kind of pouncing he wanted to do involved a lot more fun. Thinking back to the first time he'd seen her, he liked her better in red. Better yet, he liked the idea of seeing her in nothing but skin.
"Now we know why each of us is here.” She tapped a finger against his chest, tempting him to bite at the slender fingertip. Not a bite really, more of a nip. But teeth would definitely be involved. "We can get to what we came here for. Let's get working."
"Whatever you say, Red." If nothing else, he decided, at least he’d have a good view over the next couple of days. Once he completed the installation, he could be on his way and she'd be back in her city.
"Aren't you concerned about why we're putting in this system?" Another one of her questions.
"We all know why we're here." He shrugged but his voice sounded grim even to his own ears. The kills in other territories weren’t only the problems of the other packs and prides. "The hunters need to be stopped, the territories need more security."
"This system can help keep people safe." The conviction in her voice admirable, she projected a fire and strength not too many people had. "But do we know anything about them, the hunters?"
"Humanoid." Jason grunted as he lifted another heavy sensor and began fastening it to an array. "They hunt with technology we've never seen before, probably more advanced than the technology in your cities, too."
"Do they shoot their targets?" She seemed to be an endless stream of questions. She had a mouth on her for sure, and he'd have been more annoyed if her mouth didn't look so incredibly kissable. "Do they always kill?"
He would have preferred a different topic, but he answered her questions. "They use tasers or shoot darts. Incapacitated, the prey can't move. It takes a long time before the hunters really kill them."
The last answer silenced her after a soft oh. He could practically smell the smoke coming from her pretty little head as her thoughts turned his words over and over.
An hour passed as he concentrated on assembling the sensors and she tapped away at her computer programming before she asked him another question.
"Are you always this talkative or is it just me?" The sarcasm dripped from her voice.
With one hand balancing a support bar and the other fastening a sensor in place, he shrugged without looking away from his task. "I'm not one for small talk."
"Oh, good. Here I thought you only had an issue with me."
Finished with the task, Jason turned and leaned over her, where she sat at a console displaying windows of code and administration panels. "Oh no, Red. Don't take it personally. I ignore pretty much everyone."
Big blue eyes blinked once and then narrowed. "Yay. I feel so much better."
He chuckled and turned to get another sensor.
"I'm sorry, by the way." Her voice came softer, gentler.
Confused, he swung around.
"Earlier…" Puzzled, he watched her bite her lower lip as she considered what she wanted to say. He wanted to lick at the resultant hurt, suck on it gently. Her words brought him back to reality. "Earlier, I talked about pack without thinking. I'm sorry if I hit a sensitive spot."
He clenched his jaw and counted a slow ten, waiting for the old resentment to ease back to the ever-present simmer. She’d offered an apology, more than most took the time or consideration to give him. She didn’t deserve the lash of his temper. "You didn't know. We're square. Let it go, Red."
She shot him a searching look, and he wondered how any human males had ever had the fortitude to deal with her intense personality. The girl should have been a shapeshifter. After a moment, she nodded and turned back to her displays and configurations.
After another solid block of working in silence, she straightened and rolled her shoulders with a mild groan. He glanced at her with reluctant sympathy. Sitting at that console for any length of time had to be murder on the shoulders and back. At least his work had him moving as he assembled the sensor arrays and hooked them up for her to run her diagnostics. She wasn't doing herself much good as she attempted to rub some of the soreness out on her own.
"Here." He stepped behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. For such a small person, she carried a lot of tension, the muscles of her neck