“You can’t be serious,” Wes argued, as he and Dakota stood in the parking lot, in front of their respective vehicles. “I can’t just leave my truck here.”

“Fine, then you can just tag along behind my car,” Dakota shrugged.

“And how exactly am I supposed to learn from you when we’re in separate vehicles?”

Not to mention she might try and lose me again.

“That’d be your problem now, wouldn’t it? And we’re right back where we started,” Dakota muttered, absentmindedly making a circle in the air with her finger.

Wes had to admit, they were kind of going around in circles when it came to their discussion about how exactly they were going to make the drive down to Denver. Being in separate vehicles wasn’t going to work, and neither one of them was eager to leave their vehicle behind.

“Look, I’m not abandoning my car just because a wolf I barely know wants me to teach him the trade,” Dakota said, a hand flying to her hip. “You’re the one that insisted on tagging along, so get in the damn car,” she tilted her head toward her Toyota, “or hit the road.”

Wes’ wolf stirred beneath his skin at the challenge in Dakota’s voice, but the growl emanating from his chest was more playful than anything. Dakota was stubborn, sure, but it was better than being a pushover. And he had always liked women that didn’t take shit from anyone.

Besides, she did have a point – he was the one making demands of her time. The least he could do was not make her abandon her car.

“Fine,” he sighed, making a winning smile appear on Dakota’s face. “We’ll take your car.”

He could have one of his brothers from the pack come pick his truck up. Once he figured out a good way to let them know Dakota had discovered him tailing her, that was. Perhaps they would be pleased by this turn of events. Sitting right next to her gave him a lot more intel than following four cars behind, after all.

“Good call,” she said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“I can take the wheel if you’d like,” Wes offered.

“After you’ve been driving all night?”

“I don’t need much sleep,” Wes shrugged.

“Right,” she drew out. “Shifter perks,” she added with a sigh. “Still doesn’t mean I’m letting you drive my car, though.”

Dakota barely gave him a look before hopping into the driver’s seat.

Wes could only smile and shake his head, quickly grabbing his backpack and duffel from the truck and throwing them in the Toyota’s trunk before getting in beside Dakota.

This is going to be an interesting ride.

Throwing a grin his way, she started the car, tires squealing as she pulled away. Wes shot her a look, making a show of buckling his seatbelt as the diner was left in their rearview mirror.

“You’re trouble, aren’t you?” he commented.

“Only now figuring that out?” she laughed. “You can still back out.”

“No,” he replied. “I like trouble.”

Looking at the delicate curves of her face, Wes studied Dakota’s profile, from her narrow, straight nose to her lush lips and pointy jaw, to the long braid trailing down her back. If this was what trouble looked like, he couldn’t get enough of it.

Dakota watched him from her periphery, frowning to herself.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” she asked, flicking her eyes to the mirror.

“No,” he shrugged, turning his attention to the road. “You’re very beautiful, that’s all.”

Maybe he was tired or maybe he was just tired of the bullshit, but one way or another, he’d said what he was thinking and he didn’t feel a lick of remorse for it.

Dakota seemed to be stunned into silence for a moment, something Wes had a feeling didn’t happen often.

“You better not be hitting on me, Wes…” she stopped short. “What’s your last name, anyway?”

“Olsen,” he replied.

“Well, you better not be hitting on me, Wes Olsen. Not if you want to stay in this car,” she warned.

“If that’s your response to a compliment, I’d hate to see what you do when someone insults you,” Wes laughed, watching her cheeks turn a slightly deeper shade of pink. “And I was just making an observation.”

“Just don’t get any ideas about what this is,” she replied, careful to keep her eyes on the road. “I’ll educate you on demons, you stay out of my way and report back to your pack, telling them what a good little girl I’m being.”

“I thought you were supposed to be trouble?” Wes teased.

He held back a laugh when Dakota turned to glower at him for a moment, before rolling her eyes and focusing back on the highway stretching out in front of them. Had he known flattery was the way to knock badass demon-hunter Dakota off balance, he would have told her how gorgeous she was a lot earlier.

Yet, instead of singing her praises, he snapped his mouth shut, grinning to himself instead. She was right – she was pretty much doing him a favor by even letting him in her car, and the last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable.

They barely knew each other, so it was better to tread lightly. Once she realized he could be an asset instead of a burden, things would go a lot more smoothly.

So he settled into his seat, stretching out his legs as much as he could. Shrugging off his jacket, he tossed it onto the backseat and rested his elbow against the car window. His wolf was as happy as he was to be sharing a space with Dakota again, all but purring inside him.

Dakota’s scent filled the cab, sweet and fresh, just like when they had first met in Pinedale. It still smelled oddly familiar to both him and his wolf, and he couldn’t help but draw it deeper into his lungs.

Yet as he did, he could smell a different undercurrent to it, blossoming out from beneath her personal scent. Tangy and seductive, he recognized it immediately – desire. There was just a hint of it, just a wisp beneath the sweetness, but it couldn’t hide from him.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Dakota stealing a glance at him, quickly looking away with a carefully neutral expression on her face. Wes had to stop his grin from getting wider.

Oh, this just got a lot more interesting.