Rebel's Desire (Iron Portal Paranormal Romance Series) (Iron Portal Series Book 4) by Laurie London Page B

out in front of him. “Got any Irish whiskey? The good stuff?”
    “Darn. I’m afraid I’m fresh out. I do have some top-shelf wine, though.”
    “Excellent.”
    She returned a few minutes later with two mismatched wine glasses and a bottle of strawberry wine.
    She unscrewed the top, poured him a glass, and when she handed it to him, her fingers accidentally brushed his. The echo of his touch shot up her arms and gave her goose bumps just like it had before.
    She took a seat next to him on the couch, trying as hard as she could not to snicker like a twelve-year-old boy with a whoopee cushion. Surely he knew that this wine was as cheap as they came, didn’t he?
    Without a whiff or a swirl, he knocked back the entire thing in one gulp.
    “Bloody hell,” he sputtered, putting the empty glass on the library table beside him. “That stuff is awful.”
    She laughed at his reaction—just what she’d hoped it would be—and took a sip. It wasn’t that bad. “A little sweet maybe,” she admitted. “It’s Becca’s.”
    A knot of worry twisted in her stomach again at the thought of her sister. She hoped nothing happened between now and tomorrow to prevent her from coming home. Then, all Keely had to do was convince her not to go back. They could move away. Start up fresh somewhere else, somewhere far away from Davin Reaux. She’d heard that things were better for Talents down in Portland, and she’d always liked it there anyway.
    As if sensing her tension, Toryn took her glass, set it next to his, and motioned for her to turn so he could massage her shoulders.
    He lifted her hair aside and placed his hands on her skin.
    Mmmm .
    They were warm, heavy and strong. She closed her eyes and focused on his deft fingers kneading her tight muscles. Inch by inch, the tension from the past few days began melting away.
    It felt good being with him like this. Safe. Relaxing.
    “So what do you do, Toryn?” she murmured, her eyes still closed. “Other than rescuing women and doing minor construction projects.”
    “For one thing, I didn’t rescue you.” His tone sent delicious shivers down her spine. “You did that all on your own. I was just the lucky fellow who happened to be at the right place at the right time for that kiss.”
    Lucky was right, but she was the one who was lucky. Her face heated at the memory of that amazing kiss, and she wondered if a second one would be as electrifying as the first. She had a pretty good idea that it would be.
    She coughed awkwardly. “So what were you doing when I…uh…ran into you?”
    It took a moment for him to answer, as if he were trying to decide what to tell her. “My associates and I were trying to figure out a way to infiltrate Reaux’s network. He’s a hard bloke to track down. And then there’s the matter of those bloody Psychic-Talents.”
    “Your associates ?” she asked.
    Again, he hesitated. She was going to ask if he was in law enforcement, but then she remembered how he’d acted in the alley. It had been very clear to her that he hadn’t wanted to speak with the Night Patrol.
    Her shoulders tightened beneath his strong, steady grip. He wasn’t talking about organized crime associates, was he?
    “So what’s your issue with Mr. Reaux, since we seem to have that in common?”
    “All I can tell you is that I’m part of a group trying to prevent him from hurting and taking advantage of innocent people. He and others like him commit all kinds of atrocities. We’re trying to put a stop to it.”
    So he wasn’t in some rival faction vying for the same turf, she thought with relief. As far as she was concerned, anyone trying to keep Mr. Reaux from doing any more harm was one of the good guys. But a group that operates outside the scope of the authorities…?
    “You mean like mercenaries?”
    “Yes.” The finality in his tone told her he was done discussing the subject.
    He continued massaging her neck and shoulders, finding the knots and working them out.