Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (18 page)

“I don't suppose you're going to

Sacramento?” she asked, already getting

queasy from the tobacco fumes.

“As a matter of fact, I’m taking

this load to Stockton. You’re welcome

to join me.”

She paused to make sure they

were okay with that, which of course

they were. Garren hadn't slept at all last

night and she could collapse at any

moment.

“That'd be wonderful.” A brown

curtain hid what she thought was the

back seat. Nope. It was a bed. Not

wanting to even go there, she shifted

back to sit in the passenger's seat when

the driver nudged her into the back. She

fell, face first into the mattress.

The older woman patted the

worn, leather passenger seat and winked

at Thane. “Sit yourself right here,

blondie.”

Looking wide eyed to her and

then the driver, he stepped back to let

Garren through and then took the

proffered seat.

Garren squeezed himself back

and flopped on the bed, knocking her

over in the process.

“I'm Sharon, by the way,” the

lady said, as she pulled back on the

road.

“Hi, Sharon. Thanks for the lift.

I'm Thane and that's Garren and Ivy.”

“You know, Thane, you remind

me of my high school boyfriend. He had

the same shade of blond hair and the

cutest little tuchus.”

A deep flush bloomed across

Thane’s cheeks as he cleared his throat

and glanced out of the side window.

Both exhausted, she and Garren

decided to try to get some sleep while

Thane kept Sharon company. Since

Sharon's hands were busy driving, she

couldn’t molest the poor guy.

Unfortunately, the quarters in the

back were cramped. There was really

only room for one adult, so they were

going to have to suck it up and get cozy.

“Okay, I think if we both lay on

our sides, back to back, we should fit,”

she said.

“I can't be against the wall.

Switch with me.”

“What? No, it's just a wall. Your

bed's against the wall at home isn't it?”

“Yeah, but I can't sleep facing

the wall. If you want us back to back, I

need to be on that side.”

What a baby.
She tried to figure

out the best way of trading places but it

all involved a lot of physical contact.

“Maybe we could face each other if we

laid head to toe.”

“And have you kick me in the

face? I don't think so.”

Oh, gawd.
She wasn't going to be

able to get out of this. “Fine.”

He laid flat on his back as she

maneuvered over him, her arms straight

in a push-up position to give him room

to shimmy sideways. The truck lurched

as it slowed suddenly and she fell.

Her body crushed his amazingly

hard chest. All rational thought flew

from her mind as she lay still on top of

him.

“This works for me, too.” As he

spoke, vibrations rumbled from his chest

to hers.

Her head snapped up to see him

smirking. It was time to lay down a few

ground rules. “Do us both a favor and

make sure you keep your hands to

yourself. I don't want to have to pull

over to bury the body.”

“That's funny because I was just

going to tell you to help yourself.”

She rolled her eyes and shifted

the rest of the way over, cramming

herself between him and the wall. Her

bruised hip ached under her own weight.

The bed wasn't as long as he was,

causing him to bend his knees and stick

his butt out, which pressed her more

against the wall. She couldn't breathe.

“This isn't working,” she said as

she pushed back against him.

“No,” he agreed. “We need to

spoon.”

“What? No, I'll survive.” She

closed her eyes and lay as still as

possible. Her nose pressed against the

carpeted panel, her hip throbbed, and

she was already getting a crimp in her

neck.

He bumped into her again.

She

groaned.

“Fine,

we'll

spoon.”

She moved to roll back over him

while he shifted under her to get closer

to the wall.

“Hey, you're on my hair.”

“Ow, stop kicking my shins.”

“Will you—?”

“Can't you—?”

Finally, they managed to get into

a better position with Garren against the

wall spooning her back. She stiffened

when he placed his hand on her hip, her

sore hip.

“What did I say about getting

handsy?”

He lifted his hand off her but left

it lingering in the air. “Where do you

suggest I put it?”

“Put it on your own leg.”

“I can't sleep like that. I usually

hug a pillow when I sleep.” He scooted

closer, pressing his chest right against

her back and laid his hand on the little

space of bed in front of her. Her heart

hammered at the close contact. She

prayed he didn't notice.

Her lower back was aching in

that position, like it needed to be

popped. As carefully as she could, she

shifted her hips back to get comfortable

and bumped right into the most intimate

part of him. She froze.

Oh, sweet death, take me now.

He gripped her waist, pushed her

away to create some space between

them, and held her steady. “When you

want something, you just go for it, don’t

ya? I only ask that you be gentle with

me.”

Her face flooded with heat as

she elbowed him in the ribs behind her.

“Ow, I was kidding.”

She shifted again, away from him

this time, and found a less painful

position.

They were both exhausted, so it

didn't take long before they were both

asleep. Visions of Prince Sebastian

danced through her dreams. Those dark

eyes gazed into hers with adoration. He

held her close, his breath warm against

her ear as he whispered sweet words of

comfort. His strong arms around her

waist promised protection. She never

wanted to leave his side. She rested her

head against his chest, letting each beat

of his heart sooth her. For the first time

in her life, she was home. She clung to

him as reality started reasserting itself in

her consciousness.

The hum of the engine grew

louder

and

bits

and

pieces

of

conversation made their way to one ear,

while a steady beat filled the other.

Inhaling deeply, the scent of cologne

filled her nose.

My prince has good taste
. The

feeling of security lingered as his strong

arms tightened their hold on her.

She opened her eyes to see a

man's chest in front of her. Momentarily

confused, she tilted her head up to see

Garren still asleep.

Garren?
She must have turned

over in her sleep and sprawled over him

like a body pillow, her leg draped over

his thigh. His hand stroked light circles

on her lower back as he slept. It was

such a nice, comforting gesture that

totally didn't fit with the guy she knew

him to be.

Slowly, she tried to untangle

herself from his grasp without waking

him. A big wet spot appeared on his

shirt. When she pulled away, a long

string of drool stretched from him to her

bottom lip.

Oh, man
. Her arm was pinned

between their bodies so she wiped her

chin off against her shoulder.

His hand stopped moving.

She looked up to see Garren

staring at her like he'd never seen her

before. Silence saturated the space

around them. After a few agonizing

moments, they sprang apart, no longer

making eye contact.

How could she forget whom she

was with? It must’ve been all the stress

of almost dying in a plane crash and

finding out she's being followed.

That's it, stress
.

Thane turned in his seat and

regarded them, his brow furrowed.

“Why is your shirt wet?” he pointed to

Garren.

Blush crept up her neck as

Garren pulled the fabric out to inspect

the wet spot. He looked baffled.

“I didn't want to say anything, but

you drool in your sleep,” she told him.

He narrowed his eyes at her, but

stayed silent.

A couple hours of uncomfortable

silence later, Sharon pulled up to a truck

stop in Portland. “I’m out of hours for

the day and need to get some sleep. If

you still want a ride to California, meet

me back here in twelve hours.” She

smiled brightly at Thane.

A nice shade of red spread over

his face, right to the tops of his ears.

“Thanks.”

The truck stop was huge. The

parking lot could accommodate at least

fifty big-rigs. There was a diner and a

couple motels. The best part was the

pay-shower for drivers who lived in

their trucks.

Ivy stretched her arms over her

head as they walked toward the main

building. “I don't know about you guys,

but I desperately need a shower. How

about we clean up and then get

something to eat and discuss our next

move.”

They all agreed and made their

way to the showers. As she walked, a

familiar scraping noise followed her.

Glancing back, she didn’t see anything

but something in her gut told her she

wasn’t alone. Before going in the locker

room, she detoured to the dumpsters

where no one would see her.

“All right, you little winged

beast, show yourself.” A few feet in

front of her, a small, green dragon

shimmered into view. She stepped

closer but it jerked away and growled.

“Why are you following me?”

She glanced around to see if anyone

could see her talking to a dragon. They

were alone.

“Look, I’m sorry about your

momma, but I can’t take care of you. And

you can’t come with us. So go. Shoo.”

She lunged forward trying to scare it

away. It spread out its wings and spit a

tiny spark at her in defense. But it didn’t

leave.

She sighed. “Fine, you do

whatever you want. I’m getting cleaned

up.” She left the creature by the

dumpsters, hoping it was smart enough

to stay out of people’s way.

The hot water beating down on

her sore muscles felt so good, she took

two showers. After getting dressed in

her normal jeans and t-shirt, she met

Thane and Garren at a booth in the back

of the diner.

“So, do you want to find another

truck driver going south to bum a ride

from?” Thane asked, sitting next to her,

before popping a french fry in his mouth.

Both Garren and Ivy glanced at

each other from across the table before

answering in unison. “No.”

“Well, we’re not riding with

Sharon.” He leaned in and whispered,

“She pinched my butt when we got out of

the truck.”

A giggle bubbled to the surface,

threatening to explode if she didn’t look

away from his face
.

“I’ve never felt so cheap,” he

muttered.

That did it. She couldn’t hold it

in any longer and laughed, along with

Garren. She felt bad for having fun at his

expense, but the way his face pinched in

disgust was too amusing.

Garren wiped his eyes dry

before taking a deep, calming breath.

“She couldn’t help it, man. You’re a

sexy beast.”

“It’s not funny.”

She sobered up and patted

Thane’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I think

Garren’s jealous. We’ll let him sit up

front the rest of the way to Sac.”

“Hey!” Garren said. He wasn’t

laughing anymore. “What if she hits on

me?”

His back must hurt from

carrying

around

that

huge

ego

everywhere.
“I think you’re safe.

Besides, she offered and it’s a free ride.