Jake rose from the table, going straight to her. He paused, resisting the attraction. Touching her would make it harder to separate after he found her sister. As she closed the distance, their eyes connected. Jake sucked a breath as she wrapped her arms around him, and his heart tightened.
"Jake," she whispered, burying her nose into his chest.
Her hands wandered up his back, and his dick lengthened. She glanced up to him, her molten eyes smiling into his. He shouldn't kiss her again, he knew, but the instinct rose from within, and his mouth found hers.
She moaned, and he hardened to concrete, pulling her closer. His hand slid over her bottom, his fingers teasing the edge of the shirt until he palmed a fleshy globe.
A low laugh broke his concentration, and he glanced to Quintus, who wore a smile. The vampire's heated expression told him that he was enjoying the show, his eyes falling to her bared ass. Jake slowly broke the kiss, his eyes locked on hers.
"I think we'd better eat something, sweetheart, before we don't get through dinner."
"Maybe I'm not hungry for food." Kai winked, giving a flirtatious smile. As she turned, she grazed her ass over the hardened bulge in his sweats.
Jake grunted as his girl wiggled against him, her arousal drifting into his senses. My girl enjoys a little public play. Interesting. He clasped his arm around her belly, stilling her movement.
"Don't stop on my account." Quintus laughed. "I always did enjoy a dinner show."
"Hmm … I wish we could just stay here tonight." The back of her head lolled onto his chest.
"We'll be back soon enough. Tonight we get the Kris. Tomorrow, we need to go to the west coast. I have to find out what the hell is going on with Anzober Wolves, and we need to find your sister." As soon as the words left his mouth, the mood turned somber. He glanced to the food and ushered her to the table. "Come sit."
"Where are we going tonight?" she asked.
"A vampire club. It's up in Iberville. A bit of a ride. We'll take the limo." Jake gestured to a seat, waiting until Kai sat before he joined her.
"This Jonathon. I've heard he's slick." Quintus nodded, reaching to scoop the jambalaya onto his plate. "Don't be surprised at what you see."
"We don't even know the Kris is going to be there. For all we know, the bitch is leading us on a wild goose chase." Jake slid a glass of wine to Kai.
"I just don't get how a knife is going to help protect me. And you do know when I walk in there, the vampires are going to sense me. They'll know I'm not a wolf or a vamp."
"True, but they won't know what you are," Quintus responded.
"He's right. Hell, I didn't even hear of a pixiu until today." Jake reached for a spoon and served the creole onto their plates. "We go in strong. Stick together. Once we find Jonathon, you and I will negotiate. Quintus will look out for trouble. The other vamps won't mess with him."
"But how do we even know he has it?" she asked, stabbing a shrimp with her fork and putting it into her mouth. Moaning, she smiled at Jake. "This is so good."
"Thank Quint over there. His food game has been on point lately."
Kai laughed and continued to eat.
"We don't know he has it. We don't know anything about what we're getting into and frankly, I still am not buying this shit with Ilsbeth. But we've got to give it a try because it's our only lead."
"It's possible this athame … it has a spell connected to it," Quintus suggested.
"Which again … no one seems to know where that spell might be."
"We have to get my book," Kai interjected. "Maybe there is something about the Kris in it."
"How much of it have you read?" Jake questioned.
"Some, but you must understand. I've only done it on the rare occasion over the century." Kai's eyes went to Quintus. "There's a book my parents gave me. I lost it in San Francisco. Left it in my hotel room before I went to see Kasdeya."
"Why didn't you read it all?" Quintus asked.
"I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I was afraid if I said any of the words … even read them, that I could cause something to happen. I know very little of pixiu. And as far as I was concerned, I was undetectable. I never thought my sister would go missing. Or that there was a possibility I'd ever shift." Kai shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't accept that's going to happen. I mean, I've always known there was something in me, but to think I'd transform? No way."