I stuffed the undies I held in one hand into my top, giving Jim a good glare. “Less observation and more explaining. What is all that food on your plate? You’re not allowed to eat that much! You’re on a diet, remember?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Have you eaten any of it?” I interrupted.

“I was just about to. Hey!”

“No excuses, buster.” I scraped half the mound of chicken salad, one hardboiled egg, and several small pieces of garlic-toasted French bread onto another plate, returning a diminished portion to the demon.

Nora sat down next to me as I took a fork from the sideboard and with a meaningful look removed a small plate of chocolate cake from Jim’s possession.

“Cake thief!” it muttered, managing to look sullen even while eating chicken salad. “You owe me after I put up with being disemboweled and stuff.”

I rolled my eyes at the disemboweled accusation, and ate the confiscated portion of its lunch.

“I never asked because you were bleeding, but your fire, it worked?” Rene asked, munching on bread and thin-sliced steak.

“Yeah, it worked fine. It hit just as I plunged the knife down, hiding the fact that Jim’s body had disappeared when I spoke the words sending it to Akasha.”

“Ah. You have learned to control the fire, then. This is good.”

“Definitely.”

“Aisling?” Pal stuck his head into the room. “There is a demon at the door for you. It demands you go with it to meet with the demon lord Ariton.”

I waved a fork of chicken salad at him. “Would you tell Obedama that I’m busy for the next couple of days, but as soon as I have a free hour, I’ll pop in to visit Ariton.”

Pal blinked twice. “Very well.”

I smiled at everyone in the room as he left. “There’s something to be said for living with a dragon who knows how to keep demons out.”

“Mais oui,” Rene said, helping himself to another hunk of bread.

We spent a few minutes talking about what I’d done with the imps, Nora suggesting we spend some time going over the more common attributes of several recently spotted beings.

I begged off for a quick nap, feeling drained by the events of the last couple of days. En route to the room, however, I heard Drake’s voice saying something to Pal about the swimming pool. I raced down the back stairs as quietly as possible, my libido shifting into high gear.

The pool wasn’t hard to find, and, thankfully, had a door with a lock on it for privacy. I smiled at it as I sat on a cedar bench and kicked off my shoes, removed my underwear from where I’d stuffed it into my bra, and peeled off the rest of my clothes in record time.

Drake liked his water warm rather than cool, so I wasn’t surprised to find the temperature of the lap pool a little warmer than normal. I didn’t mind it and swam a few lazy laps while I waited for him.

“I thought you were tired.”

I swam to the end of the pool and admired the man who stood leaning against the door.

“I thought I was. Then I remembered this pool and figured a little gentle exercise would do my gore spot good.”

Drake walked to the end of the pool, squatting next to me. “Is it bothering you? There was no redness this morning. Let me see.”

I swam backwards, smiling. “You’ll have to come in here if you want to examine my belly.”

His eyes, which had been exhibiting a subtle green smolder, lit from deep in their depths. He glanced at his watch. “I have a chevauchee shortly.”

“A what?” I reached the steps, lolling around in the water like a seductive sea nymph, flashing signals with my eyes that I was sure he couldn’t miss. He pulled off his shirt, carefully placing it on a cedar bench, sitting briefly to remove his shoes and socks.

I smiled and undulated at him.

“Technically it means a horseback raid, but in this instance, it is a ritual performed by those about to undergo a challenge.” His eyes narrowed when I ran a hand down my breastbone, the irises in his eyes all but disappearing as my back arched, exposing my breasts.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that challenge. What exactly is going to happen? And what do I need to do? And why aren’t you naked and inside me yet?”

A splash was all the answer he needed to make. Before I could wipe the water from my eyes, I was in his arms, my nipples rubbing against his now-slick chest. I squirmed a happy little squirm that had as much of me touching him as possible, licking a couple of drops of water off his chin.

“Dmitri has chosen trial by combat for the challenge. In specific, swords. You need do nothing other than be present. And believe me, kincsem, being inside you is all I can think about. We have been parted too many times today. I have been hungry for you.”

My hands slid around his hips to the proof of his hunger. “Good, because I’m positively famished.”

His hands closed around mine, gently prying them off his penis. “Aisling, right now I do not think I can bear your touch for long.”

I rubbed my hips against him. He groaned and grabbed my butt to stop me from moving.

“In the mood for a quickie, eh? That’s fine with me. My pot has been simmering all day. It’s not going to take much to make me boil.”

“I’m afraid that’s all I have time for.” His breath was hot on my mouth as he backed me up against the wall of the pool. The water was just over breast height on me, high enough to give me sufficient buoyancy to wrap my legs around his hips while I kissed the fire right out of him.

His body was hot and hard against me as I all but purred, squirming against him to feel as much of him as possible. My body ached for him, waited with every muscle clenched for the familiar invasion, needing him the way I needed to breathe.

“Drake, are you here? We will be late for the . . . ah.”

Pal’s voice echoed slightly in the room. Drake swore into my mouth. I made embarrassed eeking noises and sank into the water until I was submerged to my neck, my arms over my breasts.

Pal had his back to us, evidently examining a water pipe that ran across the ceiling. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but the chevauchee is to commence in fifteen minutes. Shall I tell Dmitri that you will be delayed?”

Drake swore again, his lips hot on mine as he gave me a quick, hard kiss that promised almost as much as the look in his eyes. “That would give him the opportunity to claim I defaulted on the challenge. I am ready.”