Darkness Hunts(25)

After a while, he took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Don’t ever do that again, Risa.”

It seemed to be my day for getting told that. But there was no anger in Tao’s voice, only resigned weariness. I said, “You know it’s pointless telling me that, so why even waste the words?”

“Because I keep hoping one day you’ll actually listen to someone.”

I snorted softly. “And how long have you known me?”

He made an odd sound that stood somewhere between laugh and groan. “Okay, point taken. But it was still one hell of a risk. I wasn’t in control, and I could have hurt you.”

“As I’ve already pointed out, you were the only thing alight in the kitchen.” And that alone meant he had some level of control, even if he couldn’t immediately douse the flames. I dropped a kiss onto the back of his neck, then pushed to my feet. “I knew you wouldn’t let the elemental hurt me.”

“Next time I might.” He took my offered hand and let me haul him upright. As a werewolf he was naturally lean, but these days, thanks to what resided within him, he could only be considered skin and bone. Not abnormally so, not yet, but not far from it, either. “And the fire trucks have just about arrived.”

I cocked my head a little and caught the wail of the approaching fire engine. “You want to go out the back and reassure Linda and Rachel? I’ll go talk to the firemen.”

His smile was a little on the wan side, but it nevertheless warmed me. He was going to be okay—at least this time. “You always did like a man in uniform.”

“Most women do.” I gave him a grin. “And some men.”

“Not this man.”

“Well, no, not unless you’d walked in on one of Ilianna’s potion-making moments.” I hesitated. “Once this mess is all sorted out, you’d better meet me upstairs and tell me exactly what happened.”

He nodded, his expression suddenly grim. Prickles of concern danced through me, but I shoved them aside, then hit the freezer door release and headed out not only to meet the firemen but to see what could be done about the mess.

As it turned out, there wasn’t a whole lot we could do. We cleaned up the best we could, but the kitchen itself was shut down, thanks to all the water damage, and it wouldn’t reopen until everything was checked and passed by the local government council, who controlled the planning and permits for the area. I spent the next hour lining up plumbers, electricians, and the gas people, while Tao rang the insurance company, then put signs in the windows explaining the situation. I hoped we weren’t closed for too long. Customers could be fickle creatures at the best of times.

I locked up, then pulled a couple of beers out of the fridge and headed upstairs.

“So, give with the details.” I handed Tao a beer and plopped down on a nearby chair.

He sighed and put his feet up. His warm brown eyes, when they met mine, were somber. “I was pulling a double shift because Jacques had his dad’s funeral today, and no one was able to fill in.”

I nodded. I knew all that—just as I knew that Tao could have called in a temp but didn’t because he was a little on the fussy side when it came to just who worked in his kitchen.

“Lunch was madder than normal and the kitchen was its usual stinking-hot self.” He grimaced. “In this day and age you’d think they’d make air-con that could function more efficiently in kitchens.”

“I’m sure they do. Problem is, we don’t actually own this building.”

“Yeah. Might have to fix that now that the place is pulling decent money.” He thrust a hand through his still-damp brown hair. “Anyway, the heat had the thing inside me stirring. The hotter the air got, the stronger it got, but both Rachel and I were working flat out and I just couldn’t take time to go sit in the freezer for a while.”

“And you didn’t think it would get to the point that it did.” I said it softly, without accusation. Tao wasn’t the type to risk the lives of others.

“It’s never been this bad before. I don’t know why it was this time.”

I drank some beer and contemplated him. The elemental’s flames still burned fiercely within him—the power of it glowed under his skin.

“Obviously, the kitchen heat had something to do with it.”

“Yeah.” He took a sip of beer and leaned back in the chair. “I had all the jets going on the stove. It seems to feed on that sort of stuff.”

It was a fire elemental, so that was logical. “It might also have been the sun. It was warm today.”

He raised his eyebrows. “No sun gets into the kitchen.”