“How far?”
Cullen paused, turning to her. “Can you go on?”
“Working on it.” Her words were full of strain as she struggled not to pass out from her exhaustion. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult. The thin air, blood loss, and the bumps and bruises from the crash had all added up to her needed to sleep.
“Not far to the road now.”
I swear that’s what he said twenty minutes ago.
He squeezed her hand and got back to climbing up.
Liz wiped the sweat from her face and dug deep for any remaining energy she may have missed. Now was the time for it step up and be a team player.
Moments blurred into one another, as she fought not to slow Cullen anymore.
“Here we are.”
The best words she’d ever heard. Somehow, they’d made it to the road. Panting, she braced her hands on the ice-cold metal if the railing, grateful for the wool jacket from Cullen.
He has to be freezing.
A car moved by slowly and with its edge of light she ogled her savior. Snow dotted his dark hair and had soaked through his shirt. But damn if he didn’t appear alert and ready for whatever was tossed at them next. Only a few minor cuts showed from the accident.
“Let’s get a ride.”
“God, I thought you’d never ask,” she quipped
He lifted her over the railing, mindful of her injury.
Flashing lights cut through as she watched him stop a plow. Cullen helped her inside the warm vehicle then climbed up after her.
Liz stayed tight to him, soaking up all the heat she could.
αβ
The men talked around her but all she could focus on was Cullen’s arm around her and the heat pouring from the vents. She gave herself over to exhaustion.
“I have no clue who it was, Gray. She’s State Patrol, I’m not even sure they were after me and not her.”
Liz woke to Cullen’s statement. She cracked open her eyes and glanced around. Hospital. The smell and sight gave it away in a heartbeat.
“Yes sir. I’m not leaving her side until it’s figured out. What they want and who they are, not to mention who they are after. Elizabeth Pryze with a ‘y’ not an ‘i’ in her name. Yes, sir.” He hung up and rubbed the back of his neck.
She took in his appearance. Dark green scrub top and gray bottoms. His hair was no longer wet.
Cullen turned in her direction. The moment their eyes met, he walked to her and sat on the bed.“How are you feeling?”
“Sore. You?”
“Warm.”
She took his hand and squeezed. “Thank you for saving my life.
He dipped his head closer. “It was entirely my pleasure, officer.”
“Do we know who and why yet?” She yawned but damn it, she wanted answers. She also wanted to kiss this man.
“No. All current leads are being run down. Your CO has been notified as well as your family.”
“Where are we?”
As he filled her in, she fought off another yawn. “I have a cabin we can use, not too far from here. We can headquarter from there.”
“No way, you’re not leaving here.”
“Fuck that. If they are after me—or you— we can’t risk the people who are here. Besides, I’m stitched up.”
“You’re safer here,” he began.
She sat up and swung her legs over.
The moment she stood, he clamped a hand on her wrist. “Are you purposely ignoring me?”
His calloused fingertips and palm played havoc on her senses. New spirals of fire grew and wove through her veins. Her body’s response to his touch was in a sense violent. Jarring but not in a bad way. A sexual one. Made a certain part of her very wet and another dry as a cotton field.
“Yes,” she forced out between her cracked lips. “The argument isn’t worth a damn thing and doesn’t hold any water in my book.” Standing toe to toe with him, she placed her hand on his chest. “We don’t know who they’re after, may as well join forces and figure it out.”
He dropped his gaze to where her hand settled on his shirt briefly before meeting her gaze once more. Cullen shifted his weight then backed her up to the cool white wall of the room she’d been placed in. “Have people after you, Liz?”
Holy shit, his voice was so low and deep it danced on her clit, shooting rockets of pleasure through her.
She knew, knew, he was speaking in terms of what they’d just gone through but damn it all, her body was completely focused on the need for sex with this man. Wrapping her fingers in his shirt, she tugged him nearer until their mouths were barely a hairsbreadth apart. “Hopefully at least one.”
Oh god, he was going to kiss her. Please, please, please. At the last second, he turned his head, so his lips brushed her cheek. Fuck!
“Trust me, this one’s got you.”
Hell yeah, damn near orgasm worthy. “So, then we head to the cabin.”
He barely blinked. “No.”
“Yes, come on, Cullen. Are you scared to be out in the middle of nowhere with me? You’ve done it once before.”
He gripped her waist on her uninjured side. “This isn’t a game, Liz. Someone wanted to kill us.”
“I reckon they still do, unless they’re confident we’re already dead. Aren’t you interested in who is trying to kill you?”
His fingertips made it to her skin, somehow, she wasn’t sure how he’d found his way beneath her hospital gown but it was driving her to distraction. “That’s a long ass list, baby.
“Then let’s pare it down.” She smiled at him. “Come on, soldier, what do you say?” Liz dragged a finger up his chest. “Wanna be alone with me for a while? I do believe you owe me a night.”
“Need some help out of that damn hospital gown?”
She laughed and shook her head. “You’ve already found a way under it. Why do I need to take it off?”
“So, you can get dressed and we can get the fuck out of here.”
Sounded like a plan to her.
She didn’t have anything much to put on so she shoved back into her torn, dirty jeans and ripped shirt. With a sobering breath, she traced the hole the shard had made in the fabric before it penetrated her skin.
Sitting on the bed, she winced as she bent to tie on her boots.
He was there, brushing her hands away. “Let me.”
Cullen had her secured in moments and she stood, ignoring the voice in the back of her head which screamed for her to take it easy. To rest and allow her body the necessary time to heal.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Nope but I am. So, stop trying to change my mind.”
He snaked an arm around her back, pulling her flush to him. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you saved my life, so thank you.”
Who gave him another vehicle, she didn’t know but she gave him the address to the cabin. He gave her a bottle of orange juice and a few protein bars. She curled her nose but dutifully unwrapped them and ate the bars, which weren’t as bad as she’d first anticipated them to be.
He explained a bit more about what happened after she blacked out in the truck as he drove.
She listened to his deep soothing voice and found herself beginning to drift in and out. The snow-covered roads weren’t getting any better but she wasn’t concerned, he’d shown he could handle himself.
Well, he did crash through the guardrail and send us down the mountain but sure, trust him because you want some cock.
She brushed aside her brain’s commentary and struggled to stay awake as he continued. When he mentioned the state patrol, she perked right up. “Wait, what?”
“What, what?”
“Repeat what you said about the state patrol.”
He coughed. “I called them and explained what had happened to you. Your boss was, is, worried about you, but wants you to contact him when you feel better.”
“I feel bad about not being there with them but thanks for letting him know I was okay.”
“Of course.”
αβ
Cullen hated the affection he heard in her tone when she talked about her boss, Roger Limerack. The man sounded as if he’d had some major concern for her as well. He brushed it aside, this wasn’t about him and any uncalled for jealousy. This was about him getting to the bottom of whatever the fuck was going on, find out who they were and what they were after. Then, stop them.
Gray had arranged for someone to bring him weapons and a new phone, so he felt much better about that. He’d also sent items for staying in a cabin, new clothing and food. So, they were set as far as that went.
Mat had been informed and promised he would let Sheri know. Now it was just getting to the bottom of this mystery.
“Cullen?”
He blinked and slowed for the next hairpin curve. “I’m sorry, what?” Liz had a voice he could listen to forever. There was a slight rasp to it that was like crushed velvet on his cock. He shifted in the seat of the all-wheel drive Subaru Outback.
“I asked what had happened for them to need everyone in.”
“Huge accident, close to one hundred vehicles. Not all in one place but pretty damn close to the same time.”
“Quite a coincidence,” she muttered.
“That’s one way of putting it,” he replied. “I personally don’t believe in them.”
“Me either.” She angled toward him in the seat. “So now that we both know this was some bullshit, who is behind this?”
“Beats the fuck out of me. I can’t think of anyone who would go through all of this just to get to me.”
“Well, it can’t be me. I wasn’t on schedule for tonight. I’ve been off for the week.”
“Maybe someone knew you were going to be off for the wedding and found out. Doing all that is a sure way to get you back in.”
“Why do we think it’s someone who is after me as opposed to you oh, Spec Ops guy?”
He cut his gaze to her, ever so briefly, and longed to pull over and just kiss her senseless. How much sense did it make for him to want her like this? Zero. But ever since he spied her at the rehearsal dinner, all he could think about was making her his. She laughed and flirted with not just him but all the guys there, hell, even some of the women. She was naturally effervescent and drew others to her like a bee to flowers.
Personally, he couldn’t get enough of being in her presence. She had this effect on him he didn’t want to lose it. On top of that were the sparks, nothing either of them could, or would, deny. He was counting down the moments until he could strip her naked and shove her full of his cock. “Oh, Spec Ops guy?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“You worked with Mat, he was Spec Ops. Logical assumption is that you were also, or are.”
“I was, out now, but I was referring to the Oh part.”
She crossed her arms, lifting her breasts.
He groaned and shifted again on the seat.
“I’m sorry, wasn’t there enough breathiness in there for you. Didn’t sound orgasmic enough?”
He smiled and slowed for their turn to the cabin. “Definitely not orgasmic enough. Should have been louder, much higher pitched.”
“Like this you mean?” She cleared her throat and did a very convincing rendition of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally for her orgasm scene.
Cullen’s cock had been dipped in diamonds and coated with titanium instantly. Holy fuck! “Yes,” he croaked. “Exactly like that.”
She dabbed at the corner of her mouth and smirked. “Sorry, that has to be properly earned, I don’t give that away for free.”
He drove up the drive to the cabin and killed the lights and engine. Undoing his belt, he reached over and gripped a fistful of her jacket and top, moving in his direction. “I’ll earn it.”
She released a breathy sigh and he hated to let go but he did. They needed to get inside and figure this out. “Come on,” he ordered. “Let’s get inside and get a fire going.”
“Kinda thinking one’s already going,” she muttered seconds before climbing out.
“No doubt.”
He joined her and after a few trips in and out, they were settled in the cold cabin with a fire burning as it tried to heat up their surroundings. He’d backed the car up to the door in case they had to drive out in a rush, he didn’t want to waste time turning around.
A bowl of soup before each of them, they sat side by side on the couch. A plate of cut up sourdough chunks rested between them on the coffee table.
“I can’t think of anyone that would be pissed off with me. I do routine traffic stops. Ninety percent of what I write tickets for are speeding. I don’t typically have any altercations with people.”
He couldn’t say the same. “My list is considerably longer.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure it is. Are you working on a case right now for The Omega Team that could have to do with this mess?”
He scratched his jaw and put his bowl down. “I finished one three days before the wedding events began. Nothing out of the ordinary here either, basically bodyguard work.”
“Basically? So, was it a woman who maybe had a boyfriend or significant other that would have been jealous of how much attention they received from you?”
He thought about his last assignment. “Well, it was a female, yes, but I highly doubt she has a significant other who would have been jealous.”
“Why is that?”
“Because she was eight years old. I suppose a boy at school could have been but I find it hard to believe he would have masterminded what happened here over the past twenty-four hours.”
Was it his imagination or did she relax a bit with his news on how old the female was? If it was he was okay with that, he wanted her to be jealous, wanted her to only want him around her and no one else. Wanted her to feel proprietary toward him, in the same vein he felt toward her. “I have Gray looking into the other things they’re working and perhaps someone will come up with something but until then, I’m scraping my brain to see what else it could be.”
She dipped the bread in her tomato soup and chewed slowly.
He took the time to ogle her. She took his breath away, her dusky skin a much healthier tone now. Liz had on an oversized sweatshirt, workout pants and thick woolen socks on her feet. How Gray knew what size to send for her, he wasn’t sure, but his man had a knack for being on point in ways others couldn’t ever reach, no matter how hard they tried.
As she flicked out her tongue to capture the lone drop of liquid from her lower lip, his cock pushed hard against the fly of his jeans.
“What if we’re going about this the wrong way and they think we were someone we’re not?” she suggested.
“A wrong time, wrong place kind of situation?”
“Right, I mean we were in town, there are businesses and perhaps there was a robbery or something at one and when we pulled out, we got in the middle of it.”
His bowl joined hers on the table as he faced her. “Do you recall vehicles around when we left?”
“Nope but I was focused on getting out of my dress.”
He snapped his focus to her breasts and yanked them back to her eyes. “So was I.” Clearing his throat, he ran over it in his own mind. “We were going fast, trying to get you there asap. I only remember a black or other dark colored SUV.” Cullen shook his head. “I’m not sure. Let me have Gray check into that as well.”
On his feet, he called his boss and chatted with him for a while about a few options. In his periphery, he saw Liz taking the dishes to the kitchen and washing them quickly before turning them upside on a towel on the counter to dry.
“I’ll let you know what we dig up,” Gray informed him.
“Thanks.” Ending the call, Cullen moved up to the woman wiping off the countertop and trapped her between him and it. Cell on the brown counter, he dipped his head and placed a light kiss on her neck.
“Cullen,” she murmured with a shuddery voice. Her fingers clenched and relaxed as she pushed back into him.
“Yes?” He did it twice more, eliciting the same reaction each time.
“What are you doing?”
“Going for that orgasm scream, only real and so much louder.”
“What about working out what’s been going on?”
“We have to wait for him to get back to us, he’s checking to see if there were any robberies or anything similar that were around that time.”
“And in the meantime?”
He brushed his dick against her ass. “You’re mine.”
“Thank god.”
“Let me know if I hurt your side.” He sucked on her neck, wanting to mark her. Craving his mark to be on her, so others knew she was taken and unavailable. “Unless you want me to rip your clothing, Liz, get the fuck out of those. I want you naked.”