Adare ran shirtless through the softly falling snow, his boots heavy and his head light. The taste of Grace, of her blood, would stay with him forever. Much like her scent, her blood tasted like a combination of sweet and good and pure sassiness. What in the hell had he been thinking to touch her? He was more than likely going to die, leaving her alone in this world, and he shouldn’t have given in to his needs.

The sound of her climaxing, sweet and honest, drummed around in his head until he thought his ears would explode.

Finally, as dawn began to arrive, he ran back to the house. Maybe he could get some planning done in the situation room. Yeah. That was a good idea. He slipped inside quietly and kicked off his boots, brushing snow from his hair.

“You’re a moron,” Benny said, kicking back on the sofa, his boots on the marble coffee table, a protein bar half-eaten in his hands.

Adare wiped snow from his torso and down his jeans, striding in wet socks to stand by the fire. “Why?”

“I heard you earlier. Your lady isn’t exactly quiet.” Ben shoved the rest of the bar in his mouth and chewed with a sense of contentment most immortals never found, even at their happiest times. “Then you leave and go run for hours in the snow. Like I said, moron.”

Adare flicked his temper off as easily as he’d gotten rid of the snow. “All right. How about you calculate our odds of surviving the raid we’re planning?”

Benny steepled his hands together, watching the firelight play between his fingers. “I’d say we’re halfway between screwed and fucked.”

Yeah. That summed up the situation.

Benny looked up, his multi-colored metallic eyes narrowing. “Are you changing your mind?”

“No. We have to get what information we can, and we need to take out as much of their force as possible.” The Cysts were becoming too insistent on gathering enhanced females, and the kidnappings of innocent women had to at least be slowed, if not stopped. “We might find prisoners to save. I still believe the risk is worth the reward on this one, Ben. You?”

Benny clasped his hands behind his head and stretched. “Yep. But I’m not mated, brother. You are.”