The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo(32)

With the next shot, she obliterated his right lung. But when Dougal stopped helping her, she missed the paper again. Disgusted, she set the pistol down.

"We'll do some more tomorrow." Dougal escorted her from the room, leaving the ear muffs in the entryway shelving unit.

Abby, Gregori, Freemont, and Laszlo followed them to the gym, complete with punching bags, dummies, a table filled with knives, and thick pads on the floor.

With everyone lined up behind him, Dougal drew the dagger from the sheath strapped to his leg and threw it at the dummy across the room. The knife whirled through the air, then stuck into the dummy's chest with a loud thunk.

Leah winced.

Dougal turned to face them. "Ye may be wondering why ye need to know how to shoot or throw a knife, but I canna stress enough the importance of killing or wounding the enemy before he can get close to you. Ye doona want to fight any of Master Han's soldiers, no' when they're superstrong. And it is imperative no' to let Master Han or one of the vampire lords get near you. If they grab you and teleport away with you, we would have a verra hard time ever finding you."

"I have a tracking device in my arm." Laszlo glanced at the two mortal women. "Perhaps we should do the same for the ladies?"

"It might be a good idea." Gregori wrapped an arm around Abby's shoulders. "If you're okay with it."

"But Leah and I should be safe in Japan," Abby said.

"Not entirely," Gregori grumbled. "That's why I'm going with you and sticking by your side like glue."

"Doona forget that Darafer came here," Dougal said. "Either he or Master Han could teleport to Japan to grab you. That's why we're teaching you self-defense."

Leah glanced at the dummy with a knife imbedded in his chest. Could she kill if she had to? She wasn't sure, so it might be best to have a chip in her arm. Just to be safe. "I'll take a tracking device. Until the mission is over."

Dougal nodded, looking relieved.

"All right," Abby agreed. "I'll do it, too."


Three nights later, Leah stood outside the security office at the townhouse. She'd arranged for Dougal to teleport her to her apartment at midnight. She hesitated before knocking, trying to remember how messy the place had been when she'd left over two weeks ago. Would Dougal be offended by a few dirty dishes lying about? She'd been in such a hurry to get to the airport. Never in a million years would she have believed that she would be teleporting back with a vampire boyfriend.

The door opened and Dougal invited her in, looking as handsome as ever in his kilt and old-fashioned shirt. "Ye're ready?"

"Yes." She stepped inside and smiled at Howard and Rajiv, who were both munching on donuts. "Thank you for filling in for Dougal."

"Not a problem." Howard cast an amused glance at Dougal. "Take your time."

"Pooh Bear and I will be fine." Rajiv laughed when Howard's nudge nearly knocked him over.

"Come on." Dougal led her back into the hallway and shut the door.

"They don't seem very scary for a grizzly bear and a tiger," she said as he walked beside her.

"They can be plenty scary if ye're a bad guy."

"You won't be offended if my apartment is a bit-" She hesitated when he held the door open to her bedroom.

"No camera inside." He gave her a gentle push.

"Oh. Okay. Privacy is good." She stepped inside and retrieved a folded piece of paper from her lab coat pocket. "Here."

"What is it?" He took the paper. "A love letter?"

She snorted. "You wish."

"I do wish." He gave her an injured look. "I had one for you weeks ago, but ye never came down to the basement to read it."

She winced. "I-I was avoiding you."

"I noticed."

She punched his arm. "I'm not avoiding you anymore. I'm very . . . fond of you."

"Fond? Is this a bloody fondness letter?"

"No. It's my address. So we can teleport to my apartment."

"Yer address?" His mouth twitched as he opened the note. "Do ye think I'm a GPS system?"

She blinked. She didn't want him reading her mind. "Is there another way to get there?"

"I need a sensory beacon. Or I could slip inside yer brilliant brain for a second to see where to go." He stepped closer, his eyes twinkling. "And while I'm there, I might see just how fond ye really are."

She stepped back. "You wouldn't dare."

"I do dare." He moved closer, a slow smile curling his mouth. "Of course, I wouldna have to if ye simply told me how ye felt."

She huffed. "I won't be coerced into a confession of love-"

"Love?"

She winced. "And I won't have you invading my mind."

"Doona fash." He gathered her into his arms. "Lately, I've been much more interested in invading yer body."

She bit her lip to keep from laughing. That was the main reason she didn't want him in her mind. He might see all the naughty thoughts and dreams she'd been having. "So what do you mean by a sensory beacon?"

"I can teleport somewhere if I can see it or hear it. If there was someone there to answer the telephone-"

"An answering machine?"

"Aye." He gave her a rueful look. "That would work."

"Excellent." She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and punched in her home number. "Okay, it should come on soon." She held the phone up to his ear.

"Grab on to me." He pulled her tight and bowed his head to gaze into her eyes. "Love?"

She grinned. "You wish."

"I do wish."

She went up on tiptoe to wrap an arm around his neck and give him a quick kiss.

"Och, lass." His eyes darkened.

The answering machine kicked on, and everything went black.                       
       
           



       Chapter Twenty-one





As soon as they arrived, Leah glanced about. Not too shabby. There were some dirty dishes, but at least they were in the sink. "It might be a little dusty."

"It canna be worse than my house on the Isle of Skye. I havena been there in six months."

She realized he was still holding her. "Are you going to let me go, or did we accidentally fuse together?"

His mouth curled up. "Any fusion 'twould no' be by accident."

She snorted, her hands resting on his chest. "You told me that the first night we met."

"Aye, and I've been wanting you ever since." He heaved a forlorn sigh. "Eighteen days I've been waiting."

"You're such a player."

His eyebrows rose. "A what?"

"A player. How did you win me over in only eighteen days? Especially when you're dead half the time."

He gave her an injured look. "Can I help that? I was laying there in my death-sleep, innocent as a lamb, when ye molested me. Perhaps ye're the player?"

"What?"

"Ye unbuttoned my shirt and felt my chest."

"I was checking for a heartbeat. That's all."

His eyes twinkled with humor. "Ye were no' admiring my manly physique?"

"You wish."

"I do wish." He started unbuttoning his shirt. "My heart is beating something fierce. Would ye like to check it now?"

She swatted his chest. "Player. I need to pack." She headed for the bedroom.

"I'm packing something for you," he mumbled.

She stifled a laugh as she glanced around the bedroom. She grabbed some discarded pajamas off the bed and smoothed some wrinkles in the comforter.

"Need any help?" He sauntered into the room.

"I'm fine." She tossed the dirty clothes into the hamper, then pulled a large suitcase from her closet. "Are you going to be able to teleport this back with me?"

"Aye." He sat on the bed and gave her a hopeful look. "Can I make myself comfortable?"

"Sure." She grabbed several pairs of jeans and some T-shirts from her closet. While she was folding them into the suitcase, she heard two thuds and glanced up. He'd taken his shoes off and was rolling down his socks. Her pulse sped up. How far was he planning to strip?

He dropped his sporran on the floor, then propped up some pillows and sat with his back against the headboard. "This is verra comfy. Would ye like to try it?"

She bit her lip to keep from smiling. "I've tried it before." She selected several sweaters from the shelving unit in her closet and dropped them into her suitcase.

As she continued to pack, she became more and more aware that he was watching her every move. She could feel his desire, so strong it seemed to reach across the room to caress her. Her skin began to tingle. Her breasts felt heavy. When she leaned over to grab a pair of boots off the closet floor, he groaned.

She glanced back, and sure enough, he was focused on her rump. Without thinking, she squeezed her thighs together. The thought of getting caught up in one of his volcanic explosions made her heart race. And made her womanly core feel agonizingly empty.

She quickly zipped the boots into the front section of her suitcase, then moved to her chest of drawers. She tossed some underwear and bras into the suitcase, along with some thermal underwear.

In a flash, he was there beside her, picking up one of her panties. " 'Tis so tiny." He examined the small triangle of silk. "It must barely cover yer honey pot."