Wolfe grinned. “Thought so.”
Faye’s face heated while her abdomen flip-flopped. In a motel room with Hunter Holt once again. Man, the things they used to do for fun. She tried to concentrate and not act like a total dork. “Kat the kitten sleeps with Raider?” She’d enjoyed snuggling with the kitten the night before, but he had been restless several times during the night.
“Yes,” Wolfe said at the same time Raider vehementlyshook his head.
“I can’t wait to meet more of your team,” she murmured.
Wolfe turned toward a faded pink metal door with a black sticker of the number two plastered in the middle. “We’re the normal ones.”
Raider rolled his eyes and followed his buddy, splashing mudup on the way.
Hunter turned and headed for door number one, letting Faye make up her mind about whether to follow or not. Not that there was much chance she’d sleep out in the car. She hesitated for only a second and then followed him into a surprisingly clean room. One queen-sized bed took up most of the space. It faced a plastic table that held an old box-style television set. The carpet was blue shag with angled vacuum marks, and a quick peek into the bathroom showed freshly scrubbed ancient tiles and a bright yellow sink.
Hunter dropped his pack on the floor. “You can have the bathroom first.”
She nodded and went inside to change into a T-shirt and shorts before washing her face and brushing her teeth. The guy was acting as if they’d never slept together. Or maybe he was just worried about this new brother of his. Knowing Hunter, he was somehow feeling responsible. Her body tingled all over. It had been so long since she’d touched him, and he looked harder than ever. Wouldhe make a move?
Would she?
Her body was all in. Her heart, on the other hand, had already shattered once when they’d ended a relationship. Did she want to set herself up for that again? Even for a night or two of probably excellent sex? There was no probably about it. Hunter had always been intense in the bedroom, and after his experiences, he’d undoubtedly be even more so now.
She shivered. Then she walked out of the bathroom, her head high, ready to face him.
He lay sprawled on the bed, his breathing easy, his eyes closed. The gun was on the night table next to him, and the door was double locked.He was asleep?
The amusement coursing through her competed with disappointment. They hadn’t been together for five years, but this was the perfect opportunity to find out if they still worked. She’d missed him so much that even now, when something interesting happened, he was the first person she thought to call. But she hadn’t. What if she had? What if she’d reached out once she’d gotten her head on straight? Shewished she had.
Would they be having a totally differentkind of night?
It didn’t matter. They weren’t. She shut off the light, carefully pulled back the covers, and slipped into the chilly sheets, rolling as close to him as she could. Even though he lay on top of the covers, heat still poured from him, and she shut her eyes, sighing at the familiarity, as well as everything new. She opened her eyes again to look at hisstrong profile.
There was no way she could sleep.
* * * *
Faye woke beneath the covers with a muscled arm banded around her waist, heated thighs pressed into the back of hers, and her shoulders bracketed by a very strong male chest. When had Hunter climbed into bed with her? Heck. When had he taken off his clothes? Desire flushed through her, tingling along her skin, through her torso, and landed with hot need between her legs. That quickly and that completely. She shifted against him, trying to ease herself into comfort, and she brushed against his rock hard erection. She stilled.
“Don’t worry about it.” His breath stirred her hair, his voice low and hoarse. “It’s you and me. That’s inevitable.”
Was anything else inevitable? She closed her eyes as sensation after sensation rippled through her. “Hunter.” God, she’d missed him. The feel of him all around her—the warmth of safety. They’d already hashed out what had gone wrong, so what was left to talk about? Was there any way to go forward? She’d dated in the last five years, and not one single man had come close to Hunter Holt. For the rest of her life, she would compare every manshe met to him.
“What thoughts are going through your head, Faye Houdini?” he rumbled, his mouth close enough to her ear that she couldn’t help but shiver.
She’d forgotten she’d used that name for almost a month their sophomore year. “You and me. Where we went wrong,” she whispered. The rain continued to fall outside, fogging up the old windows, which were visible between the cheap blinds. “I told you what was hurting me at the time. What I was struggling with. About when my patient killed himself.” And in typical male fashion, he’d tried to fix her instead of fixing himself. “You never told me about what happened to you over there.”
“It was war,” he murmured. “I was a sniper, not just because I could shoot, but because I could track. I hunted humans, and it took time to deal with that.” He caressed her arm with his warm palm, and nothing had felt so good in way too long. “I can’t let any of that touch you. Never could and never will. But I have dealt with it the best I can.” His hand encircled her wrist, pressing in lightly. So much gentleness wrapped in raw strength. “I’ve always felt guilty about not protecting you when Mark died. Not beingthere for you.”
He’d tried. She remembered. But he had been going through so much guilt and pain that he had shut down. “I wanted to help you, too. And you wouldn’t let me.” That had hurt more thananything else.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
“Me too.” She snuggled closer, and he groaned when her butt skimmed his erection again. Her breath heated, burning down to her lungs in harsh tingles. This was such a bad idea.
With one tug, he pulled her onto her back and rolled on top of her. “Wanna have sex?”
A chuckle burst out of her before she recognized the reason behind it. He always did get right to the point. Every cell in her body wanted to have sex. Her brain was so much smarterthan her body.
He leaned up on his elbows to study her in the darkness, his groin against hers, his heated thighs between hers. “For old times’ sake?”
