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After telling the chief of his plans, Damon took to tracking the woods. He wasn’t familiar with the roads all that well, but there was a copse of dense trees near Main Street. Experience told him to start there.

His mind clicked over from civilian at a festival to solider on a hunt. His muscles operated from memory, his senses activating finely honed perception only possible with hours of training.

His breathing slowed, his heart beat in a familiar, steady rhythm. Every broken twig, every disturbed bit of earth a beacon to him in the night.

The trail went straight from the edge of the festival to the deepest part of the surrounding forest. It didn’t take Damon long to gain ground in the chase.

“I want mommy,” the toddler cried. The sound of rustling and the child’s cries were muffled. They were so loud, Damon could have followed them blind.

They were also distracted, which he used to his advantage to run faster.

Damon went wide and overtook their position, spying an old beater parked in a small parking trail. The lot was likely near a hiking trailhead, explaining why it was empty at night.

Not wanting to risk the toddler being harmed in a tackle, Damon decided to lie in wait. First, however, he peered into the getaway car. There was a car seat in the back, on the driver’s side. Removing his pocket knife, he slashed the rear passenger side tire.

Then he hid.

A panting man stumbled out of the forest a few minutes later. Running that far required stamina; running that far while carrying a wiggling toddler required a level of fitness the kidnapper did not possess.

Watching, waiting, Damon was pure predator now. The man opened the backseat and placed the toddler into the car seat. The poor thing was screaming now, arching his back and making the straps impossible to buckle.

The man’s fumbling was his downfall. Damon came up behind him, a surprise attack he was helpless to fend off.

An hour after that, Damon’s arms were wrapped around Nicole. The police arrested the kidnapper, the child was returned to his mother, and the festival resumed, albeit with a somber mood.

Nicole refused to let him out of her grasp. Not that he minded. She still carried tension in her shoulders, despite reassurances that he was unharmed. The police took his statement and contact information. His part here was done. “Ready to go home?”

His angel sighed. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Damon tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear. He tapped the lines beside her eye. She looked so tired and anxious. He wanted to get her home, away from all these people and sounds and lights. He wanted her naked, too, but that felt inappropriate. He chided himself for being a horny bastard.

Catching the eye of the police sergeant, Damon grunted and pointed his chin away from the crowd. The sergeant glanced at Nicole’s hand in his and nodded.

They arrived separately, but no way would he would let her drive home alone tonight. He bundled her into his truck. The rote actions of driving calmed his nervous system. He needed to recall not just how to hunt, but how to come back from the hunt, too. Having his angel close helped.

As soon as they were out of sight of the festival, her hand squeezed his thigh. The contact electrified him, taking all the excitement of the chase and morphing it into scalding desire. He wanted to bend her over every piece of furniture in her unit. And his. He didn’t have much, but he had counters.

He swallowed and shoved the fantasy out of his mind. She was likely scared and needed reassurance and comfort. Maybe he should suggest they watch a movie and cuddle on the couch. Didn’t women like that sort of thing? Would she want to talk about what happened?

“That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Damon nearly choked on his own spit. Her hand slid to his crotch. Blood surged throughout his body, pooling in his cock. He’d never been so hard, fueled not just by his attraction to Nicole but also the flood of adrenaline that hadn’t left his system yet.

He growled.

Nicole leaned into him. Her voice was raspy. “Take me home. Growl like that while you’re inside me.”

His foot pressed on the gas pedal, and his hands locked a death grip on the steering wheel. Just a few more minutes until they were safely home.

Yes, ma’am.

Chapter Ten

Nicole’s system was on overload. All the endorphins from her earlier orgasm had been washed away by the adrenaline.

Now the adrenaline was replaced by hormones. The fuck me now variety, to be exact.

Damon growled and threw the truck into park. Her clumsy fingers were still fumbling with her seatbelt when he opened her door. Something inside of her let go, let him take control of the situation. She surrendered to the moment.