like I’m hurting them when they start crying and manipulating me. They’ve been trained to use that against us, and it almost works. We’ve all had moments of hesitation when we have to subdue them.”
“So, you hesitated last night?” Calla saw the pain in his eyes and knew he was struggling.
“Yeah,” he replied, touching his jaw. “I’ve never had to truly fight a female outside of the training facility. In there, it was a teaching position. Out on the streets, it’s life or death.”
“But you’re strong and trained,” she reminded him.
“One of them had a gun, Calla,” he growled. She noticed the amber sparks in his eyes, and her heart immediately plummeted.
“Oh, Gods! Did you get shot?” She pushed back her chair to stand, looking him over for any signs he’d been bleeding. When Taze raised his hand and shook his head, she relaxed, but only slightly.
“Not me,” he answered. “Noah took a bullet to the leg, but he’s going to be fine. It went through and through.”
“Thank the gods,” she whispered, falling back into her seat.
“It’s not good knowing they are now armed,” he continued. “All it takes is one head or heart shot to change the game.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I have a meeting with Talon tonight,” he said. “We are going to ask Liberty and Nova to start up the firearms training again. Talon is going to the FBI today to request we be allowed to arm ourselves. There was nothing in the original law stating we could. Originally, we were fighting a shifter war, and as you know, we don’t use human weapons.”
“You need to be protected,” she snarled. “The human authorities have weapons, and so should you.”
That was one more reason for her to continue down the current path she’d chosen. The Guardians and Protectors should’ve never been sent out on the streets without weapons. If the human police carried them to combat crime, so should the shifters.
“We will address that later,” he promised, finally standing from his seat. She was still worried about him and the night he had. “Now, how about that run?”
Calla worried for Taze and the others who were out in the streets, hunting down the rogues, but she knew she would eventually be able to give something back to the species once she got her degree.
Taze waited for her to strip before kicking off his boots to undress for their run. Once they were in the woods, her beast slowed to a walk instead of racing through the forest. They kept to the trails, never stopping until they reached the pond at the back of the property.
Taze never took the lead, always staying at her flank in a protective move most mated males took with their females. His actions were speaking louder than his words, and Calla took notice. He’d only lost his composure once, voicing his opinion on how much he found her beautiful. Over the past couple of weeks, she‘d noticed a hardened bulge in his pants when they were releasing their mating scents.
As much of a coward as she was when it came to a mating, she didn’t fault him. In fact, she’d found herself aroused during some of their encounters, and at first, it confused her, but lately, she was…intrigued.
She’d been scared to be intimate with a male, but when she was with Taze, it was easier to see herself going through with the mating. He was a virile male; large, menacing when he needed to be, but the Guardian was respectful and chivalrous. There’d been several times she’d noticed how he put her wishes first, putting his needs on the back burner. She wanted to show him how much she cared for him, but didn’t know how without actually touching him.
By the time they reached his house, she was determined to try and get closer to him. There needed to be intimacy between them without touching until she was ready. As she shifted and picked up her clothes, Calla steeled her spine and walked into the house after him, still holding her clothes in her hand.
“I want to try, Taze,” she blurted, standing there stark naked in front of him. She had to give him credit for not looking upon her naked body with lust, even though his eyes darkened at her words. “I’m not going to touch you, but I’d like to explore more with you.”
“Sweetheart, you can’t be telling me these things,” he growled as he moved closer. He still