by Ellie Danes
“Oh, so you missed me?” The crooked smile on Nathan’s lips infuriated me farther.
He caught my hand as I swung to slap him. Before I could take another breath, he pulled me in close and stole a kiss. A fire shot through me and blazed away the rest of my rational thoughts. All the fear and worry and heartbreak I had felt over the last few hours came pouring out.
“How could you just drive away like that? You left me with all those children,” I cried.
Nathan kissed me again. “They’re safe, aren’t they? I knew you’d do it. And now you’re here. You’re like a dream, you know that, Bree?”
“A dream?” I wrenched free my arm and tried to slap him again. “And here I thought the last forty-eight hours were a nightmare!”
Nathan shook his head, his lips silencing me again. “A dream. An absolute dream. Not only did you face down the cartel but you helped save all those kids. And you made it back here without being seen. Did you come back looking for me?”
Tears spilled over. “I didn’t know what else to do. How was I going to find you? How could you just leave me there? What if I did the wrong thing?”
“You did the right thing, Bree. You’re a hero.” Nathan’s arms caught my anxious body close. “Shh, it’s just extra adrenaline. You’re safe now.”
He was right. My body surged with unused adrenaline. The entire border crossing had been so easy that I didn’t have a chance to work off all the excitement of the escape. It was only a few hours ago that we were breaking out of our storage room and fighting to free the children from the cartel’s control.
“I don’t believe it,” I whispered. “Can it really be over?”
“Believe it, Bree. You did it,” Nathan said.
I pressed my lips to his as if I didn’t quite trust he was real. I felt him smile against my insistent pressure and the kiss caught fire. When I finally pulled back, Nathan’s eyes had a dreamy glaze.
“We’re a perfect match, you know that?” Nathan asked.
“Perfect? I’ve never been accused of being perfect before,” I muttered.
I slipped out of his arms and paced the motel room. After all the ups and downs that Nathan had put me through, I wasn’t sure being his perfect match was good for me.
“Tell me about the crossing.” Nathan eased himself onto the motel bed and watched me as I paced.
“How come the adrenaline isn’t affecting you?” My teeth started chattering.
Nathan shrugged. “You get used to it. Just let it drain out of you.”
“So, your getaway was totally uneventful? You don’t have any excess energy built up?” I asked.
Nathan sighed. “I left you and headed straight here. I wanted to grab our cash and get away before the cartel realized I was alone.”
I marched to the side of the bed and stood over him. “And what would have happened if you got caught?”
“I didn’t get caught.” Nathan looked up, his eyes twinkling with a mirth I didn’t understand.
“This isn’t funny, Nathan. What happened out there?” I smacked his thigh and sat down next to him, staring him directly in the eyes.
“Fine.” Nathan shifted and sighed. “They caught up to me when I got to town and I had to find a place to stash the RV. It’s crammed in a little underground garage over the other side of the market.”
“What?” I stood up. “What if you had gotten the RV stuck?”
“It didn’t get stuck and I got away.” Nathan grabbed my wrist. “I almost got cornered in the market but I managed to escape. I hid out in a clothing store and tried on ugly shirts for a while. Then I came here.”
My knees gave out, and I collapsed onto the bed next to him again. “You tried on ugly shirts for a while?”
Nathan chuckled. “Yeah, you should have seen them. Though I think I could have pulled off the one with the white sand beach and palm trees. Reminded me of you.”
I laughed and it drove the tension out of my shoulders. I collapsed against Nathan’s chest. As soon as I felt his strong, steady heartbeat, I relaxed completely.
The kids were safe, Nathan was still alive, and all I had to do was tip my face up to feel his lips pressed against mine.
“You should have bought that shirt.” I sighed and reached up for another kiss. “I’d like to see you wearing it on a white sand beach.”
“That reminds me. I got you something.” Nathan shifted, and I rolled weakly.
He dug deep into his pocket and held out a small, purple box. Nathan handed it to me and then sat down on the edge of the bed, eager for me to open it.
My hands shook. “You took the time to buy me a present?”
Nathan shrugged. “I was going to figure out a way to find you. And here you are. I hope you like it, Bree. I’m not really the kind of guy who buys gifts for women.”
I stopped him with another overwrought, electric kiss. I wanted the kiss to go deeper, enflame us completely, but Nathan pulled back. He looked back down at the purple box and waited for me to pull the top off.
When I saw the silver charm in the shape of an RV, I burst out laughing. I pulled it free from the box and held out my wrist for Nathan to put it on right away.
“It’s perfect! I can’t believe you stopped and bought me this as you were escaping!”
Nathan tasted my laughter with soft kiss after delicious soft kiss. “We’ll have to add some other things. Maybe a coffee cup for the diner.”
I lifted my wrist to admire the charm bracelet and then tangled my hands in Nathan’s hair. He gladly joined me on the bed, stretching out over me as the kiss deepened.
I lost track of time as we delved into each kiss, sharing our breaths, our smiles, our tasting tongues. Each time Nathan drew back, he removed a different article of clothing. I shed my dirty outfit gladly, feeling as if each stressful and terrifying situation was being peeled out of my memory. Pulled out and replaced by something much, much better.
Our bodies couldn’t bear to be a full inch apart, each move a brush of skin and arousal. My hands stroked down Nathan’s wide shoulders, rubbing the rippling muscles of his back. I wanted to touch every millimeter of skin and assure myself over and over again that he was really there.
Nathan answered my insistent touches with his own ragged breaths and deep, dominating kisses. His hands gripped my body, sliding to different curves and then holding tight. I felt claimed, treasured, and wholly his.
As my hands stroked lower, Nathan nestled his lips into the crook of my neck. Then he drifted lower, claiming my breasts, my nipples, the extra-sensitive skin along the curve of my breast. I arched and rolled, letting him have every bit of skin that he wanted.
And we both wanted more.
All the stress and trauma of the past few hours made it easy for my body to shove my brain aside. I forgot all my shy girl doubts and didn’t second-guess each shift of my body. I knew what to do and how to please him.
I slipped one hand between our pressing bodies and gathered his desire into my hand. Nathan’s breath caught as I wrapped my fingers around his hard length. I felt him surge and grow in my grip.
The sensation flooded me with hot lust.
I shimmied my body up higher on the bed, opening for his eager hands to explore. Nathan dragged his hands down from my breasts to tickle the curve of my hips. Then his palm swept down over my sex, teasing it with a light brush. I panted as his fingertips traced slow circles over my inner thighs and down to caress the backs of my knees.
I answered by sliding my tight fingers down to the base of his throbbing cock. It must have been the right move because Nathan ground himself against my hand and let out an animalistic growl.
His fingers delved between my legs and discovered my honeyed response. I felt his head drop to my breasts as he went weak with need. He was frozen, trying to control the throbbing I could feel hard against my gripping palm.
I rocked my hips against his finger, accidentally sliding it into me. The shock of the intimate touch made me shiver wit
h anticipation. I tried again, lifting my hips higher, making him touch me deeper. He pulled out his finger, dripping wet with my need, and rolled on top of me.
Nathan groaned when I arched my back and then slid back to the bed, my legs spreading wide. He lifted himself up then swooped his body over me. I moaned as his chest hair swept up to tease my already electrified nipples.
Without hesitation, he slipped deep inside me. I was ready, aching to hold him in the core of me where my lust for him pulsed and pulled.
He felt my pleasure shuddering around him, and he claimed my mouth with a bruising kiss. He tongued matched the rhythm of his plunging hips. When I came, a cry of ecstasy passed from my lips straight into his eager kiss.
Nathan devoured my orgasm but did not stop. He pushed us both higher and higher until I exploded again, this time taking his pent-up passion deep inside.
We fell into a dreamless, floating state. Our mission was done, we were together, and I could feel the aftershocks of our lovemaking still rolling inside me.
With a satiated sigh, Nathan raised his head. “We better shower, get our things, and get on the road,” he said.
“Do you think it’s safe to leave?” I asked.
“This is our window. If they search the border and don’t hear anything about me crossing, they’ll come back and double-check.”
My exhausted and thoroughly-loved body could barely rush, but I stepped into the shower. The hot water poured over me and for a moment all I could do was watch the dirt and dust sluice out of my hair and down the drain. I scrubbed my hair until it was squeaky clean and then rubbed every inch of my body with soap.
“Need any help?” Nathan asked. He watched hungrily from the door.
“No,” I said with a laugh. “We’ll never get out of here if you try to help me.”
“Then I’ll just watch.” Nathan stripped off his clothes and joined me in the shower.
I shook my head and backed him into the corner. “Just watch.”
I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair and enjoyed the sensation of Nathan’s eyes on my body. I could practically feel his gaze slipping over my tight nipples the way the warm water traced over them in rivulets.
“Turn it to cold when you’re done,” Nathan said, his voice thick with lust again.
I teased him as I rubbed conditioner on my head, turning around and letting the water run straight down between the curve of my backside.
“You know, I’ve never showered with a man before.”
Nathan’s hands curved around my hips, and he drew my backside against him with a bump that made my breasts jump. “Better rinse your hair out before I have to do more than shower.”
I conceded, feeling too loose and exhausted to handle any more that day. First thing the next morning, though, I planned to shower with him again. I liked how the shower spray had tickled my back as he bent me over.
With that thought burning a blush onto my cheeks, I rinsed my hair, and turned the shower dial to cool. Nathan was done with his shower within a few minutes and was dressed before I was.
Nathan packed up our things and threw the backpack around his shoulders. I turned to grab the motel room doorknob and the world froze. Footsteps stopped outside and there was a harsh knock.
I fell back to Nathan’s side, and we faced the door together.
Chapter Seventy-Five
Nathan
I stepped in front of Bree and shielded her with my body as the motel room door splintered open. She screamed but didn’t duck. Instead, Bree stood next to me, ready to face whomever came barreling through the door.
It occurred to me that it could be the police, or even the FBI. If we had been spotted in connection with the cartel or with the escaped children, there would be more than one government group looking to get their hands on us.
Assaulting a police officer was not something I wanted to add to my ever-growing lists of offenses, but I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to get the jump on whomever blocked our escape.
I waited until the first assailant, the overly large bodyguard we’d met at the warehouse, kicked his way through. By the size of the shoe Bree and I saw, it couldn’t have been anyone else. The door was thin and came apart in long, jagged strips. When he took his first step into our room, I made my move.
I grabbed his arm and used his own forward momentum to yank him off balance. He stumbled past me and I was able to take out a second bodyguard with a sharp jab to the throat.
A bored voice spoke in the hallway. “You always underestimate him and look what happens,” he said to the bodyguard writhing at his feet.
The larger one recovered and in a surprisingly agile move, he dodged around Bree and grabbed her from behind. She screamed and rammed her fist upward into his nose hard enough to spray blood across the faded watercolor painting that hung on our motel room wall.
The effective move surprised everyone, including Bree. I snapped her out of her shock and pulled her toward the door. Whomever was left outside was going to have to get out of the way because we were leaving no matter what.
“You broke my nose,” the mountain-sized bodyguard groaned. He reached out to grab Bree with a ham-sized fist. “And I was going to be gentle with you.”
I stepped in between her and the bleeding man, but a soft throat-clearing stopped me. Bree and I turned to see Adrian Juarez step lightly over the bodyguard that was still struggling to breath. He walked right into our motel room and smiled at me.
“Hello, Nathan,” Adrian said.
“The man from the bank. The man that kidnapped me,” Bree croaked.
I wasn’t expecting her to move so fast. Her mind should still have been reeling with shock, but Bree was adapting quickly to our life on the edge. She pulled my gun from my belt and leveled it at Adrian’s head.
“You won’t shoot me,” Adrian said. He gestured for his bodyguards to stand down even as the one on the floor struggled to his feet.
Bree’s forehead furrowed in concentration. Her fingers inched the safety off. “I will if any of your goons come near me or Nathan again. We’re leaving.”
Adrian smiled and took another step forward. “Your hand is shaking, my dear. It’s all right if you don’t have it in you. Nathan’s cold-blooded enough for the both of you.”
“Stop. I’ll shoot you!” Bree cried.
Adrian sighed and looked at me. “Is it just me or does this room seem a little too crowded for a private conversation?” he asked.
“Bree, put the gun down,” I said.
“No.” She shook her head and steadied her hand. “We’re leaving, Nathan. It’s over. We’re walking out of here together and that’s that.”
“So sweet. I can see why you kept her around,” Adrian said.
I snarled at him. “One bruise on her, one hair out of place, and I will never cooperate with you.”
“Interesting,” Adrian said. “But I think you know that she has no bearing on this conversation. This is strictly between you and I.”
“Bree, give me the gun. Give me the gun now before I take it from you,” I said.
Bree’s eyes swam with tears. “I don’t understand. This is our chance to get out of here.”
“I can’t leave,” I told her. “I can’t run away anymore. It’s time to end this.”
Adrian shooed his bedraggled bodyguards out of the broken motel room door. “God, you really are this dramatic all the time, aren’t you? As if every little thing is right or wrong, life or death.”
Outside we could hear police sirens wailing. Adrian rapped out a quick command in Spanish, but the shorter bodyguard shook his head. He was still struggling to talk from where I had bruised his windpipe. The mountainous bodyguard stepped out the door and went to deal with the police. It was obvious the authorities would not be joining us.
“You’re telling me all of this isn’t life or death?” I asked Adrian. “Your men have shot at us from day one.”
“Under orders to subdue but not injure you,” Adrian
said. “You were the one that was supposed to teach them more subtle techniques than gunfire.”
“What?” Bree asked.
Adrian laughed. “Just one of the many favors he offered me and my associates.”
“No,” Bree said. “Why would Nathan do that?”
“She doesn’t know? I’m surprised you’ve been able to stay clean this long,” Adrian said.
The palms of my hands itched and there was a heavy buzzing in my brain. I had an addiction but it was easy to control unless the stakes were too irresistible. Bree had no idea that I gambled, and she couldn’t even imagine the depths I’d dropped to from time to time.
“Poker. Was that it? Is that why I made a deal with you?” I asked Adrian.
He laughed again. “You make it sound so simple, as if it was just a few men around a table playing cards.”
Bree shifted from foot to foot, not sure who to trust. “Poker is pretty straight-forward.”
“Not the way we played. Huge parties; drinks, drugs, women, and unorthodox betting. That’s what really gets Nathan going. You’ve got a real winner there.”
“Unorthodox betting? What did I bet?” I asked.
“You don’t remember?” Adrian’s jaw dropped open. “I thought it was just a joke. You mean you really don’t remember the big game?”
I wanted to lie and pretend I was still in total control but I was so sick of being in the dark. My own memories were nothing more than weak shadows and I couldn’t go on imagining what I had done. I needed to know.
“The only thing I remember is waking up in a clinic,” I told him.
The shorter bodyguard still couldn’t speak without a painful rasp in his voice, but he chuckled silently and croaked, “guess we must have roughed him up a bit too much.”
“No such thing for a Navy SEAL, right?” Adrian joked. “And here I thought you really were the toughest, most hardheaded colleague I had ever met.”
“I’m not your colleague,” I spat.
“He doesn’t remember anything. You can confirm with the doctor at the clinic,” Bree said. “So, that means the deal is off.”
“How do you figure that?” Adrian asked.