****
Briar woke suddenly when a vacuum started up next door. Her eyes flew open to find gray light seeping in from around the edges of the blinds, her body automatically tensing as she registered the motel room, the hard, warm body spooned against her back.
Matt.
She relaxed. He shifted and tightened his arm around her ribs and she allowed herself a few minutes to lie there and enjoy the peacefulness, the feel of him. Even as the memory of Janaia’s face at the morgue hit, having Matt holding her like this took the sharpest edge of the grief away. It’d been so long since she’d stayed the night with a man. Not since her ex-boyfriend, the user loser. It went against her nature to let her guard down like this but she already had last night so she didn’t see the point in worrying about it now.
And Matt…he was a good man. Being with him like this made her wonder what her life might have been like if her parents hadn’t died when she was so young. She’d have grown up secure and loved, protected and doted on by her parents. Would she have gone to college, found a normal job, then eventually met someone and settled down?
A tiny, secret part of her still wanted that. A family of her own, a place where she belonged.
“Morning,” he whispered, his voice a sleepy rumble against the back of her shoulder.
“Morning.” God, he was so warm and solid. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this safe.
“Get any sleep?”
“A bit. You?”
“Best sleep I’ve had in a while.” He hugged her closer, making her vividly aware of how big he was, how hard all over compared to her as his erection swelled against her rear. “And you feel so damn good I don’t wanna get up. Well, most of me, anyway.” She heard the smile in his voice. Heat spread beneath her skin at the evidence of how much he wanted her, his breath fanning the back of her neck. It was such a relief that he wasn’t letting things be awkward between them this morning.
As much as she longed to turn off her mind, ignore the danger they were in and give in to another taste of the oblivion he’d showed her last night, she knew she couldn’t. Not without losing more of herself to this man, and she’d already lost more than she could afford. “I’ve been thinking about what I should do.”
He went still behind her and she continued. “I’ll make my way south, maybe head into Mexico. And with me officially declared dead, you won’t be under suspicion. You can go back to Virginia—”
“No.”
She turned her head slightly on the pillow, trying to see him. “What?”
“No,” he repeated, his tone firm. Gripping her shoulder, he turned her to face him. Briar laid her head on the pillow to find him staring at her, a fierce frown on his face. “We’re not splitting up now.”
He couldn’t mean that. “You’ve already gone above and beyond for me. You’ll hurt your career, your reputation.”
“Not if we clear your name. And I’m not walking away from you. We’re going to find out who’s done all this. Together.”
The way he said it put a knot in her throat. How could he lay everything on the line for her, a virtual stranger, and a dangerous one at that? She had enemies, people in the government who wanted her dead. Sure they’d just slept together, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything to him. She swallowed. “I can’t ask that of you.”
“Fine. So I’m volunteering.”
She shook her head. “Matt—”
“I love the way you say my name, but the answer’s still no. I’m sticking with you. Or you’re stuck with me. However you want to look at it.”
The man was unbelievable. She looked away before he could read the emotions she was trying to hide. “I don’t want to ruin your life.”
“You won’t, and this is my decision. Have some faith in me, okay?”
She looked back at him. “I do have faith in you. More than I have in anyone else.”
He smoothed a lock of hair away from her cheek, his expression so tender and possessive it sent a thrill through her. “Then let me help. I have friends who I can contact. They’ll keep everything off the record, and I won’t tell them you’re still alive. All we need is one good break to start hunting, then we’ll nail whoever’s done this.”
A funny squeezing sensation in her chest made it hard to breathe for a moment. Reaching out a finger, she toyed with his HOG’s tooth, suspended from a cord around his neck. The bullet was smooth, warm from his body heat. She prayed it did its job and always protected him from an enemy’s bullet.
“All right,” she relented. “But if things get worse, I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for me.” She cared about him too much, wanted him to be happy and safe, for him to go back to saving the world with his HRT guys. If she had to walk away and lose him forever to keep him safe, she’d do it no matter how much it hurt.