Tied With a Bow

were fiercely territorial where other men or Breeds were concerned.
    But despite what Liza believed, if she went searching for him, if she ended the teasing game she had so wanted to play, then it would also change the fact that he wouldn’t be in her bed just for the pleasure they would share. It would be for the protection she may need. And that would completely alter every memory she could hold of any time they spent together.
    Which meant that, until she had dealt with the Holden situation, having the Breed in her bed might not be the wisest decision.
    “It doesn’t matter,” Isabelle sighed roughly. “Just let it go. Whatever Uncle Ray needed us here for, we’ll finish then go home. I should have known better than to tease a Breed anyway.”
    “And boy, did you tease him,” Chelsea said in awe. “Oh my God, Isa. I’ve never seen you like that around a man. I thought the two of you were going to catch fire and burn the place down. You were hot as hell for each other.”
    Liza shook her head, a mocking smile curling her lips. “Think what you want to, my friend, but that Breed so will not let you get away. Before your uncle is finished with these meeting with the Breeds, you’re going to be fucked six ways from Sunday and begging for mercy.”
    She would settle for once on Friday and the memories she could hold on to after it was over.
    Isabelle rubbed at her ear again. She was still hot as hell for him, and growing hotter by the second. She wished she could have stayed in the bar. She wished she could have danced with him when the band returned. She wished she’d had the courage to give him her room number.
    “Having him would be a very bad idea,” she sighed. “I shouldn’t have gone to him. Hell, I don’t even know his name.”
    “His name is Malachi,” Liza suddenly announced. “While you were sharing his drink, I asked the two Breeds at the next table who he was. The big dark one was more than happy to supply his name.”
    Isabelle’s brows rose. That was unusual for enforcers. They rarely gave information unless they had no other choice.
    “Yeah, the blue-eyed one was scowling and said something about damned Coyote hormones and the heat. Only God knows what that means, because it wasn’t hot in there. The other one, though, the darker one, his name was Stygian. He was just amused, and I swear to God I think I heard him give a wolf growl when you took that glass from his friend and finished his drink. I rather doubt he’s a feline,” she said musingly, as though more than a little interested.
    Chelsea and Liza were watching her as though they hadn’t yet figured out what had possessed her.
    She didn’t know herself what had possessed her.
    “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she groaned as she rubbed at her ear, wishing she could rub away the warmth that reminded her of his touch. “I still can’t believe I did that.”
    “And as terrified as you are of Holden, I still can’t believe you didn’t see him come into the bar.” Chelsea was shaking head in confusion.
    Her sister was no more confused than Isabelle was herself. That simply wasn’t like her. She didn’t come on to strange men, and she sure as hell never dared a Breed of any species. They were simply too unknown, and their temperaments too uncertain. Virgins should know better, she told herself in exasperation. They were so sexually experienced it should be considered illegal. Hell, it probably was illegal. They were lethal in more ways than one, but they would be hell on a woman’s heart.
    She knew plenty of them, and she was friends with several Breed females, but they weren’t best buds. Just as the male Breeds she knew had never been lovers.
    This Coyote, though, she would have loved to give herself to. Over and over again.
    And she would have loved continuing the game tonight. They had friends in the hotel; she could have found out where his room was. Perhaps slipped something beneath his door. Dared him to find her, then gotten herself another room.
    She would have had so much fun, and if that playful glitter in his eyes was any indication, her Coyote would have played with her. He would have broken all the rules. He would have laughed at her indignation. But she would have had so much fun.
    If it weren’t for Holden and his unpredictable behavior.
    “Look, Holden doesn’t know we’re staying here at the hotel. He’s expecting us to be heading home,” Liza pointed out. “Malachi and his