Hunting Ember (Pride of Alphas #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,23

take you out sometime?”

Ember blinked at him, her eyes wide. “Like on a date?”

“Yes, Ember.”

“Oh, I—” She leaned back into her seat, buckling her seatbelt as he drove away from the curb. “I would like that, yes.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Ember sounded unsure, like he had sprung this on her with no warning.

What did she think all of those kisses had been? A tease? A game? He didn’t know how to set her mind at ease, not without spilling all of the shifter and mate stuff. Instead, he reached over and took her hand in his. He started driving, never letting go. Every time they hit a red light, he would turn to her with a smile.

“Think you could feed me one of those egg bites?”

“Sure.” She popped one in his mouth, and he made sure to lick her fingers, even nipping the digits playfully.

It tinged the breakfast food with her taste, and that made the delicious food even more irresistible. Kai couldn’t wait to lay her down on a soft bed, spread her legs wide to taste her. To really taste her.

Kai drove them down to the Police Station, where they filled a police report. The Officer made a copy of the letter and gave them instructions to contact him if anything else popped up.

That was it.

They didn’t do anything more.

Ember had warned him that this would happen. That the police wouldn’t do much because there was not much to do. It still irked him, down to his bones. This was his mate’s safety, her life. He would always protect her, but he was feeling let down by the systems in place.

Apparently, one single threatening letter wasn’t enough to warrant the authorities’ full attention. Kai could only hope that he got to the culprit before the letter turned into a more physical threat. Until then, he wouldn’t let Ember out of his sight.

Even if she couldn’t see him, he would always be around.

She had no idea that he had slept in his car within view of her place. He had only gone home to shower and change when his cousin and employee, Marius, had come to keep an eye out. Kai was sure that telling Ember would only upset her. Not only because it might seem like an invasion of privacy, but because she might think he was possessive and jealous.

He wasn’t.

Well, not any more than any other male shifter.

That’s why he convinced her that he wouldn’t let her walk from the parking lot to the soundstage alone. In the golf cart, he drove them to the lot and proceeded to walk Ember straight to the makeup artists’ domain. Kai had already arranged for added security. There were guards posted at each exit and one who was ordered to keep close tabs on Ember, and anyone who came in contact with her. Kai was going to be participating in the competition, which meant he would be staying close. But he wasn’t going to take any chances.

Not with his mate.

“Have a good time filming,” he said, his hand cupping her cheek. “I’ll be doing quick rounds before the cameras turn on. Maybe when we break for lunch, we could hang out.”

Her smile was wide and sweet. It went to his head, his heart, his cock.

“I would like that. Quite a bit.”

Kai didn’t know if it was all right to kiss her in public. He wanted to, and judging by the way her teeth were sinking into her lower lip, she wanted to be kissed. Slowly, with enough time to let her back off if that’s what she wanted, Kai leaned in. Their lips met in a sweet embrace. His tongue barely adding itself to the mix.

There would be time for that later.

First, he had to survive his first day as a contestant on a baking show.

Chapter Nine

Ember

The large timer at the back of the room was counting down the time left. There were twenty minutes left before the day’s challenge ended. Ember had never, not once in her life, been distracted while cooking or baking.

Usually, baking is what she did to regain focus.

But today, the first official challenge day, was a disaster.

Her panties were uncomfortable because she knew they had been soaked thanks to Kai’s kisses. That wasn’t what led her to distraction.

Nope. Well, it wasn’t the only thing making her focus shift from baking to sexy thoughts.

It was the man himself. And what a man he was.

Kai’s station was across from hers, and she couldn’t help sneaking glances his way as she