He leaned forward and his luscious lips met with mine, easing into a deep kiss. His tongue filled my mouth, and his kiss was so hot that I expired right then and there.
Jericho’s kiss abruptly ended, and he pulled me in with a magnetic gaze to answer my question. “I’ll know when I see you in that shirt again that you love me.”
Chapter 26
Leaving Isabelle alone in that motel room was a testament to his strength, but Jericho reluctantly did the right thing. A woman going through heat wasn’t in her right frame of mind, and expecting her to work out relationship stuff was unrealistic.
Especially after having hot, delicious sex on a dresser. Man, it was even better than the first time. Not just because of how blissfully good her sweet apple pie was—it had everything to do with the way she watched him with hooded eyes. The way she lay down for him, how creamy her skin looked against his tanned hands, her red hair splayed across the wood, and the sensual feel of her thighs wrapped around his waist. It was abso-fucking-amazing. Enough to make his wolf howl.
Turns out, he’d spent an hour in her motel room. Didn’t seem like it, but Denver had taken off by the time Jericho made it to the parking lot. So he began walking and gave Joker a call to let him know he wasn’t going to make the show.
“We can’t cancel, man. Where the fuck are you?”
“Send Trev into the lion’s pit,” Jericho suggested.
“You want him to take your place?”
“Make it or break it time. Unless you wanna sing.”
“Hell no.”
Jericho hung up the phone, and his mind drifted back to Isabelle. As tempting as it was to go back, he wasn’t about to start up a relationship based on sex with the one woman who mattered to him. Then again, it was too late for that.
He kicked a beer can and realized he was strolling down the street wearing a woman’s tank top and a thin sheen of sex sweat on his face.
“I didn’t know you were turning tricks,” a voice said from a car on his left. Jericho glanced at the vintage Camaro as Wheeler leaned over to the passenger side. “Get in, sweetheart,” he said with a dark chuckle.
Jericho opened the door and sank into the seat. “How the hell did you find me?”
“Denver. He’s pissed off. Guess he thought he was getting some tail going out with the rock star.”
That made Jericho feel like shit, but Denver would get over it. He was insufferably picky, and chances are he wouldn’t have hooked up with a girl anyhow.
Wheeler rubbed his nose. “You smell like sex.”
“You smell like peanuts.”
A bag appeared in front of Jericho’s face, pinched between Wheeler’s fingers. “Take some. I bought the unsalted ones by accident.”
“I can sweat on them if you like,” he suggested, pushing the bag away. “I called Joker about tonight’s show—Trevor’s going in my place.”
“That what you’re upset about?”
Jericho fumbled through the glove compartment and swept his hand beneath the seat. “You got any smokes in here?”
“No smoking in my car. ’Preciate ya.”
Wheeler reached into a bag between the seats and grabbed a flat stick of beef jerky, which he immediately began gnawing on.
“Way to perpetuate the stereotype,” Jericho said. “Want a dog biscuit when you’re done to freshen your breath?”
“Shut the fuck up,” he muttered, still chewing.
Jericho noticed Wheeler had grown some stubble along his jaw. He reached out and poked Wheeler’s cheek, only to get a retaliatory punch in his chest. “You should let it all grow in instead of that scruff around your chin. Or shave it all off. Women like men who are decisive. Your facial hair looks like it’s having an identity crisis.”
Wheeler slanted his eyes at Jericho’s ensemble. “You buy that shirt on clearance in the misses department, sweetheart?”
“Don’t be an asshat. Where are we going?”
“Had a thought running in my head. You know that prick who played bobbing for apples with your girl? It just so happens he’s at home. Reno’s been scoping out his place the last couple of days, and he sticks to a routine. He’s a Shifter—that much we verified—but I don’t know what his animal is. All I know is he owns a damn cat.”
All humor evaporated from their banter. A wave of fury rolled through Jericho as his wolf snarled and snapped from within, demanding to be uncaged.
“Feel like paying him an unexpected visit?” Wheeler suggested. The motor thrummed an answer as the car increased in speed.
***
Wheeler shut off the headlights and the hot engine made tapping sounds.
“You sure he’s home?” Jericho asked. “It looks dark in there.”
“Maybe he went beddy-bye,” Wheeler said, rubbing the scruff on his chin. “Little pig, little pig, let us in.”