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Her chin lifted a little in defiance, her dark brown eyes narrowing No argument there, which meant he was correct in his assumption He had to remind himself she wasn’t a wolf That she didn’t have a pack That it shouldn’t matter what a human female had in ht kept nagging at his? Anyone else? Why was she after thesetabs on her?

He assuh that the men had been able to post bail If they had skipped their court dates, as she assuer while she trailed them

"Admit it Mario and the other man you mentioned, Danny Massaro, murdered your mother It’s a vendetta," he said quietly, but the undercurrent of warning was there What she was doing rong, and it could get her killed

"Not a vendetta," she said icily "I don’t plan to gun them down like they didPermanently"

She tried to pull her hand free froo With his free hand, he swept the back of his hand down her cheek with a tender caress "All right, not a vendetta then" But he still couldn’t see how she planned to safely take these men into custody

He wasn’t sure just what about her made his pulse race to such an extent, the way the heat of her hand penetrated his, the way he couldn’t put her out of hisa need to be with her and to protect her that he was having a hard tih rebellious, appealed to hi about her did

Her short-waisted suit jacket hung open as if she’d been ready to remove it to dress in aeasy access to her gun, although the holstered weapon was still hidden His gaze drifted down to where the ice-white silken blouse revealed the faint outline of her bra and a hint of lace, baring the sexier side of her outfit Round pearl-button fasteners on her blouse captured his attention, and briefly, he wanted to touch theh the slivers of their buttonholes, to see the rest of her as nature had intended

She cleared her throat, and he returned his gaze to her face A sed at her lips, and her brows lifted in a way that said she knew exactly where his thoughts had roamed

Although he wanted this issue between the any further with this futile effort to take down these men, when her hand rested on his shirt-covered chest, the vest now open and , he thought she was going to push him away Or at least try

But her hand swept up his chest as if tentatively feeling thethe sensation of hi his reaction, while her eyes focused on his chest as she continued to explore Her touch left a trail of sizzling heat through the cotton shirt and a craving to touch her in the same way, except that he wanted to touch her skin to skin

He lifted her chin and leaned down and kissed her Potent need filled hi, the worry that she could have co his blood pulse hot and hard His hands slid underneath the back of her jacket, gliding over the silky blouse while her head still tilted up to encourage his onslaught Instantly responsive, she reacted as though she needed his comfort, his possessiveness, hiainst hih the dress shirt with eagerness

If they’d been back home in his ooods, away from civilization, free to do what they pleased, he would have liked to take her, conquer her, make love to her It wasn’t just sex that he was interested in having with Alicia either, but soo there with her, not when she was huhts shifting to his istered that they were still standing on the path where hikers could come upon them at any moment He wasn’t familiar with these woods or how frequently visitors to the areaon their own Still, he wanted more, wanted her And his baser,as he was To go with the moment, to find pleasure where they could

But was Alicia truly as willing?

Chapter 4

Jake pulled Alicia off the hiking trail and deeper into the woods, kissing herbackward as she continued to press herself against hiht up in the moment