Light spilled into the windows, going from the gold of early morning to the white of afternoon.
The sky took on a reddish hue of an inevitable sunset before Luca stirred with any kind of determination.
He pulled free of Nox’s hold, and his body screamed in defiance, raking streaks of pain as if his skin had been stripped from his muscle.
Luca sat for a moment before he looked at Nox. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“I didn’t sleep.” Nox fought the need to drag Luca back under him to fuck him all over again.
“What time is it?”
“Five, six, I’m not sure.”
“In the morning?”
“No.”
“Evening?”
“Yeah.”
“No wonder my bladder is about to pop.” He grabbed his boxers and pulled them on. “I’ll be right back.” Fresh air sucked away the stagnate soup of male bodies.
When Luca returned, he stopped at the door. “Jesus, how can you stand to breathe in there?”
The smell was strong, but god, Nox wanted it stronger. There was one way to do that, and Nox would enjoy every minute of it.
Luca opened the second half of the rear door, then walked around to the panel door. It rattled and screeched into an open position. “Need to air that out before we leave.” He laughed and the sound trickled bits of happiness through Nox.
Luca’s happiness.
Nox scooted out the door and walked over to a bush to piss. When he finished, he returned and collected his clothes.
Luca stood by the open side door scrubbing himself with a clump of napkins. Little bits of white stuck to his skin. “This isn’t working like I planned.” He picked at the paper remnants caught in his pubic hairs. “Is there a lake or river or something we can wash off in?”
“There’s one about five miles over that hill.” Nox waved a hand. “But it’s forty degrees, if that.”
Luca picked at a crusty spot on his chest. “I really need a bath.”
“C’mon, get dressed.” Nox closed the rear door and side panel. “I’m sure we’ll find another rest stop with showers when we’re back on the road.”
“We should also look for a place to get the van sterilized.” Luca grinned.
Nox didn’t.
They dressed, and while Luca rearranged the disaster in the back, Nox snagged the dirty jeans from under the seat and stuffed them into the bag with the rest of the trash. He tied the bag shut and backed out of the van.
Luca opened the passenger side door. “What are you doing?”
“Getting rid of the garbage.”
“Where? There aren’t any garbage cans—” Luca glared. “Don’t tell me you were about to throw that on the ground?”
Nox dropped his gaze. That’s exactly what he’d been thinking. And he knew better.
“I don’t care how much trash is in here, you’re not tossing it anywhere but a garbage can.” Luca slammed his door.
Nox got in behind the wheel. “I guess it can wait until we get to a gas station.”