Page 35 of Robb

“Good boy,” Tahnee said, and she released Robb’s shirt, much to his regret. And he really didn’t want to think much more about the way his stomach had clenched when Tahnee had called him a good boy. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

“Nothing at all.”

Standing, Robb tidied the rubbish off the table and threw it in the bin, before they thanked the slack-faced teen and walked out into the brisk afternoon air.

“So. Where to?” Tahnee asked.

Robb pointed, and they wandered down the street, happy to take their time now that their stomachs had been dealt with.

But he knew this honeymoon period had to end, and soon. He knew that they needed to get somewhere safe until they knew who was targeting them, and why. Whoever it was that had lured the two of them into a trap just last night was still out there.

And as good as this – this just being with Tahnee – is, I can’t let myself forget that.

But he and Tahnee had their powers back, and they’d needed to eat. His local Agency contacts were investigating last night’s incident, and had let him know that they’d put out extra patrols around the city. He was confident that they were reasonably safe for the time being, though that didn’t stop him from keeping all his senses on high alert.

One hour. After that, he could head to the local Agency office to conduct his own investigation – the policing conference was out the window, at this point – and Tahnee could be put up in a nicer safehouse than this one. Not that he thought she would agree to that, but he would at least strongly suggest it – and maybe she would be more amenable to the idea if she knew that he’d be coming back there in the evenings as well.

He would suggest bringing her into the Agency during the day – it had happened with civilians in the past when they were in danger, even non-shifter civilians – but, he thought wryly, it was probably best to keep Tahnee out of the Agency offices unless it was unavoidably necessary. They turned a blind eye to her – but he wasn’t sure exactly how much of one.

“Oh!” Tahnee said suddenly, startling him out of his reverie. “Penguins!”

“Penguins?” Robb said, looking around wildly. “Where?”

If Hargreaves were throwing penguin shifters at them now, then maybe they were more desperate than he’d thought.

Tahnee held out her phone, showing him a picture of what was, in fact, a penguin. “Right here in St Kilda, apparently. Little penguins.”

Robb peered at her phone, curiosity overriding his bafflement. “They are little.”

“That’s what they’re actually called. Little penguins. Or fairy penguins. Smallest species of penguin in the world. It sounds like you can see them here in the evenings, coming back home to the rocks around the jetty.”

Robb wondered if he could justify them staying here until the evening. The days were pretty short at the moment – it was only a few hours, really.

And if our mate wants to see penguins, then penguins she shall have, his dingo chimed in, right on schedule. Would you deny our mate something that would make her happy?

Robb swallowed. He was finding it very hard to disagree with the sentiment.

Who are you, and what have you done with Robb Lockwood? he thought with mild desperation. You can’t just hang around the beach waiting for penguins when you have a threat on your hands.

Tahnee’s face fell.

“Oh. You have to book into a tour to see them. And it’s sold out.”

The disappointment was obvious in her voice, for all she was obviously attempting to keep up her usual cheery façade.

“I’m sorry,” Robb said quietly, feeling torn between relief at not having to decide between his work and his mate’s happiness, and his own disappointment at seeing her let down. “It would’ve been nice to see them.” He cleared his throat. “Maybe some other time.”

He hoped that the implication was clear – that there would be other times, many other times, when they could do whatever they wanted together. That he was in this for the long haul.

That I won’t ever let her go again.

He still didn’t fully have the hang of the whole mate bond thing, having pushed it down inside him for so many years, but he tried to send a feeling of warmth and comfort through it.

She smiled – genuinely, this time.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of that cold, wet, beach walk that easily, though,” she said, wagging her finger. “I still plan on dragging you down there.”

“Well, now that you’ve made it sound so appealing, how can I resist?” he replied.