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And now that she had it, her heart ached, because she knew there was no way in hell she could ever claim the heart she’d dreamed of as well.
As quickly as his lips had covered hers, Angel found herself free long seconds later. Silently staring up at him as he continued to hold her, her gaze locked to his, her lips parted as she fought to drag in enough breath to think sensibly.
“You make me crazy,” he muttered, releasing her far more slowly than he’d dragged her to him. “Absolutely fucking crazy.”
Hadn’t he already said that?
Rather than pointing that out she remained still and silent as he pushed the Jeep into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. She was certain if she tried to speak, her voice would tremble. The emotion she fought so hard to contain would slip free. That was the effect on her. It didn’t matter how hard she tried to remain aloof from him, her emotions sabotaged her every time.
It was nearly four in the morning when they reached the hotel. She was over twenty-four hours without sleep and her ass was seriously dragging, not to mention her common sense where Duke was concerned.
Approaching her hotel room door, aware of Duke coming in behind her, she did a quick check, though the sliver of folded paper she’d inserted between the door and the frame was exactly where she’d placed it earlier.
There were no guests or surprises inside, just the tempting mattress and silence of the room and the knowledge that facing Natches and Chaya by dawn was a really bad idea.
“Call Natches, Duke,” she breathed out wearily, knowing she was in no shape for such an emotional event. “I need to sleep first, then I’ll be there. If you wanted me there at dawn, then you shouldn’t have taken me into town instead.”
She would lodge a protest with the listing service if a Mackay decided to be prick enough to complain. And Tracker would just have to deal with it in the event that they were charged a fee for the protest.
“They’ll let you sleep there, Angel,” he scoffed behind her.
“You don’t want me to face her right now!” She turned on him, the words tearing past her clenched teeth as her patience level dipped lower.
He was closer than she’d known, only inches from her. So close that he gripped her arms as the sudden turn left her wobbling, the wound at her thigh protesting the move with painful force.
“Dammit.” She pulled from him, breathing out with a harsh sigh and unclipping her hair as her head actually began to ache. “My patience is nonexistent. If I have to deal with her, I won’t be nice. Don’t you understand that?”
She knew the person she was and she knew what pain and exhaustion did to her. She became a bitch. A vulgar-mouthed, take-no-prisoners, hurt-them-as-she-hurt bitch. And that wasn’t the person she was now. It wasn’t the person she had been for years.
She was aware of Duke watching her closely now. Did he remember the vicious, always-angry person she had been when he’d first joined the team? That had actually been the nice her at the time.
Moving away from him she would have stomped to the bed if she thought her leg could handle it. Stepping to the side of the mattress she sat down next to the bedside table. There, her trusty bottle of aspirin waited. Uncapping the bottle she shook three into her palm then reached for the bottle of whiskey tucked between the bed and table, and washed down the pills.
Replacing the bottle she pushed her fingers through her hair and lifted her head, staring back at him as he stood a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at her suspiciously.
“You can pick me up at noon,” she told him, trying to sound reasonable as she rose to her feet and tried to project an air of demand rather than weakness. “I’ll be ready to go then.”
A mocking snort met the attempted compromise.
“You’ll be gone, likely flying out to skin Tracker for agreeing to the job.” His smile was knowing. “I don’t think so, baby.”
“I promise, Duke,” she assured. “I’ll be here.”
And she didn’t break her promises any more than he and Tracker would.
“I’ll give you to noon, but I’m staying with you,” he announced, moving to her slowly as Angel felt her breath beginning to shorten. “That way, I’m not awake all morning worrying about it.”
Sleep with him?
“That’s not a good idea. . . .”
“You’ve slept with me before, Angel,” he reminded her, his voice pure, silky seduction. “Go on, get ready for bed.” He nodded to the bathroom.
Sitting down on the chair next to the table he pulled off the first boot, then the second.
Yeah, she’d slept next to him, fully dressed, a time or two. But never like this.
