“I am indeed the oldest. I’ve five sisters and a younger brother.”
I blinked. “There are seven children in your immediate pack?”
“That is another question.” He paused, and a devilish light appeared in his eyes. “If you want me to answer it, there has to be a penalty. Rules are rules.”
“More than happy to oblige,” I murmured. “What shall it be? Another piece of cake, a coffee refill, or perhaps...?”
I didn’t finish the sentence. I simply leaned forward and kissed him.
And oh, what a kiss it was.
It was everything our very first one had been and far more besides, because this time, it wasn’t fleeting and he didn’t pull away. Instead, he slipped his hand around the back of my neck, holding me gently as the kiss deepened into a slow and passionate exploration, one that was restrained and yet hinted at a far deeper desire—one that was only a touch away from exploding. It left me breathless, giddy, and had me wanting him with a fierceness that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Except time was the one thing we didn’t have a lot of. Not tonight, anyway.
As his phone began to buzz, he groaned softly and then said, “Never have I cursed the council and their damn meetings as much as I am right now.”
His breath teased my lips and sent a shiver of delight down my spine. “You’re not alone there—especially given I’ve been waiting weeks for a proper kiss.”
He chuckled softly and brushed his lips across mine a final time before he pushed back. His blue eyes glimmered with the same sort of heat that pulsed through me.
“Next time, just ask. Or, better yet, just do. More than happy for a woman to take the lead.”
“Sound advice I’ll definitely follow if I feel things are progressing a little slowly.” I took a deep breath in an effort to calm my racing pulse, but it was filled with the musky, smoky scent of him, and really didn’t help.
“So, tomorrow—what time?”
He grimaced. “My shift is supposed to start at eleven, but I’ll ring Duke and see if he can swap. That’ll give us a couple of hours to check both locations.”
“Eleven is an odd time to start, isn’t it?”
“We generally stagger starting times so that there’s someone manning the station until fairly late.” He silenced the reminder chime on his phone. “It’s only when we’ve a few people either off sick or on holidays that the night shift ends earlier, but in those cases, I’m generally on call.”
“Which kind of explains why you were in sweats but carrying a gun when we first met.”
He reached out and lightly tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “A day I will never forget, for many various reasons.”
Though I wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch, I resisted. I didn’t want to be the reason for him being late—especially given the council’s edict of no witches on the reservation. We might already be walking a tightrope when it came to remaining in Castle Rock. I didn’t need to be giving them additional reasons—however inconsequential—to boot us out.
Unease rose at that thought, and I wasn’t sure if its cause was pessimism, or my hit-and-miss precognition skills coming to life.
“Well,” I said, keeping my tone light, “it isn’t every day you discover the body of a teenager who’d been seduced onto the dark path by a vampire capable of blood magic.”
“That is something of an understatement.” He pushed to his feet and then caught my hand and tugged me up. “I enjoyed tonight, even if our time was severely restricted.”
“Me too.” I rose on my toes and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. And fought the desire to do more. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Indeed.” His expression was a mix of amusement and frustration. “I’ll be here at ten thirty.”
“I look forward to it.”
He hesitated, then turned around and headed for the stairs. I followed him down to the front door and held it open as he stepped through. The cool night air caressed my skin, but it didn’t do much to ease the inner heat.
Lights flashed amber as he pressed the truck’s remote, and then he glanced back at me. “I’d normally kiss you good night, but I don’t think that would be wise. The council does not appreciate tardiness.”
“Then you’d better get your butt into gear, instead of lingering on the sidewalk.”
“Indeed I must,” he said, and then did precisely what he’d said he shouldn’t, and kissed me again.