She jerked, and he clamped a hand on her good shoulder to hold her in place. But he didn’t need to. She stayed still, any color still remaining in her skin wiping away to leave pure white. Her gaze held his, even as her eyes filled with tears.

But she didn’t make a sound this time.

It was almost worse. To witness the struggle in her, to see the strength, humbled him. It was one of the bravest things he’d ever seen, and he wondered what kind of monsters she’d faced to learn to keep silent in pain. Smoke rose from her arm, and he lifted his palm. He’d cauterized the wounds, leaving raised burns, red and swollen.

A shudder racked her entire body. She swayed again, and he held her in place. “If we could get you warm, maybe you could heal your head without my having to cauterize it,” he murmured, taking the damaged coat and tossing it on the cold ground. She needed sustenance, and so did he. His remaining injuries weren’t life threatening, but he required fuel to create more healing cells.

She blinked, shock coming back into her eyes as she coughed. Yeah. He couldn’t leave her on the table. So he lifted her, as gently as possible, and placed her on the coat near the fire.

“I’ll be back in just a minute.”

She leaned against the wall. “You’re not wearing a shirt. Take the coat.” Half lifting her butt, she reached for the material, her gaze unfocused.

“No.” He loped toward the door. “I can create fire, and you need to stay warm. I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for an argument, he shoved his way outside and pushed the door closed to keep out the storm, even while reaching for the knife in his boot. The arctic air bit into his skin, and he dug deep to ignore it, unable to create much fire after the fight and loss of blood.

He kept to the sides of buildings, hoping the freezing wind and storm would mask his scent. Yet his mind remained on the woman he’d left behind. Smart and strong, the woman could fight. Who was she? It was time to get some answers, as soon as she was healed. Her interest in his mines made him uneasy. Why would the demons want planekite, which only harmed witches? And humans. Plus, if she was correct, and Bychkov wanted her betrayed and alone in the wilderness, she had a hell of an enemy. The woman was a mystery, and Daire was finished being in the dark.

More than that, he wanted her. All of her. Not just her body. Her spirit, even though she was lying to him, intrigued the hell out of him. When she’d had the opportunity to ride to safety during the fight, she’d turned and challenged danger to help him. Then she’d smiled at him, to reassure him, when he’d burned her flesh together.

Aye. It was the smile that did it.

Chapter 6

A small cove protected the luxury yacht from capsizing in the boisterous storm but failed to keep the sea from battering the hull. Ivan Bychkov sat at his desk in the office portion of the boat, a glass of aged Scotch sliding around on the top. His stomach lurched with the Norwegian sea.

Demons didn’t get seasick, damn it.

He took the glass and tipped back the warm brew, heating the nausea away.

The table was a burnished teak, as were the walls and floor. The boat pitched, and he sucked down some air. Maps covered one wall, antique and valuable, while windows showed the churning sea outside. Even the smell of Scotch failed to banish the salty scent of the sea. Man, he wanted to go home to warmth and solid ground.

Where the hell was Vegar with the woman?

He shoved the stack of papers to the side, having already signed contracts for the recent acquisitions. As the leader of an elite and powerful group of Russian demons, he had to continue buying and selling to keep the money flowing well. Good thing he had a knack for the stock market and an IQ beyond high, even for a demon. Plus, he truly enjoyed the strategy of figuring out what would happen next. His money was on biofuels and vaccines right now.

A discrete knock announced his first in command, Vadim Deeks, who stepped inside and closed the door. “The storm is too intense to leave the cove and explore along the coastline.”

“Satellite?” Ivan asked.

“No. The cloud cover is too thick.” The six-and-a-half-foot blond took a wide stance as the boat tipped. Dressed in all black with knives and various guns tucked into his uniform, the soldier narrowed his dark eyes. “If you wish, I could walk the shoreline around to the southern side and look for Vegar.”

“No.” Ivan gestured to the chair on the other side of the desk and poured another glass of Scotch, appreciating the loyalty if not the wisdom in such an offer. “The storm will ground everyone, and I assume Vegar took her to shelter to wait it out.” They were both strong and well trained—surviving one arctic storm would be simple. Plus, Ivan had paid the witch twenty million dollars and promised to match it the second he delivered the woman. “Let’s wait for the storm to abate, and then you and I can go looking.” He had two other soldiers and a captain on the yacht, but he didn’t require their help at this point.

Vadim nodded and prowled across the rocking boat to settle his bulk into the seat. “I’ve investigated the money trail further, and so far, I don’t believe her people have any idea she’s looking for you here. In fact, my source in her organization thinks she’s on a luxury cruise right now in the Bahamas. She gave her name as Cee Cee Jones when she hired Vegar to show her your mines.” Vadim swirled the glass around in his massive hand, gaze intense on the spinning liquid.

Ivan smiled. “Her mother called her Cee Cee when she was a young child.”

“’Tis a sweet name for a demon.” Vadim took a healthy drink of the brew, humming in appreciation.

“Female demons are notoriously sweet as well as deadly.” Ivan refilled both glasses. “That one more than most. On both counts.”

Vadim stretched his long legs out and crossed his boots, appearing relaxed yet always on the ready to protect and defend. “And intelligent, considering she’s eluded you for three decades.” Pure fact and no derision echoed in his hoarse tone.

“Three decades? That woman has eluded me for over a century.” Ivan inhaled the scent of the expensive liquor, his blood thrumming at being this close to her. Finally.

“Yet you’re willing to take her back. To make her a partner in your life.”

Of course he was. “She’s stunning, brilliant, and dangerous. Most important, she’s a purebred demon.” Ivan drew out his wallet to remove a photograph. It had been taken at the turn of the current century, in black and white, and had faded almost to white. Yet her outline, the beautiful blond hair and sparkling black eyes, remained in place. But maybe the paper had faded to the point that only he could see her. He frowned and returned the picture to its rightful place before sliding a manila folder across the desk.

Vadim opened the top to reveal a recent picture of her in Seattle. She wore modern jeans that cupped her ass and too-dark glasses that masked her glorious eyes. “She is beautiful—and so rare. A real purebred female demon.”

True. Although she had defects, she was still a purebred and beyond incredible. A mixture of kindness, femininity, and deadliness that formed the sexiest woman he’d ever met, and he’d lived nearly two hundred years. Nobody, not one woman, regardless of species, had ever come close to her.

Vadim lifted his head. “You’re a lucky man.”

Lucky? Hell, no. He’d been chasing her for so long, he had begun to despair that he’d ever catch her. Yet when the war had ended more than a year ago, he figured it was time for her to make a move. So when he’d been approached with an intriguing offer for his planekite resources by an outside partnership, he’d figured the timing was fortuitous as well as perhaps fated. He’d begun mining again, in Norway as well as Russia, to see if he could draw her out. Surely she felt safe enough, settled enough, to pick up the game again. And here she was on his island, just a few miles away, no doubt ready to meet him head-on. “Now here she’s come, trying to find me.”