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I should’ve kissed her by now.
She licks her chapped lips, biting the bottom one. “Have you been sleeping enough?” she whispers.
I narrow my eyes. “You just got kidnapped, tortured, and starved while being held captive for six days, and you’re asking me if I got any sleep?”
The first hint of a smile ghosts across her lips.
She leans her head back against the leather seat. “I kinda like that you can’t sleep without me. Did you?”
The energy between us is charged and vibrating with need, fear, and desire. Our mutual hunger for each other is crashing down in waves, rendering me incapable of resisting my unquenchable thirst for her.
If she wasn’t injured, I’d be kissing her neck.
I shake my head. “Not without some heavy sleep aids. After the third day, I started seeing things. Dolly had some leftover sleeping pills from when I was locked up, so I took those last night. I got four hours.”
“So, you still can’t sleep without me.”
My fingers brush against the tender skin between her jawline and neck. “I still can’t sleep without you,” I say softly.
She licks her lips again, like she’s holding back a satisfied smile. “Good.”
She shifts her body so that her head is lying on my shoulder. I take the other half of the sandwich from her, hoping she finishes it when she wakes up.
I look up to see Duke’s eyes watching us from the rearview mirror. He looks away, gripping the steering wheel as he drives us toward New Mexico.
Trust me, I’m not happy about needing her so much either, brother.
We make it to Fe Leon in five hours. Duke stops at the first motel off the highway. It has an extra parking lot in the back, where mostly eighteen-wheelers are parked. He finds a spot hidden between two of them before going to get us a room.
“Just one. We’re not leaving her alone,” I tell him.
He nods, dipping his cowboy hat as he steps out of the dual-wheeled ranch truck. Rosie is still fast asleep on my shoulder when he returns. I don’t want to draw any suspicion by carrying an unconscious woman into a highway motel.
“Hey.” I squeeze her hand.
She blinks at me, sitting up quickly. “Where are we?”
“Outside Fe Leon. We’re going inside, and you can go back to sleep.”
Duke grabs the bag Dolly packed for her, along with one he must have gotten for us, while I guide Rosie out of the truck. I grab a spare jacket from the front seat, wrapping it around her shoulders. Even if she walks in, she looks like an injured, recently starved, and kidnapped woman.
We walk by a truck driver who doesn’t pay us any mind. Duke takes us to the room, which faces the parking lot instead of the highway, using the key card to open it up.
There are two queen-size beds with cheap comforters, thin brown carpet, and Spanish-style prints of clay vases and empty deserts with cactus plants. It’s clean enough with one door leading to a small bathroom. The blackout curtains and double locks on the door are the main things I’m relieved to see.
Rosie walks straight toward the bathroom, shutting the coral door behind her. All the walls and trim are the same shade of muted orange-pink.
“How many guns are in the truck?” I ask.
Duke rubs a hand over his face. “Uh, I think six. Two handguns and four rifles. What are they doing about the sheriff?”
I reach for my cowboy hat before remembering that I set it down outside of the cabin before kicking down the door. I rub the back of my neck.
“Warner is handling it. We’ll call them tomorrow, check in on things.”
The shower starts running inside the bathroom. I grab the purple bag Dolly packed and knock on the door.
“We got you some clothes.”
