Page 27 of The Scent of Seduction

“So I guess you’re my shadow from now on. Well, there’s no need to make this a solemn affair. Tell me about yourself, Cooper. Friendly conversation will make the day go much quicker.”

They left the diner and Cooper kept Nicole to his left as they walked down the street.

“Why do I have to stay on this side of you?”

“So that my gun hand is free at all times.”

Well, that was a sobering thought. “Couldn’t you just shift and take out the bad guys with all those sharp teeth?”

Cooper looked down at Nicole with a smile. “Some may consider me a superhero, but even a wolf isn’t faster than a speeding bullet.”

Nicole chuckled. “Okay, you got me there. So you were on Jaryn’s team in the military?”

“He told you about that, huh? Did he tell you about Collin?”

“The prank-pulling fairy? Yep. So give me the goods. Did he ever get one over on Jaryn?”

Cooper laughed. “Oh God, yes. There was this one time we were all dead tired from a twenty-mile hump. So we dragged our ragged asses into the barracks and Jaryn goes off to the latrine to take care of some business. Suddenly we hear this really loud crack and Jaryn’s yelling obscenities that would make the toughest leatherneck blush. Turns out Collin had put a few snap cracks under the toilet seat and when Jaryn sat down… boom!”

Nicole stopped walking and stared at Cooper. Then suddenly, she doubled over laughing.

Cooper smiled. “I swear, for months after that, he checked under the seat before he dropped his trousers.”

Nicole leaned against the side of the bank building as she caught her breath and wiped the tears from her eyes before they turned to tiny icicles. The air that she sucked into her lungs was cold, and the tip of Nicole’s nose burned from the frigid air. She looked up at Cooper and for the first time realized what an attractive man he was. Up till that point, she’d always seen him as the soft-spoken, serious sheriff and enforcer for the pack, but when he smiled, his blue eyes sparkled.

“I bet the ladies eat you up, Sheriff.” “Um, well, I wouldn’t know.”

“You cannot possibly expect me to believe that you’re a virgin, Cooper Tessen. You exude a magnetism that would get any unmated person’s juices going.”

Cooper coughed, and Nicole giggled at the blush that crept down his neck. Cooper leaned in and braced his arm on the wall of the building beside Nicole’s head. She sucked in a breath as his lips came within inches of her ear.

“I always liked Captain America more than Wonder Woman.”

Nicole’s eyes went wide and when she looked up at Cooper, she saw the humor sparkling in his eyes once again. She smacked at his shoulder and he stepped back with his hands up, laughing.

“All right. You’ve thoroughly put me in my place.”

“Who’s that guy? It’s not Chaunterel. I thought she mated the Alpha, but she looks to be getting awfully cozy with whoever that is.”

“Doesn’t really matter. The Alpha’s going to be pissed that Chaunterel has given her a private bodyguard.”

Nicole stiffened and looked around. “Did you hear that?”

Cooper nodded and put Nicole behind his back. “Don’t move, Nicole.”

Cooper opened up his comm-unit and sent out a message. Nicole tried to peer around his broad shoulders, but Cooper kept her securely pinned behind his larger body. The cold from the stone of the building cut through her layers and the sharp edges poked her in the back. Less than a minute later, a black hulking vehicle pulled up to the kerb and the rear door opened.

“You called for a ride?”

Cooper quickly ushered Nicole into the backseat, keeping her body shielded with his the entire time. When she got in, she saw that Jeff Walker, one of Cooper’s deputies, was behind the wheel.

“Take us to the Alpha’s home. We need to get his mate secured immediately,” Cooper ordered.

The vehicle pulled away quickly and sped down Main Street. Nicole assumed the deputy wasn’t concerned about being caught speeding. As they entered pack lands, she saw Cooper’s grip on the front passenger seat relax marginally.

“I’m sorry, Nicole. I never should have left you vulnerable like that.”

She placed her hand on Cooper’s shoulder. The muscles tensed under her hand. “You did nothing wrong. Nobody was hurt. That’s what matters.” Cooper’s blue eyes burned into hers, and Nicole saw the self-recrimination in their depths. “Please.”

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