Hot on Her Heels

“We have rules.”

“No, we don’t.”

Her brown eyes were bright with annoyance, her skin flushed. She looked like a woman ready to take him on. Normally he would welcome the challenge, but this morning he had a lot on his mind.

“We do now,” she snapped. “You don’t go anywhere without telling me.”

That made him chuckle. “Because you’re going to make me?”

“I’ll do what I have to.”

He was letting her hang around because she was a conduit to his sisters. Information flowed both ways, whether Dana recognized that or not. If he needed to set them up, she would be the method. Although that seemed less and less likely. He also allowed Dana to stay close because he enjoyed her company.

She was tough and strong, but still relatively naive. He would guess for all her bravado, she didn’t have the instinct to go for the cheap shot. His instincts had been honed while being held and tortured in a South American jungle. He knew he would kill to survive. She hadn’t been tested yet. Neither of them could know how she would react.

Oddly, a part of him wanted to make sure that didn’t change. He wanted to ensure she was never that scared, that up against a wall. He wanted to keep her safe.

Travel light, he reminded himself. Caring only brought trouble. Nick had been an easy friend. Nick had understood and could take care of himself. But Dana would require things he didn’t have to give.

“Dana, I’m cooperating because it suits me, nothing else. The day you get to be too big a pain in the ass is the day it all ends.”

“You don’t scare me.”

“I’m not trying to. I’m making a point. I don’t owe you or my sisters anything.”

Her mouth twisted. “You’re wrong. You do owe them and you know it. You hurt them because of something Jed did. That isn’t right. Now you have to make up for that.”

She sounded sincere. Did she actually believe that?

He looked at her. “Have we met? I’m Garth Duncan, ruthless bastard.”

She dug into her breakfast. “You’re not all that.”

“Sure I am.”

The corners of her mouth tilted up in an almost-smile. “Oh, please. I’m so not impressed.”

She was lying, but he could live with that.

Once again she was dressed for comfort, not style. Jeans, a pullover shirt shapeless enough to hide every curve. Her boots looked worn and she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

He was used to women who understood the power of a well-fitting skirt and just a flash of breast. Women who smelled like exotic flowers and sparkled with expensive jewelry. He guessed Dana didn’t understand the appeal and if she did, she didn’t care. He should have been able to dismiss her.

But he couldn’t. Maybe before he’d kissed her, but not since. There had been an instant connection, a compelling heat. He enjoyed sex and took his pleasure easily. This wasn’t about getting laid. It was about what he felt when she was in his arms. Hungry. Desperate.

Uncomfortable sensations for a man used to being in charge. Which meant he would have to tread carefully. He would have Dana, but on his terms.

They ate in silence. Dana finished first, then went and got a sticky Danish.

“Not counting calories?” he asked.

She licked frosting off her fingers. “Do I look like I need to?”

“No, but that is rarely why women do it.”

“I’m not that typical.”

“Yet my sisters are. How did you become friends with them?”

He thought she might avoid the question, but she finished her Danish, then picked up her coffee.

“I met Lexi first. We were in school together. I mostly played with the boys, but when I was ten or so, they stopped letting me hang out with them. The girls all got on my nerves. Too silly, I guess. I hated playing with dolls. But Lexi was different. Mostly she was by herself. Maybe it was being a Titan. The other kids thought she was different and she didn’t know how to convince them otherwise. We both liked horses and reading. It was just the two of us until Skye and Izzy got older.”

There was more to the story, but he didn’t press. He could fill in the details. How she would hate to go home because her father beat her. How Glory’s Gate was big enough to hide in. How being friends with Jed Titan’s daughter would be a measure of protection at home.

“Now they’re my family,” she continued.

“Is that a warning?”

“It’s a threat.”

He grinned. “Want to tie me up and punish me?”

“You wish.”

He glanced at his watch. “We’ll be there in less than an hour. We should talk about the meeting and what to expect. Things should go smoothly, but if they don’t we’ll need a plan. Before I forget, there’s a bulletproof vest in the back. Put it on.”

DANA FOLLOWED GARTH OUT of the jet onto the tarmac. The airport was little more than a strip of road in the middle of nowhere. There were mountains in the distance, trees and grass nearby and the only sign of civilization was a small building a hundred yards away.

The structure was more shack than house, weatherworn. The wood had once been painted red and blue but most of the paint had flaked away. There were holes where windows had been, and several lizards scampered across the uneven boards.