He found her a few seconds later. “Hey, Lieutenant.” His mouth was on hers before she could do more than part her lips to respond.
She should’ve been used to the way he had of doing that, but she staggered back a little, gripping at his waist to keep herself upright. Not that it was necessary; his arms were already locked tight around her, his mouth exploring hers with a lazy sensuality that made her want to purr like a damn cat.
“This,” she said on a breath, “is hardly the time.”
Another kiss, one big hand moving down to shape her buttocks. “I’m behaving,” he told her, all innocence. “I didn’t do it in front of Dorian and Bren, did I?”
Her wolf laughing, she wiggled her arms out from around him and reached up to cup his face. Then she kissed the hell out of Andrew Liam Kincaid.
CHAPTER 26
Andrew was sure he’d had a rational thought a minute or so ago, but it was a distant memory. The lieutenant was making his brains leak out his ears, her tongue a fast, sleek dart in his mouth, her teeth sharp little accents on his lips, her hands brands against his skin. Groaning, he gripped her hips and gave in.
His reward was a kiss so hot, it turned his jeans uncomfortably tight. Unable to keep his hands still, he stroked up over her sweatshirt to close his hand around one lush breast. Her nipple was already pebbled behind the soft fabric of her bra, and he played with it through the clothing, wanting to learn each and every facet of what drove her crazy.
The sound took time to filter into his consciousness, the voice recognizable. Dorian, calling Indigo’s name. “Time to go back,” he murmured against those lush lips that had turned him into a willing slave.
“If you’re a very good boy,” Indigo murmured in a sexy, husky tone as she reached down to cup his straining cock for one electric second, “I might kiss you other places, too.”
He bit back a very blue word as she withdrew her hand and stepped back. “How the hell am I supposed to go back and face my little sister if I have a raging hard-on?”
“Poor baby.” Except her eyes were dancing with unfamiliar wickedness. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.” She walked away, her hips swiveling in a fashion that he knew was meant to shoot his already boiling temperature through the roof. Sexual frustration was a bitch, but his wolf smiled—because the lieutenant was playing with him again. And Indigo Riviere was a woman who played with very few.
Blowing out a breath, he gritted his teeth and counted to a thousand, somehow managing to get his body under control. “So, what did I miss?” he asked, rejoining the others where they crouched around the object.
“It’s a transmitter,” Dorian said, holding the steel orb in hand.
He met the leopard sentinel’s surfer blue eyes. “You sound very sure.”
But it was his sister who replied. “The tech is pretty common once you strip away the fancy exterior.”
“Range isn’t huge,” Dorian added. “Maybe five hundred meters or so.”
Brenna’s eyes met Andrew’s, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth that augured trouble—but her words were practical. “We think it’s meant to act as a locator beacon.”
“Locator for what?” Indigo murmured. “This area is wilderness. Aside from the forest creatures, only wolves come—”
A pointed cough from Dorian.
“Wolves and leopards,” Indigo said, shaking her head at the blond sentinel’s smirk, “are the only ones who come up here.” Lines formed between her brows. “The only ones who should. I wonder if the Psy we scented when we were with the juveniles were scouting for places to put these things.”
“Would make sense,” Brenna said. “You were a bit more east of here, but not that much lower down in terms of the elevation.”
Dorian’s hair flashed almost white in the harsh sunlight as he lowered his head to the device once more. “We can sweep the ground with high-strength scanners, but we have a logistical problem—den territory covers too wide an area.” A glance at Brenna.
Andrew’s sister nodded in confirmation. “We need to figure out some sort of specific region to search.”
“How long would the batteries last in those things?” Indigo asked. “Best guess?”
“I’ll confirm when we dismantle one, but three months would be the outer limits,” Brenna said, looking at Dorian.
He nodded and added, “The transmitting function sucks juice. Three for safety, but I’d say two months would be a more realistic estimate.”
Andrew saw where Indigo was going. “So we can probably eliminate all the areas where the snowpack has been pretty much solid for over two months.” That would take care of a good chunk of their territory.
“Yes.” Brenna’s eyes sparked. “A telekinetic could have moved the snow, but one, it’s a massive waste of power, and two, against all that white, any intruders would have stood out like sore thumbs to our satellite.”