Page 14 of The Protector’s Heart

“Yeah, of course. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but if you need me, you call and I’ll be there in a two shakes. Got it?”

Malachi said goodbye and hung up, sliding the phone into his pocket.

“Was that your business partner?” Nila asked.

Malachi turned to find her leaning against the doorjamb. He nodded.

“What else does he do besides run the security company with you?”

He hesitated, and saw her eyes narrow and a frown mar her pretty face. “He’s a hunter.”

“Like deer or duck?” Her head tilted as her brows rose.

“Not remotely. He hunts rogue shifters for the government. It’s part of the military, a small group of highly trained soldiers that go after shifters who have harmed humans or become unstable.”

“I didn’t know there were people like that.”

“No one knows what Lucian does aside from me. His family thinks he’s just a soldier; they don’t know that he goes after dangerous shifters to help protect the population. He travels a lot, and he’s very good at his job.”

Her brows creased. “No one knows? But you told me.”

He exhaled slowly. “I trust you not to tell anyone what Lucian does. It’s important to him that his family is safe, and the safest thing for them is to be in the dark about the specifics of his job.” He watched her brows draw closer together and this time he didn’t stop himself from crossing over to her and looking down into her beautiful face. “You’re safe, Nila. I wouldn’t have told you if I thought it would place you in danger. He deals with bad guys, and sometimes bad guys go looking for people to hurt in vengeance, which is why he does all that cloak and dagger stuff. But it’s got nothing to do with you.”

She peered up at him, her chocolate gaze roaming his face. “Are you safe? You’re his business partner.”

“He keeps that part of his life separate from our business, so yes, I’m safe.” He wanted to grin like an idiot because she cared if he was safe or not.

She inhaled slowly, her eyes darkening, and the soft, sweet scent of her arousal spiked in the air between them. He almost bit off his tongue, but he managed to put some distance between them. “I’m going to head outside to install some motion lights around the outside of the house.”

“I made dinner. When you’re done.”

His head shot up. “You didn’t have to.”

“I know. I think that’s why I did it.”

He smiled at her and she returned it, turning into the kitchen and leaving him alone. Gathering his things, he headed out into the cold to hook up the motion lights. He couldn’t help but smile. She’d made him dinner. He’d dance a jig if he knew how.

Dinner with his mate. Was there anything better outside of naked bodies between sheets? Hell no.

CHAPTER SIX

It took Malachi about two hours to get the outside lights installed. Every now and then she’d hear a ladder moving around, some drilling, and the occasional muffled curse. She put both of their dinners in the oven to keep warm and got Jack ready for bed. By the time Malachi came inside, Jack was snoozing in the bedroom with the door shut, and she was positively starving.

“Come eat, Mal.”

He took off his coat and toed off his boots. “You called me Mal.”

“Sorry. Brynn does. Is that a nickname just for her?” She felt a little stab of jealousy.

“No, not at all. My sister does, too. I like you calling me that.”

He followed her into the kitchen, and her heart started thumping. She’d never really cared if anyone liked her cooking before. Jack was easy and her biggest fan, but serving Malachi dinner suddenly seemed stupid. If he hated her cooking, he might not want to come over anymore.

She gave herself an internal shake. She still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she wanted to do with Malachi anyway. He might be gorgeous, but he was still a wolf, and she’d never had good luck with wolves. She was feeling like a bad hostess and wanted to feed him, that was all this was. She didn’t need to read anything into it, because there wasn’t anything there. Right?

She pulled the plates out of the oven and turned around, finding him setting the table with silverware and folded napkins. She clenched her teeth to stop from gushing over how awesome he was. Setting the plates on the table, she pulled a jug of sweet tea from the refrigerator and filled up two glasses. She sat down and said, “I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, but I figured meat was a good start.”

He looked down at their matching plates—pan-seared pork chops, macaroni and cheese, and steamed green beans. His blue gaze met hers, and he flashed her a brilliant smile, making that dimple show in his cheek again. “It’s perfect. I do love meat, but heck, I’d eat anything you made.”

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