Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

Chapter Two

As diners went, it was fairly clean and didn’t smell of stale grease like so many of them did. Amanda figured she had enough for a good meal if she was careful. The menu offered everything from hamburgers to hamburger steak and country vegetables. She chose three vegetables and a roll. She didn’t think her stomach could handle meat.

“That’s all you’re going to order?” Morgan asked her.

“Yeah, I’m not that hungry. Besides, vegetables are good for you.”

He shrugged and ordered meat loaf with gravy and mashed potatoes. Amanda winced. She hoped it wouldn’t look as disgusting as it sounded to her right then. She needed to keep her veggies in her stomach. How she had managed to keep greasy fries down was beyond her. Everything else had come back up.

“So, where you headed?” Morgan asked.

“West, eventually.” She wiped at an imaginary crumb.

“Why not now?” he asked.

“Because you’re going north.” She wasn’t sure what his game was.

“Tell me where you want to go, and I’ll take you there before I go where I’m going.”

“Just like that? You’ll take me where I want to go? What’s the catch?” she asked, frowning across the table at him.

“No catch. You need to go somewhere. I’m not in any hurry to get where I’m going. If it will keep you from hitching a ride with someone else, I’ll take you where you want to go.”

“Just take me north. I’ll decide where from there. No need for you to worry about me. I can take care of myself,” she said, snapping the menu back into the holder on the table.

“You weren’t doing such a good job earlier,” he reminded her.

“Yeah, well, I made it this far. I can handle myself.”

Tears threatened her composure. Amanda refused to give in to them, especially not in front of Morgan. Since when had she become such a crybaby anyway? Since Guy, a little voice reminded her.

“Fine. I’ll take you north with me. Then you can choose where you want to stop. I’m not crossing the border, though.”

“I’m not asking you to,” she said.

Their food arrived and ended their stilted conversation. Amanda wasn’t the least bit hungry, but she forced herself to chew and swallow every bite of the vegetables. Twice she had to stop and breathe through her nose to keep from getting sick. Eventually, it passed, and she managed to finish. When the check arrived, she tried to take it, but Morgan held it out of her reach.

“You’re not paying for my food. I pay my own way,” she snapped at him.

“Might as well save your breath. I’m paying for your food while you’re with me. Get over it.” He stood up and made his way to the register without waiting to see if she would follow or not.

Amanda seriously considered letting him leave without her, but knew she needed his help to get as far away from Guy as possible. This was one of those times she needed to not cut off her nose to spite her face, as her grandfather used to tell her. So, she left an extra dollar on the table for a tip and followed him out of the diner. He never once looked behind him to see if she was following him or not. Either he didn’t care or he knew she was there.

When he reached the bike, he pulled out the spare helmet and handed it to her without looking at her. She gritted her teeth and fumbled with the catch until she managed to get it fastened. Her backpack felt a little lighter to her today. Maybe she was regaining her strength now. It had sure taken long enough.

“You getting on or standing there?” Morgan’s voice startled her.

“Getting on.” She swung her leg over the seat and settled in behind him.

She wondered how long they would ride before he stopped for the night. Then she wondered what she would do when he did. She would do what she always had, make do. One thing she had learned early in life was how to make do with what life sent you. You couldn’t count on anyone else to take care of you, make you happy, or tell you the truth. So it was best to take care of yourself, and that was what she did—or had done until she’d fallen for pus-pocket Guy.

Shaking off the memory of his betrayal, Amanda settled against Morgan’s back and counted the mile markers as they sped past. Somewhere around six that night, she needed to pee something fierce. She waited and waited to see if he would stop, but he didn’t, and she couldn’t wait any longer. She leaned in toward his ear and told him she needed to stop.

He leaned back. “What for?”

Fury warred with need. She couldn’t believe he was asking her that.

“I need to pee,” she finally yelled back.

He said something she didn’t catch, but took the next exit and pulled up outside a gas station. Amanda nearly fell off the bike trying to get to the bathroom. When she returned several minutes later, Morgan was leaning against the bike with a bottle of water in one hand. He held it out to her.

“I’m fine,” she said, ignoring the proffered water.

“I’ve already had mine. This is yours. You need to drink it, or you’ll get dehydrated. I should have stopped a ways back, but wasn’t thinking. Neither one of us will last too long in this heat otherwise.” He held out the water again.

This time, Amanda took the water and opened it. It tasted great going down. She slowed down after the initial three chugs. She’d make herself sick if she drank it too fast. She was smart enough to know that.

“Think you can handle another two hours of riding before we call it a night?” he asked her.

“Sure. I’m fine.” The truth was she was sore, but she wasn’t about to admit to that. She needed the ride.

He pursed his lips, but said nothing. When she donned the helmet again, he climbed onto the bike and cranked the engine. She climbed on after him and held on as he pulled back onto the highway.

Nearly two hours later, he took an exit that promised lodging, food, and gas. Her legs felt like rubber, and her ass vibrated to the point of almost being pain. She badly wanted a hot shower, but she didn’t have the money for a hotel room. She would have to sleep next to the bike. She sure as hell wasn’t sleeping with him. Not that he had asked her to anyway.

Morgan pulled into the drive of a motel that boasted clean rooms and cable TV. She got off the bike and carefully walked around the parking lot to get her legs back in working order. The constant vibration of the motor between her legs had stimulated her clit until she thought she’d scream if her legs squeezed just right one more time.

In another time and another place, she would have loved to make love on a vibrating motorcycle. As soon as the thought came, she brushed it away and cursed her overactive libido. It was what had gotten her in trouble in the first place. Now she had nowhere to live and no prospects of a job so far. Yeah, sex led to major trouble.

Morgan returned, running a hand over the back of his neck. He looked agitated.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“They only have one room left. It’s a king. You’ll have to bunk with me.”

“No way. I’ll sleep out here with the bike.” Maybe he wasn’t any different than all men, she decided.

“Like hell you will. You’ll sleep in the bed. I’ll take the couch thing they have.”

“You can’t make me sleep in the room. I’ll stay out here.” Her chin lifted in stubborn pride.

“Then I’ll climb on that bike and ride out of here. I can ride all night. You can’t. You’re already about dead on your feet. Either accept the bed or climb back on the bike,” he said in a cold voice.

Amanda squirmed. She didn’t know what to do. He was right. She’d never be able to survive another two hours, much less five or six hours, on the back of the bike without falling off.

“Fine. You keep your distance.”

“Little girl, I have no intention of bedding a minor, so just put that thought right out of your mind.”

“I told you, I’m twenty-eight,” she groused, following him as he pushed the bike over to one of the rooms.

She watched him unlock the door then step inside. She hesitated long enough that the door slammed with her on the wrong side of it. She wasn’t sure whether to knock or just wait and see if he opened the door again. She didn’t have long to wonder. Morgan opened the door and held it for her.

“Come on in, Amanda. I’m not going to attack you.”

“I know.” She bluffed.

“No, you don’t. That’s why you’re hesitating at the door. Get over it already, and come in. You’re letting all the air-conditioning outside.”

Amanda grimaced and crossed the threshold. When he didn’t immediately attack her, she relaxed and looked around the room. Sure enough, there was only one king-size bed. The only other furniture not bolted to the floor or the wall was the very uncomfortable love seat next to the window. Even at her short height, it wouldn’t be comfortable. There was no way she was going to let him try sleeping on that then drive them on the bike.

“You can’t sleep on that love seat. You’re at least six-three. Even I’m going to be tall for it,” she told him.

“Unless you are inviting me into the bed, it’s exactly where I’m going to be sleeping,” he said. “You want the bathroom first?”

Amanda gnawed on her lower lip for a second, then grabbed her pack and walked to the bathroom. She really wanted that hot shower. The bed situation could be figured out later. Right now, she wanted to wash off the grit of the road and stretch out her aching muscles. Her butt was going to be one sore spot come morning, she realized.

Turning on the shower, she adjusted the temperature, then stripped and stepped beneath the spray. The water pressure wasn’t great, but it was enough to rinse off the soap once she finished bathing. She stepped out of the shower and dried off feeling 100 percent better. A good night’s sleep and she would feel good as new. That was until she remembered why she was where she was—Guy.

Sighing, she brushed her teeth and hair and pulled on a sleep shirt that reached just below her knees. Then she pulled her jeans back on and opened the bathroom door.

* * * *

Morgan stopped what he was doing when the bathroom door opened. Steam escaped, and then she emerged surrounded by it. Immediately his eyes were drawn to her nipples that had instantly bounded to attention once the air-conditioned air in the room reached them. Fuck. They were huge and long. He snapped his attention away from her luscious breasts and concentrated on pulling off his boots instead.

“It’s all yours. I didn’t use all the hot water, but don’t expect much water pressure,” she said.

He watched from the corner of his eye as she walked around the other side of the bed and pulled back the cover. She stood there a moment, hesitating, then turned her back to him and, bending over, pulled her jeans off from beneath her top. Damn. When she’d bent over, her generous ass beckoned to him. She had plenty of cushion for the pushing without being too large. He could imagine spanking those rounded globes as he pounded into her from behind.