blew on the
flames. “Titus is most likely not there tonight, anyway. He’s
probably in his basement workshop, concocting something. Hand me
that bottle,