Mitchell?” Clint asked.
Tad ignored him, and focused on his mate.
“It’s time to go.”
“I’m not ready yet,” she sassed back.
“Don’t care,” he said.
He bent down, grabbed her thighs, and lifted her over his shoulder.
“Well, okay then,” she giggled.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mitchell?” Clint barked.
“It’s none of your business, Clint,” Declan warned.
Grateful his brother had his back, Tad turned and headed toward the door with an arm firmly clamped around his mate’s thick thighs. She laughed the entire time, swinging her arms behind him like a rag doll.
“You’re amazing,” she babbled. “I’ve never met a man who could lift me over his shoulder. Where are we going? I like your ass! Can I grab it?”
Luckily, they’d already reached the parking lot.
Before he could answer, she grabbed his flesh in both hands and he nearly came in his pants. Holding her was a challenge, and he couldn’t handle her roaming hands, too.
His free hand came down on her ass, but her reaction was the opposite of what he expected. Instead of feeling chastised, she squealed in delight, and his knees nearly buckled from the scent of her arousal.
“Oooo… I’ve never been spanked before. Hit me again, bad boy.”
Her laughter belied the serious tone of her request, but his mind zeroed in on the most important thing. She was begging him to spank her.
Fucking hell!
When he didn’t immediately comply, she started wiggling her ass.
“Stop squirming,” he barked, purposefully keeping his hands to himself. If he smelled her arousal again, he might not make it to his truck. “I’m not going to spank you again.”
“Awww… You’re no fun,” she pouted.
His noncompliance seemed to knock the fight out of her, and they reached his vehicle without another word. He opened the door, placed her on the seat, and reached around her to fasten the seatbelt.
“You’re pretty,” she said quietly, smelling his hair, “and you smell good, too.”
He smiled at her, thankful sleep seemed to be taking over.
“Thank you,” he said. “I think you’re pretty, too.”
“Liar,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “You’re not interested .”
She half-heartedly raised her arms to make air quotes with her fingers, and passed out after one quote.
Tad made sure all her limbs were completely inside the cab, and closed the door.
He couldn’t deny that it felt good to hold her in his arms, but that didn’t matter. He’d rescued her because it was the right thing to do, nothing more, and in the morning he would send her on her way.
He didn’t want a mate. Period.
Chapter Two
Audrey woke up and squinted at the bright light streaming through the crack in the curtain. Her room in the Bed and Breakfast was meant for a couple who rose before the sun, and she didn’t qualify. Pain shot through her skull, and she grabbed an extra pillow to cover her face, closed her eyes, and turned away from the light.
She inhaled deeply, hoping the lavender fragrance of the fabric softener would soothe the ache in her head, and stiffened. The not-so-subtle difference in the scent of the bedding caused her to open her eyes and survey the room.
Not the Bed and Breakfast.
Shit!
She sat up quickly, and fought off a wave of nausea as she took in the simple décor. Dark brown wood framed a matching dresser, headboard, and nightstand, and dark, midnight blue bedding covered the half of the bed she hadn’t slept in. The sight of the folded over comforter, blanket and extra pillows provided some comfort, but she breathed an audible sigh of relief when she realized her clothes were still intact.
The ankle boots she’d worn the night before were placed neatly by the door, side-by-side, and her cell-phone, car keys and cash waited for her on the nightstand next to a bottle of water and a container of ibuprofen.
The seal on the water hadn’t been broken, and she swallowed three of the pills before she