The Deputy and His Enforcer (Kincaid Pack #3) - Kiki Clark Page 0,51

showing.

Jesus Christ.

“Come sit down, Deputy,” Rick said, nodding at another chair. “There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you before we have dinner.”

“Sure, alright.” He stepped forward and sank into a wide, comfortable chair. “You can call me Robson if you want. Or Medina if last names are more your thing.”

Kai smiled widely and leaned farther into Rick. “Are you sure? We want to respect your position within the community.”

He’d never really thought about it like that, but he shrugged. “Going into law enforcement was never my plan and not something I particularly enjoy, so we can be informal.” He shot a glance at Rick and added, “If that’s okay with you… Alpha Kincaid.”

One side of Rick’s mouth twitched up. “Pup, will you go find the rest of our family? Beth will be serving dinner soon, and Samantha may still be fighting with Callie to get dressed.”

“Sure,” Kai said, pressing a kiss to Rick’s cheek and moving to stand. Rick’s hold on his body stopped him, and Robson was surprised when Rick pulled his mate back into his body, cupped the back of his head, and planted a real kiss on him.

He tried not to stare, turning toward the fireplace and admiring the decorative screen in front of it, but he still heard the soft gasp and growl from the other side of the room.

He cleared his throat when Kai finally stumbled past him, cheeks bright red but one of his hands unable to fully cover his smile. Turning toward Rick, he couldn’t help but grin.

“So was that like a display of possessiveness or something?” Robson smirked a little. “Do you feel the need to establish your territory? Your instincts telling you I’m a threat to your mate?”

Rick tilted his head and examined Robson. He had the distinct feeling that Rick knew that Robson was deliberately trying to push his buttons. He also got the feeling that Rick could rip his throat out without much effort and maybe he should watch himself.

“You know,” Rick said, voice gravelly and dangerous, “if Marcus heard you speaking to his alpha like that, he’d have a coronary.”

It was Robson’s turn to tilt his head, playing at confusion. “Can shifters have coronaries?”

Rick rolled his eyes and stood, crossing his arms as he leaned his shoulders back against the mantel over the fireplace. “Don’t be an ass, Deputy. I like you—I do—but when you’re in my house, among my pack, you’d better show some goddamn respect.”

Standing as well, Robson refused to show any fear to this guy. “Fine, I’ll be more respectful. But don’t bring Marcus into this discussion. What is it you’d like to say to me?”

Dark eyes narrowed, Rick pushed off the mantel and stepped into Robson’s personal space. “First, you’ve been a real thorn in my side, but the only reason Marcus was allowed to tell you shit about us is because I allowed it. Don’t make me regret not having one of our witches wipe your memory.”

Robson opened his mouth to interrupt but snapped it shut when Rick full-on snarled in his face.

“Don’t ever interrupt me.” He waited for Robson to nod, silently, then continued. “Second, my mate is so damn satisfied in our mating that he probably didn’t even notice you had a dick. So no, that wasn’t about you. That was about me and my mate and our not being able to keep our hands off each other.”

It took several long moments of glaring into Rick’s eyes before Robson noticed something: there was no telltale glow to show Rick was losing control. He’d thought he was pushing Rick’s buttons to get a reaction, but he realized Rick was the one manipulating him, playing the big tough asshole of an alpha to see how Robson would react.

Smirking, Robson crossed his arms. “Nice try, but Marcus told me a lot about you, Alpha Kincaid. And if what my brother-in-law said was true, then there’s no way you’d have actually kept Marcus and me apart.” He bared his teeth in a grin. “Though I suppose I do believe the bit about your mate being satisfied. You’ve got real big dick energy going on.”

He could practically hear Rick’s teeth grinding together, but before he could try another tack to keep Robson off-balance, the door to the room opened and a glaring Kai stepped in, holding a small child and another one who zipped past him and ran for Rick.

“Alpha!” the little girl screamed, jumping at the last second. Without missing a