“You’re lying to me.” His tone was hard, his expression even more so.
She took a step toward him, bringing with her the scent of soap and coconut shampoo. Connor held his breath, refusing to let the alluring fragrance cloud his judgment. Everything about her got to him. The way she walked, her determination, that odd paradox of fearless vulnerability.
He wanted to sink his cock inside her and fuck her blind.
“Connor —” she started.
“You’re lying. I don’t know why and I’m not sure I care. But you’re lying.”
No mistaking the flicker of panic in her eyes. “Damn it, what more do you want to hear?”
“The truth, for one.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Can’t you just be satisfied with the story I told you?”
He chuckled despite himself. The way she phrased it – the story I told you – was all but an admission of guilt.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but the truth is the only thing that’ll satisfy me.”
“What if the truth is too awful?” Her voice rang with uneasiness. “What if it’s unforgivable?”
He shrugged. “We’ve all done awful, unforgivable things. Myself included. Hell, talk to Kade about what he did in the city before he escaped. Only difference is, we own up to it. We don’t lie to each other.”
She hesitated, lips parting as if she wanted to say more. Change her tune.
But she didn’t.
“I’ll contribute while I’m here,” she whispered. “I can help you on that raid. Cook, clean, whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?” He didn’t bother disguising the seductive note in his voice, but at the same time, he wondered why the hell he was toying with her.
“Is that it?” she challenged. “You want me to screw you in exchange for a roof over my head?”
He gave another shrug. “I don’t barter for sex. If I want to get laid, there are countless women who’d be happy to help me out – and they won’t ask for a damn thing in return.”
The relief on her face was hard to miss. But the disappointment… well, that was hard to see, unless you were looking for it. Which he was. He searched those silvery eyes, chuckling when he glimpsed the telltale gleam.
“You wanted me to say yes.” His head slanted thoughtfully. “You wanted to have the decision taken out of your hands, didn’t you?”
Her mouth tightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Connor took a predatory step forward. “You’re aching for it.”
She edged backward, until her hip bumped the corner of the table next to the bed.
He moved closer, stopping when they were less than a foot apart. “I wouldn’t get a single protest from you, would I? If I bent you over this table and fucked you hard?” A dark laugh slipped out when he saw her shiver. “Oh yeah, you’d love every second of it.”
Her gaze found his again. “You’d make sure I did. You strike me as a man who knows how to make a woman feel good.”
Connor raised a brow in surprise. He hadn’t expected an answer from her, let alone one so brazen. “I could make you feel a lot of things, Hudson. Pleasure is one. Pain is another. If you bring trouble to my door, I won’t hesitate to throw you out on your ass. Or worse.”
She straightened her back. “There won’t be any trouble. Especially if this place is as secure as I think it is.”
“Good.” With a nod, he stalked to the door.
“Connor.”
He stopped. Waited.
“Yes.”
Frowning, he shifted around so he could see her eyes. “Yes, what?”
Her head jerked to the table beside her. “If you… did what you just described… then, yes, I’d love every second of it.”
The soft, heat-laced words nearly blew the tip of his cock off.
Without a word, he stalked out of the cabin. The rock between his legs made it difficult to walk properly – and confirmed what he’d already suspected.
This woman was very, very dangerous.
“I don’t like this,” Pike announced the next morning. He shoved aside the cup of coffee Connor had dropped in front of him, but they both knew he wasn’t referring to the coffee.
“Me neither.” Xander sounded equally annoyed. “Why the hell would you bring a stranger back to camp?”
Connor frowned as he sank into the chair across from Pike’s. He’d sent Kade to grab their boys from the bar, and the man had apparently used the return trip to tell Pike and Xander all about their new guest, because it was the first thing Pike had brought up when he’d entered the lodge.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Connor muttered. “These two assholes guilt-tripped me into it.”