Page 72 of Burn for Her

Dorian faced Lena and grabbed her shoulders. “You can’t be here.”

“I’m not leaving.”

He noticed she was holding one of his weapons in her hand. She must have snagged it from his counter on the way back inside. Why did that have to stir need in him right now when he had prey to hunt down and kill?

“This world’s too dangerous for you,” he growled.

“And I’m not easy to spook. I go with you. This was just as much an attack on me as it was on you.” She jabbed the business end of the knife at the broken window. “Whoever did this, watched us, Dorian. They specifically chose your bedroom at this exact time. That’s not a coincidence. I refuse to believe otherwise.”

She was right. He didn’t want to point that out to her, but it’s exactly what he’d been thinking too. A possessive growl ripped out of his throat. The idea of someone peeping through his window and seeing Lena naked made his blood boil. He whirled around and went to his closet. Nearly ripping the door off its hinges, he searched for something better than a blanket to cover her with.

Tossing her a black t-shirt and a pair of his sweatpants, he swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Put these on.” He swiftly got dressed.

Lucian kept watch in the doorway, his back respectfully turned to them. “This is a major slap in the face, Dorian.”

“I know.”

“No one’s been bold enough to attack like this before. And with fire. Fuck that.”

“I know.”

“Maybe it was someone just being an asshole?” Lena buttoned her shirt. “Just a… human?”

“No human is that foolish. I’ve lived here a long time. No one fucks with me like this.” It was a deliberate move by an enemy.

“We need to run another perimeter check.” Lucian played with his blade. “Something’s off about this entire attack. Why go for just one blaze? If they wanted your house to burn, they could have been way more thorough.”

“My thoughts exactly. This was just to smoke us out. Why?” Dorian yanked on a pair of pants and zippered them up. “I’m just glad I got Lena out in time.”

“There wasn’t much damage,” Lena frowned, pulling on the pair of pants he gave her.

“No, but what if some of that fuel splashed onto you and burned you?” He stared at her. “I… shit, I can’t even let my head go there.” He finished putting on his clothes and went back into his closet again. Snagging a box from the back, he punched in the codes and yanked out a gun.

“You have stabby shit all over your house, but you lock up your gun?” Lena grabbed a particularly sexy blade and palmed the handle, testing it out. “You make no sense.”

“This isn’t a regular gun,” Dorian answered cautiously. Holding up a bullet, he let her see the glowing purple killing juice inside it. “These are specifically for Savag-Ri. It’s got a poison in it that can slow them down.”

“Not kill them?”

“It can definitely kill them,” Dorian said as his smile went predatory. “But I enjoy taking that pleasure myself with a little more intimacy.” Like his hands and teeth.

Lena let out a trembling puff of air. “This is nuts.”

Dorian grabbed her hand and started leading her outside the bedroom again with Lucian behind them. “Which part? That you’re stuck in this shitshow or what I just admitted about myself to you?”

Because both made him feel horrible.

“I’d rather not answer right now.” Lena held the blade between her teeth while she pulled her hair back and tied it in a knot.

Dorian’s heart clenched over her refusing to answer his question. But honestly, he didn’t think he could stand hearing what she had to say. He knew he was deranged. He knew it was all his fault that she was roped into this nightmare.

Lucian halted in the living room and put his hand up, stopping everyone. Silently, he turned his head to look at Dorian and then pointed up.

Someone was on the roof.

Dorian glanced at Lena and put his finger to his lips, “Shhh” he told her without making a sound.

Lena nodded and gripped her blade tighter, spreading her feet about shoulder width apart, like she planned to attack the intruder should they fall though the damned ceiling. Lucian moved with speed and dashed outside. Dorian tipped his head and focused on the movements of whoever was above them.