Cowboy Command (18 page)

The deputy laughed. 
“Hell of a time to be taking a vacation.  Ever heard of summer?”

Seth tried to laugh along with the l
awman.  “It’s tough to vacation in the summer.  Besides, I like the snow.”

The deputy looked around appreciatively at the snow piled up where the plows had been through. 
“Must say I do too.”  He walked up to the RV and patted it with a smile.  “What kind of mileage you get in this thing?”

Seth leaned against the side of the vehicle trying to appear nonchalant when he really wanted to grab Presley and drive away as quickly as he could. 
“About ten miles per gallon, give or take.  It’s pretty bad.”  Where the hell was she anyway?

The older man shook his head and laughed. 
“Hell, I remember when I was a kid my old man’s Chevy got about the same and he didn’t have a can on board.”  The deputy gave him a hopeful look.  “Don’t suppose you’d show me inside?  I’ve never been inside one of these fancy dancy ones.  You got TV in there?  I saw a satellite on top.”

Seth grew up in a small town and wasn
’t surprised by the request, but he felt his stomach twist in fear.  The cop seemed innocuous enough, completely unaware of who Seth was or what he was doing, but there was always that small chance he was being played.  Still, he couldn’t think of one legitimate reason to say no.

“
Sure.  Let me finish this and I’ll show it to you.”

They chatted about the weather while Seth finished pumping gas, then he led the way into the interior of the RV,
his heart pounding so loud he was sure the deputy could hear it.  “This is the living room and kitchen.  There’s a bedroom back there and a bathroom.  It’s pretty comfortable.  Plenty of room for just the two of us.”

The deputy whistled as he took in the flat screen television. 
“Nice.  Very nice.  I won’t invade your privacy by looking at the bedroom but I’m sure it’s as nice as this.  Maybe someday when I retire the wife and I will get something like this and travel around the country.”

Too bad that day and moment wasn
’t right now.  The lawman appeared to taking his time, looking at every detail, in no hurry to leave.  Seth was sweating up a storm in his heavy jacket and wasn’t sure how to move this along when Presley opened up the door.

“
Hey, I got us more sodas— Oh, I’m sorry.”  Seth saw the flash of fear in her expression but to her credit, she hid it quickly.  She smiled at their visitor.  “Hello, I’m Missy.”

Seth took the bag of snacks from her and set it on the counter while the deputy held out his hand with a grin. 
“I’m Otis McRae.  Nice to meet you.  Your husband was kind enough to show me around this palace on wheels.  Very fancy, I’ll say.  He says it belongs to your parents.”

If she was surprised by that statement, she never let it show. 
“It does.”  She pointed to his badge.  “Are you in local law enforcement here, Mr. McRae?”

Otis beamed with pride. 
“I am.  Twenty-two years on the job.  Hoping for twenty-two more.”  He looked around the room.  “I best let you two head on down the road.  Drive careful now.  There’s bad weather coming our way.  Which way are you heading?”

“
South,” Seth answered quickly.  “New Orleans.  We’re visiting friends.”

Otis
’s head bobbed.  “Never been but I heard it’s nice.  Good luck and happy driving.”  The deputy climbed out of the RV and headed for his car.  Seth felt the roar of blood in his ears as he sagged against the refrigerator.  Presley pressed a hand to her forehead. 

“
What was going on in here?”

Seth wiped at his brow. 
“The deputy pulled up and started a conversation.  Then he wanted to see the inside of the RV.  He said he’d never seen one this fancy.  Son of a bitch.”  Seth groaned as the full horror of what could have happened hit him.  He could have lost Presley to the Feds and ended up separated from her, unable to keep her safe from the leak inside the agency.

Presley wrapped her arms around him while his heartbeat returned to normal.  She patted him on the butt with a smile. 
“Close call, but we’re fine.  We need to get on the road or Tanner and Logan will be halfway to Kansas City before we even get to Denver.”

Seth took a deep breath and nodded.  Presley was right.  They were fine, and as long as he kept alert they would stay fine.  He couldn
’t afford to relax for even a moment.  Presley’s life hung in the balance.

“
Let’s get going then.”  Seth straightened and headed to the driver’s seat, only to have Presley beat him to it. 

“
Let me drive.”  Presley gave him a beguiling smile.  He shook his head and jerked his thumb toward the passenger seat.

“
No way, honey.  I’m in control of this vessel today.”

She pouted but relinquished the seat easily.  She
’d probably just been busting his balls for fun.  “Maybe we should sing or something.  Do you know Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall?”

Seth started up the engine and pulled out in to traffic. 
“Never heard of it.  Maybe if you sing it to me, I can pick it up.”

He should have known not to challenge his Presley.  She launched into the song at the top of her lungs.  This was going to be an interesting drive for sure.  He
’d never met anyone like Presley Lawson.

A feeling of sadness came over him, sending a pain directly to his chest.  When she was gone, he would never meet anyone like her again.

* * * * *

It was almost one in the morning when they pulled into an RV park outside of St. Louis.  They
’d had to drive over twelve hours to get ahead of the winter storm but they’d made it, exhausted and ready for bed.  Tanner and Logan had turned around a few hours past Denver when it was clear the weather was turning bad.  If they didn’t turn around then, they were going to be stuck for a few days.  Presley and Seth had bid the lawmen farewell at a rest stop on US Ninety.  She’d miss the comforting presence of knowing they were around but she trusted Seth to keep her safe and alive. 

He was now curled up behind her, a portable furnace, keeping her warm.  Presley could feel his heartbeat against her back and his breath on her shoulder.  He was idly stroking her
skin.

“
Can’t sleep, honey?”  He pressed a kiss to her hair.

“
I’m almost too tired to sleep.  Isn’t that weird?  I’ve heard of that but never experienced it myself until tonight.  I’m exhausted but my mind is wired.”

“
It might be all the sodas and coffee we drank to stay awake.”  Seth chuckled and she felt the vibrations on her skin.  She loved his deep, husky voice, especially in the morning when he was still half-asleep, his eyes heavy-lidded until he’d had his coffee.

She turned in his arms and pressed her head to his chest. 
“I was scared today.”

H
is arms tightened around her.  “At the gas station, when we saw the deputy?”

She nodded her head, her cheek rubbing the sprinkling of gold hair on his chest. 
“If we were separated I don’t know what I’d do.  I trust you.  I don’t know who else I can trust.”

Seth rubbed her back. 
“If they separated us, I would get back to you.  Know that.  I would get one of my lawmen friends to help me.  I would find you, honey.  I will always find you.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. 
“You mean something to me.  More than anyone has ever meant.  I want to tell you that, Seth.  If something happens to me, I don’t want you to think that no one loves you.”  She took a deep breath, ready to plunge off a cliff.  She was the queen of bad decisions and this one was probably the mother of them all.  “I love you.”

He tilted her chin up but it was too dark to see his expression.  He captured her lips in a kiss that took her breath away.  It was slow and sweet and told her he wasn
’t unhappy she’d declared herself.  He rubbed his stubbly cheek against hers.

“
I love you, too.”

She pushed at his chest. 
“That’s not why I said it.  I wasn’t trying to get you to say it.  I just wanted you to know in case they find me and kill me.”

Shit, saying it sounded bad.  She didn
’t want to die.

“
Nothing’s going to happen to you as long as I draw breath, Presley.  I mean that.”

She believed him and it scared her.  She squeezed her eyes closed and a few tears escaped down her cheeks.  Love shouldn
’t be this painful.

“
It doesn’t change anything.  Somebody’s trying to kill me and when this is over—”

Seth pressed his fingers to her lips, his hand warm. 
“I know.  We don’t need to talk about it or anything.  We have now.  Fuck, it’s more than I thought we would have.  I sure as hell didn’t intend to fall in love with you and I know you sure as shit didn’t intend to fall in love with some cowboy sheriff from Harper, Montana, but here we are.  I made a promise to you and I won’t break it, honey.”  His voice was urgent and it made her heart hurt so badly she thought it might burst into a million tiny pieces.  She now knew what they meant by heartbreak.  “Let’s be grateful for what we have now.  Nobody knows what the future holds, right?”

She didn
’t answer him.  Talking would get them nowhere.  Instead she ran her hands up his chest and down his muscular arms, feeling the heat radiating from his skin.  Her mouth sought and found his and she plunged her tongue deep into the cavern of his mouth.  He tasted like the mint of his toothpaste and she rubbed his tongue until he groaned, his arms wrapping around her fully and his body rolling hers under him. 

God, she loved this.  She loved feeling his big, hard body on top of hers.  It made her feel feminine and sheltered and she reveled in that, letting her fingers explore the dips and ridges of his body while he explored her mouth.  She was fascinated with the differences in their bodies, his so strong and hers so delicate. 

Her palms glided over his wide shoulders, down through the silky, golden hair on his chest, over his hard, flat stomach, then around to his tight, muscular ass, gripping him and pulling him closer so his hard cock nestled between her legs.  She breathed deeply of his scent, spicy and clean.  He smelled like a man should, not sweet, but like the outdoors he was so deeply a part of.  She pulled her mouth away and licked at his neck before nipping it with her teeth gently. 

She was already wet and slick for him and she rubbed against the hardness in his boxers, the friction sending frissons of arousal through her body and making her toes curl.  Seth cursed and his hands slid under her T-shirt, tugging it over her head before his fingers curled around the elastic of her panties, dispensing with them deftly.  She didn
’t care where he had tossed them, too lost in the pleasure he was evoking with a simple touch.  Her hands pushed down his boxers, needing to touch him. 

His head dipped and his mouth captured an already beading nipple in his mouth.  Seth took a wrist in each hand and pressed them to the mattress so she was helpless under his erotic assault.  His teeth scraped the sides of the hardening bud and she gasped at the heavy arousal building in her abdomen.  Her pussy clenched with need and she arched her back, inviting his attention. 

His tongue snaked out and circled the peak, driving her crazy with need.  She pressed herself closer to his hard cock and he chuckled at her predicament, knowing what she wanted but obviously determined to make her wait.  He repeated the nipple torture on her other side and she struggled in his gentle but firm hold.  She wasn’t going anywhere unless he released her wrists, and the thought amped up her excitement tenfold.  She was desperate to come now, heated blood flying through her veins and electric sparks playing in sensitive nooks and crannies. 

“
Seth!”  She cried out as his mouth blazed a hot, wet trail over her quivering abdomen.  He moved her wrists from beside her head to the sides of her hips then to her inner thighs, but never lost control of them.  With his shoulders pushing her legs apart and her arms trapped at her knees, she was thoroughly and completely under his control.  He insinuated himself further, pressing her legs even farther apart, his hot breath on her clit.  The room was dark and he wouldn’t be able to see the honey dripping from her slit, but he could smell her arousal easily.  It was perfuming the bedroom with sex and musk.

She tensed, waiting for the first touch of his tongue.  When it came, she shuddered with pleasure as it traced a pattern around her clit, but never directly on it.  He
’d restrained her too well with his body weight for her to be able to move her hips to get more of his tongue.  She had to take his teasing and licking, sending her tip-toeing on the edge of orgasm but never going over.  She’d asked for a dominant man and Seth delivered in every way imaginable.

White lights danced in front of her eyes when he finally closed his mouth over her clit and sucked, releasing her wrists so she could grab onto the blankets.  It sent her flying into the night, tumbling and rolling through the stars.  She heard herself call his name, aware of her own breathing and heartbeat, as she came down to earth reluctantly.  Her eyelids fluttered open but the room was still dark.  Presley could hear Seth
’s ragged breathing as he rummaged in the nightstand for protection.