Page 23 of Pawsitive Data

Her heart rate jumped deliciously. He leaned closer, letting his fangs graze her ear. “Perhaps we need more accurate measurements.”

“Oh god,” she breathed. “That’s not fair. I’m trying to maintain objectivity and you’re doing that thing with yourvoice that makes my crystal practically strobe and—” She froze. “Wait.”

Memories from times with Grandma Mags flashed in her brain. The times when the elder blathered on about humans who could turn into animals and strange goings-on. At the time, Emma had thought it was dementia-related hallucinations. But now she knew it wasn’t.

And the time when Grandma gifted her the crystal necklace during a rare lucid moment—“Always keep this with you when you work,”she’d said.“You never know when you might find an interesting use for it.”

“Oh my god,” Emma whispered. “She knew. But how?”

“Who knew what?” Lucas asked.

“My grandmother somehow knew about shifters and she totally knew this could happen.”

Lucas couldn’t help laughing at her outraged expression. “Of course, your grandmother had some suspicions about genetic compatibility.”

“Why do think that?” she asked.

“Um…” His joyful expression quickly turned worried.

Her brow went up. “What are you saying?”

“You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“Emma, the pride hired your grandmother to work here a long time ago.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?” She couldn’t believe it. Why hadn’t Grandma Mags told her that? Actually, whywouldshe tell Emma? It was so long ago and Emma had been young.

“Hold on,” she said, “All this is her doing. She practically engineered this! The crystal, the job offer, the extremely specific focus of my research...” Emma’s eyes narrowed. “No wonder she insisted I study genetic biology. She wasn’t just preparing me forthe job, she was preparing me for...” Her scientific brain visibly caught up with her mouth.

“For?” he prompted, enjoying her blush.

“For potentially encountering certain shifter-related situations that might require specialized knowledge about transformation genetics and mate-bond theory and... and you’re smirking at me.”

“I’m appreciating how adorable you are when you try to science your way through emotional revelations.”

“I am not—” She stopped, scowling. “Okay, fine.”

This time she deliberately pressed closer, running her hands up his chest. His growl rattled the coffee cups.

“That,” she said triumphantly. “That exact frequency of growl?—”

He cut her off with another kiss, pouring all his amused affection into it.

When he pulled back, her eyes were slightly unfocused. “That’s... that’s very distracting to my scientific process.”

It took everything in him to pull away and let her get back to what she loved the most. “Time to go,” he growled reluctantly. “Before you accidentally discover any more pride secrets through pure scientific enthusiasm.”

“Too late!” She was already typing notes on her tablet. “I have at least three new theories about mate bond genetics that need testing. We should probably start with close proximity experiments to establish baseline readings and...”

Lucas smiled, showing fang. “Whatever you say, Dr. Greene. I’m happy to assist with any... hands-on research you require.”

Her answering blush was delightful. So was her scent of mingled arousal and scientific curiosity.

His mate. His completely perfect mate.

Even if she had named the genetic sequencer Bernard.

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