Her hands were clenched on the wheel, her eyes focused straight ahead. She’d swept that long fall of silky dark hair around her neck to drape down her left shoulder, leaving her throat bare and beautiful from his viewpoint. And man, she had a great jawline—sleek, covered in the creamiest skin he wanted to taste and sample. An angular little chin that led up to soft, supple lips he only craved more of. Desire spread through his abdomen and burned in his groin as his gaze drifted to her breasts, only inches from his face. Small, firm, high. The perfect size to wrap his hands around. The perfect shape to draw into his mouth and suckle.
The truck rolled to a stop. The muscles in her legs flexed as she pressed on the brake. Surprise lit her eyes as she looked down. “You’re awake.”
“Just.” Was that his voice? Damn, it didn’t sound like him. It sounded as if he’d swallowed a mixture of sandpaper and gravel. And why the hell weren’t his eyes working? He could see her, but everything else was fuzzy. He should be over the effects of freezing those daemons by now.
“I thought I’d have to wake you. How are you feeling?”
“Tired. And sore.” Add to that light-headed as hell. And horny.
Shit. He hadn’t been horny in months. And after what had happened back in that motel… Yeah. He didn’t need a repeat of that. What he needed was to get his fucking head on straight and refocus on what was important. And figure out why the hell she was having this strange effect on him.
He tried to sit up and move away from her, but rethought it when the truck spun. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He lay back down.
“Wait here.” She popped the driver’s door, carefully climbed out of the cab, and threaded her fingers into his hair so she could ease his head onto the seat. The vinyl was warm from her body. And her fingertips…Tingles spread all along his scalp wherever she touched, seemed to shoot sparks straight to his dick, brought every inch of his body to life. And oh, damn, it was good. So good.
It was also gone way too fast. The door closed softly behind her. Her shoes crunching on gravel echoed through the cab, then faded. His skin chilled, and panic spread through his chest when he couldn’t hear her anymore. Darkness pressed into the truck. No streetlights, not even the moon, shone in through the windows. He tried to sit up again to figure out where she’d gone, only his head spun with such ferocity, he was afraid he might pass out.
Doooulas…
Fuck. He closed his eyes tight, pressed the heels of his hands against his eye sockets. He didn’t need this right now. Where the hell was Maelea? He breathed deep. Tried to get the damn truck to stop spinning. Tried to block out that fucking voice.
Long minutes later, the passenger door opened, and the darkness inside leaped with excitement, telling him Maelea was close. Followed by a wicked curl of heat through his abdomen and hips when she slid those tantalizing hands under his back and helped him up.
“Easy,” she whispered.
Easy. Right. Not the word he was thinking. Hot. Sultry. X-rated. All were words more suited to what was flooding his veins. All were words he shouldn’t be thinking. Her fingers skimming his bare back were electric. And her scent…sweet jasmine flowers…was way too exotic. She took the bloody towels from his stomach and dropped them on the floorboards of the truck as she helped him out. Cool air washed over his skin, tightened his nipples, did shit to cool him down.
“Where are we?” he managed, trying like hell to stay focused.
“Outside Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Come on.”
He had no idea where they were heading, but he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to protest. So long as they weren’t going back to the colony, he didn’t care.
She wrapped an arm around his waist, propped his over her shoulder so she could help support his weight, then closed the truck door with her hip. Gravel crunched under their feet as they moved at a snail’s pace. He had the impression of tall trees in the darkness, a narrow path, a downward slope, and the sound of water lapping a shore somewhere close. But it all swirled together in front of his eyes, making zero sense. And his legs and chest ached as if he’d taken the mother of all beatings, which made walking and focusing at the same time fucking hard.
“Why?” he asked as he kicked up gravel.
“Why what?”
“Why Coeur d’Whatever?”
“We needed to get as far from that motel as we could. I should have stopped sooner but didn’t want to risk it. You need bandages.”
He had no idea what she was rambling about. The forest swayed. His feet stilled. He reached out to brace himself on the base of a pine tree so he wouldn’t go down. Holy Hades, his head was seriously fucked-up and his legs felt like they were about to give out at any second. “I’m just gonna”—he let go of her, eased down onto the ground—“sit here a minute.”
He dropped to his butt. The ground was cold but solid. Yeah, that was better. Sitting kept the spinning to a minimum. Maybe he’d just lie here awhile too. He drew in deep breaths of mossy air, rested his head back against the tree trunk.
“Come on, Gryphon. It’s just a little farther.”
“No, you go. I’m…good.” He closed his eyes. Yeah, this was definitely better. With his eyes closed, he didn’t feel like he was on a freakin’ Tilt-A-Whirl.