Page 12 of Primal Dragon

“Tell me what’s going on.” His eyes were pleading, his voice steady but not demanding.

She shivered against the body heat pouring off him like he was a heater. “My friend disappeared. I’m just going to go to the last place he was seen. If I can’t find him there, then I’ll go to the police or hire a private detective.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. She knew of a vampire private detective. She laughed when James told her about him. She made about fifty jokes aboutAngel,Forever Knight, andMoonlight, her favorite vampire P.I. shows. But she was going to do everything herself first. She hoped she was overreacting. That James was just laying low and broke his phone or couldn’t charge it, so he hadn’t been able to reach out to her. He would pop up in a couple of days and they would eat Oreos and laugh about how much she freaked out.

She squeezed her eyes shut. God, that was what she hoped would happen.

He shifted from foot to foot. “Quinn, I know we don’t know each other very well and I have no rights to your life, but…”

Her breath was shallow. But what? There was an intense connection between them? She wanted to know him and his life too. Was that what he was going to say?

The calico let out an unhappy mewl and they both looked down at the tiny creature in his arms.

“I have some business I have to take care of as well,” he said quietly, looking up and locking on her gaze. “If you get into a tight spot, you know how to get in touch with me.”

She nodded. “I can do that. You can always reach out to me too.”

“Oh, you’ll be hearing from me.” He leaned into her.

Quinn’s breath caught. She wanted him to kiss her. It was so strange to feel so connected to someone she didn’t know anything about. All she knew was that he was kind and that he worried about her.

She could feel his breath against her neck.

“You smell amazing,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her skin.

She nearly groaned at the briefest touch.

“May I call you tomorrow, Doc?” He pulled back just enough that he could look into her eyes.

She gave a small nod. “Please do.”

“And you’re going to hold onto this little critter?” he asked.

She grinned. “She needs to stay here a little longer.”

“You need to know that the only reason why I’m not tasting your lips right now is because of this tiny kitten. She doesn’t need to be in the middle of that.”

Quinn burst out loud laughing. “No, she doesn’t. You should think of a name for her.”

“I’ll think on it.”

Henrik leaned back down and kissed Quinn’s cheek. His scent engulfed her, and she wanted to rub all over him until she could smell him on her. Something to get her through the night. Just the simplest of touches was driving her crazy. She wanted more. It made her nipples tighten, and with the added stimulation of her nipple piercings, it made her shiver.

He set the kitten in her arms and stepped back. “Please be careful in whatever you’re doing tonight. Don’t get into too much trouble. Or at least nothing you can’t get out of on your own. But if you need help, call me.”

“What if you need help? You going to call me?”

“Probably not, but don’t take it personally. It’s not because you’re a female. If I need help, it wouldn’t be good for me to call anyone.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“I have to go. I have a friend in danger.”

It was more than just that. She could see the importance of whatever mess he was in. Something they had in common, it would seem. Part of her wanted to spill her guts about James. She was scared to dress up and go to a club she’d never been inside of before. Dealing with shady vampires and their business. It was likely she was going to get caught quickly anyway. And then what?

“You’ll be careful?”

“As I can be.”

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