“Has something happened?” Serenity sat up from the couch and stepped forward, her sincere, bunny rabbit gaze, freshly washed skin, and peppermint breath riling me and my jaguar. I masked it well though. Years of practice.
I met her halfway on the area rug, a hand trailing the outline of her arm, never quite touching.
She craned her neck to look up at me with kind but worried eyes.
“Don’t panic,” I said in gentler tones. “The kid’ll be on his wayhome in a couple more days. He was lucky he only ingested a tiny amount of that poison.”
“Oh, thank God. That’s great news.” She smiled and laid an absentminded palm on my wrist, closing the small distance I’d left between us. Her satin-smooth skin smelled like lavender.
My jaguar purred at the touch, wanting to lean in, get closer—a tamed kitten beneath her hand. But he’d use fangs and claws to keep her safe and keep her near. She was his. He’d only told me a million times since we’d met her.
I lingered in her space, not daring to budge, letting her presence quell the jealousy pounding through my animal’s aura at each slight movement Hunter and Bryce made.
I had to get some alone time with Serenity. It was a long shot, but I went for it.
“I’ve gathered a whole bunch of suspects’ photos and rap sheets. Plenty of vamps among them. I think I’ve identified Conrad based on the security cam footage.” I flicked my eyes to Hunter. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
Hunter grunted out a “Sure.”
I turned my attention back to Serenity. “But I’m not sure about that Armand guy you mentioned. And then there’s all the patrons of the den to lock up, too. It’d be an immense help if you could come down to my precinct and look—”
Her brows jumped, fingers squeezing tighter at my wrist. “Oh. Sure! Anything to help.”
“She’s not going down to that war trench you call a police station, especially at this time of night,” Hunter said, glowering.
I tutted. “She’ll be withme. Nobody fu—” I looked down at Serenity’s sweet gaze. “Nobody messes with me. She’ll be perfectly safe.”
Standing sharply, scraping his wooden stool backward, Hunter replied, “Oh, I know she’ll be safe. Cause I’m coming too.”
My jaguar didn’t like that. Neither did I. “And have youbitching and moaning the whole time when all I’m trying to do is get Serenity’s help to crack possibly the biggest crime ring in New Nebraska’s history? I don’t think so. I’ll need to focus on the case, not put up with you.” I snorted. “Maybe if you weren’t so whiney, I’d consider it.”
Hunter sprang about ten feet in a single bound, thudding on the shiny oak flooring inches from me. His eyes went dark yellow as he hissed, “We’ll see who’s whining when I kick your wannabe tough guy ass out the skylight.”
“Oh, I’m no wannabe, believe me.” I liked winding him up. “And you’re crowding me. Get out of my face.”
“Perhaps I could provide an alternative to the two of you slicing each other into little pieces,” Bryce said, his sleeves now perfectly cuffed and his suave manner back on like an armored suit jacket. As he walked toward us, both Hunter and I took a couple of steps back, mindful of touch.
His fingernails still pulsing like hot coals, Bryce’s body radiated heat like an open oven door.
“And what’s that, rich man?” I asked, still squaring off with Hunter.
Bryce turned his attention to Hunter. “Hey, look at me.” Hunter obliged with a quick side-glance, and Bryce put a hand on his covered shoulder. “We all know the saying about when two jaguars fight. The loser dies in the street—”
“And the winner dies in the hospital. What of it?” I snarled. “I’m not the one getting up in people’s faces here.”
Bryce ignored me. “You trust me, right?” he asked Hunter through a smile. “Let me go instead. I’ll make sure she’s back, safe and sound.”
“Fine. Just don’t take your eyes off her.” Hunter grumbled some curses under his breath as he turned to Serenity.
It was hard not to look away as he opened his arms and shestepped into them. He hugged her, and she hugged him back. “You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to, okay?” he said.
Pulling back enough to reach up on her tiptoes and use his chest to steady herself, she cupped his cheek with a tenderness that hurt. “If I can bring monsters to justice, I will. Every time. You understand why I have to. I know you do.”
He nodded and smiled weakly. Then they embraced again and, when they finally parted, shared a full-on kiss. I had to look away. My jaguar roared, and I told him to practice patience.
Bryce watched this interaction with intensity too, and his hard exhale sent something sugary but sharp up my nose. Fruit-flavored schnapps or brandy. But it didn’t cover his salty odor of pent-up desire. I recalled his shaky fingers on his shirt buttons. Bryce had a hard-on for Serenity. Poor bastard. He was no threat as a proper mate anyway, not with his condition. “Fine. Bryce, feel free to come along. At least you can keep a civil tongue in your head.”
Hunter stank of arousal as well, but his scathing looks and mistrust made it hard gauge any precise interaction with Serenity before I’d shown up. Ten years of detective work told me a little more than a bit of petting that had been happening before I arrived—maybe with Bryce watching. That passionate kiss had made my jaguar pace my insides, scraping my ribs like cage bars and forcing me to mask a wince. They’d soon be full-blown mates if I didn’t stick my nose in.
