The Crystal Warrior

The Crystal Warrior (Chapter 3)

THE CRYSTAL WARRIOR

By Maree Anderson

CHAPTER THREE

The Warrior grabbed her by the elbows and lifted her until they were both eye-to-eye. Boy, was he pissed. Chalcey could tell from the barely restrained fury seething in those baby-blues. Drumming her bare toes against his legs didn't provoke so much as a flinch. Crap. She was really in trouble this time.

"Unless we are about to indulge in a romp amongst the cushions, do not bite me again, woman."

"Excuse me?"

"You bit my sword hand."

"Yippee for me!" Hang on just a sec, his sword hand? Fabulous. Trapped in the stairwell with a reeeally large, really delusional man.

Chalcey tensed her muscles, intending to kick him right where it hurt, but he must have read her intentions in her eyes. Being an exceptionally tall man, when he dropped her it was from a great height. She hit the concrete floor in an ungainly sprawl, landing hard on her butt. Really hard.

"Owww owww owww!" Her bruised butt hurt like... like... forty bastards, as her dad used to say. She blew the hair out of her eyes before scowling up at The Warrior. It was her best "you so don't want to be anywhere near me right now if you know what's good for you!" expression, the one Sam assured her was guaranteed to send guys running for cover.

It was completely wasted on him.

"Now we are even," he said, tone laced with an irritating degree of smug male satisfaction.

She peered up at him in the dim light afforded by the street lights outside. Had that chiseled, square-jawed face of his actually cracked a smile? Stop the presses.

He reached down to grasp her wrist and yank her to her feet.

"Okay," she said, opting for sarcasm to cover her dismay. "Now you've stroked your male ego and we're even, get the hell out!"

"I cannot."

"It's really simple, bud. Just turn around and stroll on out the door. Oh, and don't come back or I'll call the cops."

"I do not wish to leave. And my name is not Bud."

Chalcey digested this first piece of information with growing confusion and had another thought. "Uh, how exactly did you find me?" He sure hadn't followed her home. She'd checked as she fled hell for leather. Numerous times.

He hesitated, as though unsure exactly how to explain. "I followed your... call. I sensed your... your presence calling me in my mind, and I followed it. You became clearer the closer I came to you. Thus I tracked you to this abode."

She inhaled a deep breath, held it, and puffed it out sharply through her nose. He had some sort of a crush on her, poor guy. It was kinda sweet. And kinda hot, too. And... kinda disturbing.

He still had hold of her wrist so she punched her arm straight up in the air to shake off his manacle-like grip. Epic fail. Damn. It'd worked just fine in self-defense classes. "Okay. You look like a decent enough guy—" an absolute babe, in fact, even if he wasn't the brightest star in the galaxy "—and I'm incredibly flattered. Not to mention grateful for you helping me out with jerk-off Ray, and all. But flattery and gratitude only gets you so far. Hence the reason I punched you in the face in the first place. You need to leave now."

His attention flicked to the light filtering down from the studio above. He gazed up the stairwell. "Your abode is up there? This world contains wonders beyond imagination! Come. You will succor this bite before it festers and then we will discuss our situation."