Hanna and the Hitman - Honey Phillips Page 0,70

last lingering kiss and he was gone. Despite her newfound confidence, his absence left an ache in her heart. She sighed, turning to Tanor and smiling ruefully.

“Now I know how you felt all those years, watching him leave.”

“But you know he will return quickly.”

“I do. And we can keep each other company while we wait.”

He inclined his head, and the two of them went to start their vigil.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Even before Tanor looked up from his writing to say casually, “The boy’s coming,” Hanna knew that Aidon was on his way. She and his grandfather had been sitting on the deck over the river. Tanor was working on his journal. He had reluctantly revealed to her that he was documenting the history of the village. He recorded everything—hunts, harvests, folk tales. He had lineages extending back countless generations along with most of the births and deaths in the village.

She had decided to adopt his example, focusing on everything she was learning about the surrounding plant life. However, she preferred using Aidon’s tablet rather than writing everything by hand.

Restlessness had haunted her all day. Aidon had been gone for two days now, and she missed him more than she would have believed possible in such a short time. Even Trouble didn’t seem like his usual happy self. Perhaps picking up on her unhappiness, he prowled restlessly around the house and never settled anywhere for long.

But as they sat on the deck, something changed. It was almost like the jungle told her that Aidon was coming. Had she somehow caught his scent?

She didn’t care. All she cared about was that he was back. Flying through the house, she reached the edge of the clearing just in time to see him coming up the river path. He was running too, and he caught her effortlessly as she leaped into his arms.

“I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you so much. What happened? Is everything all right with Hirogi?”

“She’s fine,” he said shortly, then cut off her anxious questions with a hungry kiss, forcing her lips apart so that he could explore every inch. She writhed against him, already reaching for his hard cock, when Tanor coughed behind them.

“I’ll be on my way. Glad you’re back, boy.”

Heat flooding her cheeks, she pushed at Aidon until he reluctantly let her slip to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Tanor. We got a little carried away.”

“He’s going to carry you away all right,” Tanor said dryly.

“Thank you so much for staying with me. You’re going to come back and visit now, aren’t you?”

Tanor looked over her head at Aidon.

“You would be welcome,” Aidon said. “But I need a few days to reconnect with my mate first. Perhaps a week.”

The flicker of emotion that crossed Tanor’s face was almost too fast for her to catch, but she saw his thankfulness. He coughed.

“I’ll make sure you hear me coming. Just in case a week isn’t long enough,” he said gruffly.

She reached up and kissed his cheek, velvety and covered in swirling colors, glad that he no longer felt the need to conceal his true form.

“Thank you, Tanor.”

He cleared his throat again. “You’re welcome, girl. Glad you’re a part of our family.”

As he passed Aidon, Aidon extended his hand, and the two men clasped arms.

“Thank you,” Aidon echoed. He slipped his arm around her as they watched Tanor disappear up the path, then turned to her, his eyes gleaming. “Now, my mate. You’re all mine.”

“Wake up, saachi,” Aidon whispered, kissing the shell of her ear.

She pried open an eye and saw that it was still dark outside.

“It’s too early,” she groaned. Aidon had spent most of the night making love to her. In the few brief periods when they hadn’t been locked together, he’d fed her and they’d played with Trouble while he’d filled her in on what had happened in the city.

They had arrived to find Hirogi unharmed. One of her captors had already died from a mysterious illness, and they’d easily eliminated the other. Aidon had shaken his head admiringly as he’d recounted the tale.

“It seems as if Pardorians aren’t the only ones to use poison.”

“Hirogi isn’t Pardorian?”

“No, she’s an offworlder. They have to live in the city for now because she works at one of the medical centers, but she is obviously quite at home on Pardor.”

“So am I,” she’d reminded him.

If the rescue had gone so smoothly, she’d wondered why it had taken him two days to return to her, but before she’d been able to ask, he’d started