Page 5 of Thrilled By Her Protector

She closed her eyes, ignoring that last bit he’d whispered. No. She would not allow herself to feel all warm and buttery at his words. No matter how much she liked his family home, it was not hers. For the sake of this assignment, she needed to move in asap according to Mother’s instructions. It was all business, not pleasure. If Zircon was determined to help, she would put him to work. Jennifer was good at that.

“Alright. I’ll text you the details of your assignment,” Jennifer said, dismissing him without another glance.

She felt his eyes on her, but Jennifer resisted the compulsion to meet his gaze. Oh, she looked calm. Had worked hard to maintain that mask of indifference, but it was all camouflage. Smoke and mirrors. On the inside, Jennifer’s Owl screeched his name into the wilds of her inner mind’s eye.

Zircon. Mine.

No,she told her animal forcibly. He could never be hers. And that was something she would have to live with.Even if seeing him every day gutted her.

ChapterTwo

Zircon grunted as he lifted box after box of Jennifer’s shit from her office, loading into his new F150 Raptor. He’d had the thing completely customized by a Shifter friendly shop and had been dying to take Jennifer out with him for a drive. Of course, he hadn’t been planning on hauling a ton of her work with him.

Work. Ugh.

That was all the female cared about. On one hand, it was inspiring the way she’d committed to her job, which was essentially handling all assignments and possibly snafus involving the Wyvern Protection Unit. Sometimes it seemed like Zircon would be carrying a torch until the end of his days for this woman.

He might have believed that, too, if not for the way she’d sweetly submitted to him the night after the big battle with that Alien motherfucker, Cass Viper. Then again, they were all Aliens, weren’t they? It was still difficult for him to wrap his brain around that little factoid.

“Careful with that. It’s electronic equipment,” Jennifer said, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

She threw her hands in the air and turned around with her list and pencil, making sure she had everything she needed. Fuck. She was cute. Looking at her in her tight pencil skirt and knee-high boots, her white blouse buttoned up to her throat, glasses perched on her nose, and hair pulled back into a neat bun made Zircon’s Wyvern growl and his cock stand at attention.

She had the whole sexy librarian look smack down. Zircon never wanted anyone the way he wanted her. And he’d saved himself for her, too. After all, they’d been working together for a long time. Like decades long, but Shifters aged differently than humans.

His skin crawled at the thought of anyone else ever touching him, so he hadn’t let anyone else touch him. Not ever. Sometimes he thought he’d die from wanting her so fiercely, and now that he’d had a taste of her, it was that much fucking worse.

Zircon had been waking up in a cold sweat almost every night this past week. His beast was ornery as fuck, and the lightning he used to call so easily to his aid was not responding like it used to. He felt adrift. Confused. And angry.

Why else would he be at her office, begging for a crumb of attention from the female?

Shit. He had it bad. And if he wasn’t careful, he was going to lose his damn mind the same way he had his heart to the woman. Something was wrong. He knew she cared about him. It was evident in the way she’d embraced him. Jennifer had welcomed his body, urging him on until he’d filled her heat with more ardor and zest than he’d expected. She tried to convince him it was simply a passing need, but he knew better.

Zircon was in love with Jennifer, and she loved him, too. But she was in denial. He’d urged his father to extend this offer to her, knowing she would take it in order to do a better job. She took her position at the DPCA very seriously, and it was something he’d admired her for. But no one could live on work alone. She needed to find a balance between her personal life and professional one, and he was just the Wyvern to help with that.

Of course, he didn’t expect to be her personal mover. But he knew what this was—another of her tests. Jennifer didn’t trust easily, and she was constantly testing the people she worked with, and those few she called friends.

It was fine, though. Zircon always was good at tests. And he’d been studying for this one for years.

“Anything else?” he asked once he’d loaded the last box.

“Um, no,” she said, looking at her list. “I think that’s it.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

“Oh, I have my car?—”

“No, you don’t. Jasper came by to pick it up while you were inside. He’s bringing it to get that oil change you’ve been putting off for weeks now.”

“What? You had no right to do that,” she snapped.

“You’re going to be staying at our place now, Jenn, I have every right to make sure you’re safe. Besides, your break pads need changing, too. I’m surprised your Owl hasn’t been driving you nuts because of the squeaking.”

“She has, and I’ve been meaning to get them checked, but it’s been very busy,” she supplied.

Her frown was so damn adorable, Zircon wanted to nibble it. He resisted, though. Barely.

“Well? What are you looking at?”

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