Abigail couldn’t help but smile at the differences. The MacKays were huge, pale, redheaded men who wore kilts and carried claymores on their backs. Finn looked like a blond surfer dude with his tanned skin and his baggy shorts and Hawaiian shirt.
She took a long walk along the beach with Gregori. Just the two of them, hand in hand. Back at the beach house, he encouraged her to take a nap. Once they moved on to Japan and China, there wouldn’t be much time for rest.
She woke several hours later and ventured into the kitchen to look for food. “Hello?”
Where was everybody? After fifteen years of bodyguards, it felt strange to have no one hovering around her. She spotted Finn and Angus on the back porch. Angus waved for her to join them.
The minute she opened the sliding glass door, she heard a grating noise, the sound of metal clashing over and over.
“Sparring session,” Angus explained as he pointed to the beach.
Her mouth dropped open. There on the beach, Robby and Gregori were engaged in a swordfight. With real swords. Huge swords.
Her heart leaped up her throat. “Are they trying to kill each other?”
“Nay, they’re just practicing,” Angus said. “I wanted to see how well the lad can fight.”
She cringed when Robby’s sword slashed down toward Gregori’s head. He blocked it in time, the swords colliding with a loud crash. “This is crazy!”
“Ye want a man who can protect you, aye?” Angus asked as he calmly watched.
“I want a man who’s alive.”
Angus chuckled. “They’ll no’ kill each other.”
Gregori shoved Robby back, then advanced toward him, lunging and parrying. The two men moved back and forth across the beach, swords flashing in the moonlight. After a while, she realized she could relax. They were carefully cutting short any thrusts that would seriously injure or kill.
As the gruesome dance continued, she became intrigued. The men were beautiful to watch. Neither was wearing a shirt, and sweat glistened off muscles that rippled across their chests and backs. Even as the men circled each other, she could always tell which one was Gregori. They were the same height, but Robby moved like a tank and stood his ground like a brick wall. Gregori was long, lean, and fluid. If he took a hard knock to the ground, he merely rolled with it and sprang back up. And he did it with style and grace.
She smiled. That was Gregori. He rolled with the punches life threw at him, and nothing ever kept him down.
“That’s enough,” Angus yelled. “We doona want to wear out the fledgling.”
She heard Gregori’s muttered curse and Robby’s laugh. “You call him a fledgling?”
Angus chuckled. “Aye, just to irritate him, but the lad holds his own. Ye’ve found a good man there, lass.”
Yes, she had. She watched him as he approached. Beneath his charm and expensive suits, he was a fighter, a warrior just like the kilted Scotsmen. His biceps bulged from the weight of the claymore, his dark, damp hair clung along his brow and neck, curling slightly at the ends. He smiled slowly at her, his dimples denting his cheeks.
Good Lord, she wanted him.
“Did you have a nice nap?” he asked.
She nodded, her gaze wandering over his bare, slick chest.
He handed his sword to Angus, never taking his eyes off her. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. I need to shower.”
She stood there a moment, then followed him inside the house. “Shouldn’t you be inspected for injuries? What if Robby cut something off?”
“God forbid.” With a grin, he pulled her into the bathroom that adjoined the guest bedroom.
After a leisurely inspection in the shower, she declared him whole and healthy. He wrapped her in a towel, dumped her on the bed, then jumped on top.
She laughed. “Aren’t you tired?”
“Sweetheart.” He peeled the towel open. “A good Vamp can go all night long.”
And he did.
A few hours later, they teleported to Kyo’s estate outside Tokyo. She called home to let her family know she’d arrived in Japan. Then she showered, changed clothes, and ate a big meal of miso soup, rice, and shrimp and vegetable tempura.
The phone rang, and it was J.L. Wang. Night had fallen in the Yunnan.
It was time for her adventure in China to begin.
Chapter Twenty-two
They arrived in the dark, but Gregori’s vision quickly adjusted. Abigail skidded a little in the gravel, and he steadied her.
“They’re here,” J.L. told Angus on his cell phone. “We’ll report in two hours.” He hung up.
“Hey, J.L.” Gregori gave him a knuckle pound.
“Hey, dude. Welcome, Miss Tucker. I’m J.L. Wang.”
“Please call me Abby.” She shook his hand. “It’s so dark out here. I can hardly see.”