Savage Betrayal: Savage, Book 2 Read Online Free

over her with the intense plea in his dark gaze.
    And when his strong, calloused fingers had held her wrist, she’d found her thoughts a bit foggy as well.
    But it wasn’t fear. She wasn’t afraid of Agent Hilliard. Not today and never before on the job.
    She’d lied to him a moment ago about not playing favorites. Darrius had always been her closest friend on the team. And though a tiny part of her desperately wanted to open up to him and have a meltdown worthy of a reality show, she knew it was far too dangerous.
    And the danger extended beyond her well-being. She slid her gaze to the hall that led to the back of the house and where Aubree was likely watching television.
    Grace moved back to the sink and gripped the counter, staring outside at the fog. Right now she needed to put physical distance between them. The idea of sitting down at the table, drinking tea and chatting about life as if it were all sunshine and roses just wasn’t going to happen. Some things needed to stay buried. The last two months being the perfect example.
    “Grace, tell me why you signed up to be a part of those experiments.” His tone changed, became more urgent, as if he sensed she wanted to talk about it. “The guys think you must’ve had some kind of hunch about what was going on and you went in on your own undercover. Is that true?”
    Undercover. If only it were something so heroic and brave. She swallowed the bitterness that formed a lump in her throat.
    “It doesn’t matter why I did it. The fact is, I did do it.” She couldn’t help but add on a whisper, “And you guys have every right to be pissed off.”
    “Grace, listen to me. No one is pissed off at you—what we are is damned concerned.”
    Concerned? She didn’t deserve a shred of concern from them. Why were they so quick to give her the benefit of the doubt?
    “Look, Hilliard, as much as I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, I’m just not ready to talk about it.” And she somehow doubted she’d ever be . “So I’d appreciate it if you’d just drop it.”
    He sighed, not seeming to be taken aback by the sharpness of her words. “All right.”
    “Thank you.”
    “You don’t need to talk to me. Yet. But you do need to give me one of your cookies.”
    What the hell? “Say that again?”
    “Oatmeal raisin, right?”
    “How did you—”
    “You bake them yourself?”
    Her mouth worked, but no words came out. She could feel her cheeks warming. Talk about a change of attack.
    “I don’t bake.”
    “Maybe that’s what you want everyone to believe, but I smell cookies. Fresh. Not the packaged crap.”
    Damn hypersensitive shifter senses. He was right. About her baking them, and about her not wanting anyone to know. Especially her fellow agents, who probably equated baking with dithering females who’d be better off tending the household.
    The last thing she needed was any damn domestic, Betty Crocker-style jokes at the office.
    “I ate the last one this morning, and for your information someone made the cookies for me.”
    “Did they now?”
    She didn’t answer because it was obvious he knew she was lying. He seemed really good at that. Knowing when she stretched the truth.
    He gave a slow smile. “You didn’t eat them all.”
    “Oh for God’s sake. Are you for real?” She let out a huff of air and moved to grab the plastic container on top of the fridge. She pried off the lid and then set the bin in front of them. “Take them all if you’d like.”
    “Thanks. One’ll do.” He grabbed one of the palm-sized cookies and took a bite.
    It distracted her for a moment, the way he closed his eyes and made a groan of approval. For a moment she saw Hilliard through the eyes of a P.I.A. groupie. Out of all the agents who could’ve had a fan club, Hilliard was the leading candidate.
    Darrius Hilliard had that potent combination of looks and charm. His personality and humor was almost boyish, but his body was all man. He made her solid oak table