“Yes, because the council wants an immediate update.”
He sounded grumpy, and I couldn’t help smiling. “That’s rather inconvenient timing on their part.”
“I thought about mentioning that, but under the current circumstances, they wouldn’t have been amused. We still on for our date tonight?”
“Barring intervention by flesh-stripping demons or White Ladies, definitely.”
“I’ll pick you up at six, then.”
He hung up. I shoved the phone back into my pocket, then finished making breakfast for Belle and me. Business was brisk all morning, but it slowed down in the afternoon, which allowed us to do some more baking. Aiden had obviously spread the news about the goodness of our brownies, because we could barely keep up with demand.
I dithered over what to wear for our date for a good half hour before deciding on a formfitting dark green sheath dress whose only embellishment was a chunky golden zip that ran the full length of the dress’s back, and paired it with gold shoes and handbag to provide a bit of extra bling.
Aiden—who now had his own key—appeared just as I was clattering down the stairs. His gaze traveled slowly down my length, and desire burned in his eyes. “Well, don’t you look good enough to eat?”
I smiled and sashayed toward him. He wore black dress pants that hugged his hips, then skimmed the long, lean length of his legs, and a soft blue-gray shirt that emphasized his shoulders and sharpened the blue of his eyes. “So do you.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and claimed his lips. He tasted of coffee, passion, and desire, and all I wanted to do was remain in his arms for as long as I could, while I could.
A thought I didn’t want to examine. Not right now.
“You have no idea just how badly I want you at the moment,” he murmured, his breath a hot caress against my lips.
I laughed softly and pressed a little closer. “Oh, I think I do.”
“Vixen.” He kissed my nose and then pulled back. “I can also state that I’m going to take great delight in unzipping that dress of yours all the way down your spine and then slowly tasting every single naked inch of you.”
Desire shimmered. “We could always skip dinner and go back to your place.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t.” He held out his hand. “And we’d better get going, otherwise we’ll be late.”
“Why are you being so cagey about this date? What’s going on?”
He opened the door and ushered me out, then caught my hand again and led me down the street. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“And now you’re making me worried.”
“There’s no reason to be.”
“I’m not convinced.” Especially when his aura was a riot of color that betrayed his outward sense of calm.
He opened the door of his truck and helped me onto the seat. “I’m under orders to keep things secret, so secret they will be.”
“That’s not helping, you know.”
“I know, but it is what it is.” He slammed the door once I was seated, then climbed in on the other side and started the engine. “It’ll take us about half an hour to get there.”
“Define ‘there.’”
“Bendigo.”
“We’re going out of the reservation?”
“Indeed.”
Curiouser and cu
riouser, as Alice was wont to say. But it was pointless questioning him any further; it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to give anything away. “How did the council take the news that we’ve a flesh-stripping demon on the reservation?”