“Sure,” I answered. More like, definitely. We needed to know exactly what her research looked like, in case—and I hated thinking this—we needed to thwart it.
Landry and I had led her on a wild goose chase on Sunday after we agreed we shouldn’t allow her to put any more trackers in wolves on our land. Instead of leading her directly to a group of wolves, we’d gone for a hike in the woods. The only animals around had been small forest creatures.
It had felt dastardly, but until we’d won our mate over and explained what we were, we couldn’t risk any more exposure for the pack. Once she knew, hopefully she’d understand our position. Hopefully, she’d back off.
But considering how enthusiastic she’d appeared talking about her research to her class, these were very tricky waters.
Which meant we were still in fucking trouble. We hadn’t heard from Gib since the weekend—I was going to thank their mate for keeping him well occupied—so Landry hadn’t had to tell him the truth. We’d been given a reprieve to handle this issue our way.
Caitlyn led us up another flight of stairs to her office, a very small space in the corner of a laboratory. There were a few students in the lab doing their own thing, and they gave us curious stares as we came in, but Caitlyn didn’t introduce us.
“This is my office. The quarters are a bit tight, especially with you two in here.” She laughed, her gaze sweeping across Landry’s broad shoulders to mine.
My thoughts immediately turned dirty, and apparently, so did hers, because the scent of her arousal made Landry growl. He cleared his throat when Caitlyn startled at the sound. “Allergies,” he said gruffly.
Her eyes flared, and pink tinged her cheeks.
Yeah, she was thinking dirty things. Like the fact that she’d called us when she returned to her apartment on Sunday, and we’d talked her through removing the butt plug then touching herself to completion. Phone sex wasn’t anything like the real thing, but fuck… I’d get her to come any which way. That was my—our—fucking job now. Literally.
Our. Fucking. Job.
Caitlyn started up her computer, leaning over her desk. It reminded me of the position we’d put her in to spank her by the property-dividing fence. The urge to repeat that delectable activity made my cock go rock hard.
“This is my GPS tracking system on all the wolves we’ve tagged in Wyoming.” She opened a screen that showed over a dozen dots moving on a map. She located the two in West Springs, and pointed. “You see? That’s White Paw and Comet.”
“What now?” Landry asked.
“The two wolves you helped me tag last weekend.”
“It’s so cute that you name them.” I was unable to resist a smile.
She lifted her chin. “Of course I name them! They’re part of my life now. Your help in getting these two was huge. We’ve been wanting to get samples from wolves in your area for a long time, but it’s been difficult. Now, I’ll be able to study not only the genetic makeup of wolves that haven’t been transplanted, but how far their territory extends, and whether they mate with wolves of other packs and species.”
“And your paper?” Landry asked. “You translate this data into findings.”
She nodded. “It’s on my computer as well. I’ve written the outline and have been adding data as it comes in, but I will have to finalize it soon. Publishing is the only way to get ahead in my field.”
“Publish or perish?” I asked, remembering the saying.
“Definitely publish.”
Landry and I turned at the voice. And found a short, balding man staring at Caitlyn’s ass.
Only when she turned to face him did he look away. When he realized we’d caught him, he didn’t look the least bit contrite. In fact, the corner of his mouth tipped up as if it was Caitlyn’s fault she was too hot for him to ignore.
Landry growled, and that got the guy’s attention.
“Dr. Andrews,” Caitlyn said.
This guy was her boss? He wore jeans and a T-shirt that had some ridiculous math joke on it, as well as a coffee stain. The sneakers on his feet were broken in but, based on his gut, it wasn’t from running.
“The data from the wolves you tagged last weekend is remarkable.”
“These are the men who helped me find them.”
Landry’s back practically snapped with the tension in it. The results of what he’d agreed to do, the compromise, was this. Satisfying a man who enjoyed staring at our mate’s ass.
Andrews had to tip his chin back to look us in the eye.
“You all eat your vegetables in West Springs,” he said, making us sound like bumbling hicks instead of the half-shifter guys who could crush him with the squeeze of a hand around his tiny neck.
Caitlyn must have picked up on the fact that her boss was close to being squashed like a bug because she cleared her throat. “I’ll be returning this weekend, with the rest of the trackers.”