“Have you slept?” She propped her hands on her waist as he started to turn from her.
“For several hours,” he admitted. “There’s a sleep chair in the office that I made use of.”
He took her e-pad and held it in one hand with his PDA and stared back at her. “When he wakes up after healing, he’s a prick. I don’t want to hear you crying later if you end up with your feelings hurt or, worse yet, you find yourself back in his bed.”
Coyotes didn’t beat around the bush, she had to give them credit for that.
“Agreed.” She nodded sharply. “I’ve left notes where I need to be updated if you don’t mind. My PDA code is notated in there so you can send it straight to me.”
Brim nodded his dark head, his light blue eyes shifting as though amusement threatened to touch his gaze, before he left and closed the door quietly behind him.
Breathing out roughly, Anya stepped fully into the room, then felt, saw, the haze of red fury that began to wash over her. She felt her fingers curl as the need for violence rushed through her system. She wanted to kill. To see blood flow and kick some damned Russian female ass.
Sofia was sitting on the side of his bed staring back at her, a damp cloth in her hand, a bowl of water on the bedstead as Del-Rey lay sleeping, stretched out, all but naked before the other woman’s gaze. Her Del-Rey. Naked. Covered by nothing but a sheet, and another woman was touching him? Brim had dared to allow another woman to touch him?
Sofia rose slowly to her feet. “Fever.” She cleared her throat, her hazel green gaze flickering for a moment. “I was merely helping Brim.”
Merely helping Brim? Brim had called this woman in, allowed her to touch Del-Rey, to care for him as he left Anya in Command and Security?
Anya’s head lifted. “He’s not going to f**k you, so we both know you don’t have a chance of achieving the status of coya in this base, are we agreed?”
Sofia’s gaze darkened, almost in amusement, as she licked her lips slowly. “We’re agreed, the status of coya will never be mine. But you haven’t officially accepted it as of yet either.”
“Don’t play word games with me, Sofia,” she warned her. “I’m not in the mood for them, or for your cattiness. Get the hell out of these quarters and make damned certain you stay out of my sight for a long while. We might both regret it if you don’t.”
“Possessive, Anya?” she asked. “I’ve heard you really don’t give a damn, and haven’t given a damn in over eight months. Why begin now?”
“Playing gossip, Sofia?” she sneered. “You should know better at your age.”
Sofia’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Poor guy. He needs a lover that could balance him, that can be just as determined as he is. You ran from him.”
“Do you want to die today?” Because Anya was definitely in the mood to shed blood.
“Today is as good as any.” Slender shoulders shrugged expressively. “But, I have a feeling it’s not going to happen just yet. I’ll be on my way, Coya. If you need any help, let me know.”
“Oh, I think I can manage all on my own,” Anya assured her, her voice calmer than she had expected it to be.
“I’m sure you can.” Sofia’s low laugh grated on her already stretched nerves.
“Sofia.” Anya stopped her as she passed.
“Yes, Coya?” she asked with a mocking smile.
“Let me catch you touching him again while he’s unaware, and I’ll make certain you never enter this base again.”
Better yet, if she didn’t manage to get a handle on her rage, she’d make certain no one found the body.
Sofia’s brow lifted and amusement sparkled in her eyes. “You don’t have that authority, Anya. But I’ll play along and promise to be a good little girl while he’s sleeping, how’s that?”
“I don’t need your promises,” Anya informed her coldly. “Get out of these rooms, and don’t make the mistake of entering them again unless I’m present.”
“Once again, no authority.” Sofia wagged her finger at her. “Only a full mate can make that demand.” She paused and looked at Del-Rey’s sleeping form before turning back to Anya. “Separation order. Remember?”
Anya hid her shock, though she knew she should have expected Sofia to know about the mating. She had worked with Del-Rey all these years, been an informant against the Council. She was here at Base; Del-Rey wouldn’t have allowed it unless he trusted her to keep her mouth shut.
That didn’t mean Anya liked it. It sure as hell didn’t mean she liked the other woman.
She strolled past Anya then as she said, “He needs to be bathed with cool water as he sleeps. Mating heat and healing don’t work well together when the heat isn’t being satisfied. Poor little Coyote. He’s suffered.”