Page 24 of An Uncertain Claim

Again, Nathan pulled me from my contemplation, and I gave myself a stern lecture to focus.Why do life-altering revelations always happen at the most inconvenient times?

Chapter Thirteen

Peyton

Iwalked quietly beside Nathan as he led me to a bank of elevators. We rode up to the fifth floor and the doors opened to reveal another open space divided into offices. There were two desks in the main area that were each occupied by a female shifter and they both looked up as we stepped into the space. “Nate,” one of them greeted. The other nodded respectfully as well and murmured, “Hello, Alpha.”

Nathan gave them both a single chin lift, then put a hand at the small of my back and guided me to a set of frosted glass doors. Inside was an office that I instantly knew was his. I’d noticed that most of his spaces were decorated in a way that made them reminiscent of his home.

“You can use my computer,” he said. “I’ll log you onto the right server and give you access to the files on this op.” He sat at the desk and booted up the system, then went through several layers of security. The encryption on his home laptop suddenly made much more sense. He clearly used it for sensitive KBO and Council business.

“Your security is impressive,” I told him thoughtfully as I watched the process of opening everything up for me to access. “It would have taken me a long time to penetrate it.”

Nathan paused and frowned at me. “When were you poking around in KBO’s security?”

I mentally cringed.For someone who doesn’t like to share, my word vomit around Nathan is astounding.

“I took a look at your home computer one time, but I was too tired to try anything. But then Sam mentioned it to me. I did a little digging.”

His brows pinched and his frown deepened. “How the fuck didn’t my people notice?”

“So…I never leave a trail.” I shuffled on my feet awkwardly. Just because I’d realized I wanted Nathan to know how good I was didn’t mean I was comfortable with the idea. “The thing is, I’m really, really good at what I do.”

Nathan leaned back in his chair, the computer forgotten for the moment. “And what exactly is it that you do, if it’s not waitressing?”

Yeah, I handed him that opening on a silver fucking platter.“I do freelance work. Anyway, is it ready?” I asked, gesturing to one of his large monitors.

He stood, towering over me and giving me an intimidating stare. Embers in my core began to heat and his nostrils flared—it hadn’t been the reaction he expected. He threaded his fingers in my hair and drew my head back, then he exhaled slowly and released me. Stepping around me, he murmured, “Don’t think I’m going to forget this conversation, Peyton. But right now, I need you to do whatever it is you do and help my people complete their mission.”

It took me a few seconds to shake off the sensual fog that had been building around us. When I sat in his ridiculously large chair, I felt a little like a kid visiting their parent’s office and I chuckled.

“Something funny?” I glanced up to see Nathan sprawled on the couch across from me, one ankle resting on the knee of the opposite leg and an iPad perched there.

He was looking at me expectantly and I smirked. “You’re fucking huge, you know that?” My panther loved how petite we felt sitting in his much larger shadow—figuratively speaking.

One corner of his mouth climbed up. “I just seem that way because you’re so small.”

“I’m five foot nine, Nate,” I said drily. My panther yipped in agreement, not happy being described as small. “If you think that’s small, it’s because you’re a giant.”

He’d taken the elastic band out of his hair, letting it fall around his shoulders, and he ran a hand through it as he studied me with melted silver orbs. “I don’t recall you complaining about my size while I was moving inside you.”

The embers burst into flames, and I barely refrained from fanning myself. My cat panted and urged me to ask for a reminder. “Touché.” He smirked before dropping his eyes to his tablet.

I smiled and shook my head as I turned to the task at hand. I spent a couple of hours reading through information on the op. I only scratched the surface, but once I had enough understanding to tackle the problem, I moved on.

“Peyton.”

My head shot up and I blinked in confusion, my mind still engrossed in my work.

Nathan stood in front of me with a brown paper bag that had delicious aromas wafting from it. “Baby, you need to take a break and eat.”

My stomach rumbled and my mouth watered. “What time is it?” I asked as I looked around and realized the lights were all on and it was dark outside.

“Almost six. I couldn’t get you to eat lunch, but I’m not taking no for an answer this time. You both need to eat.”

I frowned up at him, trying to remember him interrupting me before now. “What are you talking about? Nobody has bothered me for hours.”

Nathan sighed and set the bag on the desk before coming around the corner. He plucked me out of the chair and sat down, then settled me sideways on his lap. “I tried to get your attention at least four times since this morning, baby,” he informed me as he reached for the bag and began to pull the food out. “I shook your shoulder and called your name from right beside you. I considered shutting off the monitor, but your fingers were flying across the keys so fast, I was worried you’d make a mistake and blame me for the rest of eternity.”

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