still in his arms. He needed to get her somewhere impenetrable. Somewhere where she could recover in peace. Right then, there was only one place he trusted her to be safe.
CHAPTER TEN
It was the hum of the ceiling fan that pierced her sleep. God, she was dog-tired.
Floating in the haze of “almost awake,” Devon snuggled deeper into her pillow. No, not her pillow. Hers wasn’t so soft and plump. Just like her mattress didn’t feel so astonishingly comfortable—seriously, it was like lying on a cloud. Yeah, this was most definitely not her bed. Which meant it was also not her room. But she knew the scent that seemed ingrained into it. Tanner.
She managed to force her heavy eyelids open, but they drifted shut before she could properly examine her surroundings. Ugh. She’d obviously drained herself psychically, and the fucking liquid mercury hadn’t helped. It was every hellbeast’s major weakness.
She swallowed, and there was an audible click of her tongue. Damn if she didn’t feel like crap. Her joints ached, and her muscles quivered slightly … like when she had the flu. Her mouth was all dry and sticky, and she was excruciatingly aware of the hollow ache in her stomach.
Food. She needed food. And caffeine. Blessed, blessed caffeine.
Although her body was doing a piss-poor job of waking, her mind was a hub of activity. It didn’t feel whatsoever foggy, she remembered everything about the kidnapping; remembered the pooch pouring into her mind and giving her the strength that she’d needed to fuck Slade’s shit up and save herself from a second dose of liquid mercury.
In other words, he’d saved her ass.
Oh, how humiliating. And nice. Which meant she’d have to thank him. And wouldn’t he just love that? Especially after her insistence that she didn’t need his protection.
Well, she’d just have to suck it up. He’d not only mingled his mind with hers—something demons didn’t do often or casually—he’d also gotten her to safety. Hell, he’d even taken off her shoes and tucked her into his bed.
Yeah, she was gonna have to thank him all right. First, she’d have to find him.
Extending her enhanced senses, she picked up the slightest echo of voices. She couldn’t make out who those voices belonged to, what they were saying, or where they were in what Harper had once told her was a huge-ass apartment.
The thought of getting up made Devon want to cry, but she couldn’t lie here forever. Sadly. And she desperately needed sustenance.
Devon peeled back the cover and, squinting against the dim light coming from the ceiling spotlights, awkwardly sat upright. With only slits for eyes, she gave the room a thorough once-over. Well. She supposed “lavish” was a good word to describe the open, airy space. The color of the quality bedding and luxury rug perfectly matched the sleek gray walls. The hardwood floors looked polish-smooth, just like the walnut furniture, which was as masculine and solid as its owner.
There was a wide-screen TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed. French doors led to a pretty terrace, and high windows offered a scenic, breathtaking view. There was also some kind of hi-tech little sensor on the wall that appeared to control the lighting and temperature.
Yeah, it put her bedroom to shame. It put her entire apartment to shame. It was really little wonder that he’d been horrified by the condition of hers.
Although there were no bright colors in the room, it didn’t look dull or lack personality as she might have expected. It looked stylish and modern.
Devon shuffled to the edge of the mattress, her movements all sluggish and clunky. Then she just sat there, her shoulders bowed over her chest, staring at nothing. She was just so tired.
A yawn cracked her jaw as she glanced down at herself. Devon grimaced. Her clothes were all wrinkled, and her sweater was torn and stained with what was probably Slade’s blood. Taking stock of herself, she noticed there was some bruising and grazes from when she’d grappled with Slade. Awesome. At least they’d fade fast—most demons tended to recover from minor injuries quickly.
Licking at her dry lips, she pushed to her feet. There was a lot of weaving and stumbling, but she managed to find her way into the attached private bathroom that was all white gleaming tiles and smooth black marble. Oh, she was having total bathroom-envy right now. There was a monster of a bathtub. Hell, you could fit at least three people in there … which would be