“Forget the cooking,” Rylan grumbled. “Thanks to Con, now I can’t stop thinking about that luscious mouth wrapped around my dick.” Connor felt the other man’s mocking eyes on him. “She got you hard, huh?”
He gritted his teeth, finally yanking on the gearshift. “Doesn’t matter. We’re still not taking her back with us.”
Rylan sighed. “You’re no fun at all, Con.”
“And you’re a fool if you think that woman isn’t trouble. She’s running from something.”
“Who isn’t?” Kade said with a laugh.
“I like trouble,” Rylan added. He opened his palm to show them the blood dripping from it. “Trouble’s fun.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “Your kind of trouble gets you an infection and robs us of our last stash of antibiotics.”
Without turning on the headlights – one of them had burned out a while ago, anyway – he pulled out of the lot. The Jeep bounced as it hit several potholes, hinting at the bumpy ride they’d endure on the way back to camp. It had been decades since any kind of road maintenance had been performed on areas outside the city walls, and that was the way the Global Council liked it. If they didn’t rebuild, people wouldn’t have anywhere to settle down and breed, and the last thing the GC wanted was for the world to get overpopulated again – resources were too scarce these days.
Since they had a good forty minutes of driving ahead of them, Connor forced himself to concentrate on the road, though it was difficult to ignore the leather-clad blonde marching along the shoulder.
“I think she gave you the finger.” Rylan chortled, twisting around in the backseat to look at the woman they’d left behind.
Connor’s hands tightened over the steering wheel. He didn’t glance in the rearview mirror until he’d put several miles between them and Hudson. But the memory of those defiant eyes refused to leave him.
Take me with you. She’d sounded so desperate. What was she running from?
Was he a total dick for shooting her down?
“We could’ve let her stay for a couple nights.” The frown marring Kade’s face confirmed that he thought yes, Connor was a major dick. “You know how tough it is to travel alone. Especially for a woman. And she said everyone in her group had been killed.”
“Keep your bleeding heart in check,” Connor grumbled. “We can’t take in every person who gives us a sob story. We can’t afford to take anyone in, period.”
“You took me in,” Kade countered.
Yeah, and Connor was beginning to regret it, what with Kade’s disapproving stare pinning him down. Having people who depended on him had robbed him of his independence. He’d been perfectly content roaming the colony in search of Dominik, and then he’d met Rylan and Pike, who’d become his shadows despite his numerous objections. Next came Xander, whom they’d encountered on a raid. And finally Kade, who’d escaped from the city and never looked back.
Four tagalongs were enough for Connor. Bringing a new player into the mix would only spell disaster.
So why was he easing up on the accelerator?
Rylan chuckled. “Aw, is someone’s conscience making an appearance?”
“Fuck off,” Connor said through clenched teeth.
He jerked the steering wheel in a U-turn, tires raising a cloud of dust. Fucking Kade and his fucking guilt trip.
“One night,” he snapped. “Two, max. And then we’re sending her on her merry fucking way.”
Neither man said a word, but Connor saw their lips twitching. Fighting back laughter. Assholes.
Up ahead, a flash of yellow caught his eye. Sure enough, Hudson was still ambling along, her black bag swinging back and forth with each step she took. Her body immediately stiffened in a defensive posture when she heard the hum of the engine.
Connor stopped on the other side of the road. “Get in,” he called, his voice carrying in the night air.
She hesitated for a moment, then dashed over without a word. She tossed the bag inside and hopped in next to Rylan, so fast that Connor had zero chance of changing his mind.
Twisting around, he scowled at her and repeated what he’d told the guys. “You can crash with us for a night or two. No longer.”
She nodded. “Fair enough.”
Fair? Uh-uh. There was nothing fair about this. Just seeing her again made his body tighten with arousal.
Their gazes connected, and along with gratitude and slight amusement he saw something else flickering in her eyes.
Anticipation.