Dark Solace by Tara Fox Hall Page B

didn’t reply.
    “I’m just saying that he’s been busy,” I
added. “An extra day doesn’t seem—”
    Lash suddenly stopped walking and turned to
me. “He likes you here. And it wasn’t just for him.” He looked away
and began walking again. “I like to get sushi with you, Sar, and to
talk about the movies we both like. There is a rock near the pond
where it’s good to lie and be warm in the afternoons. Summer is
ending. Soon it will be fall. I’m not looking forward to
winter.”
    Lash sounded depressed. I felt his pain. I
was not looking forward to winter myself. “I’ll come on Sunday,” I
responded. “It’s supposed to be nice that day.”
    “You won the bet,” Lash said coolly. “Why
would you come anyway?”
    “Because you asked me to,” I said simply.
“You’re right, winter is coming. Lying in the sun sounds good. I
need to soak up all the rays I can get.”
    Lash looked at me out of the corner of his
eye. “I don’t suppose you’d bring a swimsuit?” he asked,
grinning.
    “Don’t press your luck,” I said, making the
both of us laugh.
    * * * *
    I did bring my swimsuit the following Sunday,
but I needn’t have bothered. Lash led me to the rock he’d spoken
of, and then laid down in his T-shirt and jeans. The only thing he
took off were his weapons, which he put within reach.
    Glad to relax, I applied sunscreen to my face
and hands, then laid down a few feet from him. I ended up falling
asleep from the heat. It was too beautiful out here not to relax
utterly, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face as it radiated
through my clothes. We didn’t talk at all, the only sounds from the
crickets in the tall grass and the bullfrogs in the pond.
    Late in the afternoon, Lash woke me with a
nudge. Then he clipped his weapons back on his belt, and uttering a
groan, he got to his feet.
    “Are you sore?” I asked, as he helped me
up.
    “Just old,” he said with a grin, wiping some
dust off himself. “Come on. Sushi awaits. I picked some up for us
yesterday.”
    After we walked back to the house, we ate
some sushi in the kitchen. We were discussing the important
properties of the devil from the movie The Ninth Gate when Devlin
came downstairs in his robe.
    “Hello, Sweetheart,” he said, giving me a
kiss.
    “Hello yourself,” I said, kissing him back.
“Did you sleep well?”
    “Yes. Is this dinner?” he said, going to the
refrigerator to prepare Venus’s bottle.
    “Yes,” Lash said, grinning. “We’re talking
about horror movies.”
    “Ah,” Devlin said. “We should go to a movie
tonight, the three of us.”
    “You two go,” Lash said quickly, getting to
his feet. He put his plate into the sink. “I’ll stay and watch over
things here.”
    Devlin turned to him curiously. “I thought
you wanted to see—?”
    “I don’t think it’s safe leaving Venus here
alone with just the bears as guards,” Lash interrupted, folding his
arms across his chest. “Titus is at Leri’s house in town, and he’s
not going to want to leave their bed to come up here on his day
off.”
    “TMI,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Why don’t we
just stay in and rent a pay-per-view movie?”
    “Good idea,” Devlin agreed. “While I’ll feed
Venus, you can go shower, Sar.”
    I shot him a curious look. Not only had I’d
showered this morning, I’d done nothing but lie in the sun all day.
“I’m good.”
    “You have leaves in your hair from lying on
Lash’s rock,” Devlin said, pulling a few out. “There is dirt all
down the back of your T-shirt, and your jeans.”
    “Oh,” I said with embarrassment, getting to
my feet. “Thanks for telling me, I didn’t realize. I’ll go
shower.”
    When I was done showering and dressing, I
peeked into the nursery. Devlin was feeding Venus, her bright
golden eyes wide as he sang to her softly. She was going to be just
as breathtaking as he was, when she got older. Giving Devlin an
affectionate look, I went downstairs. Lash was waiting on