Chapter 10
Too fast, too complicated, and she was too tired to make sense of things. After the best orgasm of her life—and God, if nothing else, Hank sure as hell knew how to give oral—suddenly she was dripping with fatigue and trying to understand words that used to make sense.
“What do you mean ‘bound’?” she asked.
The newcomer—she guessed this was Simon—snorted in disgust. “We all think we’re bound when we’re exhausted, and a pretty woman lets us lick her.”
Okay, she wasn’t too tired to understand that, and heat bloomed over her entire body. But before she could react further, Hank growled. Yes, an honest-to-goodness growl. Simon drew up short, his expression tightening into fury.
“Don’t embarrass her,” Hank snapped.
“Don’t challenge me. You won’t like the—”
A woman’s voice cut through the growing tension. “Oh my God, can we go through one night without a testosterone-fest?” A handsome black woman stepped into the room. Her face was beautiful, but what Cecilia noticed most was that she exuded strength. Not just her muscles but the steel that lay underneath the teasing words. “Here,” she said to Simon as she handed him her tablet. “This okay?”
Simon had no choice but to grab the equipment or let it fall to the ground. Then he was glaring at the screen while the woman turned to Cecilia and held out her hand in greeting.
“Hi, I’m Alyssa. That’s Simon, chief chest-beater. You’re Dr. Lu, right?”
“Um, call me Cecilia.”
“Good choice. We’re likely to get pretty friendly over the next few days as you get up to speed.” Her gaze roved over the entire room. There was no change of expression, just a full awareness of the situation. Hank, Cecilia, and the thoroughly mussed bed.
“Um…” Cecilia began, though she had no idea what she was going to say.
“You’ve had a pretty eventful night. You understand about shifters now, right?”
“That they exist? Yes. Understand them—”
Alyssa chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. Nobody does.”
Meanwhile, Simon tapped the tablet before handing it back to Alyssa. “That’s fine. And you could have sent that yourself.”
“I know,” Alyssa said with a grin. “But sometimes you need to take a moment to clear your mind of all the…” She waved her hand vaguely around. “Scents in the air.”
Which is when Cecilia figured out that the smell of sex was probably perfuming the entire bedroom. She hadn’t thought her face could heat any more, but she was learning all sorts of new things tonight.
“So here’s the report,” Alyssa continued. “Sammy’s asleep, appears to be fine. Same with Mother. Wolves haven’t responded to email yet, and Hank has been going full tilt for at least forty-two hours. Cecilia here has been kidnapped, dragged into the shifter world, and attacked. I’ll bet she had a bit of a meltdown and now…” She made a vague circle with her finger at the room. “Everybody needs sleep.”
Hank straightened. “I will not leave her alone.”
Simon grunted. “He thinks he’s—”
“Bound to her. Yes, I heard.” Alyssa looked at Cecilia. “It’s a thing some shifters do with their mates.”
“Mates?” Cecilia squeaked, panic making her voice high and tight. “As in sex mate or…um…”
“Forever, uber-married mates,” Alyssa said, her gaze hopping to Simon with the kind of warmth that only appeared on the silver screen. And more surprising, the buzz-cut leader softened in response. Their fingers entwined though neither even appeared to notice.
Meanwhile, Cecilia snuck a glance at Hank. Could he really feel that way about her? She doubted it. He looked…fierce, defensive, and more than a little intimidating.
“Look,” Cecilia said, thinking about the science. It’s what she always did when she felt uncomfortable. “There’s a lot for me to study right now before the bodies decompose.”
“You need to rest,” Hank said, his voice firm.
Yes, she did, but she also needed to get away from all these people with their emotions and things that she didn’t understand. “So yes, I had a little meltdown—”
Hank released a low rumble. It was like a warning sound and she had the strongest urge to stroke his arm to soothe him. She didn’t. She just looked at him and felt at a complete loss. What was she supposed to do now? Damn, she hated feeling unsettled like this.
