Page 7 of Cold Foot Cash (Wreck’s Mountains #4)

Fuck.

Cash shook his head hard as he made his way back toward her room. Wreck was blowing up his phone, thanks to some bullshit feeling the Alpha had gotten from their bond. Cash’s hands hurt, and his head was pounding from the effort it took not to Change into his owl. Changing right now wouldn’t help anything. He needed to stay near Harley just in case any of those guys had seen them walking to the motel, and got a stupid idea to get revenge on her.

His protectiveness was choking him right now.

He stopped in front of Harley’s door and backed to the wall right across from it. He slid down it and squatted there, staring at the number. 1010 .

Everything in him wanted to knock on the door and push her back into the room and taste her. Taste her lips, pull her panties down, taste every bit of her just to settle the fight instinct in him.

He’d lost everyone he’d ever dated when he was younger, because he couldn’t stay out of trouble, and no woman wanted to put up with that long-term. And now what? He met Harley, and she felt big, and important, and consuming, but on day-one of knowing him, she’s having to sign police statements for him? She’s having to lie for him? Pretending they were together to get him off the hook?

She saw him with bloody knuckles. Fucking typical Cash behavior.

He pushed off the wall, disgusted with himself and made his way two doors down from her, beeped the keycard and pushed the door open.

There was a chair he could set his jacket and flannel on, and he emptied his pockets onto the table, then peeled his shirt off so he could see the baseball bat mark across his ribs. One of the idiots had retrieved it after he tossed it, and had taken a cheap shot during the fight. Probably a couple of his ribs were cracked, but they would heal fast enough. Shifter healing was one of the perks of this life.

Cash made his way into the bathroom and locked his arms against the counter top, then lifted his gaze to his reflection.

He was better than this, wasn’t he? Maybe not. His dad had been a fighter, and his grandfather before him. This was his lineage—to be a fuck-up.

Harley was this normal human woman dealing with a hard time, and his life would make things harder on her. Look what had happened the first day they’d met.

His phone vibrated on the table, and he pushed off the counter, ripped his attention from his stupid reflection, and strode for the phone. It was a text from an unknown number.

You okay?

Hope fluttered inside of his chest.

Who is this? Send. “Please be her,” he whispered. “Please be her.”

Your pretend girlfriend, just checking in.

A grin stretched his face. Oh hell, this girl was fun. Fun but dangerous, and a temptation, for sure.

Why aren’t you asleep? Send.

Because I saw you staring at my door through the peephole. You looked pretty thoughtful there, Cashew. And also forty-five percent creepy.

Creepy? Who’s the one staring out their peephole trying to catch a glimpse of me? Send.

Touche.

He sank down onto the bed and frowned at his battery life. He only had ten percent left and needed his alarm to wake up early enough for work in the morning.

Only one room separated his room from Harley’s. He looked over in that direction and rested his hand on his abs as he thought of a response. He waited a minute before he started typing. I was thinking how lucky it is that we are just friends. Send.

Yeah it does feel like the universe is trying to keep us in the friendzone. You dated my sister, I’m six days from divorce, you’re escaped from prison, you got into a bar fight like fourteen seconds after I met you…the list goes on and on.

He snorted. First off, I didn’t date your sister. That was some actual creep on the internet, and also, next time, get your sister to have the man prove he is who he says he is. A simple video would’ve cleared that up. Send.

Yeah, I know. I told her that a bunch of times.

The rest is legit though. Divorce and prison escapee and you had to lie to police for me. If that ain’t the universe telling you to steer clear of a crush, I don’t know what’ll do it. Send.

His phone was at eight percent battery now. Crap.

You aren’t my type, remember friend? She was being cheeky. He knew she was, but something inside of him bristled at being called her friend.

God, he was going crazy today, and for no good reason.

She was just a woman. A human. A stranger. Just a beautiful distraction.

My battery is about to die. Talk later. Send.

He plopped his phone down on the mattress beside him, resting his hand atop it to feel the vibration in case she messaged again. He stared at the texture of the ceiling, but sat up when he heard a rustling sound outside his door.

He stood to check the peephole, but his phone vibrated with a text. Special delivery , she had messaged him.

He opened the door and found a phone charger sitting on the carpet. He checked, but she’d already disappeared back into her room a couple doors down. Cash huffed a laugh and pulled it inside, plugged it in and began charging his phone.

What are we watching tonight, friend? I’ve flipped through the fifteen channels, and it seems channel 68 is our best bet for late night movies. It’s a cartoon.

He grabbed the remote and turned on the tv, and queued it up to the right channel. Okay, this was fun. Cartoon night it is. Send. He took a picture of his television and sent it to her.

Do you need snacks? she texted.

I’m getting pretty hungry. Send.

Hold please. Don’t open the door or you’ll ruin the game.

Yes ma’am. Send.

He tried to stay seated on the bed as he heard the crackle of snack bags outside, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t pretend she wasn’t right outside his room, and miss an opportunity to see her.

A quick rush to the door, and Cash yanked it open to find Harley squatted there, unloading some of the snacks she’d bought from the store earlier.

She looked up at him, startled. She had washed her make-up off, and her skin was fair and clear. Her lips were full and parted slightly with her surprise. She wore the pajama pants and oversized T-shirt they’d picked out.

She dragged her attention down his bare chest, to his abs, to the bulge at his jeans because yeah, he was thinking filthy thoughts right now with her kneeling in front of him like this.

Everything in him wanted to drag her inside and peel that shirt off her body, ease her back onto the floor in front of that closed door, and see if she would put those pretty lips around his cock. She wouldn’t have to blow him long. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman, and this one turned him on so damn much. He wished he could grip the back of her hair, and throw his head back and grit out her name as he shot cum down the back of her throat. He wished he could pull her up and push her against the door and slide two fingers inside of her, and have her clawing at his back and screaming his name. He wished he could finish her, and then replace her T-shirt with his own, just so she would smell like him.

Harley was just staring up into his eyes with this drunk expression that said she was thinking dirty things too, and ooooh, he bet she was fun in the bedroom.

“I get ramped up after a fight,” he said gruffly.

Her gaze dipped to the zipper of his jeans again, and then back up. “I can see that,” she uttered on a breath.

“Best you get on back to your room, friend, before I go back on my promise.”

“Go back on your promise how?” she whispered.

“If you stay here, I’ll kiss you, and I won’t feel guilty about it in the morning, or at any point in the next six days. That goal is for you. For me, your marriage was over the day you moved out. It was definitely over the first time he ducked out of the first court appearance. It was supposed to be over, but he wanted to control you still.” Cash knelt and leveled her with a look. “I don’t give a fuck about paperwork and technical stuff. I don’t give a fuck how long he has put off signing the paperwork. You aren’t getting back together with him. You’re single, and you know it.”

“Monster,” she whispered through a soft smile.

He huffed a laugh. If she thought he was a monster over this, what would she think of him if she knew the things he’d done and seen? He liked that she was na?ve. He liked that she was unaware.

Cash grabbed the snacks, careful to brush her hand with his own as he did so. “I’ve got to go now, Harley. I have some…needs…to take care of.”

Her eyes widened, and God he loved her reactions to him.

“What…” She cleared her throat. “What kind of needs?”

“You know what kind. I’ll be thinking about those perky tits in your tank top tonight.” He allowed a wicked smile. “You can watch if you want to.”

She stood slowly, and closed the distance between them, rested her hands on his chest and pushed up on her tiptoes until her lips were right beside his ear. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

He chuckled darkly and dragged her waist closer, pressing her against his erection. “I would like coming inside of you more, but yeah. I would settle for you watching.”

She inhaled sharply and stood there frozen against him, and he knew what she was doing—she was considering his offer. She was working through her decision.

If she said yes, she couldn’t claim some moral high ground anymore. If she said no, she could keep her loyalty to a broken past, but she would miss out a wild fuckin’ ride with him.

Slowly, Harley lowered herself back down, her face so close to his chest. Fuck, he wished she would just cup his dick, and put pressure there. It would feel so good.

“You’re dangerous, aren’t you?” she whispered, repeating her earlier words.

He was supposed to repeat his earlier words, right? Not to you . But he couldn’t drag the words from his lips, because maybe this was dangerous. He didn’t know.

Cash swallowed hard, then lifted her hand toward his lips, pressed a kiss to the tripping pulse at her wrist, and then bit it gently. “Go on now, little human,” he murmured.

Her breath shook as she nodded. Her eyes stayed trained on him as she backed off two steps. Harley turned and clenched her fists as she walked back to her room. At her door, she glanced back at him, and fuck she was so pretty. So pretty.

She offered him a tremulous smile, and then disappeared into her room.

Cash relaxed his head back, stared at the hallway ceiling as he asked his heart rate to slow down.

You’re dangerous, aren’t you?

Yep. He was dangerous to them both.

****

Harley staggered into her motel room, closed the door behind her and dragged an unsteady breath into her lungs.

The way Cash had looked without his shirt—all muscles.

The way he had looked at her with such fire in his eyes had her more turned on than she’d ever been before.

He was right there, two rooms down, probably with his dick in his hand right now, thinking about her.

Just the thought of him pumping his cock in his hand buckled her knees. Harley slid her back down the door and drew her knees up, spread them apart and slipped her hand under the elastic waist of her panties.

As she touched her slick folds, she gasped at how ready she already was. At how good it felt to slide her finger into herself. It had been so long since she’d even had this urge.

She closed her eyes. In her mind, Cash was sitting in the chair in his room, pumping hard, his teeth gritted, his eyes closed, imagining her. Faster. Harder.

She huffed a breath at how good it felt to touch herself to the vision of him.

Faster…harder.

She squeezed her eyes tighter closed and imagined him finishing, spraying his chest with jets of release as he gritted out her name.

Her body shattered around her finger, and she slid over, laid on the floor, pressing into herself jerkily to drag out every pulse of pleasure.

She was panting as she opened her eyes to the dimly lit motel room.

This right here, this moment, it felt better than any time she’d ever been with Lance. By a lot. Just imagining Cash was hotter than anything she’d ever done with her ex, and that was telling.

Oh, she was attracted to Cash, but more than that, she liked his layers. She found him interesting. She wanted him.

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, and it was well past midnight.

She blew out a trembling breath.

It was officially Thursday now.

Five more days.