Mara fought the insane, almost uncontrollable, impulse to let loose and rub up against Harry like a cat. His body, thick with muscle, coupled with his new werewolf scent, was driving her hormones to a place she couldn’t quite remember ever going. Instead, she tried to appear unaffected, letting her arms fall loose in his embrace.
When what she really wanted to do was wrap her arms around his neck, thrust her hands into his thick hair, and bury her nose in his muscled neck. Nip at his square, freshly shaved jaw as she hiked herself up around his waist and pressed into his . . .
Mara took a shaky breath when Nina poked her head over her shoulder and said, “Short-Shot, make like you like Harry. He’s your new boyfriend, right? This is the stage when you can’t keep your paws off him. So put your paws on him,” she demanded, placing Mara’s hands on Harry’s shoulders. “Jesus. You’d think you’ve never been stupid in love before.”
Point?
Mara gripped Harry’s shoulders, for practice purposes, of course, sinking her fingers into his sculpted flesh, making a face at Nina. “You can’t possibly believe this will work, can you both? No way are we ever going to make people believe that Harry has the scent of a werewolf on him because we’ve been . . .” Doing it. Making it. Wonking. Scoring.
Oh, heaven above.
“Fucking,” Nina offered without blinking an eye. “A lot. And hell, yes, I think it’ll work. Maybe not for long, but at least long enough for us to figure out how we’re gonna get your scrawny ass out of this jam. So do you wanna try this and see if it works? Or do you wanna piss away an opportunity, skip this lovebird bullshit, and just call Big Bertha up on the prison love line and invite her to make you her bitch?”
Harry shook his head in vehement gesture, burying his nose in her hair. “Absolutely no Big Bertha. Wow,” he said on a deep inhale, his chest rising and falling against hers, making her heart do all sorts of erratic things. “You smell amazing.” He drove his fingers into it, drawing the long bulk of the strands to his nose.
Mara’s nipples tightened when Harry’s breath fanned out over the flesh of her neck. She cleared her throat. “That’s just the werewolf in you talking. Tomorrow, as you adjust, I’ll smell like day-old bologna.”
Carl appeared behind Harry’s broad back, holding up two brown paper bags with his half grin. He struggled to keep his grip on them, his fingers stiff and, in some places, rigid.
“Aw, Carl, did you make us lunch?” Mara smiled her approval. Carl, despite his rather impish behavior and his gray green pallor, was adorable in a weird, sort of dead way. He aimed to please with an air of fear he’d not only displease Nina but end up shunned and taken from these people he’d found who accepted him as is.
Carl couldn’t express how he felt in words, but his eyes spoke volumes about his emotions. Mara wiggled her finger at him, drawing him to her and Harry, and pulling him into a hug. He smelled so much better since Nina had insisted he bathe and drink a bottle of mouthwash. “Thank you, Carl. You’re awesome.”
Carl’s eyes went immediately to the floor with a nasally grunt, a shy response to her words of support.
Harry’s eyes never left Mara’s when he teased, “I hope it’s bologna, Carl. Thanks, buddy. That was thoughtful.”
After a good night’s sleep, Harry’s mood had lightened considerably. He’d spent a portion of their evening while they ate dinner together listening to Nina explain what she’d meant when she said none of their cases came without trouble.
Nina didn’t candy-coat the things they’d experienced since they began OOPS, and while Mara never failed to cringe when she told of the most frightening crisis case of all, involving the turning of Nina’s sister Phoebe and her ex-FBI agent husband Sam, Mara knew there was motive for it.
To keep Harry aware. Not only was he now paranormal, meaning he had to make conscious effort to pay attention, but his children had been threatened. Paying attention was crucial to figuring out who’d done this.
“All right, let’s bust a move, people. You nerds have to get to work, and I need a goddamn nap. Darnell’s comin’ to stay with Carl while I sleep, so we’re covered for now. Just remember what I said, Short-Shot—keep it simple, no deets. Some shit ain’t for the masses, ya know? So if people ask questions, play possum. Make googly eyes at Harry here. Hold hands, kiss the shit out of each other behind that stupid fucking palm tree Marty had shipped in from whereverthefuck in the atrium. Eat lunch together. Make it believable, but keep it simple.” She turned to Harry, pinning him with her vampiric gaze. “You got that Harry? Make Mara your bitch and let everyone know you’ve pissed on her tree.”