Broken Heart 07 Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley Read Free Book Online Page B

slapped at his hand and he removed it, but I could still feel the lingering heat of his fingers. It was surely a phantom sensation because I was wearing pants and my undead flesh didn’t retain warmth.
    “Well, can you come on by?” asked Patsy. “And bring the cat man with you. I gotta show you something, Elizabeth. It’s some crazy shit, too.”
    “You’ve spoken to Damian?” I asked.
    “Yeah. He’ll need you to lead him to the location of the… er, find. And if you got a ghost, I’ll talk to the bastard. But first, come by here.”
    “I’ll bring the box,” I said. “I think he’s attached to it somehow.”
    “Peachy.
    Like I don’t have enough assholes to deal with.” She blew out a breath. “Don’t worry, Elizabeth. I’ll take care of whoever’s bothering you.”
    “Thank you.” We said our good-byes. I looked at Tez. “That was Queen Patricia. She asked us to drop by. However, I have to return to the house before we see her.”
    “Okay. I’ll follow you out there.” He nodded toward his new friends. “Ladies.”
    “Calphon is hosting a welcome party for you so you can meet the clan,” said Tawny. “Do you need a place to stay? We have a very comfortable… couch.”
    Her gaze was all daggers as she stared at me. She cast a sultry look at Tez, and, I swear, she simpered. Goodness.
    “That’s sweet of you,” said Tez, “but I already have digs lined up.” He pulled out a couple of business cards and handed one to each of the women. “Look forward to meeting the rest of the cats.”
    Serri looked down at the card. “You’re a cop?”
    Surprised, I paused in gathering my purse and stared at Tez.
    “Yeah,” he said. “I’m a homicide detective with the Tampa Police Department.” He looked at me with raised brows. “We leaving, or what?”
    I scooted out of the seat and Tez followed me. He put his hand on the small of my back, then smiled down at the were-cats. “Nice to meet you both.”
    “We’ll see you soon, Tez,” said Tawny.
    I gave them a little wave, then turned and headed out of the diner. I felt perplexed by my feelings. My jealousy was absurd! Tez could spend time with whomever he chose. And certainly any woman, particularly a cat shifter, would be interested in him.
    We stopped on the sidewalk. My Lexus was about three cars down from Tez’s Honda in the front parking area.
    “You’re a homicide detective?” I asked. “And you’re only thirty-four?”
    “Thirty-three,” he said. “And yeah, I’m with the murder squad. Only I’m on sabbatical.” He frowned at me. “Why the interest in my age?”
    If I hadn’t died at the age of forty-three, I would be celebrating my forty-eighth birthday in a couple of months. That would make me nearly fifteen years older than Tez. I could hardly see Patrick holding his four-thousand-years-plus against Jessica, so it wasn’t particularly fair for me to consider the years between me and Tez. Still, I felt old and I would’ve preferred to feel ageless .
    Damn. What was I doing even worrying about our age difference? It wasn’t as though we were, or would be, a couple.
    “You’re not doing that woman’s math in your head, are you?” he asked. “Vampires don’t age, so you can’t do addition.”
    “You have no idea what I’m thinking,” I said, mortified that he’d guessed at my thoughts.
    “Shit. You are doing math.” He shook his head, his lips quirking. “Whatever the problem is, you need to get over it, princess. ’Cause I’m not letting you being undead and me being a shifter get in the way of us.”
    “You’ve decided that, have you?”
    “God, I love that snotty tone.” He stepped closer, his gaze hot. “Yeah, I’ve decided. Now, you just need to decide, and we can move on.”
    “Are you aware that sleeping with a vampire basically means you’re married for the next century?”
    “Sleeping with,” he whispered, “or fucking?”
    His coarse language sent a dark thrill shooting through