In the Arms of a Stranger (Entangled Ignite) (14 page)

“Hold still,” he said, sweeping them off with his hands, running his fingers along the hairline at the nape of her neck, plucking at the stragglers.

She shook her head, her fingers combing through the dark mass of her hair. Then she ran her hands down her neck and across her shoulders. Still bent at the waist, the movement nearly made her topple over.

Quickly, JP placed an arm around her middle, balancing her. “Stop,” he said. “Hold still, I’ll get them.” He brushed two ants off her lower back, then saw one dart into her hair. Holding her firmly around the waist, he plucked the offending insect from her scalp.

“Ouch!” she yelled, twisting an arm behind herself to dig under the back of her bra.

Through the sheer fabric, he saw several ants. Without hesitation, he undid the hooks of the bra and brushed them away. Three more had hidden in the straps over her shoulder. He got rid of those, too.

But she continued to run her hands through her hair.

“Hold still, let me check.”

He stepped closer, still holding her around the waist, and bent slightly over her bare back. As carefully and quickly as he could, he ran his hand through her hair, massaging her scalp. He found four more ants. By the time he finished, she was breathing hard from her struggles, but visibly relieved.

“Thank you,” she said on a sigh. “I think you got them all.”

He stood with his hips against her behind, his arm around her waist, leaning over her naked back.

Her beautifully feminine, naked back. The sight of her, the position he found himself in, aroused him instantly. No way to hide it, no way she wasn’t aware of what was happening to him. He knew the instant she realized what it was she felt.

She froze
.

He told himself to step away, but was held immobile for a second. Then, he quickly removed his arm from around her. And felt her bare breasts brush against his forearm as he released her.

The desire that had been an automatic physical response became a very real hunger to touch her breasts. Taste them.

But he didn’t.

He deserved a fucking medal.

She stood and turned toward him, her hair a wild, glorious sight, one arm banded across her breasts, holding the unfastened bra to herself, pressing her full breasts upward.

It wasn’t helping.

They stared at each other for long seconds, the sounds of the hot summer morning distant.

“I’m, uh… Thank you. I…” She licked her lips.

Holy Christ
.

Abby Price, sweet, fresh-faced, somebody’s
mother
for God’s sake, turned him on like no woman ever had. He took a step closer, certain she’d back away.

She didn’t.

She stared at him intently, her light brown eyes wide.
With that same hunger
.

Damn
.

He gave in to temptation. He reached out and circled his fingers around one of her wrists, pulling down gently. Her arm moved, the bra she’d clung to dropped to the ground.

Her breasts were gorgeous. Full. The tips puckered.

Nonhero that he was, he ran a hand from her shoulder to her left breast, watching her the whole while. Cupping the delicious weight, he rubbed his thumb over the nipple. Once, twice.

She closed her eyes. Gave a little moan.

He lost the last battle with his conscience and pulled her against him. Her arms encircled his neck and her breasts, gloriously naked and unbound, pressed against his chest.

“Open your eyes,” he said, his voice hoarse.

She did, raising her face to him.

And he kissed her, keeping his own eyes open until the pleasure of her was too much.

He wanted. He hungered. She opened her mouth and he took possession. She ran her hands down his back, pressing herself closer. He ran his hands down to her hips, to cup her bottom, to pull her against himself.

Oh, yeah. This was pure heaven.

Chapter 10

JP was Abby’s only reality. She had to feel his skin, had to touch him. She ran frantic hands up his back, beneath his T-shirt. Sleek muscles bunched and shifted as he held her.

Suddenly, he was pulling away, yanking his holster off and dropping it to the ground, jerking his shirt over his head, and pulling her back into his embrace, pressing his bare chest against her breasts. He moaned when she ran her tongue along the inside of his lower lip, tasting tender flesh. Then he kissed her, his mouth hot and wild. She’d never felt more out of control, all thoughts blurred by the passion of the moment.

A screeching cry from above stopped them.

JP pulled that glorious mouth away from hers. A second piercing cry made him look up to the sky.

God. Even his neck was beautiful.

“Hawk,” he said softly, his lips damp, still tempting.

But the interruption had dragged her back into this world. The real world she inhabited. Where things like this didn’t happen. Where men like JP Blackmon were dangerous crusaders who did not come home to women like her.

He still held her, his bare chest against hers, and heaven help her, she wanted to stay right there. But she was suddenly aware of the friction of the hair on his chest against her breasts, too aware of his body. She couldn’t look past his shoulder. His beautiful shoulder, scarred though it was. Then her eyes moved down to the bandage across his waist.

“Don’t pull away, Abby,” he said. “Please.”

“I—” What could she say? “This isn’t me,” she said apologetically, stepping back, head bent, arms over her breasts. “I don’t know what got into me.”

But she did.

Desire.
For him
. For the forbidden.

He smiled. A megawatt smile that made the sun seem dim by comparison. He reached out his hand and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She wanted to melt.

Instead, she bent and snatched her bra from the ground, then spun around and fumbled with the straps. Once she’d fastened it, she felt the brush of her T-shirt against her arm. JP was handing it to her.

Sure she would die of mortification, she quickly donned the shirt, but couldn’t bring herself to turn around.

“You’re overthinking, Abby.”

No, she wasn’t!

“Things got a little out of hand,” he said, his voice rough.

Out of
hand
? A little longer and she would have tossed him to the ground, ants be damned. No, out of hand was not what had just happened. Insanity had just happened.

She looked up, her eyes determinedly focused on the car he’d bought for them to get away in, intensely aware of his presence behind her.

“I’m not—” She cleared her throat. “I don’t—”
Sleep with strangers
.

But he wasn’t a stranger. Not anymore.

It seemed as though even the cicada chose that moment to quit singing. Silence reigned supreme.

She felt his hands on her shoulders. It took every ounce of her determination not to lean back toward him.

“I didn’t mean to let it go so far.”

She let him turn her and stared at his strong throat, unable to utter a word, when she should have told him she truly wished she had the nerve to go further.

“I’m sorry.” He said the words with real regret, then released her.

Afraid of what she’d see on his face, she hesitantly looked up.

Never expecting to see what she did.

Tenderness
.

Then, with a quick look beyond her to the car, he smiled at where she’d parked it, and said, “Good thinking.”

Embarrassed and bemused, she didn’t know what to do or say. After all, she’d fully participated in the kiss. Wouldn’t have stopped. But she did have the good sense to grab the lifeline he’d thrown her. They’d ignore what just happened. She could do this.

“I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did great,” he said, genuine praise in his voice.

And she felt another little piece of her heart melt.

…

What the hell had he been thinking, kissing her like that? JP couldn’t believe he’d given in to temptation again. Kissing Abby was such a bad idea. So insanely fantastic, but such a terrible idea.

Dropping his gun to the ground like some untrained idiot was bad enough, but even worse, what had he been thinking leaving her alone like that? Talk about bad ideas. That nosy cop could easily have found her.
Would
have found her if she hadn’t done some quick thinking. God knew what would have happened if she hadn’t moved the car.

That cop should not have been here. JP didn’t like it. The deputy had been looking around. Deliberately searching.

Hell. Now JP was losing it. Of course the cop had been nosing around. He was a sheriff’s deputy. That’s what they did.

Brooks could have put out a story to alert the locals, but he wouldn’t have. He wouldn’t involve civilians in the Agency’s dirty laundry. Not even cops. No, this deputy was just making his rounds. And Cal, whoever he was, had not followed them. JP was sure of that.

“What do we do now?” Abby’s question intruded on his thoughts.

She still looked embarrassed. He wished he could hug her tight and tell her not to be. He sure as hell wasn’t.

He should tell her how he felt about her. That would definitely do it—make her wary, and help her keep her distance.

Damned if he knew what he’d do if she didn’t stay away from him.

No, unfortunately, he knew
exactly
what he’d do…

“We should change clothes,” he said, clearing his throat.

Her eyes zeroed in on his. He almost laughed. Would have, if he’d thought she’d see the humor. “Behind the bushes.”

He could have sworn she sighed in relief.

“Then we’ll get rid of these old clothes and move on.”

“Where to?”

“I’m not sure,” he hedged. He knew very well where they were going, and what he intended to do because he had no other option. Cal and whoever sent him had made it impossible to send her back home without protection. Not until he knew the whole game and all the players. And dealt with every last one.

She studied him, and he wondered if she could sense what he planned to do.

“How are the bites?” he asked.

She blushed. “Not too bad.”

“We can pick up something for them in town. You’re not allergic, are you?”

“No,” she said and laughed, “just not fond of bugs crawling on me.”

“All right, then,” he said, with what was possibly too much enthusiasm, “let’s get the clothes from the car and change. We’ll bag what we take off and toss the things in a Dumpster somewhere.” From the look on her face, he nearly felt obligated to add that he wouldn’t touch her again. But he didn’t want to make any false promises.

He did, however, make one hundred percent sure he couldn’t see her while they changed. No point in punishing himself. But when she emerged from her clump of bushes, he couldn’t help but stare.

Nothing about her clothing could be remotely construed as provocative. Her beige shorts weren’t too short or too tight, the sleeveless white cotton top wasn’t cut too low. She wore sneakers that looked like deck shoes. She looked like the personification of fresh and wholesome.

And sexy as hell.

“I think your shirt is on backward,” she said.

He stared at her, hearing what she said, but wondering what it was about her that turned him on so much.

“Your shirt.”

“Oh. Yeah.” He jerked it off over his head and fumbled, turning it. When he looked up to see if she was laughing at him, she wasn’t. She was looking at his chest.

Okay. She was attracted. He was right. This wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to be up to him now. Up to him to keep his hands off of her.

With her looking at him like that.

God, it was going to be a long trip.

…

As they drove down the gravel road in silence, Abby tried to concentrate on the woods around them, but her attention kept coming back to JP.

He was an incredibly beautiful man. Tall, strong, everything about him supremely male.

She thought about what she’d be doing now if she’d gone with Rachel and Angel. Rachel would have somehow rounded up the best-looking guys and managed to hook up with a guy who had at least two friends, one for Angel and one for her. She was pretty sure if Rachel had seen JP, she would have told Abby to get out of the way if she wasn’t interested.

If these were normal circumstances, she would certainly be interested. But would he?

JP made her realize she was wonderfully alive. She had to do something to keep from reaching out to touch him. Something to turn him back into just another man, not someone who attracted her. She had to remind herself that she needed him to provide her with answers about Wade. That was all. That should be all.

She stared out into the trees and considered what she could say. If she’d gone with her friends and met some random man, what would she say to him?

“Do you have brothers and sisters?” she asked. And instantly wanted to call the words back. She didn’t want to know anything about him.

“Two sisters. One older, one younger,” he replied. “You?”

“Just Steve. He’s older.”

“My older sister’s birthday is at the end of month. She’ll be thirty-one. It’ll be the second birthday I’ve missed.”

Wait. His
older
sister was thirty-one? How old was he? Make that, how
young
was he? Oh, God. She couldn’t ask. Wouldn’t.

Instead, she said, “You’re close?”

“Yeah. My father died when we were kids, so Janey and me, we’re just a year apart, spent a lot of time watching out for our younger sister. Mom had her hands full with the three of us. I hope they’re all okay.”

A year apart. Which made him thirty. Four years younger than she was. Oh, man.

“You haven’t been in touch?” she asked, getting past the mortification.

He glanced at her, then concentrated on the road. “No.”

Of course he hadn’t been. If he had, Brooks would haved traced him. He’d probably investigated his family, just as he had her and her family and friends.

“I’m sorry,” she said. What did it matter that he was younger? Nothing was going to happen between them. His age was totally irrelevant.

“Yeah, me, too.”

She’d hoped to distance herself from him by thinking of him as just another guy. Instead, knowing about his family, just this little bit about his childhood, made her want to know more. Not good.

She continued staring out the window at the passing woods in an attempt to clear her thoughts. Her feelings.

They reached the county road that led to a small town. JP pulled to a stop and looked both ways.

“Uh, oh,” he said, more to himself than to her.

She spun to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“Highway patrol.”

“What do we do?”

“Nothing,” he said, his gaze on the cruiser as it approached along the paved road. “Unless he stops.”

The young highway patrolman in sunglasses saluted them easily as he passed. Then he made a U-turn and came back, pulling up next to them, his window even with JP’s.

“Try to relax. Follow my lead,” JP said. He rolled down his window.

Abby’s heart pounded against her ribs. She didn’t know how JP maintained that cool, friendly composure, how he managed the greeting he gave the patrolman. “Everything okay, sir?” he asked, his expression earnest.

“You been down to the clay pit?” the officer asked, indicating the dirt road behind them.

“Clay pit?” JP asked, his tone that of someone surprised to hear there was a clay pit.

“Yeah, there’s a clay pit at the end of this road.”

“I didn’t know that. We’re not from here.”

“Why did you drive down there?”

“I just pulled over to figure out where we are.”

The patrolman peered through JP’s window at her. “Ma’am.”

She smiled her greeting.

“Next town’s that way,” he pointed. “About fifteen miles. You folks really should buy yourselves a map.”

“We thought we had one,” she said.

“But we couldn’t find it,” JP added. “Jenny wanted me to stop a few miles back and ask for directions, but I thought we were getting close to a town .”

“Where you folks from?”

“Missouri.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Jenny’s got family in Mississippi,” JP replied. “The Jackson area.”

Well, enjoy your visit,” the patrolman said. He looked at Abby. “Take care.”

“Thanks, officer.” She felt like her cheeks were going to fall off from all the smiling.

“Drive safely,” he said, and pulled his cruiser back onto the highway.

“That was fun,” she said.

JP laughed at her sarcastic comment.

“Do you have Missouri tags on the car?”

“You’re a natural,” he said. “No, I don’t. There’s a temporary tag, but he never even looked. He was in front or beside us the whole time.”

“Why the whole lost thing?”

“If he’s asked if he saw someone suspicious, all he’ll remember is some guy from Missouri who couldn’t figure out where he was.”

“I guess you know what you’re doing.”

She just wished to God she did.

…

Was she serious? JP didn’t have a clue what he was doing.

Yes, he did. He was leading Abby into danger. Hell, he
had
led her into danger. The state patrolman was nothing. Those men in Ocean Springs could easily have killed her. Any one of the men Brooks sent after him could kill her.

But one thing was for damn sure. If she was alone, she’d be in much more danger now.

So, no choice. Abby was his to care for. He’d just have to convince her to stay at his place. That’s where he was headed now. Then he’d drive on to Texas, find out about Wade’s other alias, Asa Pickett. Everything would work out. He’d get her back to her son. He’d clear himself. And they’d both live happily ever after.

Apart
.

If that meant sacrificing Wade Price’s reputation, so be it. Abby would hate him, but she’d be alive.

They threw their old clothes in a Dumpster in the back of a convenience store and drove on.

By lunchtime, they were halfway to his place. They stopped at a service area restaurant and ate.