We left Scarlett and Shadow on the island as we followed the bears to their hotel. Something about finalizing the details, though I was in no mood for such things. I just wanted—no, needed—to get Angelita home. To run my hands over every inch of her and make sure she was safe. To deal with the fact that she’d casually knifed me in the heart by leaving me behind.

So yeah, no time to deal with the bears. And yet, there we stood.

“Thank you so much for all your help. You’ve honestly given me such a gift with this.” Shiloh sounded genuine, completely satisfied with Angelita’s work. Good. She damn well should be considering the girl technically did two jobs for her and her brother. “I hope to see you again sometime.”

Never, but Angelita was more diplomatic than I was at the moment.

“A mate for a mate, that was the deal,” Angelita said. “But next time, try to get the habits of the guy we’re stealing from right.”

“Or try not to knock out an entire building’s electricity.”

“I make no promises.”

Harley huffed, his voice like gravel. “Yeah, thanks for getting the idol, little wolf.”

Nope. Not getting away with that. “Two idols.”

“Two idols.” At least he agreed with me. The sound of clothes rustling reached my ears, and then the bear sighed. “A deal is a deal, though two events make this a more valuable transaction.”

“How valuable?” Angelita asked. There wasn’t an answer, just the scratchy sound of fingers on something rough. And then her breath whooshed out of her. “Okay, so really valuable.”

Money. Harley must have paid her for her work.

He laughed, the roughness of his voice grating. “Don’t be so obvious next time, kid. I’d have paid you more if you’d asked for it.”

“I could ask for it now.”

“Don’t push your luck.” His voice changed, and his footsteps drew nearer to me. “Goodbye, Julian. It was nice to meet you.”

Angelita touched my elbow, and I reached forward, offering my hand. Harley grabbed it in his meaty one, surrounding mine completely, and shook.

“You’ve got quite a mate there,” he said, but he had no idea.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Be thankful, son. The fates don’t bless all of us so easily.” He withdrew his hand. “Take care of her.”

And wasn’t that like pouring gasoline on a flame? “I would if she’d ever let me.”

Angelita grabbed my hand, holding tight as the three of them finished up their small talk and said their goodbyes. Me? I burned beside her. Something dark and scary bubbling up inside me. Something that had taken hold and drowned out the fear the moment I knew Angelita was all right. And I was ready to let it boil over.

We were headed down to the parking lot where the car we’d borrowed again from Rebel sat waiting for us when Angelita asked, “Are you really mad?”

I had no words for how much. “Furious.”

“I wasn’t trying to keep you from the job.”

“Yes, you were.” When we reached the car, I opened Angelita’s door for her, even though she would be driving, then hurried to the passenger side to get in, keeping my fingers on the warm hood since I’d forgotten how many steps I needed to move across the vehicle. Counting was such a habit at this point, practically an instinct. The fact that I hadn’t only exemplified how thrown off I’d been by her actions earlier.

As I slipped inside, Angelita whispered, “Do you need me to—”

And the chain around my temper broke. “I’m not fucking helpless, Angelita. I don’t need you protecting me all the time.”

She didn’t respond at first. Didn’t acknowledge my words as she started the car and pulled out of the lot. She didn’t speak again until we made it to the bridge.

“I know I was wrong, Julian. I shouldn’t have left without you, and I’m sorry.”

The boiling eased, but I held fast to my anger. I wasn’t ready to give in yet, to accept. Or maybe I was just ready for something else. Another form of hashing things out. If the fact that my cock was so hard it leaked were any indication, then we’d deal with our disagreement in bed.

She needed to drive faster.

“Do you want to know how much money we made?” Angelita asked as she made a turn that had to be onto the lake road.

“No.” Three minutes. We’d be home in three minutes, then she was mine. I could lay out how much she hurt me, give her a chance to apologize, then sink deep inside her and prove to that instinctual part of me that she was all right. Whole. And mine. Always fucking mine.

Angelita sighed, her voice practically trembling. “Do you want—”

“Can we not? I can’t pretend I’m not so fucking mad at you right now. If you don’t give me a minute, I’m going to have you pull over this car and I’ll fuck you right on the side of the road because I can’t hold myself back. Just get us home.”

Angelita went quiet. Completely, utterly silent other than the quickening rasp of her breath. She knew what I needed, how much I wanted her. Hell, I always wanted her. Wanted to feel her skin under mine as I touched and tasted every inch of her. I’d been terrified that something had happened to her when Scarlett had told me she’d left the job site. Terrified and completely helpless all at once. I’d never felt the loss of my sight as a burden until that moment, sitting in the coffee shop, knowing I couldn’t track her down without help. And now, the adrenaline those moments had caused to swell was well on the way to crashing, and my need to prove I could handle her, to reclaim her as mine and fuck her through the mattress, was too strong to resist. There was no way we weren’t having sex as soon as we got home. I could practically smell her arousal already, could hear how fast her breaths came. She was in the same boat—needy, desperate, and turned on after the jobs she’d done tonight.

When the sound of gravel under the tires met my ears, I shifted in my seat. I only had about a minute left to wait for her. My cock twitched, ready to bust out of my pants all on its own. Aching and wet with need for my mate. Fuck, I’d never been so turned on, which made everything about the delay that much harder to deal with. Seconds felt like hours, every mile endless.

Until they weren’t.

Angelita pulled onto pavement and slowed to a stop. Home. I threw open my door and rushed out of the car, but then I froze. I’d been distracted as she’d pulled in and couldn’t figure out which way to go. I closed my useless fucking eyes and sighed.

“Lee. Which way?”

She stood at my side in a second, giving me her elbow and leading me toward the garage. Without a word, she put my hand on the railing of the stairs. Relief settled over me, but that didn’t last long. I still wanted, still needed her. I still couldn’t wait to taste her all over. I didn’t need to see her to give her pleasure, didn’t need sight to make her come. To suck on her little clit and fill her pussy until she became a writhing, screaming mess. Which was exactly what I was going to do…once we got inside my place.

We climbed the stairs in unison, my hand brushing hers with every step. About halfway up, she whimpered, the sound going straight to my cock. So I smacked her ass.

“Faster.”

Angelita practically ran up the last of the steps while I followed right behind her. Yeah, she was just as ready as I was. Just as primed. Thank God for that.

When I got to the door, I didn’t reach for my keys. Instead, I pinned Angelita against it, using my hips to hold her in place. Caging her in with my arms.

I couldn’t keep the growl from my voice. “You really pissed me off tonight.”

“I know.” She trembled under me, the scent of her need telling me it wasn’t fear making her do so. It was need. For me.

Slowing down for just a moment, I took the time to run a finger down her face, over her chin, and along her bottom lip. Tugging there just to hear her gasp. “I was so scared and fucking angry that you didn’t trust me to help you. That you didn’t even tell me you were changing locations.”

“I know that too.”

I slipped my thumb inside her mouth, nearly groaning when she bit down before sucking it inside. Jesus, fuck, she was going to make me come in my pants if she kept that up. “Don’t ever fucking leave me out again.”

She released my thumb, whispering, “Never.”

I’d take her word…for now. So I handed her my keys, grabbed her hips, and flipped her until she faced the door. Her quiet squeak turned into a throaty moan when I leaned into her body, pressing my cock against her ass.

“Good. Now open this door so I can fuck you until you can’t walk.”