“That’s a good shower,” Mark said, wearing a broad smile. “Much better than mine. I don’t want to get dressed yet as we don’t have clean clothes.”
One of the disadvantages of having to leave all their gear behind. If they’d been on the road more than a day Walker would have picked up supplies.
Mark’s smile was breathtaking. Walker didn’t want to take his simple joy away with bad news. He didn’t even know anything beyond a simple code.
“I’ll have a shower then we can decide on food.”
Walker sat on the bed and unlaced his boots.
“I can order it while you clean up,” Mark suggested.
“Okay, but don’t open the door to anyone. I mean it, Mark,” he insisted when he caught the mutinous expression. Mark really didn’t like taking orders from anyone, not even when it was his life at stake.
“Okay, okay, what do you want to eat?” Mark picked up the diner menu and flipped through it. “It’s basic. Burgers okay with you?”
“Good with me,” Walker agreed, trying hard not to ogle Mark’s naked body.
Christ, the man was gorgeous. He didn’t have chiseled abs or the six pack, but he was lean and sexy, all male and Walker wanted to throw him down on the bed. He escaped into the bathroom before he went against his own rules, shutting the door with a firm click. He swore he heard a chuckle behind him.
He couldn’t take long, but he needed this. He stripped off and stepped into the shower, groaning in pleasure. Damn, he hoped Mark didn’t think he was rubbing one off at the sight of his naked body. He would love to have indulged in a hand job just thinking about Mark, but he liked to take his time and that was the one thing he didn’t have. Walker ignored his burgeoning erection and concentrated on washing the rest of him. He’d just have to deal with a sulky dick.
When he got out of the shower, he discovered the towel barely covered the essentials, but he needed to cool down before he got dressed again. He wrapped it around his waist and headed into the bedroom. Mark lay on the bed, dressed in tightly fitting black briefs. He turned to smile at Walker and his eyes went comically wide. Walker swore he heard a garbled noise in the back of Mark’s throat.
“Geez, Walker.”
Walker hesitated and grabbed at his towel. “Is everything okay?”
“More than okay,” Mark said, sounding a little breathy.
Walker felt his cheeks heat and he hung onto the towel a little tighter. “I was just hot, you know?”
“I know.”
“I…uh…I’ll look for my clothes.”
He turned, but Mark got off the bed, moving to stand in front of him.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel self-conscious. It’s just you’re so fucking built, man.” His gaze wandered over Walker’s body, leaving no doubt of his open admiration. “I wanna lick you all over.”
Walker closed his eyes, needing a break from the open lust in Mark’s gaze, or he was going to do something really stupid.
“I’m going to get dressed.”
He fled back to the bathroom and shut the door, leaning against it. He heard Mark’s sigh, but he didn’t knock or make any attempt to open the door.
Walker had just pulled his T-shirt over his head when he heard a knock. He opened the bathroom door and put a finger to his lips. Mark nodded and although his eyes narrowed when Walker pointed at the bathroom, he went in and shut the door behind him. Walker grabbed his weapon and went to the front door.
“Who is it?”
“Room service.”
“What have you got?”
“Two burgers and fries.”
Walker cautiously checked the spy hole to see a lanky kid outside wearing the motel polo shirt. He opened the door and the kid snapped his gum as he offered the bag. Walker took it and gave the kid a generous tip. He took a step outside to check all directions. Nothing set off alarm bells, so he shut the door to find a pissed off Mark emerging from the bathroom.
“You don’t shut me out again,” Mark snapped.
Walker eyed him steadily. “What would you do if the roles were reversed?”
“I’d make use of the resources I had.”
“No, you wouldn’t, because you’d want to keep me out of danger.” Walker walked over to the burgers. “Food?”
“In other words, shut up and eat your dinner.”
Walker grinned at him. “Yeah.”
Mark huffed but he came over to the table and sniffed appreciatively. “It smells good. I should have gotten two of everything.”
They ate while Mark flipped through the channels. At least he wasn’t going to subject Walker to porn. Walker had become immune to the panting and shrieking he’d been forced to endure over the years he’d shared motel rooms, but at least this time he didn’t have to pretend to get off on it.
“I’m going to take the first watch,” Mark said.
Walker opened his mouth to object, but Mark put a hand over his lips.
“Listen, you drove all day. You don’t have a team backing you up and taking shifts. You sleep for a couple of hours, then it’s my turn.”
Mark settled on a movie. Walker set an alarm for five hours. If they drove through the night, they would be at the new safe house just after dawn. Mark gathered Walker into his arms and Walker rested his head on Mark’s chest and yawned, relaxed for the first time that day.
No matter what Mark said, he should be the one standing watch. But he was sleepy after a day’s driving and tension and his eyelids grew heavy. He slipped into a deep sleep between one breath and the next.
Warm breath blowing across Walker’s ear disturbed him. He flinched, trying to get away but it happened again. He raised a hand to push it away, but someone pressed a kiss into his palm, then licked it. That woke him up. He opened one eye to find Mark grinning down at him in dim light.
“Ugh,” he managed.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead. Time to go.”
Walker sat bolt upright, nearly head-butting Mark in the process. “What the hell? What time is it?”
At that moment, his alarm went off, its shrill tone jangling his nerves.
Mark, who’d quickly moved out of the way when Walker sat up, said, “Feeling better?”
Walker glared at him. “You should have woken me up.”
“You needed the sleep, and I can crash while you drive.”
Walker launched himself off the bed and hurried to the window. It was dark now, broken by pools of light from outside lights. Nothing stirred, nothing that sent up alarm bells, but they wouldn’t know until they got out there.
“I checked several times but the only thing I’ve seen is the kid delivering room service,” Mark said.
“You should have woken me,” Walker insisted.
“Yeah, but I didn’t. So get over it and we’ll get on the road.”
There was no point arguing. Walker used the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face to wake himself up. He shivered and stared at himself in the mirror. He did look better for having had solid sleep.
It was time to get going.
He remembered the message from Doyle and grimaced at his reflection. They were still trusting no one which worried the hell out of him, and Doyle had changed the drop point, which meant a second place had potentially been compromised. Whoever was after Mark, they had contacts and resources in the agency. Moneypenny told him that.