by Laina Kenney
Kuhr walked in just in time to hear John’s comment.
“Oh good, you’re on time for once in your life. Emma, this is your new bodyguard, just until your testimony can be recorded for the Grand Jury. I’m not taking any chances with your life.”
Kuhr looked down into Emma’s wide amber eyes. The shy smile and soft pink flush on her cheeks made his heart melt in his chest. He hoped that John couldn’t see it, but he didn’t mind if Emma knew that she affected him. It was only right, and it wasn’t as if he could keep that a secret in any case. She turned him inside out.
He had earned his position in the Vulfen Cadre, the elite, through strength, instinct, and skill. And in spite of his position in his society, his mate, a fragile human female, was in danger from the lowest scum imaginable.
“Don’t worry,” John continued with an unholy twinkle in his eyes as he nodded at Kuhr. “He’ll stay outside like a good guard dog and keep all the vermin away.”
Kuhr fought down his natural desire to growl at the insult of being called a dog and sat like the polite and well-mannered wolf that he was. John was just giving him the gears because he could. John had already figured out that Emma was his mate, so it was practically expected that he would get a few little digs in, all in good fun.
Kuhr had to keep his fierce new emotions under control, damn it. It would be all too easy for someone like him, strong and highly trained, to kill if he allowed his new feelings free reign.
So he pulled out his electronic notebook and keyed it on. He tapped and swiped, and a map of her neighborhood appeared with his route over it in yellow.
“I have devised a patrol route shifting areas on an hourly basis. If you are going out in the evening”—his inner wolf snarled at that but he kept his voice even—“I would appreciate a heads-up so that I can adjust my plans around yours.”
So that he could follow her and drool privately over the twitching of her sweet ass. For a slender woman, she had compelling curves.
“Oh, of course,” Emma said. Her voice was strong, but her fingers twisted together with restless agitation. “Um, how long will you need to know my schedule?”
Forever, his wolf whispered.
“A few weeks, maybe two months,” John said.
“Oh, that’s fine, then,” she said with a visible relief. A little dimple flashed in her cheek when she smiled at him, and his cock filled in a sudden heated rush.
He surreptitiously adjusted his position to hide his growing arousal when what he really wanted was to ask John to leave so that he could taste every inch of the beautiful Emma. His penis jerked in agreement, lengthening farther.
She looked at him, and he smiled with his mouth closed. His fangs were itching, and might already be longer than a little human thought they should be. His hunger for her was so strong it was like another presence in the room. He wanted to scrape his fangs oh, so carefully along her pale throat and nibble a little on the tender spot where he would give her his mating bite.
“Can I offer you some coffee?” Emma asked just as John rose to go.
“Thanks,” John said, sinking back into the big chair. “I could sure use a jolt of caffeine. My days just seem to get longer and longer with every budget cut.”
When Emma turned her back, Kuhr bared his fully dropped fangs at the fox shifter in cop’s clothing, but John just grinned at him and patted the butt of his gun.
Kuhr reminded himself that John was a friend and battled back his wolf.
It looked like John would be staying a while.
Damn.
Chapter 3
The men left after a coffee and muffin chat about security. Emma had eaten too much, partly to keep the men from feeling like they should stop before they were ready and partly just to avoid being alone again, and as a consequence she didn’t feel like having lunch.
Emma surveyed her pretty apartment.
She sighed and straightened the quilt on the back of her old farmhouse rocking chair. It still didn’t feel quite right, damn it.
The first couple of days back in her home, Emma had kept busy straightening furniture and doing laundry.
She had stayed up half the night cleaning and refreshing the lavender sachets under the couch cushions and around the apartment, because although someone had cleaned it, it still smelled wrong somehow, the strong lemon smell hanging over layers of cheap cigar and the bitter scent of fear.
Her cleaning frenzy had the added benefit of making her so tired she had slept without dreams.
Nearly two months later, she could still smell the lemon, and she felt like the world was tilted a little bit wrong.
It was so hard to explain even to her closest friends that she knew the torment wasn’t over. She couldn’t get the words right in her own head to define what she was feeling.
Emma straightened up and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and did what she always did when she was feeling a little out of sorts. She pulled out her recipe books and started baking.
By the time darkness fell, she had two batches of cookies made, some whole wheat rolls baked, and chili bubbling in the huge Crock-Pot. She slid the two pans of banana nut bread into the oven and set the timer.
Thunder rolled overhead as Emma finished putting the cookies into their respective jars. The two little boys next door would be thrilled when she delivered the smaller jar to their door tomorrow. She loved surprising them with baked goods, and their mom was a single mother juggling two part-time jobs, so she appreciated it, too. Sometimes Shaina came over just to drop into one of the chairs on Emma’s porch and share a laugh at something one of her boys had said. Emma grinned. They were great kids, and she enjoyed their visits.
Thunder growled overhead again. Emma went to the living room and pulled the corner of the curtain open, wanting to see the rain, and came face-to-face with him.
He was on the other side of the heavy glass, so close that she jumped, but didn’t make a sound. Truthfully, she had almost expected him to be outside somewhere, just not so near the house.
She shook her head. That didn’t make sense.
But in response to her head shake he nodded.
Water dripped off the end of his nose and slicked down his shoulder-length hair. She had to smile.
“You might as well come in,” she said softly. “I knew you were out there. I’ve known for a while.”
He looked at her for a long moment, and nodded once more.
Emma walked to the front door and opened it just in time to see him leap lightly onto the porch in the darkness.
Her breath caught in her throat. For such a large man, he was quite agile. And his eyes seemed to almost glow in the shadows of the porch.
Emma’s hand flew to her throat to cover her pounding pulse.
She stepped back so that he could enter her home, but he stopped on the threshold.
“We have not been properly introduced,” he said, and the deep low voice sent a thrill up her spine.
She told it sternly to behave, but the sensation lingered to warm her.
“Officer Commander introduced us,” Emma said.
Kuhr nodded. “John does try, but he is not as polite as I would like. His beloved grandmother faced an uphill battle with his manners, I’m afraid.”
Emma was fascinated by his crooked smile. He looked even better up close, if that was even possible. And though the lines of his face were hard, masculine in the extreme, his eyes held a warmth that made her shiver.
“I am Kuhr Valcov, at your service.”
Emma had always thought that men who bowed looked slightly effeminate, but the word could never be used to describe the man before her. His shoulders were so wide they blocked out the streetlight behind him and left her completely in his shadow.
She raised her hand, and he pulled it to his mouth for a slow brushing kiss that made her shiver, though the night was warm.
“Emma—” She cleared her throat and started again. “Emma Wetherall.”
His lips brus
hed over the sensitive skin on the back of her hand again, and she could feel his smile as his lips curved upward.
“Words cannot convey how pleased I am to meet you, lovely Emma.”
She sighed before she could catch herself, and his smile became a wicked grin.
“I just put on some coffee, and I make it strong,” Emma said. “Could I offer you a cup?”
A pleased expression flashed over his masculine face, and she caught her breath. He really was a handsome man.
“Yes, I thank you. You have discovered my weakness for strong coffee,” he said.
Emma held up a hand as she led the way into the kitchen.
She poured him a cup of fragrant dark roast and handed it over. His eyes slid shut while he inhaled, and Emma felt the kick of attraction in her belly as the smile spread over his face.
“Delicious,” he said after a long, slow sip.
“Well, just wait until you taste my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies,” she cautioned laughingly. “You may decide that you have another weakness.”
She grabbed the large glass jar and unscrewed the lid, offering him a cookie.
“I thought I could smell fresh cookies baking.”
Kuhr hesitated for a single moment then reached into the jar. He withdrew a single cookie and took a large bite.
Emma got the strong impression that he hadn’t had a homemade cookie for a long time. Emma replaced the cookie jar and sat at the small table, indicating that he should join her.
He sat down and pulled his chair closer, and Emma inhaled his clean male scent.
Mmm.
She took another deep breath, pulling in his incredible scent until her head swam, and her heart pounded with excitement. He was better than any cologne she had ever smelled. If she passed that scent walking, she would turn and follow him down the street.
She pulled back a little, and the slight curve of his lips made her flush with embarrassment.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sniff you,” she blurted out.
He smiled into her eyes.
“Please do.”
She looked away, flustered. He must be very confident about his cologne.
A bell chimed, and Emma stood up from the table and grabbed a pair of large, fluffy mitts from the counter.
“I almost forgot the banana nut bread,” she said, pulling two fragrant loaves from the oven. “I cook and bake when I can’t sleep. Some nights I bake too much, and then I like to offer fresh cookies to the neighbor kids next door. And my friend Iselle and Mr. Sutton upstairs, too.”
She laughed a little as she overturned one of the loaves and tapped the bottom of the pan gently.
* * * *
Kuhr breathed deeply, and the delicious smell pulled him from his chair and over to her side. He was fascinated by her, no question. How could he ever have guessed that the scent of fresh baked goods combined with his mate’s sweetness would arouse him in such a way?
The compelling scent of fresh baking called to him. Kuhr inhaled deeply, letting the scent carry him back in time to the memories of his childhood when his beloved grandmother had made him stand back so that she could pull hot bread or sweet rolls from the oven. He and his brothers had hovered in and near the kitchen on grandmother’s baking day, confident of their welcome and knowing that treats would be forthcoming. He had been able to look straight into the oven without bending, so he had been young, and Tiber had been smaller even than he. His grandmother had passed away the year he turned seven, and her passing had left a gaping hole in his young life.
“Can you wait for it to cool a bit, or do I need to slice it now?” Emma asked. She studied his face for a moment and whatever she saw there, she smiled. “Okay, now.”
Emma bustled around getting together small plates, a knife, and a butter dish, looking completely at home in her kitchen.
The butter began to melt as soon as Emma spread it on the thick slice of bread.
Kuhr took a small bite then immediately took a larger bite when the taste hit him. He ate the entire slice in three large bites, totally enthralled by the scent and taste of the warm banana bread with melted butter sliding down his throat like glory.
Emma cut another thick slice, slathered it with butter, and slid it onto his plate with a sideways smile.
The low-level arousal that hummed in him whenever she was near flared into a growing fire, but he cautioned himself. His mate deserved as much time as he could give her, and for now, his wolf was happy just to be in her presence.
He slowed down and savored the second slice. It was incredible, but his mate’s happiness and care fed a need in him beyond anything that could be satisfied with food.
Chapter 4
Emma watched, enthralled. Kuhr’s slow smile, and the way he licked the slight upward curve of his lips to capture the last crumb of bread was sexy as hell.
“How long were you outside?” she asked belatedly.
“Since noon.”
“It’s after seven. Did you eat? Are you hungry?”
He smiled and inclined his head regally. “The snack you have so kindly provided will suffice.”
She looked up and down his tall muscular frame and shook her head, trying hard to ignore the way her nerve endings clamored in appreciation of his male form. No way would a cookie and a couple of slices of bread fuel that body for long. She opened the fridge and started pulling out sandwich fixings.
“Deli roast beef, cheddar, and tomato on marble rye?” she asked, but her hands were already assembling three thick sandwiches. “Honey mustard? Sweet pickles?”
The plate was piled high when she passed it over. She poured the coffee, topping up his empty cup and warming hers. At the table, she nibbled on her sandwich and watched him with open pleasure. He was a feast for the eyes, and she was starving, but not for roast beef. She needed something more substantial to sink her teeth into.
She almost giggled at the thought and had to clear her throat.
Kuhr had finished eating. Although he had said the snack was sufficient, she noticed that he had no trouble eating both sandwiches, and half a jar of pickles.
Emma looked around for something else to offer him, then stopped herself. There was no point in lying to herself. She was just trying to get him to stay with her so that she wouldn’t be alone with the night closing in around her.
She trembled at the thought of the dreams that would come, and Kuhr looked up.
“Sorry,” she said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to quiet the goose bumps. “I would offer you more food, and more coffee, but I don’t think you want that.”
He shook his head in the negative. “I am pleased with the meal and do not require more,” he said.
Emma’s smile twisted, and she looked away.
“I want you to stay. I don’t want to be alone,” she said starkly. No point putting a mask on it. And she found that she didn’t feel the need to put on a brave front with this man. His strength was obvious, and he was an experienced warrior, that much she could tell without asking.
“Of course,” he said. “I will be right outside.”
“I’d rather you stayed inside with me.”
Their eyes met, and the attraction that Emma had been trying to deny sizzled to life between them.
A slow smile grew and turned his hard chiseled features into a handsomeness that stole her breath.
“I don’t mean that I want to sleep with you tonight.”
Emma felt her cheeks warm, but it had to be said. She wanted to manage his expectations, let him know that she was no pushover.
All the while inside what she really wanted was for him to wrap her up in those strong arms and never let her go. Something inside told her that he would be a wonderful lover, and she wanted to lie down and pull him over to cover her with the heat and hardness of his big body. Even as the strength of the unfamiliar feelings shocked her, the waiting was driving her mad.
He leaned closer and stroked one finger down her cheek. His touc
h was cool, but left a rising heat behind.
“I could change your mind,” he said, and it was no boast. She knew that he could.
“Please.” She didn’t know if she was asking for more or asking for him to stop. She wanted him, and her body was damp and hungry for his, but she was still not entirely comfortable with the strength of their sudden connection.
His eyes seemed lit from within, the blue almost glowing a soft sapphire.
“I will respect your decision, always. If we start down a path and you say stop, I will stop no matter how far we have gone.”
Emma gulped. “Even if…?” She couldn’t get the words out.
He seemed to understand, and his smile turned wicked.
“Even if you tease me for hours and leave me with a raging cockstand that torments me for the rest of the night, yes. You are exactly as safe as you want to be.”
Emma breathed out a laugh and shook her head. Didn’t he get it? That was the whole problem! She didn’t want to be safe. She wanted to climb into his lap and never leave.
Just being with him made her want things she didn’t have names for. She didn’t want to dream and imagine anymore. She wanted to explore the heat they could generate firsthand.
Emma didn’t know what to say to him.
The warmth in his blue eyes was a temptation that made her skin tingle to feel his touch. But she felt paralyzed by too much feeling and too many choices.
Amazingly, he seemed to understand. He drew back a little, and the few inches felt like a mile to Emma.
“Do you play chess?” he asked and she nodded. “Perhaps we could begin with a game and see where that takes us.”
Emma nodded again. “Like a date?” she ventured, trying not to show her emotions as happiness and disappointed lust battled inside her.
* * * *
“Like a date,” Kuhr said, and watched a charming flush rise on his mate’s tender cheeks.
“Okay, I have a board set up in the living room. It was a gift, and it’s mostly for show, but I can play.”
He had seen it during one of his many security sweeps, and fantasized about playing a game with her, both of them naked and sated from a long slow loving. In his carnal mental image of it, sweet Emma sat cross-legged so that he could enjoy the view, but he didn’t think she would be comfortable with that in reality. He knew a vulfen female would be moving as quickly as he would like to do, but thought it might be too soon to ask for such a favor from a human female. He would have to ask for information from some of his Cadre comrades with human mates.
