Half an hour later, dressed in a straight black skirt that fell below her knees and a white silk blouse, Ria wound her hair into its comfortable bun and pushed her feet into the leather shoes she wore in the office whichever office she happened to be working in at the time and headed back to the kitchen.
Her brain was in semi-working condition, and as long as Mercury hadn't messed with her coffee, then she could tolerate him. As long as he wasn't sleeping in front of her door again.
That was just odd. It wasn't as though she was actually in any danger, especially with two more Breeds parked outside her front door.
Mercury was standing in the kitchen reaching into the cabinet for a coffee cup as she entered the room. He was dressed in the black enforcers uniform that just looked way too good on him, his hair slightly damp from his own shower.
She snagged the cup as his hand came down and headed straight for the coffeepot. And if that was a chuckle she heard behind her, then she might end up kicking him.
Turning back with the steaming, full cup, she moved past him and headed to the dinette table that sat off the small kitchen.
As long as he didn't try to talk to her, she was fine.
The first sip of the dark, rich coffee was ambrosia that began firing her brain cells. The second and third had the heavy sluggishness in her mind beginning to ease. She was able to reach over and snag the remote then and flip on the wall-mounted television across from her for the morning news.
She was aware of Mercury carrying his own cup of coffee to the table and taking the seat to her left. He leaned back in his chair and watched her with silent amusement. She could handle silent amusement. As long as it stayed silent for just a little while longer.
Finally, the first infusion of caffeine was seeping into her bloodstream and making its way to her brain, when she turned to her silent companion.
"You forgot the pot," she informed him.
That golden brown brow lifted. "I was supposed to bring it with me?"
"Well, if you weren't here I would have just brought it with me." Didn't everyone? "So it's your job."
His lips twitched, but he didn't comment. Instead he rose, turned and moved to the kitchen. And Ria enjoyed the view. Those snug black mission pants did indeed mold over a very fine male Breed ass. The kind that just made your hands itch to cup and test the hard muscles beneath.
"You're a bitch in the morning, did you know that?" he asked as he returned with the coffeepot.
"Yeah well, get that first cup of coffee in me and you'll revise your opinion. I'm actually a demon from hell. You were just smart enough to stay out of my way."
He poured the coffee for her.
"No sugar or cream?" He seemed surprised as she shuddered.
"God no. What would be the point?"
He grunted as he took his seat and refilled his own cup.
"You're going to have to make another pot," she told him as she leaned forward, propping her arm on the table and paying attention to the early morning stock reports. She had missed them last night.
"Me?"
"Uh-huh." She turned up the sound to catch the Asian markets before reaching across the table for a leather legal pad folder and flipping it open to make notes. She might have to call her broker.
She heard him clear his throat and ignored it. He was helping her drink it. A pot was usually enough for her.
"Just a word of warning. You might not like my coffee," he said.
"Three level scoops of grounds from the canister into a clean filter and a pot of water. You can't screw it up." She waved him toward the kitchen. Surprised that he went, she was actually curious now exactly how far she could push him.
Yeah, she was a bitch. But she was resigned to her little faults and had learned to live with them.
As she watched the financial reports and then turned to world news, she was aware of Mercury bringing the refreshed coffee back to the table. Keeping her eyes on the newscast, she pushed her cup toward him then waited on him to pour.
The first sip was ghastly.
Her eyes opened as she stared down at the cup, then up at Mercury.
"You did that deliberately," she accused in amazement. "Why did you do that?"
A frown jerked between his brows as he clunked the pot to the table and glared back at her.
"Coffee takes a knack, dammit," he snarled back at her. "I don't have the knack. Now live with it."
Live with it? She opened her mouth to snap out a refusal. Before the words could leave her lips, he was in her face. Right in her face. Leaning down, arms braced on the table as his brown eyes seemed to glow with anger.
"Live with it." The rumbling growl of displeasure wasn't faked. Mercury, she had found, didn't play intimidation games.
Ria cleared her throat nervously. "You could have warned me."
He leaned back slowly. "I believe I did. But your Demon from Hell' attitude chose to ignore me. Now, if you want to go to Sanctuary, finish that damned coffee. We can get breakfast there."
Breakfast. She stared back at him wide-eyed. Okay, that was his problem. Men got cranky when they were hungry.
"There are Danishes in the cabinet."
The look he gave her wasn't polite. Okay. So maybe not Danishes. Of course, that didn't mean she was drinking the coffee. Some things she just wasn't about to be intimidated into.
* * *
It could smell her. The scent of her arousal, the scent of her soul. It called to the animal, it made the animal ache, made it hurt. It wanted her. It wanted to hold her, to touch her, to mark her before she was jerked away from it, before anything or anyone could jerk her from its grip and take her from it forever.
But it waited. Waiting was killing it. It had waited so long, forced itself to patience for so many years. Just a little longer. It couldn't push the man much harder or awareness would cause the man to restrain it once again.
It would not be restrained. While the man slept, the animal awakened. It prowled through the man's mind then, laid to waste whatever remained of the rusted shackles that had once held it. And it protected the woman. Its woman.
Soon, the man would have no choice but to allow it freedom. Sweet, precious freedom.
* * *
How the hell had he ended up sleeping beside Ria's bedroom door rather than the guest room where he had laid down? Mercury couldn't make sense of waking there, knowing he had gone to sleep elsewhere. Hell, he never walked in his sleep. Wasn't it impossible for a Breed to walk in his sleep? Some unwritten law or something? There had to be.