Page 56 of Wolf Desired
Rafe raised a brow. “Explain.”
“Let me in on the op, and I’ll tell you anything you want.”
Green eyes swirled with black as Rafe dragged his thumb slowly along her jaw. “I won’t be bribed or swayed by your heavenly charms.”
Heavenly charms? Damn, just hearing him say that in his gruff voice sent shivers through her. She needed to lock herself in a room with him and kiss the hell out of him to get this confounding lust out of her system.
“Stay here, Artemis. Document,” Rafe ordered, back to being an alpha. “We’ll debrief with you when we’re done. You’re part of this team. A very important part.”
Important. Just not important enough to take along.
His eyes dropped to her hip, to ensure she had her Glock just in case she needed it. When he spotted it there, his eyes returned to her face. “Let’s get this over with,” Rafe said to Tiernan and Maddox as he headed out of the office.
Maddox trailed a hand down her arm and let his fingertips hook hers and just held her like that longer than a casual goodbye warranted. She realized Tiernan stood behind her and Maddox was trying not to aggravate him.
“Stay safe,” she whispered to Maddox. “And watch over the others.”
“I will, angel.” Maddox kissed the top of her head and left.
“They want you,” Tiernan said when the other two shifters had exited. “I was hoping you’d choose me.” Instead of touching her, as Tiernan took every opportunity to do, he locked his hands behind him.
She reached out, caressed his handsome face with her thumb as she slid her hand through his hair and pulled him down for a kiss. He opened for her so easily, his warm tongue meeting hers and languidly taking his time. “I have feelings for you,” she whispered.
“And the others, too,” Tiernan said, his disappointment clear.
“Yes. I won’t lie to you, Tiernan. There’s something about each of you.”
“I’m not enough for you?”
“I can’t explain it. You are important to me. But so are they. I don’t think I can just walk away from them. Or you.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “I don’t want to lose you, Alyssa.”
He used her name intentionally, even though Maddox and Rafe were possibly still within hearing range. Perhaps it was his way of telling them he had more of a claim on her.
“Just focus on not getting hurt on this op, okay?”
He pressed his lips to hers, indulging in a deep kiss. When Rafe wasn’t around, Tiernan exhibited traits of an alpha. Rafe’s presence definitely affected Tiernan and Maddox. And her.
“Go,” she whispered, hating that they were going out without her.
“Someday soon, I will claim you, my Alyssa.” He began undressing, and he grinned when she looked shocked.
“Here? Now?” she said.
“While I’d love to, we need our wolves. Rafe found a back way into that warehouse that’s too big for us to squeeze through as shifters.”
He pointed to outside the door where two sets of clothes lay neatly folded on the floor in the hallway. When she turned around, Tiernan had already shifted into the gorgeous silver wolf she remembered. He nuzzled her leg and then shot down the hall toward the stairs.
Alyssa peered out the window and watched as Tiernan moved down the street, using abandoned piles of stone, a rusted-out truck, and the occasional tree for cover.
She noted the time on her watch and estimated how long it would take for them to circle behind and enter the warehouse through the back.
As she settled in, sitting on a chair by the window, pointing the camera toward the warehouse across the street, a sense of dread welled inside of her. A minute later, a gunshot echoed through the industrial park. Alyssa jumped to her feet. Shouting ensued, followed by a lot of noise as if a fight was taking place. Then silence. No more gunshots. And no one was exiting the warehouse.
Despite the twisting in her stomach, she didn’t let herself freeze up. They couldn’t be dead, not all three of them. Not from a single gunshot. But they could be in trouble.
Or they could have overpowered the anti-shifters. Alyssa waited. Five, ten minutes. More than enough time to secure the criminals and escort them out.
