Page 17 of The Lynx and the Llama
“I want to collar that guy in the worst way, King Rayan,” Quinn assured him.
“Please call us by our first names when we have private conversations,” the king corrected him. “Carol and I aren’t as formal as the human King of England. Plus, we are working together, so it feels weird.”
“Okay.”
Carol nodded at Quinn. “Stan told me Zagan held you captive for quite some time. I can certainly understand why you’d want to be the one to bring him in. Hopefully, with your training, we can make that possible.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Carol.”
Rayan turned to face Erika. “I’m glad you came with us tonight.”
“You really didn’t leave me a choice, boss. And I’m still unclear why I had to be here. Couldn’t the two of you meet up with Quinn?”
“I told you, Erika. Quinn is undercover. I couldn’t make it appear that he was on Bonafide Security detail because if Zagan is up to no good, we don’t want him gaining the upper hand. Just seeing Quinn might blow his cover. It’s less conspicuous if it appears we are all here for fun and not planning anything for SHIT.”
“I can’t argue with that thought process. The Shifter Hellenic Island Talks are critical for all shifters, and if any BS details broke out, we’d be screwed. I never really thought about it that way. It’s just, well, I’m not great at this whole fake-dating thing.”
Carol shot Erika a knowing nod. “Yeah, Jean Claude did you dirty—I get it. Say the word, and I’m on the next flight to Paris to kick his ass. I’ll take the palace jet—Ray won’t mind.”
“That won’t be necessary, Carol, but I thank you for the thought, anyway.”
“Well, I happen to think you are doing just fine. Good thing we had that practice date this afternoon,” Quinn said as he placed a palm over hers and gave her hand a slight squeeze. His steely blue eyes bore into her as if he were rereading her soul.
How can he do that? How can he make me turn into a pile of goo so dang quickly?
Carol chuckled. “Practice date, huh? I knew there’d be some type of spark between the two of you. Stan is great at matchmaking.”
The color drained from Erika’s cheeks. “Matchmaking? What’s that all about?” She gave her bestie an incredulous look.
Carol put out her palms as if to surrender. “Hey, don’t look at me to blame! Stan set up Harriet and Lear, Treasure and Teo, and then me and Ray. It’s only a matter of time before you two go out for real. Face it—it’s inevitable. Stan’s got the TLC touch.”
Erika took another sip of her wine. What was she going to do with this new information? She knew Stan but didn’t think he was trying to fix her up with Quinn. Quinn was flying back to Canada after the Shifter Hellenic Island Talks, so why would Stan bother trying? It didn’t make any sense.
“Well, maybe he got it wrong this time,” Erika said as she took another sip of wine and plastered the menu close to her face. She hoped it would block her heated cheeks. “I’ve never eaten here for obvious reasons before. What’s good? The red snapper aged fromPesciugatorelooks good.”
“Their fish is always an excellent choice,” said Rayan.
“Yeah, but the pork in the pot with fennel seeds and honey also sounds good.”
“I was thinking of getting that one myself, Erika. Order the snapper, and we can share.” Quinn gave her a smile that made her melt.
“Okay, I like that idea.”
Once the food came, there seemed to be longer than normal pauses in the conversation because everyone was busy eating. Erika wasn’t so sure she liked that. When she dated Jean Claude, he was a chatterbox, which afforded Erika some liberties. Erika didn’t have to scramble to come up with topics of conversation—hence her reason for not being all that social herself. Sadly, that was something she now realized she’d taken for granted. However, in her defense, Jean Claude being a chatterbox was exhausting, mainly because he was a drama king. The man loved to talk about himself. And incessantly!
“This pork is superb,” Quinn said as he stabbed a piece with his fork and wafted the aroma in Erika’s direction. “Here, try some.”
The fork was inches from her lips, and his gaze was fierce and steady as she opened her mouth to greet the morsel. As soon as the flavors burst on her tongue, she closed her eyes and let out a soft, almost inaudible moan. Almost.
“What’s the matter, Erika? Did your mouth have an orgasm?” Carol said with a snortle.
“What? No. I mean I simply…” Heat immediately rushed through Erika’s cheeks. “Did it get hot in here all of a sudden?” Erika immediately began fanning her face to cool her cheeks down.
“Relax, Erika! I was only kidding! Well, a little, anyway. You two make a cute couple. I knew this would work out. And by working out, I mean you won’t blow our cover.”
Erika’s red cheeks moved to the rims of her ears. “Were you in on this with Stan the whole time? We’re friends, but that doesn’t give you the right to meddle in my relationships.” She tossed the napkin that was on her lap onto the table. “I must use the ladies’ room to freshen up. Please do not follow me, Carol.”
Erika rose from the table and bolted to the restroom area. She wasn’t sure if she could handle all of this. She was just starting to get used to this being a fake relationship. And now? Now it seemed like so much more. Plus, it was one thing thinking that her boss had set this all up, but now Carol and Stan had a hand in it, too? Did everyone really think her life was so dull that she needed to be set up?
