Bad Cat Baby Blues (Shifter Squad Six 3) by Anya Nowlan

be. Would he be a good father? Would he devote himself to his family like he did his crew? The answer seemed to be a resounding yes, but why she started wondering about it was a mystery Ari didn’t quite want to unravel.
    Those gray-blue eyes seemed to consider her for a moment too long, rolling over her in more than simple casual interest. She’d caught him looking several times, but he had kept his tone neutral, his words careful around her since their little flirting after her identity was revealed.
    A mischievous thought ran through her mind, egging her on. Maybe she could make the unflappable soldier play again…
    “Can I try it?” she asked, pointing at the rifle.
    That caught him off guard.
    “Why?” he asked, an automatic reaction.
    “I’ve never held a real sniper rifle before. Assault rifles for me, mostly. Never had the sureness of hand, I guess. I’d like to know what one feels like,” she said.
    “It’s heavy,” he warned, indecision evident in his voice.
    “I won’t break,” she purred, catching herself when she heard the flirty tone, but not apologizing for it.
    He smirked, shaking his head with mild amusement. At least it was working. He stood up, taking the rifle in his hands, and Ari scrambled to her feet as well. He gave the gun to her and he hadn’t been kidding, that thing was heavy as hell. Ari sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as she hauled it up to her shoulder, pressing the butt against the muscle firmly while her hands gripped it with expertise that couldn’t be forgotten once learned.
    Dutch slipped behind her and she had to catch herself from yelping when she felt his strong hands around her and the heat rising from his chest and body licking around her back and ass. It was all she could do to keep from rubbing up against him. He adjusted her grip slightly and that same electricity whirred through her again that she’d felt when they’d touched in the car, and she almost dropped the rifle.
    He secured her hands around the heavy gun, his chest against her back now. Leaning forward to press her eye to the scope, she felt his hot breath on her neck as he spoke into her ear, his voice low, growly.
    “You need to lean into it, but be ready for it. The kickback’s like getting hit in the shoulder by a mule. It’s the hardest, rawest thing you’ll ever feel,” he whispered, and she was more than sure that he was talking about more than just the gun.
    “I can handle it,” she said, her body vibrating with need against him.
    “Are you sure?” he asked, his massive hands now sliding down from the gun, around and tracing down her arms.
    Ari bit down on her lip so hard she was afraid she’d draw blood. But she couldn’t taste the telltale tang of copper in her mouth, despite the slight hum in her ears and the very familiar feeling of adrenaline starting to snake through her veins again.
    She could tell herself that it was the battle, the hormones still riding high. She could even try to convince herself that it could have been anyone, and that Dutch was at the right place at the right time. She could try. But she would be wrong.
    “Yes,” she said, pulling back from the scope slowly, tilting her head to the side only slightly.
    His lips were right there, inviting, delicious. He grabbed the rifle from her, holding it up while she looked into his eyes, feeling a bit like a deer getting stared down by a wolf, even though she was supposed to be the hunter here.
    “Good,” he said finally, with almost an eon passing between her words and his in Ari’s mind.
    Then, he crushed his lips to hers and she moaned into him readily, parting her lips and letting his tongue lash into her mouth. It was like kissing fire, so brutal that it burned wherever it touched her, but so hot that she couldn’t tear herself away. Her whole universe spun around on itself, changing and tipping, and she was gladly falling right along with it.
    But a part of her was beginning to wonder if she