Master of Honor (Merlin's Legacy #5) - Angela Knight Page 0,8
than he could hers, but when she concentrated, she could feel his life force. She paused, scanning with her magical senses. She didn’t think he had a sword on him. Or a gun either, for that matter. Not that he needed one.
Hoping neither of them was about to learn unpleasant truths, she opened the garage door and walked down the short hallway. Like the rest of the old house, the den was homey, decorated with the handmade rugs, baskets, and artwork Adam had collected for her during his travels. Stills from stories he’d shot in a dozen countries decorated the walls. A brick fireplace dominated the space, once wood burning, now occupied by gas logs. Next to that hung a flat screen, showing muted video of, naturally, Orlan.
The black leather couch positioned opposite the TV looked plump and comfortable, flanked by oak end tables and pewter lamps. Ulf sat in the matching recliner off to the left. His turquoise gaze hit her like a punch, reminding her uncomfortably of a wounded wolf staring at a bear. Calculating the odds through the pain. “Hello, Cheryl.”
“Ulf.” She paused in the doorway, not sure it was safe to get closer. “Nice of you to stop by,” she added dryly.
“I couldn’t stay away.” The corners of his eyes tightened.
He’s hurting. What happened? Remembering the Orlan video, she frowned. “Is Kel all right?”
Ulf’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about Kel?”
“Like everybody else on the planet, I saw the video. It looked like that thing set him on fire.”
He was silent a little too long, studying her with an intensity that made sweat break out between her shoulder blades. “The minute Kel dropped through the gate into the Mageverse, the flames went out. It still took Nineva and two healers six hours to save his life.”
“I’m glad he made it.”
“You’ve never met Kel.”
“No, but Gaia knows him from all those years in your ring. And I know what she knows.”
Ulf’s gaze flickered, and she realized he didn’t find that thought particularly comfortable.
Cheryl headed for the couch, trying to buy herself time. His mood struck her as dangerous. There was none of the fencing they’d done before, the painfully polite chitchat. She had the feeling Ulf was on the verge of doing something she wouldn’t like.
What the hell is he up to?
She was staring at Ulf so hard, she almost fell on her face when her foot came down on something hard. Catching herself, Cheryl glanced down to see what looked like a solid gold hockey puck, heavily engraved with Magekind sigils that still glowed faintly. The gate generator he’d been using to pop in and out all month -- vampires couldn’t cast spells. “You’re going to burn this thing up like a match.”
Ulf shrugged. “I wanted to see how you were doing. You’ve been going through a lot.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” She sank down on the couch, studying him. If anything, he looked younger than the day he’d left her almost three decades ago.
He used magic to appear older then, Gaia told her. Just like the spells you use now.
Same high cheekbones, same strong, arrogant nose, same Caribbean blue eyes. Same dimples framing a sensual mouth. He still wore his blond hair short in what she’d once assumed was a businessman’s cut. Now she knew the length was to accommodate a helm. Unlike Adam, he wore no beard to soften the uncompromising angles of his lantern jaw. And she’d never seen a man look quite that good in jeans and a T-shirt. The thin cotton fabric lay taut against the hard, sculpted muscles of his torso, leaving his strong arms and big, calloused hands on display.
Thank God for the magical full-body facelift Gaia had given her, or she’d feel like a dirty old broad. Never mind that Ulf was the one who’d robbed the cradle -- by fifteen centuries.
Looking at that face now was like gazing back in time to the night they’d met. When he’d come storming around that bookshelf in Granger’s, she’d been terrified that Dixon had brought a rapist wingman. Then Ulf had grinned and offered to take out the trash, and she’d realized he’d come to rescue her instead.
When Dixon had tried to lie his way out of it, Ulf had backed her up to the cops, and later to a judge. His fierce defense of her was probably the reason that prick had gotten kicked out of school.
Meanwhile Ulf had visited the shop every night, playing the charmingly sexy nerd.