Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands Page A

without having to constantly guard his thoughts . . . And then there was the supposedly hot life mate sex. He was very curious about that.
    “Anders?”
    Realizing he’d not answered her question, he finally said, “Probably not long.”
    “You think you’ll capture him quickly, then?” Valerie asked, tilting her head. “Have you got a lead on him or something?”
    “No,” he answered honestly, and then gathered the remains of their meal together and stood. “Don’t worry about that now. You need to relax and sleep to regain your strength. Let us worry about the rest. Come on, I’ll carry your bags upstairs for you so you can go to bed.”
    Valerie hesitated, obviously wanting to ask more questions, but another yawn caught her. Covering her mouth, she stood and nodded. “Tomorrow is soon enough to worry about things like that I suppose.”
    “Tomorrow,” Anders agreed and led her and Roxy into the house. He detoured to the kitchen to throw out the garbage, and then led her back to the bags waiting at the front door.
    “I can help,” Valerie said as he began to collect the bags. When he didn’t respond, she moved to his side and picked up the computer case before he could, saying, “I’m not completely helpless, Anders.”
    It was the first time she’d actually spoken his name and Anders found himself stilling briefly at the sound of it on her lips.
    “Is something wrong?” she asked.
    “No.” He straightened with the other bags and gestured for her to lead the way up the stairs.
    Shrugging, Valerie turned and started up the stairs. This time Roxy didn’t follow, but sat at the foot of the stairs. Anders paused to look at her, but the German shepherd seemed confused and looked from him to Valerie and back without moving.
    “She’s waiting for you,” Valerie announced, pausing halfway up the stairs to glance back when she realized he wasn’t following. “She’s been trained not to go up the stairs until the people have. It prevents her getting under your feet and tripping you up.”
    “Oh.” He started up the stairs, marveling once again at how well trained the dog was. Once he reached the top, the jingle of Roxy’s name tag and license clinking together told him she was following. Shaking his head, he trailed Valerie up the hall. It wasn’t until she stopped to open her door that he realized he’d been staring at her derriere the whole way. The realization was rather startling. He’d never been an ass man, but the shift and sway of her behind had held his fascination all the way up the hall.
    “You aren’t expected to stand guard outside my room all night, are you?” Valerie asked curiously as she led him into her room.
    “No. I’m in the room next door.” Anders set her bags on the table by the window. “Close enough to hear you shout if you need me. But there shouldn’t be any problems. The alarm system here is state of the art.”
    “Good,” Valerie said with relief. “I would have felt horrible thinking you were stuck standing in the hall all night. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep,” she added with a smile.
    Anders turned to peer at her and hesitated. He wanted to kiss her. More out of curiosity than any great desire. The more he got to know this woman, the more he liked her. He admired her courage and strength, and was impressed by how well she’d trained her dog. The loyalty the animal showed her mistress spoke well. And so far, he liked everything about her. But he wasn’t lusting after her, and wanted to know if kissing her would bring on the life mate passion he’d heard so much about. Unfortunately, it had been a while since he’d wooed a woman and he wasn’t sure how to go about it. Did he just grab and kiss her? Or was he expected to wait for some sign from her?
    “Well, I should get ready and go to bed,” Valerie said finally and Anders smiled wryly. That was definitely a sign, he supposed, but not one suggesting she would welcome his kissing