Heir of the Dog Black Dog - Hailey Edwards Page 0,6

sound and planted my palms on the desktop.

He seemed to take my grunt as agreement. “I’ll email you what I have so far.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Eager for a breath of fresh air, I rose and crossed the room to open the door. “I’ll send you a copy of the incident report Mable filed on my behalf.”

He boxed me in, the knob cutting into my hip as he stood there, soaking me up like sunshine. A zap of connection jolted a gasp out of me when his fingers slid along my jaw until his palm cupped my cheek.

Thick lashes rimmed his burnished copper eyes, a snare that stole my breath. His sun-kissed skin burned where it touched mine, and I struggled against the urge to lean into that heat, to tuck a mahogany curl behind his ear. The absence of his usual smile left stark white creases in the corners of his eyes and faint bracket lines on either side of his full lips.

Damn him and his stupid lure. Damn me too for being stupid enough to be alone with him.

“We’ll make this work.” His whiskey-rich voice poured warmly through my ears. “Partners?”

I swallowed hard, tasting him on each swallow. “I should— Mai is expecting me.”

His finger traced the line of my jaw, sliding down my throat and across my collarbone until he spread a wide palm over my frenzied heart. Fire lanced from his hand to my soul, searing my chest where we touched. With a blistering sigh, Shaw licked his lips, his voice gone hoarse. “You should go then.”

My head bobbled. “I should.”

But I didn’t.

His head lowered, his lips hovering a breath above mine.

Our almost-kiss was interrupted by a fat pink purse bouncing off the side of his head.

“Boy, you better get back.” Mable cocked her arm. “No feeding on conclave property.”

“Feeding?” I slurred as Mable swam in and out of focus.

“Out.” Mable elbowed Shaw into the hall then hooked an arm around my waist. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” I let her guide me back to my chair. “Fine.”

The lure must have hit me harder than I thought.

She cupped my face and tilted my head back. “I never should have let that sweet talker up here.”

My eyes drifted closed. “He’s fine.”

“No.” She shook my shoulders. “He was wounded and hungry, and you were an easy mark.”

That jolted me awake. “What?”

If my coworkers started thinking I was easy pickings, I wouldn’t last the week. If I wanted to keep running with the big dogs, I had to show them my bite was worse than my bark.

Chapter Five

I ran down the stairs after Shaw, shoved through the front door of the office building and took the steps two at a time. I hit the gravel and jogged across the parking lot until I fisted the back of his ruined T-shirt. “What the hell kind of stunt was that?”

“You wanted to make a deal. I wanted to heal.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Now we’re even.”

I snagged his arm and spun him around. Both his forearms were healed. The angry slashes from earlier faded to silvery white lines as I watched. “You slurped on my soul without my permission—”

“Not slurped. More like sipped.” He wet his lips. “You taste as good as I remember.”

Hunger peered through his eyes, sparking heat south of the border I’d sworn to never let him cross again. My nipples tightened, ached. The way his lips pursed promised he would soothe away the sting.

I had taken a step closer to him before warning bells started clanging in the back of my head.

“Keep your metaphysical lips to yourself.” I planted my fists on my hips. “Or you will regret it.”

“I saw O’Shea, what was left of him.” He cocked an eyebrow. “As long as you’re feeding, your soul replenishes itself.”

So he knew I had just fed and had energy to spare. Too bad he hadn’t asked me to share.

“How can you be sure?” I raised an eyebrow of my own. “You always eat and run.”

“About that.” He jingled his keys. “You’re interfering with the running part.”

“If you’re going to be here, then you’re going to have to learn to respect boundaries.” That or I might have to invest in a Taser. “My office, my body and my personal life are off-limits.”

“Off-limits works for me.” His head lowered a fraction toward mine. “You’re the one making this personal.”

A pang in my chest made me think he might be right. What was I to him except a free meal with a