Page 42 of Protected By Artemis

“I knew he could take it,” she said, standing up. “And we need every edge we can get.”

He nodded. “We’ll find out what they’re hiding. We have to.”

He tugged her close. “Now, what do we do?” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. The investigation was progressing, but right now, he was more focused on the woman in his arms.

She looked at him, hooking her finger under his chin. “Well, you could kiss me,” she said. As their lips met, he held her tightly, his hands moving down her back until he finally had his hands on her perfect ass.

“From being a virgin to now making out in my office, what a difference,” he teased her.

“Wait, you have that backward. I started by making out in your office. For practice.” She laughed, a sound that made his heart swell. “Anyway, you love it.”

“You bet I do,” he said, his lips brushing against her ear before he bit it gently.

She gasped, and he could feel her shiver. Then her phone pinged, and he felt the vibration in the back pocket of her jeans. He fished it out and handed it to her.

She took the phone and glanced at the screen. “Hephaestus is done double-checking Mallory’s data. Should I ask him to come here to talk?”

“Sure,” he said, his lips trailing down her neck.

She sighed contentedly but managed to say, “You better stop that, or else Hephaestus will see more than he bargained for.”

He laughed, kissing her one last time. “Okay, I can stop. For now.”

She giggled and called Hephaestus. “Ela re!Yeah, why don’t you come to Cade’s office so we can talk? Okay, see you!”

She held Cade’s cheeks and kissed him softly. Their eyes locked before she stepped back. Just then, Hephaestus materialized in the office. Artemis winked at him before turning to Hephaestus and hugging him. “Hi, H.”

“Hello, Artemoula, Cade. How did the app work?”

“It worked well for the most part, but at one point, we had to rely on my powers because one of the alphas had a flip phone,” she said.

“Not a smartphone,” Cade added.

Hephaestus shook his head. “I guess he really doesn’t want to be monitored at all.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to make sure it doesn’t happen,” Cade replied, smirking.

“So, what did you find on Mallory’s phone?” Artemis asked.

Hephaestus’s laptop appeared beside him in a flash. “There wasn’t anything specific to the Andersen pack,” he said, hitting a couple of keys. “But there have been a lot of emails about someone wanting to buy their land.”

Cade’s eyebrows shot up. “What? What’s the name of the person?”

Hephaestus scrolled through the file. “They mentioned Arcane.”

“Arcane Corp.,” Cade said.

“Yes,” Hephaestus confirmed.

Cade’s mind raced. Arcane Corp. was notorious for its aggressive business tactics and shady dealings. This revelation added a new layer of complexity to their investigation. He glanced at Artemis, who looked equally concerned. “Arcane Corp. was also asking about our land. I told them I wasn’t interested in selling. It’s been with the pack for generations, and everyone lives here.”

Artemis frowned. “Why would they be interested in this land and Mallory’s?”

“Most likely, they want to mine it,” Cade replied, a note of frustration in his voice. “We need to find out everything we can about Arcane Corp. and their interest in Mallory’s land.”

Hephaestus nodded. “I’ll get on it. This could be the lead we need.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Artemis said.

---