No. Her answer was swift and definite.
She most definitely did not want to pretend that hadn’t happened. At the possessive and snarled response from her inner feline, she knew she couldn’t if she tried. Before, she’d only suspected her animal had chosen Zak as a Fated Mate. Now, in this moment, she knew it for sure.
The realization of that slammed into her so hard, she gasped softly. Could things get any more complicated?
Zak rolled closer and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him and surprising the hell out of her. “I know,” he said, obviously mistaking her gasp for shocked pleasure. “It was a memorable event for me too.”
He dropped a kiss on her temple but she didn’t turn, more breathless now than she had been when he’d been screwing her lights out a moment ago.
Memorable event? Fifteen years’ worth of build-up and that’s all he had to say? But then, he’d probably had so many other events, maybe “memorable” was a high compliment? She opened her mouth to say just that when the sound of steady breathing made her shut it again. Of course. He was already asleep. Her heart sank.
Holy crap on a cracker, what had she been thinking to agree to the horizontal tango with the bad boy? She was in so much trouble.
Chapter Eight
Del woke to the sound of the shower running. Even after the water shut off and the bathroom door opened, she laid there pretending to sleep. The mattress shifted and a hand ran lightly over her cheek, brushing hair out of her face. She didn’t move, waiting with heart pounding. Was he actually going to greet her like a lover this morning? Caveman, bad boy Zak Armsford being sweet?
Lips brushed over the sensitive skin near her ear and she shuddered at the same time she heard his voice. “Princess, you don’t fool me. I know you’re awake and if you lay here any longer, you’re going to regret sleeping ass-up.”
Once again, she was reminded this was all just sex to him. Just as well. She couldn’t afford the distraction. The statue was still in her possession and it had to be priority one. She could only imagine what might happen if the wrong people get ahold of it. Decades’ worth of feuding would be nothing compared to how hard shit would hit the fan. Del let out a growl and rolled away from him before jumping out of bed.
“Now you’re just teasing,” he said.
She remembered too late she’d slept naked and felt her skin heat underneath his smug gaze. She stalked, head high, to the bathroom, scooping clothes as she went, slamming the door behind her to the sound of laughter.
Pig.
She showered quickly, fuming angrily—mostly at herself. What had possessed her to give in and sleep with the crown Prince of Evil himself? Her family’s sworn enemy. Her Fated Mate. She sighed, leaning against the wall as the water ran over her back. Even now, she could feel her inner cat aching for its chosen mate. And dear Lord, his threat back there had excited her more than she could ever tell him. Clearly, she was just a roll in the sheets for him. Just the few feet of distance—miles, emotionally—were too much now. Maybe if she’d never slept with him, it wouldn’t have become so strong. But there was no going back. Only forward.
And she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Eventually, she’d outgrow the ache. Or learn to ignore it.
Zak waited for her in the bedroom, keys jangling in his hand. Fully dressed and hair swept out of her face, she eyed him coolly. “In a hurry?” she asked.
“Starving,” he said with a gleam in his eye that made it impossible for her to carry out her plan of pretending last night had never happened. “Thanks to you, I worked up an appetite. Ready?”
She nodded and moved to walk past him but he caught her in the doorway, pressing a kiss to her temple before slinging an arm over her shoulders as they walked to the Jeep. The morning sun shone cheerfully over the near-empty parking lot but Del’s gut churned at the physical contact that seemed so casual for him. She started to pull away from him, but her animal snarled at her for trying. It wanted to be near him, damn her traitorous puma.
“Del? Del Santoni? Oh my God, is that you?” a high-pitched female voice called from across the already-heated asphalt.
Del’s eyes widened at the sight of her boss, Janet Caro, rushing toward her. Janet’s kakhi pants were streaked with dirt and her eyes were wide and glazed with panic and worry. Del’s relief drowned out her own discomfort and she slipped out of Zak’s arms, rushing forward to hug the woman who now looked both relieved and curious at Del and Zak together. It was the latter that worried her.
“Janet, what are you doing here?” Del asked.
“Looking for you,” the woman said, her shaggy brown hair hanging in her eyes as usual. Janet had always appeared a little mousy but her shrill voice more than made up for her timid appearance. “When you didn’t check in yesterday on schedule, I got worried so I drove out to the site. That’s when I found the—” Janet stopped short and clapped her hand over her mouth. Tears filled her eyes.
Bodies. Del remembered they hadn’t had time to clean up or properly dispose of her friends. She winced at all Janet had been put through.
“I’ve been there all night with the police and was on my way home. You were missing and… I didn’t know what to think,” Janet added, a tremor in her voice now.
“I’m so sorry,” Del said. “I should have called so you didn’t worry for me. There wasn’t time for us to do anything. The coyotes attacked and we had to leave so quickly.” She resisted the urge to glare at Zak as she added, “I lost my phone.”
“Coyotes did all that?” Janet asked, looking from Del to Zak now, her eyes wide.
“I’m afraid so,” Zak said, “And you are?”
“Oh, my apologies. Where are my manners? Jane Caro, dig coordinator for Orion Enterprises.”
“Janet’s also a friend of my mother’s,” Del put in.
“Cousins,” Janet corrected. Which was technically true if you followed the family tree to its smallest branches. Janet had always seemed to enjoy the connection of their distant relation.
“Zak Armsford.”
“Oh, I know who you are.” Janet shook Zak’s hand and Del was shocked to see Janet’s usually timid expression open up as she smiled right at Zak and fluttered her lashes.
Hot anger speared through Del. Mousy Janet might be a close friend of her mother’s—cousins, even—but she was acting like a cougar hitting on Zak. Del’s Fated Mate. And right in front of her too.
“What is an Armsford doing way out here in the desert with a Santoni?” Janet asked.
Del stiffened. The last thing she wanted was word getting out about their traveling together. Not that Janet knew many people but all she had to tell was one—Vie Santoni—and she’d never hear the end of it.
“Oh you haven’t heard?” Zak wound his arm around Del’s waist and cupped her hip, yanking her against him. Possessive and obvious, not to mention the sparks that shot straight to Del’s panties at the pressure of his hands on her body. “We’re newlyweds,” he said.
Her fists balled at her side, Del looked up at him in horror. She had never wanted to deck him more that she did now.
“Newlyweds?” Janet repeated, the shock plain on her slack face.
Del couldn’t blame her.
Zak poked her and she caught his meaningful look with a sick feeling of understanding. If they were going to pull off a successful cover story and make it home alive, they had to stick to their story. Especially standing out here in plain view of the highway and with others possibly in earshot.
“That’s impossible.” Janet laughed and looked back at Del who had managed to school her features. “A Santoni would never marry an Armsford.”
“Never say never,” Del said with forced cheer.
Janet studied her and it took everything Del had not to give herself away. Finally, Janet’s expression transformed. “Well, I’ll be… I just can’t believe it. I mean, I hadn’t heard and I think I would’ve so…” her eyes went wide again as she went on, “that must mean you’ve eloped. How roman
tic and secretive.” She drew in a breath and leaned toward Del. “Like Romeo and Juliet.”
Del had to fight not to roll her eyes. “Sure, I mean a few weeks with me and he might try to off himself.”
Janet smiled and then grew serious. “Those coyote shifters you mentioned…You should come back with me to give a statement to the police about it. Help locate them.” Janet’s gaze darted between her and Zak. Del knew Janet just wanted to talk alone, to ask about the statue. But with all the craziness, Del hesitated to tell her she’d found it. She didn’t want to put Janet in danger too. Especially if she’d deciphered the markings correctly. Anyone in her family line was in danger now.
Del shook her head. “I’ve already told you, Janet, we’re not going back there. And you shouldn’t either. It’s not safe. Those guys are still out there and they didn’t seem like the giving up type.”
“So, you’re going to just run forever?” Janet asked.
“No, Zak’s taking me home to Fort Jericho until we can figure this out,” Del said. “You should come,” she added meaningfully, hoping her expression would be enough of a clue to alert Janet that they had everything they needed from the dig site.
“I will be there as soon as I wrap things up at the dig site,” Janet assured her with a knowing pat on the arm. “I need to make a few calls and get some rest. You two go on. I’ll see you both soon.”
They hugged again and Del promised to call as soon as she was home safe. Del bit her lip and watched Janet leave. “I need to find a phone,” she said. “My mom must be worried sick about me.”
“Here,” Zak said. “Use mine.”
He pulled out a black cell from his pocket and held it out. She stared at him, then him, for a full minute before snatching it. “You have got to be kidding me,” she said. “You had it this whole time didn’t you?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal but there was laughter in his eyes. “Of course.”
She glared. “Why do you get to keep yours anyway?”
“Because mine is encrypted and not traceable.”
“And you didn’t think to offer it after you threw mine out the window?”
“I promised myself you could borrow it when you were nicer to me.” He winked. “I’d say last night qualified.”
She bit back a scream and stormed off, phone in hand. She found a shady spot underneath the awning of the motel’s lobby and dialed her mother.
“Yes?” Vie Santoni answered.
“Mom,” Del said, relief pouring through her at the familiar voice.
“Del! Dear Lord in Heaven, finally. Where are you? I can’t believe everything that’s happening.”
“I know, Mom. I—”
“You’ve caused quite the stir around here. I hope you plan to show your face soon and explain yourself.”
“Me?” Del stopped short, confusion interrupting her train of thought. “You mean the coyotes who attacked us?”
“Yes, I heard about that too. Still making career choices that invite danger at all sides, I see.”
Del’s teeth clenched. She rarely saw eye to eye with prim and proper Vie Santoni—especially when it came to the fact that she’d chosen a line of work that involved spending days in the dirt—but this was extreme even for Vie. “Are you saying it’s my fault my entire team was slaughtered by a bunch of rabid coyote shifters and now I’m running for my life because of my choice to become an archeologist?”
“Hardly. I’m saying your choice to marry the son of our sworn enemy has repercussions you should have thought of before eloping behind my back.”
“Marry…? Shit.” Del groaned. Janet had either worked faster than she could have imagined or someone else had gotten to her. She couldn’t imagine who else had seen them way out here in the boonies, though. “Whoever told you that I got married—” Del began but Vie wasn’t done.
“Was clearly more honest with me than my own daughter,” Vie cut in. “At any rate, I’ve talked it over with the rest of the family and we all think it can be salvaged.”
“Salvaged?” Del only echoed.
“You bring that Armsford boy home with you and we’ll use this opportunity to unite the packs. Your sister, Drea, is pulling some things together for a proper ceremony since God only knows what you did out there in the sticks.”
Boy. Del snorted at that. Nothing about Zak was “boy” any longer. But she wasn’t about to tell her disapproving mother that. She had to clear this up, though. She couldn’t have a wedding waiting for her when she got back. Especially now with the statue in the mix.
“Mom, Zak is bringing me home but we’re not—”
A howl broke through the still morning, shattering the low budget serenity of the Stop & Sleep. Across the highway, a blur of matted brown fur caught her eye. Then a second. Coyote shifters. Both running this way. Del’s blood froze and adrenaline poured into her veins. Her mother’s voice still droned on through the tiny speaker but Del heard none of it.
She ended the call and found Zak already moving. She sprinted toward him and he waved her to the Jeep. The coyotes crossed the empty highway and howled again, a cry for the others Del assumed. She ran harder. Zak hit the automatic unlock button. He surprised her by going to the passenger side and opening her door, ushering her inside before sliding into his own seat.
The first coyote reached them and launched itself onto the hood of the car, snarling and baring its saliva-coated teeth.
“Let’s go,” Del screamed, her skin buzzing with urgency. Her cat wanted out even if common sense told her she was safer inside the car as a human.
Zak turned the key and the engine roared to life. Outside, the second coyote reached them. It stopped long enough to hover over the pavement, its body shuddering as it shifted into the form of a man. He rose up, snarling as he came toward the vehicle.
“Not good. This one’s got opposable thumbs,” Del said.
“Time to go,” Zak muttered and slammed his foot on the gas. The Jeep lurched forward, sending the coyote on their hood flying. Blue ink peeked out from underneath his sleeve, a blurry shape just before the man disappeared and they sped by. The ink jolted her and she blinked, unable to believe what she’d seen. The tattoo had looked way too close though. What did it mean?
Without slowing, Zak clipped the remaining coyote-turned-man headed their way, sending him flying back with a yelp as they peeled out of the lot and jostled over the curb. Their back end fishtailed and then straightened again as the Jeep veered onto the highway, the engine roaring as they raced out of town.
Chapter Nine
Zak’s pulse roared in his ears. Just underneath the surface, his wolf snarled and ached to be freed, but he kept his control. The best thing for them both was distance. For that, he needed a foot weighing down the gas pedal. Paws did him no good here. “Fuck, that was close,” he said as he drove.
And it was. Everything about this job from the moment he’d laid eyes on Princess Del Santoni had been much too close. The attacks. The coyotes finding them back there. And the mind-blowing sex they’d had last night. That, especially, felt too close somehow.
Not that Zak had anything to compare it to but he was fairly certain if he let himself think too hard on it, he’d be forced to call her what she was: his Fated Mate.
He had no intention of thinking too hard.
Not when he knew she was keeping so much from him. Hell, she was practically doing to him what her father had done to his with this statue business. God, why did she have to be so damned sexy?
His cell rang and he glanced down, swerving at the unexpected beeping. The tires kicked up gravel from the shoulder before he jilted the wheel, righting them once again, and dropped their speed to something easier to handle. His phone beeped again and he spotted it still gripped in Del’s white-knuckled hand. She passed it to him without a word, eyes still wide as she watched the side mirror for any sign of their pursuers.
Zak almost turned the phone off and chucked it into the back seat. But then h
e saw the number on his caller ID and his shoulders slumped. He couldn’t not answer it now.
“Georgia,” he said and noticed how Del’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of his aunt’s name. Strange. Then again, they were technically enemies.
“Zak,” his aunt breathed in relief. “We’ve been trying to call you.”
“I’ve been out of touch,” he said simply. And vaguely. It was all he ever told his family about his covert job.
“Well, you’ve been touching someone,” Georgia said wryly and the swift change in her tone caught his attention.
“What?” He shook his head, only half-listening. Most of his attention was on the road and the rearview. So far, there was no sign of anyone behind them, but he wasn’t taking chances.
“Your new wife,” Georgia said and Zak almost drove right off the road into the desert at the ridiculousness of the words strung together in that particular order. Then he remembered his cover. Del.
He looked over at her and found her staring blankly out the windshield. Shoulders still taut, though. Interesting. She could obviously hear every word.
He grimaced but forced cheer into his words. “Right. Sorry I didn’t tell you, sis’ but…. well, you know me. I like to move fast.”
Del made a noise of disgust that made him smile for real. He had no idea why he was taking so much pleasure out of this ridiculous cover story, but he couldn’t help himself. Truth be told, he’d thought of other ways—better ways—to cover their trail with these coyotes but he’d been unable to stop himself from concocting this particular lie.
“Well, your uncle Byron’s irate,” Georgia said and that cheered Zak even more. “He’s threatening to give the family business to your cousin Cade instead.”
“Cade? He’s not even eighteen yet,” Zak protested.
“He’s twenty-two,” Aunt Georgia corrected and Zak blinked, doing the math three more times before giving up and sighing. “You’ve been away too long,” she said, her voice softer this time.
“Not long enough,” he muttered.
Guarded By The Alpha Page 5
