Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (13 page)

“I told him I’d tell
you and if you want
to speak to him, you
’
ll call him back,” he replies
, watching me and assessing
my body language. “I have his number.”

“
What does he want?” I sit down
on the edge of the bed.
Reed reaches out and takes my hand.

“You,” he replies
, rubbing his thumb over my skin
.

“Why?” I watch R
eed’
s expression soften
.

“I don’t know…maybe it’s because you’
re his daughter,” he murmurs
.

“What do
you think I should do?”
My unoccupied hand
toy
s
with the end of my sheet.

“Call him,” he says
without hesitation.

My throat
becomes tight. “Why?” I pull my hand from his.

“He might have the answers we
need regarding why you’re here—
your mission. He is also a great angel.
H
is prowess
is legendary
. W
e c
ould learn many things from him…” he trails off when he sees
my scowl.

“You respect him?” I ask
, not being able to contain the edge in my voice.

“Of course. H
e is one of the most courageous angels to have ever been created, Evie. When there is a parley between Sheol and Paradise, it is often T
au who is sent to speak to the F
a
llen…alone…in Sheol,” he replies
.

“So
,
he’s a good comm
unicator. Bravo for him,” I say
sourly.

“
It takes more than communication skills to enter Sheol. You know that. It takes the kind of courage that not many possess.
You should not judge him until you have the facts
,
and you cannot get the facts un
til you speak to him,” Reed says
,
leaning to me and stroking my hair.

“Well, if you’re going to be all rational about it,”
I mumble
sullenly, still picking at the sheet.

“Yo
u could call him now,” Reed says
, taking me in his arms and pulling me back to his chest.

“No, I’
m tired now…maybe later,” I say
, resting my head against Reed’s chest again
, watching
the fire dance
.

“Then rest, love,” Reed says
, continuin
g to stroke my hair until I fall
asleep in his arms.

**

I awa
ke to shafts of sunlight casting a glow
over my bed. Stirring, I lift
my head, seeing Reed sitting next to me reading an old, worn book. Smiling sleepil
y, I sigh almost inaudibly the word, “Hungry,” as I stretch
out my limbs.

Tossing his book
on the bedside table, Reed says, “Me, too,” and begi
n
s
nibbling on my neck. Squirming as his
mouth tickles me, I laugh and pull
him closer.

“Who needs food?” I ask
, nipping gently at the skin of his shoulder.
Reed mak
e
s
love to me again in the shafts of sunlight of the perfect morning.
Sometime later, while lying in
Reed’s arms, my stomach growls
noisily.

My eyes grow wide as
Reed
’s
face hovers
above mine. “I am starving you,” he s
ays
contritely.

“Yes, you are,” I agree
, not making any excuses for him.

“
Then, let’s go eat,” he says
, getting up and going to the closet near the bathroom.

“I ne
ed to take a shower,” I reply
, hurrying to the bathroom and turning on the water. Brushing my teeth after
my shower, I shamelessly watch
R
eed in the mirror as he shrugs
into a pair of board shorts and a t-sh
irt. Smiling to myself, I walk
to the closet, finding my clothes
that
have been brought here from our bungalow on the beach. Choosing a pair of denim shorts and a nearly backless top
that ties at the neck, I push
my feet into a pair of chic sandals.

“Ready?” I ask Reed and see him smile as he grasps my hand and walks
with me out of our room. “Are we training today?”
I ask
,
because everything seems to be different now after the visit from Molly.

“Zephyr and I discussed it. We’ll stay near the house. We can train in the ballroom or on the patio by the kitchen after the staff leaves. They should only be here to drop of
f
supplies. T
he boat will take them back to the other island. We
ordered food for a few weeks because w
e will be suspending the staff visits from now on…so, how good are
you in the kitchen?” he inquires
with a smile.

“I m
ake a mean PB and J,” I reply
,
“a
decent lasagna
,
and some killer scrambled eggs.

“
Good.
Zee said Hati is putting together recipes that
we just
need to follow,” he informs me
.

“Tha
t shouldn’t be too hard.
I can’t wait t
o see you in an apron,” I tease
him, trying to picture him cooking anything.

“I have prepared food before
, but it’s been a
while
,” he says
, smiling at me.

“Wh
en was the last time?” I ask
.

He looks
up at the ceiling, “A few decad
es ago…more or less,” he replies
.

“Ah…before
refrigeration or after?” I ask
, hiding my smile.

“Hmm, before…I believe
…” he says
seriously
,
and when
I burst out laughing, he grins
at my response. “What?” he asks
as
I shake
my
head, “I said it’s been a
while.
”

“You can h
elp me make some breakfast…it’
ll be fun,” I say
, squeezing his hand and looking up into his brilliant green eyes. Entering the kitchen
,
I go
directly to
the
sink and wash
my han
ds. Reed follows
me, washing
his h
ands beside me. A
s I walk
to the refrigerator, I open it and
scan its
contents. “Eggs?” I ask
, glancing over my shoulder to see Reed watching me.

“Yes,” he replies
, coming closer
, resting his arm on the open refrigerator door in
a sexy
way.
A slow blush begi
n
s
in me as our eyes me
e
t, making me have to look away.

Pulling out the carton of eggs, milk
, and butter,
I carry
them to the counter. “Do you like cheese?” I
ask
,
glancing up to see
Reed nod
.

After r
etrieving the cheese, I go
to the cabinet.
On my tiptoes, I attempt
to get a bowl down from one of
the higher shelves. Reed steps
behind me, w
rapping his arm around my waist;
he
leans in and presses
a sultry
kiss to my neck while reaching
up and graspin
g
a bowl from the shelf with his other
hand.
I bit
e
my lip as my entire body reacts
to his touch.

“Thank you,” I brea
the
, taking the bowl from him
.

“You
’
r
e
welcome,” he answers
in a low tone
, before nuzzling my ear lobe
, sending shivers of desire through me
.

I exhale the word, “Okay.”

Reed’s
hand
on my waist
falls away as I move
toward the counter wher
e I had
put the eggs. H
eat
is
rushing to my
cheeks as
I set the bowl on the counte
r. I pick up an egg and crack
it against the count
er before
pouring it in
the bowl.
Several more eggs go in after it
before I
look at Reed’s face
to see him leaning against the counter with
his eyes training
on me.

Finding a whisk in a drawer, I put it in the bowl before handing the bowl to Reed. “Stir this, please,
” I order
, before hunting for a frying pan. Puttin
g
the pan on the stove, I turn on
the burner
, melting the butter
in the pan
. Looking at Reed, he hasn
’t moved, but continues to watch me. I raise my eyebrow and nod toward the bowl. He looks
down at
it for a second before he seems
to realize that he’s not doing what I asked. Setting the b
owl down on the counter, he begi
n
s to stir it like a five-
y
ear-old would:
in circles.

Smiling, I walk
over and place my hand on
his, showing him how to fold the eggs with the w
hisk. “Ah, there is a technique,
” he says
, grinning at me
and causing my heart to speed up
.

“Don’t tell me that I finally found something that I know more about than you
do
,” I say
.
Picking up the bowl, I bring
it to the stove and pour
the contents
in
the pan,
hearing the eggs sizzle. Using a spatu
la, I stir
the eggs, adding
some cheese.

“You’ve just introduced
a whole new world to
me, Evie. We should al
ways do this. I
t’s very
…
intimate,” he says
, watching my reaction to his words.

“This is just eggs, Reed. You s
hould see lasagna,” I tease
.

“I don’t know if I can handle lasagna…what will
you be wearing when you make i
t?” he asks
, putting his arms around my waist and hugging me from behind.

“Plates, please,” I order
, pulling the pan off the heat and turning off the st
ove. Reed reluctantly let
s
me go
to get the plat
es. I serve
the eggs, placing the plates
on the island in front of the barstools. As w
e si
t next to e
ach other, eating our eggs, a ki
n
e
tic energy seems
to
pass between us. Pick
ing up my empty plate, Reed takes it to the sink and begi
n
s
rinsi
ng it off for me while I clean
up our mess.

As he wipes his hands on a towel, he moves
to me
where
I
’m
lean
ing
against the counter
watching him. Pick
ing me up in his arms, he seats
me on the countertop, kissing me with the pent-up heat that
has
been building between us throughout the entire meal.

A consuming passion overwhelms
me,
but it’s cut short by confusion as Reed ends
our
kiss abruptly. The world whirls around me as I’m
moved through the air in a fraction of a second to a position behind his back. His wings are already arching out
,
shielding me from whatever it is that’s making Reed adopt a defensive posture in front of me.
Instinctually, my wings sho
o
t o
ut of my back as I try
to see around Reed.