Chapter 18
Rapid fire gunshotechoes in the cool night air around me.
I can’t tell if it’s friend or foe, but I’m hoping it’s my team covering me as I sneak around the corner of the ruined house.
Windows are busted, the roof is caving in, and the walls are barely standing up on their own. I crouch as I approach a window.
There are no voices or movement coming from inside, so I peek through the broken glass.
It’s a child’s bedroom.
The two small beds are flipped over. The bed frames are destroyed. Clothes are strewn around, like someone tried to pack in a hurry. Finger paintings and wooden toy blocks litter the floor.
What happened to the children that live here? Are they alive and sheltering somewhere safe? Did they get hit in the crossfire?
My gut tightens as I remember the bodies we drove past. Bodies that were discarded on the side of the road, like their lives meant nothing.
Will their families look for them?
Will they get a proper burial?
If I were in their place, would anyone care that I’m gone?
Probably not.
I’d be forgotten, like the victims of war.
The gunshots sound closer, and not in the friendly fire, watching my back kind of way.
Someone yells in the distance, but I can’t hear what they are saying over the loud gunshots and explosions.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath as the commotion morphs into knocking on a nearby hotel room door, followed by someone yelling in the hallway.
Jumping out of bed, I reach for my gun on the end table.
Brianna jerks awake, sitting up with a gasp. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
I place my gun back down, plop on the bed, and let out a groan as I look at the clock. It’s a little after eight.
“Yeah. It was just a bad dream and lots of rude people in the hallway, but it’s time to get back to the safe house.”
Brianna lays back and pulls the cover over our heads. “Aww, do we have to? It’s still early.”
The way she pushes her lower lip out in a pout makes me want to kiss her.
“I wish we could stay out all day. I wish this was over and you were free to do whatever you wanted. But until the killers are caught, we have to lie low and stay at the safe house.”
She scoots closer to me until our faces are nearly touching. “We can stay out all day. No one will know. It’s not like Dad checks in to make sure we made it through the night safely.”
“Actually,” I watch as her eyes widen. “I’ve been checking in with your dad every morning since we got here.”
She sits up abruptly, pulling the cover off of us in the process. “What? How did I not know this? Were you keeping it a secret from me?”
I sit up to look her in the eye. “No, of course not. Why would I need or want to keep it from you?”
When she doesn’t answer, I continue. “I usually send your dad a text before I start working out in the mornings. You are usually still in bed asleep or in the shower. He usually doesn’t respond and when he does, it’s usually a thumbs up.”
She chuckles and nods. “That sounds like Dad.”
I grab her hand, intertwining our fingers. “I have no reason to lie to you, especially over something so trivial. You can look at the messages if you want. They aren’t anything exciting, just checking in and letting him know all is still good.”
Her eyes close as she lets out a sigh. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I don’t need to read your messages.”
“Are you sure?”
I grab my phone off the end table as she lays back on her pillow.
“Yeah, I’m sure, but thanks for the offer.”
I open my message app on my phone and send the daily morning text to John.
Checking in. All’s good.
He doesn’t respond, so I put my phone back on the end table.
Turning back around to face Brianna, I’m surprised when she wraps her hands around my arm and pulls me down onto the mattress.
“Come on. Just relax for a few more minutes and then we will go back to the house.”
Her defeated tone leaves me wishing I could make all of this go away.
“How about we get dressed, check out of the hotel, and find a farmer’s market on the way back to the house? Then we can cook a huge brunch and feast.”
Her eyes close, and she looks sad for a moment before she smiles. “Deal!”
We dress in record time, check out of the hotel, and climb into my car.
Brianna holds up a brochure for the local farmer’s market. “While you were checking out, I got directions from the concierge. She said it’s a straight shot from here, and it’s the best one around.”
“Alright, lead the way.”
Brianna buckles her seatbelt and points the way we came from the souvenir shop yesterday. “Just take a right and drive about a mile and a half and we should see it on our left.”
“Simple enough.” I say as I pull out of the parking lot.
“I’m going to miss this hotel. It was nice.” Her voice is soft, like her isolation depression is already slipping back in.
“Me too, but I have a feeling this will be over sooner than later.”
Even if I have to seek them out.
“I hope so, because these past twenty to twenty-two hours have shown me just how much I miss being able to go out and socialize.”
She tries to sound as hopeful as her words are, but I know she isn’t hopeful in the slightest.
When I stop for a red light, I turn my gaze on her.
“I know it’s tough to let the negativity go when it seems to take hold of you and choke out all your emotions, but you need to find something, anything, that’s positive that you can hold on to.”
I return my gaze to the road when the light turns green and continue.
“Even if it’s a tiny drop of hope that you will return to this hotel in the future. You need something positive to think about or remember.”
She chuckles, causing me to glance her way. A small smile forms on her face. “Well, yesterday and last night are worth remembering.”
Her face blushes, but she doesn’t seem embarrassed.
My heart races as I remember every last detail of my night with Brianna.
Every.
Last.
Detail.
Last night was the best night of my life, by far. Brianna was like a woman stepping right out of my dreams.
She was seductive, eager to please, and so responsive to my touch.
Not to mention, she was a greedy little minx that wanted as many orgasms as I could give her.
She came again and again and again. And she still wanted more. I was all too happy to oblige.
What man would turn down giving a woman an orgasm? Not me, that’s for damn sure.
I loved the way her walls clamped down on my fingers while I ate her out, and how she squeezed my cock as she exploded.
After several hours of fucking, teasing, and snacking on room service, she knelt in front of me and took my cock in her mouth.
The way her lips wrapped around my cock made me want to come on the spot. I didn’t last long though, because she begged me to grip her hair and fuck her mouth.
God, it was perfect.
The way she knew just what I wanted. Her moans only egged me on to fuck her mouth. Harder. Deeper. Until I came down her throat.
She licked my cock clean before leading me to the shower, where I took her against the wall.
We spent all night getting to know one another. Getting to know what each other liked and disliked. What turned us on and what drove us wild.
Fuck. I’m already in too deep.
I park the car in the grass parking lot of the farmer’s market. Glancing over at Brianna, a smile forms on her face as she leans forward to stare out of the windshield.
“Wow, this is huge!”
I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling an immature joke. I’m sure she’d laugh at it, but that will only make me want her more.
In the end, when this is all over, she will move on with her life, and I’ll have no choice but to move on with mine. Even if I want her to be a part of my future, there’s no hope.
Our age difference is too much. People will talk. And her dad would definitely not be happy about it.
I wouldn’t blame him, though. It would be too easy to assume I took advantage of her during this situation.
Shaking those horrible thoughts out of my head, I get out of the car and adjust my shorts.
They are a bit tighter in the crotch area thanks to me reminiscing about last night.
I join Brianna on her side of the car, so we can walk up to the large covered pavilion together.
Her gaze immediately goes straight to the tent in the front of my shorts.
“You’re sporting a very impressive hard-on. You were thinking about last night, weren’t you?”
My gaze locks with hers. “How could I not? You were and are the definition of a wet dream.”
“You were pretty fantastic yourself.” She grins and moves closer to me.
I can’t help myself. I pull her into my arms and press my lips to hers. My tongue snakes out to swipe along her bottom lip.
She closes her eyes and moans. “God, Xavier. What do you do to me?”
I pull back. “What do you mean?”
She glances around nervously. “You turn me on with just one look. You set me ablaze with just one touch. You make me wish for things I shouldn’t be wishing for.”
I want to make all of her wishes come true, but what could she want that she shouldn’t?
Sex?
Me?
Sex with me?
I wrap my arms around her waist and lead her to the pavilion. We need to be in and out as quickly as possible without drawing too much attention. But I want her to enjoy being outside and enjoy looking at all the homemade goods.
As we get closer, she bounces on the balls of her feet, like a child waiting in line to see Santa Claus.
She glances at me, and her smile falls. “What?”
“I enjoy seeing you like this,” I reply bluntly.
She moves closer to me until her chest is pressed against mine. “Like what? Like a sugar crazed kid who’s excited to look at jams?”
My voice is huskier than I intend. “Yes. Just like this. Excited to be doing something so mundane, like looking at jellies and pickled vegetables.”
She smiles up at me before looping her arm through mine and pulling me toward the first table.
We take our time looking at and sampling jellies, jams, pickled vegetables, and various baked desserts.
Brianna picks out a couple of jars for us to snack on at the house, and a dessert for after dinner tonight.
I pay the older lady before following Brianna to another table.
Jars of pickled carrots, peppers, and cauliflower fill up half the table. The other half is full of gallon jars filled to the top of pickled eggs.
The woman behind the table catches me staring at the jars full of eggs. “Would you like to try a pickled egg?”
Brianna seems a little too eager at the prospect of a pickled egg, so I say, “Sure. That would be great. Thank you.”
Like a gentleman, I let Brianna taste the egg first.
Her face scrunches up before returning to normal. “Whew, that is strong.”
The woman laughs with Brianna. “Try it with some pepper. Here.”
She picks up a small bottle of seasoning before sprinkling it onto the egg. “Try this. It’s my own blend of black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.”
Brianna takes another nibble of the egg, her eyes widen. “Oh my God, that is amazing.”
She shoves the egg toward me. “Try this, Xavier. It’s amazing.”
I’m hesitant, but lean down and take a nibble of the egg. Vinegar and salt assault my taste buds before the spice of the pepper melds together.
I nod my head at the woman. “That’s pretty good.”
Brianna chimes in. “Do you have a smaller jar? That’s a lot of eggs for just the two of us.”
The woman smiles and reaches into a box behind her. “Of course. I have a quart jar.”
I pay the woman and we continue our journey to the next table, buying a bag full of Florida grown oranges. After we visit all the tables, we head back to my car with the snacks in tow.
Brianna is quiet on the trip back to the safe house. I don’t speak, as I’m too caught up in my own thoughts.
I can picture a life with Brianna.
I can picture the two of us shopping at a farmer’s market.
I can picture vacationing all around the world with her as we experience new adventures together.
Brianna hangs the mesh bag containing the oranges from the knob on the cabinet before placing the jars of pickled vegetables, eggs, and jellies in the pantry.
She leans against the counter, looking sexy as sin. “What would you like to eat?”
“I should be the one asking you. I might not be able to cook much, but I’ll try.”
“How about you help me cook French toast? We can use some of the new blueberry preserves with a block of the cream cheese to make a topping.”
My mouth waters thinking about it. “That sounds fantastic.”
I follow her into the pantry and help carry the items we need to get cooking.
“We need to soften the cream cheese. Usually, I’d leave it out for an hour or so, but we will do what we can. Can you grab a block out of the refrigerator? Oh, and the eggs and maple syrup.”
Smiling at the way she took charge and ordered me around, I grab all the needed items and place them on the counter.
“What next?”
She looks over at the items, mentally checking them off. “Now, we cook.”
I try to follow along to what she’s saying, but being pressed up against her ass has me paying attention to everything but the cooking.
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I lean down and press my face into the crook of her neck.
She angles her head, giving me access.
I press a few kisses against her skin, lightly nipping at her pulse point.
“Xavier.” She moans my name, my dick bobbing against her ass cheeks.
“Yes, Princess?” I whisper in her ear. “What do you want? What do you need?”
She turns around in my arms. “You. Us. This.”
ThatI can make happen. I’m all too happy to make that happen.