Dahlia's Kiss

“You did, didn’t you? How did they get in? Did they flash a badge to the super and ask for a key? Is my underwear in the glovebox of some random police car? Are your buddies sniffing them as we speak?”

Sterling stepped into my bubble, his index finger pointed squarely in my face. “First of fucking all, if I catch anyone sniffing your panties, I’m likely to go homicidal on them. Second, I haven't even told anyone about you, let alone put them up to breaking and entering. Lastly, yeah, I do want you to ask me to protect you, but not for this reason. Not because you’re afraid to be in your own place. That’s not fair, and that’s not the kind of mate I would be to you. I’m a hard ass, I know that, but I’m this way because I’ve seen things I can’t unsee. Before I was a cop, I was a Marine, and this world is nasty. It is far darker than you could imagine. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Because you’re bonded to me?”

“For fuck’s sake, Dahlia.” His eyes narrowed. “Even if that weren’t the case, I would do my job. I’m not a bad person. Maybe you should try to get to know me before making assumptions.” He slammed the drawer shut and stalked out of the room. His heavy boot falls on the floorboards echoed in my ears.

“Sterling!” I called out, composing myself and following the man. “Sterling, I’m sorry. That was unfair of me. You didn’t deserve that.”

He wouldn’t meet my gaze. His mouth was a tight, thin line of anger, and his hands were clenched at his sides. He’d come to a stop just shy of the door. If I hadn’t called out, he’d be long gone. Bond or no bond, no one wanted to be accused of things they had no part of. Bean rubbed against his legs, weaving in and out between his feet. Sterling gently pushed him out of the way, but the feline was persistent, filling the void between us with his deep purrs.

“Bean doesn’t want you to go.”

“Who names a cat Bean, anyway?” Sterling asked from between his teeth. “That’s probably the dumbest name I’ve ever heard for a cat. Especially one that big.”

“He wasn’t that big when I found him.”

“Still.” Sterling looked at the animal and the cat looked right back, not breaking eye contact. “What does he want?”

“He wants you to forgive me.”

Sterling rolled his eyes. “Cats don’t care about shit like that.” His eyes met mine and some of the fury melted away. “Don’t let anything happen to you, okay? I should make a report about the break in, but I’m not going to. I don’t think it will do you any good for this guy to be on anyone’s radar but mine. Those other guys on the force wouldn’t know what to do with a rogue Incubus if they did catch him. It’s going to be up to me to deal with this shit. I’ll be close by. Call me if anything happens. And lock the fucking door.”

He stepped over the cat and didn’t give me a second look as he exited. He closed the door harder than he needed to and then tested the knob a few seconds later to make sure I obeyed his command.

Bean looked at me in his usual judgmental way.

“I know. I fucked that up.”

The apartment felt cold and foreign. My privacy had been violated in one of the worst possible ways and now I was alone to deal with the aftermath. Even Sterling’s grouchy countenance would have been better than wondering what was hiding in the shadows.

Bean’s whiskers touched my leg, and I jumped.

A slip of paper barely showed from beneath the fridge. I squinted, trying to figure out what it could be. “Please don’t be a note from the killer. Please don’t be a note from the killer.” I repeated the mantra over and over, placing one foot in front of the other until I could stoop and reach it. I placed one finger on the edge and scooted it free of the appliance. Damian’s handwriting burst from the slip, and I recognized the address and phone number he’d left for me earlier. I laughed at myself, clenching the paper in my fist like a lifeline. It was probably lucky this made its way to the floor before Sterling did his investigation.

Maybe I should call him. No. The last thing I needed was another would-be mate trying to be valiant and protect me from the dragon.

I had another idea.

Drake Sullivan was my boss, but whenever I called him, he didn’t hesitate to come running. Right now, he was my safest bet, since he was definitely not an Incubus, and therefore there was no chance of him being fated to be my mate. I could expect a good fucking, a shower in the most lavish bathroom I’ve ever seen in my long life, and no strings attached. Drake had never so much as asked me to accompany him anywhere, and I appreciated that. Of course, that probably had more to do with being seen in public with any woman. One could not keep up the most eligible bachelor status if he was seen with a woman on his arm. He and I both knew we would never be a thing, but he was kinky, and a good fuck besides that.

With shaky fingers, I found his number in my phone and hit the send button. His voice came through the speaker after the second ring.

“Drake. Speak.”

“Can I come over?”