She flushed at that, then grinned. He was an incredible lover whether the heat was present or not. And as he had promised, he had more than made up for that first time that he had taken her.
As she moved for the door, e-pad in hand, the link at her ear beeped, a distinctive signal that had her smiling as she stepped from the room.
“Yes?” She answered her alpha’s call with a surge of excitement as her bodyguards converged behind her with a snicker and Ashley muttered, “Lovesick.”
“Are you well, Mate?” Del-Rey’s voice was low, his tone like a whisper of rough velvet over her senses.
“I am,” she answered, her voice just as low. “You?”
He chuckled. “How close is Ashley behind you? I’d hate to make her blush.”
Ashley snorted.
“Close enough,” Anya answered with a laugh as she glanced at her e-pad. “I’m heading to your office if you’re free. I need to discuss some reports that came in this morning on the new construction in the lower caverns, as well as some shifts in duty I’d like to make with a few of the teams.” And kitchen staff and uniforms. She saw no reason to list the full file of complaints she intended to face him with.
“We could discuss it this evening,” he suggested.
“That’s what you said yesterday,” she told him. “We didn’t get around to that discussion if I recall.”
“Ah yes, other things definitely came up,” he chuckled.
And they had. Hours’ worth of pleasure. Her body still tingled with it.
“I’m headed up,” she told him as they reached the stairs that led to the upper caverns. “Don’t run and hide.”
He laughed at that. “I’ll be here, Mate. Maybe I’ll even have a treat for you.”
She shivered at the thought of that. She had become overly fond of Del-Rey’s afternoon treats. The ones where he pulled her into his office or entered hers and showed her how hungry he was for her.
A nooner sounded good. But maybe after she got his approval on the things she needed and had him lift the restrictions on her limits of power within Base.
Command and Security she understood; the day-to-day running of the base itself was another matter.
After being delayed several times for different requests, she stepped into his office nearly fifteen minutes later, and came to a hard stop.
That scent. She almost quivered in longing. Coffee. Real, caffeinated, dark and rich coffee. She almost whimpered as she watched Del-Rey lift a cup to his lips and sip slowly.
“You hate me,” she sighed, longing making her tongue almost curl. “Now I know you hate me.”
He grinned back at her, black eyes dancing as he leaned back in his chair and lifted his cup up to her. “Want a drink of mine?”
She licked her lips. More than she wanted chocolate. She stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowed as his lips quirked. She bet he tasted like that damned coffee. Coffee and male heat and hunger. Tempting. Very, very tempting.
Her eyes narrowed. Cunning, calculating damned Coyote.
She smiled. “I’ll take half a cup when I’ve finished.”
His brows lifted. They both knew what that coffee would do to her within hours.
“You could have a sip of mine now,” he offered.
Anya settled in the chair in front of his desk and stared back at him with a knowing smile. “Mongrel.”
He laid his hand over his heart, his eyes widening despite the wicked laughter in the dark depths. “Coya, you wound me.”
“I’m going to wound you.” She barely managed to contain herself from rolling her eyes. “What are you trying to get out of, Coyote? Lifting the restrictions on my basic powers or the uniforms for our soldiers?”
Del-Rey took another sip of the coffee and regarded his mate over the cup. She was slick, he had to give her that. As bad as she wanted the coffee, and she did want it bad, she wasn’t about to allow herself to be deterred.
Lowering the cup, he sat on the side of his desk and leaned forward. “We can incorporate a rotation of kitchen duties . . .”
Her hand lifted as her expression became shuddered. “Lift the restrictions on my duties, Del-Rey,” she told him firmly. “Kitchen duties and our rotations there are not your department. I don’t tell you how to run Command and Security, or how to train your men. I expect the same respect.”
“This isn’t about respect, Anya,” he finally told her. “This is about maintaining a functioning military base here. This isn’t Sanctuary and it isn’t Haven. We don’t have cuddly little cabins with pretty little flower beds around them.”
She sat back in her chair, crossed her arms and stared at him silently. Hell, she was going to get pissed off.
“I run this base when you’re gone. I’ve learned how to do what has to be done at any given time, and I do it with resources so limited they’re laughable,” she said calmly. “You have no right, Del-Rey, to keep a limit on my authority.”
And he’d considered that fact. For days. Unfortunately, he and Anya differed in several areas regarding the base. Areas he knew would change if she were given the authority to change it. He didn’t want to fight her. There had been too much conflict between them already. He liked her soft and sexy in his arms, not angry with him.
“Anya, I don’t want humans in this base, neither do I want staff that we don’t have control over. The Coyote soldiers coming in here from the Bureau rescues are going to feel out of place if they have beds, blankets and pillows without working for them. This isn’t a Council facility. It’s a military-run base. I can’t lift the restrictions on the powers you have until I’m assured that you understand this. Until then, my signature will be required on any changes you request.”
He could smell her anger simmering now. Low, fierce, barely held in check. But he felt her hurt, and it pinched in his chest.
“Is that why you haven’t signed off on the requests I’ve sent you?”
“I don’t believe the changes you’re requesting are for the good of the base.” He kept his tone soft, gentle. “It isn’t so bad here, is it?” he finally asked. “A little rough at times, I admit, but your personal requests are never restricted.”
She rose slowly to her feet, her chin lifted with that surfeit of pride he knew she had.