Page 10 of Furry Equations
“Excuse me?”
“You were just attacked by professional thieves. You’re not going anywhere.”
She crossed her arms. “I have work to do.”
“You have surviving to do.”
“I handled those men just fine.”
“With a fire extinguisher.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” She tilted her chin up, refusing to be intimidated by his height or his presence or the way his eyes seemed to darken every time she challenged him.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Natalie?—“
“Don’t ‘Natalie’ me in that alpha CEO voice. I’m not one of your employees who jumps when you growl.” Though she could sort of see the appeal. The man had a voice designed for giving orders.
“No,” he agreed, his eyes darkening to storm-cloud gray. “You’re much more dangerous.”
The way he said it sent shivers down her spine. Not afraid shivers. The other kind. The kind that made her want to test exactly how solid those shoulders were under that fancy shirt.
“Look,” she tried reason, because clearly her hormones had staged a coup against her common sense, “I appreciate the concern, but I can take care of myself.”
“Like you took care of yourself by creating a potentially volatile formula that people are willing to kill for?”
“That was an accident!”
“Caused by?”
She flushed. “Momentary distraction.”
“Caused by?”
“You! You and your... your everything!” She waved her hands at his general existence. “You can’t just lurk in doorways looking likethatand expect people to maintain proper lab safety protocols.”
An unfamiliar snort of laughter outside the door broke the tension.
A man who could have modeled for “Rugged Warrior Monthly” leaned against the hallway wall, grinning at them both. Dark hair, bright blue eyes, and an air of barely contained mischief.
“I like her,” he announced. “She called you lurky, Marcus. I’ve been trying to tell you about your doorway-lurking habit for years. It’s like living with a very well-dressed gargoyle.”
Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Natalie, meet Jax Morgan, my head of security and occasional pain in my ass.”
“Occasional?” Jax clutched his chest in mock offense. “I work very hard to be a constant pain in your ass, thank you very much.” He flashed Natalie a roguish grin. “Someone has to keep His Alphaness from taking himself too seriously. Welcome to the circus, Doc.”
Despite everything, Natalie found herself smiling. “Does he always do the looming thing?”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until he breaks out the ‘Glare of Doom.’ Very effective on board members and wayward pack members alike.”
“Jax.” Marcus’s voice carried a warning that only made Jax’s grin widen.
“See? That’sGlare of Doomlevel one. There are five levels. I’ve personally witnessed level four, but level five is mostly theoretical. Like Bigfoot but with more brooding.”
Natalie bit her lip to keep from laughing. “And what triggers these levels?”
“Usually? Threats to people he cares about.” Jax’s teasing tone carried an undertone of seriousness. “Which brings us to why you’re here, Doc. Those weren’t ordinary thieves after your research.”
The humor faded from the room.