Chapter 4

Sloane stepped into the suite Mateo had secured for them on the twentieth floor. Two chairs and a small sofa had been placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the city as the sun slipped below the horizon. Neither had luggage or anything to sort out, so she stood there in the center of the room, looking anywhere but at him.

She was nuts. Certifiable. She didn’t know this man, yet here she was, alone in a hotel room with him. And all because he’d told her she was in danger. For all she knew, the man was more dangerous than the supposed hunters he’d helped her flee. She crossed to the window, turning her back on him, which in and of itself wasn’t a smart move. He may be her mate, but he was still a stranger—one who had a lot of explaining to do.

Hunters weren’t new. They’d been around since the beginning of time. But why would they be in the city? She’d left her rural home after her parents had died because it hadn’t been safe to remain alone. It wasn’t like they could shoot down a dragon in a mall or on a busy street. Dragons didn’t shift in the city. If they needed to stretch their wings, they went beyond the city limits and took flight. But if what Mateo had said was true, then she wasn’t any safer here than she was back home. And although each of those questions was valid and needed answers, the one that burned through her most had nothing to do with danger—or hunters, for that matter—and everything to do with the woman in the café.

She lifted her gaze to meet his in the window’s reflection. “Is she your lover?”

He took a couple of steps closer and reached for her shoulders. Even if she’d not been watching him, she would have felt the heat of his palms before they made contact. He turned her to face him. When she stared at his shoulder rather than meeting his gaze, he tipped her chin up with the tip of his finger, forcing her to look him in the eye.

“No. That woman has never been, and never will be, my lover. I’m sorry about what happened today. About what you saw.” He hadn’t pretended he didn’t know what she was talking about, which she appreciated. His gaze also didn’t falter. Another plus for him. The fact that she could still smell the woman’s perfume on his clothing irritated her, and even worse, it agitated her dragon.

“You stink of her,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“I know. I’ll shower after we talk.”

The thought of him naked with water sluicing over his body had her nipples puckering and heat pooling between her thighs.

“I want you to take your shirt off.” She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting. Mateo looked sincere, but if the woman’s smell was on his skin, she’d know he was lying.

“And if I do, will you take off your dress?” He grinned, showing a row of straight, white teeth as he reached for the top button of his shirt and undid it.

“I’m not the one who was rubbing up against someone else a few hours ago.” She probably shouldn’t have said it, but the nasty perfume was getting to her. Maybe he should have a shower. It might save them both some frustration.

Sloane couldn’t keep her gaze from following his hands as he moved on to the next button, then the next. Mateo didn’t stop until his shirt hung open. He shrugged out of it and tossed it toward the door. Before she could guess at what he was doing, he went over to the phone. Pale scars crossed his massive chest, wrapping around his back.

“I need immediate laundry service in room 2041,” he listened to the person at the other end of the line. “Thank you.”

When he hung up, he turned to her again, his hands going to his belt buckle. He kept his gaze glued to hers as he pulled the leather from each loop, then tossed it to one of the chairs. He pulled his wallet and cell from his back pocket and placed them on the bedside table.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice not quite steady.

“I’m removing my clothes to have them laundered. It seems my mate doesn’t like the smell of the cheap perfume still clinging to them, so I thought I’d get rid of it for her.”

He slipped the button out of its hole. She held her breath at the soft rasp of the zipper sliding down.

“But we have to talk,” she said. She really should stop staring at Mateo’s lower abdomen, but it was all hard lines and muscle, and she couldn’t quite manage to tear her gaze away.

“We do. And we will. But first, I’m going to get out of my jeans. The question is, do I remove my boxers or leave them on?”

Her gaze flew up to meet his. His grin made her heart race faster than his little striptease had. Damn, the man was sexy when he smiled. Really smiled. The one he’d flashed to the woman at Cuppa Joe’s was nothing compared to what he shone her way now. He quirked an eyebrow up, waiting for her answer.

“You should leave them on. For now,” she added.

Mateo hooked his thumbs in the waist of his jeans and pulled the denim over his hips, down his legs, and off. He stuffed them, along with his shirt, into a bag he found in the closet, then dropped them outside the door.

He placed the do not disturb sign on the doorknob before locking them in and turning to her. His smile was gone, but the heat in his gaze had her taking a small step back—not that she planned to get away, but the intensity in his look left her reeling.

“I thought you wanted to inspect me, Sloane?” A tingle rushed through her at the sound of her name in his deep, raspy tone.

She pushed the sensation aside and held her head high. “I don’t have to.” For some reason, getting close enough to sniff his skin didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore. She’d likely want to get closer, and maybe lick him, and then what? She wouldn’t want to stop.

“You do. And I want you to,” Mateo told her. He stopped a couple of feet away from her.

“Why?”

“Because I need you to know that I’ve told the truth. I want you to be certain with the knowledge that I haven’t been out fucking another woman all afternoon. Now that I’ve found you, no other woman will ever touch my body that way—just as I expect no other male will come near you.”

The possessiveness should have had her backpedaling to get away, but that, combined with the growl he ended the sentence with, had her nipples budding tight. She took a small step forward, then another until a couple of inches of air separated them. She leaned in and closed her eyes but kept her hands to herself. He smelled…amazing. The same spicy scent that had made her want him so desperately in the coffee shop filled her senses. She still got the faint stench of the woman’s perfume, but it wasn’t potent enough to have been against his skin. She took another deep breath, pressing closer still. His body heat surrounded her, and she sighed.

“I take it you approve?” he asked her, startling her out of her few seconds of bliss.

When she opened her eyes, her nose all but touched his chest. Unable to resist, she took one last sniff as she straightened. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, I’m going to kiss you.” An incidental fact? A warning? Whatever it was, she didn’t have time to react before he had her crushed against him, his fingers tangled in her hair and her head tilted up. He brought his lips down on hers, gentle at first, then deepening the kiss when she sighed and parted them for him.