pounded against my door, I froze in terror. I stared down at my bare legs and panicked.
“Open up, honey,” Lakota said.
Honey? I blew out a breath. When I unlocked the door, he pushed his way inside and closed it. Then he peered through the curtains, still shirtless. At least he had his pants on.
“What are you doing in here?” I hissed.
He kept his voice low. “I don’t like the way those men have been hanging around in front of your door for the past hour.”
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “How would you know?”
“Keep your voice down,” he said. “I don’t know if they saw you or not, but if they think a white girl is in here with me, there’ll be trouble if they hear us arguing.”
Groaning, I crawled back into bed. “What century is this? I’ve been to Oklahoma several times, and I’ve never seen such a blatant display of racism.”
“You’re on the edge of Shifter territory,” he said, moving away from the window. “Where worlds collide.”
“How can you stand it?”
He sniffed. “Don’t be so quick to lump me in with these people. I blend because I have to, not because I want to.”
I rolled to the other side of the bed. “You can lie down next to me if you like. I mean… until the serial killers outside my room leave.”
All I could see were his silhouette and his hesitation. “Maybe you should put your pants on.”
“I can’t sleep in jeans.”
“I should go.”
“Then go.”
A curtain of silence fell between us.
“I can’t go,” he said, his voice rough. “Those men are still there.”
Tickled, I pulled the sheet to my chin. “Do you want me to get my bow out of the car and protect you?”
Though I couldn’t see his smile, I knew it was there.
The bed dipped low when he anchored his knee on it and flopped onto his back. His shoes hit the floor one at a time. As my eyes began to adjust to what little light was in the room, his profile came into view. Lakota’s expression was inscrutable, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he laced his fingers across his chest.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“Do you really wanna know?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”
He hesitated for a moment. “That night in the snowstorm… when I found you. I think about it a lot.”
I also spent many nights thinking about it but probably for different reasons. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It changed me somehow. When I found you, my wolf felt at peace. I haven’t known that kind of peace since. No matter how many cases I break or how many people I rescue, he’s always restless.”
“Maybe he’s a dancer trapped in a bounty hunter’s body.”
Lakota chortled and wiped his forehead. “Why’s it so damn hot in here?”
“The AC is broken.”
He turned his head toward me slowly, deliberately. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
“I wasn’t hot earlier. It’s not worth complaining about if I have to get up in a few hours. What time is it?”
“One.”
“Aren’t you afraid of blowing your cover by staying in my room?”
Lakota averted his eyes, a conflicted look on his face. “If the tribe finds out, I’ll tell them you were sick and I had to stay to make sure you didn’t keel over from Red’s cooking.”
I quirked an eyebrow and brought my arm out from beneath the covers. “Oh? Is that what you’ll tell Shikoba’s men? Or will your version be that you and I had hot sex in a motel room? That would be a juicy story for your friends, not to mention taboo in their eyes.”
He turned on his side to face me, his hair no longer bound but free and draped across his neck. “Don’t mention any of this when you go back home. Hope knows better than to ask questions, but I can’t afford anyone knowing I’m here. Word spreads like wildfire, and it wouldn’t take long before I was exposed.”
The humor faded, eclipsed by the gravity of the situation. I rolled over, our faces close enough that I could feel his breath. “I might joke around, but I would never do anything to put your life in danger.”
The chatter died down outside, and the footsteps of the men faded.
Lakota peered over his shoulder at the window. “I should go. My wolf needs to run.”
“Then take your shirt,” I said. “You can’t be running around shirtless in the morning.”
A smile was in his voice when he said, “Can’t I?”
Before he