Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire, #1)(20)

“Don’t you want me to come with you?” I huffed as I pulled away from him.

“Of course I do, I just . . .” He gave a nervous chuckle. “I’m not used to waking up with a Remington in my face, and I don’t want to push my luck with your father.”

“Dad’s a pussycat really.”

“I’d rather not see his claws.”

I laughed. The adrenaline pumping through my body from the rude wake-up call, and the excitement that coursed through my heart over the fact that Clay was going to be coming with Dad and I, left me slightly giddy and extremely playful. “I thought you were a big, bad, monster-hunter.” As I said the last few words, I trailed my fingers up his chest and then touched his lips with my fingertip.

“You’re not going to give up are you?”

“Nope.” I grinned at him. “I’m not going to let you leave here without me driving unless you can give me a damn good reason.”

“What about Lou?”

“You said she was gone.”

“Maybe she came back?” There was no conviction in his voice as he said it. It was clear he truly believed that she’d left, which meant I had no reason to worry.

“That’s more reason I should come with you,” I said with false bravado. It was only because of his assertions that his sister wouldn’t be there that I would even dare to go. “At least we’ll be in the truck and able to make a quick getaway if she’s there.” I didn’t mention the fact that there was no way Dad’s old truck would be able to outrun her Chevelle.

He assessed my determined face for a moment before sighing. “Fine, let’s go then.”

It took a little bit of coaxing for Dad to agree to lend me the truck so that I could drive Clay to get his things, but as I’d anticipated, he had a difficult time saying no to me.

The actual drive to Clay’s warehouse was probably one of my best ever starts to an escape. Despite the need to rush to get back home as fast as we could, I wanted the journey to take as long as possible, so I avoided the highway and took the side roads instead. It was a perfect day for it. The morning sun wasn’t hot in the sky but shone through the multi-colored foliage of the trees lining the road. Clay held my hand whenever I didn’t need to shift gears. It was almost like we were driving to a date rather than planning to leave the state. We laughed and joked as a way to hide the fear that I was positive lingered in both of our minds.

“I’ll never forget your face when Dad had the gun pointed at you though,” I teased.

Clay laughed in response. “Because you were the epitome of calm: ‘Get out of my room, Dad!’” he said in a mocking impression of me.

“You’re just lucky he didn’t come in a few minutes later,” I said, remembering the way his hands had tickled across my stomach.

“Why’s that?” The confusion was evident in his tone.

“It wouldn’t have been long before I made you move that hand.”

He shifted in his seat. “Oh yeah?”

I nodded and bit my lip.

“Which way?” he whispered.

I cleared my throat—I’d wondered exactly the same thing myself earlier, but I wasn’t ready to admit that to him.

He laughed in victory as he won the little game. For now.

It was almost a shame when we arrived at his warehouse. Only almost though because I still had a little surprise for him.

“Okay, I’ll just be a minute,” he said.

“I’m going in with you.”

“Why? I’m just going to be one minute.”

I held his hand between mine for a moment, before guiding it to the side of my face. He seemed to take my hint and caressed my cheek softly.

“You don’t really appreciate what you’ve agreed to with my Dad do you?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

I laughed at his naivety. For someone who claimed to have spent a lot of time on the road, it was clear his moves must have usually been planned and well executed, not mad rushes for survival. “We’re about to be stuck in a car with Dad for at least a few days while he plans the next step, and then there’ll be the drive to wherever the hell that is. Just because you’ve been almost invited to come with us, doesn’t mean he’ll make it easy for you. We won’t have any alone time for a little while yet.” If I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy his long caresses and tender kisses for almost a week, I wanted to spend a few minutes getting my fill now.

“I see,” he said as he bit his lip and adjusted his position in the seat. “In that case, shall we?”

My voice was almost breathless as I murmured, “We shall.”

I raced from the car so I could try to beat him to the entrance. Running as hard as I could, I managed to get there before him, and when I turned back, he was fixing his shoelace. Ignoring him and figuring I could beat him to his room, I reached for the metal door. Just after I’d given the roller door a tug and opened it, he came up behind me and grabbed my waist, causing me to jump and give a squeal of surprise.

He twisted me in his arms, and before I’d even caught my breath from the shock of his move, his lips were on mine, and his hands explored the skin of my waist beneath my shirt as he pushed me back against the wall just inside the door. I tugged his shoulders, pulling him closer to me and then, using the wall as leverage, wrapped one of my legs around his waist.