“Medium. Tall if they have it. Something dark.”
“Okay. I’ll lock the doors, but I’m leaving the keys with you. We’re just outside the regular parking lot, hopefully away from any surveillance cameras. You should be fine here. We’re going to have to think about ditching this car at some point. It’s the one your two buddies were driving. I imagine by now they’ve got some sort of bulletin out on it. It might even have a tracer so be real aware of your surroundings, of anyone acting suspicious.”
Shannon was still trying to digest that bit of information when Jake nodded and slipped out of the car. He moved gracefully for such a big man. In fact, he was absolutely beautiful—long, lean, and dangerous looking, he reminded her of an untamed beast, a deadly predator of the night.
Shannon watched him all the way across the parking lot to the brightly lit store. Overhead lights caught him. Shannon realized his hair, which had looked so dark inside the car, was actually light brown, sun-streaked. His jeans hugged the most perfect male ass she’d ever seen, and his stride was long and smooth and surprisingly graceful. Though he didn’t seem to hurry, he covered the distance between the car and the store in mere seconds.
When he disappeared behind the doors, Shannon released the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Leaning back against the soft upholstery, she closed her eyes against this totally unreal new reality. She had no clothing, no credit cards, no identification, not a penny to her name. Without her cell phone she couldn’t even call Tia and find out what was going on. All the info she had was what she’d learned from Tia’s very brief call and what little Jake could tell her.
Something else Jake said flowed back into Shannon’s mind. This car had belonged to her attackers? She rubbed her fingertips over the soft leather upholstery. It was no rental—not something this expensive.
With that thought, Shannon wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and crawled into the front seat. The glove box was locked but she opened it with the keys. No registration, no clue of ownership. Nothing beyond the owner’s manual and a couple of maps—one of Boston, another of the Washington DC area. Still, whoever wanted Shannon probably had money and power, especially if her attack was somehow connected to Tia’s father’s abduction.
What in the hell could she possibly have in common with Ulrich Mason? Shannon hadn’t seen him in ages, though he’d always been perfectly friendly to her. She’d long suspected Mr. Mason knew about Shannon’s intimate relationship with his daughter. Knew and didn’t mind a bit, something that should have surprised Shannon more than it did.
What she’d had with Tia would always hold a special place in Shannon’s heart. Of all the friends and lovers she’d known, only Tia seemed to understand how Shannon perceived the world. Of course, the fact they’d both lost their mothers when they were small, had both been raised by distant, difficult fathers, had a lot to do with the special sisterhood they shared.
Shannon’s mother had died of cancer, but Tia’s mother had been murdered. Had her friend discovered any of the details of her mother’s death? Shannon was almost certain that was Tia’s main reason for returning to San Francisco.
That, and the fact that both of them had recognized something lacking in their relationship. They still loved one another, still had great sex together, but each of them had begun searching for that elusive something missing in their lives.
Shannon wondered if Tia had found what she’d been looking for. She wondered if there was an end somewhere to her own personal quest, a pot of gold at the end of Shannon Murphy’s rainbow?
With that thought, Jacob Trent’s image slammed itself into Shannon’s mind. His stark, unrelenting features, the feral gleam in his eyes, the strength in his lean yet muscular frame. There was nothing gentle about him, nothing soft. Jake was all hard angles and harsh lines, a man who had faced life as a battle to be fought and won.
Shannon lay her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. What was it about Jacob Trent that attracted her so profoundly? Why, when there was nothing welcoming about him, did she feel as if he beckoned her, as if he needed her as much as she needed him?
A dull, pulsing ache spread from Shannon’s womb to her breasts. She wanted to touch herself, to run her fingers through the moisture gathering between her legs, but the thought of Jake catching her masturbating in the front seat kept her fists tightly clenched around the blanket. Her clit throbbed, needy, overly sensitive. Shannon squeezed her legs together and bit back a moan. Hell, she was sitting alone in a car in a shopping center parking lot in the middle of the night. Not the most sensual of settings.
A soft tapping on the window jerked Shannon out of her reverie, yanked her back from the temptation of her fingers settling into the slick heat between her legs.
Startled, she turned and looked directly into Jake’s unusual eyes. Glowing amber in the reflected light from the parking lot, their primitive heat and bestial intensity reminded Shannon how precarious her position truly was.
Naked, on the run from some unknown threat, trusting her life to a total stranger with the eyes of a wolf and sex appeal beyond belief. Wondering if any of this would ever make sense, Shannon unlocked the car door.
How a woman with tangled hair, dressed in cheap, black, men’s sweats and leather moccasin slippers could give him a hard-on went beyond Jake’s imagination, but his cock had come to attention the minute Shannon Murphy stepped out of the car wearing the clothes he’d bought for her.
Jake hadn’t realized how tall she was, but standing beside him she was nearly eye level, which put her at almost six feet tall to his six four. He’d seen her naked and unconscious, wrapped her nude body in that old blanket and thought she was pretty, but standing here, looking him in the eye with that sexy grin and those gorgeous green eyes, Shannon just about put him over the edge.
Green eyes? Not amber, not like Tia’s. Maybe she wasn’t Chanku after all. Weren’t the eyes the giveaway? Jake felt a little of the air whoosh out of his lungs, but when Shannon turned away to walk toward the store, his cock begged him to follow.
Chanku or not, she was gorgeous. There was something untamed about her, something savage and ruthless, and it called to him, made him hunger. Tall, loose-limbed and athletic, she had the build of a swimmer with broad shoulders, a small waist, and a sexy flare to her slim hips. Jake pictured her in leather, her perfect little ass encased in smooth black leather cupped close against her cheeks, defining the line between them.
He practically groaned, imagining her kneeling in front of him, her ass in the air, her long, dark red hair sweeping her shoulders as she peered back at him over one naked shoulder.
Shannon turned just then, glancing back over her shoulder, a twinkle in her eyes. Something slammed Jake in the gut, that knowing look, as if she read his thoughts, as if she knew every fantasy swirling around his horny brain.
Jake smiled back, then followed Shannon into the brightly lit store. An idea was forming in his mind…one that would get Shannon in leather and the two of them far away from whoever threatened her safety.
Of course, his plan didn’t take into account the threat Shannon posed to Jake. It had been a long time since a woman left him this unsettled. A very long time.
As in never.
Shannon grabbed a cart and headed toward the back of the store. Jake followed, content to watch the smooth flow of her hips under the clinging knit pants. Shannon reached for a bottle of shampoo and another of conditioner. She held a large size and a small one, as if weighing her purchase.
Jake cleared his throat. It was now or never. “Think minimal, okay? I want to dump the car as soon as we can, get off the beaten track. I’m thinking motorcycle. Are you okay with traveling on a bike? It’s not all that far to the cabin. They’re not going to be looking for us on a bike. The drawback is, we won’t be able to carry as much stuff.”
Shannon looked at Jake and set the larger bottle back on the shelf. She had a huge, mind-boggling, gut-wrenching smile on her face. “I love