Which was why Jin had been feeding me gooey chocolate cake last night, obviously. “So, even though he’s sucking down emotions, I have to eat to keep my physical energy up, same as with regular vamps?”
“Afraid so. Though emotive vamps do tend to leave you a little more strung out emotionally for a few hours afterward.”
I must have slept through that period of recovery, because I was feeling okay by the time I’d left Jin’s. “And if I don’t eat and refuel? Can it become dangerous?”
“Well, he could drain you to the point that you’re physically unable to defend yourself, but he can’t kill you with his feeding as a blood vamp can.” He paused. “See if you can grab some hair samples. We’ll run some tests and see exactly what we’re dealing with.”
“He said he’d ring tonight, so I’ll see what happens.” I paused. “Have you decoded whatever was written on the inside of the ring?”
“Not yet. It appears to be some form of glyphs. We’re trying to find a match.”
“Anything else of interest in Cole’s report, then?”
“Yeah, you were being a pain in the ass at the scene. Not that that’s a surprise.”
“Hey, I was just asking questions. He needs an attitude adjustment.” And a good dose of werewolf sex. “How did Dunleavy actually die?”
“Heart attack.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
“The initial attack happened during the skinning, the fatal one after eleven.”
Which was about when I’d been entering his apartment. The poor man probably thought I was Gautier coming back to finish him off. “What about the time of death of the woman?”
“About eight. Which means Gautier had to have some means of getting out of there without facing sunlight, even if the old girl next door didn’t see it.”
“Logically speaking, I’d agree. But I’ve just got a feeling something more is going on.”
“You tried to clarify that feeling?”
“I can’t clarify something that’s as tenuous as a feeling.”
“Yes, you can. You just need more training.”
“What I need is more sleep. Especially if you want me out with Jin tonight.”
“Take the day off, but keep your phone on in case I need to contact you.”
“Done deal.”
I hung up and headed back inside. The smell of hazelnut coffee swam through the air and I just about drooled. “You’ve been preparing for my visit.”
He nodded as he dished up several pancakes. “It’s the only reason I have food in the house. Normally, I don’t.”
I propped on a stool and leaned my arms against the bench. “So it’s been a while since you invited another woman here?”
He added bacon and eggs to the plate, slid the lot across the bench, then looked me in the eye. “I’ve never invited a woman here before.”
I raised my eyebrows, even as a warmth I couldn’t even begin to explain spread throughout my body. “Never, ever?”
“Never, ever.”
“Wow.” I picked up my knife and fork. “Thank you for the honor.”
His sudden smile was filled with warm amusement, and once again my hormones stirred to sluggish life. Jin had better be a short-term job, because I sure as hell wasn’t liking the impact he was having on my sex life. I mean, normally I’d be jumping over the bench after a smile like that.
“At least you can no longer say I don’t share anything of myself.”
I wanted to point out that this was just a house, even if it was his sanctuary, and that what I’d been talking about was him. His past, his hopes, his dreams—everything that had made him the vampire he was today. But I didn’t. It was a step forward, and for now, that was enough.
“So, are you just planning to tease me with that delicious coffee smell?”
His smile stretched, then he turned to grab a cup and pour the coffee. I admired the view, wished I had more energy, and began consuming the meal he gave me.
After breakfast, coffee, and gentle small talk, he took my hand and led me down the small hall to his bedroom. “You need to sleep.” He pulled down the handmade patchwork quilt that covered the big old wooden bed, then gave me a stern look. “Alone.”
“Well, that’s never any fun.”
He touched a hand to my cheek, his fingers warm and tender against my skin. “Perhaps not. But you need to rest.”
Despite myself, despite stirring desire, I yawned. Hugely. He chuckled, and leaned forward to drop a sweet kiss on my lips. “If you feel like fun, I’m sure we’ll have time later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” I stripped off my dress and climbed into his bed. The cotton sheets were cool and soft against my skin, the pillow cradling my head as gently as a lover. I was asleep before I could even say good night.
When next I woke, it was once again to the sound of silence. I yawned and stretched out the kinks, noting with relief there was little in the way of remaining twinges, then opened my eyes and looked about. Quinn wasn’t in the room, but his warm, sexy scent still teased the air. Weak sunlight peeked around the corners of the thick curtains covering the windows to my right, suggesting the better part of the day had slipped by. I shifted to get a better view of the clock on the bedside table, and saw it was just after four.
“Quinn?”
My voice seemed to echo through the small house. I frowned, flipped off the covers, and got up. Quinn wasn’t in the living room, nor the kitchen, nor the bathroom. In fact, he wasn’t in the house at all.
An odd mix of worry and anger ran through me. I spun on a heel and walked back into the bedroom. My clothes weren’t on the floor where I’d left them. Anger began to overrun the worry as I walked back to the living room. My purse, shoes, and phone were also absent.
The bastard.
He hadn’t brought me here to give me a glimpse of his life. He’d brought me here to keep me away from a case he considered too dangerous.
I should have known.
Should have guessed it was too good to trust.
I picked up the small nude figurine sitting on the kitchen table and threw it against the far wall with all the force I could muster. It shattered against the stone, sending shards of fine white porcelain spearing through the room. I hoped it was expensive. Fucking expensive.I took a deep breath in an effort to control the rage. Running around breaking things might make me feel better, but in the long run, it wasn’t going to help me much. First things first—check whether I still had a car, look for replacement clothes, then get the hell out of here.
A peek through the front curtains provided the unstartling information that my car had also gone. I resisted the urge to rip the curtains from their tracks, and let them fall back into place.
Next up, clothes. As it turned out, not only had my clothes gone, but all his. Not that running around naked particularly worried me, but the night was promising to be a cold one. The chill was already in the air.
The third item in my list proved to be just as elusive—the front door had been key-locked. So were all the windows as well as the sliding door out onto the patio. The key he’d used earlier was gone. Which, while not considered a fire code violation by the law, was a very stupid thing to do.
“Bastard, bastard, bastard.”
I’d have to break out. There was nothing else I could do. Without even thinking any more about it, I picked up a chair and threw it through the window. It smashed through the glass, hit the patio, then bounced up to crash through the railing and disappear over the side.
I shifted shape and leapt through the hole. Part of me was hoping like hell someone noticed the window and used it to steal all his fine—and undoubtedly expensive—bits and pieces.
He deserved that, and more.
I followed the riverbank, enjoying the feel of the damp earth under my paws, the freshness of the breeze against my coat, even if they did little to ease my foul mood.
As I got closer to central Warrandyte, I left the riverbank and moved into the streets, padding quietly along the sidewalk. Few people took notice of me. Most were in a hurry to get home, and in the dusky light, I looked like just another stray dog anyway. Under normal circumstances, the magic that helped me change would also have taken care of any clothes I might be wearing—just don’t ask me how, because it was a magic I didn’t question, just accepted. Of course, once we were back in human form, the clothes were usually a shredded mess, so while the magic might conceal the clothes when we were in wolf form, it certainly didn’t look after them. Lucky for me, that wasn’t going to be a problem on this occasion.
Was he ever going to get a piece of my mind when I caught up with him.
When I found a main road and was free of the trees, I shifted shape and pressed the com-link button in my ear. “Riley to base—anyone listening in?”
Silence was my only response—not that I’d really expected anything else. The trackers were long range, but the communicator part of the units were far more limited. With the hills and the trees, I pretty much figured it would be a miracle if I got through.
I tried a couple more times, just for the hell of it, but eventually conceded I’d have to contact them the old-fashioned way. I walked down the street until I found a phone booth. Thankfully there weren’t that many people out, meaning I didn’t have any immediate worries about someone reporting my nakedness to the police. I picked up the handset, rang the Directorate’s emergency number, and got put through to Jack.