Travis slowly skates his fingertips along the length of my arm, leaving goose bumps in their wake, and then gently interlaces his fingers with mine. My belly dips in response to his light touch. I lift my chin to look at him with questioning eyes. He understands I want to whisper something to him, so he leans down and tilts his ear to my lips. “Is it all over now? Are all the bad guys gone?” He pulls away, and rests his head against the seat. A quick flash of remorse flits across his eyes before he closes his lids and softly sighs.
“No…not really, baby,” he whispers back. “But they can’t track us now. We’re one up on them.” I lay my head back down against his broad chest, and I simply want to cry. I’m so wrought with tension, and at the same time, I’m an emotional wreck. Will this never end? Am I going to have to live on the run for the rest of my life?
“Hey now.” He lets go of my hand, his forefingers lifting my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Don’t overthink it. We’re sitting pretty right now. They’re not going to be able to find us, and as long as I have anything to do it, that will be the case forever.”
Forever? “Forever is a long time, Travis. Just what is that supposed to entail?” I whisper back nervously. I have a feeling I do not fully understand the implications or magnitude of his statement.
He shakes his head and whispers in my ear, “Right now is not the time to discuss this.”
I bite my lip in nervous frustration. I’m sure if we did talk about it now in front of his men, the conversation could only escalate into a major blowout, because let’s face it—I can have an attitude sometimes. I have a feeling he placated me at the hotel, telling me that eventually I could call home, but somehow I don’t see that coming to fruition anytime soon, if ever. Another lie perhaps? My thoughts are completely scattered, running from one dilemma to the next, and I can’t seem to focus on any one problem at a time.
“Shh, baby,” he soothingly whispers. He tries to console me by pressing my ear back over his heartbeat as he holds my head firmly against him. He begins to rock me methodically back and forth while keeping his soft lips pressed to the top of my head, whispering over me, “Shh, I’m going to take care of you. We’re going to be all right.”
I want to believe Travis so badly. I want to trust that everything is going to be all right. My gut instinct just knows that everything is anything but all right. The stresses of the previous two days have caught up to me, and all too soon, his rocking, tender ministrations, and the steady thrum of the van’s engine has my eyes growing heavy. I’m sure with everything I’ve been through my body is shifting into self-preservation mode. I let my eyes flutter closed and slip into a dreamless sleep in the arms of a man I don’t know if he’s a good-bad guy, or a bad-bad guy.
“Wake up, baby…” I vaguely hear the words whispered over me. His warm breath fans across my ear as I hear his soothing voice speak again. “Sweetheart, it’s time to get up.” I don’t want to wake up. I grumble unintelligible words as I ignore him and roll to my side, away from him as I pull the covers tightly around my body. He chuckles softly against my cheek before placing a light kiss there.
“C’mon, sleepyhead,” he playfully whispers as he nudges me. He’s making me grow grumpy. I don’t want to get up, so I swat at the air behind me, but miss my target as I will him to go away.
A deep chuckle ensues, and he tears the blanket off my body in one fell swoop. All the warmth and body heat I had going on dissipates immediately. “Seriously?” I grumble irately.
His hand slips underneath my t-shirt as he places his palm on my bare skin below the crease of my breasts. I lose my breath. His touch sends a scorching fire directly to my core.
“It’s time to get up, my sleeping beauty,” he huskily whispers just before he softly kisses the outer shell of my ear.
“I don’t wanna get up,” I whine, half asleep.
“Mmm, I know what will wake you,” he says as he softly and strategically places slow and passionate kisses down the length of my neck.
“You’re not playing fair,” I moan. I know Travis all too well; he’s going to win this one. He always wins. I give a yawn as I roll onto my back and stretch my body, placing my arms above my head while arching my back in a much-needed stretch. I know my hard nipples are protruding from the thin fabric of my t-shirt as I not-so-innocently stretch.