His hand tightened reflexively around his weapon. It pissed him off that she could make him lose control like he was some kind of hormonal teenager. It convinced him more than ever that he needed to be extra careful around her. In some ways, she was more dangerous to his health than those damn hybrids. At least he was able to keep his head screwed on straight when it came to them.
But five minutes later, he was still thinking about that little kiss and how soft her lips had felt against his cheek. Before he even knew what he was doing, he found himself leaning close to her, breathing deeply through his nose and inhaling her delicious scent. It really wasn’t fair. His nose didn’t work worth a shit when he needed it to, but when it came to Kendra, it worked like a frigging bloodhound’s.
He ran his hand through his hair. He needed a distraction quick or he was going to be nuzzling her neck in a minute.
“So, is your first official DCO field mission living up to you expectations?” he asked.
She parted a few branches and tried to see out of their shelter. He knew she wouldn’t be able to, and after a few moments she gave up and sat back again.
“Honestly, there was a certain part of me that was hoping for a little excitement on this mission.” She gave him a sheepish look. “Would you consider it whining if I admitted this is way more than I wanted?”
His mouth edged up. “I wouldn’t consider it whining at all. But it does make me wonder why you wanted to come on this mission in the first place. Why risk your life if you don’t have to?”
She looked away. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
She toyed with the laces on her boot. “Watching the rest of you go out on mission after mission, year after year, seeing places and doing things I’d only dreamed about really sucked. I guess I wanted to be a part of the conversation instead of always being the one on the outside.”
After spending all those years in high school and college feeling like an outsider, he understood how that felt. “None of us ever thought less of you because you work behind the scenes. You know that, right? We couldn’t do our jobs without the stuff you do at the DCO. You’re amazing.”
Her face colored with the cutest blush he’d ever seen. “Thanks, but it’s not the same. You might not think less of me, but I’ve always thought less of myself for never risking my life like you do all the time.”
When she put it that way, it sounded insane. But he respected her for it.
“How long have you been trying to get John to send you on missions?” he asked.
“About three years, I guess. But the itch has gotten really bad since—”
“Since you fought the hybrids with Ivy and Landon out in Washington State,” he finished.
Kendra nodded. “That’s when I realized this was something I could do. And it’s when I discovered how good it felt to be part of a team and not be the one who stays at home while everyone else risks their lives. It made me feel like I was doing something important.” She tilted her head to look at him. “Does that make any sense at all?”
He grinned. “Yeah, actually it makes a lot of sense.”
She returned his smile with a small one of her own that lit up his little piece of the world.Dammit.Declan mentally kicked himself for asking her something personal. He’d been trying to get her off his mind so he could get his defenses back up, but it hadn’t worked out that way at all. She’d opened up and told him something she probably hadn’t told another soul. Now, instead of reestablishing a safe distance between them, she’d somehow weaseled herself in even closer.
He was fighting tooth and nail, but Kendra was making it damn near impossible for him to not feel something for her.
Declan was so wrapped up in his own stupidity that he made the decision to leave the shelter without checking to make sure the area was clear. And it was why he didn’t hear the pack of hybrids moving along the edge of the stream until he and Kendra walked right into them. He didn’t even have time to berate himself before the three hybrids jumped them.
He tried to shove Kendra out of the way, but he was too late. She went down with one of the snarling creatures on her back, her scream echoing in his ears. All Declan could do was pray she lasted until he got to her. And the other two weren’t going to make that easy.
He’d barely lifted the barrel of his M4 when both creatures hit him like a ton of bricks, sending his weapon and rucksack flying. Declan let his body shift as he went down, cursing that he didn’t have the superlong claws and fangs like other shifters in the DCO. But then again, he probably wouldn’t have known what to do with them if he did. Fortunately, he did know how to use the one shifter ability he’d always depended on—his strength. And he needed that strength now to get the two psycho monsters away from him so he could help Kendra.
He got a hand around one hybrid’s throat while he used his free arm to deflect the creature’s long-ass claws. Or tried to anyway. The beast found his target a couple times, slicing into his chest and shoulder.
Declan bit back a growl and tightened his grip on the hybrid’s throat, squeezing until he felt something squish. He shoved the first attacker away and sent a kick toward the knee of the second one. It didn’t land, but it made the thing skip back a step.
That was the opening Declan needed. He lunged to his feet and darted over to Kendra. His heart lurched. The hybrid was on her back, both hands clawing at her rucksack like a creature possessed. Hunks of the pack and its contents were flying everywhere, but Declan couldn’t tell if the beast’s claws had hit anything vulnerable yet. He threw himself at the hybrid, knocking it off Kendra and sending it tumbling.
Declan came down on top of the creature, hoping to get his arms around it and crush the damn thing to death, but it was too fast. The beast slipped out from under him like it was greased, swiping at him the same maniacal way it had gone at Kendra. The thing worked itself into a rage trying to reach him. Declan desperately wanted to get back to Kendra’s side, but at the moment, it was all he could do to just keep the hybrid from sinking its teeth into him.
He shot a quick glance past his attacker and saw Kendra scrambling backward like a crab in an effort to reach her weapon, where it lay on the ground. He swore as the hybrid whose windpipe he crushed advanced on her. What the hell did it take to put these things down?
Declan couldn’t count on Kendra reaching her weapon in time. He had to get to her.
He roared, gathering himself to charge the frenzied creature in front of him. He’d probably take a shot or two from those razor-sharp claws as he bulled past the thing, but it’d be worth it if it meant saving Kendra’s life.
