Free Hearts Awakened by Linda Winfree Page A

clopped by in the opposite direction. Her gaze scanned the street signs as they neared the Bridge of Lions. “Then we’ll trade. For every one of your questions I answer, you have to answer one of mine.”
    Red flags tried to wave in his mind, but all he could think of was uncovering her secrets, getting to the real Tori under all the protective layers. “All right. I get to go first.”
    She didn’t like that. He could tell because of the way her mouth firmed, but finally she nodded. “Okay. First question.”
    An irresistible smirk stretched his mouth. “Does your brother know about that tattoo?”
    She sighed. “No. And you don’t have to tell him either.”
    Tell Tick? No way. Not when he could relish the sweetness of knowing something his partner didn’t. “Your turn.”
    Eyes narrowed, she tapped her short nails on the wheel. “Give me a second. I’m thinking.”
    Nerves jerked in his gut. She was smart, too smart for his good and there was no telling what question she’d come up with. He swallowed a groan. No matter what she asked, honor would bind him to answer.

Chapter Five
    Tori eased the Miata into the motel parking lot and stopped in front of the office. She slanted a glance at Mark, sure she’d come up with the perfect question. “Okay. Ready?”
    “And waiting.” Boredom laced the words.
    She twisted in the seat, better to see his face. “What did you lose down here?”
    He stilled, the line of his body stiffening, but after a moment, he relaxed, a practiced smirk playing around his mouth. “My virginity.”
    Irritation crawled through her, followed by a tendril of disappointment. “Mark, come on. Answer the question.”
    He chuckled. “I did.”
    “With a serious answer.”
    “How much more serious can I get? You asked what I lost and I told you.”
    She wrapped her fingers around the steering wheel. Too bad it wasn’t his neck. “You knew what I meant.”
    “No, you asked a question and I merely made an interpretation.”
    A completely wrong one. She narrowed her eyes at him. “All right, fine. Ask me another one.”
    Admiration flared in his gray gaze, but she refused to squirm under his long, slow assessment. “Are we checking in?”
    She pushed her door open. “You’re impossible.”
    “Yeah, but I’m fun.” His low laugh slid over her as they walked to the office.
    When he held the door, she caught a whiff of that spicy soap he used as she passed. Lord, he smelled good—clean and warm, no overload of aftershave. Her stomach flipflopped and she sighed. She was hopeless.
    Outdated shades of country blue and mauve decorated the small office, but the area gleamed, the scent of cleaning solution hanging in the air.
    “Welcome to the Bayview.” The dark-haired young man behind the front desk smiled. His black tie contrasted with a stiffly starched white shirt. “May I help you?”
    “We have a reservation.” Tori dug in her purse for the slip of paper with the confirmation number scribbled on it. She had to stop throwing all her grocery-store and gas receipts in this thing. Triumphant, she grinned and slid the paper across the desk to him.
    He looked at it and turned to the computer, sliding glances her way as he did so. His assessment made her uncomfortable and she shifted, pulling out her wallet and extracting her credit card. The guy was staring now, probably because her hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in days. Lord, did she have something in her teeth? She ran her tongue over them, hoping to dislodge whatever it was.
    Cheeks burning, she laid her credit card on the desk. “Both rooms on this, please.”
    “Right.” He swiped the card, still eyeing her.
    Sheesh, she couldn’t look that bad. Tucking errant strands behind her ear, she cast a surreptitious glance at the large round mirror hanging behind a huge fake flower arrangement. She swallowed a groan. She did look that bad. Actually, she looked worse, her hair a tangled mess, her skin pink from wind,