Dawson Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire 5) by T. S. Joyce

punch him in the arm.
    Dalton gripped the wheel in a choke hold. “Did you just shhh me?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    She crossed her arms over her chest as the tips of her ears turned hot. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Woman, I don’t get hints, and I can’t read your mind. Tell me what I did wrong and be done with it. I want tacos.”
    She wasn’t confrontational, and she liked to think she was too smart to start an argument in the cab of a pickup with a freaking werewolf, but he’d seriously just slammed on the brakes and then apologized for kissing her like he regretted it.
    “Kate!”
    “If you regret kissing me so much, I don’t really want to get tacos with you anymore. I’m tired and have to work again tomorrow.”
    “I thought you needed me to apologize! Women like that shit!”
    Kate reeled back. “What women are you talking about? No woman wants to get the kiss of her life and then have it immediately taken back, Dalton.”
    He scrubbed his hands over his face and relaxed back on the headrest. “I told you I would be shitty at this. I don’t know jack about girls or making them happy. It would be best for both of us if—”
    “Don’t you freaking finish that sentence, Dalton Dawson. Save your break-up-before-we-begin speech for someone who wants it.” She sighed an irritated sound. “Buy me tacos.”
    He rolled his face toward her, his dark brows drawn down suspiciously.
    “I’m serious,” she said, daring to show him her blushing cheeks. “I want three. And extra hot sauce.”
    Dalton’s lips lifted in a stunning smile, and he snorted. He threw the truck in drive and eased out of the parking lot. “Did we just have an argument?”
    “Yes, and I hated it.”
    “I don’t regret the kiss, you know. It was kind of amazing. I just…”
    “Freaked out?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I had a man who was only half in with me before. I’m not looking for that again.”
    “Miller?”
    “Him and my first ex. I want to be a girl a man chooses , you know? I don’t want to just be a safe decision because a man is afraid of being alone.”
    With one hand, Dalton turned the wheel onto the main drag in Galena. “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Sure.”
    “Why Miller?”
    Kate scrunched up her nose. “How well did you know him?”
    “Well enough to know he was a grade-A mega-chode.”
    “Yeah, well, I didn’t figure that out until month three of our relationship. He was nice to me at first, and he was a bit of a bad-boy. I was spiraling after a rough break-up, and he took the edge off my loneliness for a while. It was fun to make a risky decision for once in my life.”
    “And what happened?”
    Kate ghosted a glance at his profile, then fiddled with a loose string on her gloves. How stupid was it to admit she’d been so naïve with Miller? After all, she wanted Dalton to actually like her and stay interested.
    “You don’t have to talk about it. I totally get it. You don’t know me, and you don’t owe me any explanations.” There it was, the out. Dalton was offering her a way to stay hidden, just like him.
    She balked. “He posted the video, and when I confronted him about it, he showed no remorse. I was horrified. My mom and dad called because they’d found out about it. They were so deeply disappointed, and my sister left all these awful messages about me ruining our family’s reputation. Anyway, Miller got real mean after that.”
    “Why didn’t you break it off with him?”
    “I did. He didn’t take no for an answer. He kept coming over. Showing up late at night. Scaring me. He kicked in my door during one of my shifts and was waiting for me when I got home.”
    “Did you call the police?”
    “Of course. They’d seen the video, though, and didn’t do anything about our little lover’s spat. One of the officers said it wasn’t right that I was raising red flags on a man when I was obviously a willing party in that tape.”
    “Shit.” Dalton sounded disgusted. He