Page 32 of Train Wreck

Chapter Seventeen

Warmth caressedmy face as I snuggled into the body next to me.

The rise and fall of the chest beneath my hand was steady and sure. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to pierce through the veil of pain assaulting my head.

“Take it slow,” Hugh whispered from next to me. “Your sister got us drunk.”

That explained the head-pounding throbs and my need to turn away from the light.

“What time is it?” I swallowed hard, fighting the cotton in my mouth.

“I’m not sure. There isn’t a clock in this room,” he said, stroking my hair as if it were a habit he couldn’t turn off. “Good news is that the rain has stopped and the sun is out.”

I tried to turn toward the window and hissed, snugging back into the warmth of his body.

“We should get moving,” I said as if it would motivate me to actually pull away from him.

“Actually, I think this is your last stop. It’s time you got off the crazy train. I can handle it from here.”

I forced my eyes open, ignoring the bite in my head. I blinked my lazy lids open, adjusting to the light. “You don’t even have the ledger.”

“I found it last night,” he said as his gaze softened.

“How? Where? More importantly, why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, leaning upon my arm to stare down at him.

He picked up the lighthouse locket resting against my shirt and ran his finger over the design. “Teddy gave this to you.”

“Well, yeah,” I said, holding it out so I could stare down at it. “He said I was the light in the darkness.”

“You most definitely are,” Hugh said, resting his palm on my cheek. He rolled me to my back, then pressed his lips to mine in a slow and tender kiss. Pulling back, he touched the locket, and within seconds, a secret compartment I never even knew was there opened.

“What the…” I said, sitting up and taking the necklace off to get a better look. Removing the back had uncovered a rectangular USB port connection.

“My mother had one. She was a computer nerd,” Hugh said, rubbing his hand up and down my back in an intimate caress. “I didn’t realize you had one until I saw it last night.”

“The light in the darkness,” I whispered again, the words giving new meaning to what I’d thought was intimacy between Teddy and me.

I should have known that wasn’t the case.

“Victor and his guys are probably still looking for you,” I said as Hugh sat up next to me.

He continued the caress on my back. “I’m counting on it.”

I met the warmth of his gaze. “You’re hurt. You don’t know the area. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Hugh leaned in and kissed me, pressing me back against the pillow. He took his time, slow and sensual, and, just like the man was multifaceted, so was his seduction. I could feel it down to my core.

He gently pulled away. “When this is over, I’d like to take you out on a date.”

My eyes searched his, and my heart beat wildly in my chest. “When this is over, I’ll let you take me out on a date, if you live long enough.”

His lips twisted up at the corners. “Then it’s a date.”

He pulled away and climbed out of the bed, getting dressed. I couldn’t help but appreciate his hard body. Heat climbed into my cheeks as I pulled on my dried jeans.

Whap-whap-whapsounded from outside the window, and I peeled back the curtain, covering my eyes from the pain of the bright sun. A helicopter was landing in the middle of the cul-de-sac.

“What the…”

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