DECLAN
I ’m going to murder that motherfucker. Why the hell did he think trapping Cara and me together was a good idea? She can barely look at me. I’m still so relieved she’s talking to me. I thought I fucked everything up when I ordered her into the car. I knew I sounded like an ass, but I was too freaked out by the idea of taking her into a storm to slow down and convince her.
And I was right. This fucking storm has turned. I would give anything to have the rain back, instead of this. My speed ticks lower and lower as the snow blows harder, making visibility nearly nil. I haven’t seen another car on the road in twenty minutes. We’re the only idiots out here now, and my brain is going over all the what-if ’s. I checked the trunk back at the airport, and the emergency roadside kit is tiny. Cara was already shivering from the terminal to the car. She’s not dressed for a fucking snowstorm. Neither am I, but at least my legs are covered by thick denim. She’s in those tight thin black pants and a light coat. It’s bordering on crazy for the temperatures back home, but a snowstorm...fuck no. And the four-inch stiletto boots are going to give her less than zero protection in the snow.
“Cara, wake up.” I reach out and give her shoulder a little shake. She groans, clearly not happy. “Cara. I need you awake.”
She turns to me, blinking owlishly. “What? How long have I been...holy fuck.” She sits up, fumbling at the side of her seat, raising it. Her eyes are huge, staring out at the wall of snow illuminated by the headlights.
“Holy fuck sounds about right,” I mutter.
“Declan...are we okay?” I hate the fear in her voice. I could tell her everything’s going to be okay, but if we don’t get out of this soon, we’re fucked. In so many ways.
“Yeah. We’re okay for now. But I need you to pull out your phone and see if there are any towns nearby. I don’t know if I should stay on the highway or pull off. We need to find a town, fast. The fucking storm found us, and I don’t think it’s going to let up. We need shelter now.”
“On it,” she mutters, fumbling around for her phone. We’re damn lucky there’s still service. She’s in Cara mode pretty quickly, her panic forgotten as her hands fly over her phone. I love it when she’s like this. She could be in the middle of a hurricane and be completely unbothered. It’s the same kind of focus I have when I’m at my computer, digging up dirt.
She twists in her seat, facing me. “Okay, found one about twenty miles from here. There’s an exit coming up, and I can guide you from there. The town looks tiny, but our next option would be another fifty miles past that.”
“Tiny it is,” I say grimly. “Dial Colton, please.”
She nods, putting it on speaker. He picks up, clearly in the middle of a crowd.
“Don’t be mad. You guys needed some time, you know that you—“
“You’re on speaker,” she shouts. Colt stutters to a stop.
“If we make it out of this in one piece, brother, you and I are going to have words.” Cara’s eyes widen at my tone. To his credit, Colt must hear something in my voice that alerts him not all is well. Soon the noise behind him quiets.
“I knew you’d be mad, but what’s happening?”
“We’re in the middle of a fucking snowstorm. I can’t see more than five feet in front of me.”
“Goddamn it. The forecast was clear. I swear. What can I do?”
“There’s nothing you can do. Nothing can get to us right now. Cara’s found a town twenty miles from here. At the speed we’re going, it’ll take us at least half an hour to get there. I’m hoping we can find a hotel or somewhere to ride out the storm.”
“Send me your location now.” The gravity of our situation is in his sober tone. “I want to see where you are and where you’re going.”
Cara follows his directions, downloading an app and giving him real-time access to our route. He’s in full protector mode, refusing to get off the phone with us until we see lights in the distance.
There’s a collective sigh of relief as I pull into the tiny town. The main street is mostly a ghost town. It’s really fucking late, so that’s not a surprise. At the far end of town, I spot a motel and what looks to be the only pub in town attached to it. Judging by the cars around both businesses, I’m guessing a lot of people were caught by the storm.
I swing into an open spot as close to the office as I can and turn the engine off. My entire body is tight, my tension ratcheted up as the snow came harder and harder. As prepared as I might have felt back at that airport, I’ve never had to drive in shit like this for this long, with someone so important in the car with me. Worry over Cara, making sure she would be okay has been consuming my thoughts. She matters. A fuck-of-a-lot. Fingers aching, I flex them, trying to get the blood flowing.
Cara’s soft hands take mine, pulling on my fingers and kneading my palm. I sit, hands completely relaxed, soaking in her touch. This is the first time she’s reached for me, touched me since I screwed everything up. I missed it so much. I didn’t know how much I craved the way she’d run her fingers over me at work, or lean into me.
I just sit, breathing, gaze on the top of her bowed head, willing my dick to behave. I don’t want anything to ruin this, especially not my body.
“Thank you for getting us here in one piece.” She glances up, bites her lip, then looks back at our hands. “I’ve never had to drive through anything like that. Being a passenger was bad enough. I can’t imagine having to handle it by myself.”
I wrap my hands around hers, for a moment lost in the contrast between us. Her hands are soft, nails painted a glittery gold. My hands are tanned and calloused and so much larger. What was I going to say?
“Thank you for being a great navigator. We made a pretty good team.”
Her head comes up, and she smiles at me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this smile before. It somehow makes her seem softer, younger. Thank god she didn’t use this on me before. I would have spent the rest of my life following her around like a dog. Now? She’s definitely stuck with me...at least if I have anything to say about it. The problem is, it’s not just my choice.
A wheezing...something comes out of me. “Ah. So, maybe we should get some rooms?”