"So, do you remember the resulting feeling afterward?"
"Washed out, shaky." I paused, finally catching his drift. "He didn't take any blood from me, Quinn. Trust me on that."
"Blood vampires are not the only type of vampire out there."
I blinked. "They're not?"
"No." He lightly touched my cheek, his fingers warm against my cooler skin. "You need to eat then rest. Immediately."
"Well, I was planning to do both before some rude person stopped me in the street."
His sudden smile didn't erase the concern in his eyes, and part of the anger I'd been feeling over his desertion in the middle of a dark night and hot date evaporated. But only part.
"What if I offer to buy you breakfast then drive you home?"
I eyed him for a moment, the desire to be with him warring with the need to get back at him for dumping me so abruptly the other night. "So what about the person you followed here?"
He smiled. "Should have known you'd guess."
"Not hard to. I mean, unless you're out whoring around as well, the only other logical reason for being here is the fact that you were following someone."
"I do not whore around - "
"Ah, yeah," I interrupted. "You're a billionaire who doesn't have to pay for it. Which makes it okay for you to fuck all comers and not me."
His sigh was a sound of pure frustration. "Can we not do this here? You really do need to replenish your strength."
I stubbornly remained where I was. "And what about the man or woman you were following?"
"I think my target will sleep most of the day. She prefers night, anyway."
And how would he know that? Doing a little non-whoring of his own, perhaps? "And your target is currently in the house I came out of?" Meaning the snorer was a woman?
"Yes." He paused. "I take it your date was the man who left at dawn?"
"Yes."
"There was something odd about that one."
"Tell me about it," I muttered, then turned on my heel and began walking toward my car. Quinn kept close, as if he were afraid I would topple over at any minute. I was shaky, but not that shaky.
"He did read as a human, but there was also an otherworldliness that suggested something more." He cast me a sideways glance. "What was the sex like?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What was the sex like for you?"
"I haven't had sex for several days." A smile touched his lips. "Now, last week I was with this stunning redhead - "
"Who is still extremely upset about being dumped the other night, and who does not want to be fucked around anymore."
He met my gaze for several seconds, then looked away. His smile faded, and his vampire face came online. "Riley, I do what I think best to protect you."
"And yet the shit headed my way always seems deeper when you do. You have to learn to trust me, Quinn."
Surprise flitted briefly across his impassive face. "I do - "
"No, you don't. Not out of the sack, anyway."
"Riley, you should not take the risks that you do."