The Deputy and His Enforcer (Kincaid Pack #3) - Kiki Clark Page 0,102

on his shoulder that he was pretty sure was Fiona.

Hissing, he turned and gave her a look. “Easy with the talons, Fi. We don’t all heal instantly.”

She nipped at his ear, then made a sort of sharp cheeping noise as she rubbed her head against his.

“Yeah, okay, you’re forgiven.” He glanced back at where Marcus was jumping and running around like a puppy with a couple of other wolves. It was hard for him to tell who was who since he hadn’t spent a ton of time with them in their shifted forms, but he thought it was probably Nico and Kai playing with him. There was a huge black wolf overlooking the play off to the side, Bennett’s tiger sitting not far from them, and Robson was pretty positive that was Rick.

This was way more than he’d anticipated when he’d texted Nico after he’d woken up.

“This is exactly what he needed,” he murmured to Fi, reaching up to gently stroke her soft feathers.

He moseyed closer after the playing seemed to die down, sidling up next to Rick. “So do we actually run at some point or just keep watching them play?”

The black wolf turned and eyed Robson, his gaze flicking to where Fi was still perched. His head cocked to the side like he was confused. Finally, he turned back to the others and loosed a howl that shook Robson’s bones.

He swore Rick tossed him a wolfy grin before he took off toward the trees, the others bounding after him. Chuckling, Robson followed, knowing he’d never keep up but also knowing, as much fun as Marcus was having, his mate wouldn’t let him get left behind.

Fiona took off into the air, releasing a screech as she swooped around his head, then flew toward the front of their group.

A feeling of connection seeped beneath his skin, filling his heart and soul with happiness and hope. Putting on a rush of speed, Robson whooped into the air and laughed when the wolves in front of him barked in response.

Then, he simply ran with his pack.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sleeping in a pile of shifters while they were in their animal forms wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d do. It actually had been pretty nice too. Though at one point someone had pinned his leg to the ground so he couldn’t move, and he was pretty sure it was Bennett secretly getting back at him for the sex ed class thing or possibly their slightly awkward phone conversation about feelings.

It was late afternoon by the time he and Marcus trekked back into the house, Robson feeling exhausted but Marcus looking peaceful and ready to take on the world.

“Thank you for today, Robito,” Marcus murmured, plastering his front to Robson’s and kissing his throat. He loved that Marcus had started using his family’s nickname for him sometimes. Marcus was still terrified Robson’s mom wouldn’t like the idea of him moving into Robson’s room, though, and bent over backward to be overly polite to her whenever Robson managed to drag him to the farmhouse for a meal.

But she did like it. And he knew that because he’d already talked to her about it. At first she’d tried to tell him that they needed their own space as a new couple, but he’d told her that he wasn’t comfortable with that while Annalisse and Valentina were still in school and Teo was just getting the farm turned around.

He just needed to get his skittish mate on board.

“You’re welcome, cariño.” He wrapped his arms around Marcus and gave him a squeeze. They stood quietly like that for a few moments, and then Robson murmured, “I love you. You know that, right?”

Marcus’s arms tightened, but he didn’t look up from where his face was buried in Robson’s neck. “You said that earlier when I was upset… I wasn’t sure if you really meant to say it or not.”

“Of course I did.” Robson pressed kisses into Marcus’s hair. “I love you and I’ll always take care of you, no matter what you need.”

Slipping his hands up the back of Robson’s T-shirt, Marcus whispered, “I love you too and want to take care of you as well.”

“You do, cariño. I was lost and miserable before I met you. You give me purpose and make me laugh and have brought so much love and light into my life.”

Sucking in a breath, Marcus pulled back and stared up at him. “Robson…”

“And I’m ready for us to finish our mating,” Robson continued, smiling gently as