Page 14 of Stolen By the Wraiths
"How long before we move on the primary objective?" Alix asked as the door sealed behind us.
"Three hours. Enough time to acclimate and let the evening crowd develop." I moved to the security console, running standard counter-surveillance protocols while processing mission parameters. "The Kairos Lounge serves dinner from 1900 to 2300 hours. Peak business discussions occur between 2000 and 2200."
But underneath the professional assessment, something else was building. The public claiming behaviors at security, the constant physical contact during our walk, the way she'd naturally positioned herself to accept my protective stance—all of it was feeding instincts I'd spent years learning to suppress.
She wasn't just playing a role anymore. The realization sent heat through my traceries.
"We should review the behavioral protocols," she said, settling into one of the suite's chairs. "Make sure we're selling this properly."
"Agreed." I remained standing, needing the movement to manage the tension building in my system. "Newly bonded pairs exhibit specific patterns. Frequent unconscious physical contact. Heightened protective responses from the male. Increased scent-marking behavior."
"Scent-marking?" Her eyebrow arched in that way that always made my pulse quicken.
"Territorial claiming through pheromonal output." I kept my voice clinical, professional. "The male marks his mate's scent, creating chemical signatures that warn other males away."
"How thorough is this marking?"
The question caught me off guard. There was something in her tone—curiosity mixed with challenge—that made my control waver.
"Very," I said carefully. "It involves close physical contact. Nuzzling, breathing against the skin, allowing scent to transfer through proximity."
"Show me."
Two words that nearly shattered what remained of my restraint. She stood, moving closer, and I caught her scent, that clean, sharp fragrance that had been driving me to distraction for days.
"Alix." Her name came out rougher than intended.
"If we're going to sell this, I need to know what it feels like." She stepped closer, within arm's reach. "Otherwise I'll react like it's foreign when someone's watching."
Logical. Practical. Absolutely necessary for mission success.
A trial for every shred of self-control I had left.
"The male typically approaches from behind or beside," I said, moving to demonstrate while every instinct screamed at me to close the distance completely. "Like this."
I positioned myself behind her, not quite touching but close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from my body. Her scent intensified, carrying notes of arousal that made my traceries pulse.
"The scent transfer requires skin contact," I continued, my voice low. "Usually here." I indicated her throat without touching. "Or here." The curve where her neck met her shoulder.
"Do it," she said simply.
I snapped.
I leaned in, letting my breath ghost across the sensitive skin of her neck. Her scent flooded my senses, electric and alive, a pulse beneath my skin. My body responded before I could stop it. When I nuzzled against her throat, allowing my pheromones to mark her skin, a soft sound escaped her that went straight to my core.
"Like this?" she asked, breathless.
"Yes." The word was barely human. My hands came up to rest on her shoulders, steadying both of us as I continued the territorial marking. "The scent will linger for hours. Anyone with enhanced senses will know you're claimed."
She leaned back against my chest, her body fitting perfectly against mine. "And what about me? How do I respond to this?"
"However feels natural," I said, my lips still against her skin. "Newly bonded females often seek their mate's scent during stress. They position themselves for protection, accept territorial behavior, encourage physical contact."
"Like this?" She turned in my arms, her face tilted up toward mine, close enough that I could see gold flecks in her eyes.
The space between us was electric. This wasn't practice anymore, it was something else entirely, something dangerous and necessary and completely outside mission parameters.
"Exactly like that," I said, my voice raw with need I could no longer disguise.
