Immortals After Dark 09 - Pleasure of a Dark Prince

anger sieved from her, and she whispered, “You had them beat you?” Her heart seemed to twist in her chest.
I’m falling for him.
    Lucia had thought she’d been in love all those centuries ago with the fair-haired suitor from her dreams.She still remembered so vividly how it’d felt.
Nice.
Rainbows-and-kittens nice.
    What she felt for MacRieve was raw and hurting, and she knew she’d never be the same.
    “Dinna want to scare you off,” he said, then added in a gruff tone, “Though it bluidy happened anyway.”
    Falling for you, MacRieve.
“I can’t… I can’t hurt you.”
    “We doona have a choice.”
    She was shaking her head when the clouds briefly broke, circling the full moon. Like a spotlight upon them, silvery light shone down. To reveal what he was inside.
    His eyes turned fully blue, the image of the beast wavering over him.
    “Ah, gods, you’re already turning!”
    “Then you’ve got to hurry.”
    “No, damn it! I’ll leave, try to get downriver. Help me put the skiff in the water.”
    “No’ a chance. The caimans—”
    “Are heading in the other direction. And they were only interested in the lure.”
    “And what about the vampire? There was a coffin aboard the
Barão
. I canna let you do this!”
    “Listen to me, Scot. You and I both know that until the moon sets, you’re more of a threat to me than a vampire.”
    “Nay, Lousha. I would never hurt you.”
    “I’m not
asking
you about this. I wouldn’t be in this position if you’d let me go in the first place. You got us into this mess—now trust me to get myself out of it.”Whatever he saw in her expression made him hesitate. “It’s only a few hours till sunrise. We’ll find each other then.”
    “Lass, if anything happened to you…”
    “You have to let me go, MacRieve.”
    After long moments, he exhaled a deep breath. “I’m giving you a free rein, then.” He hastened to the motor-boat, slashing the lines that secured it to the
Contessa
. He lifted the skiff as if it were a feather and dumped it in the water. “I’ll try to get as far as I can in the other direction.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

    While he got the little engine started, she grabbed her bow, quiver, and pack, then jumped into the boat.
    “You know how to drive this?” he asked, brows drawn with worry.
    “I live in bayou country, werewolf.”
    “You stay in the boat, doona make land.” His eyes were growing bluer. “Lousha, go.
Now
.”
    “Be careful,” she whispered, leaping up and daring a kiss good-bye before she put the boat in gear. The engine sputtered, then dug in.
    Glancing over her shoulder, she peered back at MacRieve—who was clenching the railing, looking as though it took everything in him not to follow her. Just before she turned a bend, driving out of his sight, she saw him crush the railing with his grip.
    How far could she possibly get before he succumbed to the moon’s pull?
    With each mile gained, the renewed downpour stymied her retreat, filling the boat with more rainwater. She bailed as she steered, blinking against the stinging drops as she maneuvered around debris in her way.
    An hour passed like this, then two… And all thewhile, she began encountering more and more vegetation. The Victoria water lilies were everywhere, their pads bouncing off the bow of the boat, their lengthy stems trailing behind them. They usually lined the banks. So what were they doing out this far in the middle of the river?
    She tried to steer around them but there were so many. Each time she ran over one, she held her breath as the engine sputtered. If enough stems tangled in the propeller, the motor could overheat—
    With a series of smoking coughs, the engine quit.
    She hauled it up, frantically tearing the knotted clumps from the propeller, then lowered it back into the water. Again and again, she yanked on the pull-start.
    Nothing.
    After several more futile tries, Lucia dropped down into the seat, releasing a stunned breath. Helpless to do anything but drift with the current, she raised her face to the sky.
I’m doomed.
    She knew MacRieve would find her. That’s what his kind did. He would have to cross the river, then make up all the distance she’d gained by boat, but she had no doubt he could do it.
    Part of her thought,
If he does this, then it will be over
. The responsibility, the pressure, the fear of pain from a missed shot—all finished.
    The last tie to Skathi.
    This chore of killing Cruach would fall to another, a stronger