Fearless Mating

by Milly Taiden

Banking on Agent Day’s words about Josh obeying her orders, she sat straighter and put on her commanding persona. “All right, Tumbel. You’ve lain around long enough. Get your ass in gear and shift.” She waited as nothing happened. Maybe she shouldn’t come off as such a bitty, but more personal. Day did say Tumbel would do whatever to make her happy. She leaned down to his ear.

  “Josh, if you shift right now, I’ll be the happiest person in the world. If you don’t, I’ll be so pissed off at you that I’ll never talk to you again.”

  The first crack of bone made her heart smile.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Josh felt his body shift even though he had not initiated it. He remembered there was a reason to shift, but his mind refused to land on a thought and adhere to it. His wolf howled in his head to pull his shit together and wake up. They had a mate by herself in a dangerous situation, which she could handle, but they didn’t want her getting the idea in her head that she didn’t need them. They would always protect her, always be there for her.

  His eyes popped open and he stared into the most beautiful hazel irises he’d ever seen. Worry filled them, then they smiled. His mate was inches from him and thinking about kissing him. He saw the hesitation, but when her pink tongue slid out. Screw it. He lifted the small distance and gently pressed his lips to hers.

  Their lips met again in another scorching kiss. A kiss that deepened the strange connection they seemed to have. At least in her eyes. He seemed to think it was all normal. From the moment she saw him, she’d felt the pull to him. She knew there was something strong between them. It scared her, but it excited and pushed her to trust him at the same time. Her mind and heart told her she was delusional if she thought she could deny this. Them.

  She pulled away with a smile and blush that made her too adorable. His mate was shy. That endeared her so much more to him. When she looked over her shoulder, he realized they were still in the security room of the NIA building. Shit. He’d been shot. The memories rushed in.

  He rubbed his hands over his chest feeling for holes. His hands came away sticky.

  “You got blood everywhere. Don’t move,” Candy said. At the water dispenser, she wet several paper towels and brought a dripping handful to him. The second the cold water hit his bare chest, he was wide awake. Goose bumps crawled over his body. “Hold still, you big baby. If you want cold, I’ll drop you in the Potomac.” He looked at her to see if she was serious. Her eyes were severe, then they rolled. “Yes, I would do that, but only if you made me mad.” She winked at him. His heart fluttered. He was in love.

  Sitting up, he noticed he still had on his pants. They were shredded, and the button and zipper were busted, but they covered him for the most part. He’d have to find something else to wear if he went into public.

  He looked at the wall of video images she kept glancing at. “What’s going on? What did I miss?” he asked.

  Handing him another wad of wet paper towels, she wiped her hands and threw the waste into the trashcan.

  “The little bastard shot Pommer’s wife for no reason other than to be a fucking prick,” she started. “Then he grabbed Pommer and they were headed for the elevators last I looked to get to the helicopter on the roof. They’d have to take the stairs since we shut down the shafts. I haven’t seen them come out the top yet.”

  “Dammit,” he said, trying to stand. His legs felt like gummy worms. “They’re getting away. I need to get my men up there.”

  She grabbed him around the waist and lifted. He couldn’t believe how strong she was. No wimpiness for his mate. “Your men are up there, and hopefully, set up to do whatever. I have faith they can make plans without you. Think on their feet.” She pulled out a chair and sat him in it.

  “My team can do more than just think in the middle of a crisis,” he said, injecting pride into his voice.

  “I’m starting to see that,” Candy mumbled. She pushed a button, changing the large monitor on the desk to the view of the rooftop. The wide angle shot covered the entire roof with one video unit. The helipad shined like the sun in contrast to the darkness around it. He couldn’t see much more than a few air conditioner units and other shadows.

  A rectangular swath of light cut through the darkness where the door from the stairwell opened. One of the men slid out, gun at the ready. He quickly circled the space behind the door checking for an ambush. Josh held his breath, praying his men didn’t make a liar out of him. The gunman waved those in the stairwell out and their shadows passed through the rectangular light on the roof’s ground. Four in all.

  The group hurried through the darkness between the door and helicopter. Yulian, even though short, kept a gun to the NIA director’s back. When they reached the ’copter’s illuminated area, only three of the men stepped into the light. Josh sat forward in his chair. Candy sucked in a breath.

  The first guy looked over his shoulder as if hearing something. The director stopped behind him, stalling the group. The two Russians exchanged words and Yulian pointed toward the dark area. Maybe telling the guy to look for their comrade. If Josh knew his men, and he did, they had taken down their first victim without so much as a murmur or scuffle of shoes.

  Yulian poked Pommer with the gun and they headed toward the helicopter. When the director opened the rear plane door, he jerked as if a loud noise had startled them. Yulian spun around and fired several shots into the darkness.

  “Don’t by chance have mics on the roof, huh?” he asked.

  “Nope,” she replied. “Never needed them.”

  The remaining Russian pushed the director inside and slammed the door shut. Facing the darkness, holding his ASh in front of him and firing blindly into the dark, Yulian reached behind him and pulled open the pilot’s door. As he turned to get in, a black mass with shiny white teeth launched from the seat.

  Josh shouted, “Sheldon. Where the hell did he come from?”

  The black wolf pinned Yulian to the concrete by the neck. Josh and Candy jumped from their chairs, cheering. A wave of dizziness rocked his world and he fell to the side. Candy was there, her arms around him, setting him back into the seat. “You stay here,” she said. “You lost a lot of blood and it’ll take a while for your body to regenerate it.”

  Josh opened his mouth to argue, and she pointed a finger at him and gave him the stink eye. “Don’t give me any smack, boy. I’ve eaten men like you for breakfast.” She planted a kiss on his lips and was out the door into the hallway leading to the lobby.

  Wow, he couldn’t wait for tomorrow morning’s breakfast.

  Chapter Twenty

  Candy opened her office door with her naked entourage and their mates filing out of the elevator. The room was freezing. What the hell? She flipped the light on and the curtains fluttered at the open window on the far side of the room. This confirmed the ALFA guys had jumped from the window earlier. That seemed like a day ago, but it’d only been hours.

  As she crossed to the window, the others followed her in, Josh between two of his guys helping him along.

  “It’s cold in here,” one of the women said. “Does this fireplace work?”

  “It’s gas,” Candy said.

  “Put him down here on the rug, Parish,” the woman continued. “The fire will keep him warm.” Another lady grabbed the flag blanket from the sofa and draped it over Josh, sticking a toss pillow under his head. A streak of jealous anger raced through Candy. These women had their own men to fret over. Josh was hers. She swallowed hard. Where had that thought come from? Never had “jealous” been used to described her. Or overly caring for that matter.

  She could thank her father for that. “Thank” wasn’t the word either.

  Director Pommer walked in. He looked broken after three hours of intense strain and the murder of his wife in front of him. “Director Tumbel,” Josh started to sit up, but the NIA leader put up a hand. “No, don’t get up. Please, rest. I cam
e in here to thank all of you for an excellent job saving everyone you could tonight.”

  “I’m sorry about your wife, sir,” Candy said.

  “Thank you, Sergeant Obermier. She was a wonderful woman.” The man paused, dropping his chin to his chest. Candy thought about what he must be feeling. For the past decade, she’d been surrounded by death. They’d walked together, hand in hand, on the battlefield, scooping up those still breathing and flying them to MASH units, and eventually, CSH facilities, to be patched up and either sent home or back into the field.

  But of all those gone, she had not mourned one of them. She was sad for every soldier who no longer walked the earth, but she was never overcome with grief. She’d not let anyone into her heart to cause her pain if they were suddenly not there. In combat, tomorrow was not promised. She didn’t know any other way.

  The director cleared his throat and continued. “As I was saying, thank you, men and Sergeant, for your working in taking out the terrorists while keeping your profile low. We really need you out of the media, especially since y’all are . . .” the director’s eyes glanced around then looked at his hands “naked.”

  “Thank you, Director. We appreciate your trust in us,” a weak Josh said from his prone position in front of the fireplace.

  “Of course, Tumbel. Of all our teams, you guys are the most amazing, for obvious reasons.” He turned to her. “Sergeant Major, excellent job. I knew you were the one for this position when I submitted your name for the vacancy. Your record is spotless.”

  “Sir, thank you for the acknowledgement, sir.”

  “Now, don’t worry about anything downstairs,” the director added. “I want you out of the spotlight as well as you, men.” He looked around. “Feel free to . . . get dressed and leave through a back door anytime you’re ready.” The tension in the room grew. Words unspoken hung heavy.

  Sheldon, bare-bottomed, came through the door, holding a couple of trays loaded with finger food from downstairs. “Let’s get the party started.” When he saw the director of the NIA standing, staring at him and the food, he said, “Someone’s got to eat it all.”

  Candy smiled at this newcomer’s boldness.

  Pommer slapped the naked guy on the back. “And you, Sheldon, are the perfect wolf for that. Congrats on your engagement, by the way.” The director walked into the hallway. “And put some pants on, boy.”

  “Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” Sheldon’s smile was contagious. He pushed the door closed with his foot and put the trays on the desk. “Hey, guys, my wonderful mate and I are here. What did we miss?”

  Everybody groaned and the guys gathered their clothes and redressed. Sheldon’s new mate, Elna, handed black and white garments to him. A pair of boxers covered in cartoon wolves sat on top.

  On the floor, Josh said, “Yeah, you guys go on home. You did a great job tonight.”

  “What about you?” Sheldon asked. “You can’t even stand up yet.” Hamel leaned closer to Sheldon and whispered in his ear. Mr. Wolfy Boxers looked at Candy and smiled.

  “Got it. Nice job, boss man. I met my mate on a plane in a little-known country.” He pulled a pretty, dark-haired lady with stunning eyes to him and kissed her. On the lips. And was still kissing her.

  Josh sighed. “Loper, you’re making it hard for the rest of us in here to not tell you to get a room.”

  Sheldon pulled away and smiled. “I bet I’m making you all hard—”

  “That’s not what I said,” Josh huffed. The comment made Candy blush.

  She never even had the sex talk with her parents. Her mom died before a young Candy was old enough for the discussion and her father she hid from every night.

  One of the ladies carried the food trays and set them next to Josh then pulled a paper cup of water from the dispenser in the corner. Damn, she should’ve thought about that. Why hadn’t she?

  The woman placed the cup on the tray since he lay on a thick fuzzy rug. “There. You need to eat and drink a lot to get your strength back. Your body can’t heal without extra substance to fix it all.”

  That was good to know, she thought. Wait a minute. Why would she care about knowing information on a shifter? The strong emotions she felt when the wolf was shot and close to death came to mind. Terror of him dying. Fear of never seeing him again. And other emotions she didn’t understand. Feelings she’d never felt before. All centered in her heart and stomach.

  Hamel looked at her as he tucked his shirt it. “Sergeant, why were we called up here in the first place. Did you want to tell us something?” Her eyes flashed to Josh. She hated eating crow, but it was called for, and she would do the right thing.

  “It can wait. We’ll see you all on Monday.”

  “Sheldon,” Josh called out, “how the hell did you know to be in the helicopter on the roof?”

  “Elna and I were a little late. When we saw the news van parked out front, we veered to the side so we wouldn’t be caught on TV. That’s when I smelled the blood of the killed security guards. After I got Elna in a safe place, I called 911. Figured you could use a little distraction out front.”

  “That doesn’t tell me how you knew about the helicopter,” Josh said, uncharacteristic impatience plaguing him after his injuries.

  “Hold the phone, boss man,” Sheldon responded. “I’m getting there.” He picked up a piece of sausage and tossed it to Josh. “Here, eat this. You’re grouchy and I don’t have a Snickers bar.” Josh scowled at him, but caught the meat and ate it.

  “Now, if I may continue,” Sheldon said with a British accent, trying to be funny. “When the cops showed up, we hung out with them. The news reporter lady relayed a message from the hostage takers. They were going to take off in the helicopter with the director in tow. If anyone followed or attempted anything, they would kill him like they killed his wife.” Sheldon shrugged. “I took the garage up to roof.”

  Josh nodded and fell back on the rug. “For once, I can say I’m glad you were late. Now, everyone, get out.” He winked at Candy. “See y’all Monday.”

  All the couples said their good-byes and began leaving the room.

  “Wait, guys. What about him?” She pointed to Josh. They weren’t leaving her alone with him, were they? No, no, no. Not good.

  Sheldon nodded. “Oh, yeah.” She followed the agent to his boss on the floor. He knelt and put a hand on his shoulder. “Boss, just remember that women are not equal to men.” Instant anger rose in her. She’d dealt with this problem her entire life. She would so kick his ass—“No,” Sheldon continued, “they are far better us. Smarter than us. And always right.” He patted Josh’s shoulder. “You get that and you two will be happily mated forever.” He stood and walked out, then before the door closed, his arm slipped in and flipped off the light switch.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Candy stared at the closed door to her dark office. Her heart raced and stomach felt like it could empty itself through her throat.

  This was pathetic. She’d been on the front line for a medevac. Bullets flying everywhere, grenades and RPGs exploding feet from her helo. Sand and dust clogging her sinuses, choking her lungs. And she was more scared at this moment than then.

  “Director Tumbel—”

  “Candy, relax. We’re adults; we’re allowed to be in the same room, alone,” Josh told her.

  Irritation set her off. “Please, I know that. You’re hardly dangerous.” She gestured toward his prone body.

  “Then sit next to me,” he offered, patting the rug close to him.

  Oh shit, she thought. Maybe she should turn the lights back on. The glow from the fire softly lit the room, making it all romantic-like. But also giving her shadows to hide in. Lights stayed off. She turned and headed to her desk chair.

  “I need to do some work,” she replied, hoping this would give her the distance from him to not succumb to his sexy everything.


  “Then bring the laptop over here,” Josh said.

  “I’d prefer not to. You need to rest to get better and leave.” Hint, hint.

  He lay back, his hands settling behind his head, elbows in the air. “That’s fine. I understand your fear of shifters. Most people are scared when they first meet us.”

  A chill ran up her back. She was not scared of anything. Including dying. And a sexier-than-hell man lying naked under a blanket in her office. Fuck! Speaking of coitus, she hadn’t done that in over a year. Okay, maybe it was years. Too many other things, like keeping her evac passengers alive, occupied her mind.

  When a physical need arose, she’d work herself to exhaustion until the desire went away. After a few years, the basic human needs stopped coming, as well as all other emotions and passions and things that made humans human.

  She leaned her face onto her hands, elbows resting on the desk. What the hell was wrong with her? A list of wrongs she’d be writing for days. Forget that. What was wrong with being with a man? It wasn’t like she was a slut if she did the wild thing with him. Because that would be exactly were it’d go if she got close to him. She felt like a virgin on prom night.

  “For your information, Director, I’m not afraid of you or your agents,” she said.

  “Prove it,” he dared her. “I bet you can’t sit next to me for five minutes.”

  “You want to bet, huh?” she retorted. “What do I get if I win and if I lose?”

  She saw him around the side of the monitor, smiling. “The same thing, baby. Me.” She leaned back in her chair and laughed. Full-on, belly-busting laugh. He was so damn cute when he said that. Like a two-year-old being so proud that he pooped for the first time on the potty.

  She sighed, a giggle popping up—remnant of the laughter. “Fuck me,” she said under her breath. She closed the laptop, but kept it in hand, and stood. “All right, Director. You win. I’ll join you.” She glanced at the finger food tray next to him. “But only because I’m hungry, not because I’m attracted to you.”