Of Eternal Life (8 page)

Shower
.

She gave a groan of pure anticipation and tripped over her own feet as she scrambled into the bathroom, closed the door, and leaned against it to eyeball the simple shower/bathtub combo with unadulterated lust.

“Hello, gorgeous. Where have you been all my life?” She tore her clothes off and reached beyond the shower curtain to turn on the water, flipping the dial to the hottest setting. She barely waited long enough for the water temperature to warm before snagging her panties from the clothes pile on the floor and hopping in.

Abilene drizzled shampoo on her underwear as makeshift laundry detergent, rinsed them, and then flung them over the shower curtain. She may have to put her dirty clothes back on after this shower, but a girl could face anything with a clean pair of chonies.

That chore handled, Abilene turned to the feeble spray, raising her face worshipfully. The water cascaded down her back, soothing her aching shoulders, scalding her skin clean.

Her skin began to tingle where the water hit her. She looked down at her body questioningly.
Well, that’s new
. It was the strangest thing, but the tingles spread until they encompassed every square inch of her skin.

And it was
uncomfortable
.

Abilene reached through the curtain to grab the rough washcloth from the sink, and set to scrubbing her skin to get the irritant off. Her attempt didn’t lessen the itching feeling. The only real result of the scrubbing was red, angry skin.

She shut off the water and exited the shower, her eyes taking in her dirty clothes pile with foreboding. Maybe she had picked up something in the road dust. Well, she would delay putting them back on as long as possible. Maybe it would give her skin a rest. She shook the clothes out over the bathtub, brushing them down with the damp washcloth.

Then she plucked the cheap hair dryer from its nest in the wall and set to drying her dripping panties. She’d gotten them down to the point of being damp when a knock on the bathroom startled her. She projected her voice through the door, “What’s up?”

“Breakfast is served,” Eli called through the door. “We need to hit the road soon, so be as quick as you can. I want a shower, too.”

Images of Eli in the shower flowed through her mind before she could stop them, and she scratched another itch where it had cropped up behind her ear.

She gritted her teeth against the clammy feeling of her damp underwear as she pulled them up her legs. She pulled on the rest of her clothes, hoping to warm her underwear through incubation. She opened the door to find Eli sitting on his bed, bags from McDonald’s spread around him, a sheepish smile on his face.

“I assumed breakfast at McDonald’s held as much draw as supper,” he offered. Abilene smiled at the gesture. She knew from his face last night when she’d requested the fast food chain that he was not a Ronald fan, and it warmed her that he would suffer through another greasy meal for her.

She ducked her head in acknowledgment of his guess and reached out to take the hot coffee he extended toward her. Another infernal itch protested from the back of her thigh, and she rubbed it through her jeans. She opened her mouth to ask him if he was experiencing similar rash-like symptoms — maybe they could figure out the problem by comparing notes — when she became aware that he was looking at her with an expression that resembled …
liking
her or something. His eyes were soft. He wore a half-smile. He wasn’t being horrible.

Maybe it had been better when he was a jerk. His current expression was doing funny things to her insides. She thought back to yesterday. He hadn’t been that angry man who’d snatched her from the supply closet since finding out she’d been a doctor for only three weeks, and therefore, not a participant in his imprisonment.

Which didn’t mean he wasn’t bat-shit crazy. She needed to sit down and have a serious talk with her libido. Something along the lines of
We will not be jumping the bones of anyone who kidnaps us, drags us to the Bible belt, and thinks he’s Frankenstein’s monster.

He reached forward and wrapped one of her damp curls around his finger, then moved his hand from her hair to trail down the side of her face. She shivered and scratched her itching stomach. She pulled away from his touch and stepped back to put distance between them. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done.

The uncomfortable itchy feeling spread to cover her whole body. She frowned and looked at Eli again, making a connection between him and the rash-like feeling that alarmed her.

His face grew bemused at her scrutiny. “Um, I’ll go ahead and hop into the shower, okay?” He backed away carefully, and she wondered what she must look like to have him treating her so delicately. “Can we be ready to go in about five minutes?”

She nodded, her thoughts embroiled in her hypothesis. She didn’t even notice when he closed himself into the bathroom. Her mind was flipping through case studies she’d gone through in her classes.

Case studies about addiction and withdrawal.

Smokers often exhibited a nervous, twitchy itchiness as they struggled not to smoke. She felt an itchy feeling when she longed for Eli. When Eli was near her. When she pulled from his touch.

Damn, damn, damn
!

She was going through withdrawal. From Eli! Was she addicted to him? Her mind returned to the case studies. She’d never come across any studies concerning addiction to another person. It sounded far-fetched and unlikely. For her to become addicted to him, he would have to be producing something — a hormone or chemical — that could cause dependency. Pheromones were powerful, but she’d never heard of someone becoming addicted to them, despite what cologne commercials claimed.

Was Eli addicted to her, too?

The shower shut off and a moment later, he emerged from the steamy bathroom. The scent of clean man wafted to her, and she clenched her fists against the urge to scratch her neck.

His damp hair dripped onto the shoulders of his t-shirt, and the material of his clothes clung to the moisture on his body. She nearly groaned at the mouthwatering sight, but she remembered to look at his face, to check for any sort of sign he was being affected similarly.

The damn man looked cool as a cucumber.

Not fair
.

“You ready?” When she nodded, Eli moved to the bedside table and pulled the drawer open. He made a small victorious sound, and then pulled the Gideon Bible from the drawer and closed it.

She looked at him, but he ignored the obvious question in her eyes. He collected the bags containing their breakfast and led the way out of the motel room. He marched to the truck he’d
stolen
yesterday — she was still miffed about that — went to the driver’s side, and opened the door for her.

“You’re driving,” he said.

Her mouth worked like a fish. “Me?”

“Yup. I plan to lie down in the seat. Anyone looking will only see a woman, by herself.” He smiled at her. “Go ahead. Fawn over my genius.”

He looked so adorable with his wet, spiky hair and wide grin. Abilene moved her hand to her mouth, covering her smile. It just so happened that Abilene had no problem with this plan. She
loved
to drive.

“Works for me,” she told him as she slipped past him and into the driver’s seat.

He handed her the seatbelt, a look of mock-sorrow on his face. “Your fawning needs some serious work, darlin’.”

He shut her door. Her eyes devoured his broad shoulders and flat stomach as he walked around the hood of the car to his side. He tossed open the door, hopped in, and slid across the bench seat quicker than her eyes could follow. Without any warning, he pulled her to him with a hand to her nape and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. His tongue plunged into her mouth, probing every inch in a few breathless seconds.

Just as always happened when Eli touched her, heat flashed through her entire body. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but focus on where their lips met. She was about to beg him for more when he pulled away.

“No eye-raping without consequences, darlin’.” His breath was coming in short bursts, and Abilene could tell by the look in his eyes that the kiss had gotten away from him. He pulled himself away.

Abilene jumped when Eli stretched his body out on the seat and placed his head in her lap. Her stomach dropped, and then coiled in desire. Parts of her body that she usually wasn’t aware of were ordering her to pick up where the kiss left off. Her hands clenched the steering wheel. The itch became nearly unbearable.

“What are you doing?” she squealed.

He opened the Bible he’d taken from the motel room. “Research.”

Research?
She watched as he flipped through the Bible, stopped at a place toward the beginning, and began to read. She watched him for several moments before he tilted his head back to look up in her eyes.

“What’s the hold up?”

“Um, nothing?” Her voice squeaked as she twisted the key. The engine turned over, and she pulled out of the motel parking lot and headed toward the freeway.

His piercing gaze stayed on her for a few more moments, his eyes telling her that he knew she was avoiding something, but then he turned back to his “research,” and she focused on the road.

She rolled her head on her neck, straining not to scratch one of the many places that prickled with awareness due to Eli’s close proximity.

Oh, lord
.

It was going to be a long day.

Eli shut the Bible and rested it on his chest with a satisfied air. He’d found some answers, and it made him confident that they could figure this situation out. It seemed to be growing more and more …
intricate
each moment.

He was making the right decision in traveling home. Sergeant Collins would put a stop to this. There was no way Major Taylor had permission to do what he was doing. The risk alone to the government if he was found out….

No, Taylor had definitely gone rogue. And Collins had enough high-up connections to put the Tormentor away for the rest of his life.

He craned his head back on Abilene’s thigh to look up into her face. She was refusing to look at him, which was just fine with him; it gave him a chance to observe her uninterrupted. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she seemed twitchy today, scratching nervously whenever he was near.

He’d only noticed because he’d woken up in the same uncomfortable situation this morning. Well, not the
same
situation, exactly. Given what he’d observed in her throughout the car ride today, Eli had been much worse off this morning than Abilene was now.

He’d wakened fully erect,
needing
Abilene as he’d never merely wanted a woman before. And, God, his skin had been crawling. Not having her, then and there, had been a torture so severe it had rivaled all of the years Eli had spent in the lab.

Abilene had been in the bathroom taking a shower. The sounds of her splashing around had taken him to the point of physical pain. He’d resisted as long as he could, but within seconds, one of his hands had found its way into his jeans.

Red had crept up his neck and cheeks, embarrassment tightening his chest, but even the risk of Abilene coming out of the bathroom and finding him … taking matters into his own hands had not deterred him. In the end, getting caught was a nonexistent possibility, anyway. He’d lasted thirty seconds. Tops.

The relief he’d felt as he came had been so much more than physical gratification. The tingles that had been rippling over the surface of his skin faded into oblivion. He’d still wanted Abilene with an ache — his own hand was, after all, a very poor substitute for the petite blonde who made him stupid with lust — but being with her became an imperative that could be delayed a bit.

Now, just a few hours later, the tingles had already returned, causing him to lose his grip on the anger that kept him from her.

Abilene’s lap was a luscious pillow. He felt surrounded by her, cocooned in her warmth, and he was enjoying every second.

Eli just resisted rubbing his face like a cat against Abilene’s thigh. She’d been a tightly strung wire since he’d plopped his head in her lap this morning, and he wasn’t ready to make her bolt. He wanted her to stay close.

It was time to face facts. Something almost …
supernatural
was occurring between them. Eli felt a biological compunction to be around Abilene. To protect her. To develop a relationship with her. To bury himself between her thighs.

And he
loved
it.

Abilene was incredible. He admired almost everything about her. She was funny. Smart. She put him in his place. She was sexy as hell.

Eli had no idea small, blonde women were his type. He’d always been interested in tall, stacked brunettes. But, damn, Abilene’s sweet curves, her tiny stature, her blonde ringlets …they just did it for him.

Eli could tell they were both getting to the point where avoidance of one another was painful — emotionally and physically — and if peace needed to be made, Eli was going to have to be the one to make it. He had, after all, kidnapped the woman and held her against her will. Not the best first date.

They’d been on the road for a few hours, so he felt it was safe enough to sit up. Truth be told, he’d lain in Abilene’s lap far longer than necessary.

When he straightened and moved over to the passenger side of the truck’s cab, Abilene relaxed, although she did scratch at the spot on her thigh that had supported his head.

“So, how’re you doing? You need a break? Want to switch?” Eli asked.

“I’m fine.”

Eli squinted out the front windshield, searching for some indication of where they were. He’d been in his own little world since they’d set out, and she could have taken them to Canada for all he knew.

“Where are we?”

“Somewhere in Oklahoma.”

Eli recognized their location and gestured to the approaching exit. “Take this one. I need to stretch my legs.”

Abilene craned her head back. And back. She brought her right hand up to shield her eyes, and was finally able to make out the facial features of the twelve-foot tall statue of a Native American before her.