Page 27 of Winters Heat

“I’m a lot of things, doll. But worried about getting hurt ain’t one of them. Now, if you don’t mind, feed me macho shit or shut that pretty trap of yours.”

Crazy woman. Worrying about him. Questioning him.

“All right, here we go.” He pushed them from the wall. “Time to convince our audience we’re headed to bed.”

She took a step back, pulling from him, batting at his bicep. He mirrored her dance, tugged on her shirt, and tried to close the distance toward the corner of the motel.

It wasn’t a hard role to play. He wanted in that motel room more than he’d ever wanted a woman in a bed.

Her head dropped back. Fake, flirtatious laughter floated in the air as she played her role well. Their game ignited Winters’s contempt for the men watching them. Watching her. She was a sight to see, and he’d hurt them for their mere enjoyment.

He lifted her in one fluid motion, her bare feet fluttering inches over the ground, and he walked backwards, one slow step at a time, nuzzling the rasp of his cheek against her skin.

Training was his savior as she moaned for him. If he didn’t have a pinpoint focus on the enemy, he’d be out of control, attempting anything and everything to hear that sound again and again and again.

They rounded the corner, and Winters pinned Mia against the wall, caging her. She had nowhere to go, yet his breath caught in his throat at the sheer power she held over him.

“You’re sexy as sin.” He placed a finger over her mouth in a show of silence.

His rough finger looked harsh against her lips. He wished her tongue would flick out and run the length of his finger onto his palm. He imagined the wet heat wicking across his skin, and it shot all the way to his cock. Talk about inappropriate timing for a dirty fantasy.

Mia untangled herself from his hold without complaint and without any more ludicrous questions about his safety. She had no idea what thoughts crossed his mind. He had to laugh, then turned toward the corner.

Winters heard enemy footsteps fast approaching. He held his hand up to her, reissuing the order to stay put and mum.

The first man came broadside. Winters struck out at him, fist balled with lightning-like wrath. Like a shot of caffeine, it rushed through him with energizing satisfaction.

The second man rushed into the fight, uncoordinated. Winters’s punch plowed into doughy flesh. It gave a dull thud as the man stumbled back and dropped.

Man number one reappeared, and Winters grabbed his throat, forcing his carotid artery closed. He needed another ten seconds until the man would go limp. It’d be great if man number two would take longer than that to rebound. Trying to keep the other man down, Winters heeled number two’s face onto the pavement. Just a little more time.

Five. Four. Three. Go to sleep, fucker.

Man one gasped against Winters’s hold, eyes bulging and veins popping. Sweat poured off him, strings of saliva running out the side of his open mouth.Shit.Man number two rolled loose and jumped back to his feet, jabbing with a knife.

Winters kept his hand on the man’s throat. Waiting for lights out. He evaded a stab, jumping to the side in this game of Swiss Army hopscotch. The need to kill crawled through him. He wanted them to pay but didn’t need the overkill. Mia shouldn’t witness the aftereffects of it.

And goodnight. Man one was definitely out. His legs stopped flailing. His arms hung limp. Winters dropped him onto the ground.One down, one to go.

Man number two tried for another stab. Winters snagged the offending hand, twisting an arm back and up. The knife clattered to the parking lot. The man’s shoulder popped. He howled. Winters landed a punch to his head, knocking him silent, then dropped him on top of the other.Assholes. You shouldn’t have fucked with my girl.

CHAPTER TEN

Winters toed the bodies, rummaged through their pockets, and pulled out a set of car keys before he turned to Mia. Frozen in place, she hadn’t moved from the wall, manning her assigned spot. Her jaw was tight, her lips pressed into a straight line, and her eyes as round as the backlit O in the motel sign high overhead. Her skin had paled in the dark night.

Ah, man. He’d worked so hard to make her trust him. To make her think he was safe. Now, her face screamed stranger danger, and her stance said the woman was about to beat feet. All in all, she’d reverted back to when he pulled the shoulder toss move on her post-airport.

“Mia, honey.”

Her jaw dropped and hung wordlessly.Not good. Not. Good. At. All.

“It’s a really bad time for you to go into shock.”

“Not. Shock.”

“Whatever it is, I need you to snap out of it.”

“I’m safe. You… Took care of them, just like you said.”

---