Chapter 11
Darla
Iwatched Kathryn shift in her seat again, catching another wave of her arousal. My vampire was clawing at me, demanding I touch our mate. Before I could stop myself, the words tumbled out,
“Do you want me to get you off?”
Kathryn’s eyes widened comically.
“Um. What?”
“I can tell you’re aroused.” I tapped the side of my nose. “I smell it scenting the air.”
If I thought she’d be embarrassed, I was wrong. I guess being a doctor took away the typically human embarrassment about biological functions.
“I’ll be fine, but thanks for asking.”
She said it like I’d just offered her a cup of tea instead of an orgasm. Damn it, I should have played that different.
Truth be told, I was just as aroused as she was. Being so near my mate was torture, especially when we were alone like this with nothing to distract me from how much I wanted to taste her. The scent of her arousal was driving me crazy.
“I don’t mind,” I offered, trying again. “I know you’ve had a couple of very stressful days. Getting off will help.”
That was the understatement of the century.
“Well gee, as romantic as that offer is, I think I’m good.”
She turned back to the TV, obviously irritated with me.
Normally I wasn’t one to play games, but I was so desperate for a reaction from my mate I subtly scooted closer, pressing my leg against hers. Kathryn ignored me, continuing to stare at the television set.
Tentatively, I reached out, running my fingers along her thigh.
I thought she’d ignore me. Or scold me and tell me to keep my hands to myself.
Or maybe beg me to make her mine. Instead she moved, faster than I would have expected, pushing me backwards until I hit the cushions, my mate landing on top of me.
Before I could ask what she was doing, her lips crashed down on mine, somehow both hard and soft.
Yes! My inner vampire sent me an image of a fist pump. She usually spoke in images, not words, but I could feel the word yes vibrating inside me over and over again.
My arms slid around Kathryn’s waist, holding her close as she slid her tongue into my mouth, tangling with mine.
I’d heard about this – the way a supe’s body felt electrified when they touched their mate, the way kissing them settled their inner beast, the way a single touch made everything else fade away – but I’d thought it was overblown.
Exaggerated. But it wasn’t. As Kathryn kissed me, I felt all that and more.
Her fingers slid into my hair, tilting my head as she deepened the kiss, rocking her little body against mine. Her aggression surprised me, but I liked it. I liked it a lot.
I moved my hands downward until I could grip her ass, squeezing her cheeks in my hands, using my grip to grind her hips against mine. The pressure only amped up my own excitement.
Kathryn pulled away, gasping for breath as she stared into my eyes. She looked a little dazed. I knew the feeling. I lifted my head, and she lowered hers, meeting me in the middle for another long kiss.
This time when she pulled away, Kathryn dropped her head to my shoulder, her lips pressed against my pulse point, sucking lightly.
My fangs tingled, pressing against my lips as I reined in my inner vamp, half mad for a taste of our mate’s blood.
But we couldn’t mark her. Not yet. Not until she was ready to accept me as her mate.
As if she heard the word mate in my mind, Kathryn stiffened. She jackknifed off of me, coming to her feet next to the couch.
“Oh my God, Darla, I’m so so sorry.”
I sat up, my hard nipples pressing almost painfully against the confinement of my sports bra.
“For what?” I asked in confusion.
“For jumping you like that. It was… unprofessional. You’re my bodyguard.
I had no business kissing you. I mean, obviously there’s an attraction between us, but that is not an excuse.
And I know you’ve got that mate thing. I shouldn’t lead you on.
Plus, your coworker is in the next room. What is wrong with me?”
She was cute when she was babbling, such a departure from her usual calm composure. I wanted to tell her it was the mate bond she was feeling, but instead I said, “I kissed you back.”
She shook her head. “Again, I’m sorry. I’m going to go to bed.”
As she flew out of the room I flopped back on the couch with a huge sigh. Who knew having a mate was so complicated? Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I texted my sister.
Darla: How did you get Lucy to accept you?
Bella: She took one look at me and couldn’t resist. LOL.
Darla: I know that’s not true. I heard she made you work for it. Come on, I need your help.
Bella: She was hesitant, but as the mate bond strengthened, it was too hard to resist. For both of us. But really I just spent a lot of time getting to know her. Letting her get to know me. Humans aren’t like us. They need time to fall in love and to accept what we are.
Darla: I always thought things would be easy when I found the right person.
Bella: They are, but you have to go through the messy hard part before you get to the easy part. After we moved past all the resistance, things got incredibly easy.
Darla: My mate kissed me. Then she ran away.
Bella: It’s probably for the best. You need to focus on the case. Her safety needs to be your top priority. Kissing will just distract you.
Darla: You heard about her condo I assume?
Bella: Yeah, they’re not afraid of hurting bystanders. Remember that.
Darla: I will.
Bella: I can’t wait to get to know your mate. Lucy wants to have her over for dinner as soon as you’ve worked things out.
This was why I’d moved to Seattle. Bella and I had been close growing up despite the fact that she was five years older than me, but once she’d graduated high school and entered the military, our bond faded.
We’d see each other maybe once a year when we were in the same part of the world, or we were able to coordinate leave, but other than brief emails, we didn’t talk hardly at all.
When my twenty was up and I told her that I was ready to retire from the military, Bella immediately suggested coming to Seattle.
She’d gotten me an interview with Lois and let me stay with her and Lucy for a couple of weeks while I looked for an apartment.
My big sister had really come through for me, and now, thanks to my job at Sapphic Security, I’d met my mate.
But Bella was right, I needed to keep my focus on the job.
I knew that Dr. Xi was still suspicious of Kathryn.
The way she’d come down to rub it in about Seth’s death was clearly her way of trying to see if Kathryn reacted.
And while my mate had kept her face neutral, she hadn’t been able to hide the increased temperature and heart rate that accompanied her anger.
And a fox like Xi would have easily picked up on it, the same way I did.
Kathryn seemed subdued when she came out for coffee the next morning. I knew she’d slept poorly – I could hear her through the wall tossing and turning. She really should have let me give her that orgasm.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Morning,” she mumbled. “Need coffee.”
Yuri met her at the pot, a plate in hand. “Your breakfast.”
She poured a cup of coffee and gave him a wan smile. “Thanks Yuri but I’m not hungry, I’ll just have coffee.”
“Eat,” I ordered.
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t respond.
“I make very nice breakfast casserole,” Yuri said coaxingly. “Is full of healthy things. You will try please.”
She sighed, but took the plate, bringing it to the table where Yuri and I were already eating.
I saw her eyes linger on my juice glass of blood, but she didn’t comment.
Vamps weren’t squeamish about it. To us, blood was medicine.
And while nothing tasted as good as blood taken from a living donor, we weren’t allowed to do that except in certain specific circumstances, so we contented ourselves with preserved blood from human blood banks or animal sources.
Under Yuri’s watchful gaze, Kathryn picked up a forkful of casserole, bringing it to her mouth while I stared at her pouty lips like some kind of a creeper. She closed her eyes briefly, a look of appreciation on her face.
“This is delicious, Yuri.”
My fellow agent beamed. “Yes I know. Breakfast is most important meal, that is what Babulya says when she teaches me to make this.”
At her puzzled look he explained, “Babulya is word for grandma in the language of my people.”
“Well your grandma made a good breakfast casserole,” Kathryn said, taking another bite.
I sent Yuri a nod of thanks, and he winked back at me.
“What’s the plan for today?” Kathryn asked.
“You and I do our shift, and Martha and Yuri continue to snoop,” I told her. “Sooner or later we’ll uncover something.”
“I hope so,” she said quietly. “I’d hate to think Seth died in vain.”
“We’ll figure out what’s going on and shut this thing down,” I promised.
“Lois checked with her contacts, as far as we can tell, no one in the U.S. government is trying to make new shifters. And there’s no reason for them to, given that they’ve got entire units of shifters in every branch of the military. ”
“Who is it then, the Russians?” Kathryn asked.
Yuri unleashed a string of Belarusian. I didn’t need to speak the language to know that it was all cursing. The bears had not been shy about sharing their opinion on the Russian government.
“Or the Chinese,” I said. “Those are the two most likely culprits, according to Lois.”
“Why wouldn’t they do these experiments in their own hospitals then?”
“If they want to use the shifters against us, it’s way easier if they’re already here. Then they don’t have to worry about getting them into the country,” I told my mate. “Now finish your breakfast. We need to head out soon.”