he didn’t breathe freely until the main highway. There he flicked on the headlights and hit the gas. He was aware of Abby sitting stiffly, as far from him as she could get, her hand dangling limply near the steering wheel.
Saying nothing.
There weren’t many cars on the highway this late at night. Hell, there were
In the daylight the view had been of wildflower meadows, fall foliage and towering peaks all around them, covered in deep forests.
But at night, the sky-scratching mountains were no more than a dark looming outline, creating a feeling of vastness, which only increased his sense of isolation.
It was many moments before they saw another vehicle, and then, in the oncoming headlights, Hawk glanced over at Abby.
She hadn’t relaxed, not a single muscle. Her skin was pale, her hair wild around her face, her eyes huge and underlined with exhaustion. “Abby,” he said softly.
No answer, big surprise.
“I realize you’re pissed and probably going to castrate me at the first opportunity, but before you do, just tell me one thing.”
Her eyes cut to his.
“What happened to you?”
She closed those eyes.
And his heart sunk, because he’d gotten the answer to his next question. Whatever it’d been, it’d been bad, very bad. And it wasn’t hard to make a few educated guesses, none of which he wanted to think about her suffering through.
Abby didn’t speak, just sat there silently stewing. Steam practically rose from her clothing, which was even more ripped and dirty now and made him feel like crap because he’d done this to her.
Shooting him another sidelong glance that had his death written all over it, she hugged herself with her one free arm, took a deep breath as if steeling herself against the craziness they’d left behind and what was to come, and thrust her chin to nose-bleed heights.
While Hawk loved the show of bravado, he knew no one could maintain it for long, and when she crashed, that would be his fault, too.
When she finally spoke, it wasn’t what he expected. “You’re on empty.”
He looked at her, surprised she cared enough to notice. “I know. Believe me, I could sleep for at least a week-”
“The gas tank.”
“What?” He looked at the gauge and thought,
9
WAS IT GOOD OR BAD THAT THEY found a gas station almost immediately? Abby couldn’t decide as Hawk pulled the truck off the highway and into the parking lot. From her perch in the passenger seat, she searched for an attendant, a customer, anyone she could flag down for help.
But there was not a single soul.
The handcuffs clanked as Hawk shifted, and her hand brushed his, making her breath hitch. She was so used to avoiding a man’s touch, she found herself startled by the fact that though she was still furious, she was not afraid of their close proximity.
Why was Hawk different from other men?
Thumbing open the phone, Abby tried to figure out who to call, then froze as her finger inadvertently pushed a key.
At the unmistakable electronic beep, Hawk’s head whipped back to hers. “What was that?”
She shrugged.
“Goddamnit.” Pressing her back against the door, he set his hand low on her ribs.
“Hey!”
But his hand merely slid further down, brushing her hip, inching into her pocket without qualm, his fingers closing over hers. “What are you doing?”
Momentarily stunned at how intimate it felt to have his fingers in her pocket, so close to her, with his big body holding her prone against the seat, it took her a moment to answer. “Nothing.”
“Doesn’t feel like nothing.”
Nope. It felt like…like he had his hand down her pants. “I’m just keeping my hand warm.” It was amazing how fast the lie rolled off her tongue.
It would have been better if she hadn’t sounded so damn breathless.
In answer, he slid his thumb over her lower lip. “Did you text someone?”
She licked her lips, the tip of her tongue accidentally touching his thumb. In response, he inhaled unevenly, and as if connected to him, her stomach quivered.
“Abby? Did you?”
“Uh…” For some odd reason, she’d lost track of the conversation.
Needing him to get off her, she rocked up, managing only to bump her hips to his. He was surrounding her, holding her down, and it left her feeling confused, muddled. Instead of fighting him, as she’d figured she would, her body was doing a sort of slow-burning awareness thing, complete with hard nipples and quivering thighs.
Hawk didn’t appear outwardly affected by their closeness at all. Instead, he kept track of the issue at hand with apparent ease.
“Did you?” he demanded, then pulled out the phone himself. When he swore, she assumed he’d located her blank text message in the sent file.
Shutting the phone, he lifted his head. Their mouths were a fraction of an inch apart, and somehow fascinated by this, she stared at his lips.
“You lied,” he said very softly.
“No.”
Honestly, she had no idea why she kept lying. He had the proof in his hand. “I-”
“Stop.” As if to insure she did just that, he covered her mouth with his.
This time, this second kiss, Abby didn’t have to brace herself. She knew what to expect, an inexplicable onslaught of hunger and desire, so compelling that a low sigh fell from her.
At the sound, he went utterly still, then slid his free hand into her hair, tightening his grip, changing the angle of the kiss to better suit him as he ran his tongue along her lower lip.
Oh, God. Two things occurred simultaneously. One, her heart skittered into near cardiac arrest, and two…a horrifyingly needy moan escaped her.
Hawk pulled back. Though his lids were heavy over his eyes so that she couldn’t get a read from them, she sensed his confusion matched hers. “I must be insane,” he whispered. “Totally and completely insane.”
Yeah, no argument there.
“Tell me again you’re not in on this whole thing,” he whispered, still holding her face. “Because if you are, you should just kill me now.”
“You’re crazy.”
