Black Hills Desperado (Black Hills Wolves, #3)(9)

“They can do that?”

He shrugged.

Yeah, duh. FBI. Xio frowned. She so didn’t want to tell him what she was getting. That she had to buy it embarrassed her enough. She’d even planned to take the discs out of the box and hide them in her purse so he couldn’t see them.

Normally things like this didn’t bother her, but from the moment she’d realized Marcus was her predestined mate, everything she did seemed to fall short of her expectations. It was like she wanted to be perfect for him, and that was complete bullshit, since she had no intention of mating with him. Do I?

Yeah, you do.

No.

Yes.

Shut up.

Most wolves would have pushed the issue by now, but he hadn’t, and her inner she-wolf was quite bitchy about it. It was like she wanted him, even though she didn’t want him. Marcus was driving her crazy. The sooner she got to the Black Hills, the sooner she could dismiss him and send him packing. Of course, that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Gah.

She snatched the card from his hand. “Fine.” By the time he saw his statement, he’d be headed back to Texas and the El Paso Pack anyway, so it didn’t matter. This wasn’t going to work out between them and she planned to make that clear when they got where they were headed. She could be real convincing. He’d walked away from his life for her? Well he could walk right back to it. She didn’t need him, or the help he offered.

It’s your lie; tell it the way you want to.

Grrrr.





Chapter Three


The motel room carried a musty stench. The air-conditioning unit rattled like it had emphysema and kicked out lukewarm air, doing zero to comfort her. Sticky and miserable, Xio headed straight for the shower, needing the icy chill as much as the space.

The long day, riding in the car with Marcus, had left her frustrated and horny. Her mate had to be the one man opposite of her, a man who could toss her ass back in jail if he knew her secrets. She needed to put as much distance between them as she could, to ensure her freedom. Yet she wanted him. Bad. Regardless that her mind knew how absurd the whole situation was. Come on, a bank robber with a lawman? If that wasn’t a combination made in hell, she didn’t know what was.

Ha, ha, ha. Someone was having a good laugh over it. Certainly not her.

And she wasn’t the only one feeling the growing heat between them, demanding to get to it and get naked. Every time she looked over, she saw him watching her, his eyes off the road, swerving into the opposite lane. How many times did she have to tell him to look where he was going? This mating thing was turning out to be one huge distraction, one she didn’t need now, not with the future she faced.

When they’d finally found a motel, he’d hopped out and rented a room—as in not two. He’d carried her bag to the door, but she’d stopped him at the threshold, taken it from his hand, and slammed the solid steel barrier shut in his face, certain if he got too close to the bed, they’d be putting it to good use. Not happening. She answered to no wolf.

The cold water did nothing to ease the growing ache between her thighs. Tomorrow already looked like it might be another long, miserable ride. The tension had her wound so tight she wanted to snap. And when she lost it, she did things she shouldn’t. Like rob banks.

Sleeping with him would be a mistake. The chances of them bonding were above average. Avoiding it got harder with each minute that passed in his presence—and away from it. Damn, she was jonesing bad. She wanted to take a bite out of that man.

Or break the law.

Xio banged her head against the fiberglass siding of the shower. No!

Her she-wolf growled in frustration. You can’t resist once you hear the call.

Right. Resist this, bitch. She’d tell him a thing or two, straighten this out right away. There’d be no sex. There’d be no mating, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to do the alternative. Cuffs were so last season. Time to set him straight and get it all off her chest. Once she did, things would go back to the way they were before she met him.

Right.

Xio shut off the water and snatched the towel from the rack, wrapping her body, not bothering to dry off. She stormed into the room, and one sniff told her he still stood outside. Waiting. For what?

You know.

With a snort she threw the door open and stared at him. “We need to talk.”

Is that what you want to do?

Stop interjecting.

Make me.

Bitch!

Yes?

His gaze swept over her nearly naked, very wet body, and she shivered. A fine, very masculine brow lifted slightly, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “About what?”

Actually, now that he asked the question, nothing came to mind. Need coursed through her, and her * began to throb. Screw it. Her current tactics weren’t working. Plan B.

Xio reached up, untucked her towel from above her breasts, and let it drop. Time to scratch the itch. She’d worry about the other problem later.

The smirk disappeared and his eyes turned copper, nearly glowing in the darkness. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” His nostrils flared and her stomach flip-flopped.

“I have a damn good idea.”

“I’m not someone you can play with and toss away when you’re done.” He didn’t step inside but continued to stare at her.