Page 28 of Covert Affections (Shadow Agents/PSI-Ops #5)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lindy

The smell of coffee pulled Lindy from sleep.

She blinked groggily, momentarily confused when she found herself in the comfy chair in the living room rather than her bed.

It took a second for her mind be alert enough to remember she’d been up reading a book after having a bad dream about Cigarette-Man when she’d heard something outside. Then she’d seen Fluffy.

Excitement raced through her at the idea he might still be on the porch. She sat up fast and found she was covered in the throw blanket she normally kept on the sofa. She didn’t remember getting it when she moved the chair closer to the window, but she’d been pretty tired last night.

Anything was possible.

She looked out the window, hoping to find Fluffy. He wasn’t there, but a familiar SUV was parked next to her hatchback. She smiled and glanced toward the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Robert was here.

He’d probably let himself in and been the one who covered her with the blanket. It was a Robert-thing to do.

Her darkness stirred at the memory of their last romantic encounter, of the night she took too much and lost control. The night she killed him, even if only for a few minutes. He’d still been dead during that time, with no heartbeat. Had he not been an alpha male wolf-shifter, he’d still be dead.

The thought horrified her, but not her succubus side.

It was practically preening at the reminder of how good his energy had tasted.

The fact he'd survived that and that he still looked at her the same way worsened it somehow. Made it harder to keep her distance when her succubus side whispered that he was willing, that he knew the risks. That he didn’t blame her and liked being used by her—and that’s what she’d been doing—using him to slake the raw hunger that was always growing inside of her.

He deserved better.

He deserved a woman who would cherish him and his understated, dry sense of humor and his excessively caring ways—like he still always drove past the bar several times a night despite it being out of his way.

Or how he would often stop in during opening hours while on duty to have a cup of coffee and check in on her.

If that wasn’t enough, he often texted and would randomly show up on the porch of her home, claiming he had forgotten something, or he’d have his toolbox in hand, offering to fix one of the seemingly endless number of things falling apart at the house.

Then he’d just happened to sleep over. It was never sexual, not anymore, but her succubus wanted it to be.

Getting up, she wrapped the throw blanket around her shoulders and headed for the kitchen, following the smell of coffee.

There, in the kitchen, standing in front of the stove with his back to her was Robert.

His unform shirt was draped over the back of the kitchen chair.

His gun belt was on the table along with his radio.

He was well over six feet tall and incredibly fit.

Not to mention handsome—very handsome. His dark hair was a bit longer than he normally kept it and had started to curl slightly at the ends.

He was normally clean shaven as well but she’d noticed the stubble on his jawline the last few times she’d seen him.

“Did I wake you?” he asked, never looking back, his broad shoulders tense beneath his white undershirt. “You weren’t at the bar when I drove by last night.”

It shouldn’t have shocked her that he knew she was standing in the kitchen doorway, even though she’d not made a sound. As a shifter male, he had heightened senses. “No. You didn’t wake me.”

“Want to tell me why you were in the chair sleeping and why it is the chair is by the window?” he asked as the smell of bacon frying reached her. “You’re not known for rearranging rooms. In fact, that room hasn’t changed once in all the years I’ve known you.”

She leaned against the doorframe, watching as he cooked breakfast in her kitchen like he’d done dozens of times before. “You know, Irwin’s position is open if you want it.”

He cast a sexy grin in her direction. “I have a job.”

“True, but this one comes with perks,” she replied.

“You?”

She tensed and shook her head. “Unlimited beer.”

“Good perk,” he said. “Still haven’t heard anything from your cook?”

“Nope.”

“He’s real, right? Not invented,” he said with a wink.

“Hey, he’s totally real. I can’t help the two of you seemed to miss meeting each other,” Lindy returned. “It’s not like I didn’t try to introduce the two of you.”

Robert kept his eyes on her. “This feels a lot like you’re trying to change the subject.”

“From?” Lindy asked, feigning innocence.

“From me asking why it was you were sleeping in the chair in the living room and why you decided to rearrange things,” he supplied. “If you wanted things moved around, you could have told me. I’d have done it. You don’t need to be lifting things like that. They’re heavy.”

Robert liked to act as if they weren’t broken up. As if she didn’t literally kill him by having sex with him. She’d tried again and again to explain to him that they were no longer an item and that meant he didn’t have to keep checking in on her. He simply chose to ignore her.

Lindy debated on telling him the truth about the bad dream and about Fluffy but decided against it.

He’d get weird about her having a wild animal sleeping on her porch—especially one the size of Fluffy.

“I was up late reading and wanted to be by the window to look out at the night. It was pretty. I love pretty things. You know that.”

He glanced over his shoulder, his dark gaze landing on her. “Why am I thinking there is more to the story than you’re telling me?”

“Mm, do I smell bacon?” she asked with a grin.

He snorted. “Smooth change of subject.”

“I thought so,” she confessed. “Everything all right?”

He averted his gaze and nodded.

She wasn’t buying it. In the past when he’d come straight to her place after a hard shift, she’d take him by the hand, lead him to the bedroom and help him forget his troubles. That couldn’t happen. Not after what she’d done to him when she’d lost control of her succubus side.

His nostrils flared and his jaw set, his gaze roaming over her slowly.

She knew his tells.

He wanted what they had in the past—wanted to fuck away his worries and lose himself in the moment.

“Robert.”

“I know,” he said, going back to cooking. “I understand you’ve set boundaries on… us .”

“For your safety,” she stressed.

The expression on his face said he didn’t much care about his safety.

She bit her lower lip and teared up at the memory of what she’d done to him. “I can’t… I don’t ever want to hurt you again.”

He sighed and nodded. “I know, Lindy. And I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Plus, I’m fine. See.” He held out his arms as if to prove there was nothing to be concerned about.

“I killed you, dude. That’s hardly fine,” she said, her voice going up as she did.

He shrugged. “Happens.”

“Robert!”

“What? I technically died by way of sex. Not many men I know would complain about that,” he stressed.

She snorted.

He winked. “I’m here because I was worried about you being all alone. I needed to see with my own eyes that you were all right. There has been some shit happening at work that has left me a little on edge…and concerned.”

“Thank you for worrying about me,” she replied, grateful for his friendship.

“And I didn’t want to be alone,” he confessed, surprising her by showing vulnerability. “Not after last night.”

“What happened?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s fine. I just… What if you come and stay at my place with me for a couple of weeks? You can take my room and I’ll take the extra bedroom. No hanky panky, I swear.”

She snorted. “Hanky panky?”

He shrugged and offered a sly grin. “You know what I mean.”

“I do and thank you for the offer, but we’ve been over this before. I’m fine.”

He tensed. “Lindy, this place is isolated. You’re surrounded by abandoned farmhouses on properties that stretch for miles. You’re just far out enough out of town that you’re totally alone.”

Not totally. She had a guard cougar but she didn’t dare mention it to Robert.

“I’m fine. I promise,” she stressed.

“I can sleep here for a few nights,” he said, lifting his hands. “I promise, no hanky panky.”

She laughed. “Robert.”

He sighed. “I worry. That’s all. I don’t want the next call I go on to be for you. I want to know you’re safe, Lindy.”

“Thank you.” She wanted to comfort him, but it would end in sex and she didn’t trust her darkness enough to allow that to happen.

“I have to head into the bar early today for that job fair I’m hosting.

You can crash here if you want. You’ve got some clothes here still if you want to shower and then get some rest.”

He shut off the burners and then headed for the hall. He stopped near her chair and put a hand on the top of her head. “Reconsider letting me teach you how to shoot a gun.”

“Robert, we’ve been over this. I’m not comfort with guns. I wouldn’t use one. I’d panic and something extra bad would happen. I’d probably shoot myself in the foot or worse.”

“Hopefully you’d panic a bullet between an assailants’ eyes,” he stated evenly, his hand still on her head in a tender manner. “What if I got you a big dog? A guard one?”

She laughed. “Uh, no. I know Charley told you about the…”

“Goldfish incident,” he finished with a partial snort. “Oh yeah. She went into great detail, stressing how much you should not ever be a pet owner.”

“It’s true. Though, weirdly, I think I might actually be a cat person,” she said, thinking about Fluffy.

His lip curled in disgust. "Gross."

She swatted his thigh. “You’re only saying that because you’re a wolf.”

“Damn straight,” he said with a curt nod toward the stove. “Eat something before you go. I’m gonna grab a fast shower.”

“Your food will get cold.” Lindy pointed to the counter.

“I’m not hungry.”

She tipped her head. “Then why did you make breakfast?”

He ruffled her hair. “Because I knew you’d skip it if someone didn’t make it for you. Have some and then start your day. Oh, and have fun at your man-meat market.”

Lindy groaned. Teresa had a big mouth. “You’ve been talking to your aunt again.”

“That, and I saw your social media post about the event.” He crossed his muscular arms over his chest, causing tattoos to peek out from under the sleeves of his T-shirt. “Including the bikini shot of Charley. You know she’s going to be pissed, right?”

“That’s why I’m picking up a cupcake order from Doughing Payne in a little bit,” Lindy said with a shrug. “They’re her favorite.”

“Not sure cupcakes are going to cut it this time,” warned Robert. He shook his head. “I’ll catch a few hours of sleep and then come by to help maintain order at man-meat market this morning.”

Lindy blinked up at him. The last thing she wanted or needed was Robert hovering and growling at all the men that might show for the job fair. “No way. I don’t need any help. I have the matter well in hand.”

“Did you notice how many men have responded to the post? Or how many have shared it?” he asked, his gaze narrowing. “It’s viral, Lindy. Half the department was talking about it.”

“Cool. That means we’ll have a good turn out.” She beamed. “Lots of guys for Charley to pick from.”

He didn’t seem as enthused by the prospects as she was. “She’s not a fan of surprises and she’s going to hate this.”

Lindy waved a hand dismissively. “She’ll be fine. And she’ll get some much needed help out at the rescue. She may not think she needs it, but I do and we both know, I’m always right.”

“Or so you like to think,” he said with a wink, heading toward the bedroom. “And mark my words, she’s going to be pissed.”

“She’s going to love it!”

His laughter followed him down the hall.

She waited until she heard the bathroom door close before she stood, her intention to go outside and look around for signs of Fluffy. Her attention was pulled toward the kitchen window—specifically to the lock on it. A lock she knew had been broken before. It was fixed now.

How long ago had Robert gotten there and why hadn’t she heard him when he was clearly fixing it?

“Damn,” she mumbled with a shake of her head. “I must have been really tired.”