Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

T he scent of Emma still clung to Lucas’s skin as he returned from prowling the safe house’s perimeter, his panther’s heart so full of tender pride, it was almost embarrassing. His brilliant, beautiful mate had finally fallen asleep after their night of passion - though not before attempting to document what she’d breathlessly termed “fascinating physiological responses to supernatural claiming behaviors.”

It had taken considerable creativity to distract her from reaching for her tablet at rather crucial moments.

Now dawn painted soft patterns across their bedroom where she slept tangled in sheets, her crystal casting a gentle glow that made his fur ripple with satisfaction. The depth of his feelings for this extraordinary woman still amazed him - this scientist who could transform from serious researcher to passionate mate and back again in heartbeats, who treated lethal danger like a particularly interesting experiment, who had somehow become as essential to him as breathing.

A soft beep from her backup tablet shattered the peaceful moment. Emma stirred instantly, her scientific enthusiasm apparently immune to normal human needs like sleep.

“Why is my tablet suddenly furry?”

Because Lucas had placed his massive panther head directly between her questing fingers and her devices. Her sleep-tousled hair and drowsy pout as she encountered whiskers instead of technology made his heart clench with equal parts amusement and tenderness.

“The blocking behavior suggests interesting territorial patterns,” she noted with a yawn, automatically scratching behind his ears. “Did you just hide my sensors under your tail?”

His rumbling purr vibrated through them both as he used his considerable bulk to herd her back into their nest of blankets.

“Your supernatural heat radiation creates fascinating temperature variations,” she murmured, already drifting off again.

Lucas’s satisfied chuff was the only reply as he maintained his self-appointed duty as scientific equipment guard. His brilliant mate could resume her attempts to measure everything after she’d properly rested. Though knowing Emma...

“Just one tiny reading?” she pleaded with those big brown eyes that made his panther purr. “Are you seriously sitting on my tablet?”

His smug feline expression said it all.

He’d shifted just long enough to kiss her properly, enjoying how her usual scientific narrative dissolved into soft sighs. “Sleep now,” he murmured against her lips. “You can measure all the fascinating supernatural frequencies later.”

“Promise?” Her drowsy smile held equal parts mischief and genuine scientific curiosity.

“I promise to let you document everything,” he assured her, before shifting back to panther form. “After you rest. And possibly after several more thorough experiments requiring your complete attention rather than your crystal array.”

Her delighted laugh was interrupted by another yawn as she snuggled deeper into his fur. “For fun?”

“For a lot of fun,” he agreed, wrapping protectively around her. Though they both knew any actual data collection would have to wait until he ran out of creative ways to distract her.