Bennett - Milly Taiden Page 0,7

bounces down the steps, she made her way to the lab. It was a clean, clinical space that reminded her of the inside of a spaceship in some sci-fi movie she had seen once.

Through the glass panes that surrounded the lab—seriously, who was so fond of windows in this place?—she saw a man.

He was bent over a microscope, muttering to himself like an absolute psycho.

This should be interesting.

Over her eclectic career, Dakota had never worked for a scientist before, and she was eager to see how these types of people were in comparison to the gym rats and office workers she had known.

A part of her had to wonder if a geek would make a better boyfriend than the trashy fuck boys she had grown accustomed to. Dakota wasn’t shallow, but if a dumb man had a good body and a pretty face and he could fuck her right? Then who was she to judge?

The problem was, she was being cavalier. Those types of men rarely got the job done as well as they should. They were always too concerned with their own pleasure.

Not that she should be thinking that about a client.

Nick hadn’t outright told her that dating a client would be wrong, but she had the gumption to realize all by herself that it would be ill-advised to play hide-the-pickle with someone she was guarding.

“Hey,” she said with a loud but nonthreatening voice.

The man jumped up, his shoulders tensing. He hadn’t even realized that she had opened the lab door.

“Am I hearing voices?” he mumbled without looking up.

“No, genius. I’m the guard who was sent here by Nick Milan.”

Finally, the man looked up from his telescope. Or was it a microscope? She always got those two confused. His glasses slid all the way down his nose, and he had to push them back up before meeting her eyes.

The very last thing Dakota was expecting at that very moment was for her tigress to go absolutely crazy.

Mine.

Nope.

Mine.

Dakota was adamant when she thought a loud no to her tigress. The animal growled low, digging her claws in.

Mine.

Dakota took in his tall, lanky form. He was gawky, as if his limbs had been deflated. He had a good skeletal structure, and his face was handsome. His long, angular nose was dignified, and the blue of his eyes was crisp and fresh. It reminded her of the Arctic.

That didn’t mean Dakota would do anything. This man could not be her mate. Nope. Her animal was wrong.

She was aware that she wasn’t emotionally mature enough yet to deal that that particular part of adult life. She was still trying to find her place, still trying to figure out who she was.

And that definitely did not involve being mated.

Nope. Not one bit.

“Who are you?” His voice was deep.

Dakota ignored the way it seemed to strike a chord inside of her. Well, in her southern parts. Could a voice make you wet? She shook her head. What was she even thinking? Her beast chuckled. Mine, the animal was purring.

“Dakota Alcott. Didn’t Dr. Hart and Nick warn you that I would stop by?”

He shook his head.

“They didn’t?” She was surprised. And also very much distracted by the animal going all sex kitten inside of her head. Was she in heat or something?

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before running his fingers through his impressive black curls. The strands stood in every direction, leaving him looking wild.

It made her tigress hum with desire.

Cool it, she warned the animal.

“They did. Yes. Sorry. What time is it?” He didn’t give her time to answer, nor had he looked at her. He glanced down at his watch and balked. “Sweet lord, I’ve been down here for hours.”

Finally, his eyes met hers.

They were just as blue as she had thought. She gulped as she lost grip over her animal.

“You’ve got nice eyes,” she heard herself say.

His brow furrowed in absolute confusion. His golden skin blushed profoundly, and he opened his mouth without speaking, closing it a few times before letting it hang open in shock.

What the hell had possessed her to say such a thing? Oh, right. Her damn beast.

“I’m Dakota,” she repeated in hopes of defusing the awkwardness of the moment.

“Bennett Huxx. Hey. Hi.”

“Right. Bennett, I’m changing the security codes. I’ll be doing a perimeter check beforehand.”

He only nodded at her before she felt graceless and floundering. It was so not like her to be this weird, and she wasn’t a fan. It was all her tigress’s