by Milly Taiden
In the time it took for Devin to do another slow glance around the perfect yard and turn to the table, there were giant platters of food there. Two had lasagna. There was a big salad bowl with colorful vegetables in it. A big tray of fresh baked bread, and iced tea and lemonade in two different pitchers.
“Come on, let’s eat.” Ava grinned and waved them to the table. “If I would have known you were coming, Devin, I’d have made more food.”
He blinked at the giant lasagna pans. “Thank you, Ava, but I think there’s enough food here for at least six people.”
Mari sat next to him at the table and Ava sat across from them. Devin wanted to congratulate her on how nice and organized her house and yard were. He had yet to see a leaf out of place.
“I just wanted to thank you for allowing me to join you both today,” Devin told Ava. “This is very nice.”
Ava blushed and smiled at Mari. “He’s such a sweetheart. I’m so glad you finally found your mate, darling.”
“Me too, Mom. Dad will love him when he finally comes out of his workshop to meet him.”
Ava nodded. “Yes, he will. Devin, are you open-minded?”
He frowned. He liked to think he was, but he wondered now that she asked. “I believe I am.”
“Good.”
Mari smiled and piled food on her plate. When she reached for the salad with the bread tongs, Ava grabbed the salad bowl and moved it out of her reach. “Really, Mari. We’ve discussed that each plate has its own serving spoon.”
“Aw, come on, Mom. They’re all going to end up in my tummy anyway.”
“No ‘come on,’ missy. Give me your plate.” Ava held a hand out and proceeded to serve Mari’s food without dirtying the tongs on different foods. Devin could kiss Ava. He had almost pulled the tongs out of Mari’s hand himself.
“Devin, you’re probably wondering why I asked about being open-minded.”
“I am.”
“It’s because of me,” Mari replied. “She’s very tidy, and I’m . . . not. Well, I am, sorta. So she feels whoever my mate is needs to be able to understand I have my own way of doing things.”
He nodded. “I see.”
“Mari is very much like her father. They’re geniuses with very little time for putting things in their places. At least that’s what most people think, until you see them in action. Then you realize they work under an organized chaos that could drive a person like me insane.” Ava chuckled. “Thankfully, I am very patient and learned to allow them their space while they made sure to follow my rules when in mine.”
Mari bit down on a piece of bread and winked at Devin. “Don’t worry, I’m not that scary. I’m actually a lot of fun.”
Oh, he’d bet she was. In fact, he couldn’t wait to find out just how much fun she was once he got her naked.
The rest of the meal went by in a flash of fun, easy conversation and anecdotes on Mari’s teen years and her love for multiple colors in her hair. By the end of their visit, Devin was glad Mari was so identical to her mother in looks or he’d believe she was adopted. Her and Ava’s personalities were complete opposites, but the love he saw between mother and daughter was unmatched.
“That was really nice,” he said, back in the car as they drove away.
Mari licked her lips and blinked at him in a way that made his panther stand to attention. “I can think of something a lot nicer.”
Fuck. He thought he’d been the only one thinking of sex but it appeared he wasn’t. “Oh?”
She glanced at his mouth and then back at his eyes. “Yeah. What do you say we go back to my place?”
He’d say hell yeah! He had to play it cool. Appearing too desperate might turn her off. “If that’s what you want.”
She frowned, then grinned. “Oh, you don’t want to?”
“Fuck, yes!” Damn, there went not sounding too desperate. “I mean, yes, I do.”
“Then let’s get out of all these people clothes and get to know each other better.” Her words were followed by the ringing of his cell phone.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Of all times for a damn phone call. He’d just ignore it and be with his mate. She glanced at him then turned her eyes back to the road.
“Aren’t you going to at least see who it is?” she asked. He was curious, so he pulled out his phone to see unknown was the culprit.
“Doesn’t say,” he said.
“Maybe you should take it. It could be important. I’m worried it might be police work I shouldn’t be hearing, though.”
Her words hit him in the heart, reconfirming this was the woman for him. Back in LA, he’d heard numerous stories from the guys about why they didn’t have significant others. So many, it seemed, were divorced. A hazard of his job was the potential to drive those he loved crazy.
Keeping secrets was no way to have a relationship, but he had new secrets every day he wouldn’t be able to share with anyone. Wives found that hard to live with. Women worry. That’s what they do. And if the husband isn’t telling her everything, the wife knows. God knows how, but they know when men hold back.
With Mari understanding the position he’s in—not able to divulge investigation information—they were more likely to stay together. She wouldn’t be upset if he couldn’t tell her how his day was.
Then a thought occurred to him: she was in the same boat. She dealt with criminal evidence and investigations on a regular basis. That’s what her company did. He didn’t like the idea that she couldn’t tell him everything about how her day was. She could be lying to cover up something she didn’t want him to know.
His panther slapped him upside the brain. Stop thinking like a human man, for god’s sake. You’re getting stupid. She’s your mate. Double standard much?
His animal was right. He was being stupid. His mate would never even look at another man, much less want an affair. He planned on giving her more sex and love than she could handle. The thought of fucking her made him instantly hard.
The phone rang in his hand again. He pushed the talk icon. “Hello.”
“Devin. It’s Charli and Rupen here.”
Marika nearly shouted, “Hey, Charli and Rupen. Long time no see.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He could see Charli rolling her eyes at them. He really enjoyed this group of people he worked with. He planned to be in Oregon for a long time to come.
Charli said over the phone, “Rupen and I are sitting at a nearly deserted Italian restaurant. You and Marika need to be part of this conversation we’re about to have. You two are obviously together. I don’t mean together together, but—you know what I mean.”
His mate laughed. “If you are referring to us having sex, we haven’t yet,” Mari said. He liked that qualification. “We’re on our way.”
Charli groaned. “TMI, Mari. That’s my coworker you’re talking about. Now I won’t be able to look at him and not picture you two having sex. Ugh.” Mari and he laughed.
“What do we need to talk about?” Devin asked. He was ready to get this conversation over.
Charli said, “Rupen, I’m sure you already know Devin. He’s another of the fellowship agents. He’s in charge of the murder investigation and some other cases that may involve Bar—Perry.”
“Hello, Devin. Nice to sort of meet you,” Rupen said on the line.
“Nice to meet my first big boss too. Welcome to the circus.”
A laugh carried across the line. “That it is.” Marika groaned. He looked at her, but didn’t ask.
“I was telling Charli a moment ago,” Rupen started, “I had something similar to this new creature creation a while back in the DC area. It could’ve become very serious if it hadn’t been discovered.”
“Do you think this could be that bad?” Charli asked.
“I think it could be worse. Much worse.”
Charli spoke up to them in the car. “Are you two going to listen, or do we need to send you home to get it out of your systems first?”
Marika grunted. “O
f course we’re listening. We have ears, don’t we?” Devin couldn’t take his eyes from her beautiful ones. She couldn’t help but sigh at his calming scent.
Rupen’s voice reached Devin’s ear. He must be talking about Charli’s mate, Benny or Barry. Whatever. He couldn’t think of it, right now.
Rupen continued. “Your Barry is Perry Frid. He belongs to a group of men who are called on to do dirty work the government doesn’t want people to know about.” Charli’s gasp registered in Devin’s head. His mate’s best friend was mated to a military man. Good for her. Marika is so beautiful.
They came to a stoplight he would’ve blown through had he not been paying attention.
Rupen mumbled something, then his voice came back. “His position in the group consisted mainly of sniper work. He’s killed many people.”
“But he was ordered to, right?” Charli sounded almost in a panic. “He didn’t shoot people randomly. He wouldn’t do that.”
Marika took Devin’s hand in hers and squeezed. He returned her touch, knowing she was feeling heartache for her friend. Marika glanced at him, and he nodded his understanding. She was such a great person.
Marika said, “We all know he’s not like that anymore. Remember, the old him is dead, Charli. He’s Barry, the man who loves you.” Charli didn’t speak.
Rupen continued. “Five years ago, Perry disappeared from the Afghan battlefield. Gone from the planet, it seemed. When we returned to survey the wreckage, we found his jeep turned onto its side. It’d come across an IED and flipped. We didn’t find him, but we did find . . .” The lieutenant colonel paused. Both Devin and Marika wondered why.
“Found what?” Mari asked since Charli didn’t.
“We found two partial legs trapped under the truck, which had been severed from a body.”
Devin slammed on the brakes and pulled into a parking lot. He wasn’t prepared for something that gruesome. His mate didn’t look like she was either. Now the questions settled in.
“What has that to do with Barry? He has both legs.”
“Based on DNA testing”—the lieutenant colonel sounded tired—“the legs belonged to Perry Frid.”
“But how could that be? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know, but the man I saw in the office was Perry Frid.” He paused. “Finding his prints in one of our system searches came as a huge shock. And discovering he’s a shifter, I was even more floored. Something is going on here and we need to find what it is. It sounds more and more like someone wants to take over your world.”
“Take over the world? What is this, Pinky and the Brain?” Devin joked. He noted that Rupen had been in his mate’s office. He might have to ask about that. But until then: “Iraq tried to take over Qatar and got the shit stomped out of them. I don’t see the world letting anyone take it over. We’ll fight.”
Rupen sighed. “You wouldn’t win.”
“How do you know?” A grumble came from his chest. Marika placed a hand on him, calming him.
“Devin, from what I discovered in my lab, they have technology we can’t begin to counter without destroying the nearby area. Plus, I’m checking on a few other things.”
Devin pulled her hand closer to him and kissed the back. His fear wasn’t for himself, but her. He had to protect her, keep her safe from all the world threw at them. He couldn’t fail her like he had his family.
“Rupen,” Marika said, “what do you think about the wolf from the murder scene? Devin is in charge of the investigation. Anything that can help him?”
He couldn’t believe through all this, she was still thinking about him and his well-being. He definitely loved her. She was sent from heaven.
“My thought,” Rupen said, “is someone is creating a new type of shifter impervious to conventional attack. I’d like to study it more. Marika, may I bring in some of my people to work with you? They can relay your discoveries to me so you don’t have to search out where I am.”
“That will be fine,” Marika said. “We can research together.” She turned to her mate. “If you could ask Russel for a sample of his blood, I’d like to see if multishifter blood is any different than regular.” Devin gave her a nod.
“But in relation to the murder, Devin and Charli,” Rupen added, “I don’t have anything to add yet. Marika and I will find out all we can.”
Finding out about his mate was closer to what Devin was thinking. Getting to know every curve and dip.
Rupen continued. “If I’m correct, you two are going to mate after eating.” Marika’s cheeks heated, but the smell from her said she wanted the same. But that was how shifters worked. Nature provided a perfect other half, and there was no reason to question it. Hundreds of years and millions of matings were proof enough. So really, there wasn’t a reason to be embarrassed.
Devin looked at her shyness and grinned a naughty grin. He was ready to end her dry spell.
Charli’s voice seemed to be moving away. “Colonel, thanks for letting me know about Perry. And congrats on finding each other, guys. I need to get home in case my cow goes into labor. I’ll see you at the hospital later, Devin. Good-bye, Colonel.”
Devin felt grief and anguish pour from his little mate. “I wish there was something I could do to help her.”
“Marika, there’s nothing you can say or do that will make her feel any better. She knows the truth and has to find a way to deal with it. Hopefully Barry will come to her before he goes back to his base, and they can work things out.”
“But what if she never sees him again?” His love was almost in tears. Her heart ached for her friend. He leaned over and kissed her temple. “She’ll be okay, baby. Charli is a strong woman. She’ll figure it out.”
Rupen sighed. “Congrats on finding each other. I hear it’s a somewhat rare phenomenon to find your other half.” A grin spread across Devin’s face. “Go on home now and get to know each other better. Marika, I might not make it to the lab later. With all that’s happened, I need to consult with others. If I can, it’ll be later this afternoon. Give me a call when you’re . . . uh . . . free.”
Devin had a feeling that Rupen was making up a bit of an excuse so his mate wouldn’t feel rushed. That was fine with him. If he had his way, she wouldn’t see the lab for a week. But that wasn’t practical. He had just started a murder investigation too. Besides, she had a killing machine in her lab she needed to dissect.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Marika instructed Devin to her home since it was closest. Man, the entire drive had been spent trying to get her animal under control. All she wanted was to get her hands on the panther and mate him.
Mate! Mate! Mate!
Mine! Mine! Mine!
If the damn fox didn’t stop soon, Mari might have to jump Devin right there in the middle of the street. He pulled up to her house and neither spoke. Both jumped out of the car and rushed to the house. She jammed the key into the lock, turning it faster than she did on a Friday night ready for the weekend.
The moment they were inside, her arms went around his neck and their lips finally met in a kiss so desperate she almost forgot to breathe. He slid his tongue into her mouth, taunting hers. Flicking it around over hers and dragging moans and groans from her antsy fox.
God! She had never wanted a man like this. So desperately. So urgently. Like her entire existence depended on getting him out of his pants.
There was no time for her to tell him how to get to her bedroom. They stumbled onto the sofa, where he sat and she straddled his hips, rubbing herself over him like a fox in heat. She pressed her pelvis over his hard cock. Her pussy went slick with her need.
He pulled back from their kiss. His eyes were bright with his animal. “I want to devour you.”
Holy fuck, those were the right words to say.
“Devour?”
“Hmm.” He licked her lips and brought a hand down to the waist of her pants, unsnapping them and sliding the zipper down. His gaze locked with hers. “Tell me something, beautiful
.”
She gasped. “What?”
“When I finger your pussy, will you be wet? Will you be slick and aching, wanting me to slide into you?”
Hell yes! She wiggled on his lap, wanting to get a closer feel of him. She reached for his shirt, tugging it above his head and struggling to get the offending material off his gorgeous body. She had never realized how much a man’s physique could turn her on until now.
Devin was hard all over. He was big and strong. And damn, all she wanted to do was lick her way down his abs to his cock. His arm muscles were smooth and warm. His gaze made her insides melt like butter under the sun.
He didn’t have such a hard time with clothes. The soft sound of something ripping made her glance down to see his claws tearing through her outfit. In less time than it took her to thank him, she was naked in front of him. He’d slashed through all pieces of clothing, leaving her completely naked for his view.
She wasn’t about to let him have all the fun, though. She clawed at his pants, ripping the material and getting him naked so fast her fox pushed at her skin excitedly.
“I haven’t been with a woman in a long time.”
She blinked. Not exactly what she’d been expecting to hear, but she’d go with it. “Okay.”
His gaze pierced her. He didn’t smile—instead, his face appeared carved in stone. As if just talking to her was taking up all his control. “No, you don’t understand. Years ago, I fought my animal. I thought dating lots of women, humans and shifters, would mean I might find my mate.” He lifted a hand and trailed his fingers from her jaw down to her neck. “It didn’t work. I gave up hope and abstained from being with anyone else.” His gaze rose to her eyes. “But now I found you.”
She licked her lips, her lids wanted to shut at the sound of his raspy voice. His fingertips continued down, until they were cupping her breasts. “Devin . . .”
“Now I get you. My mate. Mine.” He said the words with a possessiveness she hadn’t expected but understood. Her fox felt the same about him.
“Yes, Devin. You’ve got me now.”
“And I’m going to love being inside you,” he rumbled, his other hand sliding between her legs and pressing at her clit. “Fuck! You are so hot. So goddamn hot, and I want to fuck you. I need you.”
