From the corner of her eye, she took note of Ross dumping the garbage into the small trash can in the corner of the room. He kept his face in profile so she couldn’t tell his reaction.
She was more than out of her element with the hot cowboy bodyguard listening to her every word and watching her every move.
“We’re all ready to pick you up at the airport. Same time? They didn’t change your flight time, did they?” Her father’s question didn’t surprise her. He was always a stickler for an itinerary.
She struggled with words—with that lump in her throat too. The one that threatened a long, draining bout of tears.
“Um…I had a change of plans.”
Ross’s head jerked up.
“I’m not flying into Seattle. I’m…I’m with Ross.”
Silence met her statement.
“Ross Wynton! Do you mean Ross Wynton?” her mother asked.
“Yes, that Ross.”
He turned to look at her, but she skittered her gaze to the side.
“Why are you with Ross, dear?”
“We just…ran into each other.” Lying to her parents would surely earn her a spanking? Or at least time-out in the corner.
“How exciting! Where did you run into him?”
“It’s a long story,” she evaded the question. “But he’s traveling with me. We’re in his truck.”
He didn’t move from where he stood. In fact, his muscled body appeared hardened, his stance wide and braced for impact.
“Well, we know that you’re in good hands then. We haven’t seen Ross in a couple years. He was away doing a training last time we visited the Wyntons. Such a driven young man, and an enormous help around the Wynton Ranch, according to his family.” Her mother did most of the talking, as usual, while her father provided grunts of agreement.
“Yes, he is.”
Ross’s gaze sharpened on her.
“I suppose he’ll be with you when you come home, and we’ve got plenty of room,” her mother said.
“I don’t know if he can stay.” The sadness weighting her down finally seeped into her voice. She cleared her throat and tried to cover what she’d said so her parents didn’t read into anything. “He has his own work to see to.”
“Of course, he’s so busy. But surely he has time for old friends.”
“I’ll ask him, but we can’t make any promises. Well, it’s late. I’m going to catch some sleep, and you should too.”
“We’ll see you soon, Pippa. Love you.” Her dad’s declaration finally broke the dam of tears free.
Biting back a cry, she nodded first and then realized they couldn’t see her. She sucked in a breath. “I love you too. Night, Mom. Night, Dad.”
She dropped the phone to her lap and lowered her face into her hands. Tears wet her fingers, hot and unstoppable. The bed dipped under Ross’s weight. He slid his arm around her shoulders, turning her against him. When her body gave a shaking heave, he made a noise in his chest.
“Damn, honey. Come here.” He pulled her into his lap.
The only place she wanted to be.
In the end, when she was safe and this was all over, letting go of her cowboy bodyguard would be the thing to finally break her.
Chapter Eleven
Ross glared at the whiteout of snow in front of the truck. “The last thing we need is more bad weather.”
“I ate all the blueberry bars. We’re down to water now.”
She didn’t sound a bit fussed about being stuck on the road in a blizzard for the second time that week.
He growled with annoyance at the situation. “Slowing down means the people hunting you have time to catch up.”
“I don’t have my phone anymore. And you said that Silas removed the spyware from my laptop overnight.”
“He did.” Ross laid awake half the night, grabbing sleep in twenty-minute spells, alternately battling his throbbing hard-on and the need to stand guard over Pippa.
He slapped the wheel. “Dammit! Why did they have to shut down the road between exits? There’s nowhere to get off.”
“I have to be at the conference soon for check-in. I know you don’t want to reach Seattle, but I didn’t know you have so much command that you can call down snow and keep me away.”
He stared at her and then dropped his gaze to her mouth. Plump. Sweet. She could suck cock like a courtesan and twist him up in knots with her sassy comebacks.
“Shush, woman.”
She geared up to say more, and he reached over, looped his hand around her nape and dragged her mouth to his. She gave in immediately to the crush of his lips. The instant she went boneless, he deepened the kiss by gliding his tongue over hers.
She moaned. So did he.
She unbuckled her seatbelt, and he did the same.
“As long as we’re at a standstill, we might as well make good use of our time,” she murmured between sweeping passes of his tongue.
Suddenly, she threw herself over the console into his lap. His cock responded with a jolt of anticipation. Clamping his hands on her waist, he dragged her over his groin. They shared a roughened groan that mingled with the wind howling at gale force outside the vehicle.
Bracketing his face with her hands, she leaned into him for another kiss. Her honey sweetness stole his mind. So responsive. So right.
Long moments stretched on while he plundered her, taking the kiss from intense to gentle and back again.
She broke apart. “Why didn’t you take me last night?”
He’d been asking himself the same question since the minute she climbed between the sheets. One look at the curve of her hip under the covers had him grinding his teeth. He could have reached out and had her melting in his arms within seconds. Yet, he held back.
Instead, he lay staring at the yellowed ceiling thinking about getting her home to her family, if not this weekend then someday soon. But each time he touched on the idea of her returning to work in Detroit—alone—it felt like he poked at a sore tooth. And he didn’t like pain.
In the end, he lay stiff beside her. Touching her would both ease his torment and incite more pain when they parted. She was smart—she knew their time together would end.
“Maybe we’re not meant to go to Seattle,” she whispered an inch from his lips.
He nodded. “Maybe it’s fate.”
“Events developing outside a person’s control,” she said as if quoting from a dictionary buried in the depths of her mind.
He slammed his mouth over hers. Wind, snow and ice drummed at the truck. They were in a dangerous situation he feared he wouldn’t get her out of. Yet kissing her seemed to be the only solution right now.
When they tore away again, she searched his face. He pressed his lips to her forehead, drinking in her scent and committing it to memory.
Looking over her head at the windows they’d steamed up with their increased body heat, he experienced a sharp pull on his heart.
“Pippa—”
She tipped her face up to his.
Her beautiful eyes captured his heart.
“I… I don’t want to let you go after this. I…” The words swirled in his mind and edged to his lips. “I love you,” he grated out.