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CHAPTERTEN
Taking the back roads added time. Night had fallen by the time they neared Denver. The city glowed in the distance, dwarfed by the shadows of the mountains behind it.
Gemma saw the signs for Denver Airport and felt like there was a rock in her stomach. Growing heavier with every mile.
She cleared her throat. “I can’t thank you enough for everything, Boone. Without you—” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have made it.”
“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
His words filled her with warmth. But he wasn’t looking at her. Instead he stared straight through the windshield, hands clamped on the steering wheel.
The air in the truck was thick and tense. She twisted her hands together. She had no right to feel this bereft about leaving him.
“I’m sure you’ll be glad to be rid of me.”
Suddenly, he wrenched the wheel and pulled off on the side of the road.
Gemma gasped, and Atlas raised his head.
Boone reached over and opened her door. “Atlas, explore.”
The dog happily complied and jumped out. Boone stayed in her personal space, his chest rising and falling fast.
“There isnotime or place where I’d be happy to be rid of you.” His tone was low, lethal.
She sucked in a breath. She wasn’t sure who moved first, him or her. It didn’t matter. In the next second, Gemma was on his lap, straddling him.
They clutched at each other, mouths clashing. She slid her hands into his hair to drag his mouth closer, while his hands dug into her ass. Her heartbeat was thundering hard, and all she could do was lose herself in the raw sensation. There was only Boone, and there was nothing between them.
She didn’t want the kiss to stop. Ever.
Then he bit down on her bottom lip, dragging a moan out of her. He broke the kiss, and she felt the harsh pants of his breath against her lips. He pressed his forehead against hers.
“I don’t want to leave,” she whispered.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“But I know it’s safer for you.”
He made a sound. “It’s not my safety I care about.”
She met his gaze. “But I do. Boone, I do.”
He cupped the side of her face. “Gemma, I’ve been broken for a long time.”
She bit her lip. She knew he believed that. That he’d been shattered in that cell, watching his friends die. “Not broken, Boone. Bent, cracked, beaten, but not broken.”
He stroked her cheekbone. “You actually make me believe that.” He blew out a breath. “The safest thing is for you to get on that jet.”
Sadness filled her. “I know.”
“After all this is over, then…we’ll see.”
It wasn’t a promise, but it was something. A part of her was deathly afraid that after she was gone, and once he was back in Vermont, he’d forget about her. Too many people in her life had always found her lacking.
He pressed a firm kiss to her lips. “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.”
She settled back in her seat while Boone called for Atlas.
