Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Well, fuck me.
I placed my hand on top of hers, and air left her in a slow, appreciative sweep. Like she’d been as desperate for my touch as I was for hers.
This time, the silence that fell over us wasn’t uncomfortable. It was full of warmth and connection. But with the tension gone and the gentle rock of the car as we drove along, her eyes grew heavy with exhaustion.
“You should get some sleep,” I said.
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.” It wasn’t a lie. I was tired as shit, but I could make it to the cabin first.
Well, probably.
She shook her head. “I stay awake as long as you are. It’d be rude for me to sleep when you can’t.”
“Rude? After everything you’ve been through, you’re worried about manners?”
She ignored my question. “Why was Bill suddenly okay with you getting on the helicopter with me?”
I gave her the details he’d shared with me, explaining how serious the situation was. What my boss had done, letting me disappear with a witness, was so against the rules it only reinforced my belief there’d been no other way.
“What he probably did,” I said, “was tell everyone you’ve refused protective services and that I’ve been put on leave. Some will buy the story, and some won’t, but it might help expose the mole.”
I didn’t tell her what Bill had said about her sister. There wasn’t enough information, and nothing could be done right now, so I’d save that conversation for later.
At least until she’d gotten a decent night’s sleep and was better equipped to handle it.
Fuck me. Thinking about sleep was a mistake.
I only made it another twenty minutes before I eased the car behind a run-down commercial building that looked like it had been for sale for the last decade. I’d kept us on rural roads, and this place was in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn’t surprising the owners hadn’t been able to find a buyer.
I drove around to the back of the building and parked in its shadow.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“I’ve got to get some sleep, an hour or so. You should, too.”
I reclined my seat as far as it would go, but Laurel stayed upright. She glanced out the windows like she felt exposed.
“We’ll be safe here,” I said.
She finally followed my lead, pulled the lever on her seat, and reclined. She seemed tense as she stared up at the ceiling liner which was starting to sag in spots.
“What’s wrong?”
She turned to lie on her side and look at me. “My mind won’t let me sleep. Do you want me to drive?”
We were both running on fumes. “You don’t know where to go, and you’ll fall asleep at the wheel.” I didn’t mean for it to sound like an order, but it came out that way. “I want you to sleep.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult, but I’m telling you, that’s not going to happen.”
I softened, understanding. “What do you need?”
“For my brain to shut up,” she said. “I don’t know, tell me it isn’t my fault again.”
Her request hit me hard, and my voice turned serious. “It’s not. Laurel, none of this is your fault.”
She made a face, signaling it was clear she didn’t believe me.
I grabbed the steering wheel, hauled myself upright in the seat, and even though it was murder on my back, I twisted to lean over her. Until my face was only inches away from her beautiful one. She stared up at me with wide eyes that were the same blue as Lake Michigan on a summer day.
“Not your fault,” I repeated. “But this,” I dipped my head so my lips could graze hers, “what I’m doing now? This is your fault.”
22
LAUREL
Jason drew me up, so I was sitting, his hands sifting through my hair as he kissed me, and everything outside of him evaporated. The kiss deepened, layer after layer, fueled by the emotional rollercoaster we’d been through.
Was he as greedy for a release as I was? It seemed like it.
It had been a long time since I’d made out in a car, and with the gearshift wedged uncomfortably between us, I remembered why. He placed a hand on my hip, but it didn’t stay there long. It skimmed under the hem of my shirt, his fingertips tracing a few inches up my spine, drawing the shirt up with it.
It could have been fifty degrees below zero outside, but it was unbearably hot inside the car, in his embrace.
I was almost panting when I pulled back. “We have to stop.”
“What?” His fingers brushed the clasp of my bra.
“Any second now you’re going to come to your senses and tell me what a bad idea this is. I’m doing it for you.” My hand bristled on the stubble dotting his jaw.
“No, you’re not.”
His kiss was untamed and intense, and every subtle move of his lips on mine was a promise that he wanted me. His tongue filled my mouth, possessing it, taking me toward the edge then drawing back from it.