Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Siren woke to the sound of a woodpecker hammering a nearby tree. She turned toward Reed, watching him in the dim morning light. He was still asleep, lying on his side, facing her.
His face was soft, lips slightly parted, and his hair had fallen across his forehead. She studied him. The shape of his full lips, the way his dark lashes fanned against his cheeks.
She stared at his mouth, imagining what he would taste like. Her inner wolf howled, sending her images of reaching inside his sleeping bag and… waking him up.
She rolled onto her back and took a deep breath. This was not the time for these thoughts. Siren touched the wound on her shoulder over her shirt. It felt almost entirely healed. After sitting up in her sleeping bag, she pealed back her sleeve and the bandage, finding smooth new skin.
What a relief, she thought, letting out a long sigh. She looked back at Reed, still sleeping beside her and licked her lips.
She could have him right now. Do whatever she wanted to him.
Siren had always been a woman who got what she wanted from men.
Living her life among them, she’d learned to satisfy her needs in the same dispassionate way.
Staring at Reed’s soft features in the dim morning light, her inner wolf growling with lust inside her mind, she knew she could do the same to him.
Her pussy ached. She wanted to climb on top of him and ride his cock until she made herself come. Blinking back the need, she climbed out of her sleeping bag and strapped on her boots.
Fucking a client was a serious violation of every protocol, and not something she’d ever even imagined before. She climbed out of the tent quietly, not wanting to wake him, and zipped up the tent flap.
The images of stroking Reed awake would not leave her mind as she turned on the camping stove and started to boil water for coffee. These thoughts were all kinds of inappropriate.
Not only was he her client, he was also her mate. And that added a whole additional layer of complications she had no idea how to deal with. Situations like this were not in her training manual.
She made some instant coffee and sipped it while staring at the mist swirling in the tree line.
She’d promised Dom that her feelings for her mate would not interfere with her professionalism.
But she had not anticipated this level of lust. Every time she looked at him, all she could think about was biting his neck while she fucked his brains out. This was a problem.
The tent flap zipped open and Reed crawled out into the muted morning light. His shaggy blond hair was wild in a way that made him even more attractive. His clothes were rumpled and soft looking.
She’d seen him naked after his shift yesterday. Seen the shape of his body. The size of his cock. She’d been all business at the time, but her wolf had remembered every detail and wouldn’t stop playing it back to her in exquisitely excruciating images.
“Morning,” he said, his voice rough with sleep.
“Want some coffee?” she asked, picking up the can of instant grounds.
“Yeah.” He sat in the camping chair beside her. She poured him a mug and handed it to him. “Thank you,” he said, taking a sip.
“We’ve got instant oatmeal for breakfast if you’re hungry.”
“That sounds good.”
She reached for the package, and he reached for it at the same time. “Let me,” he said. Their hands touched and a spark of desire rushed up her arm. “I can’t have you protecting me and doing everything else on top of that.”
“Sure… okay,” she said, pulling back. “I’ll check the alarms.”
She rose and walked the perimeter, turning off her sensors and putting them in her pocket as she walked. Nothing had tripped them in the night. Which meant they were still safe, for now.
Siren returned to the campsite and Reed handed her a steaming bowl of oatmeal, the scent of brown sugar and cinnamon filling the air. She sat down and inhaled it, hoping it would override the scent of Reed’s body.
He smelled like sunshine and rain. Like rainbows and moonbeams. She took a bite of oatmeal, wondering what the hell she was thinking.
She looked up at him, watching him eat. The way he scooped oatmeal into that mouth. The way he swallowed. Her wolf sent her an image of licking his neck while she stroked his…
She squeezed her eyes closed. This was getting out of hand. She was tempted to call Dom and tell him he needed to assign someone else to Reed’s detail. She could barely think straight. It would probably get them both killed.
She shoveled the rest of her oatmeal into her mouth and drained her coffee, ready to get moving. She needed to get an update from Dom. Needed some direction, otherwise she was going to implode from this intense longing. And it would get them both hurt.
She asked Reed to start cleaning up and breaking down the camp while she walked to the tree line and dialed Dom on her burner phone.
He answered on the first ring. “Package is safe and secure. Are there any updates?”
“Head to Montana. Contacted an associate who can help you go underground. She’s got everything ready for you. New IDs, vehicle, the works. I want you to stay mobile until further notice.”
“What about his family? He’s been concerned.”
“Handled. I met with Cory in person at the institute and informed him of the seriousness of Reed’s situation.
He told Reed’s work supervisor that he’s been offered a once in a lifetime recording contract and had to take several weeks off work.
This is the cover story for the rest of the family.
I asked him to keep the truth to himself, but he’s very concerned about his son’s safety and asked for consistent updates on his wellbeing. ”
“He’s secure.”
“That’s all the father needs to know.”
“We’ll head out to Montana today.”
Siren hung up and returned to where Reed was breaking down the tent. He’d already cleaned up the dishes and packed up the food in the cases in the back of the SUV.
“Dom has a contact ready for us in Montana,” she said, helping him fold up the tent. “Your father has been notified of the seriousness of the situation and is covering with the rest of your family and work.”
Reed pursed his lips as he shoved the tent into the bag she held up for him. She could tell he was worried. He didn’t like lying. He didn’t have a dishonest bone in his body. It was something she could tell about him from the moment he walked into Steel Protection.
This entire situation was far outside his comfort zone, and he was having a hard time adjusting. Even after two of his siblings dealt with Crown Mountain sabotage, Reed Bright still wanted to see the good in the world.
She picked up the tent and shoved it into the compartment in the back of the car. Then looked over the campsite to make sure they hadn’t left any traces. Reed had cleaned up well, and there was no real evidence that they’d camped there. “Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
Siren got behind the driver’s seat and started down the mountain. She continued on backroads as long as she could until they came out onto I-84 headed east along the Columbia River Gorge.
The massive gray river flowed along one side of the highway and high basalt cliffs cut into the pale blue sky on the other.
Railroad tracks wound under the cliffs and a long cargo train chugged passed.
Wind battered against the SUV, and Siren gripped the steering wheel, constantly checking for a tail.
This was the main highway out of the mountains, and the potential that they could be recognized was high. She’d put on new plates and patched the bullet holes in her armored car, but the potential was still there.
The landscape was open and the highway exposed, making it a tactical nightmare. But there was no other way to reach the highways heading into Montana if she wanted to make it there any time soon. It was a tradeoff.
Silence stretched between them. She could feel Reed’s anxiety like it was clawing at her skin. There was nothing she wanted more than to soothe him, to kiss him, to hold him against her chest and wrap her legs around him.
Every time those thoughts entered her mind, she had to push them down. Letting herself indulge in those fantasies would distract her like that moment when she was ambushed on the way to the safe house. She would not let that happen again.
She crossed the Columbia River headed north, moving into low scrubland and irrigated farms that dotted the landscape with green. They were even more exposed on this road, but at least they were putting miles between them and Fate Mountain.
They stopped for gas at a truck stop in the Tri-Cities area. She sent Reed into the diner with cash to get them burgers and fries to go while she pumped gas. When he returned with their meals, he offered to drive. When she declined the offer, he seemed offended.
Siren drove into a city park and parked in a spot facing the river. They ate their meals, watching barges chugging along the wide expanse of water. The heat of the day was picking up, and she had to crack the window to keep the interior from heating up too much to be comfortable.
Reed was quiet, eating his food in silence. With each mile they drove, the further they got away from his home and family and all the things that made him who he was.
She finished her meal and tossed the garbage in the take out bag. Reed did the same and offered to throw it out. She watched him walk across the parking lot to a garbage can, the curve of his back and the rise of his ass on full display.
She reached for her gun, reminding herself of her mission. When he climbed back into the car, he had a smudge of ketchup on his lip. Without thinking, she reached out and wiped it away with her thumb and then licked it off. Reed’s eyes widened. She could smell his scent fill the car.
She swore at herself, searching her mind for an explanation for what she’d just done. “You had some ketchup,” she said, turning on the car.