Page 32 of Devil's Thirst
“Hey, if anyone has a right to be annoyed, it’s me.”
“What?” Disbelief has my voice hitting an all-new high. “Why? What didIdo?”
He holds out his hand for me. When I don’t immediately take it, he waits with an arched brow until I cave, then leads me to an alcove between buildings. We aren’t entirely out of sight, but it’s better than having a private discussion smack in the middle of the sidewalk.
Hands on my hips, I signal for him to explain.
He moseys closer, forcing me back against the stone wall behind me. “Thought we agreed if there was a problem, you’d call me.”
“Yes, and that’s still the plan.”
“If there wasn’t a problem, why’ve you been chatting up Officer Hotshot in the station for the past half an hour?”
I start to answer, then clamp my jaw shut, my gaze cutting toward the police station, then back to Isaac. “Wait, did you know I washere?”
“I know all kinds of things. What I don’t understand iswhyyou’re here.” He brings his lips to my face and places one agonizingly slow kiss after another along my jaw. “If there aren’t any problems, then I have to wonder—” He places two more kisses down my neck. “If you had other reasons.”
I’m trying to listen and hold on to my outrage, but the feel of his lips on my skin and the scent of his spiced cologne spiked with a hint of mint have my thoughts disappearing in a hazy fog.
“He called me … asked me to come in,” I manage, my voice low and breathy.
“He try to hit on you?” he murmurs against my skin where my neck meets my shoulder.
“No, he asked questions about you … and my family.”
Isaac pulls back, his gaze meeting mine. “This body is mine—you haven’t forgotten, right?”
I’ve told him the police were asking questions about him, yet the only thing he can think about is me. I know that’s probably not healthy. My heart doesn’t care in the slightest. It’s doingbackflips in my chest that this gorgeous man isn’t worried about anything but making me his. It’s an amazing feeling, but I have to be smart. What I say and do now sets an expectation for things to come.
“I haven’t forgotten, Isaac,” I say softly. “But you can’t be following me. It’s not right, and it makes it hard for me to trust you.”
“How can I keep you safe if I don’t know where you are?”
I bite back my reply that it’s not his job to keep me safe because I know that won’t go over well. “What if I’m more transparent about where I’m at? Send a text before I’m out and about?”
“You going to text to let me know if you’re being assaulted or abducted?”
Uncertainty draws my lips to a frown. “No, but there’s not much we can do if that happens. You can’t follow me around twenty-four seven.”
“True, but one thing would ease my mind. I wouldn’t worry so much if you shared your GPS location with me. That way, I know I can find you if something does go wrong.”
To anyone else, the suggestion would probably seem like a massive invasion of privacy, especially considering we’ve only recently met. But this is me—the girl who was kidnapped and ended up lost with amnesia. The idea of being tethered to someone sounds reassuring instead of stifling.
“Okay,” I say quietly.
“Really?” he asks with a touch of wariness. I get the sense he prepared for an argument.
“Yeah. I’m not going anywhere I shouldn’t be,” I tease, “so if it eases your mind and keeps me safe, then you can track my location.” I get out my phone and scroll to my contacts. When I find Isaac, I choose to share my location. “There. All done.”
“I appreciate that, but I had something better in mind.” He raises his hand, a gold chain dangling from his fingers. It’s small—a bracelet—and it has a beautiful evil eye engraved on a round medallion in the middle. “Real protection from the monsters,” he says in a low, seductive tone that has warmth pooling deep in my belly.
I’m stunned—at the gesture and at the fact that he remembered my words.
“It’s beautiful. I don’t know what to say.” I watch his fingers deftly unclasp my old bracelet and replace it with the new one.
“You don’t have to say anything. Just hand me your purse.”
I do as he says, too dumbfounded to ask questions. He drops the old bracelet inside, then digs down to the bottom. Embarrassment flushes my cheeks. I’m about to fuss at him to stop when his hand resurfaces with a silver disk.