I moved closer to her, but I didn’t make any move to touch her. “Why wouldn’t they send one of their own? If they were going to kill you, they have the best assassins money can buy. Why hire a werewolf?”
“I thought the same thing at first. But maybe Nero figured I would recognize their people?”
“Maybe.” But I wasn’t convinced. “Any other ideas?”
Her eyes met mine. “Sebastian’s been helping me from the inside. Mr. Severino heads up Nero for a reason. He’s a paranoid control-freak. If he even suspected I was getting help from someone within the organization, he wouldn’t hesitate to bring in a werewolf. That way even his own people wouldn’t know what he had planned.”
“Or Sebastian set you up.” Just saying his name put a bad taste in my mouth. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but his top priority is himself. Maybe Nero made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
“If that were true the werewolf would know exactly where I’m staying. He’d have already made the grab.”
“You’re telling me that asshole knows you’re here?” I clenched my jaw, biting back a few other choice names for the jaguar.
Her eyes narrowed. “He made my reservation. And before you get all high and mighty you should keep in mind that I’ve done just fine up until this point without your help. I’m not a damsel in distress, so you can come down off Neanderthal mountain there.”
I raised my eyebrows at her verbal slam. “Neanderthal mountain?”
Her lips started to curl at the corners into a sexy smile that left me temporarily defenseless. I could only hope she never discovered the power she wielded. Damn, I was in trouble.
“Yes. Neanderthal mountain. Where all the men go to slap their fists against their chests and fight each other for their women.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. “All right, you win. I’m off the mountain.” I caught her staring at me, but she quickly turned away. “Maybe we can lure him out, let him think he found us, but we’ll be ready for him.” I glanced over at her bag. “We can find a mall or something, go out in the open and let him see us. I’m going to need some extra clothes if we’re staying here for a few more days anyway.”
“We should get you a room, too.”
“I think we should stick together until we catch this guy.”
Sasha shook her head. “Having you here would just be a distraction.”
I clenched my jaw. How much longer could we ignore the huge elephant standing in the center of the room?
“Is this about the kiss?”
“No.” She shifted her weight to one foot, pushing her hip out slightly. “But I don’t think we should do that again.”
I raised a brow. “No?”
“We’ve got to get this guy, wolf.”
Apparently she still wasn’t going to call me by my name. But she wasn’t shooting me with a Taser either.
Baby steps.
“We have to stay focused.” Her gaze met mine. “It was one thing when he was just after me, but he knows about my sister now. I need to end this before she gets hurt.”
“We need to end this. We’re on the same team, remember?”
She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t deny it. “If we’re going to get you a room and some clothes, we’d better get going. Maybe we’ll get lucky and pick up his trail.”
She grabbed her room key and phone, every movement fluid and noiseless. Her soft cashmere sweater hugged her curves as she pulled her trench coat on. Even with the coat and her slacks, I caught the outline of her guns when she moved. She was sexy and deadly all wrapped up in one curvy combination.
In a strange way, I felt a burst of pride that she was my mate. I ground my teeth together in silent censure. When did I turn into such a naïve idiot? Sasha was many things, but “mine” wasn’t one of them.
Now that I’d tasted her lips, I was most definitely hers. Whether she wanted me or not.
Chapter Ten
Sasha
We stepped out of the hotel room, and the wolf took my hand. My fingers started lacing with his before I realized it and pulled my hand away.
“Why are you holding my hand?”
He gave his broad shoulders a little shrug. “We’ll look less conspicuous if people think we’re a couple out for the night. If he’s watching, he might think we let our guard down and make his move.”
I pressed my lips together as I gave a single nod of my head. I had no clue why his answer disappointed me, but it did. Maybe the kiss in my room was all an act too. A trick to lure me into trusting him.
It would be much easier to stop obsessing over it if he hadn’t been so damned good. My lips still tingled. All this unwanted attraction wasn’t getting me any closer to finding the bastard following me.
He took my hand again and pressed the elevator button with his other hand. The doors finally opened, and the moment they closed again I yanked my fingers free.
He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“No sense pretending when no one else is around.”
I took some satisfaction in seeing the crease in his brow, but as soon as we hit the lobby and the doors slid open, he grabbed my hand again. I rolled my eyes but played along. For now.
As we walked toward the hotel doors, I tugged him to the front desk. I smiled at the flustered desk clerk. “Excuse me, we just got married, and we love anime.” I glanced up at the wolf, relishing the shock on his face. Two could play this game, and I’d worked undercover enough that I was pretty sure I was better at pretending than he would ever be. “Is there any way we could get a room for a few days?”
The clerk didn’t need to know I already had a room, and the honeymoon suite could go on the wolf’s bill.
“Congratulations. Umm…let me see…” His fingers burst into a flurry of keystrokes, only to sigh. He finally shook his head. “Sorry. With the Anime Expo in town, I won’t have a room available until Monday.”
Shit. I really thought the newlywed act would work. The wolf’s piercing green eyes met mine, and he started to smile before turning his attention back on the desk clerk. “Thanks for trying. We really appreciate it.”
The wolf would be staying in my room after all. Perfect.
The clerk let out a relieved breath. “If you want to make a reservation for Monday, please let us know.”
“Will do.”
I waited until we were outside to speak. “You staying in my room is a big mistake.”
He stared down at me and started to grin. My determination faded like the stars at sunrise. Seeing him smile made the guilt inside of me swell. I had Tasered and shot this man. I shouldn’t warrant a smile from him.
“Believe it or not, I do have some self-control.” He squeezed my hand. “This isn’t some kind of ploy to hit on you. I can sleep on the pull-out sofa. You won’t even know I’m there.”
It was impossible for me not to know when he was close to me. His scent enticed my heightened senses, and my growing desire to hear his voice and see his smile didn’t help either. The problem wasn’t him.
It was me.
But if rooming together wasn’t going to distract him, then I’d be sure I didn’t let it distract me either.
“Fine.” I reached for my keys, when I remembered my stalker might have put a tracker on my car. “Can we take your car? I haven’t checked mine over for bugs yet so I parked mine a good walk away from the hotel.”
“Sure.” He handed his ticket to the valet and took his keys in trade.
“Where is it?”
He pointed at a sleek, shiny black car that oozed pure speed even though it was standing still.
My eyes widened a little. “The Lotus?”
He grinned with a nod. “You like it?”