Chapter Nine

 

 

The soft sway of the vehicle wrung the adrenaline from Prue’s body. She wanted to know more about where Leo was taking her, and if he intended to stay there with her or not, but exhaustion dragged at her and she couldn’t muster the wherewithal to question him further. Soon, she dropped into the shelter of sleep.

Sometime later, her attacker returned to haunt her dreams. His cold eyes ravaged her. The crushing weight of his body on hers revolted her.

She jolted from sleep, frightened and disoriented.

The first thing she saw was Leo, alert and focused on the road before them. Her panic eased immediately. As long as she gazed at him, the grip of fear around her heart and lungs steadily weakened. She studied his steady profile, and his hands on the steering wheel, sure and strong. The way the muscles in his forearms and biceps reacted with his movements set off a whisper of flutters in her stomach while the artistry of the small shamrock tattooed on the inside of his left wrist delivered a faint smile to her lips.

Watching him, her eyelids grew heavy. She dozed again, but restful sleep proved elusive. Every time she opened her eyes, Leo was there, calm and vigilant. Constant.

When she next awoke, they were parked in front of a gas station and bright sunlight blanketed the earth.

Leo wasn’t in the driver seat beside her.

Her heart lurched, but before panic took hold, she spotted him through the car’s windshield, leaning against the hood with his cell phone pressed to his ear.

When she climbed from the vehicle, the midday air was thick with heat and humidity. She lifted her arm to shield her eyes from the glaring sun as he disconnected his call.

His gaze swept over her. “How are you? You doing okay?”

“I’m okay.” She leaned against the car beside him and tried to convince herself that the tenderness in his tone didn’t mean anything.

He gestured with his phone. “I talked to your dad.”

Surprise flew through her. “What did you say?”

“I told him that Owen asked me to get you out of town for a few days. I wanted him to know that you’re with me now, and that you’re safe.”

Was she safe? She wanted to believe him, but the aching knot in the pit of her stomach doubted if she’d ever feel safe again.

“I should call my work,” she said. “They’re probably wondering where I am.”

“I already called them.”

“You called my work?” Sweet relief swooped through her. Then she stole a look at him. “What did you tell them?”

“I talked to… Amanda, is it?” He scratched his jaw, which had darkened with the shadow of fresh beard growth. “I told her you had a family emergency and you’d call her when you know more.”

“Wow. You’re a good liar.”

An odd expression chased across his features, which he quickly concealed. “Can I get you anything from inside? You want something to eat?”

With the churning in her stomach, she didn’t feel like eating. But when she considered that he’d go into the store without her and she’d be left outside, alone, a punch of anxiety slammed into her.

She berated herself for her ridiculousness even as she tripped forward. “I’ll come with you.”

Hauling open the car door, she reached for her purse on the floor but started when Arlo’s tiny head peeked out from inside the roomy handbag. She snatched them both up and followed Leo into the store.

She trailed close behind him as he moved down one aisle, drawn to his solid strength as though she were a flimsy piece of scrap metal and he a potent magnet. He walked with a slight hitch in his gait and seeing it, she frowned. That night at the bar, she’d assumed the alcohol had caused his uneven stride. Maybe it was simply stiffness from the hours he’d spent sitting in the car, but the slight limp reminded her of the jagged scar on his hip.

Beneath the restroom sign, she hesitated.

Leo turned, a quizzical look lifting one eyebrow.

She pointed to the sign above his head. “I gotta pee.”

A smile might have teased the corner of his mouth when she slipped past him and pushed open the door to the women’s restroom, but it vanished so swiftly she couldn’t be sure.

Aside from hurting, the wound in her side made her movements slow and awkward. She fumbled through, and when she reemerged, he was waiting for her.

She resisted the urge to nestle into his side, but stayed close as he navigated the aisles, accepting a bottle of water, a sandwich, and a protein bar when he handed them to her. Then he snagged a first-aid kit off the shelf and headed toward the checkout.

She dumped her purchases on the store counter and dug through her purse for her wallet, but when she slid her bank card from its slot, Leo’s hand covered hers.

“I got it,” he said easily, then passed a bill to the cashier.

Returning the card to its spot, she followed him outside and found a patch of grass behind the building for Arlo to explore and do his business. Back at the car, Leo helped her inside before walking around to the driver side door.

He wrestled the first-aid kit from the shopping bag and ripped into the plastic covering. Popping open the white case, he selected a small packet and tore it in two.

“Here, take these.”

She held out her hand and he dropped two pills into her palm.

Then he offered her the sandwich. “Better try to eat something with them though.”

“Why did you pay for my lunch?” Though the sandwich held little appeal, she took it from him.

“I don’t want you using your cards.”

“Too easy to track?”

He inclined his head.

“I’ll pay you back,” she muttered.

The pills abraded her throat when she swallowed them so she took a long drink from the water bottle. More water was needed as she forced down bites of dry bread and turkey. Soon, the pain in her side eased. She relaxed in her seat and watched the scenery change from populated urban cityscapes to the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania. When the hills flattened out into the rural farmlands of eastern Ohio, she began to doze.

When the car’s lulling motion varied, she stirred from sleep. They’d exited the highway and Leo steered them into a hotel parking lot.

Rubbing her eyes, she straightened in her seat. “We’re stopping?”

“I hope that’s okay.” He killed the engine and gave her a long, assessing look. “I need to make some more calls and grab a couple hours of sleep.”

She lifted her shoulders. “I’ve never been on the run before. This is all new to me.”

There it was again. The almost-smile.

He grabbed their bags from the back seat and she scooped her purse off the floor at her feet, which still sheltered a cowering Arlo. Sore from her injuries and stiff from lack of movement, she walked slowly. Leo shuffled along beside her, a deep scowl on his face.

While he disappeared indoors, she hung back to let Arlo down in a grassy speck of lawn. When Leo returned for them, she followed him inside, through the hotel lobby, and down a long corridor of doors to arrive at the last one on the right.

With a card key, he let them into the room, which had no view and only one bed, but was quiet and clean. After spending the previous thirteen hours in a car, her body begged to stretch out on the double bed.

But first, she needed a shower.

“Do you mind if I have a look at your cell phone?” Leo asked. “I want to make sure you don’t have any apps running that can track your location, or anything else that might cause us problems we don’t need.”

She pulled the device from a side pocket on her purse and handed it over. “Do you mind if I shower?”

A flicker of something flitted across his features, but he shook his head and stared down at her phone. “Not at all.”

She plucked her suitcase off the bed and retreated to the bathroom.

Not until she was in the shower and soaked through did she realize she’d handed her phone over to him without a moment’s hesitation. Not one suspicious or cynical thought had entered her head before doing so, even though her entire life was on that phone. One app opened directly to her email account, which contained her credit card and banking statements, and access to all her research on Aron King.

And she’d just left Leo alone with the device. As though she trusted him completely. Implicitly.

Damn, she was bad at this.

With a defeated sigh, she shut her eyes and let the warm water pour over her.

But as soon as her eyes closed, memories of the assault sprang from the shadows in her mind to torment her. The terror hit her all at once. The utter helplessness she’d felt to realize she couldn’t match his power, or his ruthlessness. The panic that’d gripped her when she stared into his cold, dead eyes. The devastating certainty that she wouldn’t survive the attack.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she swiped at them, but she couldn’t stem the onslaught. Fear rose up to choke her and she slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the wrenching sobs that racked her body.

Sinking to the tub floor, she pulled her knees to her chest and wept.

 

 

He awoke with a start. That was how he always woke up, as if he hadn’t meant to fall asleep and yanked himself awake, ready to fight.

At his side, the soft, delicate sounds of Prue’s snoring told him she slept.

Daylight persisted at the edges of the drawn curtains, and the clock on the nightstand informed him that he’d slept nearly an hour. He rubbed a hand over his face and braced himself for the next phase of their journey.

Unable to come up with a better strategy, he’d resigned himself to the course he’d chosen. Two weeks. That’s all he could give her. He’d keep her hidden, but only until Owen returned. And not one day more.

While Prue showered he’d called the power company to have service switched on as soon as possible. Some instinct, or maybe it was just plain old-fashioned paranoia, told him not to stay in one place too long. They needed to keep moving, and if they were going to make it to their destination yet tonight, they needed to hit the road within the next hour.

Just then, movement at his elbow startled him, and he jolted. In turn, a gray puffball launched itself a foot into the air.

Leo stifled a curse and collapsed back in the bed as the cat landed gracefully in the covers. Prue’s cat was charcoal gray, except for the splotches of white on all four of his paws and his tiny chest. He sidled closer and placed a white paw tentatively on Leo’s rib cage. Then he looked at Leo, with only one eye.

The little guy was missing his right eye, which lay uselessly shut, the small slit nearly lost amidst gray fur. With one finger, Leo scratched him under the chin and the cat stretched into his touch. The soft hum of his purring motor revved.

Once satiated, Arlo curled up next to Prue and Leo climbed from the bed. He set the alarm on his cell phone to make sure they left on time, then headed into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Afterward, he pulled on a clean pair of shorts and used the towel to scrub the water from his wet hair.

When he returned to the main room, Prue still slept, so he retrieved the first-aid kit from the console and approached the bed. Her dark lashes lay on rounded cheeks flushed pink with sleep. A pang wrenched his insides when he noticed the shadow of a bruise forming on her cheekbone.

He trailed his fingertips over her skin, careful not touch the tender spot. She was warm, but not feverish.

His fingers lingered on her unbearably soft skin.

Dammit, but he should’ve been there for her. With a sharp bite of regret, he pulled his hand away and knelt on the floor beside her.

He lifted the hem of her shirt to reveal the site of her wound, then gently peeled back the bandage. A huff of breath he didn’t know he’d been holding rushed from him. The cut looked good, clean and healthy. He placed a blob of antibiotic ointment on the gash and applied two butterfly bindings before covering the area with a larger bandage.

His work done, his gaze wandered over her body. Over the smooth skin of her abdomen to the dip of her waist. A deep, primitive sensation tugged at his groin. It’d been so long since he’d experienced it, he’d almost forgotten the feel of his own arousal.

Madness took hold and he flattened his palm over the rounded swell of her belly. The night he spent in her bed, had he taken the time to explore her body? To taste her skin? If he had, would another taste now return his memory to him?

He wanted to remember being with her. To recall the feel of losing himself in her warm, soft flesh. What sounds had she made when he’d entered her body? He’d been dead so long, he’d forgotten what it felt like to partake in life. Suddenly, he wanted to remember that, too.

He bent his head over her and searched out her scent. With a mere sliver of space between his face and her skin, he inhaled deeply. Then he pressed his lips to the unharmed flesh on her abdomen.

Her soft gasp reverberated through him. Without lifting his head, his eyes met hers over the plane of her stomach. A primitive, possessive need took control. His grip on her waist tightened and he rose up, ready to claim what belonged to him.

Then his gaze landed on the darkening shadow under her left eye.

He touched her cheek, beneath the budding bruise. “He hit you?”

She nodded, and her eyes clouded with The Fear. He recognized it instantly.

“What if he comes back?” Her throat worked when she swallowed. “What if he finds us?”

“I’ll kill him.”

His response didn’t dampen the terror. Might’ve increased it, actually.

“But you won’t be with me forever,” she said softly.

His chest ached. “Prue, I know I let you down. I’m sorry.”

Her brow crinkled with equal parts confusion and heartbreak. “You didn’t let me down. You came even though I told you not to. You came when I didn’t call you.”

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

A hint of a smile touched her lips. “No. I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

“I won’t leave you again unless I know you’re safe.” Emotion thickened his voice. “I promise.”

Oddly, that statement did dilute some of her trepidation. A soft hum of gratification ricocheted through him. More than anything, he wanted to banish that last shadow of fear from her eyes.

Of its own volition, his hand on her stomach rubbed in slow, soothing circles.

When her mouth formed a sexy little O of surprise and her breathing hitched higher, his hand stilled. Their gazes tangled.

Then he watched in horror as her hand slipped down her body, over her stomach, where her fingers snagged on the hem of her shirt. With an aching, sensual slowness, she inched the fabric upward.

She. Inched. The. Fabric. Upward.

The punch of lust that struck him was so strong it knocked the air from his lungs. He wanted to fuck her. The wanting was visceral. All-consuming. God, but he wanted to know what it was like to bury his cock in her wet heat.

She was the first thing he wanted from this world in so fucking long that his body began to tremble with the pain of holding himself back. His breath shuddered through him.

“Leo?” Her eyes pleaded with him, and fear shifted to something more like hope.

Correction: Arousal.

He gulped.

She’s vulnerable, he reminded himself. He’d be the worst kind of monster to take advantage of her.

Then she touched his hand, and her eyes turned soft and imploring.

Owen was going to kill him.

For crimes already committed, the devilish voice whispered inside him. What was another wrongdoing added to the first? Especially if he restricted it to a lesser crime?

After a gluttonous feast, what was one more little taste?

He dipped his head, and his mouth brushed the skin near her naval. His fingertips touched where his mouth had been and a breathy moan escaped her.

Standing at the precipice, his gaze sought hers once more. He didn’t know what he sought from her. Affirmation? Permission? Some sign that what he was about to do wasn’t the stupidest, most self-destructive thing he could possibly choose to do just then?

But when he peered into her face, he didn’t see any of those things. He glimpsed instead the shimmer of fear, and he knew what he would do.

While he couldn’t fight her battle with The Fear for her, he could help her deceive it, at least for a time. He could stoke her pleasure to the point where no room remained for fear.

If he hadn’t already made his decision, Prue, in her maddening sweetness, would have pushed him to it when she reached for him with one small, trembling hand and slipped her fingers through his hair. Tenderly, she fondled the dark locks. Then, with gentle but firm pressure, she nudged his head back down to her body.

Something inside him, way deep down in the darkest corner of his soul that’d been despaired without light for all the ages, sparked.

His hand slipped to the delicate skin of her inner thighs.

She appeared mildly alarmed, and confused, but as his hand inched higher, she slowly parted her legs. He hooked a finger beneath the crotch of her panties and pulled the fabric aside.

With the tip of his index finger, he traced the opening of her sex. She gasped, and he experienced a flash of primitive pleasure. Taking his time, he toyed with her curls until they grew moist. Then he pushed a finger inside her warm hollow. He stroked and teased, and soon her arousal made his fingers slippery.

Her soft moans pulled him under and the last clear thought he remembered having was that, while he was sorry for betraying his friend again, he wouldn’t regret giving Prue anything, everything, she asked of him.

She wiggled her hips, chasing the pleasure he gave her, and her breathing came in sharp, quick pants. Her eagerness devastated his control. Settling more deeply between her thighs, he dipped his head and took a long, slow lick of her.

She tasted of heat and honey. He lapped up her flavor while her soft cries tore him apart.

He was unraveling.

Then she lifted her hips, and something uncoiled inside him, near his black center. Something soft and wild where it should be wound tight and hard, and safe.

Before he was ready for her pleasure to end, her body clenched around his fingers. He slid a second finger inside her and stroked in counterpoint to his tongue.

She cried out with her release, the sound throaty and uninhibited. In that moment of her unguarded ecstasy and ultimate trust, she was a goddess. Her cheeks flushed pink and the lips of her plump mouth parted with her spent arousal. When she blinked open her eyes and offered him a shy smile, the blue irises shone like buffed jewels.

For his part, he’d never been so hard.

With a piercing wail, the alarm he’d set on his cell phone shattered the quiet in the room.

He left the cradle of her thighs, pushed to his feet, and silenced his phone.

His voice rasped harshly when he said, “We better get going.”