Page 19 of The Lynx and the Llama
He placed a palm on the small of her back and guided her to the table. He felt her heat searing into his hand, growing quite attached to the electricity between them. When they reached the table, Quinn almost made an orgling sound at the absence of her touch. Almost.
“Glad you are back, Erika,” her boss said as she got into her chair that Quinn had pulled out for her. “The best way to deal with these unknowns is to hit them head-on when we go to Santorini tomorrow morning. I say I grab the check and we all head back home to turn in early. It will be a busy day tomorrow. Just a reminder, the car will pick you both up between seven and seven thirty in the morning.”
“Okay, King Rayan,” said Erika.
Quinn sensed sadness in her voice. Was she just as affected by him as he was with her? God, he hoped so!
9
Quinn somehow managed to put work first. He knew if he went home with Erika—or she returned to the hotel with him—they’d get no sleep whatsoever, and that would leave them less than ready for a full day in the field. The mission came first.
Not that he was sure Erika still wanted him. While she’d seemed okay when they’d headed back to the table, she became quiet on the ride back to her home. Distant. She barely uttered goodnight before bolting out of the car.
He couldn’t help but feel that didn’t bode well for him, even though the kiss they shared had plagued his dreams. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The next morning he packed a day bag with enough civies to cover their undercover sightseeing and loaded them into the car that Rayan—or more likely, Erika—sent to pick him up. When the driver was only two minutes from Erika’s place, Quinn’s palms began to sweat. Now that Erika had an entire night to think, how would she feel about him?
They pulled into the parking area where Erika was already waiting. A bright smile sprang to his lips the minute she got into the car, which made his heart squeeze a little. He couldn’t help himself. He had to return the smile because he’d be spending the day with her, and he couldn’t think of anything better.
“It’s a beautiful day. I’m glad the rain isn’t coming until tomorrow. We should be able to get done with what we need to. Though I’m unsure if either prospect is such a good thing. Zagan is dangerous, but the Atlanteans might be just as dangerous if there is such a shifter race,” Erika said with a knowing look.
Quinn sucked in a breath. Out of all the things Erika could have said, he didn’t expect she’d talk about work first, which caught him off guard. So much so that he almost regretted the following sentence that came out of his mouth. Almost.
“Can we address the elephant in the room, please?”
Erika crossed her arms almost as if she was hugging herself, took a long breath, and released it before speaking. Okay, maybe he should have regretted saying what he said, especially since it came out a little harsher than he’d intended.
“I didn’t want to start a conversation like that BC—Before Coffee. I’ll give you fair warning, anyone that starts a hard conversation with me before I’ve had copious amounts of caffeine is in danger of getting their head bitten off.”
His mouth instantly became bone dry, and he had to swallow just to get his voice to work. “I’m sorry. It’s just I don’t want anything weird coming between us today. You were so quiet in the car last night, and I thought—”
She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, and he didn’t like that one bit.
“Yeah, I should apologize too. I was kinda freaking out, and I didn’t want to say anything to screw this up.” She gestured a hand between the two of them before continuing. “I like you, Quinn. And whether this turns out to be a fling for the next few days or something more, I want to make it work for as long as you’ll have me. I’m out of practice with the whole dating thing, so please forgive my weirdness.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” He gave her a small smile as the car came to a stop. Just as they hopped out of the car, Carol and Rayan greeted them.
* * *
The helicopter brought them to Skyros, where they met with Harriet, Lear, Treasure, and Teo at Lear’s palace.
“Hail, hail! The Scooby Gang’s all here!” said Harriet, who greeted everyone at the door. They followed her into the breakfast room, where a large spread of fruits, baked goods, eggs, and various meats awaited them.
Quinn’s mouth watered at the feast.
“You didn’t have to go through all of this trouble. Toast would have been fine for me,” Quinn said with widened eyes. He’d never had anyone go out of their way for him like this before. And probably because it had been so long since his mother cooked a holiday dinner. He’d almost forgotten how nice it was to sit and eat with people he cherished. Not that he could say that he cherished them, just yet! But he was glad Erika was with him.
“Shifters burn tons of calories, especially if you’re a FUC agent. So eat up! Trainer’s orders!”
“Yes, ma’am! I mean Carol. Sorry, I forgot you hate being called a ma’am.”
“I’ll let it slide this one time, Quinn, but never do it again.”
Quinn smiled and took a seat next to Erika. He reached for her plate and piled on various choices for her to eat.
“What are you doing?” Erika asked.
“I’m putting stuff on your plate for you.”
