Mating Fever by Susan Hayes
Trina
It was well past midnight before the debriefings, explanations and statements were finished. By then, Trina was too tired to argue when Jack scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the DEA’s temporary headquarters.
Someone had cleared out their room at the motel and what little gear they had was packed into a couple of duffel bags in the back seat of a rental car.
“No bike?” she asked.
“Not tonight. I’ve had enough of motorcycles for a while.”
“I bet. So, where are we going? I believe someone promised me a long hot shower. I am so ready for that.” All she wanted was to be clean again. The dried blood on her skin itched, and she felt like it had been a month since she’d last seen clean towels.
“To the only decent hotel in town.”
She groaned. “The Montgomery?”
“Yup.”
“Unbelievable.” Two agencies had not only managed to infiltrate the same gang in the same town, they were all staying at the same hotel.
“Communication clusterfuck of the first order. Seems that your boss didn’t file out all the documentation required for this op.”
That was news to her. “Max is a fucking idiot. I hope they fire him after this. Now they know he lied to me about the plan just to get even because I wouldn’t sleep with him, it should be a no-brainer.”
“What? When? That son of a bitch. If I see him again, I’ll tear his fucking throat out.”
“No throat ripping. I think we’ve spilled enough blood for today.” She patted his thigh and tried not to overthink why his violent words made her all mushy inside.
“You’re mine, Trina. No one fucks with my mate and lives.”
Mates. Somehow she’d managed to ignore that little fact for the last few hours. “Yeah. About that. I know this isn’t something we have any say over, but as hot as the sex is, I’m not sure I want to spend the rest of my life belonging to Ramrod Steele. He’s a surly, arrogant, criminal and a total ass.”
“I’m not him.”
She nodded. “And I’m not Lily, hapless damsel in distress.”
“I figured that out when you shot the bad guy and took over my crime scene.” He turned and flashed her a grin that made her heart race. “I like Trina more than Lily. And as it happens, Mr. Steele is about to disappear. The bike club he belonged to is going down as we speak. Which means Jack Noble gets to go on a well-deserved vacation before he heads back to work. I don’t suppose you’ve got any leave coming up?”
That was the answer she’d been hoping for. “I’ve got about two months’ worth of vacation time due me.”
“Two months sounds good. We can spend the first month in bed, and the second month lying on a beach somewhere.”
Her heart liked that idea. Her brain wanted more information. “And what happens then? You and I go back to work and what? Try to coordinate vacations every year?”
“Fuck no. That’s not how this works, sweet cheeks. Mates don’t leave each other, so we’ve got decisions to make. Option one, we both retire and do something nice and safe, like accounting.”
She snorted. “Fuck that.”
“Which leaves options two and three. That’s when one of us resigns from our current position and gets assigned to the other’s team.”
Angels didn’t sing, but something clicked deep inside her head and a little voice whispered yes. “I’ll resign. I’m done with assholes like Max.”
Jack laid a hand over hers. “Then I guess my next identity is going to be a married man.”
“You watch my back, I watch yours?” It was an appealing idea. Jack wouldn’t betray her. They were mates. She knew what that meant. She could trust him. Always.
He pulled into the parking lot before answering. Once the engine was off, he twisted in his seat to face her, “More like we watch each other’s backs, take down the bad guys, and fuck like bunnies. Sound good?”
It sounded perfect. “It could be you’ve found yourself old lady for your next adventure… if you can remember two little rules.”
Jake nuzzled his face into her hair. “And what are these rules of yours?”
“You never threaten to spank my ass in public again, and you never, ever call me your old lady when we’re not undercover.”
His laughter rolled through her as he gathered her close. “You’ve got yourself a deal. Do you want to give notice tonight or wait until tomorrow?”
Trina planted a kiss on her lover’s smiling lips. “I’ll call tomorrow. I’m not done with you yet, not by a long shot.
He kissed her back before murmuring, “Sweet cheeks, It’s my greatest fucking hope you and I are never going to be done.”
Damn. She liked the sound of that.
Thank you for reading!
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