Jovana got him to stop one more time for an impromptu intimate moment. It was hard to keep from touching and kissing him, getting the taste of him in her mouth. She never had that desire to revisit any of the men she had been with before, but she couldn’t get enough of Scott. He seemed to desire her just as much, or he didn’t protest each time she would fish his cock from his jeans to stroke him or suck him.

Each time she started, he would immediately pull over, allowing her to either tease him until he came or he would tug her into his lap and thrust up into her. “A bed,” she begged as he threw back a latch that had his seat lying all the way back. “Or a place where we won’t be so cramped like this.” She rotated her hips so he hit every delicious part of her. “I need more room,” she pleaded.

“Soon,” he gritted out, his hands on her hips. “Let’s get this done, then I will get us a room and fuck you against the wall.” His hips bucked up against hers. “In the shower.” He gasped and she felt his control failing. “In the fucking closet, I don’t care. Wherever you want me, you can have me.” It was a promise she was intent on holding him to.

Their constant stops made the trip to Santa Fe take longer than necessary, but Scott didn’t complain once. If anything, he was as eager for her as she was for him.

Each time, he seemed to cling to her, his words growing more and more attached and amorous. She was sure that his desire for her and his promises to protect her were less out of a sense of duty and more out of something else. He was winning her over, not that it was too much effort to get her to fall for him.

“Stay in the car,” he said as they parked in front of a little pharmacy. “I’ve got to pick up a few things and I’ll be right back.” He didn’t make a move to get out of the car, his hand finding her thigh. “When we get done here, we’ll see about getting a room for a more comfortable place to enjoy each other’s company.”

She couldn’t help but smile at him. “Have you not gotten enough of me on the ride here?” Honestly, she’d lost count of the number of times she had caused him to pull over.

“Nope,” he quipped as he got out of the car. It left her with a warm feeling in her chest. She leaned back into her seat, watching the storefront as she reflected on her feelings for him. Did she love him? It was clear that he was necessary in her survival, but she didn’t have to seduce him. He wanted her. She wouldn’t lie. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

He came back to the car with a plastic bag tucked under an arm, and he was suspiciously eyeing the area around them. It made Jovana concerned by the dark look on his face. “Everything all right?” she asked as he sat back down behind the wheel.

“Yeah.” He offered her the bag. “I just got something of a warning while I was getting the things I needed.”

“What is the warning?”

He eyed her, his expression sober before he put focus on getting the car out of the lot. He put them back onto the interstate, taking them south. “I didn’t tell you this, but the picture we staged didn’t take. The director of the department I work for didn’t believe it for a second,” he said seriously.

“You are in danger now, too?”

“As of right now, the order for you to be killed still exists,” he said. She suspected that was closer to the reason he insisted that they continue moving. It made sense. She stayed quiet as she waited for him to answer her question. He wasn’t risking everything by trying to save her, was he?

When Scott didn’t answer, her patience ran thin. “Well? Are you in danger now, too?’

“I don’t know,” he growled at her in response. “There’s a very good chance that another agent has been assigned to you. So, that means that someone else will be looking for you to . . .” he trailed off, and she noticed his eyebrows had drawn down and his expression had darkened further. He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. She knew if another agent were assigned her, then she wouldn’t have the same luck she’d had with Scott.

“Will we still be going to get a room?” she asked, suddenly needing to be close to him, though she didn’t have the desire to have sex with him. She needed the security of his arms around her.

“We need to get to the border as quickly as we can,” he protested.

“I want to hold you,” she said in response. She didn’t argue against his assessment. She just stated what she needed. His expression twisted and he took the last Santa Fe exit, driving until they came across a rundown motel. It was apparent that he favored them. He pulled into the lot, instructing her to stay put while he arranged for a room. After a short thirty-minute wait, he came back to the car.

“This is a terrible idea,” he told her as he moved his car closer to the room they would be staying in. He grabbed his bag and was quick to come around the car to help her out of the car. He took her to the door, unlocked it, and tugged her inside. The door was secured and he tugged her to the bed.

He didn’t seem to be intent on allowing her to just hold him, though. He caught her mouth and wedged her beneath him. He cupped her face in his hands and controlled the power behind the kiss. He was going to turn this into sex, and that wasn’t what she wanted.

She had to get him to stop before she lost her focus. She tore her mouth from his. “Stop! Scott!” She had to get him to see what she was trying to do. They needed comfort. They needed comfort that sex wouldn’t provide.

“This isn’t what you wanted?” his voice sounded thick and she could see the frustration apparent on his features. There was more to the warning that she was aware of, and it was adding to his frustration.

“No,” she shot back at him. “It is not that I do not enjoy sex with you, but that is not what is necessary right now.” She would make him see.

“It isn’t?” His brows drew together, frustration edging deeper into anger. After everything they have done, she hadn’t seen him angry yet. “You’re the one who wanted to stop and get a room. We’ve been fucking around damn near all day. What did you want to stop for?”

“Because.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “The stress of reality has become too much.” She lowered her voice as she spoke to him, trying to soothe his anger. “It is obvious when I look at you. I wanted to comfort you, to hold you.” He had been tense against her, something she was aware of the moment he forced her onto the bed. Slowly, he began to relax on her. His face buried against her neck and one hand went into her hair. “It is not just fucking,” she whispered to him.

“It isn’t,” he agreed, turning them onto their sides so she didn’t have to feel the brunt of his weight. “It isn’t.” She held him and they spoke little, seeming to take comfort in merely being close to one another. It was what she wanted. It also made her realize that there was more to what they were doing here.

The longer they were together, the longer he sought to protect her, the further into her heart he got. It wasn’t just about him keeping her safe. He cared for her and she for him. Each time she curled around him, he wormed his way further and further into her heart. He had her to the point where she was sure that was where he belonged.

He knew it, too.

* * *

It drifted into early afternoon. They remained close on the bed, touching and exchanging comfort in each other’s embrace. At some point, the television was turned on and switched to a news station. It droned on and provided nothing, giving him no insight as to their safety, but it provided background noise. He might have dozed off, and from the soft breaths that teased his hair, he was sure she had.

He was resting with his head pressed against one of her breasts. Not really a bad way to wake up. He definitely enjoyed her breasts, and he had to fight the urge not to rub his face against them. But there was something that had gotten his attention, that kept him from settling back in against her. Was it the TV?

He sat up and glanced at the television. An unfamiliar news anchor informed him of a suspected hacking that had struck the capitol. They were unsure of the amount of information that was exposed and were still investigating where the hacking attack had come from. He grimaced. Not really new news, and definitely not what had interrupted his nap. That wasn’t what got his attention.

He looked to the window. It was then that something caught his attention. There was a shadow there. It was still bright enough outside that shadows would be cast. Someone was outside their room, at their window. Someone was bold enough to try to bring one on him?

“Jovana.” He didn’t move much and he kept his voice low, barely above a whisper. He repeated her name and felt her shift against him. “Get up, go to the bathroom, and lock the door.”

“What?” Her breath caught, then she seemed to process what he said. She slowly edged out from under him, and he shifted as if to cover her, making sure if someone were able to see in their room, that he would be between her and them. When he heard the door close and the latch thrown, he found his pistol in his bag.

Whoever had found them was about to be sorry. He gave the window a cautious look then went to the door, trying to peer through the little peephole. He opened the door and edged out, trying to see if their stalker was still close. A car door closed, and he turned in the direction of the sound, raising his gun.

A rifle stuck out the back window. He didn’t give them the chance to strike first. He fired a short series of shots at the open back window, diving for cover behind the stolen car that brought them here.

Shots were returned, and the car took the bullets for him, keeping him safe. A tire was struck and one of the windows exploded. He drifted toward the trunk, trying to spare the engine. He took aim at the car, spying a familiar Russian agent aiming the rifle. “Bitch,” he growled loud enough in hopes she would hear the insult, and he fired more shots at the car. He took careful aim at the gas tank, deciding he wanted to take them out now and get at least one group off their asses.

There was a yell from the car. Someone knew what he was trying to do when his shots hit, and it immediately sped off. He stood and managed to get a tail light out before they get too far away. Fuck them. He hoped they got pulled over. His heart was pounding and he felt like he accomplished nothing getting them all the way here.

They had been followed the entire time. The safety he felt before they left their tiny motel room was a lie. For every step forward he brought them, there was someone there with them at every step.

Now alone, he made a quick assessment of the car. The front passenger tire was flat. Surely there was a spare. He would have to find out the hard way, but it should be easily fixed. He barged back into the room. The adrenaline was still pumping. If they had the chance, he would do as he said and push her against a wall. But there wasn’t time for that. “Jovana,” he shouted, his heart racing and ears ringing, even with the silencers. But that’s not what had him going.

While all that was going on, he didn’t have the door covered. He was more focused on the car and who was in it. “Jovana!” No one got in there. He had to make sure of it, and he was sure all the shots were fired in his direction. He had to know for a fact that she was fine, that no stray shots could have gotten to her.

She opened the bathroom door and stepped out, her blue eyes wide with fear. Though he doubted she feared for herself, considering the way she looked at him. She was eyeing him, looking for injuries. She didn’t question him and she didn’t ask if he was okay. Her hands knotted up at her chest. She didn’t ask but it was obvious that she wanted to. “We have to get out of here now,” he commanded, and she immediately sprang into action, helping him gather their things so they could get back on the road.