The Werewolf Dates The Deputy - Kristen Painter Page 0,88
of her arm as he went for a second fry.
“The food smells great.” His hands went around her waist, and he kissed the side of her neck. “If I wasn’t so hungry, I’d suggest dessert first.”
“Really?” she teased. “You’d rather have the molten lava cake than the cheesesteak?”
He nipped her throat playfully. “I’d rather have the hot-as-lava valkyrie in my arms.”
She leaned into him, putting her arms on top of his. “Be careful. You might get what you wish for.”
He took a deep breath, and a soft, needy growl vibrated against her skin where his mouth was. “Blythe, don’t tease me.”
She turned in his arms, planted her hands flat on his chest, and stared into his wolfy, glowing eyes. “Do I look like I’m teasing?”
He stared back for a moment without saying a word. “No. You don’t.” He swallowed. “Let’s eat. I think we’re both going to need our strength.”
“Agreed.” She wasn’t about to argue with that.
They grabbed their plates and headed for the hot tub. The jets were bubbling away, and he’d set up the tray just as he’d said.
He took her plate while she got in. “Did you build that tray?” It looked like his work, and she’d never seen anything like it.
“I did.”
She took her plate back. “You have a lot of women over for hot-tub picnics, do you?”
He shook his head as he joined her in the water. “Not a one.” He put his plate on the tray. “Not since Zoe.”
“Is she who you built that porch swing for?”
He nodded. “I should probably take it down.”
She ate a fry. No wonder why it had been a sore subject. “Or you could just sit in it with someone new. Make some new memories.”
He smiled. “Or that.”
He was so handsome. “How have you not dated anyone in all this time?”
“It’s easy to be too busy with work and family stuff.” He cracked open a beer and set it next to her plate, then opened a second for himself. “But then, you already know that, don’t you?”
“I do.” She tilted her bottle in his direction. “Here’s to not being too busy anymore.”
He clinked his against hers, smiling. “Cheers to that.” He took a sip, then put the bottle back down and took hold of the first half of his cheesesteak. “I told you we’d still like each other.”
“You did. And you were right.” She picked up her cheesesteak as well. “I’m really glad.”
“Me too.”
They ate for a bit, satisfying part of their appetites. When they were halfway through, Titus leaned against the tub. “What are we going to do about the wraith? He’s still out there.”
She nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. With Sola out of the picture, he might not still be out there. She’s the reason he’s here and as strong as he is. Or was here and was as strong. There’s every chance he was so weakened by the loss of her magic that he won’t be a problem anymore.”
He ate a fry. “And if that’s not the case?”
“Then the best thing to do would be to wait until Ingvar’s well enough to build the trap Sola was supposed to. That’s really the best way to take down a wraith. Draw them into a trap, where they’re frozen solid by the seer who opened the circle, and then run them through the heart with a fell maiden’s blade.”
He nodded. “So we’re in a waiting game.”
“Just a brief one.” She brushed her hands off over the side of the tub so she didn’t get crumbs in the water. “If there’s the slightest indication that he’s still around and causing problems before Ingvar’s on her feet, I can always call in another seer.”
Titus went for the second half of his cheesesteak. “Good to know.”
“There is one other possibility.”
He stopped just shy of taking a bite. “One I’m not going to like, based on the tone of your voice.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like it either.”
He frowned. “What is it?”
“Sola had a spell on Leif to keep him from going fully corporeal. When that happens, a wraith is the most dangerous because they’re at their strongest. It’s like they’ve returned to their mortal berserker form. They have that kind of strength and speed again.”
“You’re right, I don’t like it.”
“There are two factors that make this stage hard for them. First, they still aren’t mortal. They still feel the constant pull of the underworld calling them. As a reminder of that, their touch eventually brings death.