Mating Fever by Susan Hayes
Jack
Jack had managed to get enough information in the last hour to ensure his mission was a success. He’d captured the entire conversation on video, thanks to the recording devices implanted in his watch. The thing would nearly be out of power by the time he got back to the motel, but he had what he needed. The op was over.
Despite marking her as his, Jack didn’t believe for a minute Lily would be safe if he were to let her out of his sight. Not that his wolf would let that happen. As far as it was concerned there was only one acceptable way to mark Lily, and it wasn’t with a felt pen. He needed to sink his fangs into her neck as she came around his cock. And he needed to do it soon.
His damned wolf had to be right. Lily was his mate… and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it right now except keep her as close as possible. The patched members should leave her alone, but he didn’t trust Freak as far as he could kick the little shit.
He’d half expected her to protest being in his lap for the whole meeting, but she had curled up in his arms like a sleepy kitten and stayed quiet. Thank fuck for that.
It was a pleasant distraction having a beautiful woman in his arms while he talked, but her presence seemed to distract Snarl, too, leading the club’s president to say more than he should have. Was he boasting in hopes of impressing Lily? That had to be it.
Jack would have to try to use that knowledge for future ops… if he could find a female agent willing to do long term undercover work with a group of sexist bastards who didn’t have much use for women outside the bedroom.
When the meeting ended, Jack didn’t bother putting his sexy package down. He simply gathered Lily into his arms and stood, taking her with him. She didn’t say a word on the way out, and when he helped her onto the bike she did exactly what he told her to. It was almost too easy. Her hands were on his waist, but she wasn’t holding on tight enough to prevent herself from coming off the first time he took a corner or hit a pothole. Without a word he reached down, grabbed her wrists and tugged, pulling her snug against his back and crossing her arms over his stomach.
That was when he finally noticed her watch. It was thicker than it needed to be, and too expensive for someone who claimed to be broke. The band was pink instead of black, and the hand ticking away the seconds had a ridiculous butterfly perched on the tip, but he knew exactly what he was looking at. She was wearing surveillance gear nearly identical to his. Government-issue spyware. Son of a fucking bitch, the little innocent he was trying to protect was a goddamned cop of some kind.
I’m going to fucking kill her when we get to the motel.
Jack started the bike and took off, not bothering to give his passenger any warning before he opened the throttle. He wove through the evening traffic, ignoring the horns and curses following him as he sped down the main road. They were at the motel in minutes, the short drive having done nothing to calm his fury.
He parked the bike and grabbed Lily by the wrist, hauling her behind him for a couple of feet before he remembered she was still barefoot. Without a word he turned and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her squawk of protest. He needed to get her behind closed doors so he could find out what the fuck was going on.
“Rod, what’s wrong?” she asked as he fumbled for his keys at the door to his room.
“Shut up, Lily. Not one fucking word until we’re inside.”
He finally got the door open, then kicked it shut again the second he was through it. He dumped her ass on the bed, then turned and locked the door. The curtains were already closed, leaving them in near darkness save for the single lamp he’d left on in one corner.
“Why are you mad at me?” she asked, giving him a look so compelling it could have melted Lucifer’s heart.
“Because you’ve been lying to me, Lily… or whatever the fuck your real name is.”
“What?” her eyes went wide, and she shook her head. “What are you talking about? I told you my name, It’s Lily.”
“Like hell it is!” he roared and stomped over to the bed, grabbing her wrist and pointing to the watch she wore, then at the similar one on his own wrist. “I know what that is, sweet cheeks, and I know who issues them. So, let’s try this again. Who the fuck are you, and who do you report to?”
“Let go of me!” She swatted at his hand ineffectively.
“Not happening.”
She huffed in frustration and slapped at him again, only this time when her hand connected there was a jolt of pain and suddenly his fingers were completely numb. She wrenched free and scrambled backward across the bed, out of his reach.
“What the hell did you do to me?” he demanded.
“Nerve strike. You’ll be fine. Are you done yelling at me now?”
“Not by a long shot. You still need to tell me who you are and who you’re working for. It’s not the DEA, so it’s got to be…what? Local police? FBI? ATF?”
“I told you who I am, and hello, do I look like a cop? Really?” She gestured to her cropped T-shirt and faded jeans. “Do you think I’d let you haul me off on the back of your bike if I was a TFA, FAT? What was the word you used?”
“ATF, and yes, I do.” Jack put himself between her and the door and folded his arms across his chest. “You’re good, but the game’s over.”
“It’s not a game, and if you think I’m a cop, why wouldn’t I be with the DEA?” she finally asked.
“Because I’m with the DEA, sweet cheeks, and I know they wouldn’t send in another agent to fuck up their own op. Therefore, you’re from somewhere else.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re trying to tell me you’re a cop? You threatened to rape me in the middle of the road. You… you kissed me and drew your name all over my back! What the hell kind of cop…agent… whatever you are even does stuff like that? And I want to see a badge, too, big guy.”
“Do I look suicidal to you? I don’t have a badge on me or I’d be a dead man by now. As for what kind of agent I am, I’m the kind who knows better than to break his cover without a damned good reason. Not to mention I saved your cute little ass today. You’re welcome, by the way.”
She glared at him, then shrugged and let the facade melt away. Over the course of several seconds, the timid, scared little virgin vanished and in her place stood a steely-eyed law enforcement agent with a body made for sin.
Her anger just made her scent intensify, too, and his wolf perked up again, eager to make friends with her. He shoved the beast back down, but something told him that wasn’t going to work much longer.
. “I didn’t need your help, agent….”
“Special Agent Jake Noble, and I’m calling bullshit. When I came out of the barn Freak was about to do very bad things to you.”
“Agent Trina Thorn, ATF, and I had it handled.”
“Uh, huh. Sure you did,” he drawled. “And while we’re on the topic, who decided trading you to a bunch of homicidal criminals as a sex slave was a good idea?”
She frowned. “That wasn’t part of the plan. At least not the one I was read into.”
“Unbelievable. You could have been hurt. Hell, you would have been hurt if I hadn’t stepped in.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Instead of lecturing me on the dangers of my profession, you want to share your thoughts on what happens now?”
“What comes next depends on you,” He set his gun down on the closest flat surface and then closed the distance between them.
He caught the flare of heat in her eyes as he moved closer. Oh yeah.
Lily—no Trina wet her lower lip and then asked, “What are you thinking, Jack?”
“I’m thinking about our kiss outside the clubhouse, and how much I want to do it again.”
Her lush lips turned up into a wicked grin. “You shouldn’t have kissed me at all, Agent Noble. It wasn’t very… noble of you.”
“I told you once already, sweet cheeks. I’m a very bad man, and I want to do very bad things to you.” He fisted his hands in the leather vest she wore and pulled her into his arms, slanting his mouth across hers and cutting off the soft trill of her laughter. The joyful sound pierced the darkest parts of his soul and filled them with warmth and light. Holy shit. Now he understood why the universe had sent her to him.
He'd saved her, but she was here to save him, too. She was his lifeline, leading him back to the man he’d been before he became Ramrod Steele. A man he’d almost forgotten how to be.
