by Hannah Lin
desperately wanted to wrap my arms around Kate’s neck,
tuck my face against her shoulder, and breathe in the spicy
scent she wore. But there were guards around, and I
couldn't put us both at risk.
“I'm fine,” I said, walking.
Kate followed a step behind me. “Sorry. I forgot we were
supposed to be in character. Your father assigned me to be
your guard. He doesn’t know how much I want this
assignment.” She chuckled. “At least I get to stare at your
gorgeous body.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to find Kate
smiling at me.
The taller woman tutted. “We're supposed to be in
character, remember?”
My stomach flip-flopped as my pulse took off, skittering
wildly. Kate and I had chemistry. Boatloads of it. And with
the crappy way I'd been feeling, time alone with her was a
welcome remedy.
“Two can play at that game,” I said. I lowered my eyes to
Kate's chest and smirked. “If I could see through your
clothes, I’d bet your nipples are as hard as steel right now.”
Kate groaned, a low rumbling sound that vibrated in my
chest. I turned around and resumed my walk, making sure
my hips swayed. Once I was far enough away from the
buildings and closer to the trees, I stopped and turned to
Kate.
Her blue eyes slammed into mine, dark with desire, and
my breath caught in my throat. We needed to dial things
back. A minute of flirting, and not only was my painful
interaction with Taylor forgotten, but now, my underwear
was damp.
I looked at the ground. “Did you get in touch with your
higher-ups?”
That broke the spell. When I looked up at Kate, her face
was apologetic, all signs of arousal wiped away.
“I did,” she said. “They want me to proceed as originally
planned.”
I bit my bottom lip and nodded. I'd promised myself I
wouldn't put Kate in a tight spot. She'd asked her bosses
about an alternative, and that was the best she could do.
Asking her to go against her orders would not only be
selfish, but harmful to our relationship.
Kate had mentioned that she saw her colleagues change
after finding their mates. She believed in what she did and
was proud of it. I couldn’t ask her to go against her values
and have her wake up one day resenting me.
“I understand,” I said.
Kate took a step closer and lifted my chin with her finger.
“I already care about you so much, Maddie. Trust me when I
tell you I gave it all I had.”
“I know you did, and it's fine. The most important thing is
that we get out of here together.”
Kate placed her hands in her pockets and studied me. I
turned away, not wanting my hurt feelings to reflect in my
eyes.
“If it were just me, I would go against those orders,” she
said. “But my second is here. He's the one with the silver
streaks in his hair, and he's a hotshot intent on proving
himself. Even if I wanted to, he'd get in the way.”
I pulled Kate into a hug and rested my head against her
collarbone. “I know,” I said. “There are no easy answers.
Hopefully, after this mission, you and I will be on the same
side.”
“So, you want to be with me, then? Despite what I do?”
I pulled back and looked up at Kate, a smile on my face.
“Because of why you do it. You're a great person.”
Kate gently lowered her head toward me. She smiled. She
was giving me plenty of time to pull back if I wasn't ready.
But I was. More than ready.
I finally did what I'd wanted to do since our meeting
yesterday. I wrapped my arms around my mate's neck and
pulled her down to me. Our lips touched once, then twice,
sending an electrifying shock through me.
Then something within me broke free. I wasn't the
unwanted girl I'd felt like all my life. The woman that was
made for me was willing to sacrifice everything for me,
because she wanted a future with me.
I threaded my fingers through her hair and parted my lips,
deepening the kiss. Kate's tongue darted into my mouth,
tasting me. She groaned and wrapped an arm around my
waist, pulling me into her.
Kate's kisses were so soft, yet passionate. Full of heat that
stoked the fire in my belly, but cool enough that they were
refreshing. No one had ever kissed me like this.
Kate wasn't just seeking her pleasure or playing with me.
No. With every caress and nibble, she learned more about
my likes and dislikes, driving me higher and higher into a
state of maddening arousal.
I tiptoed and pressed my chest against hers, needing
more contact. Kate placed both hands on my shoulders and
pushed me back down, placing feverish kisses all over my
neck, while chuckling.
“I'm sorry, but we have to stop,” she said.
I joined her in laughter, then ran a hand through my hair
as we parted. “I know. This isn't the time or place.”
Kate nodded. “But when it is, you'll be glad we waited.”
“Is that a promise?” I raised an eyebrow.
“The best kind. The one thing you need to know about me
is that I always over deliver.”
I burst out laughing, then stopped when Kate gave me a
frank look.
Oh, gods, I thought. She means it.
“I, uh, better go back before anyone wonders where I've
been,” I said.
Kate pecked me on the cheek and smiled. “I'll see you
soon.”
I walked back faster than I usually would, eager to get to
my room. Kate had set my world on fire, and while I couldn't
completely cool things down, I needed some self-love to
take the edge off.
I wonder if Kate’s planning on doing it, too? I thought.
My core clenched, and I murmured a curse as I pictured
Kate taking matters into her own hands.
“I am one lucky girl,” I whispered.
CHAPTER 5
KATE
I watched Maddie until she was within a safe distance of
Carter's men. Then my smile dropped, and I turned around
to face my Second.
“You can come out now,” I said.
Kai moved slowly from behind a tree and placed his hands
in his jacket’s pockets. The sun was out, but there was a
slight chill in the air. “You should be careful going off alone
with her,” he said.
“Carter assigned me as her guard. It's not a problem.”
“Something tells me it might be.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and did my best to avoid the
jab. I would not get into this with Kai. “If anyone needs to be
careful, it's you.”
Kai's eyebrows shot up. “Why me?”
“I've seen the way Taylor looks at you.”
“I would never sleep with him.” Kai scoffed. “He's Carter's
Second.”
“And a handsome man. Don't get cocky out here. This is a
much slower pace than what you're used to.”
Kai
shuffled his feet and looked over my shoulder. “I'm
fine.”
I shook my head. Kai hadn’t climbed the ladder as fast as
he did by being sensible. On the one hand, I wanted him to
adjust to the slower pace so that he wouldn't jeopardize the
mission by doing something stupid. On the other, I could see
the tightly coiled energy in my Second's body. Sitting around
all day must have been killing him.
“I'm not trying to overstep,” I said, folding my arms. “But I
didn't always do undercover work. I know the situations
you're used to. This is nothing like that. It's low energy, with
loads of empty hours. That can make you vulnerable.”
Kai drew a sharp breath. “Low energy situation, plus me,
equals potentially bad outcome. Got it. Now, what were you
and Maddie talking about?”
I furrowed my brows. Kai had dismissed my concern,
which made me more worried that he'd do something rash
on instinct. I wanted to express my concern more strongly,
but now Kai had pivoted the conversation to Maddie. Could I
trust him?
“Nothing,” I said.
He laughed. “I meant before all the kissing. What were
you talking about before that?”
“How long were you standing there?” I clenched my fists
and calmed my dragon down. Maddie and I had shared an
intimate moment that was not for anyone to see. That Kai
had stood there watching, then brought it up so casually,
grated on my nerves.
“Long enough. So, again, what were you talking about?”
“Nothing you need to know about.” I turned to leave, but
Kai gripped my arm. I glanced at his hand on me, then at
Kai himself. I felt my blue eyes glow with anger and dark
blue scales covered my back.
“Let go of me,” I growled. Kai dropped his hand quickly
and took a step back. While there were differences between
male and female dragons, size and strength were not
among them.
I had always been even-tempered. I loved adrenaline and
new experiences, but the extremes of emotions weren't my
thing. Over the years, I’d seen several people lose their rank
because of dumb decisions, and I vowed to never be among
them. So, I never drank excessively, slept around, or
gambled.
I kept my nose clean and had found that the universe
usually responded in kind. But now, Kai was calling to the
beast within me. One that had long been dormant since my
days in the regular corps.
“I'm sorry,” Kai said, raising his hands. “I didn't mean to
be rude.”
I watched Kai run a hand down his face. The guy was
clearly sorry about what he did, and it appeared all his
moving from team to team had denied him the ability to
develop social skills. The simple kind, like knowing that one
should never spy on a friend while they were sharing an
intimate moment.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Kai meant no
harm. He just wasn't that great at talking to people. Also,
Maddie being my mate had made me a little more sensitive
to the situation.
My scales retracted as I reversed the shift to my dragon
form. “It's fine,” I said, looking into Kai's gray eyes. “Just
don't talk about Maddie and me so lightly. She's my mate.”
“What?” Kai's face crumpled, and I chuckled. Kai had
reacted like a five-year-old boy that had been forced to hold
hands with a girl.
“You have heard of those, haven't you?” I teased.
Kai shook his head. “But she's Carter's daughter.”
“Which makes everything complicated.”
Kai placed his hands on his hips and paced back and forth,
turning to look at me now and then. “So, what are you going
to do?” he asked, stopping.
“Try to convince the Major General that Carter would
make a great asset if we kept him alive.”
Kai scoffed. “Good one.”
“I'm not kidding.”
The shock in Kai's eyes turned to pity, then confusion, and
finally anger. “Wait, are you serious about sparing the man
behind the genocides on several planets, all because he's
your mate's father?”
I winced. Worded like that, I sounded like my mated
friends. But what could I do?
Maddie said she would be okay, but I could see it as clear
as day in her eyes that if I killed Carter, a part of her would
forever connect me to that action. While she may not grow
to resent me, she'd put my face together with her father's
every time Carter came to memory. I wanted Maddie to
have only good feelings whenever she thought of me.
“I've not forgotten my duty or my mission, but I'm in a
tough spot. My mate asked me not to kill her father. How
can I do that, and expect to have her in my life?”
Kai sighed and parted his lips before pursing them. “I
could take the kill.”
I cocked my head. “What kill?”
“Carter. I could make sure that I was the one that killed
him. That way, you'd technically fulfill Maddie's wish.”
I smiled sadly. “She won't see it like that, but thanks for
offering a solution. And here I thought you were a heartless
machine.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Dude,” I said, wrapping an arm around Kai’s shoulder.
“You've moved up the ranks faster than anyone. There's a
rumor going around that you're a machine. No one should
be able to pull that many back-to-back missions.”
Kai shrugged out of my grip. “I'm professional, and I move
swiftly.”
“Well, do me a favor and hold off. I've mostly been
listening to conversations and observing operations for the
last two weeks. Why don't we kick things into high gear now
that you're here?”
Kai's face brightened. “What did you have in mind?”
“Some nightly reconnaissance. Last night, I couldn't sleep,
and I heard voices outside. It sounded like Carter had taken
a couple of men out with him. I'm sure it won’t be the last
time.”
“So, we can follow him, and hopefully find out more.”
“Exactly. We need to know what types of potions he's
using and who provides them. The same goes for the
bombs. And all planets have security on each other's
borders. It's part of all peace treaties. We need to know who
is going to give him access to Mabos.”
Kai stopped walking and frowned. “That sounds like a lot.”
“It is, but just imagine what Testea could do with that kind
of information.”
“But how will that help us convince the Major General to
spare Carter?”
I smiled. “I appreciate you thinking about how to help me
with my problem. To be honest, I don't know if I can
convince him. I want to get the best information I can, and
hopefully, we'll stumble on something Testea can use.
Perhaps find a bigger fish to fry.”
“They don't get much bigger than Carter, from what I've
seen.”
&n
bsp; I sighed. “I know, but I have to try.”
“For your mate?”
“For my mate. Let's meet up later and discuss our—”
“Where've you been, rookie?” Simon called, walking
toward us.
I was careful to widen the gap between Kai and myself. I'd
been careless and gotten carried away with our
conversation. What if someone tied me to Kai? If my second
slipped up, I’d go down with him.
“Who are you calling rookie, old bear?” Kai responded,
trying to lighten the mood.
Simon didn't smile. “Taylor wants to see you. Says you
have pending duties.”
I mentally shook my head. I bet I knew what Taylor wanted
from Kai. I just hoped the silver-haired dragon wouldn't fall
under his spell. Days and weeks of nothing to do could make
a person act out of character.
Once Kai left, Simon folded his arms and observed me, his
green eyes sharp with interest. “What were you doing out
here with Kai?”
“Just welcoming him to the team. I know how hard it is
being the new guy. Well, girl. You get the point.”
Simon nodded. “What about Maddie?”
“Carter assigned me as her guard.”
Simon dropped his arms and sighed. “I thought that might
be the case. Look, be careful. Whatever reason Carter has
for bringing her along doesn't matter. Keep a healthy
amount of distance. I've heard rumors of guys that tried to
get close to her getting reassigned or fired.”
My chest tightened. “You mean she got romantically
involved with them?”
“What? No. Maddie’s gay. At least from what I’ve
observed.” Simon shook his head. “The men I’m talking
about were trying to be friendly. When you’re surrounded by
so much toxic masculine energy all day, any feminine
energy is a welcome reprieve, romantic or platonic. But
Carter doesn’t care about that. Anyone that gets close to
Maddie disappears.”
My head jerked back. Why would Carter go so far? And
poor Maddie. She probably didn’t know why the friends she
made kept vanishing.
I hope she doesn’t think it has something to do with her, I
thought.
“Why would Carter do that?” I asked.
“I'm not sure.” Simon shrugged. “If you ask me, he's got
someone in mind for her.”
A flash of heat moved through my limbs. Maddie was mine
and mine alone. “Well, that will never work.”
“I wouldn't be so sure. When Taylor first started hanging