So, he was in human form again. Hopefully that meant he was mostly healed. “I’ll go check on him.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
I needed to tell her about Azazel. Keeping another secret from her was not an option, but I needed to get Azazel’s okay first.
“I’m fine. Get loaded up; we’ll head off as soon as I get back with Vesper.”
The watering hole was more a lake than a hole and only a quarter of a mile away, if that, but Vesper was nowhere to be seen.
Shit.
Wait. Were those clothes heaped on the ground? Yep. Vesper had to be close by, and he was naked.
My skin pricked and then the water in front of me erupted, spitting out a bronzed Adonis. Vesper swept his wet hair off his forehead and stood waist-deep in the water. Droplets skated over his taut, muscular pectorals and ripped abdomen before merging with the water that lapped at the tantalizing V between his hips.
Look away, dammit. Look away.
“Eyes up, voyeur,” Vesper drawled.
Shit. I focused on his amused face. “Okay, exhibitionist, was it really necessary to go skinny-dipping right now?”
He snorted. “I needed to wash the stench of smoke from my skin.”
“Seriously, you’re a dragon. Doesn’t the stench of smoke come with the territory?”
He strode toward me, and the water level dropped sharply. Fuck. I turned my back quickly but not quickly enough, and... Oh. My. God.
“It doesn’t mean I have to put up with it,” Vesper said. “Besides, water is healing to my kind.”
It was? Well, that was a new piece of information and kinda contradictory because fire and water didn’t mix. The rustle of fabric followed. Thank goodness. He was getting dressed.
“Were you planning on bathing? You look a little hot under the collar.”
God he was arrogant. I turned to face him, trying not to linger on any part of his form but focusing on his face.
“You’re not the first half-naked man I’ve ever seen.”
He ran his hand through his wet hair and closed the distance between us. My instinct was to back away, but I held my ground.
“I’m no man, Anya.” His voice was a low, almost sensual purr. “I’m a fucking Dreki, and you’ve never seen the likes of me.” He leaned in so his fresh spring scent surrounded me and his hot breath brushed my cheek. My pulse kicked up in response to his proximity, my stupid body reacting primally to his. “I know when a woman wants me, Anya. I can smell it.”
A shiver ran across my nape and down my chest to tighten my nipples. I hated how my body reacted to him. But two could play this game.
I licked my lips, drawing his attention to my mouth. “Yeah? And I know when someone wants me.” I leaned closer so our mouths were mere inches apart. “I can see it.”
I stepped back and looked down at his crotch, at the hard length of him pressing against his pants, desperate to be free. Fuck. He was impressive.
He smirked. “I’m not Dante, Anya. I don’t think with my cock.”
We continued staring at each other in some strange stand-off that thrummed with tension. What the hell were we doing? This was ridiculous.
I exhaled through my nose. “Look, I didn’t come here to trade jibes with you. I came to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine.”
We hadn’t talked about the Vorn attack, or the fact that he’d risked his life to save mine. Once we’d landed, he’d been too out of it to do much of anything but pass out. The electrically charged weapon the Vorn had used against him could have killed him.
He was arrogant and annoying, but he needed to know how grateful I was for his help. “Thank you for helping me take down the Vorn.”
He chuckled. “Help? If I recall correctly, I did most of the work.”
Was he fucking serious? “Wait a second. If I hadn’t distracted them when you got hit with the electrical shot thingy, then they’d probably have killed you.”
“You call allowing yourself to get surrounded by Vorn a distraction?”
My jaw tightened in irritation. Fuck this, the supercilious bastard. “You know what, forget it.”
“How can I forget it? You came all this way just to make sure I was okay.” His tone dripped with sarcasm and condescension and my hackles rose.
He bridged the distance between us again, and my chest grew tight with apprehension. Unlike his tone, his expression was mirthless and simmering with barely restrained frustration.
“I’m a dragon lord, and there is a war going on, but instead of being on the front lines leading my troops, I’m here babysitting you because my brother has a twitchy cock for your cunt.”
The words were like a slap and my flinch was involuntary.
Something alien and dispassionate flashed in his eyes. “We aren’t friends, Anya. You’re merely a package I agreed to deliver.”
The sting of his words was nothing compared to the urge to punch his smug face. That and the need to set him straight. “Don’t kid yourself, Sparky. You’re here because you need me. You need what I can do.”
His eyes narrowed dangerously, and for the first time since we’d met, the dragon beneath the human guise bared its teeth.
My smile was cold and empty. “Being on the front lines isn’t going to help you win anything. The Bloods have tech and a way to create new soldiers. Better, faster, stronger than yours. You need me because I’m the only one who can help you even the odds. So don’t you dare fucking stand there and get all righteous.” The nails biting into my palm belied my even tone. Rage wanted out, but rage wouldn’t be productive right now. Instead, I injected ice into my tone. “You know what, fuck it. Believe what you want, and once we get to the Furtherlands you can do whatever the fuck you want.”
His expression cleared and he stepped back. “We need to get moving. The day’s wasting.”
He brushed past me and strode off toward the campsite.
How the heck he was even remotely connected to Dante was beyond me. Whereas Dante was warm and empathic, Vesper was...well, an arsehole. I’d done an excellent job of keeping my cool, but the anger still bubbling away in my veins needed a moment to simmer down.
“Anya, we have a problem.” Azazel appeared to my right in all his incorporeal glory.
“What is it?”
He swept his fiery gaze over me and then glanced up the trail after Vesper.
“Azazel?”
He turned back to me. “We need to get out of here. All regular routes to the Furtherlands are crawling with drones, and they’re headed this way.” The heat of his essence brushed my arm as he urged me to start walking.
My mind was whirring. Drones this far out? It didn’t make sense, unless they knew for sure we’d be taking this route. One of the Vorn guards must have escaped to relay the fact that I had a Dreki with me. Shit, in that case it would have been a natural leap to assume we’d be heading to the Furtherlands.
“Dammit!” I broke into a jog. “Vesper, wait up!”
He glanced back. “Sorry, was I going too fast for you?”
Whereas a moment ago his mocking tone would have simply re-lit my fuse, right now it was water off a duck’s back, because all that mattered was alerting him to the drones without revealing my source. But there was no need, because his brows snapped down and he cocked his head.