Black Hills Desperado (Black Hills Wolves, #3)(12)

“Bummer.”

“That’s me.” He grabbed her bag. “I’ll load the trunk and check us out.”

She nodded and slipped an MP3 player—she’d loaded the Chinese lessons from her laptop on it the day before—into her pocket. She was nervous and hoped they would get her mind off the impending meeting that hung over her like the angel of doom. Something had to. She’d mated with Marcus and now he was part of the mess, whether she wanted him to be or not, and it amped her anxiety.

And then there was the money. She should tell Marcus about it, but she couldn’t. She’d decided the night before that she would never touch it, but disclosing what she’d done, especially to Marcus or her Alpha, could never happen. She’d sold all of her assets—the tourist shops and chain stores—when things began to go south with Diego, before she’d been caught. The savings she’d opened for herself in Mexico was under her alias. The only way anyone would ever know about the accounts was if they figured out she and Sarah Franklin were one and the same.

She’d paid a substantial amount of money for Ms. Franklin’s documents and a social security number to match. The identity belonged to a woman born in the same year as her who’d died. Her annual statements, from the Mexican bank that wasn’t entirely on the up-and-up, went to a P.O. Box in El Paso that she’d have forwarded to South Dakota once she did an address change and opened a box there. Everything Sarah did looked legit, down to paying taxes and reporting the profits of the sale of her businesses as income to the IRS.

They hadn’t clued in for the last ten years. Likely wouldn’t now.

Four hours later, they passed a sign for Hot Springs. Xio grabbed Marcus’s arm. “Pull over here, at this stream.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“I know, but I need to shift and heal. I used to come to this place when I was younger.”

He pulled over and threw the car into park. “We really don’t have time.”

“We’re close. I won’t take long. I promise.” Xio unclipped her seat belt and hopped out before he could object further. She darted for the woods and the little spring as warm as bathwater, due to geothermal activity. The springs in this area ranged from hot to warm. Not far down the stream was a small waterfall that poured into a pool. Paradise.

Xio pulled her clothes off as she ran, tossing them along the way. Oh, to be a wolf again and run on the ground where she’d been born.

A twig snapped behind her. Xio glanced back to see Marcus on her tail, stripping his clothes as he followed. And sharing her retreat—all the better.

Three steps, and she launched herself into the pool feet first. Coming up with four paws, she dog-paddled to the bank where she climbed out and shook the water from her fur. Marcus sat on the side, watching her.

“Damn, you’re beautiful.”

She yipped at him and jumped back in, this time resurfacing with her long hair swirling around her shoulders. Her ear no longer rang, and it was just what the doctor ordered, if he could have ordered eardrum repair. It would take a few times shifting before it returned to its pre-bomb state, but it was at least better than before.

“Are you going to come in?”

“We’ll never make it to the meeting.”

“You didn’t get naked for nothing.” Xio shoved her palm across the water and splashed him. “Come on. The water is perfect. I’ll behave.”

He grinned and shoved off the moss-covered bank, then sank under the water and came back up with his chest against hers.

Xio slid her hands up his shoulders and locked them behind his neck. “Since you left your gun in the car, I’m going to assume that you’re happy to see me.”

“Honey, I’ve been happy to see you since the moment we met.” He leaned in and caught her lower lip between his teeth, giving it a playful tug before he released it. “But no matter how much I’d like to enjoy this warm dip with you, we’ve got to go. Once we’ve had the meeting, I’ll be happy to bring you back here, or anywhere else you want to go.”

She sighed. “I wish you weren’t right.”

“Me too, sweetheart.” Marcus spun her and lifted her out of the water, then hopped out after her.

She turned and glanced at him. “My, what a big dick you have.” As she climbed to her feet, a sharp sting radiated across her ass cheek. “Ouch.” Xio jumped. “What’d you do that for?” She twisted and spotted a handprint.

“Torturing me.” He reached down and grabbed his jeans off a bush and stepped into them, pulling them up. “I’ll be lucky to zip these damn things, and I’ll have to sit through that meeting with wood.”

“I’ll kiss it and make it all better later. I promise. Think of this as foreplay.”

Marcus growled. “Trust me, this is all I’m going to be thinking about until I get you naked again.”

Xio scooped her shirt off the ground and wiggled into it and tugged it down. She snatched up her shorts and panties as she passed them, stopping only for a moment to put them on. “Come on, let’s not keep the big bad wolf waiting.”





Chapter Four


Marcus’s foot tapped as he and Xio sat waiting to be called into the Alpha’s office. He glanced at the art on the walls. She reached over and grabbed his knee, stopping the nervous twitch.