There had been another reason besides Tamsin’s ill temper that drove her need for Bo to put them up in a decent hotel: Tamsin and Bruce noticed Bo’s thinness returning. ”I don’t want to get her hopes up yet,” Tamsin had confided with Bruce. ”But we are closer than we’ve ever been, I can sense it. And she’ll need her strength. Singapore is known for its street food. She needs to pull up to the buffet for a few days, you get me?” Bruce nodded conspiratorially. ”Count on me. I’ll take care of her.” Over the next few days while Bruce toured Bo through the Muslim, Hindu, and Chinese quarters, then taking her to see the dragon boat races, and slurping high tea at former colonial outposts, Tamsin and Dyson took advantage of their spectacular lodgings to reacquaint themselves with each other with renewed vigor, the undercurrent of Bo’s frantic search still palpable, perhaps even fueling the long-denied passion between the Valkyrie and the Wolf. Bo experienced a different side of life, elegant and marvelous—how many times had she read the word minced in a menu­—an expatriate life she hadn’t expect to savor this much. She sampled all the varied and exotic temptations Bruce set before her, and yes, even the carnal kind. Unlike the many platters of tea sandwiches and braised ragouts that invited second and third helpings, Bo dined modestly when it came to feeding on chi. In this crazy, up-ended world in which Bo spun, the more she tasted and the more she lived left little doubt that no life force, Fae or human, would ever satisfy her desire for a normal life or quell the constant hunger she carried for the love of the human doctor who got away.

Cambodia

”Welcome, Dr. Barrie,” the young Cambodian greeter extended his hand to the slender blonde woman as she approached from customs. He had been holding a sign with the name JM Barrie, MD written on it. ”I trust your flight was pleasant?”

”As if we were floating on a cloud,” she lied. Like every flight, it had been a white knuckler for Lauren and yet the doctor’s smile was nothing short of calming. ”And please,” she took his hand into hers, giving it a brisk shake. ”Call me Jamie.” She turned to the younger, dark-haired woman standing right behind her. ”And this is my colleague, Hook.”