Page 14 of Draco

“Yeah, okay. You heard what I said.”

“Is this your barbershop?”

Draco gave me a blank stare. “Did the name on the building give it away?”

I narrowed my eyes, then pinched his side without thinking. “Don’t be an asshole. You said I could ask whatever I wanted to know.”

“I also said I don’t like stupid questions. You’re too pretty to be slow.”

“And you’re too tall to have such small feet,” I clowned, making us both laugh.

“If you think a size fifteen is small, then maybe you did entertain a bunch of clowns before we met.”

As we walked toward the brick-and-mortar, I nervously drummed my fingers against my thighs. I was unsure of what to do with my hands. A second after I cursed myself for not bringing a purse, Draco pulled his hand from his hoodie pocket and latched his long fingers between mine. I embraced the gesture since the energy behind his affection made me feel safe.

“Draco, do you have the ability to read minds?”

“No, but I can read your body language,” he replied. “When we go in here, I’m going to walk you to my office.”

I squeezed his hand. “It sounds like I went from one jail cell to another.”

“I’m doing it for your own good. If you run, I’ll have to chase you, and when I find you, I’m going to lock you up for real this time.”

“I thought you said I’m your mate, not your prisoner,” I blurted as he opened the door for me.

Like his home, Draco’s barbershop looked well put together. The color scheme was a mixture of nude and red, and pictures of notable black athletes hung on the walls. There were six booths set up across the tile floor, and five of them were being used. While moving through the shop, I wondered if any of them were vampires posing as fine ass black men like Draco and his brothers.

My racing thoughts came to a halt when Draco escorted me into a room in the back of the building, and I laid eyes on yarn covering his desk. He moved around the space, but my feet clung to the floor near the entrance.

“I don’t plan to be here long. I know we have?—”

“The yarn,” I cut him off to say. “How did you know?”

He stopped moving and faced me. A smile teased his lips. “Maybe I can read minds.”

As much as the idea spooked me, I didn’t harbor on the thought. I explored the bare space then settled into a large velvet chair behind a glass desk.

“There’s an intercom on the wall. There’s a mini fridge under the desk. Take what you need.”

I toyed with the yarn resting at my fingertips. “You say that often. What ifI’mthe monster that needs blood to survive?”

“Then we have more in common than you think.”

I stayed put for at least an hour before I became restless. My boredom triggered my curiosity and drove me to explore his office. Outside of the locked closet, I didn’t find anything to pique my interest. However, a few minutes into my exploration, I ran across a MacBook. To my surprise, the laptop didn’t require a password to use, giving me the chance to sign into my iCloud. Other than messages from Sammi, there were a few from a client I canceled on a few times.

I didn’t want to leave the room, so I used the intercom Draco pointed out before he left. I waited a few minutes for him toshow face, but after almost ten, I used the speaker a few more times.

“What do you need, woman?” he asked, barging through the door. His aggression softened my antsy demeanor.

“I have a client.”

“Client?”

“I do hair.”

He dropped a growl in his palms as he ran his hands down his face.

“Reschedule.”

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