Page 14 of Furry Equations
“Naturally.” Her smile turned mischievous. “And the way you keep finding excuses to be near me?”
He froze.
“That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” She gestured at the lab. “Moving me from your penthouse to right down the hall from your office? The endless security upgrades? The dinner?”
“I—“
“Because if you wanted to spend time with me,” she continued softly, “you could just ask.”
His heart thundered. “Natalie...”
An alarm blared, shattering the moment. Security feeds lit up red as alerts flooded the screens.
“Someone’s trying to hack the system,” Marcus growled, reluctantly releasing her hand to check the intrusion points.
Natalie straightened, all business now. “They won’t get through?”
“No. But they’re persistent.” He studied the attack patterns. “They’ll keep trying.”
“Then we’ll be ready.” She stood, determination blazing in her eyes. “I won’t let my work be stolen. Not again.”
NINE
The fierce pride that surged through him had nothing to do with being her boss and everything to do with being her mate. But that conversation would have to wait.
For now, he had a brilliant, beautiful scientist to protect, an enemy to destroy, and a growing attraction he couldn’t quite hide.
His mother would be thrilled.
If they survived.
The security alerts flashed across multiple screens, but Marcus found his attention drawn to Natalie. She’d moved to her workstation, fingers flying across keyboards as she checked her research files.
“They’re targeting specific sequences,” she muttered, more to herself than him. “Looking for the mutation data.” Her hair had started escaping its bun again, one strand curling against her neck in a way that made his fingers itch to brush it back.
“Your files are secure.” He forced himself to focus on the security feeds. “Emily designed the encryption herself.”
“Emily?”
“My sister. Head of Innovation at Vale Tech.” He allowed himself a small smile. “She’s been dying to meet you, by the way.Says your published papers on genetic mapping are, and I quote, ‘totally badass.’”
Natalie’s eyes lit up. “Really? Her work on quantum computing is incredible! I read her paper on—“ She caught his amused look and blushed. “And I’m doing that thing where I geek out about science again.”
“I like it when you geek out.”
The words slipped out before he could stop them. Her eyes widened slightly, and that electric tension crackled between them again.
“Sir?” A security guard’s voice crackled over the intercom. “We’ve contained the breach attempts, but we’re seeing some unusual activity in the building’s lower labs.”
Marcus growled low in his throat. “Whoever this is, they’re getting desperate.”
“Good.” Natalie’s chin lifted with that defiance that drove him crazy. “Let them try. My research. My rules.”
The wolf in him practically purred at her fierceness.
“Speaking of your research...” He hesitated, then decided to risk it. “Why a matchmaking serum? Of all the things you could create...”
Something vulnerable flickered in her expression. She toyed with her fortune cookie, still unopened on the desk. “You’ll think it’s silly.”