to look in his eyes or at his perfect mouth. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I guess someone dark and dangerous.”
Braden’s hand snaked out and caught her wrist. Surprised with how quick he moved, she sat frozen and just watched as he trailed his fingers along the vulnerable flesh of her inner arm. His fingers left a wonderful warming sensation trickling deep into her skin.
“I can be dark and dangerous sometimes,” he whispered, his intense blue eyes holding her in place. The slight huskiness of his voice made her breath catch, but she gently pulled herself free from his hold.
Liz swallowed; completely stunned by the physical reaction she had to his touch. He wasn’t the first attractive guy she had ever been around, but he was the first to make her melt with a single stroke of her skin.
For a moment, she thought he would kiss her. What shocked her more was that she would have let him.
What was it about Irish guys? The only guy she allowed herself to fantasize about was Danny O’Donoghue, the lead singer from The Script. But he was unreachable and safe to have a thing for from a distance. Braden was right beside her and leaving her acutely aware of his presence.
Sitting back in her seat, Liz willed her heart rate to slow down. The damphyr was full of surprises.
As sexy as he was, she had to keep focused. “So, what is the cure?” she asked, breaking the moment. “Is it an actual medicine or more like an herb?”
“I don’t know,” Braden said, sounding suddenly tired. “Someone my father used to know has access to it though.”
Liz’s mind hummed in wonder about Braden’s father. She had noticed while staying in Erris, that his parents were the only ones she hadn’t met.
From snippets of conversation, she had gathered that his mom stayed in the little guest house above Teagan’s folk’s garage despite owning her own sprawling house on the same secluded street as the others. The last one on the left, the place sat empty, although no one would notice walking by. Like the other coven member’s homes, the lawn was lovely and kept perfect.
“Where is your dad anyway,” she asked, twisting a strand of her ink black hair with nimble fingers.
“He passed away when I was six. He left to buy my mother a Christmas gift and never came back. All we knew was that he was supposed to be gone for the weekend.” Braden’s haunted eyes rested on her. For a moment she just stared back, taking in the beauty of his irises framed by thick golden lashes.
“Are you sure he died?” she asked, thinking how her mother also left, but by choice.
“When his life ended, the fate-partner bond he and my mother shared broke. That’s how we knew he passed on.”
Liz glanced away. Braden’s admission was startling. In all of her preconceived notions about his glorious life, she hadn’t considered what would happen if one of the damphyrs died.
If Braden was eighteen, he had been living with this sadness for twelve long years. He would have remembered having his Dad as a part of his life. Liz resented her mother for leaving her as an infant, but at least she didn’t grieve what she never had.
“I’m sorry,” Liz offered softly. “It’s hard growing up without a parent around. My mother left me and my father when I was a baby. Not that I blame her,” she shrugged her shoulders, “the Captain is a tool. But it would have been nice having a mother, especially each time we moved to a different Naval base and I had to start over again in a new place and with a new nanny.”
Braden placed his hand over hers. His touch once again sent disquieting tingles through her. “You aren’t a disappoint either. You’re much sweeter than I expected.”
“Well, sweetness isn’t my strong suit, but after all you’ve done, I figured I’d spare you my usual cantankerous ways. You’ve figured out how to save Lexie’s mom. I can’t thank you enough for that.” As the words came out breathlessly, she tried ignoring the pleasure of his caress.
“I haven’t saved her yet,” he whispered.
9
BRADEN
The wait at the ticket desk was a disappointment. It was bad enough the scheduled return flight that he booked for Liz had been cancelled, but the short sweaty man beside him in the tracksuit repeatedly bumped his elbow into Braden’s side, raising his level of agitation.
The terminal buzzed with activity, sending surges of chaotic