Flint (3 page)

So kind…

When she was thoroughly warm, and her hair wasn’t filled with sticks and dirt from crawling through that big hedge to sneak into the parking lot of this motel without being seen by the desk clerk, she turned off the water and toweled dry, then wrapped the damp towel around her head to draw out the excess water. The things he’d left for her to put on were soft, dry cotton…too big by a mile but still something to cover her and keep her warm. She tugged the T-shirt over her head to fall almost to her mid thighs and then pulled the boxers up her legs. There was no drawstring, but she found that rolling the elastic waist down over itself several times made them stay on her hips fairly well.

The socks were blessedly warm, and they were the kind that didn’t have a heel built into them, so she tugged them up to her knees, and then sat on the closed toilet to rub her hair dry with the towel. She mopped up the watery mess she’d made with the damp towel, and tossed it over the top of the shower stall before she turned to the mirror and began trying to comb her hair with her fingers. The light knock on the door made her turn to see the door inch open.

“I’m done in here…” she said a bit too breathlessly as she opened the door the rest of the way. “Sorry I took so long.”

“Just checking. You were in here so long, I thought you might have fallen asleep in the shower.” Dark eyes traveled from her wet hair to her sock-clad feet, and back. He had pulled a flannel shirt on but hadn’t buttoned it.

Talk about sex on the hoof…

“You wouldn’t happen to have a comb, would you?” she managed to ask as she edged past him in the doorway without brushing against him.

“Yeah…just a minute…” he said as he stepped on into the bathroom and lifted the toilet seat while she stood there staring like a peeping tom. Realizing that she was watching him take a piss, she whirled around and almost ran to the side of the bed he had offered her, and her eyes slipped over the way he’d arranged her wet things to dry out a bit. The sight of her under things on top of the pile brought a flush to her face, and she barely stopped herself from grabbing them and tucking them under the rest.

For God’s sake, girl, he’s seen way more of you than just your panties and bra!

She heard the toilet flush, and a moment later, a man’s black comb extended over her shoulder, and she jerked a bit, before reaching for it. Taking it from his hand, she turned and took a step away from that long, lean body. “Thanks. I didn’t think to grab a brush before…” she stopped herself before blurting out that she’d left home without taking much of anything. She didn’t want any more questions. He nodded as she started dragging the teeth of his comb through her tangled hair.

It was tough going, combing though her thick hair, and after a few minutes, he took the comb from her hands and turned her around toward the mirror over the dresser. “Let me see what I can do…” he breathed softly behind her, as long, strong fingers began to untangle the hair and the comb slid more easily through the wet strands. She sighed and closed her eyes, too tired to protest him just taking over her grooming.

“Thanks…”

No reply, but she could feel his warm breath as he gently tugged the comb through her hair from the top to the bottom, as if he had leaned closer to her. She could feel the heat of his body behind her, and then the brush of his chest against her shoulder blades as he gathered her hair into one big hand and lifted it off her neck. Every nerve in her body was tingling as she felt his lips against the side of her neck. His warmth against her spine and the soft caress of his mouth sent a shot of something hot and delicious scurrying through her body, and she had to fight to draw away, talking a step forward and glancing over her shoulder. “Thanks…it’s been a long time since anybody combed my hair for me…”

Flint had forgotten that she was a total stranger…that he didn’t even know her real name. There was just a quiet, easy silence between them that felt natural somehow. He sensed that her body was as aware of him as he was of her. It had felt right to take the comb from her weary hand and to use his own fingers to ease the tangles as he used his comb to smooth the thick mass of damp curls. It had felt right when he’d gathered her hair in one hand to bare the side of her neck and to bend down to taste her sweet, clean skin.

And she had shivered with awareness as he’d dragged his mouth over her neck and shoulder. But when she’d moved away, his body felt raw. His insides felt tight and hot. He’d almost reached out and dragged her back against him.

Somehow he’d managed to keep his hands to himself.

As she glanced over her shoulder at him, and thanked him softly for combing her hair, he realized that no matter who she was…no matter where she’d come from…no matter what…he was bound and determined to keep his little waif. As fucking dumb as that sounded even to him, he simply accepted that his sudden decision would stand. She would never be cold, bruised, hungry or alone again.

He nodded, and turned away from her to draw the bedspread and blankets back on Curley’s bed. “Climb in and get warm. Get some sleep. We’ll be haulin’ out of here early, so rest up.”

Her hesitation made him smile. “You’ll be safe. If Curley climbs into bed with you before dawn, he’ll be too damn drunk to do much. But I warn you, he likes to cuddle.”

The smile that spread over her face hit him like a fist in his gut.
Christ!
He was gonna have to fight his hardest to keep from crawling into bed and cuddling her against his own hard-as-nails cock.

She lowered her body and crawled wearily into the open bed, and he drew up the covers over her curled up body as he realized she was already fast asleep.

Unable to sleep, Flint lay back against his pillows and watched the curled-up lump of bedding that hid the bruised and hungry woman who slept like a log in the bed beside his.
Who was she? Where had she come from? Who had hurt her?
He didn’t believe a word of her story about almost getting mugged. She’d have called the cops in a heartbeat…unless there was some reason she was afraid to call them.
Could she be running from the law?
Had
she stolen something?

Could she be running from a man that had beaten her?

Rage filled him as the thought of an abusive husband or boyfriend filled his head. She might have taken off with just the clothes on her back to escape someone like that. But why was she afraid to report him to the police? What hold could a man have on her to make it impossible to run?

He had made a decision earlier, and he planned to stick to it. But this wasn’t some lost puppy that he’d found in the motel parking lot. This was a woman. She would have to be willing. He couldn’t just up and carry her off. So he whiled away the hours to dawn thinking up ways to make her want to stay…to get her into his truck and get her back home rather than on a bus to Fort Worth.

Chapter Three

He glanced at his watch and slipped off the bed at 5:30 a.m. and got fully dressed, staying quiet so he wouldn’t wake her. Then he packed all his things, and eased out the door to cross the street to the little coffee shop that was just opening. He ordered two breakfasts to go, and headed back across the street just in time to see Curley coming down the outer stairs from the top row of rooms, carrying his jeans and his shirt over his arm, clad in his skivvies and his boots.

Looking like shit warmed over, his friend blinked blearily at him, and glanced down at the sacks of food in his hands. “Ughhh…thanks, but I think I’d puke if I tried to eat…”

“It isn’t for you. And keep it quiet. Put your damn pants on. I have a guest, and I don’t want you scaring the shit out of her.”

Curley ran a hand over his heavy morning beard, and lifted a brow. “
Her
? You caught yourself a bunny?”

“No…go on and get a shower and I’ll explain later. Just don’t wander out of the bathroom naked, okay?”

The lump in Curley’s bed was still there, and it rolled over with a little groan. Flint practically shoved Curley into the bathroom and set the bags of food on the night stand. He unloaded the carryout containers of scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, ham and hash browns, and when the smells of the food wafted around him, the lump under the covers shoved up and a bed-wrinkled face poked out, a hand shoving mussed hair back from it.

“Oh, my God…that smells
so
damn good!”

She shoved the covers off and crawled on all fours to the edge of the bed, sliding curvy bare legs out. The socks had sagged down to her ankles while she slept. He drew a deep breath as she leaned across him to grab one of the steaming containers. “Eggs? Oh,
and ham
? I think I love you…” Her face was pink as she glanced up at him. “Can I have some?”

Unable to spit out a single word, Flint pulled a paper plate off the little stack the waitress had given him, and started shoveling hot food onto it, adding a fresh hot biscuit and a dollop of country gravy. He watched her scoot right up to the night stand and shovel a huge spoonful into her mouth, making happy, satisfied sounds that made his cock stiffen like there’d be no tomorrow.

He barely heard the shower turn off, and he said in a choked tone, “Curley’s back. We were hoping to haul ass outta here by seven, ‘cuz we still have to pick up supplies. I was thinking…we could stop at a Laundromat and wash and dry your things. How’s that sound? They’re still pretty damp.”

She blinked up at him as she wrapped her lips around a spoonful of scrambled egg, and his gut twisted, wondering what it would feel like to have them wrapped around his painfully stiff cock. “I’ve put you to enough trouble, haven’t I? I really don’t have enough cash to pay for the Laundromat and still buy a bus ticket. I can wear damp clothes. They’ll dry out on the way. You’ve done more to help me than you can ever imagine.”

Curley came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, water from his blond hair dripping down his naked body as he padded out to grab his back pack. Blue eyes the color of a summer sky flicked over their guest, and Flint glared furiously at him as he fished out jeans and a shirt, and padded back into the bathroom, his bare ass disappearing behind the closed door.

She sat there, chewing on a bite of food, and after a moment she said, “You guys sure as hell don’t worry much about modesty, do you?”

She smiled, gulping down some orange juice and grabbing another biscuit.

Flint watched the little grin curve her lips upward, and he couldn’t help chuckling. “Curly has good reason to believe he’s God’s gift to women, and he doesn’t bother to hide it. Sorry about that.”

“Well,
he
might think so, but you’ve got him beat all to hell…” her voice was almost too low for him to catch her words. When he blinked at her face, she was blushing like crazy. A surge of blood enlarged his cock to beyond painful, and just when he figured he’d definitely heard her wrong, she rose to her knees on the mattress and caught his face between her hands, pulling him in for a kiss that about singed his fucking socks off.

Soft, sweet lips brushed his, then pressed more firmly, opening as he dragged her closer and returned the kiss, his tongue parting her lips as he groaned. She sucked his tongue into her mouth gently, sending his pulses into a tailspin. For one long, heart pounding moment, he thought he was dreaming. As she drew back, breathless and pink-cheeked, she whispered huskily, “Thank you for everything, mister. You’re my knight in shining armor…you’re a very special man.”

He was staring numbly into her amber eyes as she rose from the mattress and reached for her still damp clothes. His body was locked in disbelief. Part of him wanted to grab her and strip her…and another part of him wanted to hold her close and just feel the warmth of her quiet heart.

He watched, numb, as she simply turned her back and tugged off her borrowed shirt and shorts, and pulled on her own things, a shiver going through her as the chill of the damp clothes hit her skin. Then she turned and neatly folded his stuff. “I hope you don’t mind if I keep the socks. They feel great, and mine are still wet.”

He was still breathing hard from the brief flash of her pale skin bared to his wide eyes. The sweet rounded curve of buttocks. The slender dip of her waist. The delicious curve of her spine. He could see her ribs, she was so damn thin, but everything else fit beautifully. He barely managed to shut his mouth before he began to drool.

Holy mother of God…

He was about to say something when the bathroom door opened, and Curly sauntered out, in tight jeans and a concert T-shirt that hugged every damp inch of his chest and ripped abs. The man let his eyes slip over their guest, and let them linger over the damp shirt that didn’t conceal her stiffened nipples. “Well, hello…aren’t you goin' to introduce us, Flint?”

Lily stared back at the handsome, blatantly sexy male whose eyes caught and held on her breasts.
So, her knight’s name was Flint?
It suited him. From his hard body to his hard…cock.
Was the man ever soft?

She was about to make a scathing comment, when a pair of long, warm arms slipped around her, and casually concealed her breasts from the blond’s view. She tried to remain totally calm, but felt warmth filling her cheeks. Flint’s deep voice came from next to her temple. “Curley, this is…Susan. She’ll be riding along with us for a bit. And I’d suggest you keep your eyes at a respectful level. She damn near poked mine out last night, and I can verify she means business.”

The big man laughed shortly and lifted his gaze to hers. “Sorry, love. It’s just a bad habit.”

Lily didn’t say a word when Flint stated she’d be riding along for a bit. Maybe he planned to drop her off at the bus station? Unable to speak at that moment, she simply leaned back into his hard chest, and wrapped her own arms over his, squeezing his strong forearms.

When Curley’s eyes moved away from her, Flint did the oddest thing. He pressed his lips against the side of her cheek and kissed her gently, then nipped her ear as he slowly unwound his arms. She shot a startled look up into his face and caught a half-grin that sent every damn corpuscle in her body racing on a collision course to her throbbing pussy.

Holy shit. Was she jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire here?

The men had everything packed up quickly, and when she snagged her wet back pack from the bushes, Flint grabbed it out of her hands and tossed it unto the back of the big crew cab pickup that Curley had just pulled up in front of the door. Lily shivered as she climbed into the front seat, and found herself being belted in by lean hands as Flint followed her, planting himself by the door.

“Are you gonna drop me at the Greyhound station?” she asked as Curley climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the big vehicle. Blue eyes shifted from her to Flint, and he shrugged. “We can do better than that, darlin’…”

“You’re headed North?” she asked, her brows knitting.

“For a bit. We’ll take you as far as we go.” Flint’s deep voice murmured above her head, and she found herself leaning comfortably back against his chest, enjoying the warmth of his body.

His arm pulled her closer, and she sighed, feeling warm, safe, and well-fed for the first time in a long while. Curley found a country station that didn’t sound too blue-grass, and before she knew it, she had dozed off, secure in Flint’s gentle embrace.

She awoke to the sound of big tires humming on blacktop, and realized from the sun coming through the windshield that it must be close to noon. Rousing up from where her nose had been pressed into a solid shoulder, she yawned and blinked. “Wow…I must have zonked out totally.” She squinted at the passing scenery as she sat up straight and stretched a bit. “Um…isn’t this hill country? I thought you were headed north…”

“We did go North, sweet thing…”  Flint replied, watching her face. “Then we swung onto 290 going west. We should be home in just a few.”

Lily stiffened, and she gasped, “West? I thought you were headed for Fort Worth? Take me back to Austin right now!”

She felt panic well up inside her. She was in a truck with two men, headed for God knows where?
How stupid had she been, falling asleep?

“Easy sweet thing…” Flint’s raspy voice had a way of easing her fear, dammit!

“There’s no “easy” about it! Take me back! I wanted to get to Fort Worth!”

“You don’t have anyone there, do you?” His voice was calm and matter of fact.

“No, but that isn’t the point, dammit! I could find a job there…save up enough money to get out of Texas. I really do need to get there…”

“If it’s a job you need, I have a couple you could take on…if you aren’t afraid of hard work, that is.”

Tears filled her eyes, and she hated feeling so out of control. “You don’t understand! I have to get out of Texas. Please take me back so I can take a bus.”

Flint frowned down at her, feeling oddly helpless as tears coursed down her pale cheeks. “You said you weren’t in trouble. You said you didn’t have anyplace to stay. Were you lyin' after all?”

She swallowed hard and glanced from him to Curley, who was pretending to not be listening. He sighed, and caught her chin, gently turning her head toward him. “I take it you
are
in some kind of mess?”

She nodded jerkily, and he waited quietly for her to elucidate. “Tell me. I might be able to help.”

“No one can help. I have to get the hell out of Texas so they can’t haul me back to
him
!” His gut tightened, and Curly glanced over with a frown.

“Haul you back to
who
, darlin’?” Flint asked gently.

“Look…I did run away. I didn’t break any laws, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a long story, and all I can say is, if he finds me, he’ll probably end up
really
killing me this time around.”

Flint stared down into those swimming, gold eyes, and wondered what kind of fucked up mess his little intruder was in. “Someone tried to kill you? You better tell me everything, sweetness. From the start. I have all the time in the world.”