Page 276 of Duty and Desire

“You’re gonna come now—because I want you to. Now, Abby,” he ordered. He tilted again, hit a spot inside her that belonged only to him, and she exploded into a trillion pieces, spinning away from earth and reality and anything else that wasn’t centered directly on Noah Siosal.

CHAPTER 14

Noah kept his mate’s gaze as he zipped up her jeans, his heart full of her. “You okay?”

She blushed and nodded. “You?”

“Yeah. Better than okay.” There were probably soft words, kind words, he should use right now. But he didn’t know any. “I’m possessive and protective and kind of abrupt.”

Her eyebrows arched, and those pretty hazel eyes sparkled. “Yes. I’m aware of that.”

He swallowed, brushing her soft hair off her shoulder. “I belong to you. Completely and in a way I’m not sure you feel yet.” It was the most he could give anybody in this world. All of him. “Mates have a connection, and someday we’ll be able to share thoughts if we wish. When you hurt, I hurt. When you rage, I rage. And when you get frightened, I worry. When you’re in danger?—”

“You turn into a beast?” She grinned.

He nodded. “Kind of. More like I let the beast loose.” Was it just him, or did that sound dirty? He chuckled. “Immortals are more animalistic than humans, and we’re fine with that. When a mate is threatened, it’s not pretty.” That was as much as he could clean it up for her. “We’re as much instinct as thought,even though we’ve had a millennia to increase our intelligence beyond those of humans. But at our base, our main core, we’ve never softened.”

She leaned up and kissed his chin. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Good.” The words weren’t enough. “For us, it happens fast. I love you, Abs.” He took her hand, more than happy to give her decades to catch up with him, and started walking for the exit.

Her hand felt small and fragile in his. How long would it take for her body to change and become immortal? He’d heard the timeline was between a day and a couple of weeks, and there was no way to know hers. So he’d have to be extra vigilant for the next couple of weeks. By the way she leaned against him, brushing her breast against his forearm, that wouldn’t be too difficult.

She tripped and caught herself, holding his hand tighter. “You’re a mercenary. How is that going to work?”

He grimaced. “I own several businesses around the world, and we could run those.” He was tired of hunting and killing, and he’d been looking for something to do. “One of them is a charity. Actually a few of them are.” He glanced down as they reached the outside door. “I’m loaded, by the way. You don’t need to work.” Money hadn’t ever meant much to him, but if she wanted to shop, he was happy to give her all he had.

“Loaded, huh?” She waited as he opened the door. “If you don’t mind holding still for a bit, I’d like to work with Tabitha. Get some experience, at least while I wait for my probation to end.”

He’d forgotten. “Speaking about that, you need a decent lawyer.” He’d better find a couple.

“Maybe, but I signed the agreement, so it’d be hard to overturn. Much easier just to live out the probation, which then will go away. If Monte leaves me alone.” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

Oh, the human was going to leave her alone. Without question.

She stretched her neck. “Hey. What’s up with your rock hard bed?”

He paused. “Hard? What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on.”

He hadn’t noticed. “It came with the apartment. I’ll get a new one if you’d like.”

“Yeah. I’d like,” she said.

He liked her planning for their future. Rain splattered down as he opened the door and pulled her out, heading for his truck.

A bullet pinged off the metal building next to his head, and he reacted instantly, ducking over her and hauling her in front of his vehicle. “Stay down.” A bullet could still kill her. He levered up, looking at a dark van near the fence. A man partially rose, firing wildly. Shit. It was Monte. Where’d he get the van? He reached for his gun and remembered he’d lost it in the fight with Petersen.

Abby looked up at him, her eyes wide and frightened. “Who’s shooting?”

“Monte,” Noah said grimly. “Does he own a van?”

She shook her head. “No, but his cousin in Grangeville owns a body shop. He borrows cars once in a while.” She paled to beyond white. “We’re pinned down.”

Yeah. Their vantage point sucked.

“Abigail? Come out and come with me, and I won’t kill this piece of shit you’ve picked up,” Monte yelled.