Timeless Moon (29 page)

Waiting was hard.
They sat in a makeshift shelter of rocks and scrub oak a few yards from the railroad tracks. A westbound Amtrak had sped by not more than a half hour before, but so far there had been nothing going east.

Josette
was back in human form. This time she wore a black jogging suit over a black sports bra. She liked the T-shirts with their clever sayings, but she was getting damned tired of being cold. She was too exhausted to expend energy to keep herself warm when a simple change of clothes could do the trick. It seemed odd to her that the wreck that had destroyed the Volvo hadn't put so much as a scratch on the luggage. She nearly laughed when the first thought that popped into her mind was a stock report:
sell Volvo, buy Samsonite.

Rick was pacing again, in part to keep warm, but mostly because he couldn't stand not to. She didn't remember him being this keyed up all the time before. On the other hand, there hadn't been people trying to kill them back when the two of them had been living in Illinois. That sort of thing did tend to make one a little nervous.

"So, Ahmad and the snakes want you dead
—" he started, but she interrupted him.

"I'm not sure Ahmad is working with these snakes." He raised his brows, so she amended. "Don't get me wrong. He
does
want me dead. But I don't think I can assume anymore that they're in this together. Wrong kind of snakes."

"He
is
the council representative for the reptiles,
Josette.
All
the reptiles, not just the cobras. Wouldn't he at least know about all this?"

"He is their representative, yes. But I've noticed he has a certain
…
prejudice.
All of his
personal
guard, everyone in his immediate circle, is not only a snake, but a snake of Middle Eastern descent. The snakes that attacked me at my house and the hotel were either Central or South American. They spoke Spanish, and they were all breeds native to the new world."

He felt his brow furrow and he squatted down beside her. "So you're saying that you think two
separate
groups of snakes are trying to kill you?"

"Yes. I think the Central or South American snakes are one group. The humans are a separate group."

"And Ahmad?"

"Who knows."
Josette
raised her hands in a gesture of utter defeat. "I gave up trying to figure him out centuries ago. I deal with him when and how I must, but I can't say I trust him or enjoy his company."

Rick started to say something more about it, but stopped suddenly. Excitement filled his scent until
the area bloomed in her nose like a citrus orchard. Eyes nearly glowing, he leaped to his fee. "Do you hear that?"

As she listened, a smile lit up her face. "It's a train, and it's heading east."

"Thank God!" Rick reached down to help her to her feet.

Staring in the distance, she could see it heading around a curve. It was a freight train and a long one. It was moving at a steady clip, the various cars swaying rhythmically along the rails. There were probably a dozen flat cars behind the engine, each piled with a double high stacking container like the one she'd ridden on to Albuquerque
—was it only yesterday? Next came three or four tank cars and several boxcars.

"The fourth boxcar is empty."

"How can you tell?"

"There's less weight in it, so it's moving differently." He sounded absolutely certain, but she couldn't tell the difference.

"I'll jump on first and get the door open. Then you can toss in your purse and jump in after."

"I just hope the conductor doesn't catch us."

Rick's face sobered. "Good point." He looked up and down the line. "There are some trees up there, right before the curve. If we hurry, we can get in position."

They'd have to hurry all right. The train was moving toward them faster than she'd originally thought. But, if they timed it right, the engine would be around
the corner and out of sight when they climbed on board. Of course, that assumed nothing went wrong.
Josette
slid off her flip-flops, stuffing them into the bag and forcing it closed. She'd rather risk cutting her feet than have the silly things slow her down. They were worse than useless for running.

They made it, but it wasn't easy. Sprinting full out with a purse on her arm was awkward, and made her feel both girly and foolish. But there was no help for it. She needed the phone and her ID, and there were no pockets in her outfit.

Rick wasn't in much better shape. His too-tight jeans and too-small sneakers made it hard for him to move as well as he normally would. Still, he managed to get there ahead of her. He ran next to the train, gravel crunching beneath his feet. With a perfectly timed jump, he grabbed on to the ladder. Moving along the narrow metal rim had been an exercise in dexterity that had Josette's heart in her throat. But he managed to reach the heavy latch, open the sliding door, and swing himself inside.

It was her turn. There was no time to waste, no time to think. She ran. When she was parallel to the open door she tossed the bag in. Rick appeared at the door. Holding on to something inside with his left arm, he leaned out with his right arm extended.

"Come on. Jump! I've got you."

She jumped, grabbing onto his arm with both of hers. He caught her, swinging her inside to safety.

She collapsed onto the floor, breathing hard from both exertion and nervousness. Her feet were bruised and cut. A nasty shard of brown glass from what had once been a beer bottle had embedded itself in her heel. Hissing in pain, she pulled it free and tossed it out the open door.

The cut bled for a moment or two, but then healed with faster than normal speed. She could actually watch the wound close. She sat on the wood and steel floor, her back pressed against the metal wall, not bothering to gather up her purse or put the shoes back on. There was no point. She'd just have to take them off again when they disembarked. And right now she was just too damned weary to bother with much of anything.

It wasn't physical weariness as much as pure mental exhaustion. Oh, the past couple of days had been physically trying, no doubt about it. But it was the constant upheaval that was wearing her out. One crisis after another, year after year
—never feeling safe for even a moment. It was just too much. Still, they probably had at least an hour-long ride on this train, maybe more. For that long, at least, she could relax. She refused to think about Raven or Ahmad, or even those waiting in Daytona. For the space of a train ride she wanted to just exist in the moment.

"It must be handy being able to pull on his healing abilities." Rick lowered himself onto the floor next to her, giving a nod at her foot.

She shook her head. "I can't. It's a one-sided mating. He can pull from me. I can't pull from him."

Rick's expression grew serious. "Are you sure?" He sighed. "What I sensed when you were helping him heal me didn't seem all that one-sided." Rick's voice was ever-so-carefully empty of emotion. In fact, he was shielding so hard he was practically vibrating with the effort not to let her sense what he was feeling.

"It doesn't change anything either way."
Josette
met his gaze. He would have turned his head, but she reached up, holding his face in the cup of her hand. "I love
you.
I chose
your

"But
—"

"No
buts.
And no arguments. I've made my choice, so unless you intend to dump me
…
" The lilt in her voice made it a question.

"Not a chance in hell."

"Then you're stuck with me for the duration." She closed her eyes. "Now can we please just sit? I'm utterly exhausted."

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. "I can relate to that. It's been a rough couple of days." He paused for a moment. "I'm really sorry about Ellen. She thought you were wonderful. I could feel this deep sense of admiration emanate from her, as though you were a lifelong mentor."

"And it's odd, but I don't really know why." But that wasn't quite true. She
did
know why, because
Ellen had said so herself. "No, that's not right. She told me when we met that she'd been waiting for me to arrive for days, hiding behind the truck stop. She'd probably had visions about me for years
…
had built up the relationship in her mind. Maybe I
was
a lifelong mentor to her, and just never knew it."

"I know all about admiring someone for years." His voice was warm and rich. It felt so good to be snuggled up against his warm chest. In fact, his
really
warm chest.

"Do you need to change? You feel warm." She pressed her fingertips against his forehead, which was unnaturally hot, as though the moon was trying to pull his fur from beneath his skin.

"No." He smiled. "I'm intentionally raising my temperature, trying to make you comfortable. You're not wearing much, after all." His warm, knowing chuckle tightened things low in her body.
Josette
was suddenly very aware that the two of them were alone together. No one would likely be interrupting them until Albuquerque. He seemed to sense it, too. She heard his breath catch, felt his heartbeat speed beneath the hand she'd unwittingly laid on his chest.

She looked up, meeting his gaze. He had stubble on
h
is chin, dark circles under his eyes, but she'd never wanted or loved him more than she did at this moment. "Let's move away from the door." Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

They stood and staggered clumsily against the
rocking toward the dark recesses of the boxcar. It should have been funny, but
Josette
wasn't amused. The scent of Rick's lust was filling her nostrils, his hunger pouring out in an
empathic
wave that washed over her until every inch of her body throbbed and ached with the need to be touched. The train jerked as she started to kneel, costing her some balance. Rick tried to save her. Instead, he fell, too, their bodies ending in a tangle atop a small pile of hay, left over from the last cargo.

"Are you all right?" Rick propped himself onto his hands in a half-push-up. It gave
Josette
just enough room to roll onto her back. The lust had faded slightly, but not vanished. Still, overlying it she could scent his concern.

"Ouch. That hurt." Splinters had been driven into the flesh of her palms. She turned her hands over so that Rick could see.

"Ouch indeed." His head moved forward, and he kissed her palms gently.

Power flared between them in a flash that was erotic, but walked the fine line between pleasure and pain. It stole her breath in a gasp as it tightened muscles deep within her until she ached with the need to be touched again.

He bent his elbows, lowering himself slowly toward her until their lips met. The kiss was tentative at first, a bare brush of warmth against her lips until
Josette
leaned into his mouth, her tongue teasing
against his lips as her hands moved down his chest to slide beneath the thin fabric of his shirt.

The kiss deepened, his tongue delving into her mouth, teasing and tangling with hers as her hands skimmed gently across the warm muscled flesh of his abdomen. Gentle fingers teased the scars that marked his chest before moving to his hardened nipples.

His heartbeat pounded against the sensitive skin of her aching palms. Groaning he pulled back and shifted positions until he lay on his side on the floor beside her. Propping his head onto one hand, he stared down at her. "You are so beautiful."

He meant it. She could hear it in his voice, scent it in the air. Despite the ill-fitting sweatsuit, lack of makeup, and weather-tangled hair, he truly believed she was beautiful. Love must certainly be blind.

"I love you Richard Aleric Cooper." He might be Johnson now, but before
…
she would always be
Josette
Cooper in her heart.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Her smile was so broad it pulled at the corners of her mouth and increased the twinkle in her eyes.

"Prove it. Or are you too
tired?"
She could hear the teasing challenge in his voice.

"Hmnnn." She was grinning, she couldn't help it. "I'm pretty pooped, but somehow I think I can manage something."

"I have some suggestions." He offered hopefully.

"I just bet you do." She shoved him gently, until he was lying on his back. "But let's see what I can think up on my own. Shall we?"

"It'd better be good."

"Oh, I will be." Her voice was a throaty purr, filled with promise. Rising to her knees she moved to straddle him, one knee on either side of his body so that her crotch hovered just above his. As she leaned forward onto her hands and knees she felt the brush of him, hard and ready against her. The knowledge sent a shiver of anticipation through her body that hardened her nipples and made her back arch.

Rick's hands reached up to grasp the bottom of her sweatshirt. In one deft movement he pulled it over her head and off. He tossed it quickly aside, his hands moving to take her bare breasts in his hands. He squeezed them gently, his thumbs working to tease her sensitive nipples until she found herself whimpering, eyes closed.

Her hands seemed to move of their own accord, working at the buttoned waistband of his trousers, struggling to unfasten a zipper straining to contain his erection. She leaned her head forward to nibble his earlobe and kiss a delicate trail down his neck to the warm hollow of his throat.

She could feel his pulse beating a frantic rhythm against her lips and tongue as her hands finally mastered the unruly zipper, freeing his cock to her touch. She stroked him slowly, gently moving her hand
downward to cup his balls and trace a finger in a feather-soft touch along the delicate skin that stretched between them.

His hands caressed her back, moving down her body to slide beneath the elastic waistband of her trousers, pulling them down with one hand, he used his other to support her weight as he rolled her over so that now she was on her back. In one deft moved he tugged both pants and underwear from her body and tossed them aside so that she lay naked on the floor beneath him.

Their eyes met, and Josette's breath caught in her throat. There was need in his look, but there was so much more. A world of emotions, held back by his shields, was there, naked and vulnerable in his gaze.