Author: Nicolette Day

Well, Denny was about to get the beat-down of his life if he didn’t remove his goddamned hand from the small of her back. Nate would be damned if he stood by and let another man touch her so intimately when his handprint was still branded on her ass.

If she kept pushing him like this, he was going to give her another to match it.

Douchebag Denny whispered something in her ear and she laughed, the sound light and free. Her damp dress now clung to every dip and curve of her lithe little body. And that bastard had his paws all over her.

Lilly crouched down and he spotted the source of her joy. A little scruffball of a mutt was lying in front of her chewing on a bone. It paused only to look up and burrow its head into the palm of her hand as she scratched its ear. A dog? She was out here feeding a damn stray dog?

“I’ve always wanted a dog,” she murmured. “We couldn’t afford it when I was little. And now my apartment complex doesn’t allow pets.” She pushed out a breath. “Not that I’ll have an apartment in a few weeks.”

“Falling out with the roommate?” Denny asked.

“No. Nothing that serious,” she said. “She’s opening up a new yoga studio across town. There’s no way I’ll be able to afford our loft on my own.”

“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. Who knows, maybe you’ll find an even better place. One that allows pets, then you can have a little mutt like this to call your own.” Denny draped an arm around her, brushed a hair from the side of her face.

She smiled up at him. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Nate saw red. She might be out here for the mutt, but this asshole had his own agenda.

Nate strode forward, accepting the fact that he might go to jail tonight. If she’d been trying to make him jealous with this little stunt, good for her. It had worked. But jealousy was an ugly emotion, and one he didn’t deal well with.

Lilly looked up at the sound of his footsteps, and her face paled.

“That’s right, Princess,” he said evenly. “You want to play? We’ll play.” He folded his arms over his chest to stop them from doing something foolish. On second thought, he was done with the fucking games. He’d take her to a damn motel and lock her in if he had to. “Time to go.”

“I don’t think she wants to leave with you,” the jerk in the hat drawled.

Nate looked at him with murder on his mind and the douchebag loosened his hold on her. She looked up as if surprised the other man had gotten so close, and scooted out from under his hand.

“She came with me,” Nate said, voice harsh. “She’s leaving with me.”

She stood up and scowled at him. “Fine. Let’s go, warden.”

She leaned over and nuzzled the dog’s nose, whispering something soft and sweet to it.

Nate nearly groaned at the sight of that damp dress stretched across her backside. Jesus H. Christ. Clearly, she had no idea what she was doing to him. Or hell, maybe she did.

He shot a look at D-Bag, who was enjoying the view, as well, and made a warning sound. “I’d avert your eyes, motherfucker, unless you want one of them black.”

The bastard cursed under his breath, nodded at Lilly, and stomped back into the noisy bar.

Lilly glared at Nate as she stormed past and he followed, hot on her heels. When her fancy high heels hit the gravel parking lot, she stopped searching for the truck, and he grabbed her by the arm. She spun right into his chest. He felt dizzy from her proximity, her warmth. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. She was intoxicating, and this was where she belonged.

With him.

“Are you trying to give me a damn heart attack?” he demanded. “Or do you just want to be kidnapped or killed by some sick fuck?”

She jerked out of his grip. “I was feeding a stray dog. I wasn’t out dancing on a pole. And for the record, last time I checked I was a grown woman. I don’t need your permission. Denny is a nice guy. He was just keeping me entertained while I waited for you to finish whatever it was you were doing in there with Lady McBoobs.”

“Do you even have a clue what could have happened to you?” he said in exasperation. “You’re in a strange city, wearing a dress that’s certain to lure every lecherous creep within a five-mile radius like a moth to flame. And you decide it’s a good idea to wander into a dark alley with a complete stranger? You didn’t even know that guy, Lil. He could have—”

“Nothing happened,” she said between her teeth. “Nothing was going to happen. He was nice. He asked if I wanted to go with him to feed scraps to a dog that always hung around the bar, so I went. End of story.”

Nate opened his mouth to launch into another tirade, but she stopped him with a shake of her head. “Don’t. You don’t get to do this, Nate,” she snapped. “I’m not yours to protect. I can take care of myself. So leave it alone. Leave me alone. I can find another ride.”

He pinned her with a hard glare and shook his head. She was right. She wasn’t his. She wasn’t going to be his. “Not a fucking chance. Get in the truck.”

He motioned to the tow truck that had agreed to give them a ride to a motel and take his ride to a shop.

She gritted her teeth. “Fine.”

Jesus. This road trip was definitely going to kill him.

After this, active duty would be a damn picnic.

Chapter Nine

Lilly chewed on her bottom lip as Nate rang the bell in the lobby of the backwoods motel where the tow truck driver had dropped them. Nate’s black T-shirt stuck to his skin like paint, every muscle and dip visible as he rested his fists on the counter, refusing to look at her. Damn him for looking so good. It made him so hard to hate. And right now, she really wanted to hate him.

While his caveman routine had the potential to be white hot in the bedroom, it was going to have to stop. This was just supposed to be a ride. Plain and simple. Black and white. And everything was getting twisted. She didn’t need a damn bodyguard. Or a quick roll in the hay, she reminded herself firmly. What she really needed was something he would never be willing to give.

More.

She blinked away the last of her humiliation and exhaustion, and fought against the urge to drag someone out of the motel office to give her a room. She needed a wall between herself and this man. And a solid door. With a deadbolt. Or three. Maybe then she’d be able to keep her panties in place and her fantasies to a minimum.

She smoothed her hands over her wet, wrinkled dress as an elderly woman came out of the back and asked, “Can I help you?”

“We need two rooms, please.” Nate pulled out his wallet and tossed a card on the counter.

The woman took his credit card and the ID he slapped down beside it and typed something at a snail’s pace into the laptop sitting on the counter. “We only have one room available.” She slid her glasses up her nose and looked him up and down.

Lilly’s heart dropped into her stomach and she exchanged a wary look with Nate. No. There had to be some kind of mistake. “How is that possible?” she asked incredulously. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“We’re the Happy Campers Lodge, not the Waldorf Astoria, sweetheart,” the woman said. “We only have six rooms and most of them stay booked with regular tenants.”

Nate rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “It’s fine. We’ll take the room.”

Lilly gaped at him. “I’m not staying in a room with you, Nate. No way.”

He turned to face her so fast her head spun. “It has a bed and it’s dry. If you want to take another hike through the rain, be my guest.” He turned back to the counter.

She gritted her teeth. He was right. Damn it. Hayden always told her the universe worked in mysterious ways. Lilly didn’t agree. The universe didn’t work in mysterious ways. It worked in really fucked-up ways. Like sticking her in a hotel room with the man she’d been deliberately teasing, torturing, and flaunting her ass to all day. She may as well have been thrown into a cage with a lion she’d been poking with a stick through the bars for hours. Except, of course, he’d already made it clear he wasn’t hungry. Not for her, anyway.

Humiliation complete.

While he retrieved the room key, she counted raindrops streaking down the window, letting the soothing rhythm of the patter calm her frayed nerves. She could do this. They would sleep in separate beds. It wasn’t as if she was some out-of-control teenager running high on hormones. She was a grown woman who was in complete charge of her actions. She would just ignore him. Go straight to bed and sleep. Yes. That was an excellent plan.

Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she tried to chase away the chill that ran so deep her teeth chattered. She probably wouldn’t have survived another hike through that storm, anyway.

Nate came up behind her and touched her elbow. “Come on,” he said. “Apparently we’re in the Hunter’s Delight room.”

“Hunter’s Delight?” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “You know what? Never mind. Let’s get this over with.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked and she grabbed the room key out of his hand and pushed out through the doors, back into the cool night air. It was past ten, and despite the fact that it was July, the stormy late-night temperatures had dropped enough to make her wish she was wearing something dry. Ducking under a dripping gutter, she started searching for room 5. She could feel Nate behind her, his very presence making it hard to focus on what she was looking for. When she spotted their room, she fumbled with the key, shivering so badly she was unable to get it in the lock.

Nate planted his hand on the door and leaned in from behind, placing his lips at her ear, his chest to her back. A tremor rolled down her spine and butterflies took flight in her stomach.

“Let me do it.”

She sighed and released the key into his waiting hand. The lock clicked and the door swung open. She walked in first, flicking the light on, and her heart sank.

Oh, hell no.

A rustic-looking desk and chair sat on one side of the room, and big framed picture of a moose hung on the dark wood-paneled wall over the queen-size bed. A Jacuzzi tub was tucked into the corner of the room, surrounded by mirrors. Her eyes gravitated to a set of large antlers that adorned the spot above the dresser. A bearskin rug was the focal point of the room, complete with vacant eyes and a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth.

Lilly gasped in horror. Dear God. She was in a vegetarian’s nightmare. How many animals had been slaughtered in the name of decor for this awful room?

Nate closed the door behind them with a final-sounding click. His breath fanned across the back of her neck and she closed her eyes. He wasn’t even touching her, yet she could feel every inch of his heat.

“There’s only one bed,” she said.

“And?”

“And you’re sleeping on the floor.”

“Fine.” His tone was clipped, and she flinched at the anger lacing it.

The jangle of his belt buckle and zipper going down echoed through the room.

Oh, God. Was he seriously getting naked? Now?

“What are you doing?”

“Getting out of these wet clothes,” he said. “You should probably do the same unless you want to get sick.”

Oh, man. Distraction. She needed a distraction.

She scowled fiercely. “You owe me an apology first.”

Nate stalked across the room in nothing but a pair of skin-tight boxer briefs and her mouth watered momentarily before she gave herself a mental slap upside the head. He tossed his jeans over a chair to dry, then jerked back the sheets to grab a pillow.

“For what?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She tapped her finger to her lips. “For manhandling me on the side of the highway?”

He smirked, going to the closet and opening it. “If memory serves, you handled me right back.”