“You don’t cry often yet there you are sniffing and leaking. Is he going to call you?”
“I don’t know. He had to leave for some kind of meeting early this morning. They needed to ask him questions about what happened. He kissed me, told me breakfast had been delivered to the living room and he’d be back as soon as he was able. Instead two guys showed up after I ate and told me it was time to go.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. I wanted to at least say goodbye. I left him a note and my phone number.”
“He’ll call. I saw the way he looked at you.” Her gaze dropped to Lauren’s chest. “And you’ve got big boobs. Men always call women with those.”
Hot tears welled again and Lauren admitted the truth. “I wasn’t ready to let him go.”
Amanda leaned closer, putting her arm around her best friend. “This is probably why we don’t date. We suck at this whole one-night-stand thing.”
“I had two nights with him,” Lauren corrected. “How am I going to sleep without him tonight? He holds me so tight in his arms. I never felt so safe and so right with someone before. He’s special.”
Amanda suddenly snorted. “You slept? Shame on you. I would have stayed up to enjoy every moment with Flame if he hadn’t had to leave. That’s a man who needs a warning label tattooed across his chest that says ‘a woman needs a strong heart to climb on this ride’. I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to find out for sure but I gave him my numbers. He promised to call.”
“I’m sure he will.” Lauren took her hand. “What a pair we are.”
“I just hope it wasn’t something dangerous for Flame. The word emergency implies something awful, doesn’t it? The women said it was probably something to do with those stupid protesters who are always giving them grief. I wanted to march out to the front gates and bitch-slap the lot of them. My poor Flame has already been through so much and having to deal with the worst types of human trash just pisses me off.” She sighed. “Especially since it took him away from me. He’s such a good man and I just wanted to kiss him and take him to bed. I think I’d make a hell of an ambassador to show him some real goodwill and human kindness.”
Lauren laughed. “You’re terrible.”
“No. I fell for him and wanted to fall on a mattress with him too.”
“You’re such a slutty bitch.”
“You’re such a…oh hell, Lauren. I think I’m in love. You know how we used to snort at the love-at-first-sight thing? Not so funny now. I spend a few hours with him and he’s all I can think about. It’s not just because I’m horny and haven’t had a date in forever. He’s funny, sexy, and I know he would have rocked my world.”
“Lucky you. I am pretty sure I’m in love with Wrath.”
They sat there. Lauren yawned and caused her friend to do it too. They glanced at each other and laughed.
“Are you staying here or are you going home?”
“I need to go home and check on Tiger.” Lauren pulled away. “I also want to be there in case he calls me. I don’t want to miss it if he does. God only knows where my cell phone ended up…or my purse. I have keys though.” She patted her pocket. “One of the NSO guys handed them to me and said my stuff would be delivered to me later. I don’t even have a car until they bring it back.”
“Do you want to borrow my car? I’d offer to drive you myself but I’m so tired I’m afraid I wouldn’t make it back without falling asleep behind the wheel. I’ve got a hot redhead to live for.”
“The walk will do me good and it’s only a few blocks away. I hope Flame calls you soon.”
“Me too.” Amanda looked sad. “I’d so love to go visit him again but only when he’s got a few days off because I don’t want him called into work again. Want to go storm the gates of the NSO with me soon? That’s my plan if he doesn’t call me. I’m not letting this one go.”
“Only if Wrath wants to see me.”
Amanda nodded. “I’m sure he will. I saw the way he looked at you when we were in their medical place and he first walked out from the back.”
“I hope you’re right. I’d feel better about it if I’d gotten to talk to him before they took us away.” Lauren stood, stretched, and another yawn passed her lips. “Call me later. Much later.”
Amanda turned on her side, stretched out on the couch and waved. “Lock the door, okay? I’m too tired to go upstairs.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“You know who I’m going to be spending my snooze time with. He’s total fantasy material.”
Lauren let herself out, locked the bottom lock, and made sure the door latched well. The sun hurt her tired eyes but she trudged home and managed to avoid most of her neighbors since they’d already left for work. Walking inside her home reminded her of the last time she’d been there with Wrath and his team members.
“Tiger?”
He was stretched out on her bed. He raised his head and peered at her.
“No scary guys today, unfortunately, but hopefully at least one of them will be back soon. You’re going to like him as much as I do once you get past that whole growling thing. It’s sexy. Trust me.” She kicked off her shoes, stripped out of her clothes and stared at her answering machine by the bed. It didn’t blink, there were no messages, so she closed her eyes as she curled up under her covers.
He’ll call. He has to call me!
* * * * *
Wrath was furious as he glared at Fury. “You had her escorted off Homeland and taken to her friend’s home while I was gone? How could you do that? I planned to spend time with her after I was done with my duties.”
The other male frowned. “Is she your mate? I wasn’t informed of this.”
“No.”
Fury tilted his head, studied him closely, and Wrath shifted his stance. The scrutiny left him feeling nervous and meant he’d probably crossed a line. “Are you sure the female isn’t your mate? You look upset, Wrath. Does she mean a lot to you? We need to discuss this.”
“She means a lot.” Opening up about his feelings wasn’t easy to do except with Shadow. “Lauren is all I think about and I’m feeling anger that I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. I hoped to see her again soon.”
Fury smiled. “I understand. I felt a pull toward my Ellie from the first. We went through a lot but she was special to me. Perhaps you should take this time apart to do some thinking. You agreed to give the task force at least six months of your time and I know you’re still struggling to come to terms with who you are.”
The idea of not seeing Lauren for five more months sent panic shooting through his body. She could meet another male who might claim her in that time or she could forget about him.
“You are bad at hiding your dismay.” Fury chuckled. “She left you a note.” He withdrew it from his back pocket and held it out. “Read what she wrote and perhaps it will be something you wish to know to take that stricken look from your face.”
Wrath lunged for it. He tried to ignore the way his hand trembled as he unsealed the envelope. It tore in his unsteady grip but the paper inside remained undamaged. He stepped back, ignored everything around him, and read the few short words. His heart slowed to a more normal rate and he glanced up to find Fury watching him.
“She gave me her phone number and wants me to call her.”
“Poor bastard,” Tiger sighed, stopping next to him. “I heard enough from my office to know you’re going down too.”
Fury frowned at his friend and shook his head. “It is not a disease or a bad thing to find a female who makes a male feel whole. Ellie is the center of my world and so is our son.”
Wrath jerked his head up, his gaze leaving Lauren’s neat writing to gawk at the male in front of him. “You have a son with your mate? I hadn’t heard that.”
Tiger gripped his shoulder. “You’ve been gone, you were with the task force, and they aren’t allowed to know about our ability to have children. Only Tim knows the truth. Fury’s son is a few weeks old and as cute as hell. I’m surprised to find Fury in the office. He rarely leaves his mate’s side but I’m betting our females have swarmed his house again to visit and make funny noises at the baby. He tends to flee in case they snarl at him over how painful labor seemed. Our women are very protective of Ellie but of course, no one took it worse than Fury did. Trisha threatened to Taser him and have Slade sit on his back if he didn’t stop snarling at everyone when Ellie had a contraction. He acted as if everyone was the enemy because he got protective of her.” Tiger laughed. “Are our females still threatening to neuter you?”
“Shut up,” Fury snapped.
“They are.” Tiger snickered. “None of our females want to do surgery on my nuts and that’s another reason I don’t want a mate.” He released Wrath. “Don’t allow our females to get attached to yours if you take a mate. Only threats can come of it and a lot of pissed-off Species females with grudges.”
“Don’t you have phone calls to make or someone else to taunt?” Fury glared at him. “I was talking to Wrath.”
“He loves me. My man is just grumpy because he’s not getting any loving.” Tiger laughed.
“I am though.” A smile curved Fury’s mouth. “There are many ways to do that.”
Wrath glanced between the males, knew they were friends, and wished he could escape their good-natured argument. “I have a phone call to make.”
“Not so fast.” Tiger shifted to block his path and all humor left his face. “You did agree to work with the task force for six months and we can’t afford to lose you. We’re already one Species down since Vengeance didn’t work out. Whoever this female is, she can wait.”
“You could keep her with you. You have your own sleeping quarters, correct? I can talk to Justice and he’ll be able to smooth things over with Tim.”
Excitement struck Wrath for a few heartbeats as he absorbed Fury’s offer. “I don’t know if she’d agree to that.”
Tiger growled. “That’s too risky. She’d have to—”
“Agree to remain there during the rest of your mission.” Fury shot Tiger a warning look. “He has feelings for the female. You may not understand but I do. I’d live anywhere with Ellie and she’d live with me. It could be inside a cave in the woods but she wouldn’t care as long as we’d be together. This female might return his strong feelings.”
“Tim is going to pitch a fit. I know him better than you do. He will adamantly refuse to allow a human female to live with one of our males.”
Fury shrugged off Tiger’s assessment. “That’s not his call to make since he works for us and we give the orders.” He stared at Wrath. “You should find out how deep her feelings run for you. Justice and I both have mates and we understand how important they are to our happiness. He’ll support me on this issue. Do you love her?”
“She is all I think about,” Wrath confessed. “I’ve never been happier than when I’m with her.”
“Sounds like love to me.” Fury chuckled. “Stop wasting time with us and go call her. Find out if she loves you.”
Wrath hesitated, staring at the other male. “What if she doesn’t return my feelings?”
“It’s her choice and her heart. You can’t be mates unless the love and need to be inseparable flows both ways. It’s what makes the mating bond alive. Just don’t be surprised if she asks for time to figure out if she is willing to give up her life as she knows it to be with you. They are different from us and I’ve heard their males aren’t as intense as we are. She may not take you seriously due to how some human males don’t understand the true meaning of loyalty and commitment for life. It’s your duty to tell her how we are, that it’s for life, but you aren’t allowed to share classified information about Species until after she is your mate.”
“He means use condoms to prevent her from becoming pregnant and don’t tell her there’s a possibility of it until she’s really yours. I’d wait until you live at NSO before you do that. We can’t allow the humans to know we can have children. It’s too dangerous and you getting her pregnant while living with the team would reveal our secret.”
Wrath understood the importance of protecting his people and their future. “She is on the birth-control shot.”
“Good. Make sure she keeps taking it. They assume we can’t get them with a baby and might decide she no longer has to take it.” Tiger spun on his heel. “I do have calls to make. Good luck.”
Fury nodded toward Wrath. “Call her.” He stepped into his office and closed the door.
Wrath hesitated and walked outside to find privacy under a shade tree before he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number on the note Lauren had left him. His stomach twisted from the uncertainty of what she would say or how she would react. They hadn’t started out on good terms when he’d taken her from that warehouse but emotionally they’d come a long way in such a small amount of time. He was willing to risk anything for her, even the pain of rejection.
* * * * *
The phone woke Lauren and she lunged for it. “Hello?”
“Lauren.”
Her heart instantly squeezed at hearing that deep, wonderful voice. “Wrath.”
“The briefing took longer than expected and then I was asked to be present while Bill was interrogated. I returned to the cottage to see you but was informed you’d been escorted to your friend’s home.” He paused. “I wanted to see you and was deeply disappointed that you were gone.”
“I wanted to see you too but they didn’t exactly give me a choice.” She sat up and clutched the phone tighter, fully alert. “You got my note.”