Free Dead in the Water (Gemini: A Black Dog Series Book 1) by Hailey Edwards

hadn’t eaten more than I wanted a power nap before facing Vause.
    Dressed in a black pantsuit with a white ruffled shirt, I twisted my hair into a tight bun at the back of my head then left the room and rode the elevator down to the lobby. I stepped off and bumped right into Graeson, who stood with his feet braced apart and arms crossed over his chest, waiting. His hands shot out to steady me, and even after I stopped wobbling, he was slow to release me.
    The damp hair slicking to his scalp reminded me of the first time we met and the circumstances that had brought us together. I stepped out of his reach and headed across the lobby where leftovers from the free continental breakfast were being picked over.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” His voice slid over my shoulder, his breath warm at my ear.
    “I’m starving.” I pressed a fist to my gut. “I’m heading where the food is.”
    He hooked my arm and spun me around. Once my head stopped whirling, I realized he was marching me out the front entryway.
    “What are you—?” I struggled to get free. “The food is that way.”
    “No.” His rough palm cupped my jaw and turned my head. “The real food is that way.”
    The familiar red Shoney’s sign glowed from across the street, and my stomach gurgled. All-you-can-eat eggs, bacon, pancakes and home-style fried potatoes. That sounded so much better than bottomless orange juice and kiddie cereal.
    “Wait.” I glanced behind us. “Where’s Harlow?”
    “Already gone. Got picked up five minutes ago.” He tugged on my arm to get me moving. “She’s got orders to search the lake for evidence of occupation.”
    The odds Charybdis had stayed put after a failed abduction were slim. He hadn’t managed to elude authorities this long by taking chances.
    “We should probably get moving too,” I said weakly. We stood at the entrance to the restaurant, and Graeson pushed open the door, allowing the scents of fried meats and waffles cooking to breeze past us. My mouth filled with water, and I glanced back at him. “You don’t play fair.”
    He placed his hand at the small of my back and pressed. “Fair doesn’t taste like bacon.”
    I couldn’t argue with that logic.
    A waitress greeted us, saw the bacon lust in our eyes and showed us to a table. While she fixed our drinks, we hit the buffet. I grabbed a little of everything and a lot of the fried potatoes. Those tiny cubes were my favorite thing. Beside me, Graeson piled mountains of ham, sausage patties and links, and crisp bacon strips on his plate. He caught me goggling at the sheer volume of meat and added a scoop of potatoes to his plate.
    Shaking my head, I took my breakfast and found our table. Graeson sat at the same time, waiting until I had taken the first bite before tucking into his meal. I didn’t stand on formalities. I was shoveling potatoes and eggs into my mouth almost as fast as he was inhaling sausage links. After I had cleaned my plate, I sat back, eyeing his stack of country ham with a fork in hand, all the while wondering how quick his reflexes were.
    “Don’t even think about it.” He scooted his meal closer to his side of the table. “There’s a whole buffet out there.”
    “I don’t think I can move,” I admitted. Eating so much so fast had made me lethargic.
    He rose with liquid grace. “Sit tight.”
    Sitting wasn’t a problem. It was the getting up while carrying a sack of Idaho’s best in my stomach that would be the issue. I shut my eyes and basked in the sensation of fullness. I jumped when an arm brushed my shoulder. I jerked upright, but it was only Graeson. He had leaned over me to place my plate on the table, which set off fluttering in a stomach already feeling twitchy. Having a predator at my back wasn’t helping my digestion.
    “Here.” He lingered in my personal space before withdrawing. “That should tide you over until dinner.”
    “Dinner?” Fork in hand, the better to stab him at the least