Winters Heat (Titan) Read Online Free PDF Page A

time in anything he had to say.
    “I’d like to think so, though I’m sure many would disagree.” He smiled, showing lots of teeth. It was too much. Too fake. He knew it and was sure she knew it, too. “If I were going to hurt you, I’d have done it by now. You’re baggage I don’t need. But we seem to want the same thing, and I’m curious enough about you to slow my return until I get a few questions answered.”
    “Why are you curious? You have what you wanted.”
    He didn’t know what to say next. Awkward wasn’t his thing, but today, he aced it. “What do you do? For work. What type of business are you in, Mia?”
    “I thought we weren’t answering questions with questions.”
    Smooth move . He needed to change tactics.
    “We should get ice for your face.” He pulled into another motel parking lot and turned around in his seat to stare at her. “Stay put. Please.”
    Mia nodded and remained in place, though he wasn’t sure why. Nor was he sure why he tacked on the please . He placed a handful of zip tie cuffs on the dashboard.
    “I don’t need these. Take it as a show of trust you’ll sit and stay.”
    He wouldn’t tie her up, and she wouldn’t run. He could tell by her body language. In all likelihood, that was because he still had the package, and she wanted it. Whatever her motives, he didn’t care. As long as she listened.
    He moved fast, secured a room, grabbed an ice bucket, and returned to the truck. He held his breath, hoping she was still there—and she was. He ignored the smile tugging at his cheeks.
    Through the window, she studied him as though she had something to say. Her eyes moved from his head and drifted the length of his body, down to the asphalt, and up again. With each sweep, she analyzed him: his chest, his arms, his legs, even the scar on his face. He was feet away, but her intensity made it feel like mere inches. She held his gaze, mouth poised to speak.
    Mia broke their stare and focused on the empty parking lot. So much for getting into her head, learning anything about her. He rounded the hood and hopped in the truck.
    If she didn’t look like saccharine personified, he’d assume she was just checking him out. But nah. Not this one. This one didn’t cross men like him, and he didn’t hang out with women as soft and touchable as her. He shook his head clear. Soft and sweet , rather. Touchable wasn’t something he needed to ponder.
    He pulled the truck to the rear lot and unlocked the doors and disengaged the child safety locks, then gave her a nod. Her clothes were dirty. The cardigan set was dingy. Very unlike a librarian. Bruises grew darker on her otherwise flawless complexion. He should have killed those fuckers in that motel room instead of tying them to a table. But there wasn’t a point in focusing on the past. Training should have kept regret from his head. But he continued to think of ways those men should’ve paid for hurting her.
    She got out, ignoring him. He grabbed his box of Dots and dumped a handful into his palm, downing them with a mind-clearing gulp.
    He threw open his door, got out, and locked the truck behind him, then he leaned on the hood. Mia stood there, feet planted amongst the parking lot weeds. He lofted the key over the truck hood. She grabbed it from the air, surprising him, and looked at the room number. Her fingers played over the plastic card, and she gnawed on her swollen lip without moving from him.
    “Go there. Room 102. Right at the end.” He held up the bucket. “I’ll get some ice.”
    Mia nodded with a half-hearted smile and turned toward the room. The way she walked, the way she swayed... He noticed. Big time. His pulse beat faster, and his eyes tracked her movements. Nothing to do with watching out for her, and everything to do with taking in the sight. He rubbed the scruff on his face and stalked to the ice machine.
    With a full bucket of ice crooked in his elbow, he knocked on the door and pushed it open with his