“Are you sure it’s safe for you to go alone?”Lucian asked.
“A lot of people don’t know what our responsibilities are.We do a lot of dangerous things.It comes with the job.It shouldn’t take long.”I put my hand on Lucian’s thigh and leaned against him.“Are you ready to be free of me?”
He put his arm around my shoulders but didn’t say a word.
Lucian drove homeafter they had gone to the jail and unlocked the cuffs, his thoughts spinning.He felt the absence of not having her at his side.Though he’d offered to accompany her to Austin, it was against protocol.Probably for the best.The last thing he wanted to do was screw up a good thing, not to mention he had work to do back at the house.He always knew the Council had a dangerous job, but the past twenty-four hours had revealed much more than he could’ve ever imagined.
The sun seemed brighter today—the sky bluer.He couldn’t believe the most beautiful woman in Storybook had chosen him as her lover.It made him feel like a king.
Their arrangement removed any fear of rejection.No pressure, no strings attached.They both wanted the same thing: a temporary physical relationship without expectations, and that was a weight off his shoulders.There had once been a time when he didn’t believe in dating outside his Breed, but after living with a diverse group of people in his last home, his perspective changed.
Lucian respected that she didn’t want to sleep with every man she dated.Choosing someone she trusted to fulfill her needs was a smart call, especially in a small town like this.People were always looking for any reason they could to replace an official who wasn’t benefiting them.Now that she was getting what she needed on the side, she could focus on finding a worthy mate who wasn’t just interested in seducing her.
Chitahs had different courtship rituals.Some males abstained from sex to show they were willing to win a female’s heart without manipulating her through sex.Lucian hadn’t slept with many women, but that wasn’t something males shared, so he lied to people about his sex life.
A blue jay swooped alongside his car, but Lucian was too lost in his thoughts about last night to notice.Why did he trust his inner animal around her?Usually he was afraid of losing control and always had to rein in his emotions to keep from flipping his switch.Eden made him feel confident enough to let himself go, and man, it felt fucking amazing.
He rubbed his eyes after turning on to their private driveway.During their ride to the jail that morning, Eden’s guilt about not seeing her father spoiled the air in the car.Lucian felt responsible since he was the one who had stupidly cuffed them together in the first place.
If Tak finds out, that’s it.I’m toast.
Tak was a great guy and had a sense of humor, but that only stretched so far.Lucian didn’t want this mistake following him around.
As the house came into view, he thought about the arson on Eden’s property.Had he not been shackled to her, he would have hunted down the scumbag and given him a taste of Chitah venom—just enough to hurt.
He parked Hope’s sedan, walked through the front door, and was hit in the face with the smell of panic and frustration.
The wood floor glistened with water.Towels were strewn around Krys and Virgil, who were on their knees by the game room entrance.Although Virgil’s jeans were rolled up, his pants were still wet.
“Where the fuck have you been?”Krys growled.
Intense emotions burned Lucian’s nose, and he rubbed it.“What’s going on?”
Krys stood and flung the wet towel into an oversized bucket filled with more wet towels.He gestured to Virgil.“Ask the Tasmanian devil.”
When Virgil stood and sauntered over to the bucket in his bare feet, he slipped and fell on his back.
Krys wagged a finger at him.“That’s karma.”
“It’s not my fault!Who puts a swimming pool in the house?”
Krys’s shirt and pants were soaked through, and water dripped from the ends of his long hair.“Hope’s in labor.They set up the pool in the game room for her to give birth in, and guess who decided to shift?”
Virgil crawled to his feet and grabbed the last dry towel before draping it over the baseboard.“My wolf got excited.He loves water.”His unapologetic answer didn’t match the guilty scent he was putting out.
“Taz jumped into the pool with her and contaminated everything.All hell broke loose when everyone tried to pull him out.”Krys stripped out of his shirt and flipped back his long hair.
Meanwhile, Virgil pretended to dust something off his pants.
“He bit down on the plastic,” Krys continued, “and the entire fucking thing deflated.Water everywhere.If we don’t soak this shit up, it’ll ruin the wood, and I’m not about to redo the entire floor.”
Virgil snorted.“You don’t like being on your knees?”He turned his attention to Lucian and gave him an appraising look.“Well, where haveyoubeen all night with that five-o’clock shadow?”Virgil stepped across the towels and closed in on Lucian.“We called, but nobody answered.Very mysterious.You always check your messages.”
“I got tied up.”
He lifted Lucian’s bruised wrist.“You don’t say.Tell Virgilallabout it, and don’t skip the details.”
Lucian snapped his arm back.“I was busy working.”
