CLAIRE DAVON

Excerpt

She shook her head, pointing to the snow covered grounds outside her iced over window.

“You are going nowhere. That’s madness. It’s the middle of the night, and the ferries won’t be running in this weather. I’ll make coffee. There’s no way I can sleep any more tonight. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

The faded linoleum and not quite level cabinets in her kitchen were an odd counterpoint to the vibrant man in front of her. She gathered her thoughts while spooning out dark grounds. The silence stretched between them, not companionable as it had been the day before but charged with many things unsaid.

After several moments, Tiare sighed.

“You have the patience of your other form.” he murmured. “So fierce.”

Recognizing this as a different sort of dodge, Sidonia waited, but he said nothing further. “I am not familiar with the supernatural beings of New Zealand. You’re going to have to tell me what an Urekehu is.”

There was no ignoring his large, muscled body moving around her antiquated kitchen. She put her hand on his arm as he passed. Awareness shot through her palm, making her shiver. He’d had that effect on her since the day they met.

“The Urekehu is why I left school. It’s the reason I ran five years ago and the reason I will have to run now. It’s found me again. I thought it was over or I never would have come here. I would never take a chance with you.” He took her hands, and Sidonia’s pulse jumped. The air seemed superheated, and all it would take was the merest movement to offer her lips to him to kiss. “I don’t want to leave yet, but I have to go as soon as it’s safe to travel.”

Her heart lurched, skipped a beat and then started up again, too fast.

“Who or what is this creature? Why does it want you?”

A long fell between them. She squeezed his hands and he slid his fingers between hers. Tugging her close, he touched their foreheads together. The silky strands of his hair brushed her cheeks.

“I don’t know why. I’ve never been able to find out. One day it showed up in my dorm room and I had to run. It is a creature to fear. The Urekehu is deadly.”