Tuesday is for Teasing After All

So thanks to my fabulous husband, who fixed said technical file issue. You get your teaser after all. Please keep in mind that this is from a work that isn’t out yet, and as such may be unedited. So you get a giveaway and a Tuesday Tease, I really am going wild while Amber is away.

 

“You have to take him, everyone else has a partner,” Captain Neil Dowles folded his arms and glared back at Knox Channing. His impatient tone conveyed his lack of sympathy for Knox Channing’s issues.

Bastard.

“I don’t need a partner. You can pass him off to one of those people who like to work in teams.” Knox celebrated his two-hundredth birthday last week. He hardly needed a newbie recruit following him around to hold his cock while he pissed. Knox would never label himself as a people person. Other beings bugged the crap out of him and his inner wolf agreed.

“It’s already been decided by people higher up than me. Don’t worry you’re going to like this one, he’s pretty.” Dowles slapped a file down on Knox’s desk and walked away laughing. The captain’s black demon horns glowed under the fluorescent lights as he chuckled. Anyone that made the captain happy couldn’t be a good thing.

Knox growled. The urge to rip off his Dowles’ head and bounce it like a basketball caused fur to pop out of his arms.

“Easy Knox,” Amari Gustus said in his slow, calming voice. The one he used whenever Knox showed signs of going feral. The zephyr’s blue skin turned pale white when Knox turned his wolf eyes on him.

Amari quickly hid behind his partner, Div Woods a half-troll with a mean right hook.

Knox could feel his wolf rising to the surface. The beast didn’t want to be appeased it wanted to rip out someone’s throat. Only the threat of more sensitivity training kept him from gutting Div and playing his innards like a banjo. His expression must’ve showed his feelings because both detectives backed slowly away to their cubicle and returned to their own space.

“Hello,” a smooth tenor, sweet as honey and four times sexier than Knox’s favorite porn video filled the air.

Knox’s head snapped around so fast his neck cracked. His inner wolf forced him to take a deep breath to assess this newcomer. The scents of metal, earth and fire filled his nose along with a sweeter underlying fragrance he didn’t recognize but wanted to roll his entire body across.

Without thought Knox jumped to his feet, snatched up the newcomer then shoved his nose against the man’s neck. He barely registered lifting the man up as he plundered for more of that rich smell. A low growl vibrated his throat as he inhaled.

A giggle broke his concentration. His usually vicious inner alpha wolf wagged its tail in response to the sound. For the first time ever it wanted to play with someone and not attack.

“Knox, put him down!” Dowles demanded.

Knox growled. He kept the delicious smelling man dangling a good foot off the floor as he examined his find. Calm eyes the color of hammered gold regarded him with amusement. No fear emitted from the man with the amazing smell. He appeared more than happy to dangle from Knox’s grip.

“Hello, I’m Jett Holmes your new partner.”

Fuck the captain back to hell. Jett made GQ models look uglier than full-blooded goblins. When the captain had mentioned Jett’s prettiness he hadn’t been kidding.  With gold hair and gold eyes, Jett all but glowed with the optimistic newness of an enforcer straight out of training.

The thought of anyone rubbing that shine off him had Knox’s inner wolf growling again.

“You can put me down now, please.” Caution had replaced the calm expression of before and the sour scent of unease clouded his luscious smell.

“Oh, sorry.” He set Jett on the ground, careful not to drop him.

“I’ve never met a wolf shifter before.” Jett’s smile glowed as brilliant as the midday sun and three times as warm.

Knox tried to gather his usual grumpy manner to snap out an insult or even a snarl but looking into Jett’s sparkling gaze he lost his will to growl even a little bit.

He accepted the hand offered to him as meekly as an omega puppy.

“What are you?” Knox inhaled Jett’s scent again still not deciphering his fragrance. He’d never smelled anyone like Jett.

Jett tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t smell human.”

“Oh,” Jett frowned, a slight downturn of lips that had Knox searching for a way to take back his statement. For some reason causing that frown disturbed him.

Captain Dowles interrupted. “Don’t worry about Jett’s status, Knox. He’s on a need to know basis.”

Knox scowled at his supervisor but didn’t pursue it. The sorrow in Jett’s voice held him back. He’d planned to push off the newbie to the closest willing cop, but he couldn’t now. A strong protective streak prevented him from even considering anyone else good enough to watch out for Jett. The pretty boy needed a powerful partner to watch his back. What if something happened to him? Knox’s wolf growled at the thought.

Knox was the meanest enforcer in the department. Anyone else wouldn’t be good enough. His inner wolf gave an approving bark over his decision.

Jett glanced down as if the ground had suddenly become fascinating or perhaps he was waiting for a hell portal to open up.

“Jett?”

Jett’s eyes flashed around the station at all the people hovering nearby.

Knox growled. He wrapped an arm around his new partner and ushered him towards the elevators. “We’ll talk at the coffee shop.” He made sure to make eye contact with each of the nosy Nellies who thought to make Jett uncomfortable. When everyone looked away —even the captain— his wolf gave a pleased bark.

Jett passively let Knox drag him onto the elevator and didn’t object when Knox wrapped an arm around his waist. The space between them offended Knox’s wolf since Jett didn’t properly carry his mark. His wolf snarled its displeasure at his unscarred neck.

“Stand still.” Knox ordered as he moved to stand in front of Jett. Leaning down he slid his cheeks across each of Jett’s making sure the man was soaked in his scent before stepping back.

“All better?” Jett’s good humor had been restored after Knox’s marking.

“Yes. If you’re going to be my partner people need to smell me on you so they know not to fuck with you,” Knox explained. “It’s for your own protection.”

“Ah. The captain warned me you’d either become possessive or kick me out on my ass. I guess you went for option one,” Jett’s smile warmed Knox again.