Page 19 of Arrested By My Mate

And that I never once thought about leaving.

EIGHT

Tucker

As soon asI wake up, I can feel it.

The mating heat.

It’s eight o’clock in the morning, nowhere near the full moon, and already, it’s hitting me like a drug.

Good thing I had the sense not to sleep in the cell with her last night,I think as I push to my feet and glance over at my mate.

Good thing?My wolf snarls at me, and I wince at his harsh tone.

We can’t claim her. Not until she chooses us,I remind him, and he growls so loud that I’m sure I’m going to have hearing loss.

She better choose us,he snarls, and I nod.

She will.

I hope.

Nori is still sleeping so I make my way quietly over to the duffle bag that I packed with my clean clothes and head into the men’s room. There’s a shower in here, and I hop in, soaping upand rinsing off quickly. I have to ignore my hard-on as I towel off and get dressed.

My mind is locked on Nori. How is she feeling? Can she feel the mating heat, too? Is she hungry? I should go get us breakfast before she wakes up so that I can spend as much time with her as possible today. Will she choose us?

I swallow hard as I head back out to check on her. She’s still fast asleep, so I grab my keys and wallet and head over to the diner to order us some food. I know that Crew will be in today. He’s on call tonight, and he promised to take anything that comes in so that I can be with my mate.

I grab Nori’s smoothie and my pancakes and eggs and head back across the street to the police station. Nori is up when I get back, and I pause in the doorway as a fresh wave of the mating heat rolls over me.

All of my senses are heightened right now, and I can feel my teeth elongate, ready to bite and mark her. My mouth waters, and I swallow hard.

“Morning,” I croak, sounding like a beast even to my own ears.

“Morning,” she says softly.

I can’t read her expression, but I can smell her desire.

Bite her and claim her now!My wolf howls, and I grit my teeth.

Not yet. Be patient.

He bares his teeth at that comment, and I hurry over to hand Nori her smoothie.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, trying to gauge where she’s at emotionally right now.

“Um… good,” she says, but she doesn’t sound like she means that.

“I got you a smoothie, but if you want something else, I can run back out and get it.”

“No, stay!” she shouts, then her face flushes. “I mean, this is good.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” she promises, and I nod, heading over to my desk with my own breakfast.

It kills me to put any distance between us, but I also know that I’m close to breaking and biting her.

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