What the frick?
Dropping to my knees, my eyes widen and I cover my ears while hyperventilating. Not a second later, I’m hoisted over Nox’s shoulder. He runs down the hall with me bouncing up and down like a rag doll.
This is serious. Something’s wrong.
Nox shouts orders over the siren, but I can’t make out any of it. That freakin’ siren is so shrill, it’s going to make my ears bleed! All I can do is grip the back of his tank tightly and hold on for dear life.
Petrified and about to pee myself, I lift my head to see Nox run me right out the front door. Right out the front door and into a waiting black van.
No. No. Not again!
With no care at all, he throws me into the back of the van. I land in a seat with an ‘Oomph’ and he quickly seats himself next to me. As soon as the door closes, Nox booms, “Go!”
And we do.
Shaking like a leaf, I turn my wide eyes to my protector and see something familiar in his hands.
Ahh, hello old friend.
Nox holds up the blindfold and I internally grimace. Clearly, now is not the time to argue. Nodding once, I turn my back to him and he places the blindfold over my head. My butt pressed against his thigh, I almost whisper, “Where are we going now?”
He sighs and answers just as softly, “I don’t know, Lily. I don’t know.”
Chapter Eight
One of these things is not like the others
Lily
So here I am, standing in the middle of a dingy motel room.
I’m here after spending almost seven hours in the back of a van with Nox. This might not have been an issue if the guy knew the meaning of the words ‘lighten up’. Alas, this is Nox we’re talking about. The guy’s meaning of relaxed is sitting in a hardwood chair while watching me sleep.
A little creepy if you ask me.
The van stopped suddenly, the back door opened and I found myself being dragged to a motel room that looked like its previous occupants were roaches.
Nox paces in front of me and barks into the cell phone, “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not there right now! It’s your job to tell me what the fuck happened!” Pause, then, “Yes, she’s fine.”
Um, hello? Kinda freakin’ out here but whatever…
He stops pacing, looks me up and down and says, “Uh huh.” Pause. “Uh huh.” Pause once more. “Yeah. Okay. Lily needs clothes.” Pause. “I don’t know! Underwear and bras and somethin’ that won’t draw attention to us.” Silence, then, “Nah. Lily’s my wife. I asked them not to disturb us. We’re on our honeymoon.”
My brows almost hit my hairline.
Married?
The thought of being married to Nox is so damn ridiculous that the laughter I try to quell forces its way out. Hard. And loud.
Busting a gut laughing, tears roll down my cheeks as I lean my hip on the small table for two. Nox watches me with a scowl. He does this a long while before he walks over behind me and covers my mouth with his hand. All that does is make me laugh harder. He whispers, “Shut it, Lily. This is important. I can’t hear a thing.”
Finally getting a hold of myself, I suppress the laughter and pull his hand off my mouth. His arm falls lower, across my neck with a hand resting on my shoulder. I try to pull away but Nox has other ideas. As if he doesn’t even realize it, he talks away with his arm still around me. Looking around the room with wide eyes, I’m not sure what to do here. When his thumb absently strokes my shoulder, my core clenches, and my eyes flutter closed.
My breathing deepens as I listen to him speak. Every word he says vibrates through his chest and onto my back. “What do you mean?” Pause. “Well, when can you get here?”
Jeez, he smells so good. Like soap and something fresh and outdoorsy. His body is so big and hard, yet toasty warm. With one arm, he has me wrapped up tight. And I like it. A handful of erotic scenarios run through my head. Nox throwing me on the bed and telling me he’s going to take me right there. Nox pushing me to my knees and demanding I make him hard. Nox joining me in the too-small shower, soaping up my body. Nox bending me over the-
“Lily?”
Suddenly, a record scratches in my brain, rudely ripping me from my delicious thoughts. Whoa. Totally need to give it a rest with the erotic stories.
…But we like them!
My face falls and I mutter, “Books.”
Nox finally lets me free of his clutches and I fight hard not to make a mew or pout from the loss. He says, “What now?”
Heartbreak fills my chest as I explain while sulking, “Books. I didn’t take any books. Now I have no books.”
Every single night at the safe house I’d read before I went to sleep. Nox knows this as he’s been watching me sleep almost every night. The library had become an escape for me. Whenever I went missing, the guys knew where I’d be hiding.
Keeping my eyes to the floor, a large hand squeezes my shoulder, and although it doesn’t make me feel better, it makes me feel better. A little.
Something hard is pushed into my chest and I hold it tight before it falls. Looking down, I gasp when I see not one but two hardcover novels in my grasp.
Disbelief. Total and utter disbelief.
Looking up, I find Nox watching me curiously. I stutter, “H- h- how did you- why did you- I mean it’s not that I’m not thankful, but did- did you know this would happen?”
Sitting on the bed in front of me, he rests his elbows on his knees and links his fingers together. “Didn’t know. But you never know. This shit happens. I’m normally prepared. Wasn’t this time. Sucks for you, princess, because now you got no clothes and we’re in the middle of Bumfuck, Idaho. Next mall is approximately four hours away. Good news is, I got clothes you can wear. Bad news, got no underwear in your size. My shirts are big so they’ll be more like dresses on you.” He makes a face. “My pants. Hell no. Won’t fit, so don’t even try. My boxers you can maybe wear as shorts. They’ll be loose as hell but we’ll improvise.”
Half way through him saying this, my neck got hot and scratchy. The flush reaching all the way up to my scalp.
No clothes. No underwear. For how long?
Swallowing hard, my voice croaks when I ask, “How long for?”
Holding my eyes, he replies, “Three, four days. Unclear.”
Well, that’s just freakin’ dandy!
No clothes. And the workout clothes I’m wearing are stanky. And I mean stanky. As in, block your nose ‘cause the body odors a-comin’ stanky.
Something soft is thrown at my face. I snatch the offending softness off my head to find it’s one of Nox’s tees. It’s dark green, extra-large and says ARMY on the front. He utters, “Wear that over the bra thingy and let’s get somethin’ to eat at the diner downstairs.”
Suddenly self-conscious and moving from foot to foot, I tell him, “I smell really bad, though.”
Walking over to his bag (where the hell did he get a bag from?) he shuffles things around before walking over to me with a can of deodorant. He says, “Ain’t flowery and you’ll smell like me, but it’ll do the trick.”
You’ll smell like me. Yes please! Spraying myself quickly and thoroughly, I throw the can on the bed and walk out the door. As soon as we’re out, Nox closes the door and pulls me close to him. He does this so quickly that I stumble and wrap my arm around his waist for support. Planting a kiss to my temple, he whispers, “We’re newlyweds, remember? When we’re out, always be touchin’ me, holdin’ hands, or some sappy shit like that.” Spying my glare, he says through a forced smile, “Smile for fuck sake. You’re married to me. Happiest day of your life and all that.”
Pinching his waist, hard, I smile, “Oh, honey. The happiest day of my life will be the day I never have to see you again.”
His eyes darken through his smile, he leans forward until we’re nose to nose. Splaying his large hands on my hips, he pulls my body close until we’re flush against each other.
Shit! This is quite possibly one of my fantasies coming
to life.
His mouth, a hairs-breadth away from mine. His breath warms my lips when he utters, “Ditto.”
Ugh! Jackass!
Rolling my eyes, he laughs through his nose and says something that I hadn’t thought about. “C’mon, princess. I’m sure you’ve been dying to get out of the house, right? Take advantage of this time while you’ve got it.”
Side-eyeing him, I ask, “Princess my new nickname?”
I see him purse his lips in my peripheral vision. “Not new. Always been one of the Flynn princesses.”
Oh, I get it. “So not really a nickname. More of an insult.”
The corner of his lip lifts, but he doesn’t say a thing. Moron.
We reach the diner looking like a newlywed couple. Smiles, hugs, and happy. No one would guess we’re sweaty, hot, and tired. When I try to sit at the booth, I almost get whiplash when Nox pulls me into the same side as him. Close. The waitress comes over wearing a knowing smile. Before she gets to us, I pinch his thigh and hiss through a fake smile, “Would you stop doing that?”
He places his lips at the shell of my ear and whispers, “You keep pinching me and I might just pinch you somewhere you don’t want to be pinched, baby.”
Well…
That certainly shut me up.
The pretty middle-aged waitress reaches our table and asks, “Are you the newlyweds?”
What the-