Page 8 of Cuffed By My Mate

“Good. You must be Vera,” he says, offering a friendly smile as he steps forward.

“That’s me,” Vera says, shaking his hand.

“She’s our new station manager,” I announce, shooting Tucker a pointed look that tells himnot to argue with me on this.

He just nods. “Cool. Can you get her set up then? I need to check on a fallen tree out at the north boundary.”

“Sure thing.”

Tucker nods at Vera. “Welcome to the team. You’ll like it here—it’s easy work. If you ever need anything, just ask Crew. He’s been running this place forever.”

I roll my eyes as he heads out, and then turn back to Vera. My chest warms as I watch her take in the station, eyes full of curiosity.

I get such a feeling of happiness when I look at Vera. She completes me. She makes me whole.

“This will be your desk,” I tell her, pulling out the chair for her.

She runs a hand over the surface, nodding. “It’s nice.”

“You can decorate it however you’d like. I’ll have to get you a login for the system, so I’ll do that now, and then I can walk you through taking calls and how we file things.”

“Sounds good.”

I head back to my own desk and log in, setting her up quickly. Within minutes, I’m leaning over her shoulder, showing her how everything works.

Her scent wraps around me, warm and inviting, and I have to force myself to focus on the task at hand. My bear isn’t helping. He wants me to strip her naked and lick every inch of her.

Later,I promise him, and he grumbles but calms down.

“We could take a vacation soon,” I say casually as we head out to lunch, testing the waters.

“A vacation?” she repeats, glancing at me in surprise.

“Yeah. Anywhere you want. Do you want to go back to your old pack?”

“No!”

She says it so quickly, her voice sharp, that I stop in my tracks and frown.

I study her face, noting the tension in her shoulders and the way her fingers tighten around the strap of her purse.

“No one that you miss there?” I ask carefully.

She exhales, her gaze flickering away. “No. My mom died a few years ago, and I… didn’t have anyone else. I don’t ever want to go back there.”

Noted.

My bear growls softly in my head, instantly hating wherever she came from for making her feel that way.

I nod. “We don’t have to. We can go somewhere down south? Or up north if you like the cold more than the heat.”

She forces a small smile. “North like where? Alaska?”

I grin. “Alaska or Canada, maybe. Or if you don’t want to go that far, there are a few other places. Just not Red Fog.”

The second I say the name, she stiffens.

“What?” she asks, her voice quieter now.

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