Page 29 of Dark Obsession

CHAPTER FIVE

Saturday morning, Demetrius was up before Cody. He started the coffee then attempted over-medium eggs, but he messed up the flip so he wound up making scrambled. Cody shuffled up to the door between the kitchen and dining room, wearing only white boxer briefs that showed off his tanned skin. He leaned in the doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes and yawning. Demetrius gave him a quick kiss, pausing to breathe in his musky scent before returning to the eggs.

“Thanks for making breakfast.”

Cody’s voice was deep, rough, and sexy as hell. Demetrius wished they didn’t have jobs on the calendar so he could take Cody back to bed. Other than the blowjobs a couple of nights before, it had been a while since they’d had sex. Too often they were both exhausted at the end of the day from too many critter jobs. Or worse.

“You’re welcome. I’m going to stop by the library on the way to that groundhog job.”

“Good idea. Maybe Tracey’s been talking with Zenona.”

Demetrius felt a twinge low in his belly. He should have been stopping by to check in on Tracey more often. She’d lost someone, too, and more recently than Zenona.

They talked about the schedule as they ate, and the coffee helped Cody come a little more alive. When Demetrius carried the dishes to the kitchen, Cody called after him, “Leave it, I’ll clean up.”

Demetrius stood behind his chair, leaning down to put his arms around him. “You’re a prince.”

“Yeah? Want to see my scepter?”

“How about this evening?”

Cody turned his head. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Demetrius kissed him, their tongues circling, coffee-breath canceling each other out.

Cody was a little breathless when Demetrius broke their embrace. “You sure you need to leave right now?”

“Yeah, I do.” He laid a hand along Cody’s cheek, his scruff rasping against his palm. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Better. Thanks for talking.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll always talk with you, no matter what.”

Another brief kiss, and then Demetrius headed for the bathroom. After peeing and brushing his teeth, he grabbed his keys, phone and wallet and headed out the door. The air was heavy and damp, and sweat already prickled under his arms by the time he reached his truck.

When he entered the library, the AC washed over him, and he sighed. Tracey was behind the main desk, turned in profile to him with her attention on a computer. Demetrius took a moment to study her. Her hair had lost some of its luster and body, and she’d dropped enough weight for her clothes to hang loosely.

She glanced at Demetrius then did a double-take. Her expression was guardedly neutral as he approached the desk.

“Hi, Tracey.”

“Hello, Demetrius.”

“How are you?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you here to ask about my welfare or some hideous new monster that’s crept into town?”

Heat flooded his face, and his stomach tightened. He couldn’t meet her gaze and dropped his eyes to the countertop. “Um, a bit of both.”

“I see. As you can tell by my appearance, I’m still grieving. Thanks for the invites to lunch and dinner. Oh, wait…”

He forced himself to look at her. “I’m sorry, Tracey. I’ve been a bad friend.”

“Well, thanks for saying that at least.” She slid off the padded stool and braced herself on the counter. “What do you need?”

“No, I don’t want to just gloss this over.” He glanced around and leaned in slightly, lowering his voice even more than usual inside the library. “Can we talk somewhere? And not about monsters or anything. About you and how you’re doing.”