Resisting the Cougar (Cascade Shifters #2) by Jessie Donovan Page B

make sure she is safe. Then you can ask her anything you like, okay?”
    Chloe nodded enthusiastically. “Good, because I have a lot of questions about humans.”
    He took his daughter’s hand. “Then let’s hurry.”
    As they made their way toward Claire’s apartment, Chloe rattled off a list of everything she wanted to ask the human. He smiled. His daughter had always been a gregarious chatterbox. With her in the same room as Claire, Aidan would never have the chance to think of kissing the human, let alone anything else.
    Yes, bringing his daughter along was the best idea he’d ever had.
     
    ~~~
     
    Claire had committed to memory the important facts of the DarkStalker and GreyFire alliance. Just as she opened her mouth to grill Dani about DarkStalker’s troubles with the anti-shifter groups, there was a knock on the door. Dani stood up. “I’ll get it.”
    When the door opened to reveal Aidan, Claire wanted to tell him to go away. Then a little girl no more than six or seven, with a mass of dark curls, raced inside and stopped in front of her.
    Before Claire could do more than blink, the little girl leaned in and whispered, “I’m your second bodyguard. I’m going to make sure there aren’t any bad people in your place.”
    Then the girl raced into Claire’s bedroom. A deep, male laugh from the doorway drew her attention. Frowning at Aidan, she demanded, “What the hell just happened?”
    Dani shook her head. “That’s Chloe, Aidan’s daughter.” Dani shot an inquiring look at Aidan. “I’m wondering why she’s here.”
    Aidan shrugged. “I can’t just turn over my daughter for a month. As long as we’re inside DarkStalker’s cave system, Chloe is safe enough to stay with me during this assignment.” His eyes flashed with amusement as he looked to Claire. “Oh, by the way, I told her she’s my partner for this secret assignment. Expect her to play the part.”
    Claire opened her mouth, but Chloe raced back out and stood in front of her dad. “I didn’t find any bad guys. It should be safe here.”
    Aidan squeezed the little girl’s shoulder. “Good.” He turned his daughter to face Claire. “Claire, this is my daughter, Chloe. Chloe, Claire Davis is the human we’re going to protect for the next month.”
    Claire wanted to ask Aidan for more specifics, but was mindful of the little girl staring at her with amber eyes. The eyes reminded her of Aidan in his cougar form.
    While Claire didn’t have any children of her own, she had done her fair share of outreach programs to schools in the area. The first few minutes of meeting a child often dictated how they would treat you forever. If Aidan thought to unsettle her with his daughter, he was in for a surprise.
    Standing up, Claire walked over to Chloe and put out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Chloe.”
    The little girl stared up at her for a second in awe before blinking and taking her hand. After a few enthusiastic pumps, she replied. “What is the weird thing on your face?”
    Claire smiled as she touched her glasses. “You mean these?” Chloe nodded. “Well, unlike shifters, some humans can’t see very well. If I don’t have these special glasses, everything beyond my arm’s length is blurry.”
    “Can I try them?” Chloe asked.
    Crouching down, Claire removed her glasses and put them on Chloe’s face. “What do you think?”
    The little girl blinked a few times. “Everything is fuzzy. How can you see?”
    Removing the glasses, Claire put them back on. “That’s how I see normally, Chloe, without the glasses. They are very important to me, so one of your missions is to make sure I don’t lose them, okay?”
    “Okay.” Chloe looked up at her dad. “What’s next? I want to help.”
    Claire moved her gaze to Aidan. The smile and warmth in his eyes revealed a loving father beneath his grumpy exterior.
    Aidan motioned his head toward the kitchen. “How about you sit at the kitchen table with Dani for a few minutes while I