Page 48 of Primal Dragon

“I do, actually. I would put a whole lot of gold on it. Trust me, you haven’t seen my cave of treasures. It would be a lot of gold.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You actually have a cave of treasure.”

“That’s need to know.”

She sipped from her coffee. “Some things are right about dragons, huh?”

“Some things mythology got right.” He tossed her a wink.

Henrik pulled out his phone when it buzzed in his pocket. “Looks like we might need to get dressed. Syrena just texted me. They need help staking out another location.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? You’re going to let me go with you?”

“As long as you promise me that you’re in good enough condition and that you won’t go charging into Crimson.”

“To sit in a car and watch a building for several hours on end?”

“Anything can happen, sweetheart.”

“I feel sore, but nothing hurts. I’ll take a quick hot shower, some ibuprofen, and drink lots of coffee and I’ll be right as rain.”

Henrik smirked. “I think you’re overestimating the power of coffee.”

She reached across the table and covered his mouth with her fingers. “Don’t say such things. The coffee can hear you.”

* * *

Henrik wasunsure of letting Quinn go along with him, but he didn’t want to leave her alone or fight with her. Especially when he was the one in the wrong. Quinn had proven that she could more than handle herself, even against creatures who could tear her apart without breaking a sweat.

If she was his mate, then she belonged by his side. If she wasn’t his mate, he was needlessly putting another man’s mate in jeopardy.

He growled out loud at the thought of her belonging to someone else.

“What was that?” Quinn entered the room decked out in her vampire disguise.

His eyes narrowed. “Why are you wearing that?”

“I thought it would be a good idea to be in disguise, especially if we’re seen together. Am I wrong? You were the one who said it would be bad news if they knew how important I was to you and James.”

“We’re going on a stake out. If they can see us, then we’re not staking out very well.”

She sighed and slipped off the ring and tucked it in her pocket. “Fair point.”

His dragon relaxed when he could see and smell her again. He didn’t like her in the disguise. He understood the necessity of it, but he liked her just the way she was, not being someone and something she wasn’t.

“Where exactly are we going for this stake out?”

“Warren and Arthur followed Stefano when he left the club. We’re going to take over their position and watch Crimson. We’ll follow any of the big players that leave otherwise we just watch for any patterns.”

“That sounds boring.”

“Stake outs aren’t supposed to be exciting. You’re watching a building for hours, if not days.”

They arrived at their designated location, parked the car, and settled in.

Henrik didn’t mind the quiet, and Quinn didn’t seem to need to fill the silence. It was nice just sitting with her, knowing it wasn’t uncomfortable. He’d been at plenty of royal functions where they were forced to interact with other royalty. They had plenty of allies and friends, but some of them were downright awkward. The distance from society wasn’t always a good thing.

“May I ask you something?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

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