“I think I’ll turn in. Maybe we can get started at dawn,” he said.
Sara nodded and moved the lever to recline her chair, which left her lying back and looking up at him. Just what he needed. It was all he could do not to pounce on her as he climbed between the bucket seats to the back. He lifted the Shield into the driver’s seat. “Doors locked?” he asked.
“Yes.” She turned to look at him. “Give me your shirt. I’ll drape it over the Shield. It should be dry by morning.”
Being half-naked around her probably wasn’t the wisest thing he should do. Yet the idea of sleeping in the wet shirt wasn’t appealing either. He stripped it off and handed it to her. The feel of her hand brushing his brought the wolf to attention again and stiffened his other head’s resolve. He sighed and lay down, trying to get comfortable.
Guilt assuaged him. The bucket seat up front was spacious, but sleeping in it wouldn’t be that comfortable. There was plenty of room back here for both of them. Could he trust the wolf not to turn on her? Outside, the storm was still raging and the wolf’s instincts were on alert.
“You can come back here if you want to,” he said after twisting and turning for several minutes. “There’s room enough for both of us.”
She peeked around the corner of her chair. “I thought you told me that being too close brought the wolf out.”
He sighed. “It does. But I’ll make sure I don’t touch you.” Could he sound any more stupid? Not since Queen Victoria’s time had he had to act so proper. And he couldn’t recall any Victorian ladies who had enticed him half as much as Sara did. It was going to be a long night.
****
The whip hissed through the air as Baylor lashed the hapless young man that Caldwell had recruited to follow Ramsey and the girl. He lay on his stomach, hands manacled to one of the slants in the headboard, a gag in his mouth to prevent other hotel guests from hearing his now-silent screams.
The leather strap lashed out again, slicing across three open wounds. The man tried to turn sideways, then quickly realized the folly of exposing his genitals to the whip.
Baylor paused, trying to remember what Caldwell had told him about this recruit—Carl Landon, he thought the name was. The kid was in his twenties, virile and smug about his good looks. He also owed over a hundred thousand dollars in gambling debts that Baylor had graciously agreed to pay for him to do this one small favor. And he had failed in such a simple task.
“I told you to follow them,” he said as he slapped the whip down on the bed inches from that handsome face, “not run them off the road. In the future, you will follow my instructions exactly as I give them. Is that understood?”
The young man nodded frantically.
“Good. At this time I want to see where they lead me. You’ll get your share of killing later. That is, if you don’t become a victim yourself, for disobedience.”
Carl Landon whimpered through his gag.
“But you won’t disobey me again, will you?” The tip of the whip rubbed against the oldest cut, where the bleeding began again.
The whimpering came faster, along with sharp jerks of Carl’s head indicating that he understood.
****
Sara murmured sleepily as she dreamt of Lucas’s warm hand sliding under her shirt and slowly tracing concentric circles around a breast, spiraling toward her nipple. His fingertips flicked lightly over it, and the nub tightened. The hand cupped her breast, kneading it, the thumb and forefinger pinching the peak gently.
She arched her back into his touch, purring like a cat, and the hand trailed lazily down her ribs and across a flat stomach to lightly caress the curls at the apex of her thighs. She moaned a little and opened them for his fingers to explore, pausing when he found her already wet, and then those fingers went to work,agonizingly teasing her with alternating soft and firm pressure, circles and long strokes.
Goddess! She was coming and he hadn’t even inserted a finger yet!
Sara woke as her body shuddered and spasmed in climax. Some dream! She opened her eyes and found herself pressed against the length of Lucas’ body, head on his shoulder, hand on the hard muscles of his chest. One of his arms was wrapped tightly about her, snugging her to him, and the other hand cupped her breast. He was sound asleep. Or was he? In the pale light of a breaking dawn, it was hard to tell.
She let her hand drift downward to where she could see a bulge beneath the briefs. She softly stroked down the length of it, feeling it stir underneath her touch, and Lucas groaned. The next minute his hand gripped hers, staying her action.
“You’re treading dangerous ground, lass.”
Her hand was still on what now felt like steel. “You don’t like this?”
Raw desire flamed in his eyes and made them glow preternaturally. For a moment, she had the distinct feeling she was looking at the wolf rather than Lucas and her skin began to tingle.
“Ah, lass. More than you know.” He sighed as he put her hand down on the pad beneath them. “’Tis dangerous to arouse the beast while I’m asleep.”
She arched a brow at him. “You’re awake now.”
He stared at her. “You’ve no idea what the wolf can do if I lose control.”
