He shrugged. “I can afford it.”
Aria’s browed knitted. “Just how much do they pay you in the FBI?”
Nash spluttered a laugh. “Not as much as you might think, although SWAT team pays more than average, plus my teammates and I get a little extra because of our special skills.”
“So, how can you afford it?” she pressed.
“Aria, I don’t want you to worry about the money, okay? I come from a wealthy family, and what’s mine is yours.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “You’re my mate.”
He said those three little words as if they were the answer to everything, and in Nash’s mind, they probably were. Aria knew how important a shifter’s mate was to them, but Nash was doing a heck of a lot for someone he’d only just met, mate or not. How could he have such blind faith that she was the type of person he should go to all that trouble for? Everything she’d told him could have been a lie—a ruse to get him to help her.
“Have you got a spare pillow?” Nash asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“A pillow,” he repeated. “Your couch looks comfy, but a pillow would be good.”
“You’re spending the night?”
“Well, of course. You didn’t think I was going to leave you here unprotected, did you? What if Diego comes back? I don’t think he will, of course, but I’m not about to take chances with your safety. Don’t worry, we can figure out another arrangement tomorrow.”
Aria was just about to offer Nash Diego’s bedroom, but thought better of it. She doubted Nash would appreciate being surrounded by Diego’s scent—she knew how funny shifters could be about things like that. She got up then headed for the door.
“One pillow coming right up. Oh, and Nash?” She paused in the doorway and looked back at him. “Thank you for everything you did for me today. I really appreciate it.”
The smile on his face made Aria’s heart skip a beat.
“What are mates for?”
Chapter Five
Nash
As he sat around the table in the room Flint had procured for their team meeting, Nash couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Cole had been angry at him when he told him he’d gone to see Aria the night before, but he was pretty sure that was only because he could have gotten fired and Cole didn’t want to have to break in a new partner—because there was no way he’d get someone as awesome as Nash again. And even though he’d chewed him out about being so reckless, Nash knew that really he was happy for him that things had worked out for the best.
Okay, so he did have to admit it might have been just a tiny bit reckless to use his status as an FBI agent to gain someone’s address for his own personal gain. Legally speaking, he was pretty sure that what he’d done could be considered stalking and there were laws against that. Nash could have been looking at a prison sentence, not only the unemployment line. But he would do anything or face anything for his mate, even jail time if it had come down to it. He was just happy it hadn’t.
“What’s got you looking like all your Christmases have come at once?” Ice asked.
Nash’s grin widened. “I kicked my mate’s husband out of her house last night.”
Ice choked on his laugh. “You’re a very strange man, Ted, anyone tell you that?”
“You. Frequently.”
“It bears repeating.”
Nash rolled his eyes, but the grin stayed firmly in place on his lips. He and the Ice man constantly gave each other shit, but it was all in good fun. Ice was a polar bear shifter and claimed that his species was superior to Nash’s ‘garden variety’ bear. Nash liked to set him straight on that front.
The doors swung open and Kit limped through, trying to conceal the abnormality in her gait and not doing as good a job as she’d probably have liked. Nash scrambled to his feet, all levity forgotten.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked as she made it to their table.
She grinned, though it was closer to a wince as she eased into her seat. “I heard you ladies were having a bake sale.”
