Nora Roberts Land (27 page)

A hand smacked the trunk, and the sound reverberated through Meredith’s bones. All the muscles in her entire body bunched, poising to spring.
Oh, please don’t let them find us.
Curled up like shrimp, they were defenseless. Especially if Barlow were armed.

“We need to calm down,” Barlow said.

Meredith could almost imagine him trying to convince himself.

“We’ve covered our tracks. They’re both young. Kids do stupid things. No one’s going to believe otherwise.”

“Yeah, but that reporter could cause problems, Larry. The kid called him when he was in trouble, and he called back. I found his name all over Ray’s school crap. He was taking a class from him—investigative journalism. Didn’t know the kid was into that stuff. I looked into this guy, and he’s some big-shot war correspondent. Not the kind to shut up because someone warns him off with a phone call.”

“Fuck! This used to be a sleepy, quiet little town. This could fuck up everything!”

“The reporter showed up today to get his oil changed. Stared me down good. I’ve seen the type. He won’t back down.”

“Fuck that!” Barlow replied. “There’s no proof. We’ll shut down for a while. If McBride’s a temporary professor, he’ll be leaving in a few weeks when the semester ends. We’ll weather this. I don’t want to start up again somewhere else. We’ve got a cozy set-up here, and our new stash is freaking genius.”

“But McBride’s…” The voice grew too muffled for Meredith to make out the rest of his words. A door slammed. Her body jerked, and her heartbeat sounded like it was being broadcast on loudspeakers. She focused on her breathing, while her ears strained to pick up any noises from outside.

“I think they’re gone,” Tanner whispered finally, “but we need to wait a while.”

“I’m pretty sure it was Kenny and Barlow.”

“Yep, and now we know the truth. That asshole tried to drive Ray out of town, and he got the kid so scared he went off the road. Fuck!”

She didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

“And they know a hell of a lot about me now. Not a bad thing. He’s right. I won’t back down. We’ve got them running scared. That’s when people make dumb mistakes.”

She thought of Ray. Chasing a kid out of town and accidentally driving him to his death was more than a dumb mistake. It was second degree murder.

The jumper cables were digging into her skin, so she shifted her arm to pull them out. Either that or there’d be a permanent impression of jagged teeth in her thigh.

“Please tell me you have a plan to get us out of here.”

“This model has a trunk release. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have stuffed us inside otherwise.”

She squirmed. Tanner’s butt clenched when her hips thrust forward.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m laying on a jumper cable. It’s digging into my leg.”

“Jesus. Be quick about it.”

She became aware of his body heat, and she felt drawn to it in the cold trunk. She shifted, her hand trailing across his body. They were fitted together like two pieces of metal in a modern sculpture.

“I can’t reach it.”

His arm crossed her body, searching. “Where is it? I’ll help if you stop wiggling like a greased pig.”

Pig, indeed. “I can’t help it!” she hissed, rolling toward him.

“Oh Christ, stop.”

“What?”

The sound he made was something between a chuckle and a groan. “You really have no idea what you’re doing to me, do you?”

Her body went rigid. The car had felt too small before, but suddenly it was like all of the air had been sucked out. He was aroused.

Duh.

She almost pointed out the ludicrousness of the situation to her alter ego, but she stopped herself. Hell, she was getting aroused too. Maybe it was true what they said about adrenaline making you horny. They both should have their heads examined for getting hot in the trunk after almost being discovered by criminals. Still, she could control herself.

Meredith tried to push up, moving an inch.

“Let me do it. Where is it?”

She nearly gulped. “Under my thigh.” Her control wavered like smoke.

His breath released like a punctured tire. “This has to be bad karma, but I can’t imagine what I did to deserve it. Okay, hold still. I’ll get it. Tell me when I’m getting close.”

Her body nearly undulated with desire.
Closer. Please.

He slid his arm behind her, clearly going by feel, tracing her body like she was some topographic map. His hand angled down her hip, making her leg jerk.

“Jesus, Meredith. Hold still.”

“I’m trying.” How could she be still when his hand was pressing under her thigh? “Higher.”

He swore in the dark, and she could feel him pulling on something.

She nearly moaned when his hand cruised her butt. “The metal part shifted, but it won’t move.”

He muttered something she couldn’t hear. “Lift your top leg over mine and roll toward me.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and a shot of pure lust tore through her from her toes to the top of her head. While the metal was putting a crater in her thigh, the rest of this situation was downright sinful. She hesitated. “Can’t we get out now?”

“Meredith, I have no idea how long it will take them to grab their stuff and clear out. We need to stay here a while longer. Throw your leg over, dammit, and stop wiggling.”

She draped her leg over his hip. She almost moaned. God, the pressure of his body felt incredible. Given how tall he was, his legs were angled even more sharply than hers. His deep-throated groan made her wet. She realized her nipples were tight.

At least it was taking her mind off her fear.

He yanked hard, and the metal finally pulled free from her thigh. The immediate relief prompted a reaction. It allowed her body to totally focus on how hard his body felt against hers. She wanted to run her free arm up his side and tangle it in his hair. She thought about pressing her mouth to his neck and tasting his skin.

“Meredith, you can take your leg back.”

She didn’t want to, but he sounded pained. Her leg shook as she slid it off him. When her thighs met, her insides clenched at the locked heat. She bit her lip, but a shallow moan bubbled out. Get a grip.

“Meredith?” he said in a silky voice. “Are you getting hot back there?”

Had he heard? Oh, God. Locked in the trunk after breaking and entering, aroused beyond belief. Her mother would be so proud.

“N-no.” Her voice squeaked as he shifted.

“Dammit, I can’t turn over. Christ, I want to touch you. Which is insane. They could be out there.”

Her skin tightened. “I know.”

She felt his head lift. “Stop breathing on my neck.”

“I
need
to breathe.”

“Fine. Let’s pretend we’re somewhere else. Like alone on a life raft in the middle of the Indian Ocean, where our very survival is precarious.” He grew silent. “Great, now I sound like a moron. Look, try and fall asleep. Please. I’ll wake you when enough time has passed.”

Fall asleep? Was he crazy?

“Meredith, please stop wiggling.”

“I’m not,” she protested, wanting to rustle her legs.

“I can feel every movement of that gorgeous body of yours. Stop moving.”

“I’m not!”

“Try and relax then.” He took deep breaths, slowly letting them out. His back rose against her breasts as he inhaled. Her nipples clenched again.

“Now,
you’re
moving.”

The breathing stopped. “This gives a whole new meaning to being in the backseat.”

She snorted. “We’re in a trunk.” She’d never been in the backseat with a man before.

“Stop reminding me. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get out.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m so hard, I’ve likely turned to stone. People will come from all around to buy tickets to see the male with the stone hard-on in the trunk of a Lincoln town car.”

Hearing him talk about his hard-on was beyond arousing. It made her feel powerful, and she felt like her La Perla underwear were glowing under her clothes like armor.

She still had it.

Jill had told her, but until this moment, she hadn’t believed it. She was still attractive. She could still arouse a man to the point of insanity. She smiled in the darkness.

“I’d buy an all-season pass to see you like that,” she responded in a sultry voice.

“You’d better watch that talk. You damn well know where it will lead.”

Armed with her La Perla, she felt emboldened. Unafraid. It was time to take back her womanhood. Tanner was just the man to be with when she did.

“I know where it will lead. I want it.”

Silence yawned. Her heart pounded. The sheen of her armor dimmed.

“You shouldn’t say that to me in a damn trunk when you know I can’t do anything about it.”

“We won’t always be in here.” She basked in his body heat, her fantasies running wild.

“Dammit, Meredith. You have the worst timing. Stop talking! I can’t take it anymore.”

Divorcée Woman wouldn’t care. And neither did she.

She shifted even closer and lifted her head. Feeling her way in the dark, she found his neck and pressed an open kiss to the hot skin there.

He jerked, banging something against the frame of the car. “I’m not kidding, Meredith. You have me so hot, I can barely stand it. Chinese water torture sounds less painful right now. Wait until we get out of the goddamn trunk! Christ, I can’t believe this.”

She inhaled his musky scent before resting her head on the coarse carpeted floor.

When he reached back for her arm and pressed her hand against his chest, she snuggled closer, smiling.

They waited in the darkness for what seemed like hours until Tanner finally released her hand, fumbling around. She heard the trunk pop. The light blinked on, harsh to her eyes. Tanner uncurled like an old man as he got out. When he pulled at the front of his jeans, she fought a smile. She had to be nuts for smiling in a situation like this, but she couldn’t help herself.

He helped her out. Every muscle ached, and her left arm was numb from lying on it. She stretched beside him.

He shut the trunk softly. “Stay here, and keep watch. I’m going to plant the bugs.”

His feet were as quiet as Cary Grant on that roof in
To Catch A Thief.
He was really much too good at this. She wrapped her arms around her middle, trying not to fidget and jump at every sound.

He returned minutes later and reached for her hand. “Let’s go.”

They walked back to his car, listening for company, scanning for menacing movements. Energy pulsed through her as they stalked through the dim moonlight. Not even the cold air could dim the liquid lust flowing through her like a golden elixir of sunshine.

He opened her door and helped her inside, patting her thigh before closing the door. When he put on his seatbelt, he held out his phone.

“Call Jill and tell her you won’t be coming home tonight. I don’t want her to worry.”

His concern only confirmed her decision.

She met his dark, melting gaze. “All right.”

Tonight, she wasn’t thinking about the article or the future. She was going to enjoy being a woman again. And she would have no regrets.

Finally,
Divorcée Woman sighed.
Enjoy.

Oh, I will.

Chapter 34

T
he dog barked when Tanner unlocked the front door, and he ran forward to greet them, his shaggy tail sweeping back and forth like a broom. Tanner rubbed his pointed head.

“Hey, Hugo. Do you need to go out, boy?”

Meredith stepped inside. He hit the lights, and the main floor came to life. The rush of water from the stone falls broke the silence.

“I’ll be right back.” Tanner squeezed her elbow.

She walked into the house, shrugging out of her black outerwear. Jill couldn’t have been more delighted to hear that she wasn’t coming home. She rubbed her hands together, feeling both anxious and excited.

The dog shot past her when Tanner came back inside. “Sorry. I need to put in a pet door.”

He stepped closer, looking masculine and powerful dressed all in black. Framing her face with his hands, those chocolate brown eyes stared straight into hers. She shivered. There was more there than just lust.

“Are you sure? I know we got as hot as teenagers in the trunk, but we’re not teenagers, Meredith.”

Her muscles tensed. “Does that mean you don’t want me now?”

He wrapped an arm around her hips, pulling her close. “How can you even ask that? This is a big step. I don’t want to presume, but I don’t think you’ve been with anyone since your ex. You’re not the kind to take sex lightly.”

She didn’t want to talk about Rick-the-Dick. He was part of the distant past.

“I haven’t been with anyone since, but I’m here because I want to be.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. “This complicates things between us. I don’t want to hurt you, Meredith. You’ve already had so much to deal with.”

Why was he talking like this? A light bulb went on. Because he wasn’t staying in Dare. Until the men in the garage had talked about the semester ending, she hadn’t really thought how little time they had left.
And I’ll be leaving too,
she reminded herself.

She ignored the tightness in her chest. “We’re here now. Don’t turn me away.”

When he raised her chin, his gaze stripped her soul. “I could never do that. Come with me.”

He stepped back and held out his hand. She took it, reveling in its warmth.

His bedroom was another architectural masterpiece. Skylights peaked out behind rustic caramel-colored beams, and recessed lighting coated the whole room in a warm glow. A stone fireplace sat opposite the bed’s massive rustic log frame. Animal fur rugs covered the hardwood floors.

He kissed her forehead. “I’m going to make a fire. We’ll make love in front of it later.”

Her head turned to follow his movements.

“I want you in my bed first.”

His deep voice made her insides zing. She unzipped her fleece and pulled off her boots, ready to get started. She was not going to feel nervous.

“That’s enough from the Clothing Removal Patrol. I want to do the honors.”