I find my passion in life?”
“No, god, no. What I mean is that it should come from a need. A deep need that you have. Maybe one you’re too afraid to face.”
She blinked at him. “It sounds like you’re telling me I need to finish something.”
“What?” His face fell. “I would never say that to you. What you can or cannot accomplish is entirely up to you.” He shook his head. “This is coming out all wrong.” He took a deep breath and stopped her from walking. “I am trying to say that one day, there will be something you will want to see through. And it won’t be because it’s a noble pursuit. It’ll be because it soothes a need you have inside. Like belonging.” He made sure that she was looking right into his eyes. “It will be because you enjoy it. Because it’s fun. Because you’re good at it.”
Dakota nodded like she understood.
But his words rang through her head, over and over again. It really had sounded like Ben had reduced her life to nothing more than a long string of adventures she got herself into because she was looking for a place to belong.
He was right.
And that stung.
Bennett hadn’t meant it to be a blow to her, but it had been. He was right. She was chasing for a place where she belonged. Over the last few days, it definitely felt like she had landed, but it was temporary, wasn’t it? Soon, the whole serum business would be put to rest. The docs would go off and live their lives, and Bennett would go back to his job at the university.
Mate or not, where did she even fit in his world? He was this big brain, and she was a college dropout who was sure to lose another job.
She had decidedly not landed.
It made her feel so sad, it hurt to breathe. She knew she should tell Bennett about it. He would say all of the right things to make her feel better. He would assuage her fears. But this was something she had to figure out for herself.
Was the protection agency really the right place for her? She had fucked it up so badly, she had to figure out what her place was now. Self-doubt was a crippling thing.
Bennett held her hand on the drive back to the house. She fed him bits of the fresh bread, and he nipped her fingers with promises of what was to come. Dakota was feeling deflated, but Bennett was trying hard to lift her spirits.
Suddenly, her talents as a protection agent were the least of her worries.
There was a huge black SUV ramming into their bumper, making them veer off of the road.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dakota
The car was jostled to and fro, pitching them into the ditch. Bennett tried to right the vehicle to mitigate their injuries. Thankfully, they were shifters, and both of them were able to get out of the car. Dakota immediately shifted into her tigress.
She had recognized that vehicle. It was the one that had followed her after her ill-fated coffee run. She turned to tell Bennett to try and shift into his animal, all the while kicking herself for not getting him to practice shifting right way. They should have done that before ever leaving the relative safety of the house.
Dakota was worried for nothing.
Beside her, Bennett had shifted into a beautiful tiger. She wanted to beam with pride that his first shift had gone so well. She also wanted to do a happy dance because her mate was a tiger. There was nothing wrong with being with a bear shifter or a wolf shifter. But Dakota had always hoped to have little tiger cubs.
It seemed that it would be that way.
They had had a lot of sex already, and none of it had been the protected kind. They hadn’t necessarily discussed it yet, but it was bound to happen. She was as fertile as could be, and his virility and insatiable attitude in bed would definitely translate into a pregnancy. Soon, too.
At least, it was bound to happen if they survived their current predicament.
Bennett launched himself at the group of men, and Dakota followed suit. It didn’t matter that there were six of them with guns. They were two very angry tigers. Not only did they have groceries turning rancid in the trunk of the car, but they had also been on their way back to their bedroom to get their sex on.
This was