Free Blood in the Water by Cleo Peitsche Page B

mad,” she said hesitantly. “What’s so funny?”
    He had to catch his breath before he could answer her. He shook his head; he didn’t trust his voice in the least.
    “Koenraad Van Buren, what the hell is so funny?” Her arms were crossed over her chest, and fury flared in her eyes.  
    “Nothing,” he said, his voice strangled. “Thank you for being so understanding about… my shortcoming.” The laughter gripped him again, and he took Monroe’s shoulders and turned her, pushing her toward their brightly lit temporary home.
    He was so distracted by trying to hide his amusement that it wasn’t until they were standing inside the house, dripping water onto the floor, that he realized her wounds had stopped bleeding.
    His spurs were sharp. She’d been cut several dozen times.  
    And she’d healed already?
    “What’s so funny?” she demanded. “I really don’t like being laughed at.”
    He dropped to his knees and forced her legs apart.
    “Koenraad,” she said with a soft sigh. “We can try again later. You don’t have to—”
    His fingers pressed into the area where she’d bled. Her skin wasn’t even red.
    But that meant… she was healing even faster than a week ago.  
    And a week ago, his blood had been much fresher in her veins.  
    He thought about how she hadn’t burned through oxygen when they were underwater. He’d been so distracted by lust that he’d just thought she was calm, but as he thought about it, he realized she’d been nervous.  
    He looked up at her.
    “What?” she asked, a crease of worry appearing across her pretty brow.
    “You… you’re… I think my blood is somehow…” He trailed off. He hadn’t smelled his own blood when they were in the water. He’d smelled hers . But her blood wasn’t capable of this kind of healing.  
    “You have to see Spencer tomorrow,” he said.
    “Koenraad!” She jerked away. “What’s going on? First you’re laughing like a maniac, now you’re staring at me like I’m a freak. You’re scaring me.”
    He rose. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I cut you when we were in the water.”
    She nodded. “Right. Yeah, I know. It’s fine. You don’t have to feel bad. I wanted—”
    He shook his head. “That’s not it at all. You’re healed. Something’s happening with the blood.”
    She ran her fingers over her skin and craned her neck, trying to see. “Are you sure I’m healed?”
    “Positive.”  
    “It must be your blood…”
    “It’s not.”
    “Well…” She shrugged. “That’s not exactly a bad thing, I guess.”
    “No, but it’s unheard of. There aren’t even myths about this sort of thing. It simply doesn’t happen.”
    “I can’t see Spencer,” she said suddenly. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you. My mom is flying down tomorrow.”
    Koenraad found himself blinking in surprise. “Your mother?” He shook his head. “Not a good idea, Monroe. Victoria won’t be leaving town until the end of the week.”
    “It’s too late. She bought a ticket.”
    “Tell her the hotels are booked. We’ll buy her another ticket to come down in a few weeks.”
    “Koenraad! Are you serious? This is my mother . She’s freaking out because I never came back from vacation, and she wants to make sure I haven’t joined a cult or something.” She was getting more distressed by the second.
    “Right,” he said, blinking and shaking his head a little. “Of course. I’ll get two more bodyguards.”
    “No,” she said. “No way. If you do that, Mom will drag me back to New York, definitely. She’ll think you’re a drug kingpin or something.”
    “Drugs?”
    “Bodyguards and money and…” She gestured at him vaguely.
    “What?”
    “You.”
    “What’s wrong with me?” he asked, bewildered.
    “Your pupils. They’re always blown.”
    “If she’s going to think that, she’ll think it whether there are bodyguards or not,” he said reasonably. “In which case, I’d feel better knowing you’re both