“Yeah, it’s nice to break out of your mold and have people see you differently.” Everly finished the last of her fries and burger then started on her cherry pie. Cam did his best not to stare at the way her pink tongue lapped at the sweet pie filling on her fingers or the tiny splotch of cherry red at the corner of her mouth. If he leaned in over the crate, he could lick that off himself, maybe move a few millimeters to the side and kiss her at last, then… “…so that’s why I’m doing this too.”
* * *
Everly bit back a smile at the dazed look on Cam’s face. It was obvious he hadn’t been paying attention to what she was saying. Then again, he wasn’t the only one who had trouble concentrating when the other was around. She hadn’t missed the way his gaze had tracked her movements as she’d ate her dessert, or the way his pretty gray eyes kept flicking to her lips. Hell, her whole mouth tingled because of it.
She took another sip of her drink then got up to throw her trash into the bag. Anything to break the sizzling connection between them. It was giving her all sorts of wicked ideas where Cam was concerned and breaking her focus. And she couldn’t afford to lose focus right now. Not with one deadline passed with her buyer and another looming the following day. Thank God she’d been able to call him while Cam was gone and explain the situation. And yes, maybe she’d fudged some of the details a bit. Wasn’t like the guy needed to know they were camping out in the middle of nowhere overnight. She’d simply explained that she’d run into a bit of a bind and wouldn’t be able to deliver the Aeon until the following day.
Her buyer had been surprisingly accommodating, which only set her nerves more on edge. This was a huge deal, her chance of a lifetime to escape her father’s clutches and start over fresh. Sure, her buyer was most likely just as bad as her father—an attorney from DC with supposed ties to underworld crime, but at this point Everly didn’t care. As long as she got her money and got the hell out of there, that was all that mattered.
Or it had been.
She glanced over her shoulder at Cam, who was finishing up his own apple pie for dessert. Man, he was becoming a problem. Not because he treated her poorly, but because he was just so damned nice. She’d always known he was good guy, even back in high school. He used to offer to help her carry her books and stuff. Not that she’d ever taken him up on his offer. Back then she’d run with a different crowd and couldn’t risk losing face with the cooler kids. Now they were working for different sides again, and still he respected her, even as he battled against her. Warmth suffused her bloodstream as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, still chewing his last bite, while he carefully swept up the crate where they’d eaten and disposed of his trash. Such a detail-oriented, concerned guy. Then again, those traits were probably what made him so good at his job.
He brushed past her and she couldn’t suppress a shiver of want that ran through her from the brief contact. Cam looked over and caught her eye and for a second time froze. She could see them—naked and together—limbs entwined as he made love to her so slow and good and right. Something tightly coiled inside her gently unfurled, leaving a trail of need in its wake. Flustered, Everly turned away. “I should, um, get the rest of this car back together so we can get on the road again in the morning.”
“Leave it for tomorrow,” Cam said, walking back over to where the bags sat on the floor next to the crate. “We’re both tired and need the sleep. I’m up with the dawn anyway and can wake you early.”
“Oh, okay.” She tucked a lank of hair behind her ear and watched as he secured the side door to the factory with a thick steel crowbar slid through the broken bar lock. Everly went through the bags to avoid staring at his muscled form as he walked back toward her, his easy graceful movements, the way his tight jeans cupped his ass to perfection. That pang of need sharpened to a knife’s edge inside her. She pulled out the blankets and pillows and set them inside the Aeon. “Guess we’re sleeping in the car tonight, huh?”
“Guess so,” Cam said, looking around. “Unless you prefer raccoons and rats as your bedmates. Maybe even a snake. I’m sure with all these farm fields around here they have some doozies. In fact—”
“Car it is.” Everly patted the Aeon’s top. “All right, boy scout. Where should be the, uh, ‘ladies’ room’?”
If she wasn’t mistaken, a slight flush dotted his high cheekbones, and that only served to make him more endearing. Cam cleared his throat and handed her a roll of toilet paper and a rusted-out piece of metal they’d found when they were cleaning out the place earlier to use as a makeshift shovel. “Around the corner outside seems like the best place to me. Hidden from the road, but close enough to the door that if something comes after you, you can get inside quick.”
“Right.” She snatched the items from his hand then took care of business. By the time she returned, Cam had their bedding all laid out inside the car and the seats reclined into a comfy, makeshift bed. He’d also set out her personal supplies on one side of the crate with his on the other. Such a gentleman. She used the wet wipes again to clean her hands and arms and face, then toed off her shoes and set them on the floor in the passenger side before crawling beneath her blankets while Cam went outside too, then returned and cleaned up before extinguishing the candles around the room. With hi
s car door still open, the light from inside the Aeon helped him see where he was going.
“This isn’t so bad, eh?” he said, slamming the door behind him and plunging them into darkness. The sounds of him scooting around beneath his blankets on the leather seat filled the air and Everly couldn’t help but smile. As her eyes adjusted, she could see a faint shadow of him in the dim moonlight streaming in through several holes in the roof far above them. He clicked the button to lock their doors then laid down on his seat to face her across the console. “Kind of like a weird camp-out, right?”
“You got the weird part correct.” The travel pillow wasn’t exactly supportive and the blankets weren’t quite long enough to cover both her feet and her shoulders at the same time, but none of that seemed to matter to her traitorous heart. It thumped along joyfully at the nearness of Cam, his warmth permeating through her thin cotton T-shirt even though there was a gear shift and a good six inches between them. She could feel the weight of Cam’s stare on her even though she couldn’t see him and felt compelled to say, “Thanks.”
“For what?” His voice was hushed, reminding her of crushed velvet.
“For going to get all this. This vehicle might have been designed for luxury driving, but sleeping in it is another matter entirely.”
“Agreed.” Cam snorted. “I’ll be lucky not to have a serious crick in my neck and back tomorrow.”
“Same here.” She snuggled a bit closer to him. “And thanks for… well, everything.”
His raised eyebrow and military background was apparent in his clipped tone. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’ll need to be more specific.”
“You know, for helping me escape those mob goons.” She didn’t say what she feared, that those men might well be back tomorrow, with reinforcements. Her father’s sort didn’t give up easily when it was something they wanted, and they most definitely wanted this car. The Aeon was a legend on the black market and would bring in a ton of revenue just for the advanced engine parts alone, not to mention all that technology Cam was so fond of. Everly closed her eyes and prayed for forgiveness for what she’d planned for tomorrow. She’d given her buyer approximate coordinates for the piano factory and a meeting time of ten a.m. Risky? Yes, but so was continuing on this wild goose chase with Cam. Each second more she spent with him made her want him all the more. And he wasn’t something she ever deserved to have. He was one of the good guys. She flirted too closely with the bad. All she hoped was that he’d understand why she’d betrayed him when the time came and might forgive her someday.
“Hey,” Cam whispered, drawing her out of her thoughts. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” Liar. She shrugged and burrowed farther under her blanket, like that might protect her from the hurt that would come with the sunrise. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
He reached out and took her hand, lacing their fingers together beneath the covers. “Get some sleep then.” His thumb stroked over her skin and she damned near cried from the sweetness of it. Cam treated her like a lady, treated her like some precious object he needed to protect and cherish. No one had ever done that before. “I’ll be here to take care of you.”
Her heart clenched. God, she’d waited her whole life to hear a man say that to her, and now that she’d finally found him, it was the last man on earth she could ever be with. They were too different, on two different sides of this problem, with different goals and aspirations. Yet, at that moment, all Everly wanted to do was curl up beside Cam and never, ever leave. She found herself moving as close to him as the vehicle would allow, squeezing his fingers tight with gratitude and overwhelming affection. “Cam, I want you to know that no matter how this turns out, I like you. More than I should.”
His deep chuckle curled her freezing toes inside her socks. “Yeah, I’m becoming rather fond of you too, kid.”
“Kid? We’re the same age.”
“I know. But I like thinking of you as smaller than me. Makes me feel all macho and strong.”