He heard an engine start. Good girl, he thought, you can do this.
Tires squealed and almost immediately the sniper started shooting again.
“Come on, Kate,” he muttered. “Come on.”
He felt the pavement vibrate beneath him.
More shots rang out.
Around Archer windshields shattered.
Suddenly, the silver Mustang screeched to a stop in front of him and the passenger door popped opened.
“Get in!” Kate shouted. She was crouched behind the steering wheel.
Her window shattered as a bullet struck it and she let out a yelp.
Archer jumped into the car and Kate hit the accelerator even before he had pulled his feet all the way in.
The passenger door slammed shut with the momentum of the car.
More bullets struck the side of the Mustang. Archer felt the car shudder from the multiple impacts.
The windshield spider-webbed as a bullet skidded sideways across it.
Kate kept her head low, frantically spinning the wheel. The Mustang raced for the exit, slamming through the gates.
A final farewell shot rang out, striking the rear of the car as the Mustang fishtailed out into the street.
Archer pulled himself upright and Kate straightened, watching the rearview mirror.
“You called me Kyle back there,” he said after a moment. “you used my first name.”
Kate brushed the broken glass from her. “It was nothing. Don’t make it into a thing,” she checked the mirrors again. There didn’t seem to be any sign of a pursuit.
She turned right at the next light.
“How bad is it?” asked Kate, glancing at Archer’s bleeding head.
He gingerly touched it again. “I don’t think it’s too bad. Think of it as a scratch.”
She cast him a sideways glance. “A scratch, right,” he was fine. He was okay. Seeing him sitting there, Kate felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Archer was alive. They had escaped the sniper. Everything was going to be okay.
Archer rested his head back against the headrest. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt very tired. He had to overcome a lot in the past six years. But this…
This might be too much. He couldn’t do this to Kate. He knew that now. They weren’t going to get through this.
Chapter 16
The next few hours passed in uncomfortable silence. They made one stop to pick up a few makeshift medical items for Archer’s head. They stuck to the back roads, driving through till dark.
They both had things they wanted to say. Secret things that wore down on their souls. But neither of them spoke. They couldn’t bring themselves to bare their hearts anymore than they already had. The very thought of exposing themselves like that was even more terrifying than facing down another invisible sniper.
So they drove in silence.
The silence stretched, wrapping around them like a security blanket. It was a security blanket, though, that either one would have discarded for the comfort of the other.
Finally exhaustion demanded they stop, if only for a little while. The first motel they found was pay-by-the-hour. It was right off the highway and was a tiny strip building, only about twenty units. Archer’s handcuffs had garnered them more attention than Kate would have guessed, given the dubious nature of the hotel. They paid for just a couple of hours. All they needed was a quick rest. They couldn’t afford to waste time on anything else.
The room was tiny. The two double beds hardly fit and left little walking space. They kept the window curtains pulled closed. The only light came from a lamp between the two beds.
“Ow,” Archer said.
“What?” Kate asked.
“That stings.”
She was sitting on the only chair in the room, pulled up to the bed, and dabbed the rag at the “scratch” on the side of his head again. The rag was wet with peroxide. Archer sat on the edge of the double bed, his shirt off and his hands still cuffed. The bandages on his chest did nothing to take away from the animal magnetism that he projected. Kate tried to focus on the job at hand. It wasn’t easy.
“It stings because it’s helping,” Kate said, trying not to stare at his smooth bare chest. The muscles that bulged caused her to tingle with arousal. She needed to keep her head clear.
“I know that’s the idea,” he said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that it still hurts.”
She poured some more peroxide on the rag and pressed it against the cut hard.
Archer flinched and swore loudly. “Okay. You did that on purpose.”
“No I didn’t,” Yes she did. It distracted her. She wondered what it would be like to be wrapped up in those powerful arms.
Kate stood and turned away. She needed to stay focused. Focused.
Archer grimaced and tried rotating his right shoulder.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“I’ve got this sharp pain in my shoulder,” he tried rotating it again in an attempt to relieve the tension. “Feels like somebody just took all my muscles and bunched them together into a tiny ball. It’s been building for the last hour.”
Kate climbed onto the bed behind him. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“We were busy,” he said. “It didn’t seem an appropriate time to complain.”
She frowned and attentively felt around his shoulder. She did not need this. Touching him alone sent tiny electric sparks down her body “You may have a torn rotator cuff.”
“Hardly life threatening.”
“True, but it’s not going to make your life any easier,” she said, her fingers probing the muscles delicately. “Do you really want to fight for your life with only one arm?”
He didn’t answer, but leaned back slightly as her fingers ran across his shoulder. She placed both hands on him and dug her fingers into the muscles under the shoulder blade, kneading them.
Archer closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but it feels good.”
“What? This?” She pressed her fingers against the muscles. “Here?”
“Yeah.”
The muscles were unyielding or so she thought. They felt tight and hard. She moved her hands up, kneading with her fingers and grinding the heels of her hands inward. She was rewarded with another sigh of satisfaction.
Kate felt a thrill run through her. This obviously powerful man was handcuffed and at her mercy, yet her simple touch eased his pain. She closed her eyes. She wanted to lose herself in him. She felt so conflicted. Kate was falling for this man and that was something that should never happen.
She opened her eyes and stopped.
“Well?” Archer asked. “What’s the prognosis?”
Kate climbed off the bed. “You’re fine,” she said quickly. “You’re just sore.”
She started for the bathroom but he grabbed her by the wrist and turned her around.
“Your hands felt good,” he said, staring into her eyes.
“We need to clean up and get back on the road,” she said, trying to avoid his piercing gaze and failing. “I don’t want to stay in one place for too long.”
“Kate,” he began.
Her heart jumped at the sound of her name coming from his mouth. “Don’t call me that,” she said, more quietly than she had intended. “It’s Marshal Sharpe,” her voice quavered, belaying her lack of confidence.
He pulled her closer. This was wrong, she knew that. But try as she might she couldn’t seem to pull herself away from him.
“There’s something here,” he said, there was a sudden hoarse rasp to his voice.
“No, there isn’t,” she said, not believing the words even as they left her mouth.
“I can feel it and so can you,” his voice lowered to a whisper. “There’s something happening between us.”
“If there is, it’s a mistake,” she said, but she didn’t pull away.
“How do you know that?”
She sw
allowed. She couldn’t think. “Because…because…”
“Because you’re a good guy and I’m a bad guy?” he said pulling her down to him, drawing her closer to his lips.
“Yes,” she whispered, her sweet breath caressing his face. “That’s exactly it.”
“Then why are you still here?” he asked. As he spoke, his lips brushed hers. A brief spark traveled between them.
“I’m already moving away,” she replied breathlessly. Their lips connected again as she spoke and they were overcome in a tidal wave of passion.
She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him closer. Their lips pressed together, their tongues swirled around in a passionate duel. Her hands traveled down, tracing the outlines of his muscles.
He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and pulled her close. She melted against his hard body.
Her head leaned back as he burned a trail of kisses down her neck. Each kiss scorched her lips. It burned her, but it was a welcome heat. He moved his hands, trying to wrap them around her waist and pull her into his embrace, but he was stopped by the length of the handcuffs.
She looked down at him and smiled. “You seem to have a problem there.”
He nipped at her neck. “I won’t lie to you, losing the cuffs would make this a lot easier.”
“Maybe I don’t want to make it any easier,” she whispered hoarsely, burrowing his face against his skin. She inhaled his intoxicating scent.
“Fair enough,” he said and pulled her onto the bed. He loomed over her. “But it’s not going to stop me.”
He kissed her again.
She moaned loudly. Her skin felt on fire and blood burned with arousal. She dug her fingers into his back, wanting to feel every inch of him.
A low growl escaped from the back of his throat as he kissed his way down to her covered breasts. She shivered, feeling her nipples pucker as his lips brushed across them through the fabric.
Kate dug in her pocket for the key and fumbled as she inserted it into the lock of the handcuffs. For one brief second, the sound of the cuffs unlocking was the loudest thing in the room. They held their breath as the handcuffs slipped from his wrists.
It took an enormous amount of self control but he stopped and pulled back. He didn’t want to hurt this beautiful, remarkable woman. He was beginning to care too deeply for her.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Is this what you want?”
Her breath caught in her throat. Is this what she wanted? What was she doing? She rested her hands on his chest, relishing the feel of him beneath her. She closed her eyes.
What she wanted…
“Yes,” she opened her eyes. “Yes.”
He leaned back down on top of her and kissed her fiercely. Her body arched up to meet his.
Her heart pounded in her chest, each thump echoing in her ear.
Archer pulled back, running his tongue across her lips. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her tightly against him. She felt him there, hard and pulsing. She had done that. That was for her.
She moaned, digging her hands into his back.
His hands traveled up to the edge of her shirt and paused for one brief second. He pulled himself away from her lips and sat up. Then, in a single motion he pulled off her shirt.
She lay there beneath him, her breasts quivering slightly beneath her bra. She looked so beautiful.
He leaned back down, kissing the tops of her breasts and her hands fumbled with his belt buckle. It came undone and her hands slipped inside. He growled against her skin as her smooth fingers gripped him.
This is what she wanted. This is what she had wanted since she had first met Kyle Archer.
She pushed at his pants, getting them halfway down. He pulled away again and finished the job, then yanked off her jeans.
Again, he paused, drinking in her body with his eyes. The curve of her hips, the swell of her breasts. His desire for her burned so brightly. He wanted her. He needed her.
She saw the lust; the desire in his eyes and it thrilled her. When was the last time a man had looked at her like that? She pulled him back down, needing to feel his naked body against hers. He enveloped her. She felt so tiny, so secure beneath him.
Her hips instinctively arched up to meet his. His fingers hooked around the waistband of her panties. Their kisses were so hot they breathed fire into each other’s mouths. The world around them ceased to exist.
One hand began to pull down her panties, the other cupped her buttocks tightly.
She moaned loudly into their kiss. This was what she wanted.
Then the hotel window exploded.
Chapter 17
They moved in unison, rolling off the bed as the brief flames from the explosion licked at them, followed by bullets that sailed over their heads, striking the wall. Vaporized drywall clouded the air.
“This,” Kate said, hitting the ground, Archer still on of top her, his hard body weighing down against her, “is getting ridiculous,” she felt hyper aware. Her body was already coated with a thin film of sweat that glistened in the meager light. Every muscle in her body was already tensed with the expectation of desire, only to be rewarded with chaos and insanity.
Archer’s powerful arms were on either side of her head. He was smirking.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “You just look very attractive right now.”
She pushed him off her and sat up, quickly snatching the gun from the bed. She fired off three quick shots and dropped back down to the ground.
Archer caught her and kissed her. He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her against him. She felt him hard against her and she moaned into his mouth. He pulled back and Kate found herself speechless again.
“You are unbelievable,” she whispered when she finally found her voice.
“You have no idea,” Archer said, smiling.
“Please come out with your hands up,” a voice said loudly from outside the hotel room. It sounded slightly muffled, as though whoever was speaking wore something over his mouth. “We’re reasonable. Let’s not make this any more difficult than it has to be.”
“Considerate killer, isn’t he,” Kate muttered. “Do you remember how big the bathroom window was?”
Archer raised his eyebrows. “Not big enough for us to escape through even if we managed to avoid getting shot.”
She poked at his six pack with the muzzle of her gun. “I don’t know. There’s not a lot of fat there. I think we could make it.”
“You’re more than welcome to try. I promise I won’t say I told you so when we’re dead.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re so considerate. I'll provide cover, you run for the bathroom."
Kate didn’t wait for an answer. She sat back up and started shooting across the hotel room.
Archer jumped to his feet and darted into the bathroom, stray bullets from their attackers striking the walls around him.
Kate dropped down to the floor again as the attackers returned fire. She tried to see if Archer had made it in one piece. He must have read her mind because she caught sight of an upwards-turned thumb peaking out from the bathroom.
Kate jumped up and let loose a covering spray of lead as she dove for the doorway of the bathroom, rolling across the last bit of carpet. This was not how she had imaged getting rug burns.
Archer slammed the bathroom door closed behind her. "Would you say this is all going according to plan so far?" he asked nonchalantly.
Kate didn't respond. She shot out the bathroom window and they jumped out. Their bare feet almost slid across the wet grass.
"We need to know who we’re dealing with," Archer said.
"We need to stay alive," Kate countered.
As if on cue, bullets streaked through the open window. Kate returned fire and they dropped to the ground.
“We can’t hang around in the open,” Archer said. “We’re too easy a target.”
“Agreed,” Kate spotted another wi
ndow to their left. “Come on.”
Staying low to the ground, they ran to the window. Kate used the butt of the gun and smashed it out. She climbed through. Archer found himself watching her scantily clad bottom as she slid through the window. He sucked in a sharp breath of air. This was too much for him.
Kate looked back at Archer when he didn’t follow.
“What are you doing?”
“Staring at you,” he said. “You are quite a beautiful woman.”
She wanted to blush, but didn’t have the time.
“Get in here,” she said.
She opened the bathroom door and peeked out into the room. It was dark. She couldn't tell if there was anyone in the room.
"What now? " Archer whispered over her shoulder. He was standing close enough to her that his breath tickled her ear.
She flinched. “Stop that,” it felt so good though, she decided.
“Sorry,” he said, “you need to focus,” he kissed the back of her neck, sending shivers of delight down her spine, and stepped back.
She swung the door open and stepped out into the room.
A light came on immediately.
The man and woman on the king size between looked startled and scared. Their gaze immediately went to the gun in Kate’s hand.
“Don’t worry,” Kate said, raising her hands. “I’m a US Marshal. We’re just passing through.”
The couple looked at each other, then back at the two half naked intruders.
Kate blushed. She quickly headed for the door.
Swinging open the door she immediately opened fire towards their attackers.
“Come on!” she shouted and started running towards the front of the motel.
Archer followed, gunshots trailing in their wake.
There was shouting behind them. Neither of them could make out what was being said.
Their naked feet pounded against the concrete. Each step sent sharp bolts of pain up through Kate’s heels. She felt too exposed, running in her underwear, bullets flying all around her. She needed a new plan. Then someone tossed a grenade.
The grenade landed ahead of them. Archer spotted it first. He grabbed Kate and they jumped through the first window they could, narrowly missing the explosion.
Outlawed Love Page 8
