Page 75 of Dancing with My Elf
“Yeah. More warnings. I don’t know what they expect me to do since it has nothing to do with me.”
“But they were in your club.” I didn’t specify who. “They killed someone behind it.”
“Let’s not go there again. The cops aren’t calling it murder.”
Despite his supernatural bloodline, Frank was suspicious of anything that affected his potential earnings.
“I gotta go,” he said. “See you tomorrow.”
The idea of women touching me who weren’t Zoe struck me as unfathomable. Working for someone who cared more about the money than the wellbeing of his staff made me cringe. “I won’t be coming back, Frank.”
“Come on, Lucas. Don’t let these Network quacks scare you off with spooky warnings. It will pass, and they’ll find some other business to bother.”
“It’s more than that. I believe them and think you should, too. Sorry for the short notice but things have changed.” I had changed. Zoe had showed me that there was more to life than coasting through it having a good time. Too bad it took me too long to wake up. No wonder she didn’t take me seriously.
Frank snorted. “More like no notice.” He hung up without saying goodbye.
True. I winced. But Frank would get another dancer to take my place.
I knew I couldn’t dance there forever but thought it would be for many more years. I thought I’d feel loss on leaving it. The time had come, and I was wrong.
My regulars wouldn’t miss me for long. As soon as the next hard body came along to distract them, I’d be forgotten.
Too bad, I couldn’t learn how to forget about heartache. All I wanted was to escape my world turning disastrous overnight. I lost my mate. I quit my job. What was next? I glanced at Shadow and my heart lurched. No, I couldn’t lose him. I bent down and rested my head against the soft fur of his back.
“You won’t leave me, right?”
Shadow purred.
“I should have quit sooner,” I told him. If I’d listened to my dragon about Zoe from the beginning, I might have made different decisions.
Of course, Zoe wouldn’t be thrilled about being in a relationship with an exotic dancer. If the situation was reversed, I’d lose my damn mind, tearing into any guy who tried to touch her body.
Now, what could I do? My mate rejected me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Would I find a way to move on?
Or would I spend the rest of my days as a lonely shifter watching her from a distance to protect her? The connection was still there, and with it, the drive to protect her. If I couldn’t be with her, could I at least help keep her safe?
One huge problem—Zoe didn’t want or need my help. She was far more capable to take care of herself than I ever could. So what use was I?
***
The next day, Sebastian and Diego knocked on my door. I had to pull the shades before it was safe for Diego to enter my room. When I sank back onto the bed wearing the same clothes I’d slept in, they assessed me with a long stare to match the one Shadow had perfected.
Sebastian asked, “Are you hungry? I’ll make you something to eat.”
“No, thanks.”
“When was the last time you ate?” he prodded.
My shoulders slumped. Rejection had killed my appetite.
“Or showered?” Diego added, his nostrils flared.
“I don’t know,” I replied in a flat tone.
Sebastian and Diego exchange a worried glance.
“Something’s up.” Diego raised his chin. “We know I have very little appetite, but you usually make up for my share.”
