tried not to notice her tigress’s attention at the length of the digits. The animal was pretty adamant that it meant something else about Bennett’s anatomy.
Trying as best she could, she pushed all sexy thoughts from her mind and shook his hand.
She hadn’t been expecting the absolute jolt that made her entire body hum the second their skin touched. It was the most delicious burn that she had ever felt. It made all of her skin tingle and shiver. She didn’t know if she wanted to pull her hand away or tug him closer so she could kiss him.
“I’m Bennett,” he said needlessly. She was making him nervous.
She broke their connection and swallowed against her dry throat.
“Nice to meet you,” she managed to say.
“It’s fascinating meeting you.” He took a step toward her. “I never knew of your existence before today. Gray mentioned that you’re a shifter. Are you a wolf?”
Dakota licked her lips. She tried to convince herself it was because she was nervous that he knew about shifters, and not because Bennett smelled like heaven dipped in sex.
“I’m a tigress, actually. Feline, not canine.” Dakota wanted to shake her head from adding that last part. She was a confident woman who could give a snappy boss all of the sass. She was an independent woman who could have trysts with hot, buff men.
Why was she acting like a nervous teen girl who ran into her crush at the mall?
It was ridiculous, and she was entirely blaming her animal.
“Fascinating, as I’ve said. Would you mind if I took a sample of your blood to analyze?”
Dakota felt her eyes go wide. “What?”
It was Bennett’s turn to blush, and it was the most adorable thing she had ever seen.
“I have Gray’s blood, but he can shift into two animals. I also have Blake’s, who is a lioness. I would love to compare all of them for Gray’s research. And to satisfy my own curiosity.”
“Umm.” Dakota didn’t know what to reply. It was the first time a man had ever asked for blood, and she didn’t know him. As a general rule, shifters didn’t let scientists anywhere near their blood, by fear of being exposed to humans and being turned into lab rats.
“I’ve gone and asked something indelicate. Forget it. It’s fine.” He gave her a smile so bright, so pure, Dakota felt her pussy clench.
This week was going to be impossible to get through if he kept smiling at her.
“Are you planning on working until much later?”
The sun was beginning to set. How had she wasted hours watching junk TV? Some guard she was.
“No. Not in the least. A few of my friends are coming over tonight for a game night.”
She perked right up, hearing this. Having other people around would dull the incessant desire inside of her to pounce on Bennett.
“Oh, that’s fun.”
“You’ll have to join us.” There was that smile again.
“Of course I will. Thanks. Although, I’d be failing hard at my job if I didn’t ask. Are we sure your friends can be trusted?”
“Yes. They know Gray, and he did say that I could have them over.”
Dakota knew Bennett wasn’t lying. Her shifter senses told her as much. “Fine. I guess we should order a few pizzas, then.”
“We’re quite far from the city. I’m not sure we would be able to get anything delivered. The guys are supposed to bring food with them.”
Bennett sat down on the couch and silently motioned for her to take a seat. She did, but with the presence of mind to keep a bit of distance between them. The last thing she needed was for her tigress to maul him or nestle into his side.
“What is this show?” Bennett asked, making her gasp.
“Are you kidding? This is gold. It follows cops around during their shifts. It’s fascinating. You literally never know what you’re going to get. A funny tragedy or a cringe-worthy mishap. It’s amazing. You need to watch this.”
“Are these real police officers?”
Dakota giggled like a twelve-year-old. “Yes, duh! Didn’t you ever watch shitty television after school?”
“Well, no. After school, I had to do homework. I typically spent all of my free time reading or in labs.”
“Didn’t you ever just hang out with your friends?”
Bennett shook his head. “I was quite young when I graduated from high school. Fourteen.”
She choked on her tongue, but he wasn’t done.
“I got my first degree at sixteen. It was astrophysics, but I didn’t want to pursue that. I started all over again and got my Masters