Relentless (Vampire Awakenings #11) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,54
smiled sleepily back at him.
“I was going to let you sleep, but I wasn’t sure what time you had to work,” he said.
Cassidy’s smile faded, and she sat up so fast she nearly smacked her forehead off his. “Sorry,” she muttered when he jerked back.
Dante stepped away as she scrambled to pull out her phone.
“Damn,” she said when she saw the time. Disappointment filled her; she’d hoped to continue at least a little of what they started last night, but she couldn’t lose her job. “I have to be there in an hour.”
“I’ll walk you back to your place,” he offered.
She tucked her phone back into her pocket and rose. “Did you find anything?”
“I found a Lindsay Parks who worked for Dr. Abbott twenty-five years ago. I’m going to meet with her tomorrow afternoon.”
“You already talked to her?”
Dante smile. “While you were snoring.”
Cassidy did a double take. “I don’t snore.”
Dante grinned, and unable to resist, he ran his finger down the bridge of her nose and off the small slope at the end. “You have a very cute snore.”
“Nobody has a cute snore,” she retorted.
“I beg to differ.”
Bending, he followed his finger and kissed the tip of her nose. He only meant it to be a quick, gentle kiss, but once he started kissing her, he couldn’t stop.
Cassidy melted beneath the warmth of his lips as they moved to take possession of hers. She had to leave for work, but she draped her arms over his shoulders and pulled him closer.
His kiss left her weak-kneed to the point where she could barely stand, but if she sat, she’d pull him down with her, and that would be the end of it. When his hands slid up her side and caressed her rib cage before tracing the underside of her breasts, she shuddered with anticipation.
However, as much as she longed to shut out the world and lose herself in him, she couldn’t afford to get fired. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss and lowered her head as she tried to get her thundering heart under control.
She took a deep breath and dropped her arms from his shoulders. Her body screamed in protest, and she clasped her hands together to keep from grabbing him back again.
This was happening so fast, and it was all so much, but as it overwhelmed her, she craved more. Dante studied her with a confused gleam in his eye. She completely understood his confusion as she felt it too.
Except, she at least suspected what this could be between them, but she doubted he did. She’d told him about mates, but if he’d never been around mates before, then he wouldn’t know what to look for or expect it to be happening to him. She’d be amazed if he remembered the conversation given everything that happened since then.
“I really should get home so I can change,” she murmured.
“I know.”
“If it’s okay, I’d like to go with you to speak to her tomorrow.”
“I already told her I’d be bringing a friend.”
A friend? Cassidy thought as she fiddled with the edges of her shirt. But then, what else was he supposed to call her?
“Good,” she said. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
Dante stiffened when she glanced nervously at him before looking toward the family photo on the bookshelf. “What is it?”
“I know someone who can track others. He can’t track the dead, and he can’t track someone if they’re around a lot of other people, like in a city, but he could help if Julie isn’t in the city anymore and if…”
Her words trailed off as she glanced at the photo of his family again. She couldn’t bring herself to say that Brian might be able to help if Maya was still alive. She couldn’t give him that hope and tear it away again. Mate or not, she cared for this stubborn, determined man with a damaged heart of gold, and she couldn’t stand the idea of hurting him.
“If Maya isn’t dead,” Dante said.
He didn’t know how to react to this revelation. His heart raced with excitement as dread coiled inside him. He believed Maya was dead, but what if she was still alive? What if, after all these years, he could finally find her? And what if this person could help find Julie?
“Are they willing to help?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I won’t turn their help away,” he said. “The less time Julie spends out here alone, the better the chance I have of bringing her home alive.”