Page 18
HEATHER
T he events of the last twenty-four hours felt like a dream to Heather, some kind of horrific nightmare.
Cole rescuing her was more dream than nightmare, but the rest was something Heather only wished she could forget.
She’d been scared before, sure, but this was fear beyond anything she had ever experienced.
Sitting in that chair with her hands and feet taped up, she really had thought she might not make it out of the situation alive.
She’d been forced to contend with the fact that she could be killed that easily — stolen in broad daylight, driven on a busy highway to a second location under a shopping mall, and unceremoniously slaughtered there.
Her life was fragile, not just her body.
For the first time in her life, rather than fearing injury, she had actually been afraid of death.
That was the reason she couldn’t bear to be more than an arm’s length away from Cole at any given time.
Even when they’d stopped to switch his car out for a new one, she had insisted on coming with him into the office, clinging to his arm like a lost child.
Every sound she heard behind her had her head swiveling in its direction as she struggled to ease her own mind that the kidnappers hadn’t finally come for her again.
Cole had chosen to rent a truck rather than a car because it would allow for them to carry more things, and he didn’t know how long they’d have to be on the road.
When they stopped for food, Heather had sat on the same side of the booth as he did, squished between his tall frame and the wall.
Her hypervigilance even seemed to be getting to him.
“You’re going to be okay,” he kept reassuring her, but she couldn’t quite believe him.
It was nice to have someone there either way, though, someone who would immediately miss her should she suddenly disappear.
While she didn’t think Cole could necessarily take on all four of her kidnappers, she figured he had a better shot at it than most of the other people in her life.
He was strong, decisive, and he was good at improvising a plan when he needed to.
Heather told herself she couldn’t be in better hands, and she tried to take deep, slow breaths to calm her frazzled nerves.
When they arrived at the motel, Cole helped Heather down from the truck, the wheels of which were slightly oversized. She hopped down into his arms, and he hugged her tight to his chest for a second before they went in. It felt good to be in his arms. It felt safe.
The motel was a C-shaped, two-story building, with rows of doors on the outside. It looked borderline abandoned, and Heather had serious doubts about how sanitary the place would be. “Hey, Cole?” she said. “Should we maybe look for another spot?”
He shook his head. “This is the only motel around, and it’s getting late. We both need a good night’s sleep. Plus, you know, no one would expect us to stay here.”
“For good reason,” she muttered, but she followed him anyway.
The teenaged boy behind the counter looked tired and apathetic.
This was clearly just a summer job for him.
Either that or his family owned the place.
Either way, it was clear to Heather they weren’t fighting for customers.
The people who stayed at this place were all desperate with nowhere else to go.
The motel didn’t even have to try to keep their customers.
They received their key and headed to their room.
Ground floor, which Cole had requested, for an easy getaway.
They unlocked the door and stepped into a room so dark that Heather was unsure her eyes would ever truly adjust. Then Cole turned on one of the bedside lamps.
The light did not make things more appealing.
There was a dusty-looking carpet, dated furniture, some very mysterious stains on the walls, and worst of all, only one bed.
“Here we go again,” Heather muttered. At least last time they had each had their own sleeping bags to keep things separate.
The temptation, therefore, had been minimal at best. In this case, though, they’d be right up against each other.
“I’m not sleeping on the floor,” she said.
“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Cole’s expression was a mix of displeasure and playfulness, and Heather wasn’t entirely sure which was his dominant emotion. She hoped it was displeasure because she wasn’t sure she could handle his playfulness right about now.
“One of us will have to sleep over the comforter,” Heather said. “I volunteer for that.”
“I don’t think so. If you’re going to insist that one of us sleeps over the sheets, that’s going to be me.
” He was adamant, and she hated it. After what had happened to her, the last thing she wanted was to be controlled.
Her brain rebelled against the idea that anyone could tell her what to do now.
She imagined herself strapped to a chair being told when she could even breathe.
It was a stupid argument, not one Heather would bother having under normal circumstances. But the way her thoughts were nagging her now, she couldn’t seem to help herself. “I refuse to sleep under the covers, and I refuse to sleep on the floor.”
“Why?” He seemed to genuinely not understand, and Heather couldn’t really blame him. “Are you worried about bedbugs or something?”
She cringed at the thought. “Well, I wasn’t until you mentioned it!”
He chuckled and walked over to the mattress.
“There’s a way to check for these things, as I’m sure you already know.
” He bent over one corner of the mattress and started tugging the sheets out from their tucked positions.
When he’d exposed the mattress, he lifted one corner and looked under the seams he found there. All of a sudden, he gasped.
Heather jumped at the sound. “What?” she demanded. “What did you find? Is it bedbugs?”
Cole broke into loud laughter at that, and she realized he’d been messing with her. “That was a dick move, Cole!” she said.
“Why?” he asked sincerely. “Don’t you want to laugh a little? It’s good for you, especially after what you’ve just been through.”
“It wasn’t funny,” she said, slapping him on the arm.
“You smiled,” he countered. “I saw it.”
“Only because I was surprised. Seriously, though, did you find anything?”
He shook his head. “Not a speck. This place is old as hell but clean enough. Do you still want to sleep over the comforter?”
Heather stood her ground. “Yes.”
“Why? Don’t you trust me?”
“No.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Why should I after all the shit you’ve pulled?”
He looked legitimately hurt by that. “Hey, I thought we had made progress at camp, and after. And saving your hide this evening has got to count for something. I mean it was a pretty romantic first date, don’t you think?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “This is not a joke.”
“No,” he agreed. “You’re right. This is no laughing matter.
In fact, I should just put my foot down.
” Without any ceremony whatsoever, he peeled back the comforter and top sheet, and gestured to the admittedly cozy-looking bed.
“We’re sleeping here. We’re not going to make it a big deal.
We’re both just going to get a good night’s sleep. ”
“Absolutely not,” she snapped back at him.
“Don’t be cute,” he growled.
“Don’t be a jerk, and I won’t be cute!” she shouted. The argument was ridiculous, she knew, but it was a diversion, and right now, she really needed a diversion.
“You’re doing it now,” he said as he crept up on her.
“Doing what.”
“Being cute.” He was inches away from her now.
“Certainly not on purpose,” she murmured.
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” Then, without any warning whatsoever, he took her head between his hands and kissed her hard.
She thought about resisting just for the sake of her pride, but his mouth was so warm and hungry and she loved the feel of his hands on her body. Without another thought, she gave in and kissed him back.
He pulled away long enough to say, “You have no idea how much I want you right now, but maybe this is a bad time for this. You’ve just been through something. I don’t want to pressure you.”
She disagreed. She thought she probably did have at least some idea of how much he wanted her. The way her entire body was pressed against his, she could feel how hard he was for her. And if she was honest, she would admit she was feeling some kind of way for him, too.
“I want to forget everything that happened today,” she said, and she meant it. “Take me somewhere far away, where all that nastiness feels like a bad nightmare, and the only thing I can really feel, is you. Do what it takes to make me forget.”
“It will be my pleasure,” he said.
The way he looked down at her, his fingers curling around the back of her neck, had the heat pooling in her stomach. If ever there was a good time to use sex as a distraction, it was now.
He pushed her down onto the bed, and pulled her to the edge, his fingers digging into her thighs.
She still wore the short dress she had on for their date, and he quickly made his way under it.
Everything about him was heat and desire.
She unbuttoned his shirt while he pushed up her skirt and pulled down her panties.
They were still dangling from her foot as he pulled her dress further up and licked her until she was begging for him.
She needed him, and she wrapped her legs around him to let him know, to beg for him. He teased her for a few seconds before he finally gave her what she wanted. Neither one of them was completely undressed, and it didn’t matter.
He moaned into her ear and murmured, “I’m not going to last, sweetheart. You’ve been teasing me since the day we met.”