Cold Blooded

Tyler slapped his hand on the top of the car. “Go! Get out of here. We’ll take care of this.”

Rourke took off from the curb, tires squealing. I glanced back to see Tyler and Danny running toward the disturbance. You can’t fight the threat in your underwear! I yelled at my brother.

I’m not planning on staying in my underwear for long.

They dropped to the ground to shift right as Rourke turned the corner.

We drove all day, stopping only for sustenance, which Rourke went in and bought. This car was truly spelled. It didn’t need any gas and there was a never-ending supply of loose twenties in the glove box, which replenished as soon as we used them. There were also insurance papers and driver’s licenses with our names and pictures on them.

Witches were freaky.

I’d slept some, but most of the hours had been spent staring at Rourke with naked longing.

His delicious scent was driving me out of my mind. The small sports car was crawling with pheromones, and because we couldn’t risk opening the windows, we couldn’t escape them. No matter how many times I’d tried to convince him to pull over, he wouldn’t, and it was clearly taking its toll on both of us. Nothing had convinced him to stop—save hunger, and that had required threatening to eat the dashboard.

I hadn’t allowed myself to physically touch him in any way.

Because once it started, it wasn’t going to end without a powerful climax. The adrenaline raging through my system from escaping the sorcerers had no place to go, which made his scent all the more intoxicating.

And of course we’d gotten a car without a backseat.

Tally probably had an arsenal of vehicles, and we were lucky enough to get the one with no room to do anything fun. My wolf continued to pace back and forth in my mind like a caged animal, as she had for the past fourteen hours. “So,” I asked, affecting another causal conversation, “when we finally reach the Ozarks, do you think it will finally be safe enough to ditch the car?” The sun had set a few hours ago and we were close to our destination.

“Nothing has followed us thus far, so it should be okay. If not, there’s no real choice but to keep moving forward,” he replied. “I’ve taken all the back roads I can, and when we’re on my turf, we have a chance to fight or outrun anyone. I have supplies all over the area. I’m not risking anything less than full armament at this point.” His voice was strained as he caught me up in a look. His eyes were filled with a deep craving. “You know, this is not easy for me either. You sitting so close to me, within my reach. It’s making my head pound in agony and my beast is beyond reasoning with.”

My wolf howled in frustration. “Once we finally step outside this car, I’m ripping your clothes off. Enough is enough.”

The steering wheel cracked and Rourke shot a glance at me, his irises radiating a beautiful emerald fire. Through clenched teeth he managed, “We’re not doing anything until we get to the cabin.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, like that’s happening.”

“Jessica—”

I sprang forward in my seat. No more reasoning. It had left the building thirteen hours ago. “Listen,” I said, barely resisting shaking my finger in his face. “Our mate bond is all but choking us to death in this godforsaken car. I’m a newborn wolf in every sense, and my rationale left a long time ago. I need to finally be connected to you, and it’s overpowering any good judgment I’ve ever had.” I ran my hands through my hair and leaned over and plucked a bag of pretzels off the floor. Dry convenience-store food was a sorry substitute for sex, but it’s all I had. I grumbled as I popped a handful in my mouth. “Honestly,” I said around a mouthful, “I’m surprised I haven’t straddled you while you’re driving.”

The car swerved as Rourke made a strangled sound. “You have to stop saying things like that!” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “Like you, my control is hanging on by a single thread. Do you know how much I want that? Want you? But our first time isn’t going to be hurried like a couple of teenagers in the front seat of a car.” He snarled his frustration. “I will take my time with you. Our first bonding means something.”

“Fine,” I grumbled like a petulant child, tossing the bag by my feet. “But I’m hiking to the cabin naked.” I crossed my arms in front of me.

“Jessica!” The car bumped wildly off the road.

He straightened it with effort as I craned my neck behind us, recognizing the area. “Isn’t this near the place you stored your motorcycle last time?” It was dark as night outside, but the area looked familiar. My arms prickled in anticipation—not only at the thought of being with Rourke, but I was excited because I’d fallen in love with this place once before and I thought I’d never see it again.

“Yes,” Rourke said grimly. “And it couldn’t have come at a better moment.” He ran a slightly shaky hand over his face as he took his foot off the accelerator.

“Where are you going to park?” He’d stowed his bike behind the brush in a shallow indent of rock. “The car won’t fit with your bike.”

“There’s a place up ahead, closer to the sulfur stream, which means less walking in the water.”

“Do we have to douse ourselves again? It didn’t really work out for us last time.”

“The pool is mandatory.”

I turned, resting my head against the seat, my eyes blazing. “You don’t say?”

He gave a strangled cough. “We need to do it because it will give us an advantage if we have any unwanted visitors. They won’t scent us as easily, and I want to know who’s on my mountain before we hit the cabin.”

“Hmm, yes, that sounds like a perfectly good explanation to get all wet.”

“Jessica”—he turned to me, his face set—“if we do anything in that pool, we’re never getting out.”

“And I don’t see anything wrong with that scenario.” He shouldn’t be surprised at my reaction. I’d told him five seconds ago there was nothing rational left rolling around in my brain. He shook his head and I sighed. “Okay. Fine,” I conceded. “I get it. We swim, we splash, we hike, we investigate, and then we—”

He slammed on the brakes so hard the car skidded to a stop, gravel from the shoulder fanning in an arc around us, alarm all over his face. “I just saw a flash of something in the trees.” His arm went up, pointing directly into the forest next to the passenger side of the car.