Hardman - Delilah Devlin Page 0,3

glance.

“Better grab your gear,” he said, his voice sounding a little husky to his own ears.

She nodded and quickly retrieved the wet things she’d dropped then climbed into the sneaker boat. In minutes, all three boats were motoring back in the direction they’d come. The sun settled just beneath the tops of the trees, and the wind turned a little chillier.

Marti turned to him. “You shouldn’t have given me your shirt. You’re going to freeze.”

“I won’t. Promise.”

“Oh, yeah. You were a SEAL. Bet you saw worse conditions in training.”

Hardman’s mouth twitched. “I did.”

“I don’t like being cold.”

“No one does.”

She fell silent as he navigated the river, heading back to the dock where they’d rented the boats. Once there, Marti and he would be transporting Harper to lockup in Bozeman. Not a process he enjoyed, but the long ride back home should be interesting. It was in the late-night hours that his usually silent partner got chatty. At night was when she talked about hunting and her sometimes-boyfriend, Caleb. Come to think of it, she hadn’t mentioned him much lately.

Perhaps tonight, he could ask her about it. From what he already knew, the guy wasn’t right for Marti. He let her set the parameters of their relationship, when what Hardman thought she really needed was for a man to take charge.

Or at least, he was hopeful that was true. Hardman wasn’t a man who liked to be led around by his dick. And he wasn’t a booty call. Which was what this guy, Caleb, had allowed himself to become. They met maybe once a month when she was feeling horny—her word. In between, they rarely spoke. Hardman thought it was a pretty convenient arrangement for someone who seemed to be a bit of a commitment-phobe. Look how long it had taken for her to get on Montana Bounty Hunters’ payroll as an employee as opposed to a sometimes contractor.

She was grumpy, prone to dark moods, and often times foul-mouthed. He wasn’t sure why he found her so attractive. From his point of view, and he was likely the only man to think so, she was a diamond in the rough with dark blonde hair that glinted with a touch of fire in sunlight. She had a medium build, was strong and had some muscle, but still had curves, even if they were subtle and she did her best to hide them under clothing that was always a bit loose.

She never bothered to wear makeup and always wore her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail that stretched her eyes just a bit. He itched to tug out that band and see what her hair looked like, spilling around her shoulders.

As if she’d ever let him get that close.

Maybe that was it. She was a challenge. Maybe if he managed to get her to see him as a substitute for Caleb, he’d discover that the chase was all that excited him about Marti Mills.

Had to be it. Otherwise, he’d lost his damn mind because Marti Mills was like a prickly pear cactus, impossible to hold without feeling the sting of a barb.

Chapter 2

“Hardman…hard man,” Marti muttered. Then she thought maybe mumbling his name would make his handle less of an issue. “Har’man.” Now, she was really reaching.

She considered calling him by his first name instead, but “Pierce” hit her straight between the thighs. She was double-fucked when she put both names together. Pierce Hardman. Had his mommy wanted him to be a porn star?

The double doors to the detention center entrance swung open, and Hardman strode outside, his gaze landing on his SUV. Wearing the dark, long-sleeved Montana Bounty Hunters T-shirt he’d pulled from his duffel earlier, he looked ripped and edgy. With his angular jaw and prominent cheekbones, he was a handsome man. His nose was slightly slanted, like it had been rearranged a little in a fight. It didn’t detract from his looks one bit. She liked that nose. Liked those gray-blue eyes, too, especially when they narrowed on her.

She punched the ignition button and drove slowly forward to meet him, saving him a few steps. She hoped he wouldn’t insist on driving because she hated it when she was the passenger. Boredom often loosened her tongue, and he already knew a little too much about her personal business as it was.

The last time they’d been stuck together in a vehicle for any length of time, she’d mentioned that she and Caleb hadn’t seen each other in a couple of