Danger and Desire: A Romantic Suspense Anthology

by Kimberly Kincaid

Chapter 9

  What had Wyatt said? That the storm would make everything more miserable?

  He’d definitely gotten that right.

  How many miles had they run? Five? Ten? A hundred?

  One foot in front of the other. That was all she could think about. All she could do. That was what her life had boiled down to while Wyatt led her step after step through the wilderness.

  She wasn’t going to slow them down. She couldn’t slow them down. If she did, Hudson would kill them both in horrible ways. So, she kept going.

  She put one foot in front of the other when it began to rain.

  She put one foot in front of the other when her shoes began to rub blisters on her heels and every muscle in her body screamed for her to stop.

  She turned her mind off and kept her body on autopilot—the same way she’d done for weeks after what had happened with Travis. Finally, some goddamn good was coming out of that. She would ignore everything else and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

  She had no idea where they were, and her system had long since burned through any calories it had. Her entire body cried out for rest, but she refused to voice any of her needs.

  Wyatt was trying to put as much distance between them and Hudson’s vile threats as possible. The least she could do was not be a baby.

  One foot in front of the other.

  It wasn’t until she ran into Wyatt’s back that she realized he’d stopped. He was quick, grabbing her with one arm before she could fall. Good thing because she didn’t know if she’d be able to get back up once she was on the ground.

  “Look at me.” He tipped her chin upward with one crooked finger. “It’s time to stop. You’ve had enough.”

  “No, no. I can keep going.” She meant it with all her heart, but even she could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

  And now that they had stopped moving, she started to shake uncontrollably.

  She was falling apart, and she knew it. There was no pretending otherwise.

  He muttered a curse and slid an arm around her. “I’m sorry. I should’ve slowed down long before now. You’re too much of a damn trooper for your own good.”

  “I-I know we have to keep going. Hudson—”

  Wyatt wiped hair off her brow, sliding it back from her eyes. She’d run out of energy to do that hours ago.

  “Hudson and his men are nowhere nearby.” He cursed again as he looked in her eyes, both drenched by the constant rain. “I’m a fucking idiot, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”

  “I-I’m okay.” She wasn’t, but admitting that wasn’t going to help.

  “You were up all night taking care of me, and now this… We’re going to stop and rest for a few hours. I can guarantee they are nowhere near us.”

  “Where can we go?”

  “Let’s do some real-life SERE training.” He kept her tucked against his side as they moved forward, following a small river they’d come to earlier. The soft whooshing sound of the water as it flowed past would’ve been soothing under different circumstances.

  Where the hell were they? Letting Wyatt lead her, she looked around but couldn’t make heads or tails of anything. Surefooted and confident, she leaned on his strength as he led them away.

  It was so good to have someone’s strength to lean on.

  They walked for another few minutes in silence before he stopped and pointed up ahead, where a steep cliffside loomed high enough to make her crane her neck to take it all in.

  He didn’t mean they had to climb that, did he? Her legs were so weak she could barely stand on her own. She doubted she could’ve climbed it in daylight at full strength, and she knew she definitely could not climb it now.

  “There should be some sort of overhang near the base,” he explained. “Not quite a cave, but deep enough that we can take shelter there. We have landscapes like this all over the place near Oak Creek. There’s almost always an overhang.”

  The thunder rumbled louder, and the wind picked up, urging them to rush forward. Knowing there was a place to rest ahead made it easier.

  The shallow cave wasn’t much, but it was dry. Wyatt checked for any critters then helped her inside.

  “I’d build a fire—show you some real SERE techniques—but we can’t risk detection.”

  “It’s okay.” The early summer air wasn’t too bad now that the rain wasn’t pelting them.

  But with the lack of physical agony, all the mental ones came pouring back. Ones she hadn’t allowed herself to think about at all while they rushed through the wilderness.

  The house, her haven, her safe place. It was gone, burnt to the ground. The rain would’ve been too late to save it from damage.

  No. She tried to push the thoughts away before they overtook her, but it was no use. Now that they’d stopped moving and it was time to rest, there was no escaping what she’d left behind.

  It was all gone.

  They easily could have died earlier. What if the men had charged into the house and shot them? What if Hudson had had his way and tortured her while Wyatt had been forced to watch?

  Where would she go after this? How could she hope to rebuild her life from scratch again?

  She sank to the cold, hard, stone ground with her back against the rock wall. Her hands shook, so she pressed them together and held them between her knees so Wyatt wouldn’t see.

  He had enough on his mind. Her breakdown would add to his stress.

  He was setting up some sort of branch barricade at the front of their small cave to protect them. Maybe he wouldn’t notice she was falling apart.

  But when he looked back at her, he knew. His face settled into a sad sigh, and he nodded before he turned back to finish his work.

  Once it was done, he crawled over to where she’d balled in into herself.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  “I-I…” She couldn’t seem to find any words.

  “It’s okay.” He sat next to her, shoulder to shoulder. “It’s okay to feel whatever it is you’re feeling. You’ve been so focused, so brave. You don’t have to be brave right now.”

  A crack of thunder and suddenly, the storm broke harder than it had when they were out in it.

  Like the sky was sobbing.

  Nadine found herself sobbing, too. All the fear and anger and despair flowed out of her in waves of pain she couldn’t control. She had no idea how long it lasted and barely felt it when Wyatt pulled her into his lap.

  He didn’t try to quiet her. Didn’t offer her meaningless words of comfort. Didn’t try to fix it.

  He just held her and lent her his strength.

  Nobody had ever done that for her. Chloe had tried as her friend, but she’d always had her own demons to fight.

  Wyatt held her and let his strength surround them both like the solid, immoveable calm in her raging storm.

  Eventually her tears passed. “I’m sorry for getting so—”

  “No,” he cut her off before she could finish the sentence. “You don’t apologize. I’ve seen trained soldiers lose their shit over less than what you’ve been through in the past thirty-six hours.”

  “Well, thank you for letting me get it out. I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for you.”

  He gave a short bark of laughter that held no humor. “Yeah. And if it wasn’t for me, you’d still have a house. And no psychopaths chasing you through the wilderness threatening to torture you. I should’ve never brought you into this. I’m so sor—”

  “No. Now you don’t apologize.” She was as stern as he’d been. She turned in his lap and grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling him close. “If you hadn’t come to me, you might be dead by now. I can’t stand to think about it.”

  “But you lost everything because of me.”

  “I lost stuff because said psychopaths decided to destroy my house. All of that is replaceable. You got us out. You kept us safe. That’s the most important thing.”

  She hadn’t planned to kiss him but couldn’t keep her l
ips from his. Then, they couldn’t stop. She kissed him like he was oxygen and she was out of air, breathing him in over and over. At least part of it was the adrenaline from the night, from her outburst, but she didn’t care.

  Knowing they’d come so close to dying multiple times over the past few hours deepened her need to be close to him, to indulge in him, to soak in every minute of this intimate togetherness.

  She didn’t care if they were in some sort of cave. Didn’t care if he had said he wanted to wait until they had longer, uninterrupted time to enjoy each other.

  Uninterrupted time was a luxury they might never have. She wanted him. And his moan let her know how much he wanted her, too.

  His hands slid up under her shirt, stroking bare skin, making her squirm. She needed to be closer, needed to feel his skin against hers.

  He pulled back when she lifted her shirt over her head. “Are you sure? We can wait.”

  “I’m more sure than I’ve been about anything in a long time.” She could barely make out his features in their enclosure. She used her fingers to trace the lines of his face. “I want you, Wyatt. Here. Please.”

  He turned his face to kiss one of her palms, then the other. “You don’t have to ask me twice, sweetheart, believe me.” He pulled his shirt off, which joined her clothes in a pile.

  Straddling him, she lowered herself until their chests were touching and kissed him again while his hands roamed over her hips, thighs, and back.

  A shudder ran through her as his lips left hers and made their way down her throat, then nibbled on her shoulder. One hand buried in her hair and the other gripped her backside. He pushed down on her while pushing upward, grinding them together.

  The friction of their bodies together had them both releasing groans. Yes, she definitely wanted him.

  They shifted away long enough to strip away the rest of their clothing. His teasing lips and teeth found her breasts—nipping, soothing, driving her crazy—when he was quicker than her in pulling down his jeans.

  While she tried to get her pants off, his lips tormented her nipple. “You better hurry.”

  “No fair. You barely pulled your pants down at all.” Her head fell back with a moan as he took her breast deep into his mouth, sucking hard. “I have to take mine all the way off.”

  “Gives me more time to enjoy these.” He switched to the other breast, giving it the same treatment. “You’re so damn sexy, Nadine.”

  “How do you know? You can’t see me.”

  “I don’t have to see you to know you’re sexy. Everything about you—your strength, your courage, your beauty—is damn near perfect.” He reached up to cup her neck and pulled her forehead down to his. “When this is over, we’re going to do this somewhere safe and soft, where we have a long, long time for me to drive you crazy.”

  “Promise?”

  “Scout’s honor.”

  “Your codename.”

  He nodded. “And this time, the most solemn of promises.”

  “Deal.”

  He dug into his pocket and pulled out a condom. “I wasn’t expecting this sort of adventure, so all I have is the one in my wallet.”

  She scooted back and watched as he opened the package and slid the condom over his hard length. She wanted him inside her. Now.

  “I need you,” she whispered. “As wild and brutal as that storm outside, I need you to remind me that we’re both still alive and that’s something not to take for granted. We’ll have slow and easy another time, but right now, I just want you inside me.”

  He grunted, obviously pleased with her words. She pushed at his shoulders until he was lying back, then climbed on top of him.

  “You go as fast or slow as you need, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I’m all yours.”

  She bit her lip, slowly working herself on him. It had been so long, and it felt so good. He held still, letting her control the pace and depth, but she could feel his fingers bite into her hips and ass.

  And she loved it.

  She cried out softly when she took him as deep as he would go. His head tilted back as he let out a groan, tremors wracking him as he attempted to hold still.

  For her. For her to find her pleasure.

  She raised herself slowly, feeling every inch of him, then lowered. Taking her time, wanting to savor this one moment.

  He reached up, taking her breasts in his palms. She whimpered when his thumbs stroked back and forth over her erect nipples. The touch sent bolts of electricity straight to her core. She moved faster, grinding against him on the downstroke, doubling her pleasure.

  “So beautiful,” he groaned. “You’re always so beautiful.”

  All of it—wanting him, needing him, the fear, the pain, the knowledge of him watching her for the past year, the sheer joy of being with him this way, the heat unspooling in her core—came together at once. She was lost, head thrown back, crying out with every breath as her climax came faster than she had expected.

  Distantly she heard him call out her name as his hips pumped beneath her. She fell against his chest.

  The storm continued to rage around them as he held her against his heart.

  Chapter 10

  Note to self: carry more than one condom in case of emergency entrapment in a cave with a gorgeous woman.

  Lying there with Nadine in his arms, Wyatt grinned in the darkness. They were both too exhausted to put more condoms to good use anyway.

  And happy. In spite of everything, he was happier than he’d been in a long time.

  He’d already known she was amazing. Brave, beautiful, warm-hearted, trusting, and giving.

  What he hadn’t known was how tough she was. He’d set a pace that would’ve made trained soldiers balk, leading her over uneven terrain, up steep inclines, never slowing for fear of being caught.

  And she’d kept up, never once complained, never asked him to slow down.

  He’d wanted to kick his own ass when he’d stopped and seen her complete and utter exhaustion. Another note to self: Nadine needs someone who will put her wellbeing at the forefront.

  He’d be more than happy to volunteer for that position.

  Now she slept like the dead, wrapped up against him. She deserved it. They’d both gotten their clothes back on after their lovemaking in case they needed to leave quickly, but then he’d told her to sleep.

  Wyatt wanted to hold her, let her rest, protect her. If it weren’t for the danger stalking them—and lack of condoms—he’d be tempted to stay here much longer.

  Once he got this drive delivered and neutralized the threat to her, he planned to drag Nadine to the nearest bed. It might take two or three years to really get to know every inch of her, but that would be okay.

  It might take forever. And that would be even better.

  He waited for any tinge of panic at the thought, but the truth was he’d known Nadine was the sort of forever he wanted from the moment he’d first met her in that hospital a year ago. Getting to know her the past few months had only reaffirmed what his heart had known from the first moment.

  She was it for him.

  And now that there were no more secrets between them, he just needed to convince her of that, too.

  But first, safety.

  She stirred slightly, her head moving on his chest, and he saw this as an opportunity. “I hate to wake you,” he nuzzled the top of her head, “but we need to get moving.”

  When she angled her face toward his, he kissed her lips and knew it was something he planned to do many times in the future. Every morning, every night, and as many times in between as possible.

  Rather than loosening, her arm tightened around his waist. “Can’t we stay here?”

  “It doesn’t seem half bad, does it? Although I assume we’d want plumbing at some point.”

  They both sat up, stretching sore muscles, then walked over to the shelter opening. Moving the crude doorway he’d made of bush and branches, they peered out at the early morning.

  Nadine stepp
ed out, tipping her head back to soak in the sun. “At least the storm passed. I was worried we’d have to keep going in a downpour.”

  “Me, too, to be honest.” One less thing to worry about, though it would still be slower going than last night thanks to the mud and loose rock.

  “We could be anywhere in the world right now when you think about it. As far as the eye can see, nothing but trees.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “We could be in the middle of nowhere.”

  “But in actuality, we’re about four miles northeast of the nearest town.” She looked at him in surprise and he shrugged. “Stalking you for a year has come in handy. Studying the terrain was part of the job.”

  “So, where do we go?”

  He pointed. “Southwest. We’ll come up on the next town over from Warm River. This area is what separates them. Should take about an hour and a half since we won’t be running. You up for it?”

  “No running? Definitely up for it.”

  It was mid-morning by the time they reached the outskirts of town. They kept away from everyone else, careful not to draw attention to themselves.

  “At least it’s bigger than Warm River,” Nadine observed.

  He chuckled. “That’s not saying much.”

  He scanned the main drag that cut through the heart of the little downtown area. There were boutiques, a bank, a few bakeries, and some coffee shops… and plenty of opportunities to steal a car from a parking lot.

  Before he attempted that, however, he had to get something straight with Nadine.

  He pulled her into a small alley so they could talk. “Before we go any further, you have a choice to make. You can either come with me or we can separate.”

  Her hand grabbed his. “You want me to—”

  “Hear me out. If we call Chloe, she has the resources to get help to you in a few hours. She’ll make sure you’re safe, either around here or you could go hang out with her and Shane for a while in North Carolina.”

  “Or?”

  “I have a few backdoor channels I could use to get in touch with some people who could keep you protected. They can stash you in a safe house until everything is clear. Once this is over, I’ll help you with finding a new place to live.”