The Deputy and His Enforcer (Kincaid Pack #3) - Kiki Clark Page 0,107

the spot, but the memory of slicing it on his fang was a little hazy, so he couldn’t remember how bad it had been. “I can still feel your magic in me a little bit.”

“Must be helping,” Marcus murmured, leaning down and gently kissing the spot. “Your bite mark doesn’t look too bad either.”

“That’s good,” he said, then yawned. He shifted, his back starting to hurt from the slightly arched position the pillow was causing, but the stinging tug at his hole reminded him that wasn’t a great idea. “Not sure how I would have explained why my neck looked like someone had gone all Edward on me.”

“Who’s Edward?”

Chuckling turned to groaning when it tightened his body too much. “Never mind. That reference isn’t worth explaining.”

Marcus bit his lip, trying not to look pleased with himself since his knot was causing some discomfort. “Sorry. This isn’t a great position to be tied in.”

Robson grunted his agreement, but he wouldn’t have changed a single thing about the experience. “It’s fine. Though next time we’re doing it from behind so I can go to sleep in a more comfortable position afterward.”

Marcus’s cheeks were still a little flushed from exertion, but they noticeably darkened at Robson’s words, and he carefully lowered himself onto Robson’s chest so he could hide his face in his neck. “You want to do it again?”

“Oh, my sweet puppy,” Robson said, laughing gently when Marcus growled at him. “Of course I do. Though Nico mentioned that you can learn to control your knot, right?”

Marcus nodded slowly, and Robson thought he might be tired too, but then he realized his worrywart of a mate was thinking about things again. “You… You’d really come with me if I had to move again?”

His voice was soft and full of emotion, and it broke Robson’s heart. “Cariño… I can’t think of a single thing I wouldn’t do for you. There aren’t any conditions on my love or our mating. This is it. You’re stuck with me for the rest of our lives.”

Steady, even breaths fell on Robson’s skin as Marcus considered his words, his arms tightening around Robson a little though. By the time he responded, Robson was nearly asleep and Marcus’s knot was starting to shrink, but he still clearly heard him.

“I believe you, Robito.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“You seem… less tense,” Tashmica said, sipping her tea and recrossing her legs where she had made herself at home on the couch in Marcus’s office.

He snorted, finished typing a response to an email from a pack member, then closed out of his computer to take a break. Settling next to her, he picked up the other mug, his cheeks heating at the reminder of the tea Robson had drunk last night, his neck tingling where he knew the scar from his mate’s teeth was.

Tash smirked as she held her cup in front of her mouth. “Ah, now I know why.”

“It’s not… that,” he said, ignoring her soft laugh. “Or not only that. Running with the others yesterday helped a lot too. When I get so focused and stressed, I tend to ignore my wolf, but Robson helped us get back on the same page.”

Setting aside her mug, she reached over and gripped his arm, purple nails catching his eyes. “I’m so happy that things worked out between the two of you, sweetie.”

Chuckling, he laid his own hand over hers. “Thank you for helping me get to a place where I could let myself be happy with him. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d ruined things before they’d even started.”

“None of us would have let that happen.” She winked and they went back to their tea, the silence between them speaking of years of friendship and trust. Finally, once their cups were empty and he was eyeing his desk once more, she said carefully, “Any luck with the letter?”

He sighed and sagged back against the couch, rubbing at his face, then scratching his beard. “No. I know the numbers are a cipher—Mikel was obsessed with books and poetry. His office was so full of them it was claustrophobic. But without knowing the exact book or poem and the edition he used as a reference…”

“Seems difficult but not impossible,” she said, pulling him out of a familiar spiral. “He wouldn’t have made it so you couldn’t figure out what he used.”

Groaning, he sat forward, cupping his head in his hands, elbows braced on his knees. “I know. I know the damn answer has to