He glanced her way, his face drawn tight with intense emotion she couldn’t decipher. “You killed one of my men, didn’t you?”

Chapter 20

Joseph felt Lyka’s panic an instant too late to predict her actions.

She sprang from the moving truck and tucked into an acrobatic roll as she hit the ground. He skidded to a sloppy stop on the gravel road and slammed the truck in park.

By the time he was out of the truck and headed in her direction, she was already on her feet, running into a nearby tree line.

Joseph couldn’t leave her alone out here, unprotected. She was weak from her efforts to heal him. He’d sensed her fatigue clouding the minute connection between them. She was practically weaponless, with only those short daggers and a puny knife to hold demons at bay. And even if all of that hadn’t been true, he would have been forced to pursue her because of his vow to protect her.

If she’d already become comfortable in her power, she could have pulled strength from him to speed her flight. But she wasn’t comfortable yet. She probably didn’t even realize that she could use him in that way.

He’d never been more grateful for ignorance in his life.

Joseph pulled specks of energy into himself, gathering them from the chilly night air. He was unable to access the huge reservoir of magic he housed, but he could make instant use of what was available to him in the environment. As he drew power into him, some of it overflowed his need and became a part of him. It wasn’t fun or easy to add onto the bulging stores of energy inside him, but it was effective.

His pace quickened until he was easily gaining on her. Branches batted at his face as he passed, but she seemed to have no such trouble. She dodged and ducked, weaving through the forest with such ease, he wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that she’d planted every tree and rock herself.

He finally caught up to her on the far side of a creek. She’d leapt across it, and the slick leaves littering the ground slid beneath her foot. Her arms whirled as she scrambled to find a handhold to keep her upright, but there was nothing low enough for her to grab.

She started to fall. Joseph caught her up and swept her to the top of the steep bank. She spun around, striking out at him with her bare hands. Panic still ruled her mind and controlled her actions, so he grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her before she could draw blood—and the demons that would smell it.

The last thing they needed was another pack of sgath closing in on them.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her, though his words came out through clenched teeth, making them harder to believe.

“I won’t let you hurt me.” She snarled, baring her teeth at him as she tried to get away.

He bore her to the ground, pinning her arms with his hands and her body with his. She squirmed against his hips and thighs, lighting a fire of sexual need in his groin.

He’d spent the last few miles trying to shove all of his lust back in its box, and here she was, inadvertently destroying his efforts. Only a few minutes ago, he’d been faced with every one of the fantasies he’d had for this woman. Dark and nasty, sweet and loving . . . they were all on display, reminding him of exactly how much time he’d spent fighting his baser urges.

He’d wanted Lyka for too long to deny how he felt. There was no stopping the immediate response of his body. Despite her anger and her struggles to free herself, she felt good under him—really good when she squirmed and rubbed against him.

“Stop fighting me and listen.”

“Never.” She fought harder, nearly breaking his fingers in an effort to free her wrists.

He had to fuel his strength to keep her in check. He was no lightweight, but her Slayer blood made her both strong and ferocious.

It was one of the things he loved most about her.

He tried to keep his voice calm, but he was quickly running out of what little patience he had. “Stop or I’ll knock you out and carry you back to the truck.”

“I won’t let you hit me. I’ll rip you apart first.”

“I don’t have to hit you. I’ll shove my way into your head and just turn out the lights. You don’t know enough magic to stop me.”

She stilled. The flush of color their chase had given her evaporated as she went pale. “You’re bluffing.”

“Keep being a pain in the ass and you’ll find out I’m not.”

Panic was still hovering inside her, looking for the slightest excuse to come out and play. He knew she was terrified, but he had no idea why. “Why did you run off like that?”

“I don’t want to die until I find my brother.”

“Who says you’re going to die?”

“I killed one of your men. That’s not the kind of thing you can let go unpunished. Just give me a stay of execution until Eric and the young are home safe. Then I’ll turn myself in willingly.” Her chin lifted with an air of defiance but trembled with unshed tears.

That was why she was upset? She thought he was going to execute her?

“Lyka, even if you deserved to die, I couldn’t be the one to do it. My vow to you prevents me from ever hurting you.”

Some of the tension drained from her body. “So it won’t happen now? You’ll let me keep searching?”

He loosened his hold on her arms and stroked the inside of her wrists with his thumbs. He wasn’t foolish enough to let her go, but her need for comfort and reassurance drove him to act. “Did you kill my man in self-defense?”

“No.”

“Did you kill him in anger?”

“No. Even if I wanted to, Andreas forbade us from attacking your people.”

“Had his lifemark fallen bare? Did you see that his soul had died?”

Her gaze moved past him to the bare branches behind his head. “No.”

“Then why did you kill him?”

“He asked me to. He only had two leaves left. He was in horrible pain. He begged me to end his suffering.”

Joseph understood the urge to let go. Stop fighting. End the pain. Rest. There had been times when he’d let idle thoughts of ending his life pass through his mind. He’d always shut them down before they could take root and grow, but not all of the Theronai were as disciplined.

“Who was he?” asked Joseph.

She shook her head. “I don’t know his name. I didn’t let him tell me. I didn’t want to know.”