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Chapter Nineteen
V
The heat from his fingertips seemed to burn through the denim and onto my skin. A sudden and unexpected surge of lust pulsed through me, starting from where his fingers touched my thigh, and condensing deep between my legs. My nipples tightened and crinkled, and I pulled away from him, dislodging his hand and angling my body slightly toward the driver’s door so he wouldn’t notice the twin bullets that had appeared beneath the material of my t-shirt.
What the fuck. Where had that come from?
I should be worrying about my sister, and if I’d live to see tomorrow, not thinking how it would feel if X shoved his hand between my thighs and released the tension building there.
What was it people said about intense, life or death situations, that it heightens everything? Makes you act erratically. That must be the explanation for my body’s reaction to his hand on my thigh. It certainly hadn’t been a conscious one from me, though his hand was attractive, with its long fingers, large palm, and clean, blunt nails. The hand matched its owner, his lean frame, the piercing blue eyes, the shadow of stubble that had crept across his chin and jaw since I’d first taken him captive. I liked that he took me seriously, and wasn’t trying to treat me like some silly little girl, just because I was female.
“Sorry,” he said, taking his hand from my leg, a slight frown creasing his forehead.
He’d sensed something pass between us, too. Had it confused him as much as it had me?
I didn’t know. He didn’t have as much riding on this as I did. He was allowed to be distracted by something as base as sex. It wasn’t as though a member of his family was in trouble. I still wasn’t completely sure why he was even helping me. Yes, he’d offered initially so I wouldn’t leave him tied up in the cellar, but why was he still here now? I had a gun, but he was a lot stronger than I was, and realistically could have tried to wrestle it off me by now, especially when I’d been distracted by driving. Or else he could have pulled one of the guns from the bag at his feet and used it on me.
Part of me was tempted to ask him again, but I didn’t want to sit here for hours in some deep and meaningful conversation. Perhaps I didn’t want to know. Instead, I started up the truck again, and, after checking for traffic, pulled the vehicle out into the road. At least when I was driving, I could pretend to not be paying attention to, or thinking about, the striking, intense man sitting beside me.
As I drove, X kept turning around in his seat, or leaning to one side to see out of the window and up into the sky.
“You still think we’re being followed?” I asked, unease threading its way through me.
“I think it’s better to keep an eye out, just in case.”
I nodded, and focused on driving. Half an hour or so passed by without event, us driving in silence, though tension still filled the interior.
“Look, there,” X said suddenly.
My first reaction was that he’d spotted someone following us, and adrenaline soared through me, making my heartrate jump, but then I realized he was pointing at a building on the side of the road which we were approaching.
“We need to refuel,” he said. “Take a break. You’ll be stronger for your sister that way.”
I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to reach Nickie as soon as possible. I hated to think how frightened she would be. She’d be cursing my name, certain I was the one responsible for putting her in that position. I hated to think she might die with nothing but loathing for me in her heart. But at the same time, I knew he was right. I’d barely slept the previous night, and I’d only had the cup of coffee which I’d drunk with the deputy hours before. My temples throbbed, my whole body heavy, my eyes sore and gritty. The emptiness in my stomach felt like I’d been hollowed out, and acid burned the inside of my throat.
“Okay,” I conceded, signaling to pull into the diner. “We take a break, but not for long. Deal?”
He nodded. “Deal.”
I pulled into the parking lot, but instead of stopping out front, I drove the truck around the side of the building, where it would be hidden from the main road, and from the curious view of anyone eating in the place. There were only a couple of other vehicles already parked in the lot, and it didn’t look like the sort of place locals would frequent. I was happy with that. Quiet worked well for me. I didn’t like busy places at the best of times.
We climbed out of the truck. X was still favoring his bad leg, but not as much as before. I figured the analgesics had kicked in.
I was conscious of how we must look together, me with my tattoos and a hard edge to my face, him with his striking good looks and taped together clothing, both garnering attention neither of us wanted. A couple of people glanced up at us as we walked in, but otherwise everyone went back to their meals.
We separated to use the bathrooms, and I took the time to wash up. I came out to find X had already gotten a table right at the back, and within a minute a young waitress was beaming down at us, a notepad in her hands.
“Hi, guys, what can I get you?”
“Coffee and water,” I said.
“And a couple of cheeseburgers with fries,” X added.
I raised my eyebrows at him. “I’m capable of ordering for myself.”
He grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of ordering for you. Those burgers are just for me. Do you know how long it’s been since I last ate?”
I repressed a smile, and looked up at the waitress. “I’ll have a cheeseburger, too, thanks.”
