Chapter 10 #2
“Uh huh,” he said, strapping on his seat belt.
The tension between them was as taut as a wire, and she knew she was going to have to do something to bring it down. That move had not been it.
“Do you have any of your music with you?” she asked, hoping to break the heavy silence that had settled between them.
“Yeah,” he said, reaching for his backpack. “I have a disc I burned recently.” She’d made him leave his phone at Steel Protection. And her burner was a dumb phone so internet access was limited.
He slipped it into the disc player, and his music filled the car. She listened to his smooth, sensitive voice singing songs he wrote himself and covers that he made his own.
“This is last weekend at the brewery,” he said. “Minus the murder.”
“It’s really good. You’re really talented.” She had no idea what else to say. The way his music made her feel didn’t have words. Not ones she knew how to express. She felt hot and cold all over. Her inner wolf whined and rolled on her back, her tongue lulling out.
Listening to him pour his heart out was not helping her keep her mind on the mission. It only made her want to stop the car and rip his clothes off even more.
“Thanks,” he said. “That means a lot to me. Coming from you.” She glanced at him, he was looking at her, his expression unreadable.
Siren knew she wasn’t being fair. She was lying to herself about how she felt, and she was lying to him even more. When the next song came on, she knew it was about his shifting issues. Reed fidgeted in his seat and turned off the recording.
“Why’d you stop it?” she asked.
“I don’t want to listen to that right now.”
“Was that song about your shift?” she asked in a low voice.
“You got me,” he said, his voice almost harsh.
She let the subject go, letting the car descend into silence again. She didn’t know how to deal with any of this. None of her military or intelligence training had prepared her to be on a protection detail for her mate.
Let alone a mate who was as sweet and sensitive and deliciously appealing as Reed Bright. She felt like she kept offending him, calling his manhood into question. And that was the last thing she wanted to do.
She’d seen what he could do in bear form. She knew he was a disciplined and dedicated person who owned his own home and had a good career. He was successful and well liked in his hometown. In all respects, he was a total catch.
He was the kind of man she could tell would be a great father. A teddy bear who’d always be there for the people he loved. The thought made her horny again. Like she wanted to pop out some pups just to watch him rocking them on the porch of his little house.
“When we stop at the next rest stop, I’ll let you drive,” she said impulsively. “I need to conserve my strength.”
Of course, it was a lie. She could stay focused for sixteen or more hours easily. She’d been in far more difficult situations than driving across three states in mild spring weather, but she wanted Reed to feel like he was useful.
Maybe it was dumb to let her protectee drive, but she justified it to herself by telling herself that whoever was following them would be confused by seeing him in the driver’s seat.
She let Reed drive for the rest of the day until they settled into a motel in Missoula, Montana.
She paid in cash and rented a single room with two beds, wanting to throw anyone off the trail.
She’d changed her plates again at an empty rest stop after crossing the border.
And hadn’t seen any evidence of a tail since the ambush.
They carried their bags into the room on the second floor and settled in for the night.
Siren checked the food listings in the brochure in the room and offered to go pick up some pizza from a local place.
Reed agreed, seeming to be satisfied with having driven them most of the way there.
She didn’t want him going out alone, even if there was no sign of a tail.
She called in their order and then went to pick it up a few minutes later. The entire excursion went smoothly. When she returned to the motel room, the shower was running and steam was leaking out through a crack in the bathroom door.
Siren set the takeout boxes on the little table, her inner wolf acting like a bitch in heat inside her mind.
Reed was in the shower. Naked. Probably lathering up his six pack with soap.
She sat at the table and rubbed her face, willing herself to not think about it.
Not to think about his cock. About sinking to her knees and taking it into her mouth.
What was happening to her? She’d never experienced anything like this in her life. Any time she’d felt aroused in the past she’d just dealt with it and moved on. Or ignored it. It had never been a challenge.
But with Reed’s constant presence, she couldn’t ignore it. It was as if her entire being was betraying her. Demanding she take him. She wanted his seed inside her. She wanted him to put a pup in her womb.
She nearly slapped herself when she thought this for a second time that day. If she got pregnant, her career would be over. She could never again do her job. She would have no life. She’d end up just like her mother.
Reed emerged from the bathroom, a trail of steam behind him. He’d dressed in gray sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was damp and beads of water slid down his taut frame. Siren stared at him, wide eyed. A slow grin slid across his face. She turned away.
“The pizza is supposed to be good,” she said, opening the box.
“Looks good,” he picked up a slice and took a massive bite. She watched him shove it into his mouth and thought about what it would be like to do that with her tongue. She realized she was staring at him again and grabbed her own piece of pizza before he noticed.
“It is good,” he said, sitting down across from her. “Tastes like they use natural ingredients.”
“Yeah,” she said with her mouth full. She swallowed the bite. She had to keep reminding herself who and what she was. She was a trained operative who could kill a man with her bare hands. Not a lovesick teeny bopper who was boy crazy for her mate.
If Reed would just put a shirt on, it would be a lot easier to remember. She devoured her pizza, refusing to look at him. She pretended the local attractions brochure was fascinating.
Finally, he grabbed a T-shirt from his duffle bag and slid it on. She glanced at him. His shaggy hair was still damp and messy. He still looked excruciatingly edible. He picked up another slice of pizza and grinned at her before turning on the TV.
“I should probably get a shower myself,” she said, finishing her slice. She grabbed some clothes from her bag and headed to the shower.
When she stripped out of her clothes, her panties were wet. Her inner wolf was howling. Siren looked at herself in the mirror, taking in her blue eyes and dark hair.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she whispered to herself. She was pissed at her inner wolf. Pissed at herself. Pissed at her body’s reaction to her mate.
Now she was naked, and he was just on the other side of that door, wearing gray sweatpants. She palmed her forehead and got in the shower.
While the water flowed around her shoulders and over her hair, she ran her fingers between her legs. Her clit was swollen and needy. She was so hot she couldn’t even touch herself.
Siren finished washing up and got out of the shower, hornier than when she got in. This was not working. She needed to do something. If she spent another day alone with Reed, she’d lose her mind.
While she got dressed, she asked herself what would be so bad about fucking him right now? He was her mate. Why was she resisting this? Why not just do what her body was demanding she do?
Then she thought about her mother. Always looking for love and meaning from men who couldn’t give it to her. How she’d chosen a man over her own daughter. Over everything meaningful in her life.
Siren would never allow that to happen to her. It didn’t matter that Reed was her fated mate. If she let her body tell her what to do, she was no better than the mother who’d betrayed her.
She dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt and went back into the bedroom. Reed was eating a brownie and watching TV on his bed.
When she glanced at him, she could see the faint outline of his cock through his pants. She jerked her gaze away and climbed under the covers. This was proving to be the hardest mission of her life.