by Nalini Singh
Page 31
He ran his knuckles over her cheek. “Thanks. ”
As he took a big bite, she realized she’d forgotten to pick up his drink bottle. “Is there water nearby?”
“Yep, but it’ll be faster to run down to the packs. ” He’d already demolished half the sandwich. “Be back soon. ”
Aware Brenna and Dorian had matters in hand, she walked to the edges of the clearing after Drew left and began to do a detailed quadrant-by-quadrant search, just in case the Psy had left something else behind. Nothing in the immediate area. And more nothing in a radius of several meters from the site of the device. She was about to turn back when she caught Drew’s scent on the breeze.
He found her a few seconds later. “Hey, Lieutenant. ” His mouth was on hers before she could do more than part her lips to respond.
She should’ve been used to the way he had of doing that, but she staggered back a little, gripping at his waist to keep herself upright. Not that it was necessary; his arms were already locked tight around her, his mouth exploring hers with a lazy sensuality that made her want to purr like a damn cat.
“This,” she said on a breath, “is hardly the time. ”
Another kiss, one big hand moving down to shape her buttocks. “I’m behaving,” he told her, all innocence. “I didn’t do it in front of Dorian and Bren, did I?”
Her wolf laughing, she wiggled her arms out from around him and reached up to cup his face. Then she kissed the hell out of Andrew Liam Kincaid.
CHAPTER 26
Andrew was sure he’d had a rational thought a minute or so ago, but it was a distant memory. The lieutenant was making his brains leak out his ears, her tongue a fast, sleek dart in his mouth, her teeth sharp little accents on his lips, her hands brands against his skin. Groaning, he gripped her hips and gave in.
His reward was a kiss so hot, it turned his jeans uncomfortably tight. Unable to keep his hands still, he stroked up over her sweatshirt to close his hand around one lush breast. Her nipple was already pebbled behind the soft fabric of her bra, and he played with it through the clothing, wanting to learn each and every facet of what drove her crazy.
The sound took time to filter into his consciousness, the voice recognizable. Dorian, calling Indigo’s name. “Time to go back,” he murmured against those lush lips that had turned him into a willing slave.
“If you’re a very good boy,” Indigo murmured in a sexy, husky tone as she reached down to cup his straining cock for one electric second, “I might kiss you other places, too. ”
He bit back a very blue word as she withdrew her hand and stepped back. “How the hell am I supposed to go back and face my little sister if I have a raging hard-on?”
“Poor baby. ” Except her eyes were dancing with unfamiliar wickedness. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. ” She walked away, her hips swiveling in a fashion that he knew was meant to shoot his already boiling temperature through the roof. Sexual frustration was a bitch, but his wolf smiled—because the lieutenant was playing with him again. And Indigo Riviere was a woman who played with very few.
Blowing out a breath, he gritted his teeth and counted to a thousand, somehow managing to get his body under control. “So, what did I miss?” he asked, rejoining the others where they crouched around the object.
“It’s a transmitter,” Dorian said, holding the steel orb in hand.
He met the leopard sentinel’s surfer blue eyes. “You sound very sure. ”
But it was his sister who replied. “The tech is pretty common once you strip away the fancy exterior. ”
“Range isn’t huge,” Dorian added. “Maybe five hundred meters or so. ”
Brenna’s eyes met Andrew’s, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth that augured trouble—but her words were practical. “We think it’s meant to act as a locator beacon. ”
“Locator for what?” Indigo murmured. “This area is wilderness. Aside from the forest creatures, only wolves come—”
A pointed cough from Dorian.
“Wolves and leopards,” Indigo said, shaking her head at the blond sentinel’s smirk, “are the only ones who come up here. ” Lines formed between her brows. “The only ones who should. I wonder if the Psy we scented when we were with the juveniles were scouting for places to put these things. ”
“Would make sense,” Brenna said. “You were a bit more east of here, but not that much lower down in terms of the elevation. ”
Dorian’s hair flashed almost white in the harsh sunlight as he lowered his head to the device once more. “We can sweep the ground with high-strength scanners, but we have a logistical problem—den territory covers too wide an area. ” A glance at Brenna.
Andrew’s sister nodded in confirmation. “We need to figure out some sort of specific region to search. ”
“How long would the batteries last in those things?” Indigo asked. “Best guess?”
“I’ll confirm when we dismantle one, but three months would be the outer limits,” Brenna said, looking at Dorian.
He nodded and added, “The transmitting function sucks juice. Three for safety, but I’d say two months would be a more realistic estimate. ”
Andrew saw where Indigo was going. “So we can probably eliminate all the areas where the snowpack has been pretty much solid for over two months. ” That would take care of a good chunk of their territory.
“Yes. ” Brenna’s eyes sparked. “A telekinetic could have moved the snow, but one, it’s a massive waste of power, and two, against all that white, any intruders would have stood out like sore thumbs to our satellite. ”
Indigo nodded. “I agree—we can safely eliminate the snowpack areas for now. We can also eliminate all those areas that get a high amount of traffic. ”
Andrew looked at his sister. “You got a piece of paper, Bren?”
“I think there’s a pad in this bag . . . ” Turning to rummage in it, she made a sound of success. “Here it is. And a pen. ”
“Thanks, baby sis. ” Grinning at the kiss she blew him, he flipped open the pad and sketched the basic outline of their territory. “Okay, so this is here. ” He made an X on the map. “The other one’s useless as a marker since it could’ve come from anywhere, but how about this?” He drew a rough semicircle, using their current spot as the center of the arc.
Indigo looked over his shoulder. “The entire area’s equidistant from the very edge of den territory. ” She took a moment to think about it, nodded. “We’ve got enough light that we can test the theory at least. ”
“We have two scanners,” Brenna reminded them, “so we can go in both directions. ”
“Drew,” Indigo said, her tone crisp as she slipped into full work mode, “you go with Bren. I’ll work with Dorian. ”
He knew what she was doing—pairing each tech expert with someone who could keep an eye on security, but he found he didn’t want her alone with the good-looking leopard male. Her eyes met his at that moment, and from the sudden frost in them, he knew she’d accurately read the hotly possessive urge. Gritting it back with sheer strength of will—and having to fight his wolf to do so—he turned to Brenna. “You need all the gear?”
“Just the scanner pack. ” She slid the little computer into a carry bag and swung it crosswise over her body, the scanner itself held in her hand. “Dorian, are you okay using the—”
“No problem, sweetheart. ” Setting the computer over his body the same way as Brenna, Dorian picked up the somewhat bulkier scanner. “It’ll do the trick, but the range is shorter,” he said to Indigo, “so we might cover less distance. ”
Brenna began to move out. Andrew followed, forcing himself to keep his attention on his sister and not on a woman who was quietly furious with him. Brenna didn’t say anything until they were well out of earshot. “Judd told me. ”
Andrew grunted, not in the mood to be teased.
“She’s a lieutenant, dumb-ass,” Brenna muttered. “G
oing all he-man on her isn’t exactly going to put you in her good book. ”
He blinked. “You have eyes in the back of your head now?”
A beatific smile. “I have experience with hardheaded men—though I never thought I’d be giving you this little talk. I always thought Riley was the one who’d have trouble. And he went and got himself happily mated to a sentinel. ”
Checking the area for threats and making the assessment that they were the only two out there, he allowed his attention to return to the subject of him and Indigo. “I couldn’t help it,” he muttered, feeling sulky and grumpy—though he’d have shown that to no one but the sister he’d watched over since she’d been but a babe. “My brain knew I was doing something stupid, but my hormones tell me to protect her—and right now, instinct is kicking reason’s whiny ass. ”
Brenna shook her head, the late afternoon sun making the fine strands of her hair shimmer like spun gold. “The easy fix is that you grovel and she forgives you . . . ”
“But?” He nudged her shoulder with his, his wolf willing to listen to her even if she was younger and far less dominant.
“But this is who she is,” Brenna murmured, her eyes troubled when she looked up. “You stood in front of a bullet for me, Drew. ” Her voice hitched. “That’s who you are. ”
“Hey. ” He hugged her to him, kissing the top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere. ”
Holding on to him for a couple more seconds, Brenna stepped back and started scanning again. “What I’m saying is that you protect—do you think you can handle, really handle, being with a woman who not only doesn’t need your protection, but for whom it would be an insult that you’d even offer?”
The words hit hard, cut deep. But the truth had nothing to do with his acceptance of Indigo’s rank.
