Page 44 of Wolf It Down, Knot Me Up

That earns me a serious stare. “Are you sure?”

I nod thoughtfully. “You should be grateful Wolf and Roman have been setting such a good example.”

She laughs. “And you?”

“Oh, I’m a terrible influence.”

Her smile widens, cheeks pinkening just enough to make me entirely too pleased with myself.

The pines around us begin to thin, the narrow forest road spilling onto the highway toward Rusty’s Bend. The world opens up around us again with more light, a handful of passing cars, scattered houses replacing towering trunks.

“And by the way, there’s nothing wrong with moving fast,” I add. “Not when it’s the right thing.”

“That’s the trouble, though.” She turns toward me, thoughtful now. “How do you know when it’s right?”

I shrug one shoulder. “You stop arguing with yourself.” I glance over at her. “Your gut usually gets there long before your head catches up.” A grin tugs at my mouth. “What’s yours saying?”

She settles back into her seat, and the movement draws my eye to the fabric of her dress shifting. One button straining just enough to hint at the soft curve beneath, at the milky skin I long to lick. Heat throttles me. For one reckless heartbeat, I picture myself reaching across the console, closing the distance between us, and finding out just how quickly she’d steal the rest of my self-control. I grip the steering wheel harder instead and yank my attention back to the road before my imagination gets either of us into trouble.

“It’s telling me,” she murmurs, “that I don’t know what I want.”

I let out a quiet laugh. “Nah.” I shake my head. “I don’t buy that for a second.” I give her a sideways glance. “Someone who doesn’t know what they want won’t keep coming back to us.” My grin grows.

She looks away, a smile tugging at her mouth even as color blooms across her cheeks. “Okay.” She straightens with an exaggerated purpose. “New subject. Where does a man like you learn to cook a feast?”

I grin. “Now that is a story.”

“Go on. I’m all ears,” she says, facing me.

“Necessity. You see, my mom was gone from home more often than she was around, and when she was there, the cupboards were usually empty. So I figured it out young. Cook or go hungry.” I keep my eyes on the road, a smile tugging at one corner of my mouth. “Got creative. Been feeding myself since I was a kid, and now I do most of the cooking for my pack.” I shrug. “Turns out I liked looking after others.”

“Well…” Her voice softens. “Any Omega would count herself lucky. An Alpha who cooks for her is highly sought after.”

I glance over, and she’s still watching me, those green eyes softening. A strand of reddish hair has escaped and fallen across her cheek. My fingers tighten on the steering wheel, but I don’t reach over.

Her head tips sideways. “You know… you’re more reserved than the other two. It’s a nice surprise.”

That gets a deep laugh out of me. “Little bird, you haven’t met me.” I shake my head. “This is the heavily supervised version. Wolf all but threatened to bury me in the woods if I came on too strong.” I spread one hand dramatically off the wheel. “Behold. Mr. Respectable.”

She laughs.

“Don’t ruin the illusion.”

“I don’t know…” She grins. “I’m starting to like Mr. Respectable. It’s calming, which is handy, seeing as I’m about to chat with your parole officer, and the man’s a world-class douchebag.”

“On that,” I mutter, “we’re in complete agreement.”

Her knees have been bouncing for the last mile. Every protective instinct I’ve got wants to reach across the cab and still them, tell her she’s safe.

I grip the wheel a little tighter.

Wolf was right about being on my best behavior.

We roll deeper into town, traffic thickening, little shop fronts giving way to weatherboard houses climbing the hill. Lucy’s watching them drift past when she suddenly goes rigid beside me.

“Oh, shit.” She shoots upright in her seat and points through the windshield. “That’s him.” The color drains from her face. “I think that’s him.”

An older blue pickup flashes past in the opposite lane. Rust around the wheel arches. Gone before I get more than a look.