Enticing Their Mate (Pack Wars #6)(4)

“Sarah? That you?”

Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name. She spun around to tell him this was supposed to be a clandestine meeting, but her mouth wouldn’t work. All she could do was soak in his essence. His voice had to be, hands down, the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. Trite phrases like sex on a stick and as warm and rich as cognac didn’t do him justice.

The incredibly divine man with the perfect ratio of muscles to height strode toward her, his eyes focused on her and her alone. While she usually wasn’t into a man with dark hair that brushed his shoulders, on him, it looked good. And those hazel eyes and sun-kissed tan skin made her melt.

He mouthed the words play along.

Her tight muscles relaxed slightly. He had a plan. Good. At least one of them did. She tossed him her best smile and nodded, hoping it could pass scrutiny with the clerk. She held out her arms for an embrace. “Hey, fancy running into you.”

He closed the gap between them and hugged her, his lips brushing her ear. “Pretend we’re former lovers.”

Seriously? He had to pick lovers as their cover? When she squeezed him tight, the pressure on her chest woke up every latent desire in her body.

Stop it. I’m on assignment.

She leaned back. “Long time no see.”

“I know.” Not even looking at the items for sale, he grabbed a bag of chips off the shelf, and she, too, picked up a small box of donuts. With her gaze on him, the two of them walked to the counter to pay.

“Will that be all?” the clerk asked rubbing his hands down his pants. What was that about? Hopefully, he wasn’t planning on shooting them or calling for help.

“Yes,” she said as calmly as she could.

Sarah dug a hand into her purse to retrieve her wallet when Jay, or perhaps it was Riley, placed a hand over hers. “I have this.”

She’d play along. Lovers indeed. “Thanks.”

Once he paid, she grabbed her goods and walked out with him. “We totally have to catch up,” Sarah said loud enough for the clerk to hear, though why this man would care she didn’t know.

“I parked on the side.” This time, his tone had turned curt. When he placed a hand on her waist to guide her toward his truck, her pulse raced.

Okay, this reaction had to stop. For the past few months, grabby, nasty werewolves had surrounded her, and just because this was the first man who seemed nice didn’t mean she should go all gooey on him.

She refocused on her surroundings. He’d been wise to park his truck out of sight of the main storefront where cameras might be watching their every move.

When they reached his truck, he held open the passenger side door. “Hop in.”

She didn’t want to. Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be with Jay Wagner? “We can talk out here.”

“Oh, f*ck. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. You have no idea if you can trust me. I actually worked with Bill Hampton, your boss, for a couple of assignments.”


At the mention of her undercover status, the blood drained from her head and she grabbed the door. “That so?”

“I wish I could prove to you that I’m not working for Statler, but I can’t.” He chuckled, but it held no joy. “You have no idea how far from the truth that is. Name’s Riley Bishop, by the way. Jay Wagner is around here somewhere.”

She looked behind him but didn’t see anyone else. The other man was probably hiding. “It’s not that. I know who you are. I’m just… paranoid.”

He dragged a palm down his well-chiseled jaw. “I get it. I really do.”

“Thank you. Is there someplace we can go for more privacy?” Crap, that sounded like she wanted to seduce him. “I mean, I need to give you the lowdown, and I don’t like being out in the open.”

He flashed her a smile that caused her body to think more unprofessional thoughts. “Sure. How about following us back to our motel?” he asked. “To be safe, stay in your car until I’ve scanned the place, okay?”

“Sure.” She appreciated his concern for her welfare. While she didn’t believe her shadow was close by, she’d take extra precautions.

Just then another man, equally as arresting as Riley, emerged from behind the building. Whoa.

“Here’s Jay now,” Riley said. “Though he was supposed to remain hidden.”

While she was thrilled the FBI was working with the Pack, interacting with two such virile and attractive men might not be good for her concentration. Both men had sleek-looking bodies, and Riley, she’d noted, had an intelligent air about him. His gaze was piercing and his focus admirable.

Riley’s hair was longer than Jay’s, as was the scruff on his face. Whether it was his usual undercover look, or he’d been too busy to shave, she didn’t know, but it gave him that bad boy look. Once she interacted more with Jay, she might believe he, too, was a lady-killer. Jay’s eyes were closer to green than hazel and his skin, while tan, wasn’t as dark as Riley’s.

I’m here to do a job, not get laid.

Putting some distance between them might help her figure out how she was going to handle this unwanted attraction. “I’ll be right behind you,” she said then rushed back to her car.

* * *

When cutting through the woods toward the convenience store, Jay hadn’t detected any other werewolves sneaking about, but that didn’t mean the clerk wasn’t being paid to let Statler know if any new faces appeared in town. After Tyson and Ford Summerville had infiltrated his carefully picked pack of men, Statler’s level of paranoia had probably tripled.