Fiance by Friday (18 page)

Two consecutive nights of sleeping in the backseat of a small car was enough. Sure, it helped that Neil had managed to find two of the most beautiful places in which to camp, but enough!

The Nevada morning had taken her by surprise. The cliff they’d parked next to jutted hundreds of feet in the air with nothing but bright blue sky beyond. In the light of day, their impromptu campground felt less threatening.

Nothing prepared Gwen for Utah. She’d seen pictures, but had never been. The landscape was candy for her eyes. She sounded like a recording with her constant “brilliant, and stunning” being uttered from her lips.

The fierce winds that shaped the cliffs and vistas also blew their tiny car around.

“It’s lovely,” she said as they rounded another corner and one more picture worthy view met her eyes.

“It is.”

He hadn’t done more than brush his hands against hers since their kiss. He seemed to have found the comfortable distance he’d said he needed in order to stay alert. That didn’t mean she didn’t see him watching her every so often.

Neil had three days’ growth on his face, and she loved it. Handsome, in his harsh way, he somehow softened with the beard.
His short hair made the beard look deliberate instead of lazy. She wouldn’t even mind the scrape of it on her skin. Everywhere.

He had paid for everything with cash. Even Gwen, who hadn’t watched that many movies about fleeing men and women, knew that credit cards could be traced. They were completely off the grid, as they say. No one knew them, no one would be able to find them like this. With anyone but Neil, the thought might frighten her. Instead, she felt liberated.

“Please tell me we’ll find lodging tonight.”

“We’ll see.”

“Neil, please. My clothing needs a good wash and I don’t think you’ve slept more than an hour or two at a time.”

“I don’t need a lot of sleep.”

“Oh, posh. Everyone needs to sleep. My attempts to clean up have been less than adequate. A bed and running water, please.” She poured sugar into her request. “You know no one is following us out here.”

He made a point of checking the rearview mirror.

“There’s no one back there.”

He sighed. “We need to buy a few things…before we check into a hotel.”

She clapped her hands like a schoolgirl, jumped over the seat, and planted her lips to his rough cheek. “Thank you. I can’t wait to be clean again.” She settled back in her seat and counted the mile markers to the next town.

They found a corner store that seemed to have a little of everything. Like a mini Walmart, there was clothing for the whole family in a few aisles and groceries in the other.

“We won’t be here long. Don’t talk to anyone.”

Gwen made a keying motion on her lips and smiled. He handed her two twenties. “I’ll grab some food, you get whatever you need.”

She hopped out of the car and practically skipped inside the store. After grabbing a basket and finding the shampoo aisle, she bought a couple of travel size shampoo and conditioners, soap, and a razor. She walked past the hair dye and stopped. She found a washable tint in both brown and red, tossed them inside. Lip gloss, bug repellant.
The important things.

A woman walked past her and Gwen pretended to read the back of one of the boxes.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d taken, so she headed to the register and noticed one more item she had to buy.

Condoms.

It never ceased to amaze Neil how people responded to the simple things in life after they’d done without them for a while.

Gwen’s smile lit up her face as they climbed back into the car.

“Get everything you need?” he asked.

“I’m sure I forgot something, but I managed the essentials.”

She unscrewed the cap of the small shampoo and brought it to her nose. “Lovely.” She pushed it in his face. “Smell.”

“Smells like you.”

“Not yet, but soon.”

He pulled out of the parking lot and watched the rearview mirror until they were back on the road. They’d find a hotel that wouldn’t ask questions and he’d make a phone call in the morning once they were far away from the place they slept.

It was time to start leading his prey.

Being the prey wasn’t an option.

Not any longer.

He still needed to work out how to keep Gwen far from the action when it went down. A couple of ideas swam inside his head,
each nearly impossible for its own reason. He still had a few days to figure it out.

“You’re frowning. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“I’d love to believe you, but my guess is you’re trying to work out what to do next. We’ve left California, but we can’t run forever. Though a little while might be fun.”

He felt the frown on his face lifting. “You like running?”

“Come now, Neil, have you ever seen such a beautiful place in your life? I would never have seen this had you not dragged me out of the house in the middle of the night.”

“There’s nothing stopping you from taking a road trip.”

“When there are perfectly good airplanes to take me where I want to go? I would never have chosen to take a car.”

“Sometimes the journey is the destination.”

“Hmmm,” she hummed. “I like that. Anyway, you’re worried about what comes next. Am I right?”

“Worried, no,” he lied.

“Perplexed then?”

He didn’t answer.

“Sometimes talking about it helps you work it out.”

He couldn’t tell her he planned to find an ivory tower for her, lock her inside, and then go fight the bad guy. Neil didn’t think she’d sit back and let that happen. She was a lot better at the cloak-and-dagger life than he thought she’d be and would probably insist on coming along to help.

“Women talk, men think quietly.”

“Is that your way of telling me to stop talking?”

“When have I ever been that polite?”

She leaned against the seat back and smiled. “Oh, you’re quite right. You’d tell me to shut up if you didn’t want to hear me any longer.”

“Finally,” he said laughing. “The woman understands me.”

“The hell she does.”

His jaw dropped.

“What?” she asked.

“You said
hell
.”

“Of course I said hell. I’m not a prude. I did live with Eliza, you know. The woman can make a sailor blush when she wants to.”

Neil kinda liked that about Eliza. He supposed he admired her battle-tested spirit as well. Carter was a lucky man.

“You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you profess you’re not a prude.”

She ran a hand through her hair that she’d left loose since they’d pulled away from the store. “Oh, why’s that?”

He nodded to the backseat. “I bought you something new to wear.”

Gwen’s face lit up, her grin nearly blinding him. Her seat belt was off and she was reaching in the back in seconds.

Her body stilled.

“What the?”

“You said you’re not a prude.”

She twisted back into her seat, his purchases in her hands. “You’re joking.”

The look of horror on her face brightened his. He for one couldn’t wait to see her in his choice of clothing.

“Are these shorts?” She lifted the teenybopper shorts that only sported enough material to cover one cheek modestly.

“Those are shorts.”

“They won’t cover my knickers, Neil.”

He’d seen her
knickers
. They’d cover a thong plenty.

The red and white checkered top was right off the queen of the Fourth of July parade.

“At least the shoes are cute,” she said, dangling the pumps with a finger. “Cheap, but cute.”

“You like?”

“It’s appalling.”

You can take a Lady out of the castle, but not the castle out of the Lady.

“That’s what I was going for.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see,” he told her.

“It better be good.” She tossed the clothes back where she’d found them. “Or I’ll choose an outfit for you.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “And I have a fondness for black leather.”

Twenty miles outside of town, Neil stopped at a gas station and told her to change. She grumbled, but marched to the bathroom all the same. “And do something equally appalling with your hair.”

He chuckled as he walked into the convenience store and bought a pack of gum and a pack of cigarettes.

Outside the bathroom, he leaned against the hood of the car…waiting. He kept checking his watch, wondering if she’d ever come out. He moved to the door and gave a quick knock. “Everything all right in there?”

“I look ridiculous.”

“Scared, Princess?” he taunted her. Something he noticed worked on this trip. And here he thought he knew Lady Gwendolyn better than most. He hadn’t known shit.

“I’m not scared.”

“Uh-huh!”

He backed up to the car and waited.

Finally, the door to the bathroom opened. Her heeled foot carried her out the door. She tossed her bag of clothes to the ground and spun in a circle.

“Sweet Jesus,” he whispered as he pulled his sunglasses off his face. He already knew her legs were long and elegant, but he had no idea how far up they went. The shorts fit like a second skin. When she turned for him, her ass did indeed peep out from below. She’d buttoned the shirt up high and kept tugging on it. A large portion of her hair was brushed to one side and put in a pigtail.

Yeah, she looked like a schoolgirl fantasy hooker playing grown-up with the heels.

Blood shot from his head to his cock.

“You’re staring, Neil.”

He swallowed and took a step toward her. The shoes brought her closer to his height, but he still had to look down at her by several inches. Gwen stood perfectly still as he reached out and unbuttoned the shirt until the creamy expanse of her breasts were clearly visible.

He licked his lips and ignored the feel of her soft skin as it grazed the backs of his fingers. He then gathered the edges of the bottom of the shirt, undid another button so only two were fastened, and tied the ends in a knot, tucking it under her ample breasts. With her midriff exposed, he stepped back and examined his creation.

“Perfect.”

“For what? A twenty-dollar romp from the streets?”

A slow smile took over the muscles in his face.

“Oh, no, Neil you don’t expect me to act like a…”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Princess?”

“I left it, along with my dignity, in the bathroom.”

“I’m not asking that you parade around town like this. We just need to make walking into a hotel as believable as possible.”

“I feel naked.”

Almost.
“We can sleep in the car again.”

She dropped one hand to her hip. “That was mean.”

“Your choice.”

“Fine!” She walked toward him, stopped at his side, and pressed her breasts into his arm. “Black leather pants,” she whispered in his ear. “Maybe a studded collar.”

His temperature shot up ten degrees.
You’re in trouble, Mac. Serious trouble.

Chapter Sixteen

Eliza met Karen and Michael at the airport. Their “honeymoon” had been cut short by two days.

Michael suggested they return to France later between movies to make up for the interruption.