“Yes, Ma’am?”
“If you harm a single hair on Vera’s head, I will gut you. All I need is your SnarlChat username to find out who you are,” she warned.
“I can confirm this,” I whispered to him.
“Do you hear me?” Ami asked.
“Loud and clear,” Dane growled.
“V, send me his username in case you disappear,” she said.
“Will do. I’ll let you go,” I said.
“Mm, bye, bestie. Wrap it up!” she sang, and then the line went dead.
I placed my phone face down on the counter. “How does she find people?” he asked.
“I have no idea, but I’ve told her multiple times she needs to be a detective. Give her twenty-four hours and she can find out anything.”
“She’s kind of scary,” he said.
“Why? Do you have something to hide?”
“I have a few secrets,” he laughed, the sound low and dangerous.
Secrets didn’t scare me. There are worse evils. Some men didn’t even hide it, but I didn’t want to be a home wrecker. I refused to be someone who destroyed a family. And I had no filter.
“Are you mated?” I asked. Dane dropped the pan he was about to put on the stove with a clatter. He arched a brow, but I held his gaze, making sure he knew I was dead serious.
“Do you think I would have come to you last night and kept you here if I were mated?” he asked.
“That’s not a no,” I said.
“That’s not a yes,” he said.
“Can you just answer the question?”
“I’ve said this already, but I can’t wait to put you over my lap,” he growled. I stared at him pointedly. “No, I’m not mated.”
“And you don’t have anyone you’re courting?” I asked. He rolled his head to the left and right. It was customary in our world to mark their mate there. I’d already checked this, but I appreciated the show. I’d been unmarked for six years. Not having a mark didn’t mean he was free. I nervously nibbled on my bottom lip.
“I wouldn’t say there isn’tanyone,” he said, crashing into my spiraling thoughts. He turned on the burner and drizzled oil into the pan. There was no way he was talking about me.
“When was your last relationship?” I asked.
“Diving deep. It’s been four years,” he said.
“A long time for someone with your… stamina.”
“You said relationship. You didn’t say hook-up,” he said.
“That’s my next question.”
“I don’t think it’s your turn. When was your last relationship?” he asked. The clouds thundered in the distance, but I paid them no mind. I could talk about my past relationships. He grabbed plates and bowls near the stove.
“My last relationship ended a year ago,” I said as the pan sizzled.
“That’s recent. How long were you guys together?” he asked.
