Page 22 of An Uncertain Claim

“It’s up to you, Peyton,” he purred in my ear. “How badly do you want to come, baby?”

He stilled suddenly, the hand on my throat loosening completely, and his eyes locked on a spot above my head as his mouth curled down into a deep frown.

Without any more warning, his knee fell and he released my throat and wrists. I nearly pitched to the side, but he curled his arms around me and cradled me into his body, cuddling me close while my legs threatened to buckle. The change from hard to soft happened so fast it just about gave me whiplash. “What…?” I was confused and still in a daze, particularly because my body still burning so hot. I feared I might spontaneously combust.

“Shhhh, baby. Try to calm down. My Beta will be here any minute.”

Ah, that explained it, he’d been having a silent conversation.

I expected the reminder of the hive mind to chase away my desire, so it stunned me when it didn’t happen. Then again, maybe it shouldn’t have. In all the time I’d spent with Nathan, I’d never seen him control anyone in his pack with his ability, never mind abuse it.

“Alpha.” Tanner called to Nathan and muted footsteps on the carpet drew closer.

I held onto Nathan for another beat, but then I felt strong enough to stand on my own, so I tried to move away. He allowed me to move away but grabbed my hands and threaded our fingers together. I almost laughed at the little thrill I felt. We’d never held hands before and it seemed like such a…sweet gesture. After the filthy things we’d been engaged in a couple of minutes ago, it seemed ridiculous to be mooning over some hand-holding as if it were the fifties and he’d just asked me to go steady. My mind wandered to Nathan’s time in that era, and I wondered if he’d ever asked someone to “go steady” with him. The thought made me want to chuckle again. He’d been a fully grown adult by then, but it still amused me to picture him with a letterman sweater and cuffed jeans.

Tanner’s voice quickly pulled me from my amusing thoughts, and I tuned in to his and Nathan’s conversation.

“Geoff called in. Used the distress code for life or death and asked to be picked up at location Charlie.”

Nathan ran a hand over his beard before nodding. “Send a two-man team and take him to one of the off-the-books safehouses for interrogation. If he’s a mole, I’m not endangering the lives of any more operatives than that.”

“Will do.”

“Let’s go to IT,” Nathan said and gestured for Tanner to lead the way. “I want to check in with Lisa and Peyton hasn’t seen it yet.”

“Did you ask—”

“Not yet.”

I glanced between the two of them, positive I missed something, but neither of them seemed inclined to explain. They kept walking and talking as if I weren’t there.

“Any luck with the invitation?” Nathan asked as we turned down another hallway. The décor changed again, going from the harsh black and red to soft hues of blue and white with silver accents. It was a dead end that led to another large space. This one had an aisle going the length of it, and another that criss crossed it. Glass walls lined each walkway, but inside were offices. They were minimal in décor, but they all sported at least five monitors. Some of them even had a wall of smaller screens. There were multiple computers, keyboards, headphones, servers, and anything else a hacker could dream of.

I was seriously close to drooling. Most of the offices were occupied, but there were a few empty ones and I decided to ask Nathan if I could make use of one later.

“Not yet. She’s been trolling the IP addresses of the people who visit the site and enter a code, though she can’t verify if they are successful, just that the system made an attempt to verify one. She’s hoping she might be able to catch a break and get an actual name for our guys to follow to the meet.”

As we walked, Nathan surprised me by filling me in on the situation Tanner referred to. He’d said he would trust me, but I hadn’t expected him to share details that probably required a high security clearance. One I would never be able to get because of my…other activities, ones that weren’t always considered legal. But I looked at some of the specific laws I broke as guidelines. It was what they should’ve been in the first place.

We finally came to a stop at one of the largest offices, where a female wolf shifter typed furiously while her head bounced back and forth between computer screens. She had chunky, black hair with neon-green highlights that she’d pulled up into a high ponytail, but strands had fallen free around her face, and she blew them out of her vision every few seconds.

“Lisa, report,” Nathan said. I really needed to stop letting that authoritative voice he used at the office send streaks of heat through my belly.

The woman glanced over at Nathan, then hit a button on her keyboard before leaning back in her chair and swiveling around to face us. “Alpha,” she greeted in return. Her eyes drifted in my direction, partly curious and partly cautious, before returning to Nathan.

“You can speak freely,” Tanner assured her. “She’s the Alpha’s mate.”

I wanted to kick Tanner in the balls, but Nathan yanked me into his side, clearly anticipating my reaction.

Lisa’s brow shot to her hairline and a look of hurt flitted across her face.

“We haven’t announced it yet because Peyton isn’t ready,” Nathan assured her.

“Oh,” she replied, eyeing me with confusion. “Why not?”

I sputtered and looked at Nathan to save me, but he just raised an eyebrow and stared at me. I pursed my lips and my eyes narrowed, promising retribution later.

“It’s complicated.”

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