I nodded. “I have a little cashleft.”
We drove another forty minutes, until I found an exit advertising a decent hotel, then I pulled off the highway just over the Utah stateline.
The hotel was nothing special, and neither was our room. But Kaci sang while she showered and though I kept my distance, like a gentleman, I couldn’t help picturing her in there, dripping wet and slick with soap. I’d seen her naked at least half a dozen times, post-shift, and while I understood that nudity after a shift was not considered sexual, I remembered wondering, idly, why none of the enforcers seemed to want anything to do with her. Especially the ones near ourage.
I mean, the council had been willing to start a war to get Robyn back, because women were so rare in the shifter world, and Kaci wasgorgeous. I couldn’t be the only one who’d evernoticed—”
“Yourturn.”
I looked up to see her standing in front of me, wrapped in a towel, her long, chestnut colored-hair dripping over one shoulder. Her face was bare, her skin fresh with the fragrance of whatever soap she used, and I wanted to touch her so badly. I wanted to tasteher.
I wanted to feel herhands—
“Um…” She glanced pointedly at the bulge in mypants.
“Yeah. Sorry. Just ignore that.” On my way into the bathroom, I stopped to kiss a drop of water from her bare shoulder. When she didn’t object, I ran one hand down her arm and over herhip.
She made this sexy, needy sound deep in her throat, and I groaned. Then I escaped into the shower before I said something I’dregret.
By the time I emerged with wet hair and fresh breath, Kaci had applied makeup she didn’t need and put on clean clothes. “I didn’t pack anything fancier than a t-shirt, so I hope this dinner isn’ttoonice.”
“Screw the dinner.” My voice held a gravelly note—an obvious arousal that had never been quiet so obvious before I was infected. “We could order room service, and you wouldn’t have to wearanything.”
“Ha, ha. I’m dressed. We’re goingout.”
“As you wish. Our options in SmallTown, Utah include a local steakhouse, a sandwich shop, and an ‘upscale casual dining’ place that offers cliffside views. None of them are rated higher than four out of five stars, or more expensive than two out of four dollar signs on my review app. So, please select from the best mediocrity has to offer. And keep in mind that if you come spend forever on an island with me, I will cook for you everynight.”
“You cook?” She looked so impressed I hated to admit that I wasjoking.
“Okay, I will take a cooking class,thenI will cook for you everynight.”
“I don’t cook either.” She unplugged her phone from the power bank on the hotel desk and slid it into her pocket. “We might actually starve, alone on an islandtogether.”
“You do realize this won’t be anunchartedisland, right? Not adesertedisland. Just an island with no local shifter government in place to tell us we can’t live there. There will be restaurants on the island. And if you still have that ring on your finger, we’ll be able to afford to eat there every night. Or buy all the restaurants and make them deliver tous.”
She laughed as we headed for the door. “This started out as a very romantic offer to cook for me every night of my life, but now it sounds like you’d be willing buy out every restaurant on this hypothetical island to avoid doing justthat.”
“Not to avoid, to give you options. And this island isn’t hypothetical. It’s just as yet unselected.” I closed the door behind us and checked to make sure it was locked—not that we had much to steal at the moment—then I put my arm around her waist as we headed for the elevator. And she let me. “You know, I’m not opposed to letting youchoosethe island. In fact, I would go just about anywhere you want to go, if you would just get on a plane withme.”
“Why?” Kaci poked the call button, then turned to me and slid her arms around my neck. She looked up at me with eyes that seemed more green than brown in the weird hotel lighting, and pressed her entire body against mine. “Why would you want to goanywherewithme?”
“Because I like you.” Because she was beautiful, and strong, and willing to threaten an Alpha on mybehalf.
“You like me now. But you might not like me nextweek.”
“Of course Iwill.”
“You don’t know that. No matter what you think, you hardly knowme.”
“That isnottrue. In the past twenty-four hours, you’ve blackmailed me, kissed me, pushed me away, married me, stolen two cars with me, taken off your pants and thenfallen asleep next to me, and threatened an Alpha for me. And I’ve loved every second of it. What on earth could you do to make me not like you, after all ofthat?”
“That’s the easy part, Justus.” She kissed me, then tugged me into the empty elevator, when the dooropened.
“How the hell is any of thateasy?”
“It’s exciting. It’s something new every other minute. It’s danger, and adrenaline, and close calls. The hard part is what comesafter.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What comes afterthis?”
