I rested a hip against the door and considered, feeling my insides melt under his black-eyed gaze, his breath warm on my neck and jaw. “You let your hair grow,” I said, wanting to touch it, to touch him.
Rick canted to the side, resting on the outside jamb, stretching even closer, so we were only a fraction of an inch apart. I could feel the warmth of his body, and his scent grew even stronger, jungle nights, heat, cat, and man. “My current job,” he said, “doesn’t have a dress code when I’m in the field.”
“You on a job now?” I asked.
“Yeah. I got a party tonight at Leo’s.” His lips grew fractionally closer. “You gonna be there?”
I stood up and backed away. “Yeah. Lemme get this straight. You got an invite to vamp HQ for the gather?”
Rick laughed shortly. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No, he didn’t tell me.”
Rick reached out a hand and pushed a stray wisp of hair behind my ear. His fingers were warm, werecat warm. I struggled not to lean in to his touch. “You gonna invite me in?” he murmured.
“Hey, Uncle Ricky Bo. You gonna kiss Aunt Jane?”
I tried not to laugh at the look on his face as he dropped his hand away from me. “Angelina?” he asked, his tone saying, What are you doing here?
“Uh-huh.” Angie tugged on my jeans until I dropped my hand, which she took. “We staying with Aunt Jane while my daddy looks for my mama. You gonna kiss her? ’Cause I wanna watch. You never did kiss her last time I was here.”
I snorted. Rick opened his mouth and closed it in a good imitation of a beached fish. “Uhhh.”
“No, Angie Baby,” I said. “Uncle Ricky Bo is taking me to lunch.”
A terrible thunder of running feet sounded at the top of the stairs. “Jane!” Evan shouted. “The wards!” He went silent when he saw us standing at the front door. Out of breath, he leaned over the railing, staring. “Son of a witch on a switch,” he whispered, the words explosive. “Angie?”
“Sure as heck wasn’t me,” I said. “I can’t touch your wards.”
“Me neither,” Rick said. “Come on, gorgeous. Let’s go eat.”
“But I wanna see you kiss her,” Angie said.
I picked up my sunglasses and keys where I’d dropped them on the way in this morning and closed the door on Angie’s curiosity and her father’s perplexity. Rick stopped me with an arm across my path, an arm that snaked around my neck and drew close. “I’ve missed you,” he growled.
Trying to keep the goofy grin off my face, I pushed him away enough to drape an arm around his waist. He nuzzled my neck as I pulled him down the street. “Feed me or lose me.”
As soon as we were out of sight of the house, Rick yanked me into an alcove, danced me back until my spine touched the wall of a house, and trapped me, one arm blocking the way out, the other around my neck holding me still. Lowering his face, he touched my lips with his, tentatively at first, as if giving me a chance to pull back. I didn’t. I pulled him closer, feeling the gun at his side, the blade at his spine, and the welcome of his body that pressed against my belly.
I sighed into his mouth as he kissed me, deep and long. I might have made a little moan as his tongue touched mine and I arched my back to raise my body harder against his. Rick lifted me, the motion effortless as his were-strength kicked in. The smell of his cat intensified. His heart rate increased, and his pheromones shifted again, subtly, into adrenaline and something metallic and bitter. I realized he was in pain.
I shifted my head to the side, his lips trailing across my jaw and down to my neck. “Rick. Stop,” I whispered.
His mouth opened. The scent of cat intensified. And his teeth clamped down on the muscle and tendon beside my jugular. A hold that a mating, male big-cat might use to grasp his mate. Heat spiraled through me. Beast purred, the sound coming from my mouth. Mate, she thought at me. Mine.
I shoved her down and gasped a breath. If he broke the skin . . . “Rick. Stop.” He froze, his teeth clamped down, just to the point of pain. “Stop,” I said softer. “Your cat is trying to come through. Your teeth? The were-taint?” His teeth-grip relaxed, but stayed in place, as if he was confused. As if his cat still held sway. I let a hint of amusement into my tone. “And I am not having sex in an alleyway.”
Rick released my neck and swore under his breath, something crude about saints and testicles. I shuddered with laughter and easing heat. Beast padded away from me, chuffing in disgust. “This sucks,” he whispered back, his voice a low growl. “But you have a point about alleys. I have a nice comfortable bed in a hotel. Room service, whirlpool tub.”