Free Red Hood: The Hunt by Erik Schubach Page B

leaped the last ten feet and over the railing like she was just hopping, then she offered her hand down.  I reached up and we clasped hands and the next thing I knew I was being hauled over the railing by her and she set me on my feet one handed.  I chuckled and couldn't stop the smile on my face.  I said, “Show off.”
    She returned my chuckle and I saw humor twinkling in her ice blue eyes.  Then she looked down at our hands.  Oh!  I hadn't released her hand.  I let go quickly and walked past her quickly toward the car so she wouldn't see my blush.  I could still feel her unnatural heat in my hand.
    We stopped at the gates and my vehicle was searched and we were subjected to the silver blood test.  As I drove north, I looked down at her finger.  “Though you have wolf abilities, silver doesn't affect you?”
    She shook her head. “No.  If anything, it makes me feel stronger.  Like I am drawing off of the metaphysical purity of it in some manner.  I don't think it really is pure, I think it is just the symbol of its purity, and symbols have power in magic.  I'm sort of the antithesis of the wolves.”
    I nodded in understanding and almost rolled my eyes at myself how easy it was to accept talk of magic and curses.  But I'm sure most of us are preconditioned to believe, when a third of the world's population transforms into wolves on a full moon with no scientific or medical explanations as to how it is possible.  And the fact that a bite from an infected cannot pass the contagion unless it is a full moon?
    Plus, I know Red now.  I smiled at her as we pulled up to my place and we went in.  I took my jacket off and hung it on a hook by the door.  She cocked her head like she was observing and then took off her red cloak and hung it on a hook beside my jacket.
    I started toward the kitchen.  “I'll make breakfast while you get cleaned up Red.  Bathroom is down the hall, linen closet at the end has fresh towels.”  She nodded and headed for the hallway.  I called out,  “How many eggs?”
    I grinned at the fact I really wasn't taken off guard when she said offhandedly, “A dozen or so is fine.”  It was more absurd that I was cooking breakfast in the early evening.
    I thought about it a bit as I started cooking.  The things I have seen her do took a lot of energy, if it wasn't magic giving her that energy, it had to come from somewhere. So I could imagine it took a hell of a lot of food to fuel the woman.  I postulated that the truth was probably somewhere in between, the magic had to help some.
    I started more eggs than I had ever cooked at once then got out a couple more skillets. I put a few sausage links into one, then looked toward the bathroom and thought better of it, and put half a package of them into the pan.  Then dumped half a bag of frozen hash browns into the last skillet.  It looked like I was cooking for half the department.  I started a pot of coffee brewing while I cooked.
    I was starting to load up the plates, I had a serving platter that I used for her plate.  Then she came out of the bathroom in one of my robes and nothing else, drying her long dark hair with a towel.  I could see her eyes dilate from where I stood as she approached.  Her mouth was open and her nostrils were flaring as she took in the smells.
    She licked her lips and swallowed and did that tasting, smelling thing again.  I swear she was drooling.  Her well-toned legs and wild wet hair was doing the same to me. Damn. Wait, aren't I supposed to not like her for getting me assigned to babysitting duty?  Oh who the hell cares?  Just look at her.
    I blinked when I realize she had been standing in front of me as I perved out in my head.  I blinked and she leaned toward me slightly and opened her mouth and inhaled.  She gave me a sly grin as she walked past to sit at the table.  Oh god, she couldn't smell that I was...  Shit!
    I blushed into the pits of Tartarus as I spun to grab us two cups of