Kylie's scent hits me hard the moment I walk out of my room. My cock swells against the zipper of my pants. I find her in her room, still working.
She has a pen stuck in a messy bun on top of her head and looks no less beautiful for not having slept all night. If anything, the sight of her up, working hard for me-for the benefit of my company-sends a fresh kick of lust rocketing through me. Of course she's not doing it for me, she's doing it for her grandmother, but the wolf doesn't care about that.
All wolves need to dominate their females, but I never knew how turned on I would be by having one under my paw, so to speak. At the same time, the urge to take care of her rises up strongly. "Good morning. Are you hungry, kitten? I should have told you to help yourself to anything in the kitchen."
She flashes an easy smile, the kind that has no intent behind it but could topple nations. "Oh, I would have. I was about to go in search of coffee."
"Find anything?"
"It's a complex sequence. There's something familiar about the style, but I can't put my finger on it. I've been cross-checking old posts on the DefCon board but so far I haven't figured it out. Your employees have all your data secure now, but I'm guessing the blackmailers had access to at least 250, 000 records before you got it quarantined."
I've already heard the same thing from Luis and Stu, but it's good to know my little genius concurs.
"Come on, let's get you some breakfast. Your body needs fuel after staying up all night."
Damn. Why am I talking about her body? It's a torture enough to me without mentioning it.
"I'll be down in a minute." She taps her finger against the edge of her screen as she reads.
Downstairs, I find Sam sitting at the breakfast counter. Apparently, none of us slept much last night.
"What's going on?" he demands the minute I walk in. I called him when I stayed late last night, and told him what Kylie had done, so my showing up with her in the wee hours of the morning must've seemed incongruous.
"The blackmailers kidnapped her grandmother. She turned herself in to me. We're working on getting a trace on the code to find any clues."
Sam shakes his head, his mouth screwed into a judgmental ring. "I don't like it. You're not acting right, Jackson. She's a fucking human. Why in the hell did you bring her here?"
A growl erupts from my throat, the wolf in me ready to defend my chosen mate to the death.
Sam's jaw goes slack as he stares. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"What?" I ask tightly.
"You do realize she's triggered your mating instinct?"
I ignore him and pull out a carton of eggs, then break them into a bowl. "I need you to stay here and keep an eye on her. Don't let her leave the mansion under any circumstances."
Sam doesn't answer, which forces me to look over. He watches me with narrowed eyes.
"And don't hurt her."
"I'm to hold her prisoner here, but I'm not allowed to hurt her." His tone drips with doubt.
Another growl erupts from my throat, but I manage to cut it off as my wolf senses detect Kylie coming down the stairs. She shouldn't have been able to hear our conversation, but, when she enters, her expression is sharp.
"So Sam's my keeper?" she asks brightly.
I purse my lips. Damn. She has superhuman hearing. I need to remember that. "Right. I forbid you to leave the house while I'm gone."
"You forbid it." Her tone matches Sam's perfectly with the doubt-infusion.
I arch a brow. "You have a problem with that?"
"You're the boss." She shrugs.
Damn right.
"House arrest with Sam. I can't think of anything more fun."
"Watch the sarcasm, kitten," I say, but my wolf isn't happy. I can't fucking stand her using the word with and another male's name, even if it is by my orders.
She peers into the bowl of eggs. "Whatcha making?"
My innate sense of confidence wanes, the need to please my female, to feed her, swelling in importance. "I was thinking about french toast. Does that sound okay?" Fates, I don't even recognize myself. When do I ever ask anyone if something is okay?
She flashes that picture-perfect smile, and the wolf relaxes. "Sounds great. Thanks. Is there coffee?" She looks around.
"Help yourself." Sam points to the full pot.
I'm simultaneously grateful to Sam for making it and pissed that he gets to offer it to her.
She pulls down two mugs and fishes the half and half out of the refrigerator. She hands me a full mug. "Cream, no sugar, right, boss?" Her husky tone, along with her act of service, sends desire kicking through me.
Mate her.
I want her here every morning, making me coffee while I cook her eggs. I want to watch those gold-flecked eyes peeking over the top of her mug as she tells me something brilliant. I want to earn that easy smile by saying something humorous.
Record scratch. I'm not a funny guy. I never say anything humorous. Except I had in the elevator. I'd made her laugh then. Around her, I turn into someone else. Someone better.
You're not the bad guy.
I dip four pieces of cinnamon raisin bread in the egg batter and drop them onto a heated skillet doused with melted butter.
"I'm going to head into the office after we eat. I want hourly updates. Unless you're sleeping." I whirl around to pin her with my sternest look. "You do plan on getting some sleep?"
She lifts her mug of coffee in the air. "Not for a while. Don't worry. I do my best work when I'm half-delirious."
"Not on my watch. You need rest."
She rolls her eyes, and I smack her bottom as she passes by. My cock hardens at her yelp.