Page 18 of Protected By Her Mate

Damn it, it’s annoying to be crushing on my police partner and having to be professional about it.

I invited him here rather than asking him to meet at one of our offices because it’s closer to 716 Olive, the bar that was blown up. The chief called this morning to tell me the building has been cleared for inspection.

“Come in,” I say, accidentally tipping my tea against my chest and gasping as hot liquid splashes me. “Ouch!”

“Good morning.” Lennox’s smooth, deep voice soothes as he extricates the cup from my hands, his knuckles brushing over the burn, which feels strangely better after his touch.

He pulls away, stepping back, and a sense of loss shudders through me. Like a magnet, I want to step with him, close the distance, press myself against him, soak in his warmth, feel his beating heart against my cheek.

“Are you my mom’s shifter partner?” Luke’s shout startles me out of my distraction and I wince.

We both look at Lennox who looks back at us seriously. “I am indeed her shifter partner.”

And, of course, the follow up question. “Can I see you shift?”

A slow smile spreads across Lennox’s face and everything inside me melts at the way he’s looking at my child, all soft and understanding. I could marry this man and I haven’t had that kind of thought since Ramón.

I mentally slap the shit out of myself. Good lord, these hormones!

“Of course he won’t shift on command,” I say, pressing Luke’s lunch into his arms and handing over his backpack. “There’s no time.”

Lennox looks relieved but also mildly confused as I whisk my teacup away from him, pour the contents into my go-mug and hustle Luke toward the door.

“Is it take-your-kid-to-work day?” Lennox asks gruffly, eyeing Luke. Standing next to each other, their size difference is so comical I laugh and cover it with a cough. Luke looks like a toy next to the huge man.

“No, we’re dropping him and the others off at school, then we’ll head to the blast scene.” I push them through the door and turn to lock it.

“Others?” Lennox inquires.

Luke skips down the stairs. “Cousins!”

I shrug sheepishly. “It’s my turn to carpool the kids to school. Thought since you’re a cop you’d make good backup.”

“You need backup for this sort of thing?”

Both Luke and I firmly say, “Yes!” before climbing into the van, Lennox sliding into the passenger seat next to me.

I give him a serious look. “As this is your first time, you should be warned.” I take a breath, wondering if it’s too soon for this. What if I lose him before ever really getting to know him? “This won’t be easy. In fact, you may wish you’d prepared better for what’s to come. The destruction is indescribable. The terror is real.”

“Super real,” Luke chimes in, giggles spilling from him.

I turn the key in the ignition. “Don’t make eye contact, don’t offer them candy, and whatever you do, if one latches on to you, it’s safer to lose the arm and run away so you can fight another day.”

He stares at me like I’ve gone off the deep end and I nod. Good, he’s taking me seriously. It’ll help him through what’s coming.

Who am I kidding? Nothing will help. The man is doomed. My crush will die and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Forty-seven minutes later, we pull up outside of what used to be 716 Olive. Lennox is shaking his head in shock. “I’ve never seenanythinglike it.”

“You did great, partner.” I pat his knee sympathetically and reach for the door handle. “You should have seen Catalina, Jorje’s girlfriend, after she helped with her first school drop-off. I thought then and there my brother was doomed to a life of celibacy.”

“Are they always like that?” he asks in disbelief. “I have to say, I survived the sinking of the Britannia, an assassination attempt, and the Western Front in France during the great war, and nothing has come closer to breaking me than those kids.”

I take a moment to appreciate the breadth of his experience before snickering at the awe in his tone. Big, fearsome wolf can’t handle a gaggle of schoolchildren. “You’re the one who finally gave in and shifted for them. They might have settled down if you hadn’t done that.”

“I couldn’t have known they’d ask for rides,” he argues, shaking his head.

I laugh at his consternation. “Which proves you probably don’t spend much time around children.”

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