Austin threw his head back and laughed, a rich sound that sent thrills through her body. “Oh my God, that’s beautiful. Tell me, Savannah, what do you love about me?”
“Mostly that you’re really good at sex. Uncuff me, and we’ll do it again.” She blinked again and cocked her head to the side.
Austin started laughing so hard that he was almost crying. He was close enough for her to punch on the side of the head with her free hand, so she did, but he didn’t even seem to notice.
“I’m sorry,” she said, with a vicious bite to her tone. “Are you laughing at the idea of having sex with me again?”
“No, it’s just that you really are absolutelyterribleat flirting. Great at sex, terrible at seduction.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Heat flared low in her belly, then exploded through her body like a flash fire.
“I missed you,” he murmured against her mouth. “And I’ll miss you again when I leave. But sweetheart, you just can’t take on Roy by yourself, because he is a fucking demon with powers like nothing you’ve ever seen before, and also, I made an agreement to work alone on this one.”
Then he kissed her, and she found her lips parting eagerly.
Why was her mouth such a shameless hussy?
His tongue slid inside her mouth and swirled around hers, tasting her, teasing her. When he pulled away, he stifled a groan.
His whiskey-colored eyes glinted with wry humor. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m so hard it hurts now, and there’s a million things I’d love to do to you. “ God, the rumble of his voice was so sexy. “Maybe if I’m the luckiest wolf in the world, we can replay this scene again someday, handcuffs and all, and I’ll lick you from head to toe. But I doubt I’m that lucky.”
“My mother says you make your own luck,” Savannah said automatically. Agh. Why was she quoting her mother at a time like this?
Austin stood up and backed away from the bed. Savannah yanked on the cuff. It wasn’t going anywhere.
She felt as if she might burst into flames, although whether it would be from arousal or fury she wasn’t sure. “You really do not want to leave me alone, handcuffed to a bed in a hotel room, Austin. Trust me on this. There are lines that you do not cross.”
Austin shook his head. “Savannah. Did you do the research before you took on this job? Roy is psychotic. He killed not just those poachers, but an innocent family of three, including a teenager. He is feral, and he makes me look like a pussycat. There’s a good chance that even I won’t survive an encounter with him, andyouhave absolutely no chance in hell.”
She forced herself to speak calmly. “I’ve won against worse odds. I take down criminal shifters five times my size, for a living. I’ve gone up against a psychotic bear shifter, and I’m the one who lived to tell the tale. I am going to go after him, and you are going to let me do it. May the better shifter win. You know, me.”
He shook his head. “Savannah, if this were any other situation, I would let you go.” Regret drifted over his face. “I’ve never told you this before, but you have made bounty hunting more fun than it’s been in years. Hell, ever. There is nothing that I’d rather do than go after the same mark as you. I might even let you win.”
“Treading onverythin ice, there,” she snapped.
He continued with a rueful smile. “I know you’ve got those tranq darts in your bag. Tranq darts don’t work on me – why do you think they’d work on Roy, who’s easily twice as powerful as I am?”
“Because they’re special.”
“Do tell.”
He reached down and grabbed the bag that contained the rifle and the darts. The bag she’d hidden under the hotel bed, which he’d apparently found and pulled out while she was unconscious.
She straightened up. “Don’t you fucking dare, Austin.” Ice dripped from every word.
“Sorry. I have no choice.”
“You have no idea what dosage to use, idiot!”
“I’m not planning on using them. I’m taking them so you can’t use them. Without the darts, even a stubborn-ass redhead like you must realize that you have no chance. If I survive this, I promise you, I will pay off your restaurant’s debt. Now, the receptionist at the front desk has the handcuff key. I paid her very well to leave you here for another eight hours. Not going to be comfortable, but you’re not going to die. I’m going to lock the door behind me.”
He walked over to the table, grabbed two more water bottles, and tossed them to her. They landed next to her on the bed.
He paused in the doorway, her gun bag dangling from his hand. It was dark out, with the light from a streetlamp framing him in sickly yellowish light, and she could hear highway noises behind him.
“Goodbye,” he said very gently.
She just looked at him steadily, not saying a word. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of threatening or begging, because obviously his mind was made up. At least he looked regretful as he locked the door behind him.
