Part 14 (1/2)
She chuckled softly and began undressing. ”Don't mind me, I'm just talking trash. I'm so tired that I just want you to be sure I don't drown while we take a bath.”
”Ditto,” he replied with a deep yawn.
They'd slept like the dead .. . well, not quiet dead, but close to it, Sasha thought as she stirred awake. Sir Rodney had the best beds on the planet, sprinkled with a little Faery dust for a relaxing sleep no matter what the circ.u.mstances.
Opening her eyes slowly, Sasha glanced around the room. Sumptuous Old World luxury surrounded them, and it was going to be hard to go back to battling in the bayou. But dawn brought reality and she knew they had to get up.
Suns.h.i.+ne warmed her face as she stretched and pushed back deeper into the spoon of Hunter's embrace. Cool, soft cotton sheets that covered sensual goose down felt like a drug as she struggled to fully wake up. Add to that Hunter's steady breathing, the rhythm of his heartbeat against her spine, and his warmth coating her entire back and backside, it was enough to keep her in the mild coma she'd been in all night. Once they'd lain down, neither of them had moved. The possessive hold he had over her waist felt like a huge tree limb had captured her, pinning her to the bed.
But she had to move; they had to get up. There was much to accomplish ... but d.a.m.n, the man felt so good.
”Good morning, baby,” she said, beginning the difficult task of untwining their bodies.
”Not yet,” he said, releasing a deep rumble inside his chest.
She felt it through her back and felt his grip tighten. ”C'mon, don't start.”
His answer was simple and definitive and nonverbally male. He just flopped a heavy leg over her legs, holding her in place.
”Not fair ... I don't have the energy to lift your leg. man.” She relaxed back against him and kept her eyes closed as his hand stroked a lazy hypnotic pattern against her belly.
”Not trying to be fair.”
She wanted to laugh, but only a groggy chuckle came out. ”We have to get up.”
”Why?”
He kissed the back of her head and slid his hand up to capture her left breast. His body was definitely awake and pressing against her backside, even though he was only semiconscious. Warmth radiated through her body and lingered between her legs as he gently kneaded a taut nipple until she moistened.
”I'm trying to remember,” she said through a quiet moan. ”Aw, c'mon, Hunter, don't do thisa”we've gotta get going.”
”True,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her shoulder. ”We've definitely gotta get going before we leave this room.”
”Colonel Madison,” the MP said, as soon as the call connected. ”We have a civilian at the guard entrance checkpoint trying to enter the base to see you, sir. He has some sort of videoa”the same video that is breaking on the news. Should we detain him, sir, or bring him to your office?”
”What video breaking on the news?” Colonel Madison said, looking at the clock.
It was zero-six-hundred. He'd already been up since zero-five-hundred, unable to sleep.
”The news breaking on the local channels, sir,” the MP exclaimed, clearly unable to keep the panic out of his voice.
”Bring the civilian to my office,” Colonel Madison said, grabbing the remote and turning on the television.
Only three minutes pa.s.sed and his direct line from the Pentagon rang.
”Good morning,” Sasha said, greeting the small team a.s.sembled in Sir Rodney's war room.
Crow Shadow and Shogun grunted a reply as they ate, and she was glad that his arm had healed.
Sir Rodney lifted his coffee cup in salute. ”Top of the morning to you. Breakfast?”
Rupert scurried over to pull out Sasha's chair as the men at the table stood.
”I'm good,” Hunter said with a broad smile. ”Already ate.”
Sasha refused to look at him as she sat, and Sir Rodney gave him a wink.
”Coffee then?” Rupert said, trying unsuccessfully to swallow a smile.
”Thank you,” she replied and gave Hunter a sidelong scowl before turning her attention to the group. ”What time is it? My clock gets all messed up in the sidhe.”
”This is a timeless place, that's why,” Sir Rodney said with a gallant bow from where he sat. ”But in human time, it is six a.m.”
”Okay, thena”thank you for the hospitality, but can we get that coffee to go?” Sasha looked around the group as everyone stopped eating. ”The base starts reveille at zero-five-hundred. There are bodies in the woods, so even if Russell Conway couldn't get anyone out there in the dark, at daybreak he might get some action. I can't get a cell phone signal in here, and you don't have a TV.”
”Whew . .. somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Sis, you are seriously stressing,” Crow Shadow said, slurping his coffee.
”I thought I'd rectified that,” Hunter said under his breath, accepting a cup of coffee from Rupert.
Shogun chuckled into his cup. Sasha shot out of her chair as though a bee had stung her.
”Look,” she said, now talking with her hands, ”a feeling just came over me. I know you guys don't approve, but for better or worse I'm half human and I know how humans think . . . I'm connected to their energy, and when big stuff goes down the hair stands up on my necka”the same way it does when I get a wolf feeling. I respect both; I act on both . . . plus I have the advantage of a little feminine instinct that you guys in the magic kingdom still haven't been able to quantify.”
She blew out a long breath and paced to the window and back when all they did was stare at her, chewing slowly and sipping their coffee slowly. ”You guys have gut to get up on the new technology and come into the human twenty-first century. Their technology makes them almost as formidable as youa”it's their brand of magic, their brand of telepathy, all right? So stop looking at me like I've grown two heads. This is serious. I need to check ina”so can you just take me to the outside wall and drop the drawbridge so I can at least get cell phone reception?”
It was worse than she'd thought. Her cell phone was blowing up. Every member of her team had called twice, and Colonel Madison beat Doc's three calls by mere seconds. Starting at the top of the food chain, she called Colonel Madison, then Doc, checked in with Winters and told him to get back to Clarissa and company, all while half listening to the phone conversation that Hunter and Crow were having with Silver Hawk and Bear.
”Respect restored, la.s.sie. I need to create a human communications room in the sidhe somehow,” Sir Rodney said, looking at Rupert. ”Who knew?”
”Definitely,” Sasha said, terminating the last call and shoving her phone in her pocket. ”Okay, here's the deala”I have to go to the base alone.” She glanced at Hunter, and he nodded. ”Whatever any of you do, please do not rush in there and freak people out. Things are badly tense right now.”
”You have my word,” Hunter said. ”I must go through the shadow lands taking Crow with me. Silver Hawk has seen much in new visions that could help our cause.”
”With a little glamour,” Shogun said, nodding to Sir Rodney, ”I can work with Fae forces to try to track down where Lady Jung Suk is resting by day. After all her night hunting, she must be fatigued . .. and cats sleep by day, anyway. If she's embedded in the Asian community, my language skills there will help.”
Sir Rodney nodded. ”Summon my captain of the Fae guards, Rupert. I want an all-points bulletin out on this Lady Leopard, now that we have her image.” He tapped his cell phone and tossed it to Rupert. ”Make sure my men know what she looks like. We follow Shogun's lead, but we'll have to glamour him since his face was on that video the civilian took.”
”We'll all meet back up at sundown at The Fair Lady,” Sasha said. ”But don't anybody get jumpya” call, use a cell, send a missive, whatever, but no crazy, sudden moves.”
CHAPTER 17.