“Should we move to the bedroom?” he asked.
Call me old school, but I wanted to be in a relationship if sex was on the horizon. That, and I was just starting to date again. I pushed away from him. “Um, I think that’s a bad idea.”
He chuckled. “Dulcie, you think about everything too much.”
“Well, one of us has to,” I said with a smile and stood up, offering my hand.
He took it and stood, running his fingers through his hair. “Sending me home with blue balls again,” he said with a laugh.
I shrugged. “Looks that way.”
He reached for his keys on the coffee table. “I’m going to take you out on a real date one of these days.”
“You say it like it’s a threat.”
“Just a warning.”
I shook my head and followed him to the door. “You definitely are eager.”
He nodded. “You’re a hard woman to stop thinking about.”
He reached down and circled my waist with his arms, pulling me into the hard length of him and planted a chaste kiss on my lips. “Goodnight, Dulcie.”
He turned around and started for his car.
“Night Knight,” I said with a laugh.
I closed the door and went back into my living room. So, more dates with Bram and Knight. Wisps of what felt like panic started in my stomach but I forced myself to ignore them. Dates were not a big deal. It wasn’t like I was getting into a relationship with either one, I thought to myself, hoping to subdue my trust issues.
Glancing at my computer, I noticed I had a new email. I took a seat and opened my inbox. On further inspection, the email was from Dr. Goodman. I clicked it open and read:
Dear Ms. O’Neil,
Please let us know if you would like to set up an appointment for your ear augmentation.
Regards,
The office of Dr. Goodman
I leaned back in my chair. I hadn’t thought about the ear augmentation in over a month. Running a finger over the points of my ears, I remembered Quillan telling me not to go through with it. I’m not sure if his words had made up my mind but something had.
I deleted the email, a new sense of overwhelming pride suffusing me.
The phone rang, interrupting my moment of epiphany. “Hello?”
“Check your front door.”
It was Quillan.
I checked the caller ID but the number was unlisted.
“Quillan?” I demanded, but the dial tone resonated through my ear. I hung up.
“Dammit!”
Running to my front door, I tore it open, hoping to find Quillan even though I knew better. He was a wanted man; he wouldn’t just show up on my doorstep. Just as I’d suspected…nothing. Looking down, I found a box about as high as my knee and maybe two feet wide, wrapped in white paper and a bright red bow. I grabbed the card on top and tore into it.
Dulce,
He’s cuter than a gremlin.
Q.
Not wanting to guess what was in the box, I ripped open the wrapping paper and tearing off a piece of tape binding the box together, I found a yellow lab puppy gazing up at me. I reached inside and picked him up, his puppy breath tickling my cheek.
He was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.
“Hello, boy,” I whispered, wondering what in the hell Quillan was up to.
Noticing his red collar and the silver name tag, I rotated the tag around until I read his name “Blue.”
I shook my head unable to suppress the happy smile that beamed across my face.
Holding the puppy up against my chest, the sound of a car starting caught our attention. It was parked across the street—some sort of white sports car. The driver’s chuckle floated up to me as he started down the street. The windows were too tinted for me to make out who it was.
But I knew.
Quillan.
H.P. Mallory lives in California with her husband and son, although she’s also lived abroad in the U.K.
She enjoys traveling, snorkeling, antiquing and being a mom.
If you are interested in receiving emails when she releases new books, please sign up for her distro list by visiting her website and clicking the “contact” tab:
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Discover other titles by H.P. Mallory:
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Book 1 of the Jolie Wilkins series)
Toil and Trouble (Book 2 of the Jolie Wilkins series)
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www.hpmallory.com
Blog: www.urbanfantasyauthor.blogspot.com
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To Kill A Warlock Page 24