Page 70 of Untamed Flame: Winter's Grip
Finishing up. It’ll be a few minutes.
And he appreciated that about his boy. If he’d told him to come, he’d have done so. But since he mentioned having the situation resolved, Spencer had told him how long he’d need. Efficiency in action.
And Spencer was both his loverandassistant. The best of both worlds.
His mind raced the rest of the descent — what did his dragon need? The unknown chafed, but whatever it was, they’d face it together.
He hadn’t worried Spencer with details of Emmy paging them. No need in both of them being worried.
His mind raced through possibilities. Had something happened during the wolf run? Had someone said something to upset her? Was she rethinking their arrangement?
That last thought made his chest tighten with fear — an emotion he wasn’t accustomed to dealing with.
He reached the suite, schooled his features to calm neutrality, and opened the door.
Emmy was working at her desk without her headphones, and she stood and faced him immediately, arms wrapped around herself, radiating anxiety so strong he could taste it in the air. Her pulse hammered rabbit-fast, and she turned to face him with wide eyes.
“Hey,” she said, voice too bright. “Thanks for coming. I know you’re busy.”
He smiled back, working hard to keep his annoyance and worry from showing. “I was dealing with Master Vampires acting like children. Sorry I couldn’t come sooner. Spencer should be on his way in the next couple of minutes.”
“Oh, good. Then we can wait for him. I wanted to talk to the two of you about this earlier, thinking you usually come see us when we first wake, but you didn’t. I feel bad about having to text you.”
“Not a problem. I was dealing with a vendor in Japan for next month’sHall of Flavors.” Every month followed a single theme. One featured diabetics with sweet blood; another, pregnant women at carefully staggered stages. Other months highlighted men with abnormally high testosteronelevels, humans who’d recently eaten super-spicy foods, or any number of rare biochemical quirks the vampires could taste in small, controlled sips. All humans, and all with minds he could overwrite, so they would remember nothing.
She winced at that, not entirely approving of this particular event. He understood her objections, and while he agreed — The Hall of Flavors predated his tenure — but it was wildly popular, and he wasn’t willing to shut it down without a replacement that would satisfy the same appetites, and so far, he hadn’t found one.
Meanwhile, something was going through her head, and since he had no idea what it was, he was focused on controlling his scent and body language so she wouldn’t sense his irritation.
The door opened and Spencer entered, immediately clocking Emmy’s state. He went to her without hesitation, hand settling on her lower back, grounding her.
And that’s when Zander noticed her fidgeting hands, the way she couldn’t quite meet his eyes, the rapid breathing that spoke of barely-controlled panic.
Something was very wrong.
He moved closer to them, then stopped, afraid to mess up Spencer’s calm energy with his own chaotic worry.
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing happened, I just—” She broke off, started again. “I wanted to talk about—” Another stop. Her hands twisted together. “It’s not a big deal, really, but Ithought—”
Zander’s irritation evaporated, replaced with genuine concern. He crossed to them both, took Emmy’s chin gently in his hand, and made her look at him.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” he ordered, voice firm but not harsh. “Now.”
“Nothing’s wrong!” She pulled back slightly, flustered. “I’m not— This isn’t bad news or—Fuck, I’m making this weird.”
