Redemption: Montana Wolves, Book Three (Montana Wolves series 3) (6 page)

A truth that could kill her.

The rightness of his choice settled over him like a blanket. This was his best chance to protect her, and that was the most important thing.

He backed out of her driveway and pulled onto the street, taking the time to choose his words carefully. “I don’t think you’re a tease, Amber. And I definitely don’t think you’re crazy.”

Stubborn, yes. Like a dog with a bone, but that was a flaw he both shared and kind of admired.

“So why don’t we do exactly what we agreed to do when I called? Just have a fun night and try to put the past behind us for a while. Kick back, relax. Enjoy each other’s company.” And hopefully, get a few drinks in her, so the shock of what he was going to tell her didn’t kill her on the spot.

She let out a sigh and her posture went from stiff to relaxed in an instant.

“That sounds really good to me. I can definitely use a mental half-time. But I have to warn you.” She twisted in her seat to face him. “I’m a fantastic pool player, so you’d better get your game face on, buddy.”

He let out a chuckle as a little of the tension left him. So long as she was willing to spend time with him, that meant he still had a chance.

A chance to protect her.

A chance to prove to the others that she was worthy of their trust.

A chance to convince her that the beast she saw that night might have looked fierce, but it would never, ever hurt her.

It wouldn’t be easy, though. Because, right now, he felt very much like The Big Bad Wolf from that old-time scary-tale, which made Amber his Red Riding Hood.

And he wanted nothing more than to eat her up.

“
N
INE-BALL
, corner pocket.”

Amber leaned forward and lined up her shot, taking the time to suck in a steadying breath. She was two balls away from winning the game and she wasn’t about to blow it just because Billy had brushed by her, leaving his masculine scent trailing behind him.

She pinched her eyes closed and willed herself to focus. God, what was it about the way he smelled? It literally made her whole body tingle with the need to get closer. Breathe him in. She couldn’t pinpoint it…like exotic spices, and leather, and masculinity times ten.

Totally addictive.

And was it her imagination, or did he seem to touch her every time he passed by, just a little?

“Nine-ball, corner pocket,” she repeated, more firmly this time, ignoring the pressure pooling low in her belly. She took two practice strokes before firing off the shot. The cue-ball met the yellow striped one with a soft
snick
, and Amber grimaced as she watched the trajectory, knowing it was a miss long before it bobbled in the pocket and hung there.

“Well, shit,” she muttered under her breath before straightening. “Looks like you’re going to get another chance.” She met Billy’s gaze and made a sweeping gesture toward the green, felted table. “Better make the most of it.”

Weird, how disappointed she was. Sure, she liked winning, but shooting pool with a friend while they drank a few beers didn’t typically bring out her competitive nature. Now, though, with Billy looking on, studying her every move, eyes filled with respect whenever she made a difficult shot, she wanted so badly to win.

Friend, my ass. You want so badly
to impress him.
You couldn’t care less about winning.

She reached for her pint of beer and took a sip, watching from over the rim of the glass as her opponent prowled around the table, circling like a shark on the hunt. Odd to see a man so big and muscular who managed to move with such effortless grace.

It captivated her.

“Four in the side,” he said, his low voice carrying in spite of the jukebox playing in the background.

She set down her beer and leaned on her pool cue, watching with bated breath. If he missed, they’d continue playing, but if he made it, the eight-ball was a sitting duck in the opposite side pocket. He was sure to win the game.

“What about a little wager?” she said suddenly.

Where had that come from? Maybe the beer talking. She’d had three already, and had been too nervous to do much more than pick at the buffalo wings they’d ordered when they first got there. Still, now that the idea of a wager had come to her, she couldn’t shake it.

In for a penny…

“No way you make that shot.”

Billy stood and eyed her, a smile tugging at his firm lips. “Is that so? All right, then. Put your money where your mouth is. What’s the bet?”

She hadn’t thought that far ahead and swallowed hard as dozens of inappropriate thoughts flooded her brain. After the stress and strain of the past month, she’d grabbed onto the one night respite he’d offered like a lifeline, but maybe it was time to pump the brakes a little.

“A drink?” she said finally.

Lame
.

He shook his golden head slowly, a challenging light filling his eyes. “I can buy my own drinks. This shot is tough. If I make it, I want something good.”

“L-like what?”

Out of nowhere, she was suddenly very aware of her new bra. The black lace confection had cost her more than she’d made that day at The Naughty Kitty, but once she’d seen it, she couldn’t resist.

“A kiss,” he said. The words came out in a guttural, half-growl. Like they’d been mined from between his lips with a pick-axe, against his will. A fact that shouldn’t have set her body aflame, but sooo did.

She should say no, flat out, but she couldn’t seem to make her lips form the word. Nothing good could come of saying yes. But, damn it, she'd get to feel that mouth on hers again.

Which will only make you crave it more
, the irritating, persistent voice in her head reminded her.

Friends.

She’d decided sometime between her shopping trip and when his truck had pulled up to her house, they could only be friends. At least until she figured out what had happened the night of the kidnapping. Even if he wasn’t hiding something from her and it was just her own paranoia or some form of PTSD, diving headfirst into a relationship--or whatever this was—with a near stranger was probably a bad idea.

“Billy, we can’t--”

“Sleep together.” He inclined his head in a curt nod. “So you said. And I agree with that part of it. Bad idea. But a kiss? Hell, we’ve already done that. What’s one more going to hurt?”

She could almost hear the gears in her brain shifting, making way for the rationalization portion of the show. They
had
already kissed once. And who was she kidding? The second he’d mentioned it, she’d known she wouldn’t refuse him. If she did, she’d have spent the rest of their time together thinking about it, and the rest of the week regretting that she hadn’t done it. Plus, who was to say he’d even win the bet?

She took another long pull from her beer for liquid courage and then nodded. “All right, then. A kiss.”

“And if I miss?”

Her already slightly tipsy mind went blank. If he didn’t make the shot, then what did she want from him? A few silly things flitted through her head. To have him refer to her as “Champ” all night long. Maybe have him pen a limerick about her stunning victory. But as she stood there looking at him, words came tumbling from her lips, unbidden.

“I want you to tell me a secret.”

He had one. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. Even now, although the heat in his eyes didn't cool even one degree, his gaze grew guarded, and she wished she could take it back. What was she thinking, taking his harmless flirtation and turning it into some deep conversation? They’d made a deal for the night and she’d broken it. Total fail on her part, and she hurried to backtrack.

"It doesn't have to be where the bodies are buried or anything like that."

God, kill her now. Why had she brought up bodies when she was pretty sure the crazy kidnapper and would-be murderer, Tobias Wheeler, was buried somewhere on the grounds of the compound where Billy and his friends lived? Yet another little tidbit that should probably alarm her far more than it did, but whatever they’d had to do in an effort to get Chandra back, she was on board with. He’d deserved it after what he’d done. But again, not a discussion for tonight.

“Forget the ‘never told anyone else’ part,” she hastened to add. “Just any old thing is fine. Like the one movie you always cry at. Or even the name of your first pet.”

Right when she was about to back out on the bet altogether and tell him it was okay if he just wanted to bring her home, he held up a hand to stop her babbling.

"I'm good with it. And you know why?" He strolled toward her, his swagger as confident as his expression. "Because I'm not going to miss." He stroked her cheek with his index finger in the softest of touches. "So you better get those lips puckered and ready, because it's about to go down."

Probably, she should've been worried. He sure said it like it was a threat. But damned if it didn't just send a rush of damp heat to her center.

She forced a chuckle and willed her heart to stop pounding hard enough for him to hear. "Talk is cheap. Let's see it happen."

This time, when Billy went to take his shot, the casual stance he'd taken the rest of the game was nowhere to be found. He was focused, every muscle drawn tight, eyes narrowed in concentration. It was a thing to behold.

As was the way those faded jeans clung to his fine ass when he bent lower.

"Like I said, four-ball, side pocket."

Blood rushed to her ears and her mouth went bone-dry as the ball landed in the pocket with a
thunk
. "Nice one," she managed to squeeze out.

"It was. Want to go again?” He hitched his hip to lean against the table and eyed her intently. “Another kiss if I make the eight-ball? And a secret for you if I miss."

It was a sucker's bet. The ball was a hair's breadth from the pocket. But if she was going to dig herself in deeper by kissing him once, doing it twice could hardly make things worse.

And, damn, did she want that secret.

"You're on."

He gave her one last hungry look before bending to position himself for the shot.

She watched, all thought suspended, as he cocked his arm and sent the cue ball careening toward the eight. The black ball fell neatly into the pocket, but before she could even process how to feel about it, the white cue ball fell behind it.

"Scratch! You lose," she murmured, a thrill coursing through her. She got to kiss Billy and she got her secret.

“Looks like it.” He straightened, the expression on his face sending her pulse racing. “So what do you say we get out of here? I’ve been thinking of the secret I want to share, and I think it’s better if I tell you in private. Then, if you’re game, I’ll collect my kiss. I’d prefer if we didn't have an audience, if it's all the same to you.”

It wasn't all the same to her. In fact, the very thought had her jumping out of her skin. How was she going to stick to her guns and keep herself from acting on her impulses if they were alone and unsupervised?

But the lure of him…the promise of his secret, while terrifying, was also too strong to resist.

She drained the last of her beer and mustered up a smile and her courage.

“What are we waiting for?”

CHAPTER SIX

I
t wasn’t an easy task, but Amber tried to let the warm breath of the heater and the low drone of the truck's engine soothe her as they drove.

She wasn't sure where they were going, and oddly enough, she wasn’t sure it mattered. She'd spent the past month floating in space, unanchored and alone. But she wasn’t alone anymore, and she trusted him. He knew what she’d been through, had lived through the fear and terror with her, and just having him near again grounded her and made her feel safe.

"We're here," he said softly, the husky baritone pulling her from her reverie.

She opened her eyes and straightened, looking around. "We're where?"

They’d pulled off the bumpy, makeshift road he’d been on and into a tiny inlet. Tall, skeletal trees surrounded them on all sides, the sight only broken by the occasional lush jack pine or evergreen. The moon hung fat in the sky, like a milky wheel of cheese, and lit the tiny clearing in a warm light.

"I told you. Somewhere private."

He turned off the car, and let himself out before coming around to her side and opening her door. "Seriously? Weren’t you just telling me about wolves venturing out of their territories?” She stared down at his big, outstretched hand and then glanced past him into the dark forest. “Your apartment is private. My house is private, and only like twenty minutes away. It’s warm…and there are lights."

His firm lips twitched and he shook his head slowly. "That sounds great, but for now, this is where we need to be, all right?"

She took in a steadying breath and blew it out, wincing as it crystalized in the freezing air in a puff of white. "Do you at least have a blanket or something?"

His green eyes took on a curious light. "You won't need one."

She winced but nodded and reached out a hand to grab her purse.

“Won’t need that either.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but then let it close with a snap. He was it right now. The one person who had been willing to help her through this when the rest of his friends obviously still blamed her at least half as much as she blamed herself for all that had happened. If he wanted to share with her, she’d play by his rules. It was the least she could do.

She slipped her hand into his and murmured in pleasure as the heat of his skin warmed her.

He helped her out of the car onto the ice-crusted grass and led her toward the center of the clearing. There was a small fire pit there with wood already neatly stacked.

"Oh, that's excellent," she said, releasing his hand and bee-lining straight for it. "Please tell me you have matches?"

He brandished them with a half-smile and popped a squat next to the circle of rocks. “Like a Boy Scout, always prepared.”

Less than a minute later, a crackling fire roared, and she groaned in appreciation as she leaned in to hold her hands over the flames.