When Jared moved his hands to Carson's shoulders, presumably to push him away, Carson grabbed the man's wrists and pinned them to the wall above his head. Then he pried the man's mouth open with his lips and tongue and sank into the warm, wet heat. An explosion of masculine flavors hit his senses and Carson growled low in his chest in appreciation of Jared's unique taste.
Seconds later, he felt Jared's tongue begin to duel with his as the man fought for dominance even while pinned to the wall. It took everything in Carson to keep from rutting against his mate. Instead, he kept his hips away from Jared's body, hiding his obvious desire for the human.
They came up for air, both of them panting. Jared somehow managed to find his tongue first. "Well, all that proves is you can kiss, Injun," he teased. "I've found that plenty of great kissers suck in bed."
Carson growled, not wanting to hear about his mate's other bed partners. Before his lust-infused manage to compose a thought, Declan "Enough. We're here to plan a rescue for compare dick sizes. Carson, sit down!"
Releasing Jared, who still grinned like a loon, he returned to his seat. Jared did the same, openly adjusting a nice sized erection. When Carson glanced down at it and then back up to his face, Jared winked again.
"Carson, tell us what ye've learned," Declan ordered. Tearing his stare away from Jared, Carson swept his gaze over the others in the room, seeing expressions that ranged from curiosity to amusement. Giving himself a mental shake to refocus on the purpose of their meeting, he eased forward in his seat and rested his forearms on his knees. "The complex is three times what we originally thought. There are three levels underground, in addition to the one we can see."
He picked up his laptop and pulled open a file as he spoke. "The ground floor is offices and conference rooms, nothing to raise suspicion if authorities were to check the place out." He swung his laptop around so the others could see. "In this office here, which is occupied by the senior accountant, there is a sliding panel hiding a door to an elevator.
"The first underground floor is comprised of labs. The brain could commanded,
Dagus, not second and third are made up of exam rooms, cells and cages." He twisted his lips in disgust as he said the words. His stomach churned. "Currently, Dagus is being held in one of these cells on the east wing of the second floor."
"Who's Dagus?" Jared asked mildly. "He's the brother of a friend," Carson snapped, irritated at being interrupted.
Jared cut in again. "And what do you want with him?"
Grady answered, "We need to rescue him. This building is owned by a company called the Crystal Lake Corporation. They're a research company, but what they research on the sly is how to combine shifter DNA with human. The shifters are held against their will," Grady growled. "Dagus is a human they took to trade for one of their own that we are holding. We want Dagus out and don't want to give up Miach. He's too valuable a resource if we can get him talking."
That had Jared's brow lifting, but he only asked, "Got a picture?"
"I'll find you one," Grady replied.
Jared nodded.
Lifting a brow as he watched Jared, Carson waited to see if he had any other questions. He got a smirk and a wave of his hand for his trouble. He fought against the urge to roll his eyes and returned to his monitor. "The security is tight. Employees have pass-cards they scan, logging when they enter and leave the building. Guests must have an appointment. Even pizza delivery is monitored," he added dryly.
"To access the hidden elevator, there's a fingerprint scanner, along with the pass-card and they must match. Now, we have a contact on the inside who is willing to get us in the building, but since Pascal Ignoto is an accounting assistant, he doesn't have access to the elevator." Carson ran a hand through his long black hair, feeling the frustration welling again. "We don't yet have a way of getting the door open so we can reach the elevator once we're inside."
Jared leaned forward, his scent intensifying as he closed the distance between them and stared at the map. "What is this?"
Carson had trouble focusing on the man's words, let alone what his mate pointed at and he felt grateful that the laptop hid his twitching erection. Looking at the screen, he spotted the box Jared pointed at and answered. "It's an air vent."
"How big is it?"
"Uh, let me see," he replied, swinging his computer back around and flipping through a few more schematics. "Fortyeight inches by eighteen inches."
"I can get through that."
His head jerked up. "What?"
Jared had the audacity to grip the laptop and pull it closer. "Right here it connects to the elevator shaft. I can slide through the vent system and-"
"No," he interrupted quickly. "It's way too narrow. You could get stuck." There was no way in hell he wanted his mate trying to squeeze through that.
Jared's eyes narrowed. "I don't think that's your decision, Carson." He relaxed back in his seat and looked around the group. "The only other man in this room that could possibly fit is Lark and I've got a funny idea that Declan isn't letting his mate anywhere near this place."
"Ye're right about that," the big alpha growled.
Grinning, Jared said, "You didn't have a way into the elevator and I just gave you one. In fact, I have the computer skills to rewire the damn thing so we can use it without cutting out someone's eyeball. There's no reason to refuse me. Besides, I've been in tighter places than that," he scoffed.
Carson had to fight back his initial reaction, to confess that the man was his mate and he didn't want him putting his life at risk. Instead, he turned his head and stared at Declan. "Then we have a way into the elevator," he said, but he couldn't hide the tension in his jaw and he knew Declan noticed. He'd have some explaining to do later.
They made plans to enter the facility the day after next, knowing they'd need a little time to schedule a last minute meeting with their contact. As much as Declan's decision, prompted by Grady's suggestion, to send Jared into the meeting alone irked him, Carson had to admit that Jared would be the least likely to raise suspicions, since he wasn't familiar to people in the area and he was familiar with covert operations. They wouldn't know his face.
After sending all the information they had to Jared's secure email so he could study it over the next day, Carson wanted to jump out of his skin. He couldn't touch the man, since Carson wasn't certain he wanted to try to pursue him. On the other hand, the kiss notwithstanding, he wasn't even certain Jared would welcome his advances. There were a lot of hurdles and he needed time to think. To do that, he needed space away from the man.
He put away his laptop and left Jared talking with Lyle, Grady and Gordon. Before he could make a clean get-away, his alpha caught up with him.
"Come with me," Declan ordered, leading the way into the empty living room. Carson swallowed hard as he watched his alpha pace for a moment. After a moment, Declan turned toward him and said, "That was quite a display ye made before the meeting started. I've never seen ye attack someone quite like that. Care to explain?"
Carson cleared his throat and ran a hand through his long hair before confessing, "He's my mate. It was a little hard to … focus." He hated having to admit that.
That had Declan's brows lifting. "And yet ye were just about to leave without speaking with him. I know that he knows about shifters and mating, so why is that?"
"Because I haven't decided if I'm going to pursue him," he answered honestly. "I need time to think."
"Not certain?" Declan's glare surprised Carson. "What aren't ye certain about?"
"He's an assassin … And straight," he objected.
Declan crossed his arms over his powerful chest and stared at him for several long seconds. Carson forced himself not to squirm under his alpha's knowing gaze. "He didn't appear too straight to me when ye both were making out in me study."