Unleashed by Crystal Jordan Page B

through her main space to a wash closet with a small shower. “Unless you’re a jade and it is your profession.”
    They kept it quick, and he waited until they were back in her office and sorting their clothes out before he spoke again. He hoped this was a gamble that would pay off. “I understand the case is important to you and you have to go now, but I want to come with you to watch your back.”
    â€œI’m working.” She stuffed herself into her pants and boots, sealing both. “That means I’m dealing with sensitive information for my client and going places you probably don’t want to be.”
    He snorted, pulling his shirt on. “I worked covert ops for a national intelligence agency. Do you think I can’t keep a secret? Do you think I can’t handle myself anytime, anywhere?”
    Her jaw clenched. “That isn’t the point.”
    â€œI can follow you. Do you really want me tailing you while you try to do your work?” Everything in him said if he let her shut him out now, he might never get her to talk about why she had such a deep aversion to mating. He needed to press his advantage now. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just let me come this one time?”
    She growled, the fox in her ready to snap at him. “This one time, you swear it?”
    â€œYou trust me to keep my promise?”
    â€œYes,” she barked.
    â€œYou don’t know me.” He bent down until they were eye to eye, until he was close enough to see the gold flecks in her irises. “Could it be that pesky mating instinct telling you that you can trust me?”
    â€œGo fuck yourself.”
    Putting on his boots, he shot back at her. “Fucking you is so much better, but your suggestion is noted.”
    She threw a few things into her ever-present bag, spun on a heel, and walked away. He sealed his pants and followed her out. The silence was chilly, and she refused to even glance at him as she jogged down the street to catch a public transport.
    â€œWas it your parents who were mates?”
    She stumbled, catching herself against the side of a building to keep from falling. She shrugged away from his touch when he tried to help her and pushed herself to a standing position. Not looking at him, she kept walking. “Leave it alone, Vaughn.”
    â€œYou know I can’t do that. I’m your—”
    â€œ Stop saying it. Deus!” She hurried to clamor onto a transport headed toward the Vermilion. No one else was on board, but he sat close enough that their thighs brushed anyway.
    â€œSo it was your parents.” He drew in a breath, pushing her and hoping it didn’t push her away. “Was it your mother who lied to your father or your father who lied to your mother?”
    â€œMy parents were never married.” She stared out the window at the passing scenery.
    He narrowed his gaze, noting the way she held herself, the inflection of her tone. It didn’t ring true. She was lying about something. “They weren’t married. Were they mates?”
    She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. “Yes.”
    â€œAnd who was the liar?” He kept his voice low and undemanding, knowing he could only press her for information so much before it backfired on him.
    â€œMy father.”
    He bumped her leg with his. “What did he lie about?”
    â€œEverything. And nothing.” Her shoulder twitched in a shrug, and she eased away from him subtly. “It doesn’t matter now. He’s dead. They both are.”
    â€œWhy didn’t they marry?” Some people didn’t, but she’d been the one to point out a lack of matrimony, and he suspected it meant something deeper.
    Her mouth worked for a moment before she spoke. “Because he was already married when he met my mother.”
    That surprised him. “He didn’t divorce to be with his mate?”
    â€œNo, his wife was a wealthy, influential woman.