“You think there’s a deeper bond between the two of you?” He tilted his head in curiosity.
“Yeah, maybe.” Okay, absolutely. Sex was simple and amazing, always. But sometimes between shifters, if the connection was strong, it moved things to a level of intensity I knew neither of us was ready for. We couldn’t be. Not with our current mission.
Rather than Lucas winding me up further, I was relieved when he said, “And yes. Agree to meet him out at Valley Park and bring him here.”
I sent a quick text to Thatch. He responded immediately, saying he’d meet me there in forty-five minutes. That gave me twenty-five minutes to share with Lucas everything about my sister, the case, and everything Thatch had been working on over the past two years. There was a connection somewhere. It was just that the introduction of Brent and Lennon bloody Blackheath was a development I never expected.
FOR FIVE HOURS we’d been looking at all the intel Lucas could provide, while Thatch caught him up with more in-depth details I hadn’t gone into.
It was well past midnight, and I stifled a yawn, almost seeing double from staring at the screen in front of me.
When Thatch’s firm grip latched onto my shoulders, I exhaled and angled my neck to look at him. “Hey.” My smile was real, if sleepy.
“I think we should head out of here and recharge. I want to talk to Kent in the morning.”
Lucas’s grumbles reached us at the mention of Kent’s name, and I laughed. In the bare-minimum break we’d taken between discussion, research, and trying to connect the dots, his link to Kent and her sister had given me the break I needed. It was always fun to take the piss out of the guy, and despite his conspiracy theories and his penchant for all things tech, there’d been little I’d been able to throw at him until now.
“That sounds like a plan.” Since we weren’t officially at work, I turned my head and kissed Thatch’s arm, allowing a deep inhale of his skin. It was hard not getting handsy whenever the desire to touch him, scent him grabbed me, which was a lot. It was an aspect I struggled with. Maybe when I’d finally taken him, and him me, the struggle would ease off a little.
My dick twinged at the thought, and if I wasn’t so tired, I’d be eagerly dragging him home and putting my mouth on him.
“Really?” Lucas’s amusement split the air.
“What?” I didn’t even try for innocence. “I can’t help it. Will you just look at the man? He’s hot as hell!” I wriggled my brows for good measure.
Lucas gagged, while Thatch snorted and hauled my arse out of the chair.
“I think that’s our cue to leave,” he said, sending Lucas an apologetic smile and then me a heated glance. Warmth uncurled in my stomach at the promise I saw there, which was immediately counteracted by my huge yawn that followed.
Lucas stood, following us towards the exit, laughing. “The only thing your arse is getting tonight is in bed.”
I flicked him my middle finger. “Spin it, dude.”
He snorted. “Yeah right, dude!” he mimicked. “I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.”
“I’ll call you by 0900,” Thatch said, focussing on Lucas. “That’ll give me a chance to touch base with Kent.” He paused before saying, “Are you sure it’s okay to bring her here?”
My heart gave an extra beat at his thoughtfulness. It didn’t take a lot to work out how off the grid Lucas’s place was, and it mattered he was respectful of that.
“Yes, that’s fine,” he agreed, and by his quick acceptance, I couldn’t help but wonder how many other secret lairs he had dotted around the country.
After saying goodbye, Thatch and I headed out, stopping to pick up his car on the way.
We were both hungry, but our exhaustion won out, so we tumbled into bed as soon as we were home, my limbs wrapping around Thatch’s hot body.
It seemed like I’d only closed my eyes before I heard voices. It was Thatch on the phone. It would have been easy to zero in and figure out who he was talking to, one of the many lines a shifter—those with a healthy dose of respect—worked hard at not crossing, unless we were welcome to listen. Instead, I pried my eyes open and looked at the time on the nightstand. It was just gone six in the morning, which meant I’d managed to get four hours, if that.
When Thatch said goodbye to whoever was at the end of the line, he headed back to his room. His tall, well-defined form filled up the door frame. The sight of him was something I didn’t think I could tire of looking at. He really was as close to perfection anyone could be. I hoped if this continued between us, he’d remain all mine.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Thatch asked, leaning against the frame as his eyes raked me. I shifted a little, allowing the sheets to move to give him a glimpse of the trail that would one day very soon lead him to call out my name.
He quirked his brow at my movement, and I grinned. “You really want to know?” I asked.
His mouth twisted a little before he glanced at the clock. From his disappointed frown, I figured either way we didn’t have time. “Rain check?”
“For what? Knowing what I was thinking?”
Pressing his lips together a beat, he finally said, “Yeah, let’s stick with that.”
Knowing we had shit to do and that neither of us was going to get any action, nor was there a chance of having that conversation that really needed to be had, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, amusement beating through me when he groaned at my naked body.
“You’re really not helping,” he grumbled.
“I’m making
