The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,88

be a miserable SOB."

Harper found a smile pulling his mouth wide as he watched Drina make her exit, walking out of the room with her eyes blazing and head high, as regal as any queen.

"Damn, she's magnificent," he breathed, posi ve he must be the luckiest bastard on the planet to have found her.

"Glad you think so," Anders said dryly. "Then you can take these instruc ons up to her so she doesn't screw it up and use the stuff in the wrong order or something."

Harper glanced down at the paper the hunter shoved at him, no ng the tle Instruc ons on How to Remove Skunk Odor from a Human. He glanced back to Anders and smiled widely. "I'll even help her follow the instructions."

"I'll bet you will," Anders said dryly.

Chapter Thirteen

Drina closed the bathroom door behind her with a kick of her heel, set the bags of soap, tomato juice, and vinegar on the bathroom counter, and then turned to the tub, only to pause with a frown. Was she supposed to just pour all this stuff in the tub, or was she supposed to add water or what? She hadn't a clue. She needed the instructions.

Clucking with irrita on, Drina turned back to the door, annoyed with herself because she was about to ruin a damned fine exit by having to scurry back and beg for the instruc ons. Mu ering under her breath, she pulled the door open and found Harper there, hand upraised as if he'd been about to knock. Smiling crookedly, he lowered the knocking hand and raised the other, revealing the instructions.

"Thank you," Drina breathed, taking the sheet of paper with a relief that was not propor onal to the moment. She knew then that her exhaus on was definitely making her overemo onal. She'd sat on that stool all night, nodding off a me or two from sheer exhaus on, but only for a second each me before her swaying body had brought her abruptly back awake.

"Do you want some help?" Harper asked quickly when she started to close the door. Drina paused in surprise, and then smiled wryly at his pained expression and shook her head. "Thank you for offering. It's very sweet, but I know I smell like the worst backed-up drainage system ever and wouldn't even inflict this on Anders."

"I came prepared," he said quickly, bringing her to a halt again. This me the door was almost closed, and she had to pull it back open. When she peered at him quizzically, Harper opened the hand he'd had fisted to knock, revealing a clothespin resting in his palm.

Drina released a startled laugh and shook her head. "You - "

Her words caught in her throat when he suddenly covered her mouth with his. Li ing it a moment later, Harper said gently, "I believe the expression is for be er or worse. Besides, in a few minutes, it will be all better and no worse."

She chuckled at the way he wiggled one eyebrow lasciviously and backed into the bathroom to let him in.

"All right. You can read the instructions to me."

Drina handed him back the instruc ons a er a quick glance at the first one. She then moved to the tub to put in the stopper.

"Take off the clothes you're wearing," Harper read out as she straightened. He then caught the back of her sheet and whipped it away.

Drina gasped, and then turned to prop her fists on her naked hips and give him a feigned scowl. "I read the first instructions. It said take off the clothes you were wearing when sprayed."

"True, but you can't bathe in the sheet anyway, so I thought I'd be helpful," he said, his eyes apprecia ng her pose and nakedness.

Drina snorted at the claim, and then grinned with amusement when he glanced around, closed the toilet seat, and sat on it, then a ached the clothespin to his nose, pinching it closed, as he considered the seat, and sat on it, then a ached the clothespin to his nose, pinching it closed, as he considered the instructions again.

"Fill a tub with water and get in," he read, his voice now nasal.

Chuckling, she turned back to the tub and turned the taps on full. Drina then glanced over her shoulder to catch him eyeing her derriere in a manner that probably wouldn't go under the lis ng of "helpful."

Shaking her head, she asked, "What do I put in first? The tomato juice