She looked back up at me and smiled. She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward.
“So, I guess this wedding, if I were really to think about it, would be at Lake Union in Seattle. All of our family and friends were there and the ceremony was right in front of the lake, with the party happening at Gas Works in a large tented area.”
I smiled at her. “Sounds like a perfect wedding day.”
She let out a laugh. “So how did we end up in Portland, from Seattle?”
I tilted my head to the side in thought. “Let’s make it for your job. You snagged an amazing one at Nike which is head quarter out her.”
“Perfect, so what now?” She asked. “Where do we go from here? I’ve never had to do anything like this before, so you may have to walk me through a lot of things.”
“That’s no problem,” I said honestly. I looked down at my notebook. “We have our backstory which we can continue to flesh out. The guys are out there now working on the legitimacy of our cover by creating us new IDs and a marriage license, and finding us a place to live.”
I looked up and watched the smile falter on her face. Shit, I hadn’t gone over all the aspects of going undercover with her yet.
“Sorry Lydia, I stupidly forgot to tell you all the next steps. In order to make our cover real, we have to live together. The more legitimate we look, the more solid we will be.”
She moved her hands back down to her lap. “I guess I just didn’t really think we would actually have to live together.” She quickly looked up at me like she had offended me. “Not that I think you would be terrible to live with.”
“Lydia, it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean that in a mean way. I know we barely know each other, but this way is the only way we can both be safe. Plus, the guys will be checking in with us daily.”
“I’ll still be able to speak with Marco?” she asked. I nodded and smiled. “Of course. It will have to be through a secure encryption app on your phone, but you will still be able to talk to him.”
She let out a sigh of relief.
“Lydia, I am going to try and make this all as easy on you as I can. I know you’re strong, you just need to work with me, okay?”
Lydia smiled and nodded. “All right. What else do we need to come up with?”
Chapter 7
Lydia
I grabbed the last box out of my Subaru and slammed the trunk behind me. I looked up at the small townhome that was now my new place and let out a long sigh. Living with Shane was going to be difficult. The last time that I had a roommate was in college. I had gotten so used to being by myself that the thought of someone else living with me made me feel sick to my stomach.
I walked the box up to the door, and Shane quickly opened it up for me.
“Here, let me take that for you,” he said as he swiftly grabbed the box from my arms.
I smiled and followed him inside our new home. It was a quaint townhouse with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It had an open floor plan for the living room, and a surprisingly large kitchen with granite counter tops.
“I have to admit, I was expecting something a lot smaller, since the police department was covering the living expenses.”
Shane set down my box in the living room and looked up at me and smiled. “I spoke with the woman who handles all of those details. Once I told her that you were Marco’s sister and that we barely knew each other, she was happy to find us a place where we didn’t have to sleep in the same bedroom.”
I felt the blood rush to my face. Thank God, we weren’t forced to sleep in the same room. My attraction to Shane was already too much to handle. In order to complete this job, and to prove to my brother that I was able to do this, I needed to keep my feelings in check. Though, the sight of Shane getting out of the shower would have been a nice thing to see. I quickly bit my lip to distract my thoughts.
I walked over to the living room couch and plopped down. “So, what do we do now? Just wait for further instructions?”
Shane walked toward the couch and sat next to me. His scent wafted into my nostrils and I closed my eyes for a moment, and allowed myself to take in his smell. I wanted nothing more than to move my body closer to where he was, but I knew that I couldn’t do that. I clenched my jaw to fight the urge.
“Basically yes," Shane said. “Marco, Logan and Garrett are working on gathering as much information on the hospital as they can before we head in. They’re interviewing some of their past patients today so we can further the case against the hospital.”
“What are we supposed to do? Sit here and twiddle our thumbs?” I asked impatiently.
Shane let out a laugh. “I can tell that patience is not one of your qualities.” I gave him a less than pleased look and he threw up his hands in surrender. “I was only making a joke out of the situation. But you pretty much hit the nail on the head. We’re supposed to act normal, build on our cover, and plan as much as we can before we head in.”
I leaned my head back in frustration. Shane was correct. Patience was not one of my best qualities. It sounded like a whole lot of waiting around and doing nothing. I absolutely hated doing nothing.
Natasha used to always tease me about how I liked to keep myself busy. She claimed that it was because I could never actually sit still and relax. Now, finding myself in this situation, I had to agree with her. I enjoyed being busy and working. Relaxing really wasn’t my thing. Even when I went on vacations, I always managed to pack my schedule with different activities. I let out a long sigh, and Shane looked over at me. He reached his hand over and placed it on top of mine. I felt a tingle between us.
“Hey, I know this isn’t easy for you. But we have to play our parts well. If something seems off between us, then everything will go up in smoke.”
I rolled my head toward his and stared into his eyes. Deep down, I knew he was right, but my impatience was starting to get the best of me. “I know. I just hate this waiting game. I’m not very good at doing nothing.”
Shane chuckled. Then he stood up from the couch, pulling me up with him.
“Let’s be productive then.” Shane tugged me toward the kitchen, and put me to work chopping vegetables.
“I wouldn’t trust me with a knife, you know,” I said.
Shane laughed. “Duly noted. Just don’t slice your finger. We don’t need to go to the hospital yet.”
I smiled and picked up the knife and started to cut the peppers that Shane had placed in front of me.
“So, what are we making?”
Shane was standing over the stove, but I couldn’t see what he was working on. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious.
“You’re making our salad. Next to the peppers are some tomatoes and the lettuce I need you to cut.”
“Are we only eating salad for dinner?” I asked teasingly.
Shane let out another laugh. God, I loved the sound of it. I shook my head and tried to focus on the peppers in front of me. “No, we’re having some steak and potatoes as well.”
It figured that Shane would be a meat and potatoes type of guy. It kind of came with the bear territory. Marco and my father always loved to have steak or fish. My mom and I liked to try and eat different types of food, but I had to admit that a well-cooked steak was always high on my list.
While Shane’s back was turned to the stove, I stole a glance at him. He was just so damn good looking. I felt my bear slowly stir underneath the surface. Apparently, she liked him too, because as I stared at his strong back, all I could think about was how I wanted to make him mine.
Chapter 8
Shane
I could feel Lydia’s eyes on my back the whole time that I was cooking. It took all my strength to not turn toward her and pull her voluptuous body toward my own. I felt my bear stir under the surface of my skin. Get it together, Shane, I thought to myself. I barely knew her. She was Marco’s sister, for fuck’s sake. I rolled back my shoulders and tried to collect my thoughts. Focus on the job at hand, Shane. My bear fou
ght against me but I held strong.
Sure, Lydia was hot as hell. She had curves in all the right places, like a woman really should. But I refused to succumb to her. I could not get involved with her while we were undercover. I could not let myself get attached to her in that way. I had to keep my mind clear, so that I would be able to protect us both.
I felt my bear shift again underneath my skin, and I could tell he was pissed. I knew that he wanted Lydia. What I couldn’t understand was why he wanted her so badly. I had been around hot chicks before, and I’d been lucky to sleep with most of them. For some reason though, Lydia was different. Yes, I wanted to grab her by the waist and push her up on our granite countertops, but I could tell it was more than just that.
A loud beep on the stove shook me out of my own thoughts. I reached down and pulled the potatoes out of the oven. Maybe after all of this was over, I could explore why I saw something different in Lydia. But for now, while we were preparing to go behind enemy lines, I couldn’t let my feelings for her get in the way. There was a job to do, and our whole shifter community was on the line if we weren’t able to figure out what was going on.
I grabbed the potatoes from the stove and placed them on the plate next to the steak. The food smelled amazing, and I was excited to have Lydia eat dinner alongside me. I looked up at her, and realized she was smiling at me.
“It smells fantastic.” I smiled brightly back at her.
“Grab the salad, and let’s dig in.”
We sat down across from one another at our new home’s kitchen table. It was small and wooden and rested right next to the kitchen window. As Lydia sat down across from me, I couldn’t help but think about how I wanted to push away these dishes and throw her across the table. I clenched my jaw and quickly grabbed my knife and fork and tried to distract myself with food.
“Mmm, this steak is amazing, Shane.” I looked up at her and slowly smiled. Fuck, she needed to stop making those noises when she ate.
“Just an easy recipe I’ve been making for years. Sorry it’s nothing fancy. The police department doesn’t have much of a budget for our food.”
“I am completely all right with eating steak like this over anything fancy. The last few weeks since the company closed, I’ve been surviving off ramen noodles.”
I smirked. “Ramen noodles? Aren’t those completely filled with sodium?”
“Yeah, they probably are, but they’re cheap as hell and you can spice them up a bit by adding stuff to it.”
“In no world could I imagine ramen noodles out of a package tasting good.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised. I make a mean ramen noodle with pork and veggies.”
I coughed as I stifled a laugh. “Well, I’m going to hold you to that, then. I want to taste this mean ramen noodle.”
Lydia smiled and continued to eat her steak. “So, I guess we should work on either finding out more information about ourselves, or creating our supposed happy life together.”
I tilted my head to the side in thought. We had already created most of our backstory on how we met, how we got engaged, how our wedding was and why we ended up in Portland. We now needed to know some stuff about each other.
“Why don’t we start with the basic stuff that couples tend to know about one another?”
Lydia’s demeanor suddenly shifted. “Real stuff or stuff we make up? I mean, how in the hell am I supposed to remember all of this?” She was frustrated, and I got it. She had never had to be anyone but herself, and asking her to create a whole new person in her head had to be confusing.
“Lydia, I know that this is difficult, but we have to do these things to make our relationship believable. The last thing we want is to be caught off guard by a dumb question that neither of us knows the answer to.”
Lydia let out a long, frustrated sigh. “I know that all this is important. It’s just a bit overwhelming.”
“I know it is, but it’s the only way that we can make our cover look real.”
Lydia pushed her empty plate away from her and flung her hands up in the air. “And how long is this cover supposed to last? I get that we have to create an airtight story, but why can’t we just get this whole hospital visit over and done with?”
I gripped the side of the table. I didn’t want to yell at her because she wasn’t used to this type of life. But she was getting upset over something that I could not control.
“Lydia, I know you aren’t used to this. But creating a whole new life for an undercover operation isn’t just something that happens overnight. If we go in there unprepared, both of our lives could be at stake. We have no idea what this hospital or Purest, Inc. is capable of.”
Lydia let out a huff and pushed herself up from the table and walked out of the kitchen. I shut my eyes tightly. Why did she have to be so stubborn? A second ago, everything was fine, and now she was fighting me over this. She knew what she was getting into when the department explained the job to her.
Anger bubbled in my stomach. Maybe we should have found another cop to do this job with me. That way they would at least be used to the job and understand what we had to do. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Marco’s number.
“Hey man, what’s going on?”
“You need to talk some sense into your sister.”
“What the hell happened?”
“She’s fighting me and getting frustrated with this whole process.”
I heard her stomp up the stairs up to her bedroom and slam the door shut. Fuck. I guessed I wasn’t being too discreet with this call. I was used to living on my own, and not having someone else in the next room.
“Shit, Marco, I think she heard me talking to you.”
“Dude, you’re fucked. Good luck reasoning with her now.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Look man, she’s a spitfire that hates just sitting around. So right now, she probably feels cooped up and frustrated. She’s sweet when she has her way and is active, but sitting around and waiting is just not her thing. Give her stuff to do and to work on.”
“Thanks, Marco.”
“Anytime, man.”
I pushed the end button on my phone and placed it on the table. I let out a small groan as I got up from the table and made my way upstairs to her room.
I reached her door and lightly knocked.
“Go away, Shane.”
“Come on, Lydia, let’s just talk this out.”
“There’s nothing for us to talk about. You felt the need already to call my brother to handle me, so I get where my place is.”
“Lydia, don’t be like that.”
Silence filled the space between us. I leaned my head lightly against the doorframe and let out a long sigh.
“Look, I was a dick for calling Marco. I’m just used to being on my own, not having to explain the reason for everything when it comes to the job, and I’m sorry for that.”
There was nothing but silence on the other side of the doorway. I looked underneath the frame and noticed that her light was still on, so she couldn’t have gone to bed. I knocked on the door again.
“Lydia, did you hear me?” I moved my head up when I heard her footsteps near the door. The knob turned and the door opened.
She was standing there in yoga pants and sweatshirt. She crossed her arms across her chest, and she honestly could not have been more adorable.
“Yes, I heard you. And I’m sorry for being frustrated. I guess I just didn’t realize how intense this whole undercover operation would be. I stupidly thought it would be over in a couple of days.”
I gave her a small smile. “I’m sorry we didn’t prepare you enough for this. Sometimes, these ops can take weeks to accomplish. I’m just trying to give us the best chance of getting in, and to set us up so we can find out what we need to eventually take down the hospital.”
She slowly nodded, and let out a yawn.
Without thinking, I reached up to her face, and pushed a strand of honey colored hair behind he
r ear. Her soft skin felt warm to my touch. After I moved the hair, I let my hand linger slightly on her cheek. I felt her body freeze under my touch and her brown eyes quickly shifted up to mine. Fuck, I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to make all of her frustrations melt away. But deep down, I knew I couldn’t do that. It would compromise our cover.
“Go get some sleep, and we can work this all out in the morning. I’m here for you, okay?”
She smiled. “I know you are.”
Chapter 9
Lydia
Shane kept his hand on my cheek and looked down at me intently. I stared up into his deep blue eyes. I was completely captivated by his strong gaze.
The air around us felt thick with energy, and time around us seemed to stop. I forgot how frustrated with our situation I was. My anger seemed to evaporate and all that mattered was the feeling of Shane’s touch on my face.
I bit my lip and slowly let my face lean into Shane’s hand. I closed my eyes and saw the expression in Shane’s face change.
He wasted no time and crushed his lips into mine. I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and quickly pulled it off of him. Shane’s hard muscles were even better than I had imagined. He slowly started to move me back toward the dresser on the opposite wall and lifted my legs up. I wrapped my legs around his and he ran his hands slowly up and down my bare legs up to the yoga pants I had changed into.
Shane moved his hands down my body and slowly teased the hemline of my pants. Every touch of his left a trail of fire over my body and I couldn’t wait for him to be inside me. His strong hands ran up underneath my pants and slowly started to tease me by flicking the elastic on my lace thong. I felt shivers run through my body in anticipation of his touch.
He moved his face down and started to kiss and gently bite my neck. Shane’s fingers moved quickly underneath my thong and lightly grazed his fingers over my slickness.
Furever Always (Furever Series) Page 47
