Thorn Queen Page 0,20

I figured I had to start somewhere and was rather proud of my attempts when I finished.

I was sitting down in front of the TV with an early dinner that night when Kiyo walked in, clad in his white vet's coat. Naturally, all the animals lifted their heads or actually walked over to him in greeting. If I hadn't been balancing a plate of ravioli on my lap, I would have leapt up and run into his arms. Instead, I gave him a dazzling smile, one that grew larger when I saw he carried a bouquet of flowers.

"I would have been here sooner," he said, tossing the coat onto a chair. "But I had an afternoon shift."

"Hey, I'm just happy to see you at all. I figured you'd still be busy with baby stuff."

"Nope." He sat down in a chair opposite me and laid the bouquet down on the coffee table. "You were amazing there, you know."

"If by amazing, you mean shoddily dressed and leading on gentry princes-then, yes. Yes, I was. What are those for?" I gestured with my fork to the flowers-an arrangement of brightly colored gerbera daisies.

"Do I need a reason? Aside from you being awesome?"

I swallowed the piece of ravioli I'd just chewed. "Of course there's a reason. There's always a reason. We've talked about this before."

He gave me a lazy, dangerous smile, propping his head up on his elbow as his dark eyes assessed me. "Right. Standard practices in courtship and mating. Gifts given as subtle suggestions. 'Here, take these plant sex organs.' Hint, hint." It was an old joke between us.

"Fortunately, in your case, you don't need to be that subtle. I already know you want sex."

"True, but I wanted to clear up any doubts. Besides, you've been so great lately...I don't know. I just wanted to do something nice. Figured we could have a fun night-although, you're dashing my dreams of taking you out to dinner with the way you're inhaling that ravioli."

"Sorry," I said through a mouthful of food. "I've got a job tonight, so I had to eat early."

His eyebrows rose. "What kind of raw deal is this? I get off work so I can take you out on the town, and you've got to go into work now? Why can't you have Lara schedule you day jobs?"

"Because I was busy today with Thorn Land business."

Kiyo gave me a wary look.

"Hey, don't judge me," I warned. "I wasn't actually over there. But I kind of found out recently that people are starving and going without water."

"Yeah. I've heard that."

Now I was the one with the incredulous look. "You knew and didn't tell me?"

"Don't jump all over me! I figured you had people to deal with it. And probably those people had people."

"Yeah, well, all of those people are having a little trouble. In fact, I've got to go back tomorrow to help round up some brigands."

"Did you just say 'brigands'? That's very...I don't know. Very 1683."

"Well, whatever they are, they're a pain in the ass and possibly abducting girls." I gave him a quick recap. "You want to go with me and help?"

He shook his head ruefully. "You know, I came here hoping to spend time with you. Instead, I find out you've got a job tonight and are playing sheriff tomorrow."

"Would it help if I wore a cowgirl outfit?"

"It might." He came over to sit beside me and kissed my cheek. "And yes, I'll go tomorrow. I'll even go tonight, if you want the company."

"You see? We are spending quality time together."

"I just hope there's some quality time in bed later to help make up for it all."

"Well," I said haughtily, setting my plate on the table, "that depends on you, huh? I have no doubts about my quality."

He put a hand on my thigh and brushed his lips against my neck. "Oh, Eugenie. Don't push your luck here," he growled, "or you might be late for work."

I grinned and answered by way of a long, deep kiss that probably would have turned into more if my appointment hadn't been so close. That, and we also heard Tim coming in the back door. He never took it very well when he found Kiyo and me in a compromising position.

The two of us drove over near the university, to a quiet residential neighborhood that was split evenly between single-family residences and crowded houses shared by students. As we pulled up in front of a narrow two-story home in need of a