Head Hunter (City Shifters the Pack #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,60
want to risk that trust by keeping this from her.”
“She’s not ready,” he said quietly. “She doesn’t want anything to do with the supernatural or the pack.”
“All the more reason to be very clear on what ties her to you and the pack.” O’Brien stood, glancing around the living room. “She can’t walk away, not now. She’s in it, especially if Bridger has her sights set on Persephone. She’ll believe it if you tell her, Dodge. She’s not going to trust anyone else when they say the same thing.”
Dodge frowned but didn’t want to argue. Instead, he rubbed his chin against Persephone’s head, soothed by the sensation of her hair against his skin and beard. The detective snorted and held up her notepad. “I’ll be in touch if I need more information. Don’t worry about me being seen here; I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I’ll check in with Evershaw and be on my way.”
He didn’t take his attention off Persephone, but managed to call after the detective, “Notify me immediately if you see anything that poses a danger to Persephone.”
“And if there’s someone after you, too,” O’Brien said, then she disappeared into the back of the house.
Dodge exhaled his irritation and closed his eyes, concentrating only on Persephone. She was finally snuggled in his arms and pressed against his chest. Safe. Close. But not safe enough. Not comfortable enough, either. Not that he knew how to get up and carry her upstairs without waking her. She hadn’t rested enough yet, he knew that.
But someone had started rattling around in the kitchen. It was only a matter of time until Todd barged into the living room, or Mercy tossed around dishes in the dining room, or Evershaw started bellowing orders. Dodge smoothed his hand over Persephone’s head, playing with her hair, and whispered to her, “I’m going to take you upstairs where it’s quiet.”
She murmured something sleepily and sighed. He took that as approval of the plan, and carefully eased off the couch. He maneuvered her into his arms and easily lifted her up. Persephone wrapped her hand in his shirt as he started up the stairs, and she yawned before nuzzling closer under his chin. “And you’ll be there?”
His heart cracked. He should just put her in his room and maybe sleep on the floor across the doorway so no one would bother her. Or he should flee downstairs the moment she was tucked in. Dodge knew it was better to create some distance. Everything about her entranced him. He was lost already, and it would only be harder to walk away if their physical contact increased.
But he kissed her forehead and said, “Of course.”
“Good.”
Dodge nudged his door open and maneuvered Persephone through without whacking her head or legs into the wall, which took more skill than he’d thought. He frowned at his unmade bed, then bent to slide Persephone across the sheets. He removed her shoes and absently squeezed her ankle, then started to pull the sheets up over her.
Persephone, only half awake, lifted her head and started to unbutton her jeans. “Gotta take these off.”
He swallowed a groan. “Maybe it’s better if you –“
“Uncomfortable,” she muttered. She kicked off the jeans and tossed them to the floor, then pressed her face into the pillow.
Her ass looked amazing in jeans and suit pants, but it was fucking fantastic when presented almost bare. Transcendent. A miracle in cute pink panties with hearts all over them. Dodge knew he shouldn’t have stared but he couldn’t take his eyes off the tempting softness of her ass, the swell of her hips, the smooth delicate skin of her thighs. God help him. There was no way he could walk away, not from that.
But he was definitely keeping his pants on. He had to adjust himself as his thoughts ran wild with how it would feel to touch her, to pull her close, to press into her and make her his. Dodge groaned and ran his hands through his hair. Maybe taking a cold shower would get his mind right. He needed to walk away.
Persephone’s arm slid across the sheets, patting and searching, and she cracked an eye open to check the room. Relief filtered across her expression when she saw him standing next to the bed. “Aren’t you going to stay?”
“I shouldn’t.” He swallowed the knot in his throat. He was a damn coward. “Baby, I really, really want to lie there with you, but I don’t know if...”